Solar Term
Chinese months follow the phases of the moon. As a result, they do not accurately follow the seasons of the solar year. To assist farmers to decide when to plant or harvest crops, the drafters of the calendar put in 24 seasonal markers, which follow the solar year, and are called jiéqì (節氣).
The term Jiéqì is usually translated as "Solar Terms" (lit. Nodes of Weather). Each node is the instant when the sun reaches one of 24 equally spaced points along the ecliptic, including the solstices and equinoxes, positioned at 15 degree intervals. Because the calculation is solar-based, these jiéqì fall around the same date every year in solar calendars (for example, the Gregorian Calendar), but do not form any obvious pattern in the Chinese calendar. The dates below are approximate and may vary slightly from year to year due to the intercalary rules (i.e. system of leap years) of the Gregorian calendar. Jiéqì are published each year in farmers' almanacs. Chinese New Year is usually the new moon closest to lìchūn.
In the table below, these measures are given in the standard astronomical convention of ecliptic longitude, zero degrees being positioned at the vernal equinox point. Each calendar month under the heading "M" contains the designated jiéqì called a principal term, which is an entry into a sign of the zodiac, also known as a cusp. Here term has the archaic meaning of a limit, not a duration. In Chinese astronomy, seasons are centered on the solstices and equinoxes, whereas in the standard Western definition, they begin at the solstices and equinoxes. Thus the term Beginning of Spring and the related Spring Festival fall in February, when it is still very chilly in temperate latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
| Ecliptic long. |
Chinese name | Gregorian date (approx.) |
Usual translation |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 315° | 立春 lìchūn | February 4 | start of spring | spring starts here according to the Chinese definition of a season |
| 330° | 雨水 yǔshuǐ | February 19 | rain water | starting at this point, the temperature makes rain more likely than snow |
| 345° | 驚蟄 jīngzhé (啓蟄 qǐzhé) |
March 5 | awakening of insects | when hibernating insects awaken |
| 0° | 春分 chūnfēn | March 20 | vernal equinox | lit. the central divide of spring (referring to the Chinese seasonal definition) |
| 15° | 清明 qīngmíng | April 5 | clear and bright | a Chinese festival where, traditionally, ancestral graves are tended |
| 30° | 穀雨 gǔyǔ or gǔyù | April 20 | grain rains | rain helps grain grow |
| 45° | 立夏 lìxià | May 6 | start of summer | refers to the Chinese seasonal definition |
| 60° | 小滿 xiǎomǎn | May 21 | grain full | grains are plump |
| 75° | 芒種 mángzhòng or mángzhǒng | June 6 | grain in ear | lit. awns (beard of grain) grow |
| 90° | 夏至 xiàzhì | June 21 | summer solstice | lit. summer extreme (of sun's height) |
| 105° | 小暑 xiǎoshǔ | July 7 | minor heat | when heat starts to get unbearable |
| 120° | 大暑 dàshǔ | July 23 | major heat | the hottest time of the year |
| 135° | 立秋 lìqiū | August 7 | start of autumn | uses the Chinese seasonal definition |
| 150° | 處暑 chùshǔ | August 23 | limit of heat | lit. dwell in heat |
| 165° | 白露 báilù | September 8 | white dew | condensed moisture makes dew white; a sign of autumn |
| 180° | 秋分 qiūfēn | September 23 | autumnal equinox | lit. central divide of autumn (refers to the Chinese seasonal definition) |
| 195° | 寒露 hánlù | October 8 | cold dew | dew starts turning into frost |
| 210° | 霜降 shuāngjiàng | October 23 | descent of frost | appearance of frost and descent of temperature |
| 225° | 立冬 lìdōng | November 7 | start of winter | refers to the Chinese seasonal definition |
| 240° | 小雪 xiǎoxuě | November 22 | minor snow | snow starts falling |
| 255° | 大雪 dàxuě | December 7 | major snow | season of snowstorms in full swing |
| 270° | 冬至 dōngzhì | December 22 | winter solstice | lit. winter extreme (of sun's height) |
| 285° | 小寒 xiǎohán | January 6 | minor cold | cold starts to become unbearable |
| 300° | 大寒 dàhán | January 20 | major cold | coldest time of year |
Note: The third jiéqì was originally called 啓蟄 (qǐzhé) but renamed to 驚蟄 (jīngzhé) in the era of the Emperor Jing of Han (漢景帝) to avoid writing his given name 啓 (also written as 啟, a variant of 啓).
Read more about this topic: Chinese Calendar
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