{
  "id": "hanlu",
  "title": "Hanlu",
  "lang": "en",
  "source_lang": "en",
  "summary": "Hanlu, or Cold Dew, is the seventeenth of the twenty-four Chinese solar terms, marking a stage of autumn associated with cooling weather, migrating geese, and flowering chrysanthemums.",
  "category": "society",
  "subcategory": "culture",
  "type": "concept",
  "aliases": [
    "Cold Dew",
    "Hánlù"
  ],
  "generated_at": "2026-10-14",
  "model": "pro/gpt-6.1-sol",
  "url": "https://aiwiki.page/en/hanlu/",
  "translations": {
    "zh-Hans": {
      "url": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/hanlu/",
      "json": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/hanlu.json"
    }
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "",
      "text": "Hanlu, commonly translated as Cold Dew, is the seventeenth of the twenty-four solar terms of the traditional Chinese calendar. Its name, written 寒露 in Chinese characters, evokes the increasing chill of autumn. In the modern astronomical definition, Hanlu begins when the Sun reaches an ecliptic longitude of \\(195^\\circ\\), following the autumnal equinox and preceding Shuangjiang, usually translated as Frost’s Descent. It also names the seasonal interval between those two successive solar-term boundaries. (dfzb.suzhou.gov.cn)"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Astronomical and calendrical position",
      "text": "The solar terms divide the Sun’s apparent annual path into twenty-four segments separated by \\(15^\\circ\\) of longitude. Hanlu marks the boundary at \\(195^\\circ\\); the following term begins at \\(210^\\circ\\). It is classified as one of the twelve jie, or minor solar terms, which alternate with twelve zhongqi, or major solar terms. Here “minor” denotes a calendrical category rather than lesser cultural importance. (weather.gov.hk)\n\nAlthough embedded in a calendar that also follows lunar months, Hanlu is determined by the Sun’s position, not by a phase of the Moon. It therefore remains near the same Gregorian date each year, generally October 8 or 9, rather than occurring on a fixed day of a lunar month. (weather.gov.hk)"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Seasonal meaning",
      "text": "The solar-term system developed from observations of seasons, celestial motion, and natural phenomena in the Yellow River region of China, before being applied more widely. Hanlu’s associations with autumnal cooling belong to that Northern Hemisphere setting; they are not a description of simultaneous seasonal conditions everywhere. (ich.unesco.org)\n\n“Cold Dew” is a seasonal image rather than a technical category of precipitation. Dew forms through condensation as nighttime cooling brings moist air near surfaces to saturation. It consists of liquid droplets and is distinct from frost. Consequently, the name Hanlu does not mean that dew necessarily freezes on its opening day. (hko.gov.hk)"
    },
    {
      "heading": "The three pentads",
      "text": "Traditional seasonal lore divides Hanlu into three hou, commonly translated as pentads, each lasting approximately five days. Their conventional descriptions are:\n\n- Wild geese arrive as guests: later-arriving migratory geese follow those that appeared earlier in autumn.\n- Sparrows enter the great waters and become clams: a traditional transformation belief connecting the disappearance of small birds with the appearance of shellfish.\n- Chrysanthemums bear yellow blossoms: flowering chrysanthemums provide a conspicuous sign of autumn. (dfzb.suzhou.gov.cn)\n\nThese descriptions combine observations of seasonal life with inherited interpretations of nature. In particular, the supposed transformation of birds into clams records an ancient belief, not a biological process. The pentads therefore belong to the history of seasonal knowledge as well as to the observation of plants and animals. (paper.people.com.cn)"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Agricultural significance",
      "text": "Hanlu falls within an important period of autumn harvesting and sowing. In Henan, harvesting crops such as maize, peanuts, and soybeans overlaps with preparations for winter-wheat sowing; local agricultural sayings associate the interval from Hanlu to Frost’s Descent with planting wheat. Elsewhere, crop calendars differ: late-season rice in parts of Hunan begins entering harvest around Hanlu. These are regional associations, not a uniform national timetable. (cma.gov.cn)\n\nThe term supplies a traditional seasonal reference, while agricultural meteorology also considers actual crop development, soil moisture, rainfall, and temperature. Autumn farming can face frost, persistent rain, or drought, with different risks across China’s agricultural regions. (cma.gov.cn)"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Customs and cultural heritage",
      "text": "Regional Hanlu customs include viewing chrysanthemums, climbing hills, and consuming particular seasonal foods or drinks. Accounts from Henan describe chrysanthemum wine and steamed cakes whose name evokes “height” through a Chinese homophone. These practices vary by locality and should not be treated as obligatory observances shared by all communities. (cma.gov.cn)\n\nHanlu forms part of the broader solar-term tradition recognized by UNESCO in 2016 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The inscription concerns the complete system of knowledge and associated practices, including agricultural timing, oral transmission, proverbs, and community observances—not Hanlu alone. (ich.unesco.org)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    "twenty-four-solar-terms",
    "chinese-calendar",
    "chinese-characters",
    "sun",
    "moon",
    "yellow-river",
    "china",
    "condensation",
    "maize",
    "unesco",
    "intangible-cultural-heritage"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "The 24 Solar Terms",
      "url": "https://www.weather.gov.hk/en/gts/time/24solarterms.htm"
    },
    {
      "title": "The Twenty-Four Solar Terms, knowledge in China of time and practices developed through observation of the sun’s annual motion",
      "url": "https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/the-twenty-four-solar-terms-knowledge-in-china-of-time-and-practices-developed-through-observation-of-the-suns-annual-motion-00647"
    },
    {
      "title": "Hanlu",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlu"
    },
    {
      "title": "Descriptive terms",
      "url": "https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/wxinfo/currwx/flw_description/flw.htm"
    },
    {
      "title": "二十四节气 | 寒露至，秋意浓，不负韶华，多珍重！",
      "url": "https://dfzb.suzhou.gov.cn/dfzb/szdq/202210/ef29b31fbf304a4299bb795abb076e70.shtml"
    },
    {
      "title": "人民日报海外版，2024年10月8日，第9版",
      "url": "https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/images/2024-10/08/09/rmrbhwb2024100809.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "中国气象报寒露专刊，2023年10月",
      "url": "https://www.cma.gov.cn/ztbd/2023zt/jq/xz/202310/P020231009370009139167.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "气象条件总体利于秋收作物灌浆成熟和秋收秋种",
      "url": "https://www.cma.gov.cn/wmhd/2011wzbft/2011wftzb/202209/t20220909_5081513.html"
    }
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}