What are the twenty-four seasons?

The 24 Solar Terms

Seasons Spring Spring Summer Autumn Winter

Months February FEB March MAR April APR May MAY June JUN July JUL August AUG September SEP October OCT Nov Nov Dec DEC Jan Jan

Seasons Lipchun Hibernation Qingming, Lixia, Mansard Seed, Xiaoshu, Lichu, White Dew, Cold Dew, Lidong, Daxue, Xiaochun

Mid-qi, Rain, Spring Equinox, Grainrain Rain, Xiaoman, Summer Solstice, Daxue, Heat Strike, Autumn Equinox, Frostfall, Xiaochu, Winter Solstice, Dahan

Twenty-four Sets of Seasons (24 Sets of Seasons) is a system of knowledge and social practice formed by Chinese people through the observation of the annual movement of the sun and the cognition of the changing laws of the year in terms of seasonal patterns, climate, and weather conditions. It is a product of the ancient farming civilization and has guided traditional Chinese agricultural production and daily life for thousands of years. The twenty-four solar terms are the worldview of the Chinese people, which discovered and refined this well-organized pattern of ecological changes throughout the year. Since historically China's major centers of political, economic, cultural and agricultural activities were concentrated in the central plains of the Yellow River basin, the 24 Solar Terms were established on the basis of this area. As far back as the Spring and Autumn Period, the ancient Chinese sages set out the four solar terms of mid-spring, mid-summer, mid-autumn and mid-winter, which have been continuously improved and perfected since then. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the 24 solar terms were fully established and became a supplementary calendar used to guide agricultural affairs in ancient China. In the international meteorological community, the 24 solar terms are regarded as "China's fifth great invention".

On May 20, 2006, the 24 Solar Terms were inscribed on the first national list of intangible cultural heritage as a folklore item approved by the State Council, and on November 30, 2016, UNESCO formally adopted a resolution to include the 24 Solar Terms declared by China. --The 24 Solar Terms - a system of knowledge of time and its practice formed by the Chinese through the observation of the annual movements of the sun - was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The intangible cultural heritage of the 24 Solar Terms is very rich, including related proverbs, ballads and legends, as well as traditional tools of production, household utensils, handicrafts, paintings and calligraphy, and other works of art, and also includes festival culture, production rituals, and folk customs that are closely related to the solar terms. Twenty-four seasons beautiful picture, twenty-four seasons GIF animation design, twenty-four seasons food map.

The twenty-four solar terms were initially formulated on the basis of the rotation of the Big Dipper. The seven stars of the Big Dipper rotate in cycles, and the handle of the Big Dipper rotates clockwise once in a cycle, which is called a "year" (shengti). The current "twenty-four solar terms" are based on the position of the sun in the ecliptic (the earth's orbit around the sun), that is, the sun's annual movement is divided into 24 equal parts, every 15 ° for 1 equal part, every 1 equal part of a festival, starting in the spring, and finally the big cold.

The twenty-four solar terms are separated by about half a month each, and are divided into twelve months, with two solar terms in each month. In the twenty-four solar terms, the term "jie" refers to a section of the year, an indication of a period of time, while the term "qi" refers to climate, an overview of weather changes. It is the name given by the ancients according to the unique climate or weather phenomenon and agricultural activities in each stage. Together, the two words refer to the weather changes at a certain stage of the year. There are 12 solar terms: spring, hibernation, chingming, summer, mango, heat, autumn, white dew, cold dew, winter, snow and cold; the second solar term of each month is the "mid-qi", i.e.: rain, spring equinox, rain, fullness, summer solstice, summer heat, summer heat, fall equinox, frost, snow, winter solstice, and cold, etc. The "mid-qi" is the second term of each month. The "solar term" and the "middle term" alternate, each lasting 15 days, and people have now collectively referred to the "solar term" and the "middle term" as the "solar term" and the "middle term". Now people have collectively referred to the "festival qi" and "mid-qi" as the "festival qi", that is, the twenty-four solar terms.