Autumn · No.15
White Dew
Bai Lu
Night air drops to the dew point, white beads form on the grass, and autumn finally feels real.
At White Dew the gap between day and night can pass ten degrees. Noon is still warm, but by dawn the grass is beaded with water that looks white, which gives the term its name. Wild geese head south, swallows leave for warmer ground, and small birds begin caching food. The north harvests millet, shakes down dates and picks pears; in the south late rice flowers and needs protection from cold snaps. Around Lake Tai, fishing families stage offerings and opera for the old water god. Bare skin stops here, sleeves come back down, and rice wine is brewed with new glutinous grain and osmanthus.
Three pentads
- 1
Wild geese line up and fly south for winter
- 2
Swallows leave the north and head back south
- 3
Small birds cache seed against the cold
What people eat now
rice wine
Around White Dew the new glutinous rice is in, and farm households start a jar of wine to open in winter.
longan
In Fuzhou people eat longan at White Dew, bunches straight from the tree, the shells sticky on your fingers.
White Dew tea
White Dew tea is picked after the summer, with thicker leaves and a mellow cup, without the bitterness of summer leaf.
What people wear
At White Dew the mornings turn cool enough to show on the grass, and the old saying is not to bare the body now. Put a long-sleeve shirt over short sleeves and button it early and late; swap skirts for trousers and retire the sandals. Undo it again at noon, since adding and removing layers all day is normal.