What are the 24 solar terms?

Twenty-four solar terms refer to the special festivals in the dry calendar that indicate the season, phenology, climate change and the establishment of "December construction". It was originally determined by the bucket handle direction of the Big Dipper, and bucket handle revolved around the east, south, west and north for a period of time, which was called one of the "years old", starting from the beginning of spring and ending in the great cold.

24 solar terms includes: beginning of spring, Rain, Sting, Equinox, Qingming, Grain Rain, Changxia, Xiaoman, Mangzhong, Summer Solstice, Slight Summer, beginning of autumn, Early Summer, Millennium, Equinox, Cold Dew, Early Frost, beginning of winter, Light Snow, Heavy Snow, Winter Solstice, Slight Cold and Severe Cold. Each of the 24 solar terms is separated by about half a month, divided into twelve months, and each month has two solar terms. It is the name given by the ancients according to the unique climate or phenology phenomena and agricultural activities in each stage.

12 solar terms, including beginning of spring, Jingzhe, Qingming, Changxia, Mangzhong, Xiaoshu, beginning of autumn, Bailu, Hanlu, beginning of winter, heavy snow and slight cold; The second solar term of each month is "Zhongqi", that is, there are 12 solar terms such as rain, vernal equinox, Grain Rain, Xiaoman, summer solstice, great heat, intense heat, autumnal equinox, first frost, light snow, winter solstice and great cold. "Solar term" and "neutral qi" appear alternately, each lasting 15 days. Now people have called "solar terms" and "neutral gas" as "solar terms", that is, 24 solar terms.

Introduction of 24 solar terms

"Twenty-four solar terms" reflect the influence of the sun on the earth and belong to the solar calendar category. It is a knowledge system formed by observing the movement of the sun in a year and understanding the changing laws of the four seasons, climate and phenology in a year.

It not only plays a guiding role in agricultural production, but also affects the food, clothing, housing and transportation of ancient people, and even cultural concepts. The current lunar calendar absorbs the solar terms of the trunk calendar as a supplement to the calendar, and is adjusted to conform to the tropic year through the leap method, forming a combined calendar of yin and yang.