Tung Shing, an almanac closely tied to the traditional Chinese calendar, is vital in many aspects of life, including marking suitable dates related to indigenous beliefs and guiding the selection of the most auspicious days for events like weddings.
In ancient China, a vertical pole and a horizontal ruler, aligned north and south on the ground, were used to determine thewinter solstice and the length of thetropical year by measuring the length of the shadow cast.
TheChinese calendar is alunisolar calendar created by or commonly used by theChinese people. While this description is generally accurate, it does not provide a definitive or complete answer. A total of 102 calendars have been officially recorded in classical historical texts.[1] In addition, many more calendars were created privately, with others being built by people who adaptedChinese cultural practices, such as theKoreans,Japanese,Vietnamese, and many others, over the course of a long history.
A Chinese calendar consists oftwelve months, each aligned with thephases of the moon, along with an intercalary month inserted as needed to keep the calendar in sync with theseasons. It also features twenty-foursolar terms, which track the position of the sun and are closely related toclimate patterns. Among these, thewinter solstice is the most significant reference point and must occur in the eleventh month of the year. Each month contains either twenty-nine or thirty days. Thesexagenary cycle for each day runs continuously over thousands of years and serves as a determining factor to pinpoint a specific day amidst the many variations in the calendar. In addition, there are many other cycles attached to the calendar that determine the appropriateness of particular days, guiding decisions on what is consideredauspicious or inauspicious for different types of activities.
The variety of calendars arises from deviations inalgorithms and assumptions about inputs. The Chinese calendar is location-sensitive, meaning that calculations based on different locations, such asBeijing andNanjing, can yield different results. This has even led to occasions where theMid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on different days betweenmainland China andHong Kong in 1978,[2] as some almanacs based on old imperial rule. The sun and moon do not move at a constant speed across the sky. While ancient Chinese astronomers were aware of this fact, it was simpler to create a calendar using average values. There was a series of struggles over this issue, and as measurement techniques improved over time, so did the precision of the algorithms. The driving force behind all these variations has been the pursuit of a more accurate description and prediction of natural phenomena.
The calendar during imperial times was regarded as sacred and mysterious. Rulers, with their mandate from Heaven, worked tirelessly to create an accurate calendar capable of predicting climate patterns and astronomical phenomena, which were crucial to all aspects of life, especiallyagriculture, fishing, and hunting. This, in turn, helped maintain their authority and secure an advantage over rivals. In imperial times, only the rulers had the authority to announce a calendar. An illegal calendar could be considered a serious offence, often punishable bycapital punishment.
Early calendars were also lunisolar, but they were less stable due to their reliance on direct observation. Over time, increasingly refined methods for predicting lunar and solar cycles were developed, eventually reaching maturity around 104 BC, when theTaichu Calendar (太初曆), namely the genesis calendar, was introduced during theHan dynasty. This calendar laid the foundation for subsequent calendars, with its principles being followed by calendar experts for over two thousand years. Over centuries, the calendar was refined through advancements in astronomy andhorology, with dynasties introducing variations to improve accuracy and meet cultural or political needs.
Improving accuracy has its downsides. The solar terms, namely solar positions, calculated based on the predicted location of the sun, make them far more irregular than a simple average model. In practice, solar terms do not need to be maximally precise because climate does not change overnight. The introduction of theleap second to the Chinese calendar is somewhat excessive, as it makes future predictions more challenging. This is particularly true since the leap second is typically announced six months in advance, which can complicate the determination of which day the new moon or solar terms fall on, especially when they occur close to midnight.
While modern China primarily adopts theGregorian calendar for official purposes, the traditional calendar remains culturally significant, influencing festivals and cultural practices, determining the timing ofChinese New Year with traditions like the twelve animals of theChinese zodiac still widely observed. Thewinter solstice serves as another New Year, a tradition inherited from ancient China. Beyond China, it has shaped other East Asian calendars, including theKorean,Vietnamese, and Japanese lunisolar systems, each adapting the same lunisolar principles while integrating local customs and terminology.
The sexagenary cycle, a repeating system ofHeavenly Stems andEarthly Branches, is used to mark years, months, and days. Before adopting their current names, the Heavenly Stems were known as the "Ten Suns" (十日),[3][4] having research that it is a remnant of an ancientsolar calendar.[5]
Epochs, or fixed starting points for year counting, have played an essential role in the Chinese calendar's structure. Some epochs are based on historical figures, such as the inauguration of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi), while others marked the rise of dynasties or significant political shifts. This system allowed for the numbering of years based on regnal eras, with the start of a ruler's reign often resetting the count.
The Chinese calendar also tracks time in smaller units, including months, days, double-hour, hour and quarter periods. These timekeeping methods have influenced broader fields of horology, with some principles, such as precise time subdivisions, still evident in modern scientific timekeeping. The continued use of the calendar today highlights its enduring cultural, historical, and scientific significance.
The name of calendar is inChinese:曆;pinyin:lì, and was represented in earlier character forms variants (歷, 厤), and ultimately derived from an ancient form (秝). The ancient form of the character consists of two stalks of rice plant (禾), arranged in parallel. This character represents the order in space and also the order in time.[6] As its meaning became complex, the modern dedicated character (曆) was created to represent the meaning of calendar.
Maintaining the correctness of calendars was an important task to maintain the authority of rulers, being perceived as a way to measure the ability of a ruler. For example, someone seen as a competent ruler would foresee the coming of seasons and prepare accordingly. This understanding was also relevant in predicting abnormalities of the Earth andcelestial bodies, such as lunar and solareclipses. The significant relationship between authority and timekeeping helps to explain why there are 102 calendars in Chinese history, trying to predict the correct courses of sun, moon and stars, and marking good time and bad time. Each calendar is named as＿＿曆 and recorded in a dedicated calendar section in history books of different eras. The last one in imperial era was時憲曆. A ruler would issue analmanac before the commencement of each year. There were private almanac issuers, usually illegal, when a ruler lost his control of some territories.
There are various Chinese terms for the calendar including:
Page of a Chinese calendar containing monthly information in the yearsDaoguang 14–16, corresponding to 1834–1836
Various modern Chinese calendar names resulted from the struggle between the introduction of Gregorian calendar by government and the preservation of customs by the public in the era ofRepublic of China.[7] The government wanted to abolish the Chinese calendar to force everyone to use the Gregorian calendar, and even abolished the Chinese New Year, but faced great opposition. The public needed the astronomical Chinese calendar to do things at a proper time, for example farming and fishing; also, a wide spectrum of festivals and customs observations have been based on the calendar. The government finally compromised and rebranded it as the agricultural calendar in 1947,[8] depreciating the calendar to merely agricultural use.
Some modern names of Chinese calendar and Gregorian calendar
Chinese calendar
Gregorian calendar
唐曆, 華曆, Chinese calendar
西洋曆, 洋曆, 西曆, Western calendar
舊曆, 老曆, 古曆, old calendar
新曆, new calendar
陰曆, yin calendar
陽曆, yang calendar
傳統曆, traditional calendar
農曆, 農民曆, agricultural calendar
夏曆, The first dynasty calendar
黄曆, 黄帝曆, Yellow Emperor calendar
公曆, public calendar, namely universal calendar or common calendar
國曆, national calendar
皇曆, Imperial calendar (obsoleted)
After the end of the imperial era, there are some almanacs based upon thealgorithm of the last Imperial calendar with longitude ofPeking. Such almanacs were under the name of "universal book"通書, or under Cantonese name通勝, transcribed asTung Shing. Later these almanacs moved to a new calculation based on the location ofPurple Mountain Observatory, with a longitude of 120°E.
Ancient China numbered years from an emperor's ascension to the throne or his declaration of a new era name. The first recorded reign title wasJiànyuán (建元), from 140 BCE; the last reign title wasXuāntǒng (宣統;宣统), from 1908 CE. The era system was abolished in 1912, after which the current orRepublican era was used.
An epoch is a point in time chosen as the origin of a particularcalendar era, thus serving as a reference point from which subsequent time or dates are measured. The use of epochs in Chinese calendar system allow for a chronological starting point from whence to begin point continuously numbering subsequent dates. Various epochs have been used. Similarly, nomenclature similar to that of the Christian era has occasionally been used:[9]
No reference date is universally accepted. The most popular is the Gregorian calendar (公曆;公历;gōnglì; 'common calendar').
During the 17th century, theJesuit missionaries tried to determine theepochal year of the Chinese calendar. In hisSinicae historiae decas prima (published inMunich in 1658),Martino Martini (1614–1661) dated theYellow Emperor's ascension at 2697 BCE and began the Chinese calendar with the reign ofFuxi (which, according to Martini, began in 2952 BCE).Philippe Couplet's 1686Chronological table of Chinese monarchs (Tabula chronologica monarchiae sinicae) gave the same date for the Yellow Emperor. The Jesuits' dates provoked interest in Europe, where they were used for comparison with Biblical chronology.[citation needed] Modern Chinese chronology has generally accepted Martini's dates, except that it usually places the reign of the Yellow Emperor at 2698 BCE and omits his predecessors Fuxi andShennong as "too legendary to include".[This quote needs a citation]
Publications began using the estimated birth date of theYellow Emperor as the first year of the Han calendar in 1903, with newspapers and magazines proposing different dates.Jiangsu province counted 1905 as the year 4396 (using a year 1 of 2491 BCE, and implying that 2025 CE is 4516), and the newspaperMing Pao (明報) reckoned 1905 as 4603 (using a year 1 of 2698 BCE, and implying that 2025 CE is 4723).[citation needed]Liu Shipei (劉師培, 1884–1919) created theYellow Emperor Calendar (黃帝紀元, 黃帝曆 or 軒轅紀年), with year 1 as the birth of the emperor (which he determined as 2711 BCE, implying that 2025 CE is 4736).[10] There is no evidence that this calendar was used before the 20th century.[11] Liu calculated that the 1900 international expedition sent by theEight-Nation Alliance to suppress theBoxer Rebellion entered Beijing in the 4611th year of the Yellow Emperor.
On 2 January 1912,Sun Yat-sen announced changes to the official calendar and era. 1 January wasHuángdì year 4809.11.14, assuming a year 1 of 2698 BCE, making 2025 CE year 4723. Manyoverseas Chinese communities likeSan Francisco's Chinatown adopted the change.[12]
The modern Chinese standard calendar uses the epoch of the Gregorian calendar, which is on 1 January of the year 1 CE.
The Chinese calendar system has a long history, which has traditionally been associated with specificdynastic periods. Various individual calendar types have been developed with different names. In terms of historical development, some of the calendar variations are associated with dynastic changes along a spectrum beginning with a prehistorical/mythological time to and through well attested historical dynastic periods. Many individuals have been associated with the development of the Chinese calendar, including researchers into underlying astronomy; and, furthermore, the development of instruments of observation are historically important. Influences from India, Islam, and Jesuits also became significant.
The traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar was developed between 771 BCE and 476 BCE, during theSpring and Autumn period of theEastern Zhou dynasty. Solar calendars were used before theZhou dynasty period, along with the basic sexagenary system.
One version of the solar calendar is the five-elements (or phases) calendar (五行曆;五行历;wǔxíng lì), which derives from theWu Xing. A 365-day year was divided into five phases of 72 days, with each phase preceded by anintercalary day associated with the claimed beginning of the following 72 day period of domination by the next Wu Xing element; thus, the five phases each begin with a governing-element day (行御), followed by a 72-day period characterized by the ruling element. Years began on ajiǎzǐ (甲子) day and a 72-day wood phase, followed by abǐngzǐ (丙子) day and a 72-day fire phase; awùzǐ (戊子) day and a 72-day earth phase; agēngzǐ (庚子) day and a 72-day metal phase, and arénzǐ (壬子) day followed by a water phase.[13] Each phase consisted of two three-week months, making each year ten months long. Other days were tracked using theYellow River Map (He Tu).
Another version is a four-quarters calendar (四時八節曆;四时八节历;sìshí bājié lì; 'four-season eight-solar-term calendar', or四分曆;四分历;sìfēn lì; 'quarters calendar'). The weeks were ten days long, with one month consisting of three weeks. A year had 12 months, with a ten-day weekintercalated in summer as needed to keep up with the tropical year. The 10Heavenly Stems and 12Earthly Branches were used to mark days.[14]
A solar calendar called theTung Shing, theYellow Calendar orImperial Calendar (both alluding toYellow Emperor) continued to see use as an almanac and agricultural guide throughout Chinese history.[16]
The firstlunisolar calendar was theZhou calendar (周曆;周历), introduced under theZhou dynasty (1046 BCE – 256 BCE). This calendar sets the beginning of the year at the day of the new moon before the winter solstice.
Several competinglunisolar calendars were introduced as Zhou devolved into the Warring States, especially by states fighting Zhou control during theWarring States period (perhaps 475 BCE – 221 BCE).From theWarring States period (ending in 221 BCE), six especially significant calendar systems are known to have begun to be developed. Later on, during their future course in history, the modern names for the ancient six calendars were also developed:Huangdi, Yin, Zhou, Xia, Zhuanxu, andLu.[17]
Modern historical knowledge and records are limited for the earlier calendars. These calendars are known as thesix ancient calendars (古六曆;古六历), or quarter-remainder calendars, (四分曆;四分历;sìfēnlì), since all calculate a year as365+1⁄4 days long. Months begin on the day of the new moon, and a year has 12 or 13 months. Intercalary months (a 13th month) are added to the end of the year.
The state ofJin issued theXia calendar (夏曆;夏历)[18] with a year beginning on the day of the new moon nearest theMarch equinox.
The state ofQin issued theZhuanxu calendar (顓頊曆;颛顼历), with a year beginning on the day of the new moon nearest thewinter solstice.TheQiang andDai calendars are modern versions of the Zhuanxu calendar, used by highland peoples.
TheSong state'sYin calendar (殷曆;殷历) began its year on the day of the new moon after the winter solstice.
AfterQin Shi Huang unified China under the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, theQin calendar (秦曆;秦历) was introduced. It followed most of the rules governing theZhuanxu calendar, but the month order was that of theXia calendar; the year began with month 10 and ended with month 9, analogous to a Gregorian calendar beginning in October and ending in September. The intercalary month, known asthe secondJiǔyuè (後九月;后九月), was placed at the end of the year. The Qin calendar was used going into the Han dynasty.
Emperor Wu of Hanr. 141 – 87 BCE introduced reforms in the seventh of the eleven named eras of his reign,Tàichū (太初; 'Grand Beginning'), 104 BCE – 101 BCE. HisTàichū calendar (太初曆;太初历; 'grand beginning calendar') defined a solar year as365+385⁄1539 days (365;06:00:14.035), and the lunisolar month had29+43⁄81 days (29;12:44:44.444). Since, the 19-year cycle used for the 7 additional months was taken as exact, and not as an approximation.
This calendar introduced the 24solar terms, dividing the year into 24 equal parts of 15° each. Solar terms were paired, with the 12 combined periods known asclimate terms. The first solar term of the period was known as a pre-climate (節氣;节气), and the second was a mid-climate (中氣;中气). Months were named for the mid-climate to which they were closest, and a month without a mid-climate was an intercalary month.[19]
The Taichu calendar established a framework for traditional calendars, with later calendars adding to the basic formula.
From 1645 to 1913 theShíxiàn orChongzhen calendar was developed. During the lateMing dynasty, the Chinese Emperor appointedXu Guangqi in 1629 to be the leader of theShixian calendar reform. Assisted by Jesuits, he translated Western astronomical works and introduced new concepts, such as those ofNicolaus Copernicus,Johannes Kepler,Galileo Galilei, andTycho Brahe; however, the new calendar was not released before the end of the dynasty.
In the earlyQing dynasty,Johann Adam Schall von Bell submitted the calendar which was edited by the lead ofXu Guangqi to theShunzhi Emperor.[24] The Qing government issued it as theShíxiàn (seasonal) calendar. In this calendar, thesolar terms are 15° each along theecliptic and it can be used as asolar calendar. However, the length of the climate term near theperihelion is less than 30 days and there may be two mid-climate terms. TheShíxiàn calendar changed the mid-climate-term rule to "decide the month in sequence, except the intercalary month."[25]
The present "traditional calendar" follows the Shíxiàn calendar, except:
The baseline is Chinese Standard Time, rather than Beijing local time.
Modern astronomical data, rather than mathematical calculations, is used.
Despite the Chinese calendar losing its place as the country's official calendar at the beginning of the 20th century,[26] its use has continued.
TheRepublic of China Calendar published by theBeiyang government of the Republic of China still listed the dates of the Chinese calendar in addition to the Gregorian calendar.
In 1929, theNationalist government tried to ban the traditional Chinese calendar. TheKuómín Calendar published by the government no longer listed the dates of the Chinese calendar. However, Chinese people were used to the traditional calendar, and many traditional customs were based on the Chinese calendar. The ban failed and was lifted in 1934.[27]
The latest Chinese calendar was "New Edition ofWànniánlì, revised edition", edited by Beijing Purple Mountain Observatory, People's Republic of China.[28]
Although modern-day China uses theGregorian calendar, the traditional Chinese calendar governs holidays, such as theChinese New Year andLantern Festival, in both China andoverseas Chinese communities. It also provides the traditional Chinese nomenclature of dates within a year which people use to select auspicious days forweddings, funerals, moving or starting a business.[30] The evening state-run news programXinwen Lianbo in thePeople's Republic of China continues to announce the months and dates in both the Gregorian and the traditional lunisolar calendar.
To optimize the Chinese calendar, astronomers have proposed a number of changes.Kao Ping-tse (高平子; 1888–1970), a Chinese astronomer who co-founded thePurple Mountain Observatory, proposed that month numbers be calculated before the new moon and solar terms to be rounded to the day. Since the intercalary month is determined by the first month without a mid-climate and the mid-climate time varies by time zone, countries that adopted the calendar but calculate with their own time could vary from the time in China.[31]
The Chinese calendar has been a development involving much observation and calculation of the apparent movements of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, as observed from Earth.
Many Chinese astronomers have contributed to the development of the Chinese calendar. Many were of the scholarly orshi class (Chinese:士;pinyin:shì), including writers of history, such asSima Qian.
Notable Chinese astronomers who have contributed to the development of the calendar includeGan De,Shi Shen, andZu Chongzhi
Early technological developments aiding in calendar development include the development of thegnomon. Later technological developments useful to the calendar system includenaming, numbering and mapping of the sky, the development of analog computational devices such as the armillary sphere and the water clock, and the establishment of observatories.
Early calendar systems, including the Chinese calendar, often were closely tied to natural phenomena.Phenology is the study of periodic events inbiological life cycles and how these are influenced byseasonal and interannual variations inclimate, as well ashabitat factors (such aselevation).[32] Theplum-rains season (梅雨), the rainy season in late spring and early summer, begins on the firstbǐng day afterMangzhong (芒種) and ends on the firstwèi day afterXiaoshu (小暑). TheThree Fu (三伏;sānfú) are three periods of hot weather, counted from the firstgēng day after the summer solstice. The firstfu (初伏;chūfú) is 10 days long. The mid-fu (中伏;zhōngfú) is 10 or 20 days long. The lastfu (末伏;mòfú) is 10 days from the firstgēng day after the beginning of autumn.[33] The Shujiu cold days (數九;shǔjǐu; 'counting to nine') are the 81 days after the winter solstice (divided into nine sets of nine days), and are considered the coldest days of the year. Each nine-day unit is known by its order in the set, followed by "nine" (九).[34] In traditionalChinese culture, "nine" represents the infinity, which is also the number of "Yang". According to one belief nine times accumulation of "Yang" gradually reduces the "Yin", and finally the weather becomes warm.[35]
Lunisolar months were originally named according to natural phenomena. Current naming conventions use numbers as the month names. Every month is also associated with one of the twelveEarthly Branches.
*Gregorian dates are approximate and should be used with caution. Many years have intercalary months.
Though the numbered month names are often used for the corresponding month number in the Gregorian calendar, it is important to realize that the numbered month names are not interchangeable with the Gregorian months when talking about Chinese calendar dates.
Horology, or chronometry, refers to the measurement of time. In the context of the Chinese calendar, horology involves the definition and mathematical measurement of terms or elements such observable astronomic movements or events such as are associated with days, months, years, hours, and so on. These measurements are based upon objective, observable phenomena. Calendar accuracy is based upon accuracy and precision of measurements.
The Chinese calendar islunisolar, similar to theHindu,Hebrew andancient Babylonian calendars. In this case the calendar is in part based in objective, observable phenomena and in part by mathematical analysis to correlate the observed phenomena. Lunisolar calendars especially attempt to correlate the solar and lunar cycles, but other considerations can be agricultural and seasonal or phenological, or religious, or even political.
Days areSun oriented, based upon divisions of the solar year. A day (日;rì) is considered both traditionally and currently to be the time from one midnight to the next. Traditionally, days (including the night-time portion) were divided into 12 double-hours, and in modern times, the 24-hour system has become more standard.
For more information on the ten-day week, seeDecan.
As early as the Bronze AgeXia dynasty, days were grouped into nine- or ten-day weeks known asxún (旬).[36] Months consisted of threexún. The first 10 days were the earlyxún (上旬), the middle 10 the midxún (中旬), and the last nine (or 10) days were the latexún (下旬). Japanadopted this pattern, with 10-day-weeks known asjun (旬). In Korea, they were known assun (순,旬).
The structure ofxún led topublic holidays every five or ten days. Officials of theHan dynasty were legally required to rest every five days (twice axún, or 5–6 times a month). The name of these breaks becamehuàn (澣;浣; 'wash').
Grouping days into sets of ten is still used today in referring to specific natural events. "Three Fu" (三伏), a 29–30-day period which is the hottest of the year, reflects its three-xún length.[33] After the winter solstice, nine sets of nine days were counted to calculate the end of winter.[37]
The seven-day week was adopted from the Hellenistic system by the 4th century CE[citation needed], although its method of transmission into China is unclear. It was again transmitted to China in the 8th century byManichaeans viaKangju, spoken in a variant ofSogdian language (a Central Asian kingdom nearSamarkand),[38][b][c]. Its meaning is derived from the five classical planets, along with the Sun and Moon, making a total of seven celestial bodies highly visible in the sky, in Chinese translation 七曜. At that time, people created simple handwritten almanacs, where Sunday was marked with the character 密.[39] The seven-day week had fallen out of favour for a long time, only to be revived when Christianity gained a foothold in China and later made mandatory by the government.
"星房虛昴" denoted Sunday"牛", "女" and "虛" of 28-day cycle in an almanac, falling on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. (Line read from right to left)
In between, a 28-day cycle system was used, borrowing from theTwenty-Eight Mansions system. Originally, these mansions tracked the moon's position against the stars in the sky, much like the sun and zodiac, and became part of theChinese constellations. However, in this context, the 28-day cycle had no connection to astronomy and was used purely for fortune-telling. This information was documented and is still referenced in theTung Shing, a Chinese almanac. When Westerners introduced the seven-day week system to China, whether for religious, business, or colonial reasons, both the Chinese and the Westerners found the 28-day cycle useful. Sunday, for instance, was written as "星房虛昴," indicating the corresponding four days on the 28-day cycle, as easily found in the almanac.[40]
Following the calendrical reforms in China during the era of the Republic of China, a period marked by both rejection and integration, the seven-day week system became the most widely used, aligning with the Western world.[41]
Seven-day week comparison
Chinese
日
月
火星
水星
木星
金星
土星
Literal meaning
sun
moon
fire star
water star
wood star
metal star
earth star
English meaning
Sun
Moon
Mars
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn
七曜,the seven shiny
日曜日
月曜日
火曜日
水曜日
木曜日
金曜日
土曜日
literal meaning
Sun-day
Moon-day
Mars-day
Mercury-day
Jupiter-day
Venus-day
Saturn-day
Sogdian names
Mīr
Māq
Wnqān
Tīr
Wrnzt
Nāqit
Kēwān
Chinese phonic translation
密/蜜
莫
雲漢
咥/嘀
溫沒司/嗢沒司/鶻勿斯
那頡/那歇/般頡
雞緩/枳浣
Modern English
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Modern Chinese
星期日
星期一
星期二
星期三
星期四
星期五
星期六
Hong Kong variant
禮拜日
禮拜一
禮拜二
禮拜三
禮拜四
禮拜五
禮拜六
28-day cycle, borrowing from Twenty-Eight Mansions
Months areMoon oriented.Month (月;yuè), the time from onenew moon to the next. Thesesynodic months are about29+17⁄32 days long. This includes theDate (日期;rìqī), when a day occurs in the month. Days are numbered in sequence from 1 to 29 (or 30). And, aCalendar month (日曆月;rìlì yuè), is when a month occurs within a year. Some months may be repeated.
Months are defined by the time betweennew moons, which averages approximately29+17⁄32 days. There is no specified length of any particular Chinese month, so the first month could have 29 days (short month,小月) in some years and 30 days (long month,大月) in other years.
Since the beginning of the month is determined by when the new moon occurs, other countries using this calendar use their own time standards to calculate it, resulting in deviations. The first new moon in 1968 was at 16:29UTC on 29 January. SinceNorth Vietnam usedUTC+07:00 to calculate theirVietnamese calendar andSouth Vietnam usedUTC+08:00 (Beijing time) to calculate theirs, North Vietnam began theTết holiday at 29 January at 23:29 while South Vietnam began it on 30 January at 00:15. The time difference allowed asynchronous attacks in theTet Offensive.[12]
Because astronomical observation determines month length, dates on the calendar correspond to moon phases. The first day of each month is the new moon. On the seventh or eighth day of each month, the first-quarter moon is visible in the afternoon and early evening. On the 15th or 16th day of each month, the full moon is visible all night. On the 22nd or 23rd day of each month, the last-quarter moon is visible late at night and in the morning.
Different eras used different systems to determine the length of each month. Thesynodic month of the Taichu calendar was29+43⁄81 days long. The 7th-century, Tang-dynasty Wùyín Yuán Calendar was the first to determine month length by synodic month instead of the cycling method. Since then, month lengths have primarily been determined by observation and prediction.
The days of the month are always written with two characters and numbered beginning with 1. Days one to 10 are written with the day's numeral, preceded by the characterChū (初);Chūyī (初一) is the first day of the month, andChūshí (初十) the 10th. Days 11 to 20 are written as regularChinese numerals;Shíwǔ (十五) is the 15th day of the month, andÈrshí (二十) the 20th. Days 21 to 29 are written with the characterNiàn (廿) before the characters one through nine;Niànsān (廿三), for example, is the 23rd day of the month. Day 30 (when applicable) is written as the numeralSānshí (三十).
A year (年;nián) is based upon the time of one revolution of Earth around the Sun, rounded to whole days. Traditionally, the year is measured from the first day of spring (lunisolar year) or the winter solstice (solar year).
A 12-month-year using this system has 354 days, which would drift significantly from thetropical year. To fix this, traditional Chinese years have a 13-month year approximately once every three years. The 13-month version has the same long and short months alternating, but adds a 30-day leap month (閏月;rùnyuè). Years with 12 months are called common years, and 13-month years are known as long years.
A solar year is astronomically about365+31⁄128 days. A lunisolar calendar year is either 353–355 or 383–385 days long. The lunisolar calendar (日曆;rìlì) year usually begins on the new moon closest toLichun, the first day of spring.[12] This is typically the second and sometimes third new moon after the winter solstice.
The lunisolar year begins with the first spring month,Zhēngyuè (正月; 'capital month'), and ends with the last winter month,Làyuè (臘月;腊月; 'sacrificial month'). All other months are named for their number in the month order. Seebelow on the timing of the Chinese New Year.
Thesolar year (traditional Chinese:歲;simplified Chinese:岁;pinyin:Suì), the time betweenwinter solstices, is divided into 24 periods. Each period corresponds to a 15°-portion of the ecliptic. The 24 moments of transition, known asjié qì (節氣),solar terms or solar nodes, mark off the seasons (both Western and Chinese), corresponding to equinoxes, solstices, and other Chinese events. The solar terms are paired–one corresponding to the sun being a multiplel of 30° from a solstice, called "major" terms, orZhōngqì, and the other corresponding to the sun being 15° further west (earlier in the year), called "minor" terms. (The word jié qì can also be used to refer just to these.)[12] The solar termsqīng míng (清明) around 5 April anddōng zhì (冬至) around 22 December are celebrated events in China.[12]
The solar year (suì,歲;岁) begins on the December solstice and proceeds through the 24 solar terms.[12] Since the speed of the Sun's apparent motion in the elliptical is variable, the time between major terms is not fixed. This variation in time between major terms results in different solar year lengths. There are generally 11 or 12 complete lunisolar months, plus two incomplete lunisolar months around the winter solstice, in a solar year. The complete lunisolar months are numbered from 0 to 10, and the lunisolar month split between two solar years is considered the 11th month. If there are 12 complete lunisolar months within a solar year, it is known as a leap year (a year possessing an intercalary month).[12]
Different versions of the traditional calendar might have different average solar year lengths. For example, one solar year of the 1st century BCE Tàichū calendar is365+385⁄1539 (365.25016) days. A solar year of the 13th-century Shòushí calendar is365+97⁄400 (365.2425) days, identical to the Gregorian calendar. The additional .00766 day from the Tàichū calendar leads to a one-day shift every 130.5 years.
If there are 12 complete lunisolar months within a solar year, the first lunisolar month that does not contain a major term is designated theleap, or intercalary, month.[12] (Quite rarely there is a year having a month that contains no major term but which is not counted as a leap month because there is another month later which contains two. This will happen in 2033.[12]) Leap months are numbered withrùn閏, the character for "intercalary", plus the name of the month they follow. In 2017, the intercalary month after month six was calledRùn Liùyuè, or "intercalary sixth month" (閏六月) and written as6i or6+. The next intercalary month (in 2020, after month four) is calledRùn Sìyuè (閏四月) and written4i or4+.
Leap months occur on average once in2+5⁄7 years, or33+4⁄7 months (because of theMetonic cycle of 19 years equaling 235 months), but this varies because the speed of the moon, and of the sun, varies.
The distance between Mercury and the sun is less than 30° (the sun's height atchénshí:辰時, 8:00 to 10:00 am), so Mercury was sometimes called the "chen star" (辰星); it is more commonly known as the "water star" (水星).
Venus appears at dawn and dusk and is known as the "bright star" (啟明星;启明星) or "long star" (長庚星;长庚星).
Mars looks like fire and occurs irregularly, and is known as the "fire star" (熒惑星;荧惑星 or火星). Mars is the punisher in Chinese mythology. When Mars is nearAntares (心宿二), it is a bad omen and can forecast an emperor's death or a chancellor's removal (荧惑守心).
Jupiter's revolution period is 11.86 years, so Jupiter is called the "age star" (歲星;岁星); 30° of Jupiter's revolution is about a year on earth.
Saturn's revolution period is about 28 years. Known as the "guard star" (鎮星), Saturn guards one of the28 Mansions every year.
The stars are divided intoThree Enclosures and28 Mansions according to their location in the sky relative toUrsa Minor, at the center. Each mansion is named with a character describing the shape of its principalasterism. The Three Enclosures arePurple Forbidden, (紫微),Supreme Palace (太微), andHeavenly Market (天市). The eastern mansions are角,亢,氐,房,心,尾,箕. Southern mansions are井,鬼,柳,星,張,翼,軫. Western mansions are奎,婁,胃,昴,畢,參,觜. Northern mansions are斗,牛,女,虛,危,室,壁. The moon moves through about onelunar mansion per day, so the 28 mansions were also used to count days. In theTang dynasty, Yuan Tiangang (袁天罡) matched the 28 mansions, seven luminaries and yearly animal signs to yield combinations such as "horn-wood-flood dragon" (角木蛟).
Several coding systems are used to avoid ambiguity. TheHeavenly Stems is adecimal system. TheEarthly Branches, aduodecimal system, mark dual hours (時;时;shí or時辰;时辰;shíchen) and climatic terms. The 12 characters progress from the first day with the same branch as the month (firstYín day (寅日) ofZhēngyuè; firstMǎo day (卯日) ofÈryuè), and count the days of the month.
Years, months, days of the month and hours could traditionally numbered by the terminology of the Chinese sexagenary cycle.
Thestem-branches is asexagesimal system. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches make up60 stem-branches. The stem branches mark days and years. The fiveWu Xing elements are assigned to each stem, branch, or stem branch.
For example, the year from 12 February 2021 to 31 January 2022 was aXīnchǒu year (辛丑年) of 12 months or 354 days. The 60 stem-branches have been used to mark the year since theShang dynasty (1600 BCE – 1046 BCE). Astrologers knew that the orbital period ofJupiter is about 12×361 = 4332 days, which they divided into 12 years (歲;岁;suì) of 361 days each. The stem-branches system solved the era system's problem of unequal reign lengths.
Hubei military government founded ROCGazette (中華民國公報), dated YE 4609-10-15 (黃帝紀元4609年10月15日, yyyy-mm-dd)
Current naming conventions use numbers as the month names, although each month is also associated with one of the twelveEarthly Branches. Correspondences with Gregorian dates are approximate and should be used with caution. Many years have intercalary months.
Historically, Chinese had days of the month numbered with the 60 stem-branches:
天聖元年…二月…丁巳，奉安太祖、太宗御容于南京鴻慶宮. Tiānshèng 1st year…Èryuè…Dīngsì, the emperor's funeral was at his temple, and the imperial portrait was installed in Nanjing'sHongqing Palace.
Fortune-tellers identify theheavenly stem andearthly branch corresponding to a particular day in the month, and those corresponding to its month, and those to its year, to determine theFour Pillars of Destiny associated with it, for which theTung Shing, also referred to as theChinese Almanac of the year, or theHuangli, and containing the essential information concerningChinese astrology, is the most convenient publication to consult. Days rotate through asexagenary cycle marked by coordination betweenheavenly stems andearthly branches, hence the referral to theFour Pillars of Destiny as, "Bazi", or "Birth Time Eight Characters", with each pillar consisting of a character for its corresponding heavenly stem, and another for its earthly branch. SinceHuangli days aresexagenaric, their order is quite independent of their numeric order in each month, and of their numeric order within a week (referred to asTrue Animals in relation to theChinese zodiac). Therefore, it does require painstaking calculation for one to arrive at theFour Pillars of Destiny of a particular given date, which rarely outpaces the convenience of simply consulting theHuangli by looking up itsGregorian date.
TheTang dynasty used the Earthly Branches to mark the months from December 761 to May 762.[45] Over this period, the year began with the winter solstice.
China has used the Western hour-minute-second system to divide the day since theQing dynasty.[46] Several systems were in use historically; systems using multiples of twelve and ten were popular, since they could be easily counted and aligned with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.
In modern China, a person's official age is based on the Gregorian calendar. For traditional use, age is based on the ChineseSui calendar. A child is considered one year old at birth. After each Chinese New Year, one year is added to their traditional age. Their age therefore is the number of Chinese calendar years in which they have lived. Due to the potential for confusion, the age of infants is often given in months instead of years.
After the Gregorian calendar was introduced in China, the Chinese traditional-age was referred to as the "nominal age" (虛歲;虚岁;xūsuì; 'incomplete age') and the Gregorian age was known as the "real age" (實歲;实岁;shísùi; 'whole age'). In Hong Kong, they are named ashui ling 虛齡 andsut ling 實齡 respectively.
The date of the Chinese New Year accords with the patterns of the lunisolar calendar and hence is variable from year to year.
The invariant between years is that the winter solstice,Dongzhi is required to be in the eleventh month of the year[47] This means that Chinese New Year will be on the second new moon after the previous winter solstice, unless there is a leap month 11 or 12 in the previous year.[48][49]
This rule is accurate, however there are two other mostly (but not completely) accurate rules that are commonly stated:[48]
The new year is on the new moon closest toLichun (typically 4 February).
The new year is on the first new moon afterDahan (typically 20 January)
It has been found that Chinese New Year moves back by either 10, 11, or 12 days in most years. If it falls on or before 31 January, then it moves forward in the next year by either 18, 19, or 20 days.[12]
TheChinese New Year (known as the Spring Festival/春節 in China) is on the first day of the first month and was traditionally called the Yuan Dan (元旦) or Zheng Ri (正日). In Vietnam it is known as Tết Nguyên Đán (節元旦). Traditionally it was the most important holiday of the year. It is an official holiday in China including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan regions,and, Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines,Malaysia,Singapore, Indonesia, andMauritius. It is also a public holiday in Thailand'sNarathiwat,Pattani,Yala andSatun provinces, and is an official public school holiday in New York City.
TheDragon Boat Festival, or theDuanwu Festival (端午節), is on the fifth day of the fifth month and is an official holiday in China including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan regions.
TheQixi Festival (七夕節) is celebrated in the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month.
TheLantern Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month and was traditionally called the Yuan Xiao (元宵) or Shang Yuan Festival (上元節).
TheZhong Yuan Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.
TheMid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month.
The Xia Yuan Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the tenth month.
TheLaba Festival is on the eighth day of the twelfth month. It is the enlightenment day of Sakyamuni Buddha and in Vietnam is known asLễ Vía Phật Thích Ca thành đạo.
TheKitchen God Festival is celebrated on the twenty-third day of the twelfth month in northern regions of China and on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month in southern regions of China.
Chinese New Year's Eve is also known as the Chuxi Festival and is celebrated on the evening of the last day of the traditional Chinese calendar. It is celebrated wherever the traditional Chinese calendar is observed.
Many of the above holidays of the traditional Chinese calendar are also celebrated in Japan, but since theMeiji era on the similarly numbered dates of the Gregorian calendar.
In the case when there is a correspondingintercalary month, the holidays may be celebrated twice. For example, in the hypothetical situation in which there is an additional intercalary seventh month, the Zhong Yuan Festival will be celebrated in the seventh month followed by another celebration in the intercalary seventh month. The next such occasion will be 2033, the first such since the calendar reform of 1645.[12]
LikeChinese characters, variants of the Chinese calendar have been used in different parts of theSinosphere throughout history: this includes Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Japan and Ryukyu, Mongolia, and elsewhere.
Calendars of ethnic groups in mountains and plateaus of southwestern China and grasslands of northern China are based on theirphenology and algorithms of traditional calendars of different periods, particularly the Tang and pre-Qin dynasties.[53]
Korea,Vietnam, and theRyukyu Islands adopted the Chinese calendar. In the respective regions, the Chinese calendar has been adapted into theKorean,Vietnamese, andRyukyuan calendars, with the main difference from the Chinese calendar being the use of differentmeridians due to geography, leading to some astronomical events — and calendar events based on them — falling on different dates. The traditionalJapanese calendar was also derived from the Chinese calendar (based on a Japanese meridian), but Japan abolished its official use in 1873 afterMeiji Restoration reforms. Calendars inMongolia[54] andTibet[citation needed] have absorbed elements of the traditional Chinese calendar but are not direct descendants of it.
^The Chinese or Pinyin names are not required. It is acceptable to say these dates as " 5th day of the fifth month", "9th day of the ninth month", "15th day of the first month", and "7th day of the seventh month", as long it is clear that these months are in the traditional Chinese calendar.
^The renewed adoption from Manichaeans by the 8th century (Tang dynasty) is documented by the writings of the Chinese Buddhist monkYi Jing and the Ceylonese Buddhist monkBu Kong.[full citation needed]
^Wenlin Dictionary:己 may have depictedthread on aloom; an ancient meaning was 'unravel threads', which was later written紀 jì.己 was borrowed both for the word jǐ 'self', and for the name of the sixth Heavenly Stem (天干).[full citation needed]
^Wenlin Dictionary:壬 rén depicts "a 丨 carrying pole supported 一 in the middle part and having one object attached at each end, as always done in China" —Karlgren (1923). (See扁担 biǎndan). Now the character任 rèn has the meaning of carrying a burden, and the original character壬 is used only for the ninth of the ten heavenly stems (天干).[full citation needed]
^Wenlin Dictionary:癶 "stretch out the legs" +天; The nicely disposed grass, on which the Ancients poured the libations offered to the Manes[full citation needed]
^Liu, Rong (2004).春秋依附关系探讨 [Subsidiary Relations in the Pre-Qin Period].辽宁大学学报：哲社版 Journal of Liaoning University: Philosophy and Social Science Edition.32 (6):43–50.Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved2 May 2023.
^中国农历发展简史 [A brief history of the development of Chinese Lunar calendar]. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 26 February 2021. Retrieved24 February 2016.
^Palmer, Martin (1986).T'ung Shu: the Ancient Chinese Almanac. Boston: Shambhala. pp. 9–10.ISBN9780394742212.
^Needham, Joseph (1986) [1954].Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth. Vol. 3. pp. 109–110.Bibcode:1959scc3.book.....N.
^Ho, Peng Yoke (2000).Li, Qi, and Shu: An Introduction to Science and Civilization in China. Mineola: Dover Publications. p. 105.ISBN978-0-486-41445-4.
^Restivo, Sal (1992).Mathematics in Society and History: Sociological Inquiries. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 32.ISBN978-1-4020-0039-3.
^Asiapac Editorial, ed. (2004).Origins of Chinese Science and Technology. Translated by Yang Liping; Y.N. Han. Singapore: Asiapac Books. p. 132.ISBN978-981-229-376-3.
^Sun Yat-sen (1982) [Telegram originally sent 1 January 1912].临时大总统改历改元通电 [Provisional President's open telegram on calendar change and era change].孙中山全集 [The Complete Works of Sun Yat-sen](PDF). Vol. v. 2. Beijing:中华书局. p. 5.Archived(PDF) from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved2 May 2023.
^Xiao, Fang; Zhang, Juwen; Long, Bill (2017). "The Predicament, Revitalization, and Future of Traditional Chinese Festivals".Western Folklore.76 (2):181–196.JSTOR44790971.
^ab陳浩新.「冷在三九，熱在三伏」 [Cold is in the Three Nines, heat is in the Three Fu].Educational Resources – Hong Kong Observatory (in Chinese). Archived fromthe original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved15 May 2018.
^Wenlin Dictionary: "The seal has𢆉 'knock against, offend' below, and亠 above; the scholastic commentators say: to offend (亠 = )上 the superiors"[full citation needed]
^"卷006" [Volume 6].新唐書 [New Book of Tang] (in Chinese) – viaWikisource.上元…。二年……，九月壬寅，大赦，去「乾元大圣光天文武孝感」号，去「上元」号，称元年，以十一月为岁首，月以斗所建辰为名。…。 元年建子月癸巳[2]，…。己亥[9]，…。丙午[16]，…。己酉[29]，…。庚戌[30]，…。[初一壬午大雪，十七冬至] 建丑月辛亥[1]，…。己未[9]，…。乙亥[25]，…。[初一辛亥，初三小寒，十八大寒] 宝应元年建寅月甲申[4]，…。乙酉[5]，…。丙戌[3]，…。甲辰[24]，…。戊申[28]，…。[初一辛巳，初三立春，十八雨水] 建卯月辛亥[1]，…。壬子[2]，…。癸丑[3]，…。乙丑[15]，…。戊辰[18]，…。庚午[20]，…。壬申[22]，…。[初一辛亥，初四惊蛰，十九春分] 建辰月壬午[3]，…。甲午[5]，…。戊申[19]，…。[初一庚辰，初五清明，二十谷雨] 建巳月庚戌[1]，…。壬子[3]，…。甲寅[5]，…。乙丑[16]，…。大赦，改元年为宝应元年，复以正月为岁首，建巳月为四月。丙寅，…。[初一庚戌，初五甲寅立夏]。
^Sôma, Mitsuru; Kawabata, Kin-aki; Tanikawa, Kiyotaka (25 October 2004). "Units of Time in Ancient China and Japan".Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan.56 (5):887–904.doi:10.1093/pasj/56.5.887.
Kai-Lung, Ho (2006). "The Political Power and the Mongolian Translation of the Chinese Calendar During the Yuan Dynasty".Central Asiatic Journal.50 (1):57–69.JSTOR41928409.
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