Fifth solar term of traditional Chinese lunisolar calendars
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.
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'.
| This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2020) |
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 |