Solar term

(Twenty-four) solar terms
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese (二十四)節氣
Simplified Chinese (二十四)节气
Korean name
Hangul (이십사)절기
Hanja (二十四)節氣
Japanese name
Kanji (二十四)節気
Hiragana (にじゅうし)せっき

A solar term is any of 24 points in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon.[1] The points are spaced 15° apart along the ecliptic[2] and are used by lunisolar calendars to stay synchronized with the seasons, which is crucial for agrarian societies. The solar terms are also used to calculate intercalary months in East Asian calendars;[3] which month is repeated depends on the position of the sun at the time.

Because the Sun's speed along the ecliptic varies depending on the Earth-Sun distance, the number of days that it takes the Sun to travel between each pair of solar terms varies slightly throughout the year. Each solar term is divided into three pentads (候 hòu) (ja), so there are 72 pentads in a year. Each pentad consists of five, rarely six, days, and are mostly named after phenological (biological or botanical) phenomena corresponding to the pentad.

Solar terms originated in China and spread to other parts of East Asia. Although each term was named based on the seasonal changes of climate in North China Plain, peoples living in the different climates still use it with no changes.[4] This is exhibited by the fact that traditional Chinese, Hanja, and Kanji characters for most of the solar terms are identical.

On December 1, 2016, 24 Solar Terms were listed as UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage.[5]

List of solar terms

Sun's
ecliptical
longitude		 Chinese
name [6]		 Korean name
[7]		 Japanese
name		 Gregorian
Date [8]
(± 1 day)		 Reference for
Month Intercalating		 Remark[9][10]
315° 立春
lìchūn		 立春 (입춘/립춘)
ipchun/ripchun		 立春
risshun		 Feb 4 1st month initial spring begins
330° 雨水
yǔshuǐ[11]		 雨水 (우수)
usu		 雨水
usui		 Feb 19 1st month midpoint more rain than snow
345° 驚蟄 (惊蛰)
jīngzhé[12]		 驚蟄 (경칩)
gyeongchip		 啓蟄
keichitsu		 Mar 6 2nd month initial hibernating insects awaken
0° 春分
chūnfēn		 春分 (춘분)
chunbun		 春分
shunbun		 Mar 21 2nd month midpoint spring center (equinox)
15° 清明
qīngmíng[13]		 淸明 (청명)
cheongmyeong		 清明
seimei		 Apr 5 3rd month initial clear and bright
30° 穀雨 (谷雨)
gǔyǔ[14]		 穀雨 (곡우)
gogu		 穀雨
kokuu		 Apr 20 3rd month midpoint wheat rain
45° 立夏
lìxià		 立夏 (입하/립하)
ipha/ripha		 立夏
rikka		 May 6 4th month initial summer begins
60° 小滿 (小满)
xiǎomǎn		 小滿 (소만)
soman		 小満
shōman		 May 21 4th month midpoint creatures plentish
75° 芒種 (芒种)
mángzhòng		 芒種 (망종)
mangjong		 芒種
bōshu		 Jun 6 5th month initial seeding millet
90° 夏至
xiàzhì		 夏至 (하지)
haji		 夏至
geshi		 Jun 21 5th month midpoint summer maximum (solstice)
105° 小暑
xiǎoshǔ		 小暑 (소서)
soseo		 小暑
shōsho		 Jul 7 6th month initial a bit sweltering
120° 大暑
dàshǔ		 大暑 (대서)
daeseo		 大暑
taisho		 Jul 23 6th month midpoint most sweltering
135° 立秋
lìqiū		 立秋 (입추/립추)
ipchu/ripchu		 立秋
risshū		 Aug 8 7th month initial autumn begins
150° 處暑 (处暑)
chǔshǔ		 處暑 (처서)
cheoseo		 処暑
shosho		 Aug 23 7th month midpoint heat withdraws
165° 白露
báilù		 白露 (백로)
baekno/baekro		 白露
hakuro		 Sep 8 8th month initial dews
180° 秋分
qiūfēn		 秋分 (추분)
chubun		 秋分
shūbun		 Sep 23 8th month midpoint autumn center (equinox)
195° 寒露
hánlù		 寒露 (한로)
hanlo		 寒露
kanro		 Oct 8 9th month initial cold dews
210° 霜降
shuāngjiàng		 霜降 (상강)
sanggang		 霜降
sōkō		 Oct 23 9th month midpoint frost
225° 立冬
lìdōng		 立冬 (입동/립동)
ipdong/ripdong		 立冬
rittō		 Nov 7 10th month initial winter begins
240° 小雪
xiǎoxuě		 小雪 (소설)
soseol		 小雪
shōsetsu		 Nov 22 10th month midpoint snows a bit
255° 大雪
dàxuě		 大雪 (대설)
daeseol		 大雪
taisetsu		 Dec 7 11th month initial snows a lot
270° 冬至
dōngzhì		 冬至 (동지)
dongji		 冬至
tōji		 Dec 22 11th month midpoint winter maximum (solstice)
285° 小寒
xiǎohán		 小寒 (소한)
sohan		 小寒
shōkan		 Jan 6 12th month initial a bit frigid
300° 大寒
dàhán		 大寒 (대한)
daehan		 大寒
daikan		 Jan 20 12th month midpoint most frigid

The "Song of Solar Terms" (Chinese: 節氣歌; pinyin: jiéqìgē) is used to ease the memorization of jiéqì:

Regional note

In Japan, the term Setsubun (節分) originally referred to the eves of Risshun (立春, 315°, the beginning of Spring) Rikka (立夏, 45°, the beginning of Summer), Risshū (立秋, 135°, the beginning of Autumn), and Rittō (立冬, 225°, the beginning of Winter), but currently mostly refers to the day before Risshun. The name of each solar term also refers to the period of time between that day and the next solar term, or 1/24th of a year.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "24 Chinese Feasts (Jiéqì, 节气), equivalent to the 24 Chinese Solar Terms". Chinese calendar. asia-home.com.
  2. ↑ Until 1644(Chinese Empire and its tributary states) or 1844(Japan) a period of time of the solar year itself had been equally divided instead of the spatial zodiac.
  3. ↑ When a lunar month's end does not reach a midpoint of the solar terms, it is regarded as the last month's intercalary one instead of the true "next" month. It is called 歳中閏月法 lit."midpoint intercalating system".
  4. ↑ なぜずれる？　二十四節気と季節感 (Why off-point? -solar terms and our real feeling of the seasons) An example in Japan. It compares the climate of Taiyuan with that of Tokyo and Kyoto. In maritime Japanese islands difference of the seasonal gap length is the main problem. In subtropical or tropical regions including southern china climate difference is more serious.
  5. ↑ "An intro to China's 24 Solar Terms". Global Times. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  6. ↑ Simplified Chinese characters are shown in parentheses if they differ from the Traditional Chinese characters.
  7. ↑ Hangul are shown in parentheses. For Hangul and romanisation, where the pronunciation differs between South Korea and North Korea, the South Korean pronunciation is given first before the slash, followed by the North Korean pronunciation.
  8. ↑ Date can vary within a ±1 day range.
  9. ↑ literal meaning based on the climate of North China
  10. ↑ "24 solar terms中国24节气中英文对照 Flashcards | Quizlet". quizlet.com. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  11. ↑ the Yushi and Jingzhe have been exchanged by Liu Xin in Han dynasty.
  12. ↑ the Jingzhe and Yushi have been exchanged by Liu Xin in Han dynasty.
  13. ↑ the Qingmin and Guyu have been exchanged by Liu Xin in Han dynasty.
  14. ↑ the Guyu and Qingmin have been exchanged by Liu Xin in Han dynasty.
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