Twenty-four Solar Terms In China

The twenty-four solar terms are the specific seasons in the calendar that express changes in natural rhythms and establish “December”. One year old and four o’clock, three months each for spring, summer, autumn and winter, there are two solar terms each month, each of which has its own unique meaning. The twenty-four solar terms accurately reflect the changes in natural rhythms and play an extremely important role in people’s daily life. It is not only a seasonal system that guides agricultural production, but also a folk custom system that contains rich folk customs. The twenty-four solar terms contain a long cultural connotation and historical accumulation, and are an important part of the long history and culture of the Chinese nation.
“Twenty-four solar terms” is a product of ancient farming civilization. It is a knowledge system formed by ancient ancestors adapting to the farming season, observing the movement of celestial bodies, and recognizing the changing laws of seasons, climate, phenology, etc. in one year. The 24 solar terms were originally formulated based on the movement of the stars. The Big Dipper cyclically rotates, and the handle of the bucket rotates clockwise for a cycle, which is called one “sui” (photographing). The current “24 solar terms” are based on the position of the sun on the ecliptic, that is, the annual trajectory of the sun is divided into 24 equal parts, each 15° is an equal part, and every 1 equal part is a solar term, starting from the beginning of spring. , and finally the big cold.

After historical development, the lunar calendar has absorbed the solar term components of the stem and branch calendars as a supplement to the calendar, and adjusted it through the “intercalation method” to make it conform to the return year, forming a yin and yang calendar, and the “twenty-four solar terms” has become an important part of the lunar calendar. . In the international meteorological circle, the twenty-four solar terms are known as “China’s fifth greatest invention”. On November 30, 2016, the twenty-four solar terms were officially included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Handover Time

Spring

Li Chun立春: Dou refers to Fa: the bucket refers to the gen; the method of counting the longitude of the sun’s yellow: the longitude of the sun’s yellow is 315 degrees. The Gregorian calendar is February 3-5. Li Chun is the beginning of the yin month of the dry branch calendar.
Yu Shui雨水: Dou refers to Yin; the sun’s yellow longitude is 330°. The Gregorian calendar is February 18-20.
Jing Zhe惊蛰: fighting nails; the sun’s ecliptic longitude is 345°. The Gregorian calendar is March 05-07. Jingzhe is the beginning of the Ganzhi calendar.
Chun Fen春分: Dou refers to Mao; Sun’s ecliptic longitude is 0°. The Gregorian calendar is March 20-22.
Qing Ming清明: Dou refers to Fa: bucket finger B; standard shadow measurement method: 105 days after the winter solstice; ecliptic longitude method: the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 15°. The Gregorian calendar is April 04-06. Qingming is the beginning of the dry and branch calendar.
Gu Yu谷雨: Dou refers to Chen; Sun’s ecliptic longitude is 30°. The Gregorian calendar is April 19-21.

Summer

Li Xia立夏: Dou refers to Xun; the sun’s yellow longitude is 45°. The Gregorian calendar is May 05-07. Lixia is the beginning of the dry and branch calendar.
Xiao Man小满: Dou refers to Si; the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 60°. The Gregorian calendar is May 20-22.
Mang Zhong芒种: Dou refers to Bing; Sun’s ecliptic longitude is 75°. The Gregorian calendar is June 05-07. The awn seed is the beginning of the noon month of the Ganzhi calendar.
Xia Zhi夏至: Dou refers to Wu; the sun’s ecliptic longitude is 90°. The Gregorian calendar is June 21-22.
Xiao Shu小暑: Dou refers to Ding; Sun’s Yellow Meridian is 105°. The Gregorian calendar is July 06-08. Xiaoshu is the beginning of the dry and supportive calendar.
Da Shu大暑: Dou refers to Wei; Sun’s ecliptic longitude is 120°. The Gregorian calendar is July 22-24.

Autumn

Li Qiu立秋: Dou refers to Kun; the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 135°. The Gregorian calendar is August 07-09. The beginning of autumn is the beginning of the lunar calendar.
Chu Shu处暑: Dou refers to Shen; the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 150°. The Gregorian calendar is August 22-24.
Bai Lu白露: Dou refers to Geng; the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 165°. The Gregorian calendar is September 07-09. Bailu is the beginning of the You month of the Ganzhi calendar.
Qiu Fen秋分: Dou refers to You; Sun’s ecliptic longitude is 180°. The Gregorian calendar is September 22-24.
Han Lu寒露: Dou refers to Xin; Sun’s Yellow Longitude is 195°. The Gregorian calendar is October 08-09. Cold dew is the beginning of the lunar calendar.
Shuang Jiang霜降: Dou refers to Xu; Sun’s ecliptic longitude is 210°. The Gregorian calendar is October 23-24.

Winter

Li Dong立冬: Dou refers to Gan; Sun’s ecliptic longitude is 225°. The Gregorian calendar is November 7-8. Lidong is the beginning of the Ganzhi calendar.
Xiao Xue小雪: Dou refers to Hai; the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 240°. The Gregorian calendar is November 22-23. [twenty three] Da Xue大雪: Dou refers to Ren; the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 255°. The Gregorian calendar is December 6-8. Heavy snow is the beginning of the sub-month of the Ganzhi calendar.
Dong Zhi冬至: Dou refers to Zi; the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 270°. The Gregorian calendar is December 21-23.
Xiao Han小寒: Dou refers to Gui; the Yellow Meridian of the Sun is 285°. The Gregorian calendar is January 5-7. Xiaohan is the beginning of the ugly month of the Ganzhi calendar.
Da Han大寒: Dou refers to Chou; the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 300°. The Gregorian calendar is January 20-21.

Solar Term Meaning

Li Chun立春
Li Chun立春 is one of the “four standings”, which reflects the change of winter and spring seasons. Spring produces summer, and autumn harvests and winter hides. Li Chun marks that the winter when everything is closed and hidden has passed, and it begins to enter the spring when the wind and the sun are warm and all things grow.
Yu Shui雨水
Like the solar terms of Gu Yu, Xiao Man, Xiao Xue, Da Xue, etc., Yu Shui is a solar term that reflects the phenomenon of precipitation, and it is the reflection of the ancient farming culture on the seasons. The Yu Shui solar term marks the beginning of rainfall, and proper rainfall is very important for the growth of crops. Entering the Yu Shui solar term, the cold and cold in the northern part of China are still unfinished, some places are still snowing, and there is no spring breath yet; most places in the southern part are full of spring, a scene of early spring.
Jing Zhe惊蛰
Jing Zhe means that the weather is getting warmer, the spring thunder is beginning to sound, and the insects that are hibernating in the underground are awakened. When it comes to Jing Zhe, the yang qi rises, the temperature warms up, the spring thunder strikes, the rain increases, and everything is full of vitality. “Jing Zhe” marks the beginning of the mid-spring month. As the solar term with the fastest temperature rise in the whole year, the average temperature in most parts of northern China has risen above 0°C. In the south along the Yangtze River, the temperature is above 8 °C, while the temperature in the southwest and southern China has reached 10 to 15 °C.
Chun Fen春分
Chun Fen is of great significance in astronomy. The northern and southern hemispheres are equally divided into day and night. Since this day, the direct position of the sun has continued to move from the equator to the northern hemisphere, and the days in the northern hemisphere have become longer than nights. The vernal equinox also has obvious characteristics in terms of climate, when the weather is warm, rainy and sunny.
Qing Ming清明
Qing Ming means clear air. It is a solar term that reflects the phenological changes in nature. In this season, the sun is shining, the grass and trees are sprouting, the air is clear and the scenery is bright, everything is visible, and the nature is full of vitality. At Qing Ming, the climate in southern China has become cool and warm, and the earth is showing signs of spring and bright scenery; in the northern region, the snow has also started to break, and it is gradually entering a sunny spring.
Gu Yu谷雨
Gu Yu, is the last solar term of spring. Gu Yu means “rain gives birth to a hundred grains”. At this time, the precipitation increases significantly. The first seedlings in the fields and the new crops are most in need of the moisturizing of rain. With adequate and timely rainfall, cereal crops can thrive.
Li Xia立夏
Li Xia, the first solar term in summer, signifies the official start of the midsummer season. Dou refers to the southeast, and the dimension is Li Xia. Everything has grown up here, hence the name Li Xia. Li Xia, saying goodbye to spring, is the beginning of summer. It marks the gradual warming, the coming of hot summer, and the increase of thunderstorms, which is an important solar term for crops to enter the peak season.
Xiao Man小满
Xiao Man is the second solar term in summer. The Xiao Man solar term means that it has entered the rainy season with heavy precipitation, and the rain starts to increase, and there will often be continuous and large-scale heavy precipitation. Like Rain, Grain Rain, Light Snow, Heavy Snow, etc., Xiao Man is a solar term that directly reflects precipitation. Xiao Man reflects the climatic characteristics of heavy rainfall: “Xiao Man, the river is filling up”. Another explanation is that the grains of summer crops such as northern wheat have begun to fill, but Xiao Man has not been fully filled.
Mang Zhong芒种
The Mang Zhong solar term, as the dividing point of the timing of planting crops, is a busy solar term for sowing, and is also called “busy planting” by the people. After this solar term, the survival rate of crops is getting lower and lower. This is what the farmer saying “Mang Zhong is busy, busy planting”. This season is when rice is raised in the south and wheat is harvested in the north; people in the south are busy planting and sowing, and people in the north are busy harvesting wheat.
Xia Zhi夏至
Xia Zhi is the most northerly day of the year, the extreme northerly travel of the sun. Xia Zhi is the turning point of the sun. After this day, it will take a “turn back”, the point of direct sunlight will start to move south from the Tropic of Cancer, and the days in the northern hemisphere will shorten day by day. After the Xia Zhi day, the altitude angle of the sun at noon also begins to decrease day by day in the area to the north of the Tropic of Cancer and its north.
Xiao Shu小暑
Xiao Shu, the fifth solar term in summer, signifies the official start of midsummer. Shu means hot, Xiao Shu is a little hot, not very hot. It means that the weather is starting to be hot, but it is not yet the hottest. Xiao Shu began to enter the Futian, and the weather was fickle. Many places in China have entered the season with the most thunderstorms since Xiao Shu. The monsoon climate is the main feature of China’s climate. In summer, affected by the warm and humid air from the ocean, many parts of China are hot, humid and rainy. Although this season is sunny, hot, humid and rainy, for crops, the rain and heat during the same period are conducive to growth.
Da Shu大暑
The monsoon climate is the main feature of China’s climate. In summer, affected by the warm and humid air flow from the ocean, many parts of southern China are hot, humid and rainy. Every year in late July, the subtropical monsoon rain belt moves to North China-Northeast China in northern China. From late July to early August (approximately from Da Shu to Li Qiu) is the rainy season in northern China, such as North China and Northeast China; while the Northwest region is the arid region with the least annual precipitation due to its deep inland location and far distance from the ocean.
Li Qiu立秋
Li Qiu, said that it has entered the autumn since then. It is a node where yang qi gradually shrinks, yin qi gradually grows, and gradually changes from yang to yin. Li Qiu also means that precipitation, humidity, etc. are at a turning point in the year, tending to decline or decrease; in nature, everything begins to grow from lush growth to depression and maturity. ”
Li Qiu does not mean that the hot weather is over. Li Qiu is still in the hot period, and the summer has not yet come out. The second solar term in autumn (the end of summer) is the summer, and the weather is still very hot during the early autumn. The so-called “heat is in the three volts”, and there is a saying that “after the autumn one volt”, there will be at least “one volt” of extremely hot weather after Li Qiu. According to the calculation method of “San Fu”, “Li Qiu” is usually still in the middle period on this day, that is to say, the heat is not over, and the real coolness usually comes after the Bai Lu solar term.
Chu Shu处暑
Chu Shu, which means “coming out of the heat”, means leaving in the heat. By the time of Chu Shu, the direct sunlight continued to move southward, the solar radiation weakened, the subtropical high also retreated southward, the temperature gradually dropped, and the summer heat gradually disappeared. Chu Shu means the end of the sweltering heat, which is still hot, but on a downward trend. The significance of Chu Shu in daily life is to remind people that the summer heat gradually subsides, the weather transitions from hot to cool, and attention should be paid to preventing “autumn dryness”.
Bai Lu白露
Bai Lu is an important solar term reflecting the growth of cold air in nature. As the weather gradually turns cooler, the sun is still hot during the day, but as soon as the sun sets, the temperature drops quickly, and the temperature difference between day and night widens. In Bai Lu, the summer monsoon is gradually replaced by the winter monsoon, and the cold air turns from defense to attack. In addition, the direct sunlight point moves to the south, the sunshine time in the northern hemisphere is shortened, the light intensity is weakened, and the ground radiation and heat dissipation are fast, so the temperature decline rate is gradually reduced. accelerate. The residual heat of early autumn gradually dissipated, and day and night alternated between hot and cold, and cold was born and dew was condensed. The ancients used the four seasons to match the five elements. Autumn belongs to gold, gold and white, and white is used to describe autumn dew, hence the name “Bai Lu”.
Qiu Fen秋分
Qiu Fen, “divided” means “half” and “half”. The sun in Qiu Fen almost directly hits the earth’s equator on this day, and day and night are of equal length in all parts of the world. After Qiu Fen, the direct sun point continues to move from the equator to the southern hemisphere, and the days in the northern hemisphere become shorter and the nights are longer, that is, the days begin to be shorter than the nights within a day; the opposite is true in the southern hemisphere. After Qiu Fen, the position of direct sunlight moved to the southern hemisphere. The northern hemisphere received less and less solar radiation, but more heat was lost from the ground, and the temperature dropped significantly faster. When Qiu Fen arrives, the summer heat has subsided, the weather turns cooler, and the summer and the cool are separated.
Han Lu寒露
Han Lu is a solar term that reflects the characteristics of climate change. Entering Han Lu, the cold air moves south from time to time, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and the autumn dryness is obvious. The ancients regarded Han Lu as a sign of the growing cold. After Han Lu, the cold air in the north has a certain force, most of China is under the control of cold high pressure, and the rainy season ends.
From the perspective of climate characteristics, in the Han Lu season, the autumn in the south is getting stronger, the air is cool and the wind is cool, and the rain is less and dry; the vast areas in the north have entered or are about to enter winter from late autumn. In general, the Han Lu solar term is a period of time when the temperature drops relatively quickly in the year, and most of the northern regions will start the season transition of autumn and winter.
Shuang Jiang霜降
The Shuang Jiang solar term reflects the climatic characteristics of sudden drop in temperature, large temperature difference between day and night, and obvious autumn dryness. The characteristics of Shuang Jiang solar terms are that the weather is colder in the morning and evening, hotter at noon, and the temperature difference between day and night is large. On a national average, Shuang Jiang has the largest temperature difference between day and night of the year. Since “frost” is a manifestation of cold weather and a large temperature difference between day and night, it is named after “Shuang Jiang” to express the season of “sudden drop in temperature and large temperature difference between day and night”. After the solar term of Shuang Jiang, the late autumn scene is obvious, and the cold air goes south more and more frequently.
Li Dong立冬
Li Dong is a seasonal solar term, indicating that winter has entered since then. The establishment is the beginning of the establishment; the winter is the end, and all things are collected. Li Dong means that anger begins to accumulate, and all things enter a state of recuperation and collection. The climate has also gradually changed from a dry and rainy autumn to a rainy and cold winter. After Li Dong, the sunshine hours will continue to shorten, and the height of the sun will continue to decrease at noon. In winter, northeasterly winds and northerly winds generally prevail, and the temperature gradually drops. Since the heat stored on the surface still has a certain amount of energy, it is generally not very cold in early winter.
During the period of Meng Dong (Li Dong to Xiao Xue), when the weather was sunny and windless, the weather of “Xiaoyangchun”, which was sunny, warm and comfortable, often appeared. There is a folk saying “Xiaoyangchun in October”. In some parts of the south, the early winter (Mengdong) is generally not very cold, but as time goes by, the cold air frequently moves south, and the temperature gradually drops. In the northern region, it is very cold from before winter to spring. The climate changes in several solar terms in winter are not obvious. Snow is the main feature of northern winter.
Xiao Xue小雪
Xiao Xue is the second solar term in winter. Climate elements include light, temperature, and precipitation. Xiao Xue is a solar term that reflects precipitation and temperature. It is a solar term with a high frequency of cold waves and strong cold air activities. The arrival of the Xiao Xue solar term means that the weather will get colder and precipitation will increase. “Snow” is the product of water vapor encountering cold, which represents coldness and precipitation. The climate in this season is not deep and the precipitation is not heavy, so “Xiao Xue” is used to describe the climate characteristics of this season. “Xiao Xue” is a metaphor, reflecting the active cold current and increasing precipitation during this solar term, not a small amount of snow during this solar term.
Da Xue大雪
The Da Xue solar term is the beginning of the sub-month of the dry and branch calendar, marking the official start of the mid-winter season. The Da Xue solar term is a climatic concept. The climatic elements mainly include light, temperature and precipitation. It represents the climate characteristics during the Da Xue solar term, that is, the temperature and the precipitation. The Da Xue solar term is characterized by a significant drop in temperature and an increase in precipitation. The Da Xue solar term, like the Xiaoxue solar term, is a solar term that reflects the changing trend of temperature and precipitation. It is the reflection of the ancient farming culture on the season.
Dong Zhi冬至
Dong Zhi is a solar term that reflects the movement of direct sunlight. Dong Zhi is the extreme point where the sun directly hits the south. Dong Zhi’s sunlight directly hits the Tropic of Cancer on this day. The longest day of the night. Dong Zhi is also the turning point of the northward return of the direct sun point. After this day, it will take a “turn back”. The direct sun point starts to move northward from the Tropic of Cancer (23°26′S), and the day in the northern hemisphere (China is located in the northern hemisphere) will increase day by day. . Dong Zhi has both natural and humanistic connotations. It is not only an important solar term in the twenty-four solar terms, but also a traditional Chinese folk festival. In southern China, there is the custom of Dong Zhi worshipping ancestors and feasting. In northern China, it is customary to eat dumplings on Dong Zhi Day every year.
Xiao Han小寒
Xiao Han, it means the weather is cold but not at its peak yet. After the winter solstice, cold air frequently moves south, and the temperature continues to drop, and the temperature drops to the lowest point during the year of Xiao Han and Da Han. There is a folk proverb: “Xiao Han is always on two or three nines, and the sky is cold to the point of shivering”, which explains the coldness of Xiao Han’s solar term. During Xiao Han season, the direct sunlight is still in the southern hemisphere, and the heat in the northern hemisphere is still dissipating. The heat absorbed during the day is still less than the heat released at night, so the temperature in the northern hemisphere continues to drop.
Da Han大寒
Like Xiao Han, Da Han is also a solar term that expresses the degree of cold weather. Da Han means the weather is extremely cold. According to China’s long-term meteorological records, the Da Han solar term in the northern region is not as cold as Xiao Han; but for most of the southern regions, the Da Han solar term is the coldest. After Da Han, the beginning of spring comes, and the weather is getting warmer. So far, the earth has revolved around the sun once, completing a cycle.