Bailu Solar Term – White Dew

Although the day is still quite warm, the difference between day and night temperatures is perhaps the largest of the year. With the end of this solar term comes the autumnal equinox, which is mid-autumn according to the Chinese calendar. Every day it becomes cooler and cooler, especially at night and early in the morning. Moisture in the air condenses as white dew on grass and tree leaves. Autumn belongs to Metal and is represented by white.

Bailu Solar term 白露 is the fifteenth of the 24 solar terms of the Chinese calendar. The second month of autumn begins, and the third autumn season begins, annually it occurs on September 7-9 and corresponds to the first half of the month of the Rooster. With the end of this solar term, around September 21-22, the Qiufen solar term, the “Autumn Equinox,” will begin.

CLIMATE

The fifteenth solar term of the Chinese agricultural calendar is a typical autumn season, especially since its name includes the “white” component, that is, the color of the Metal element. In different parts of the country, this solar term passes differently: if in the north you can already see white dew, then in the southern regions there are still a lot of fragrant flowers, it is Indian summer, which in China is called the “autumn tiger” (Chinese 秋老虎). With the arrival of Bailu, China's northern coastal regions will be increasingly less exposed to typhoons.

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This solar term marks the beginning of the cotton harvest, the Chinese date (jujube, jojoba) and pomegranate, an excellent time to plant vegetables, especially leafy ones, such as Shanghai bok choy (Chinese: 青江菜), kai-lan cabbage or Chinese broccoli ( Chinese 芥蓝), leaf or rapeseed cabbage yutsai (Chinese 油菜), as well as radishes (Chinese 樱桃萝卜). Birds are starting to prepare for winter.

TRADITIONS

On the first day of the White Dew in the city of Shexian, Hebei Province, peasants begin to dry the fresh harvest of walnuts.

In the southern regions of China, especially in the city of Fuzhou (Chinese: 福州), on the day of the onset of the small White Dew solar term, you must definitely enjoy the fruit longan or dragon's eye (Chinese: 龙眼). Longan eaten on this day strengthens and nourishes the blood, calms and relaxes a person.

HEALTH

On a cool night or morning, external pathogenic wind-cold can easily penetrate the body through the nose and skin, so during the Bailu Solarterm, first of all, special attention should be paid to the prevention of colds, nasal diseases, bronchial asthma, and allergic diseases.
Hardening plays an important role in the prevention of colds.

As the cold weather intensifies, the amount of clothing you wear can be increased, since over time the body’s ability to withstand the cold gradually decreases. Autumn hardening is a positive way to maintain health, but requires a reasonable approach.
 

DIET

Traditional Chinese medicine specialists say that early autumn is the time when the spleen is especially vulnerable. To support it, it is recommended to eat more sweets. Grapes that ripen just in time for this period are ideal for this. The Chinese also eat the fruit of longan (龙眼, “dragon eye”), a “close relative” of lychee. Dragon eye is rich in vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Sweet potatoes are also good for maintaining the spleen, which, moreover, is considered the number one remedy for cancer prevention in the Middle Kingdom.  

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Of course, you should pay special attention to the body’s nutritional regulation: food should be easily digestible and rich in vitamins, and correspond to the state of the body of a particular person.

From the point of view of Yangsheng (Chinese: 养生, a branch of Chinese preventive medicine), it is recommended to drink Bailu tea (Chinese: 白露茶) - this is an autumn harvest tea. In Nanjing, it is believed that the tea leaves collected during the White Dew season are the best in terms of taste. They say here: “Spring tea leaves are bitter, summer ones are too harsh, if you really drink tea, then in the fall on White Dew.” This tea is not as delicate as the spring harvest and not as bitter and tart as the summer harvest.