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Wish to write your name in Chinese? Looking for a special name? Want to know how your name sounds like in Chinese? Here you can find a list of English names in different categories, their translation in pin-Yin and in Chinese.
Learn to write your name in Chinese with My-Chinese-Name.com
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Solar Terms is a calendar of twenty-four periods and climates that govern agricultural arrangements in ancient China and is in use even in our days. During the Shang Dynasty, this calendar was only used for four solar terms; the Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC – 221BC), used eight solar terms; it was in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC - 24) that the 24 terms were finally decided upon.
Today the year comprises of 24 Solar Terms - 12 major solar terms and 12 minor solar terms.
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These solar terms have meaningful titles. Some of them reflect the change of seasons such as "Spring Begins", "Summer Begins", "Autumn Begins" and "Winter Begins"; some embody the phenomena of climate, like "Insects Awaken", "Clear and Bright" and "Grain Buds"; and some indicate the change of climate like "The Rains", "Grain Rain", "Slight Heat", and so on.
These twenty-four solar terms each suggest the position of the sun every time it travels 15 degrees on the ecliptic longitude. At "Vernal Equinox", the Sun's longitude is 0 degrees; at "Clear and Bright", the Sun's longitude is 15 degrees - and so forth.
The calendar takes into an account the longest and the shortest days and the two days each year when the length of the day equals that of the night. In other words, the significant days are the Summer and Winter Solstices and the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes.
The 24 Solar Terms and the Sun's Longitudes
| Major solar terms |
Minor solar terms |
Sun's longitude |
| Vernal Equinox |
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0 degree |
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Clear and Bright |
15 degree |
| Grain Rain |
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30 degree |
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Summer Begins |
45 degree |
| Grain Buds |
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60 degree |
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Grain in Ear |
75 degree |
| Summer Solstice |
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90 degree |
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Slight Heat |
105 degree |
| Great Heat |
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120 degree |
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Autumn Begins |
135 degree |
| Stopping the Heat |
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150 degree |
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White Dews |
165 degree |
| Autumn Equinox |
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180 degree |
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Cold Dews |
195 degree |
| Hoar-frost Falls |
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210 degree |
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Winter Begins |
225 degree |
| Light Snow |
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240 degree |
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Heavy Snow |
255 degree |
| Winter Solstice |
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270 degree |
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Slight Cold |
285 degree |
| Great Cold |
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300 degree |
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Spring Begins |
315 degree |
| The Rains |
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330 degree |
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Insects awaken |
345 degree |
Each month often includes two solar terms. The first is called "Jie Qi" and the other one - "Zhong Qi". Their dates are mirrored by the Gregorian calendar, so we find that during the first half of a year, "Jie Qi" is around the 5th day of a solar month and "Zhong Qi" occurs around the 20th. In the second half of a year, "Jie Qi" is around the 7th and "Zhong Qi" occurs around the 22nd day of the month.
If we examine the Lunar Calendar, we will see it is quite different. Each lunar month contains a major solar term. A lunar month that doesn’t include a major solar term is taken as the leap month of the preceding month. In 19 tropical years there will be 228 major solar terms and 235 synodic months. Thus, 7 lunar months will not contain major solar terms and they are classified as leap months.
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Weekly Chinese Words |
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Solar Terms
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The Twenty-four Solar Terms in 2008 |
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 2 – 4/ 12 - 28
Mening: Spring Begins - The beginning of spring
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 2 - 19/1 - 13
Mening: The Rains - It begins to rain
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 3 – 5/1 - 28
Mening: Insects Awaken - Hibernating animals come to sense
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 3- 20/ 2 - 13
Mening: Vernal Equinox - Day and night are equally long
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 4- 4/2 - 28
Mening: Clear and Bright - It is warm and bright
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 4 – 20/ 3 - 15
Mening: Grain Rain - Rainfall is helpful to grain
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 5 – 5/ 4 - 1
Mening: Summer Begins - The beginning of summer
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 5 – 19/ 4 - 15
Mening: Grain Buds - Lesser fullness of grain
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 6 – 5/ 5 - 2
Mening: Grain in Ear - Wheat grows ripe
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 6 – 21/5 - 18
Mening: Summer Solstice - It has the longest daytime and the shortest night of the year
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 7 – 7/6 - 5
Mening: Slight Heat - Torridity comes
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 7 – 22/ 6 – 20
Mening: Great Heat - The hottest moment of a year
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 8 – 7/ 7 - 7
Mening: Autumn Begins - The beginning of autumn
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 8 – 23/7 - 23
Mening: Stopping the Heat - The end of heat
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 9 – 7/8 - 8
Mening: White Dews - Dew curdles
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 9 – 22/ 8 - 23
Mening: Autumn Equinox - The mid of autumn
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 10 – 8/9 - 10
Mening: Cold Dews - Dew is very cold
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 10-23/ 9 - 25
Mening: Hoar-frost Falls - Frost descends
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 11 – 7/10 - 10
Mening: Winter Begins - The beginning of winter
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 11-22/10 - 25
Mening: Light Snow - It begins to snow
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 12 - 7/ 11 - 10
Mening: Heavy Snow - It snows heavily
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 12-21/11 - 24
Mening: Winter Solstice - The shortest daytime and the longest
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 1 – 5/12 - 10
Mening: Slight Cold - It is rather cold
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| Transcription: |
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Part of Speech: Noun
Time (Gregorian/Lunar): 1 – 20/ 12- 25
Mening: Great Cold - The coldest moment of a year
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