Nongliershisijieqi
01 · Historical Records
The 24 solar terms originated in the Yellow River basin. As early as the Spring and Autumn period, ancient Chinese sages fixed the four terms of mid-spring, mid-summer, mid-autumn and mid-winter; with continuous improvement and refinement thereafter, the 24 solar terms were fully established by the Qin and Han dynasties. In 104 BC, the Taichu Calendar, drawn up by Deng Ping and others, formally incorporated the 24 solar terms into the calendar, fixing their astronomical positions.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The 24 solar terms are a cultural legacy created independently by the working people of China. They reflect changes in the seasons, guide agricultural activities, and affect the food, clothing, housing and transport of countless households. The period of time taken by the sun to move through each 15 degrees of ecliptic longitude, starting from 0 degrees of ecliptic longitude, is called "one solar term". The sun travels 360 degrees in a year, passing through 24 solar terms in total — two per month. Among them, the first term of each month is called a "jieqi" (major term): Beginning of Spring, Awakening of Insects, Pure Brightness, Beginning of Summer, Grain in Ear, Minor Heat, Beginning of Autumn, White Dew, Cold Dew, Beginning of Winter, Major Snow and Minor Cold — 12 terms in all. The second term of each month is called a "zhongqi" (major climatic point): Rain Water, Spring Equinox, Grain Rain, Grain Buds, Summer Solstice, Major Heat, End of Heat, Autumn Equinox, Frost's Descent, Minor Snow, Winter Solstice and Major Cold. The 24 solar terms reflect the sun's annual apparent motion, so their dates in the current Gregorian calendar are essentially fixed: in the first half of the year they fall on the 6th and 21st, and in the second half on the 8th and 23rd, varying by only one or two days. The 24 solar terms are universally accepted by the Chinese public; their influence can be seen everywhere in daily life, and some solar terms, combined with folk culture, have become established festivals. The most famous terms — Pure Brightness, Beginning of Spring, Beginning of Summer and Winter Solstice — have all taken on a festive atmosphere, while Summer Solstice and the dog days of summer are also closely bound up with daily life, giving rise to sayings such as "dumplings at the winter solstice, noodles at the summer solstice", "dumplings in the first fu, noodles in the second fu, and baked egg pancakes in the third fu", and "train in the three nine-day periods of winter, train in the three fu of summer". These seasonal terms are often accompanied by colorful folk activities. The intangible cultural heritage of the 24 solar terms is very rich: it includes related proverbs, songs and legends; works of art such as traditional production tools, household implements, handicrafts, calligraphy and painting; and festival culture, production rituals and folk customs closely tied to the seasonal terms.
Beating the spring ox at Lichun
Lichun is marked by whipping the spring ox and issuing the ploughing order.
Spring equinox and the community day
The equinox day brings communal rites for a good harvest.
Solstice and the dog days
Summer solstice leads into the dog days and their distinctive foods.
Winter solstice ancestral rites
At the winter solstice villages perform rites for ancestors and for the elderly.
Autumn festival at Liqiu
In Miao areas Liqiu is a great festival of games, drumming and courtship.
Tracking the seasons by phenology
Each solar term marks a degree of the sun's path and a stage of plant and animal life.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Across China's vast territory the 24 solar terms are not a uniform farming schedule; rather, each locality breaks them down into many variants according to its own crops, climate and livelihood. In the Yellow River basin, where dry-land farming sets the farming calendar, each solar term corresponds to a field task; in the watery regions of Jiangnan, organized around rice cultivation and fishing, the focus of activity in the same solar term falls elsewhere. The 24 solar terms have therefore left behind a host of distinct local seasonal customs across the country — for example the Beginning of Spring Festival in Waichen Village, Jiuhua Township, Quzhou, Zhejiang; the "issuing spring and urging farming" in Datian Village, Suichang, Zhejiang; "saying spring" in Shiqian, Guizhou; the Winter Sacrifice in Sanmen, Zhejiang; the "rushing to the equinox fair" in Anren, Hunan; and the Miao "rush to autumn" in Huayuan, Hunan — all named for the same seasonal terms yet each practiced in its own way. The solar terms in folk proverbs are adapted even more closely to local conditions: the saying "at the spring equinox the wheat stands up" points directly at the wheat-growing north, while in the rice-growing south it is replaced by other phenological signs. The division between "jieqi" and "zhongqi" originally had a strict order; today the two are together simply called "solar terms", and the distinction of the division has correspondingly faded. The China Agricultural Museum systematically collects the phenological records, implements, images, farming rituals and other physical and documentary materials of local seasonal customs from across the country, allowing this timetable, scattered across the countryside, to be presented in concentrated form.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The "jieqi" and "zhongqi" alternate, each lasting 15 days; today people already refer to both "jieqi" and "zhongqi" together as "solar terms". The 24 solar terms are a concrete expression of ancient Chinese agricultural civilization and possess high research value for the history and culture of agriculture.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yang Xingya 05-3004
- Wu Haishen 05-3005
- Feng Wanming 05-3006
- Feng Wu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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