Traditional East Asian lunisolar calendar

Lunisolar calendar

A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will...

s divide a year into 24 solar term

Solar term

A solar term is any of 24 points in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. The points are spaced 15° apart along the ecliptic and are used by lunisolar calendars to stay synchronized with the seasons. Solar terms...

s (節氣). Qīngmíng (pīnyīn

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

) or Chīngmíng (MPS II

Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II

Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II , abbreviated MPS II, is a romanization system formerly used in the Republic of China . It was created to replace the complex tonal-spelling Gwoyeu Romatzyh, and to co-exist with the popular Wade-Giles and Zhuyin...

) or Seimei (rōmaji

Romanization of Japanese

The romanization of Japanese is the application of the Latin alphabet to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is known as , less strictly romaji, literally "Roman letters", sometimes incorrectly transliterated as romanji or rōmanji. There are several different romanization systems...

) is the 5th solar term. It 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°. In the Gregorian calendar

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

, it usually begins around 4 April (5 April East Asia time) and ends around 20 April.

Pentads

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentad

Pentad

The pentad was a Pythagorean term for the quantity of five.-See also:*Related greek numerical terms**Monad **Dyad **Triad **Tetrad **Decad *Other...

s (候). They are: first pentad (初候), second pentad (次候) and last pentad (末候). Pentads in Chingming include:

China

• First pentad: 桐始華
• Second pentad: 田鼠化為鴽
• Last pentad: 虹始見

Japan

• First pentad: 玄鳥至
• Second pentad: 鴻雁北
• Last pentad: 虹始見

See also

• Qingming Festival
  Qingming Festival
  The Qingming Festival , Pure Brightness Festival or Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice , usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar...
  
   (清明節), festival celebrated on the day of Qingming
• Cold Food Festival
  Cold Food Festival
  The Cold Food Festival or Hanshi Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated for three consecutive days starting the day before the Qingming Festival in the Chinese Calendar, which falls on the 105th day after dongzhi...
  
   (寒食節), three-day festival starting one day before and ending one day after Qingming
• Along the River During the Qingming Festival