Hanlu 寒露 — Cold Dew

The term at which the dew turns cold — the step beyond White Dew. Hanlu falls around 8 October. The name is the intensified form of Bailu: the same phenomenon, colder. It is the fifth autumn term.

It is a solar term — a date fixed by the sun's position, not by the moon. The term at which the dew turns cold — the step beyond White Dew. The calendar uses several different words for the same intensification, which is why the twenty-four look less systematic than they are until the pairs are laid out side by side.

The pairing of Bailu and Hanlu is another minor/major style pair expressed with different words rather than with 小/大, which is a useful reminder that the pairing device is structural rather than lexical. It is grouped under Metal (金) in the five-element system.