Qingming (solar term)

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]

This article is about the solar term. For the festival, see Qingming Festival.
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
  Longitude    Term    Calendar
  Spring
  315°  Lichun   4 – 5 February
  330°  Yushui  18–19 February
  345°  Jingzhe   5 – 6 March
  0°  Chunfen  20–21 March
  15°  Qingming   4 – 5 April
  30°  Guyu  20–21 April
  Summer
  45°  Lixia   5 – 6 May
  60°  Xiaoman  21–22 May
  75°  Mangzhong   5 – 6 June
  90°  Xiazhi  21–22 June
  105°  Xiaoshu   7 – 8 July
  120°  Dashu  22–23 July
  Autumn
  135°  Liqiu   7 – 8 August
  150°  Chushu  23–24 August
  165°  Bailu   7 – 8 September
  180°  Qiufen  23–24 September
  195°  Hanlu   8 – 9 October
  210°  Shuangjiang    23–24 October
  Winter
  225°  Lidong   7 – 8 November
  240°  Xiaoxue  22–23 November
  255°  Daxue   7 – 8 December
  270°  Dongzhi  21–22 December
  285°  Xiaohan   5 – 6 January
  300°  Dahan  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

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
Date and Time (UTC)
yearbeginend
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
  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

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