Xiazhi
Encyclopedia
The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar term
s (節氣).
) or Geshi (rōmaji
) is the 10th solar term, and marks the summer solstice
. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 90° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 105°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 90°.
, it usually begins around 21 June and ends around 7 July.
es) mark the middle of the seasons in traditional East Asian calendars. Here, the Chinese character 至 means "extreme", so the term for the summer solstice directly signifies the summit of summer.
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).
The tenth
Xiàzhì (pīnyīnPinyin
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 Geshi (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 10th solar term, and marks the summer solstice
Summer solstice
The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...
. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 90° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 105°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 90°.
Western correlation
In the Gregorian calendarGregorian 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 21 June and ends around 7 July.
The solstices
The solstices (as well as the equinoxEquinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
es) mark the middle of the seasons in traditional East Asian calendars. Here, the Chinese character 至 means "extreme", so the term for the summer solstice directly signifies the summit of summer.