Major Cold (Dahan) 大寒
The solar term
Major Cold is the last of the twenty-four terms and the last of winter. Cold waves come one after another and the ground is frozen hard. After it comes the Start of Spring, and the cycle begins again.
| Year | Major Cold |
|---|---|
| 2026 | January 20 |
| 2027 | January 20 |
| 2028 | January 20 |
| 2029 | January 20 |
| 2030 | January 20 |
Dates are for China time (UTC+8); in other time zones the term may fall on a different day.
The three pentads
Each solar term lasts about fifteen days and is divided into three pentads of five days, each named after a sign in nature. In 2027:
Hens begin to brood 雞始乳from January 20
Hens begin to sit on their eggs.
Hawks fly high and fierce 征鳥厲疾from January 25
Hawks and falcons, the far-flying birds of prey, hunt with special ferocity to carry them through the cold.
Ice grows thick on the marsh 水澤腹堅from January 30
The ice on lakes and marshes freezes right through to the middle, thick and solid.
Hexagrams
In the table of the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar (recorded in the New Book of Tang), the three pentads of Major Cold belong to three hexagrams:
- first pentad46 Sheng (Rising)Duke
- second pentad19 Lin (Approach)Sovereign
- third pentad62 Xiaoguo (Small Excess)Marquis
The second, Lin (Approach), is one of the twelve sovereign hexagrams (十二辟卦), which trace the waxing and waning of yin and yang through the year. It stands for the twelfth month of the traditional calendar: two yang lines below, as yang grows.
Separately, the twenty-four lines of Kan, Zhen, Li and Dui govern the twenty-four solar terms in turn; Major Cold belongs to Kan, six in the third place.
The hexagram calendar marks the season. It says nothing about fortune and has no bearing on a hexagram you cast. See sources and method.