The Chinese Solar Calendar

The Chinese solar calendar is less familiar than the Chinese lunar calendar, which is the one that gets all the press during Chinese New Year celebrations. But the solar calendar is more useful because it divides the year into 24 mini-seasons with names descriptive of what’s going on in the natural world.

These mini-seasons, each of which lasts for 15 or 16 days, are called solar terms, or more poetically, “joints and breaths.” The year begins with the solar term called “Spring Begins,” which occurs halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox

These 24 solar terms helped ancient Chinese farmers remember their way through the agricultural year, and they could easily be adapted to help modern naturalists remember their way through the natural year.

Longitude	Chinese	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	Rough Date	Usual translation
315°	立春 Li Chun	立春 risshun	입춘 (立春) ipchun	Lap xuan	Feb 04	start of spring
330°	雨水 Yu Shui	雨水 usui	우수 (雨水) usu	Vu thuy	Feb 19	rain water
345°	驚蟄 (惊蛰) Iing Zhe	啓蟄 keichitsu	경칩 (驚蟄) gyeongchip	Kinh trap	Mar 05	awakening of hibernating insects
0°	春分 Chun Fen	春分 shunbun	춘분 (春分) chunbun	Xuan phan	Mar 21	vernal equinox
15°	清明 Qing Ming	清明 seimei	청명 (清明) cheongmyeong	Thanh minh	Apr 05	clear and bright / time for tending graves
30°	穀雨 (谷雨) Gu Yu	穀雨 kokuu	곡우 (穀雨) gogu	Coc vu	Apr 20	grain rain
45°	立夏 Li Xia	立夏 rikka	입하 (立夏) ipha	Lap ha	May 06	start of summer
60°	小滿 (小满) Xiao Man	小満 shoman	소만 (小滿) soman	Tieu man	May 21	grain full
75°	芒種 (芒种) Mang Zhong	芒種 boshu	망종 (芒種) mangjong	Mang chung	Jun 06	grain in ear
90°	夏至 Xia Zhi	夏至 geshi	하지 (夏至) haji	Ha chi	Jun 21	summer solstice
105°	小暑 Xiao Shu	小暑 shosho	소서 (小暑) soseo	Tieu thu	Jul 07	minor heat
120°	大暑 Da Shu	大暑 taisho	대서 (大暑) daeseo	Dai thu	Jul 23	major heat
135°	立秋 Li Qiu	立秋 risshu	입추 (立秋) ipchu	Lap thu	Aug 07	start of autumn
150°	處暑 (处暑) Chu Shu	処暑 shosho	처서 (處暑) cheoseo	Xu thu	Aug 23	limit of heat / dwell in heat
165°	白露 Bai Lu	白露 hakuro	백로 (白露) baekro	Bach lo	Sep 08	white dew
180°	秋分 Qiu Fen	秋分 shubun	추분 (秋分) chubun	Thu phan	Sep 23	autumnal equinox
195°	寒露 Han Li	寒露 kanro	한로 (寒露) hallo	Han lo	Oct 08	cold dew
210°	霜降 Shuang Jiang	霜降 soko	상강 (霜降) sang-gang	Suong giang	Oct 23	frost descent
225°	立冬 Li Dong	立冬 ritto	입동 (立冬) ipdong	Lap dong	Nov 07	start of winter
240°	小雪 Xiao Xue	小雪 shosetsu	소설 (小雪) soseol	Tieu tuyet	Nov 22	minor snow
255°	大雪 Da Xue	大雪 taisetsu	대설 (大雪) daeseol	Dai tuyet	Dec 07	major snow
270°	冬至 Dong Zhi	冬至 toji	동지 (冬至) dong-ji	Dong chi	Dec 22	winter solstice
285°	小寒 Xiao Han	小寒 shokan	소한 (小寒) sohan	Tieu han	Jan 06	minor cold
300°	大寒 Da Han	大寒 daikan	대한 (大寒) daehan	Dai han	Jan 20	major cold