Qingming (solar term)

Qingming
Qingming
Chinese name
Chinese	清明
Literal meaning	Clear and bright
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	qīng míng
Bopomofo	ㄑㄧㄥㄇㄧㄥˊ
Hakka
Pha̍k-fa-sṳ	Chhîn-mìn
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	chīng mìhng
Jyutping	cing1 ming4
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Chheng-bêng / Chhiⁿ-miâ
Tâi-lô	Tshing-bîng / Tshinn-miâ
Eastern Min
Fuzhou BUC	Chĭng-mìng
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	thanh minh
Chữ Hán	清明
Korean name
Hangul	청명
Hanja	清明
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	cheongmyeong
Japanese name
Kanji	清明
Hiragana	せいめい
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	seimei

Solar term
Term	Longitude	Dates
Lichun	315°	4–5 February
Yushui	330°	18–19 February
Jingzhe	345°	5–6 March
Chunfen	0°	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

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]

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)
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

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

Pentads

Date and time

References

See also