The Chinese Calendar - A Short Introduction

By: IBM

The Chinese lunar calendar is the longest chronological record in history, dating from 2,600 BC, when the Emperor Huang Di introduced the first cycle of the zodiac. (Some accounts claimed that it was the Emperor Yao.) The Chinese Calendar is lunisolar with 7 intercalary months in a 19-year cycle. The Chinese New Year begins somewhere between late January and middle of February. Unlike the Hebrew calendar, where the leap years can be calculated very simply and the intercalary month always appears in the same time of the year, the Chinese leap year and month are computed based on astronomical observations and rather complex calculations.

One of the better known aspects of the Chinese calendar are the astrological animals. The traditional Chinese calendar counts years based on a 60-year cycle. Each year is given a name based on two characters. The first is made up of one of 10 characters known as 'earthly branches' and the second is made up of one of 12 characters known as 'heavenly stems'. The 60-year cycle is derived by naming the years using those two sets of characters in sequence. Each of the 12 'heavenly stems' is also associated with an animal, thereby assigning an animal to a year. The following table shows the animals and their associated years from 1924 to 2007.

Rat(year of the rat) 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996
Ox(year of the ox) 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997
Tiger(year of the tiger) 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998
Rabbit(year of the rabbit) 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999
Dragon(year of the dragon) 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000
Snake(year of the snake) 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001
Horse(year of the horse) 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002
Sheep(year of the sheep) 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003
Monkey(year of the monkey) 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004
Rooster(year of the rooster) 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005
Dog(year of the dog) 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006
Boar(year of the boar) 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007

The Chinese calendar also divides years into 24 periods with a special day at the beginning of each period. Traditionally, these divisions were used to help farmers know the time to sow and harvest, and they are no longer widely used .

Chinese name Occurrence Gregorian date Literary meaning
linchun lìchun February 4 start of spring
yushui yushui February 19 rain water indicates more rain instead of snow
jingzhe jingzhé March 5 awakening of the insects indicates animals and insects awakening from hibernation
chunfen chunfen March 21 vernal equinox
qingmíng qingmíng April 5 clear and bright the time for tending graves
guyu guyu April 20 grain rain indicates rain will help grain growth
lixia lìxià May 6 start of summer
xiaman xiaman May 21 small plumpness indicates plumpness of grains
mangzhong mángzhòng June 6 grain in ear indicates grains growing ears (botany usage)
xiazhi xiàzhì June 21 summer solstice
xiaoshu xiaoshu July 7 minor heat
dashu dàshu July 23 major heat
liqui lìqiu August 7 start of autumn
chushu chùshu August 23 stop of heat
bailu báilù September 8 white dew indicates condensed moisture makes dew white
quifen qiufen September 23 autumnal equinox
hanlu hánlù October 8 cold dew
shuangjiang shuangjiàng October 23 frost descent indicates appearing of frost and descent of temperature
lidong lìdong November 7 start of winter
xiaoxue xiaoxue November 22 minor snow
daxue dàxue December 7 major snow
dongzhi dongzhì December 22 winter solstice
xiaohan xiaohán January 6 minor cold
dahan dàhán January 20 major cold

A sample Chinese calendar:
sample Chinese calendar