24 Solar Terms

The inhabitants of ancient China divided the year into equal segments based on the Earth’s movements around the sun. This way of perceiving and structuring the solar year, subsequent changes in nature over the seasons and their impact on different aspects of people’s lives are closely linked to ancestral knowledge.

Using the calendar, people in China were able to understand their environment and apply this knowledge to agriculture, traditions and cultural identity. Since then, solar terms are playing an important role and have a big influence on people’s basic needs. To be in harmony with nature, it is necessary to adapt to routines and customs, as dictated by changes in the environment, to achieve profit and well-being.

There is a Chinese saying: “Everything is born in spring, grows in summer, is harvested in autumn, hides in winter and people should follow it”.

FLOWER CYCLE

Plant in the spring
Bloom in the summer
Die in the autumn (harvest)
Wait till winter passes
Next spring …

Human CYCLE

Start doing more exercise in the spring
Work hard in the field during the summer
Slow down and eat more in the autumn to prepare for the winter
Rest and sleep more in the winter – Next spring …

List of the 24 Solar Terms in 2023

Solar Terms	Chinese	Month and Date	Remarks
Start of Spring	lì chūn 立春	Feb 4th	A dubiously premature name, as it’s not the beginning of spring in most of China; only in the extreme south.
Rain Water	yǔ shuǐ 雨水	Feb 19th	There is an increase of rainfall from then on.
Awakening of Insects	jīng zhé 惊蛰	Mar 6th	Thunder begins and hibernating insects wake up.
Vernal Equinox	chūn fēn 春分	Mar 21st	With an equal length of day and night.
Clear and Bright	qīng míng 清明	Apr 5th	It is clear and bright (when it’s not raining), and the weather becomes noticeably warmer. A misnomer, particularly in southern China.
Grain Rain	gǔ yǔ 谷雨	Apr 20th	The early crops show their shoots.
Start of Summer	lì xià 立夏	May 6th	The beginning of summer (in southern China).
Small Full (Grain)	xiǎo mǎn 小满	May 21st	The seeds of summer crops begin to become plump, but are not yet ripe.
Grain in Ear	máng zhǒng 芒种	Jun 6th	The wheat becomes ripe; and the summer planting starts (in southern China).
Summer Solstice	xià zhì 夏至	Jun 21st	The daytime is the longest and the nighttime is the shortest of the year.
Minor Heat	xiǎo shǔ 小暑	Jul 7th	The beginning of the hottest period.
Major Heat	dà shǔ 大暑	Jul 23rd	It is the time of year when the duration of the sunshine is the longest, the average temperature is the highest, the rainfall is the greatest, and the thunderstorms are the most frequent (in some parts of northern China).
Start of Autumn	lì qiū 立秋	Aug 8th	An anomaly: nowhere is this true. Like the “start of spring” it is about a month premature.
Limit of Heat	chù shǔ 处暑	Aug 23rd	The end of the hot summer.
White Dew	bái lù 白露	Sep 8th	The transition from summer to autumn. The temperature drops sharply, and the autumn rains come.
Autumnal Equinox	qiū fēn 秋分	Sep 23rd	With an equal length of day and night.
Cold Dew	hán lù 寒露	Oct 8th	The weather becomes cold enough to reach dew point, but not cold enough to reach frost point.
Frost Descent	shuāng jiàng 霜降	Oct 24rd	The weather becomes cold and frost begins to form (in North China).
Start of Winter	lì dōng 立冬	Nov 8th	True of northern China, but winter comes later in the south.
Minor Snow	xiǎo xuě 小雪	Nov 22nd	Snow begins to fall, the weather becomes cold.
Major Snow	dà xuě 大雪	Dec 7th	It snows heavily for the first time in the year (in northern China).
Winter Solstice	dōng zhì 冬至	Dec 22nd	The daytime is the shortest and the nighttime is the longest of the year.
Minor Cold	xiǎo hán 小寒	Jan 5th， 2024	The weather rapidly reaches its coldest.
Major Cold	dà hán 大寒	Jan 20th， 2024	‘Major Cold’ It is the coldest time of the year.