Start of Autumn (Liqiu) 立秋
The solar term
The Start of Autumn, though it is often still very hot for weeks afterward (the “autumn tiger”); real coolness comes after the End of Heat and White Dew. According to the Book of Rites, on this day the emperor went to the western outskirts to welcome the autumn.
| Year | Start of Autumn |
|---|---|
| 2026 | August 7 |
| 2027 | August 8 |
| 2028 | August 7 |
| 2029 | August 7 |
| 2030 | August 7 |
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:
Cool winds arrive 涼風至from August 8
Cool winds begin to blow.
White dew falls 白露降from August 13
Dew begins to form in the early morning.
Autumn cicadas sing 寒蟬鳴from August 18
The autumn cicadas, which sing only at this time of year, begin their song.
Hexagrams
In the table of the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar (recorded in the New Book of Tang), the three pentads of Start of Autumn belong to three hexagrams:
- first pentad32 Heng (Endurance)Marquis
- second pentad60 Jie (Limitation)Grandee
- third pentad13 Tongren (Fellowship)Minister
Separately, the twenty-four lines of Kan, Zhen, Li and Dui govern the twenty-four solar terms in turn; Start of Autumn belongs to Li, nine in the fourth 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.