Qingming (solar term)

Summary


Qīngmíng, Seimei, Cheongmyeong or Thanh minh, is the name of the 5th solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar,[1] which divides a year into 24 solar terms (t. 節氣/s. 节气).[2] In space partitioning, Qingming begins when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 15° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 30°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 15°, usually on April 5.[3]

Qingming
Chinese name
Chinese清明
Literal meaningClear and bright
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetthanh minh
Chữ Hán清明
Korean name
Hangul청명
Hanja清明
Japanese name
Kanji清明
Hiraganaせいめい
Solar term
Term Longitude Dates
Lichun 315° 4–5 February
Yushui 330° 18–19 February
Jingzhe 345° 5–6 March
Chunfen 20–21 March
Qingming 15° 4–5 April
Guyu 30° 20–21 April
Lixia 45° 5–6 May
Xiaoman 60° 21–22 May
Mangzhong 75° 5–6 June
Xiazhi 90° 21–22 June
Xiaoshu 105° 7–8 July
Dashu 120° 22–23 July
Liqiu 135° 7–8 August
Chushu 150° 23–24 August
Bailu 165° 7–8 September
Qiufen 180° 23–24 September
Hanlu 195° 8–9 October
Shuangjiang 210° 23–24 October
Lidong 225° 7–8 November
Xiaoxue 240° 22–23 November
Daxue 255° 7–8 December
Dongzhi 270° 21–22 December
Xiaohan 285° 5–6 January
Dahan 300° 20–21 January

Compared to the space partitioning theory, in the time division theory Qingming falls around April 7 or approximately 106.5 days after winter equinox. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around 4 or 5 April and ends around 20 April.

Pentads edit

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentads (候). They are: first pentad (初候), second pentad (次候) and last pentad (末候). Pentads in Qingming include:

China
  • First pentad: 桐始華/桐始华, 'The paulownia begins to bloom'.
  • Second pentad: 田鼠化為鴽/田鼠化为鴽, 'Voles(you) transform into quails'.
  • Last pentad: 虹始見/虹始见, 'Rainbows begin to appear'.
Japan
  • First pentad: 玄鳥至 (tsubame itaru), 'The swallow flies back from the south'.
  • Second pentad: 鴻雁北 (kōgan kitae kaeru), 'The goose migrates to the north'.
  • Last pentad: 虹始見 (niji hajimete arawaru), 'Rainbows begin to appear in the sky after shower'.

Date and time edit

Date and Time (UTC)
year begin end
辛巳 2001-04-04 17:24 2001-04-20 00:35
壬午 2002-04-04 23:18 2002-04-20 06:20
癸未 2003-04-05 04:52 2003-04-20 12:02
甲申 2004-04-04 10:43 2004-04-19 17:50
乙酉 2005-04-04 16:34 2005-04-19 23:37
丙戌 2006-04-04 22:15 2006-04-20 05:26
丁亥 2007-04-05 04:04 2007-04-20 11:07
戊子 2008-04-04 09:45 2008-04-19 16:51
己丑 2009-04-04 15:33 2009-04-19 22:44
庚寅 2010-04-04 21:30 2010-04-20 04:29
辛卯 2011-04-05 03:11 2011-04-20 10:17
壬辰 2012-04-04 09:05 2012-04-19 16:12
癸巳 2013-04-04 15:02 2013-04-19 22:03
甲午 2014-04-04 20:46 2014-04-20 03:55
乙未 2015-04-05 02:39 2015-04-20 09:41
丙申 2016-04-04 08:26 2016-04-19 15:31
丁酉 2017-04-04 14:19 2017-04-19 21:29
戊戌 2018-04-04 20:15 2018-04-20 03:12
己亥 2019-04-05 01:51 2019-04-20 08:54
庚子 2020-04-04 07:37 2020-04-19 14:47
Source: JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System

References edit

  1. ^ Zhang, Peiyu; Hunag, Hongfeng( (1994). "The Twenty-four Solar Terms of the Chinese Calendar and the Calculation for Them". Purple Mountain Observatory.
  2. ^ "24 Sekki". Glossary. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. ^ Matsukawa, Mitsuharu. "24 Sekkis, or Twenty-Four Japanese Small Seasons". Nagoya University. Retrieved 21 March 2016.

See also edit

Preceded by
Chunfen (春分)
Solar term (節氣/节气) Succeeded by
Guyu (穀雨/谷雨)