Bailu (白露): White Dew and the Pure-Metal 酉 Month

Bailu (白露, White Dew) is the jie term at sun longitude 165°. Nights are now cool enough for heavy dew to form, and the calendar enters the 酉 (Rooster) month, the heart of autumn and of the Metal phase.

The moment and the month

haru sets Bailu at 23:41 KST on 7 September 2026 and at 05:28 KST on 8 September 2027. With the 2026 moment so close to midnight, the yearly drift of 5 hours 47 minutes carries it over into the next date.

At Bailu the month branch changes from 申 to 酉. The month pillar becomes 丁酉 in 2026 and 己酉 in 2027. 酉 is yin Metal, and its hidden stems are 庚 and 辛, both Metal, which is why the tradition treats this as the most purely Metal month of the year.

The 酉 month that Bailu opens
Item	2026	2027
Bailu (KST)	2026-09-07 23:41	2027-09-08 05:28
Month pillar	丁酉	己酉
Hidden stems of 酉	庚 10 days · 辛 20 days	same
酉 hours	17:00-19:00	17:00-19:00
Bailu to Qiufen	15 d 9 h 24 m	15 d 9 h 34 m
Chuseok (solar date)	2026-09-25 (after Qiufen)	2027-09-15 (7 days after Bailu)

Why the dew is 'white'

露 is dew. The colour 白 is partly visual, since dew on cool grass looks pale and silvery at dawn, and partly symbolic. In five-element theory white is the colour of Metal and of autumn, so 'white dew' is also a way of saying 'autumn dew'. The tradition reads the first heavy dew as the sign that yin is now clearly gaining over yang.

Nature in early September

Across Korea the gap between warm afternoons and cool nights widens, which is exactly what brings the dew. Skies are high and clear on good days, rice turns golden, and migrating birds begin to move. The almanac's pentads for Bailu are all about birds:

鴻雁來 - wild geese arrive
玄鳥歸 - swallows depart
群鳥養羞 - birds store food for winter

Korea around Bailu

Early September is grape season in Korea, and farms and markets are full of them. Families also begin preparing for Chuseok. In 2027 the holiday falls on 15 September, one week after Bailu, so the Bailu weeks that year are the busy run-up of grave tidying, market trips and cooking plans.

Autumn food

Metal in haru's word list goes with white and gently pungent foods: radish, pear, bellflower root, onion, lotus root and Job's tears. As nights cool, the tradition also welcomes warmer dishes. From haru's autumn-tagged recipes, a ginger and jujube chicken soup (ginger_jujube_chicken, warm) and a black sesame porridge (black_sesame) fit the season, alongside grapes, pears and new chestnuts.

Gentle habits for dew nights

An old piece of yangsheng advice for this time is simple: once the dew is white, keep the skin covered at night. Some lifestyle habits in that spirit:

Put away the thinnest summer bedding and keep feet and shoulders warm when sleeping.
The 酉 hour (17:00-19:00) is the time haru suggests for quiet breathing as the light fades.
Take evening walks, but bring a layer for the cool air.
Autumn air is dry; keep a cup of warm water or tea within reach.

A line of poetry

Du Fu (杜甫), Tang dynasty, 'Remembering My Brothers on a Moonlit Night' (月夜憶舍弟): 「露從今夜白，月是故鄉明。」 - 'From tonight the dew turns white; the moon is brightest over home.' The line is widely quoted for Bailu because it names the term's dew directly.

Questions

Why does Bailu fall on 7 September in 2026 but 8 September in 2027?

The 2026 moment is at 23:41, and the term moves about 5 hours 47 minutes a year, so the 2027 moment passes midnight and lands at 05:28 on 8 September.

What makes 酉 'pure Metal'?

Both of its hidden stems in haru's table, 庚 and 辛, are Metal. The branch itself is Metal too.

Is Bailu linked to Chuseok?

Not by rule. Chuseok follows the lunar calendar. In 2027 it happens to fall one week after Bailu; in 2026 it comes after Qiufen.

Recipes for this season

Abalone Rice Porridge (Jeonbokjuk) and the Water ElementKorean abalone porridge in 40 minutes: 2 abalone, 1 cup of rice, 6 cups of water. Why the tradition reads it as an even, all-season Water dish.Baek-kimchi: a Cool Metal White Kimchi without ChiliKorean white kimchi with napa cabbage, radish and pear in a clear brine, no chili. How the tradition reads its white colour as Metal.Black Sesame Porridge: a Black, Water-Element BowlBlack sesame porridge in 20 minutes with 4 tbsp black sesame and glutinous rice. Why black foods are read as Water, for autumn and winter tables.Broccoli and Tofu Salad: a 15-Minute Wood and Water SideA 15-minute Korean side of blanched broccoli and mashed tofu, and how the five-element tradition reads its green Wood and soft Water.Chestnut Rice (Bam-bap): an Autumn Earth BowlKorean chestnut rice for 2 in 50 minutes: 10 peeled chestnuts and 3 jujubes on soaked rice. Why the tradition reads it as Earth.Chilled Cucumber Seaweed Soup and Black Bean RiceA 15-minute chilled seaweed and cucumber soup with black bean rice: a cool, Water-element summer meal and how the five-element tradition reads it.