solar term
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.
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 (? hou). Each pentad consists of five days (rarely six), so there are 72 pentads in a year.
List of solar terms
 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.
The "Song of Solar Terms" () is used to ease the memorization of jiéqì:
;Chinese:
;Pinyin
chun yu jing chun qing gu tian,
xià man máng xià shu xiang lián,
qiu chù lù qiu hán shuang jiàng,
dong xue xue dong xiao dà hán.
mei yuè liang jié bù biàn geng,
zùi duo xiang cha yi liang tian
shàng bàn nián lái liù, niàn yi
xià bàn nián shì ba, niàn san
Regional note
In Japan, the term Setsubun originally referred to the eves of Risshun (?, 315°, the beginning of Spring) Rikka (?, 45°, the beginning of Summer), Risshu (?, 135°, the beginning of Autumn), and Ritto (?, 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.
See also
Chinese calendar
Korean calendar
Japanese calendar
External links
24 Solar Terms - Hong Kong Observatory
Chinese calendar with upcoming solar terms in 2008
|
|
|
|
This section is sponsored by:
Looking for Solar Term?
Find Solar Term and more at Ansearch. Answers that matter most!
www.ansearch.com
Lowest Priced Computers
Get the lowest prices on laptops, desktops and computer accessories
www.Geeks.com
Laptops - Save Money and Time
Complete Laptop at Cheap Price! Compare &Deal Here.
Laptop-s.cn
HP Laptops & Notebooks
Find great deals on HP laptops & notebooks along with accessories for your computer.
www.shopping.hp.com
Latest Computers
Find Specials High Performance Desktop PCs And Computers Here! Check Out Now.
Portable-LaptopComputers.com
Complete Computer &Accessories
Need computer &accessories in new tech? Find here at affordable Price.
Computer-Laptop.net
Get a Mac Computer
Find the Mac computer that fits your needs from the Macbook to the iMac
store.apple.com
Laptop & Desktop Computers
Find great deals & low prices brand name laptops and desktop computers.
www.buy.com
|
