graphjilo.blogg.se - Chinese new year 2021 calendar

In China, the calendar was a sacred document, sponsored and promulgated by the reigning monarch. In the calendar that the Shang used, the seasons of the year and the phases of the Moon were all supposedly accounted for. 1800 - 1200 BCE)Įvidence from the Shang oracle bone inscriptions shows that at least by the 14th century BC the Shang Chinese had established the solar year at 365¼ days and lunation at 29½ days.

Two oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty in China (c. Some variations in these rules are seen in various Chinese communities. This roughly corresponds to the east coast of China. Principal Term 11 (Winter Solstice) must always fall in the 11th month.Īll the astronomical calculations are carried out for the meridian 120 degrees east of Greenwich. In rare cases, a month may contain two Principal Terms in this case the months numbers may have to be shifted. Principal Term 12 occurs when the sun’s longitude is 300 degrees.Įach month carries the number of the Principal Term that occurs in that month.Principal Term 11 occurs when the sun’s longitude is 270 degrees.Principal Term 3 occurs when the sun’s longitude is 30 degrees.Principal Term 2 occurs when the sun’s longitude is 0 degrees.Principal Term 1 occurs when the sun’s longitude is 330 degrees.

(The sun’s longitude is 0 at Vernal Equinox, 90 at Summer Solstice, 180 at Autumnal Equinox, and 270 at Winter Solstice.) These dates are called the Principal Terms and are used to determine the number of each month: Second, determine the dates when the sun’s longitude is a multiple of 30 degrees. The date of a new moon is the first day of a new month. Here, a new moon is the completely "black" moon (that is, when the moon is in conjunction with the sun), not the first visible crescent used in the Islamic and Hebrew calendars. When determining what a Chinese year looks like, one must make a number of astronomical calculations:įirst, determine the dates for the new moons.

An ordinary year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days.

An ordinary year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months.

It is not surprising that a few similarities exist between the Chinese and the Hebrew calendar: The Chinese calendar - like the Hebrew - is a combined solar/lunar calendar in that it strives to have its years coincide with the tropical year and its months coincide with the synodic months.

When were foreign calendars introduced?.

What Is the Current Year in the Chinese Calendar?.

This means that principles of modern science have had an impact on the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar is based on exact astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and the phases of the moon.

Legend has it that the Emperor Huangdi invented the calendar in 2637 B.C.E. The beginnings of the Chinese calendar can be traced back to the 14th century B.C.E. Various Chinese communities around the world also use this calendar. Although the People’s Republic of China uses the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes, a special Chinese calendar is used for determining festivals. Today, New Year’s parades take place around the globe.Ĭhinese New Year is the main holiday of the year for more than one quarter of the world’s population. Chinese New Year parades have their origins in the California Gold Rush, when immigrants sought to share their culture.