6.8 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese calendar | 3/8 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calendar | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T14:20:08.278657+00:00 | kb-cron |
The Song state's Yin calendar (殷曆; 殷历) began its year on the day of the new moon after the winter solstice.
==== Qin and early Han dynasties ====
After Qin Shi Huang unified China under the Qin dynasty in 221 BCE, the Qin calendar (秦曆; 秦历) was introduced. It followed most of the rules governing the Zhuanxu calendar, but the month order was that of the Xia calendar; the year began with month 10 and ended with month 9, analogous to a Gregorian calendar beginning in October and ending in September. The intercalary month, known as the second Jiǔyuè (後九月; 后九月), was placed at the end of the year. The Qin calendar was used going into the Han dynasty.
==== Han dynasty Tàichū calendar ====
Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141 – 87 BCE) introduced reforms in the seventh of the eleven named eras of his reign, Tàichū (太初; 'Grand Beginning'), 104 BCE – 101 BCE. His Tàichū calendar (太初曆; 太初历; 'grand beginning calendar') defined a solar year as 365+385⁄1539 days (365;06:00:14.035), and the lunisolar month had 29+43⁄81 days (29;12:44:44.444). Since
(
365
+
385
1539
)
×
19
=
(
29
+
43
81
)
×
(
19
×
12
+
7
)
{\displaystyle \left(365+{\frac {385}{1539}}\right)\times 19=\left(29+{\frac {43}{81}}\right)\times \left(19\times 12+7\right)}
, the 19-year cycle used for the 7 additional months was taken as exact, and not as an approximation. This calendar introduced the 24 solar terms, dividing the year into 24 equal parts of 15° each. Solar terms were paired, with the 12 combined periods known as climate terms. The first solar term of the period was known as a pre-climate (節氣; 节气), and the second was a mid-climate (中氣; 中气). Months were named for the mid-climate to which they were closest, and a month without a mid-climate was an intercalary month. The Taichu calendar established a framework for traditional calendars, with later calendars adding to the basic formula.
==== Northern and Southern Dynasties Dàmíng calendar ====
The Dàmíng calendar (大明曆; 大明历; 'brightest calendar'), created in the Northern and Southern Dynasties by Zu Chongzhi (429 CE – 500 CE), introduced the equinoxes.
==== Tang dynasty Wùyín Yuán calendar ====
The use of syzygy to determine the lunisolar month was first described in the Tang dynasty Wùyín Yuán calendar (戊寅元曆; 戊寅元历; 'earth tiger epoch calendar').
==== Yuan dynasty Shòushí calendar ====
The Yuan dynasty Shòushí calendar (授時曆; 授时历; 'season granting calendar') used spherical trigonometry to find the length of the tropical year. The calendar had a 365.2425-day year, identical to the Gregorian calendar.
==== Ming and Qing Shíxiàn calendar ====
From 1645 to 1913 the Shíxiàn or Chongzhen calendar was developed. During the late Ming dynasty, the Chinese Emperor appointed Xu Guangqi in 1629 to be the leader of the Shixian calendar reform. Assisted by Jesuits, he translated Western astronomical works and introduced new concepts, such as those of Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Tycho Brahe; however, the new calendar was not released before the end of the dynasty. In the early Qing dynasty, Johann Adam Schall von Bell submitted the calendar which was edited by the lead of Xu Guangqi to the Shunzhi Emperor. The Qing government issued it as the Shíxiàn (seasonal) calendar. In this calendar, the solar terms are 15° each along the ecliptic and it can be used as a solar calendar. However, the length of the climate term near the perihelion is less than 30 days and there may be two mid-climate terms. The Shíxiàn calendar changed the mid-climate-term rule to "decide the month in sequence, except the intercalary month." The present "traditional calendar" follows the Shíxiàn calendar, except:
The baseline is Chinese Standard Time, rather than Beijing local time. Modern astronomical data, rather than mathematical calculations, is used.
==== Modern Chinese calendar ==== Despite the Chinese calendar losing its place as the country's official calendar at the beginning of the 20th century, its use has continued.
The Republic of China Calendar published by the Beiyang government of the Republic of China still listed the dates of the Chinese calendar in addition to the Gregorian calendar.
In 1929, the Nationalist government tried to ban the traditional Chinese calendar. The Kuómín Calendar published by the government no longer listed the dates of the Chinese calendar. However, Chinese people were used to the traditional calendar, and many traditional customs were based on the Chinese calendar. The ban failed and was lifted in 1934.
The latest Chinese calendar was "New Edition of Wànniánlì, revised edition", edited by Beijing Purple Mountain Observatory, People's Republic of China. In China, the modern calendar is defined by the Chinese national standard GB/T 33661–2017, "Calculation and Promulgation of the Chinese Calendar", issued by the Standardization Administration of China on 12 May 2017. Although modern-day China uses the Gregorian calendar, the traditional Chinese calendar governs holidays, such as the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival, in both China and overseas Chinese communities. It also provides the traditional Chinese nomenclature of dates within a year which people use to select auspicious days for weddings, funerals, moving or starting a business. The evening state-run news program Xinwen Lianbo in the People's Republic of China continues to announce the months and dates in both the Gregorian and the traditional lunisolar calendar. To optimize the Chinese calendar, astronomers have proposed a number of changes. Kao Ping-tse (高平子; 1888–1970), a Chinese astronomer who co-founded the Purple Mountain Observatory, proposed that month numbers be calculated before the new moon and solar terms to be rounded to the day. Since the intercalary month is determined by the first month without a mid-climate and the mid-climate time varies by time zone, countries that adopted the calendar but calculate with their own time could vary from the time in China.
=== Contributions from Chinese astronomy ===