Solar term
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solar terms
A solar term is one of 24 points in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. The points are spaced 15° apart along the ecliptic and are used by lunisolar calendars to stay synchronized with the seasons. Solar terms originated in China, then spread to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. This is exhibited by the fact that traditional Chinese, Hanja, and Kanji characters for most of the solar terms are identical.
| (Twenty-four) solar terms | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | Japanese name | Korean name | Vietnamese name | ||||
| Traditional: | (二十四)節氣 | Kana: | (にじゅうし)せっき | Hangul: | (이십사)절기 | Quốc Ngữ: | (24) tiết khí |
| Simplified: | (二十四)节气 | Kanji: | (二十四)節気 | Hanja: | (二十四)節氣 | ||
| Hanyu Pinyin: | (èrshísì) jiéqì | Hepburn: | (nijūshi) sekki | Revised: | (isipsa) jeolgi | ||
| Wade-Giles: | (erh-shih-hsi) chieh-chi | Nihon-shiki: | (nizyūsi) sekki | MCR: | (isipsa) jǒlki | ||
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 hou). Each pentad consists of five days (rarely six), so there are 72 pentads in a year.
Contents |
[edit] List of solar terms
| Longi- tude |
Chinese name ¹ |
Japanese name |
Korean name ² |
Vietnamese name |
Date ³ | Usual translation |
Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 315° | 立春 lìchūn |
立春 risshun |
입춘 (立春) ipchun |
Lập xuân | Feb 4 | start of spring | |
| 330° | 雨水 yǔshuǐ |
雨水 usui |
우수 (雨水) usu |
Vũ thủy | Feb 19 | rain water | more rain than snow |
| 345° | 驚蟄 (惊蛰) jīngzhé |
啓蟄 keichitsu |
경칩 (驚蟄) gyeongchip |
Kinh trập | Mar 5 | awakening of insects | lit. awakening of hibernating insects. See the note at Chinese calendar#Solar term. |
| 0° | 春分 chūnfēn |
春分 shunbun |
춘분 (春分) chunbun |
Xuân phân | Mar 21 | vernal equinox | lit. spring division (or center) |
| 15° | 清明 qīngmíng |
清明 seimei |
청명 (清明) cheongmyeong |
Thanh minh | Apr 5 | clear and bright | time for tending graves |
| 30° | 穀雨 (谷雨) gǔyǔ |
穀雨 kokuu |
곡우 (穀雨) gogu |
Cốc vũ | Apr 20 | grain rain | lit. grain rain: rain helps grain grow |
| 45° | 立夏 lìxià |
立夏 rikka |
입하 (立夏) ipha |
Lập hạ | May 6 | start of summer | |
| 60° | 小滿 (小满) xiǎomǎn |
小満 shōman |
소만 (小滿) soman |
Tiểu mãn | May 21 | grain full | grains are plump |
| 75° | 芒種 (芒种) mángzhòng |
芒種 bōshu |
망종 (芒種) mangjong |
Mang chủng | Jun 6 | grain in ear | lit. awns (beard of grain) grow |
| 90° | 夏至 xiàzhì |
夏至 geshi |
하지 (夏至) haji |
Hạ chí | Jun 21 | summer solstice | lit. summer extreme (of sun's height) |
| 105° | 小暑 xiǎoshǔ |
小暑 shōsho |
소서 (小暑) soseo |
Tiểu thử | Jul 7 | minor heat | |
| 120° | 大暑 dàshǔ |
大暑 taisho |
대서 (大暑) daeseo |
Đại thử | Jul 23 | major heat | |
| 135° | 立秋 lìqiū |
立秋 risshū |
입추 (立秋) ipchu |
Lập thu | Aug 7 | start of autumn | |
| 150° | 處暑 (处暑) chǔshǔ |
処暑 shosho |
처서 (處暑) cheoseo |
Xử thử | Aug 23 | limit of heat | lit. dwell in heat |
| 165° | 白露 báilù |
白露 hakuro |
백로 (白露) baekro |
Bạch lộ | Sep 8 | white dew | condensed moisture makes dew white |
| 180° | 秋分 qiūfēn |
秋分 shūbun |
추분 (秋分) chubun |
Thu phân | Sep 23 | autumnal equinox | lit. autumn division (or center) |
| 195° | 寒露 hánlù |
寒露 kanro |
한로 (寒露) hallo |
Hàn lộ | Oct 8 | cold dew | |
| 210° | 霜降 shuāngjiàng |
霜降 sōkō |
상강 (霜降) sanggang |
Sương giáng | Oct 23 | frost descent | appearance of frost and descent of temperature |
| 225° | 立冬 lìdōng |
立冬 rittō |
입동 (立冬) ipdong |
Lập đông | Nov 7 | start of winter | |
| 240° | 小雪 xiǎoxuě |
小雪 shōsetsu |
소설 (小雪) soseol |
Tiểu tuyết | Nov 22 | minor snow | |
| 255° | 大雪 dàxuě |
大雪 taisetsu |
대설 (大雪) daeseol |
Đại tuyết | Dec 7 | major snow | |
| 270° | 冬至 dōngzhì |
冬至 tōji |
동지 (冬至) dongji |
Đông chí | Dec 22 | winter solstice | lit. winter extreme (of sun's height) |
| 285° | 小寒 xiǎohán |
小寒 shōkan |
소한 (小寒) sohan |
Tiểu hàn | Jan 6 | minor cold | |
| 300° | 大寒 dàhán |
大寒 daikan |
대한 (大寒) daehan |
Đại hàn | Jan 20 | major cold |
- Simplified Chinese characters are shown in parentheses if they differ from the Traditional Chinese characters.
- Hanja is indicated in parentheses.
- Date can vary within a ±1 day range.
[edit] 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.
