| 05-November-2024 |
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The Chinese Lunar Calendar is the longest chronological record in history, dating from 2637 B.C. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on the cycles of the moon. In the Chinese calendar, the beginning of the year is placed somewhere between late January and early February. The lunar year is divided into twelve months of twenty-nine and a half days. Every two and a half years, an intermediate month is added to adjust the calendar. One complete cycle in the Chinese calendar takes sixty years to complete, and it is composed by five simple cycles of twelve years each (The Twelve Earthly Branches). Each year in a simple cycle is assigned an animal name (Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai). The Twelve Animal Signs (Shengxiao) serve as a useful way to calculate people's ages, but they are mostly used to find out who is older among friends and acquaintances. The Earthly Branches are also combined with the Ten Heavenly Stems (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui). A Chinese year can be represented by the composition of two characters, one from the Heavenly Set, and one from the Earthly set. The year of 2005 for example, is described as "Yi You", a combination of the second one in the Heavenly Stems and the tenth one in the Earthly Branches. Each of the Twelve Animal Signs is also combined with the five main elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. None of these elements can be called either the strongest or the weakest. They are equal and dependent on one another. These elements are divided into two types of interrelationships:
| Conducive: | Controlling: |
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In addition to years, the Chinese Zodiac is also used to label times of day, with each sign corresponding to a "large hour" (Shichen), which is a two-hour period:
| 23:00 | - | 01:00 | Rat | 11:00 | - | 13:00 | Horse | ||
| 01:00 | - | 03:00 | Ox | 13:00 | - | 15:00 | Goat | ||
| 03:00 | - | 05:00 | Tiger | 15:00 | - | 17:00 | Monkey | ||
| 05:00 | - | 07:00 | Rabbit | 17:00 | - | 19:00 | Rooster | ||
| 07:00 | - | 09:00 | Dragon | 19:00 | - | 21:00 | Dog | ||
| 09:00 | - | 11:00 | Snake | 21:00 | - | 23:00 | Pig |
| You can view the following Chinese Lunar Calendars (pdf format): | |||||||||
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The Chinese have adopted the Western Solar Calendar since 1911, but the Chinese Lunar Calendar is still used for festive occasions, such as the Moon Festival and the Chinese New Year. The Chinese calendar year har nine main festivals, seven determined by lunisolar calendar, and the other two derived from the solar agricultural calendar. The solar-based agricultural calendar is made up for of twenty-four solar terms (jieqi). They serve as seasonal markers to help farmers decide when to plant or harvest crops.
| Chinese New Year (Chun Jie) aka Spring Festival/Lunar New Year (The 1st day of the first month) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Chinese New Year is the most important of all the festivals. The holiday is often
celebrated with firecrackers and dragon dances. Chinese New Year is the time when Chinese all around the world return
home at New Year's Eve to have a reunion dinner with their family. Red packets (hong bao) are traditionally passed out
as gifts from married couples to children. These red envelopes normally contain small amounts of money. The First New's
Day is usually celebrated within the family. The Second Day of the New Year is for visiting the family of the wife if a
couple is married. The Chinese New Year is also the time of settling all debts and spreading good intentions to family
and friends. Every Chinese home must also be cleaned in prior to The Chinese New Year as a token of bidding farewell to
the Kitchen God (Zaowang). The Kitchen God is regarded as both the guardian of the family hearth and the judge of household
morals. The Kitchen God would leave the house on the 23rd of the last month to bring his report to the Jade Emperor about
the behaviour of the family. By tradition, the family prepares a farewell dinner to the Kitchen God on same evening with
sweet foods. Some might call this a bribe, while others would say that it was for sealing his mouth from saying bad things.
There are many cuisines in Chinese culture associated with the Lunar New Year: Niangao (sticky rice cakes), Fagao
(steamed wheat cakes), Jiaozi (dumplings), Yusheng (salad of raw fish), mandarin oranges (symbol of wealth and good fortune),
whole steamed fish (symbol of long life and good fortune), uncut noodles (symbol of longevity), and baked goods with seeds
(symbol of fertility). All sharp instruments, such as knives and scissors, are also put away during the holiday to avoid
cutting the "luck" of the New Year. The Seventh Day of the New Year is called "Everybody's Birthday" as everyone was
considered one year older than they were. The New Year season lasts fifteen days and ends with the Lantern Festival.
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| Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Jie) aka The Little New Year (The 15th day of the first month) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Lantern Festival marks the end of the series of celebrations starting from the Chinese New Year.
During the holiday, children go out at night carrying bright lanterns. The date also serves as a day of love and matchmaking. It is
said that the Lantern Festival dates back to an ancient legend during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.). The legend tells us about
the time when the Jade Emperor was so angered with a village for killing his favorite goose, that he ordered it to be destroyed by a
storm of fire. However, a good-hearted fairy heard about this act of vengeance and told the people of the village to light lanterns
throughout the town. This action tricked the Jade Emperor into believing that the village was already engulfed in fire, and that his
goose had been avenged. From that day on, people celebrated their deliverance by carried lanterns of different shapes and colors through
the streets on the first full moon of the year. It is also traditional for the Chinese to write riddles on a piece of paper and post them
on the lanterns. If anyone knows the solution to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer.
If the answer is correct, then they will receive a small gift. This activity is called “Guessing Lantern Riddles” and dates back to Song Dynasty
(960 - 1279 A.D.). The Chinese also love to eat yuanxiao (sweet dumpling balls), also known as tangyuan, during the festival.
Eating tangyuan symbolizes union, harmony, and happiness for the family.
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| Pure Brightness Festival (Qing Ming Jie) aka All Souls Day/Tomb Sweeping Day (The 4th or 5th of April) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For the Chinese, it is the day to remember and honour one's ancestors. The Chinese pray before the ancestors,
sweep the tombs, and offer food to the ancestors. Young people often accompany their parents to the gravesite and help in the cleaning process.
It is also traditional for the Chinese to hang willow branches in doorways during Chingming to ward off evil spirits. The Chinese also love to
fly kites during the festival and not only during the day, but also at night. A string of lanterns are often tied onto the thread of the kite,
which make them all look like shining stars, thus giving them the name of “God’s lanterns”. The day before the Qingming Festival is often called
Cold Food Day (Hanshi). No fire nor smoke was allowed on that day, and all the people had to eat cold food for the entire day. Cold Food Day is
held in commemoration of Jie Zhitui, who lived in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 – 476 B.C.). According to the legend, Jie Zhitui was a good
official in the State of Jin, working for Crown Prince Chong Er. When the state was in turmoil, Jie Zhitui and Chong Er fled away together and
took care of each other through all kinds of hardships and difficulties. Jie Zhitui even cut off a piece of flesh from his own leg to make a meal
for Chong Er. Later on, when Chong Er ascended the throne, he began to neglect his loyal subject. In the end, Jie Zhitui became so sad that he
went off to live in seclusion with his mother in the mountains. Not long after that, Chong Er felt so guilty that he decided to go and look for
his old friend. When he arrived at the mountains he could not find Jie Zhitui anywhere, and so he ordered his men to set the entire place on fire.
Chong Er hoped that the fire would force Jie Zhitui out, but when the fire was put out, he discovered that he had killed both Jie Zhitui and his
mother in the process of torching the mountains. A letter, written in blood, was found beside the corpse of Jie Zhitui, saying: “I cut off my
flesh to dedicate to you, only to wish my king to become forever clear and bright.” Chong Er felt devastated by the loss of his friend, and so
he issued an order to make the day in memory of Jie Zhitui, thus the Cold Food Day. It was not until the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) that Hanshi
was replaced by Qingming.
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| Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Jie) (The 5th day of the fifth month) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dragon boat racing is a traditional part of the festival. The Chinese like to decorate their boats with dragon
heads and tails. Each dragon boat consists of twenty-two crew members, twenty of them are paddlers, one is the drummer, and the last one is
in charge of steering the rear of the boat. The drummer, who may be considered as the "heartbeat" of the dragon boat, leads the crew through
rhythmic beating of a drum, to indicate the frequency of the paddling strokes of the crew. The paddlers sit in pairs, facing forwards.
The sweep, also known as the steerman, controls the dragon boat with a steering oar and may work with the drummer to call out commands
during a race. The Dragon Boat Festival is held in commemoration of Qu Yuan (340 – 278 B.C.), who once was a minister in the State of Chu
during the Warring States period. Qu Yuan was a man of great loyalty and integrity, but he was never appreciated by King Huai. The Chu king,
who had fell under the influence of other corrupt and jealous ministers such as Zi Lan, later banished Qu Yuan from the royal court. In his
exiled days, Qu Yuan cared much for his country and composed a lot of breathtaking poems, such as the "Songs of the South" (Chuci), the
rhapsodic Lament (Li Sao) and the famous "Heavenly Questions" (Tian Wen). When Qu Yuan learned about the invasion of his country by the
barbaric Qin in the year of 278 B.C., he became so ashamed that he took his own life in the Miluo river as a protest against the corruption
of the era. When the people of Chu learned about Qu Yuan's suicide, they all rushed out on the river water in their fishing boats and tried
to look for his body. They beat drums and splashed the water with their paddles in order to keep the fish and evil spirits away from his body.
They even scattered rice into the water to prevent him from suffering hunger. Later on, the spirit of Qu Yuan appeared to the people and told
them that the rice meant for him was devoured by a white dragon. He asked the people to wrap the rice into three-cornered silk packages to
ward off the dragon. This was later named zongzi and had become a traditional food ever since. It is also traditional for Chinese children to
wear perfume poaches during the festival, because people believed that they could keep the children safe from evil spirits.
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| Night of Sevens (Qi Xi) aka The Seventh Sister's Birthday/Chinese Valentine's Day (The 7th day of the seventh month) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It is traditional for young girls to demonstrate their domestic arts on this day and to make wishes for a good
husband. Qi Xi is originated from a legendary Chinese love story, the story of Cowherd and Weaver Maid. A young cowherd named Niu Lang came
one day across a lake where he saw seven fairy sisters taking a bath. Encouraged by his companion the ox, he stole some of their clothes and
hid himself to see what would happen next. When the fairy sisters were about to leave, the youngest and most beautiful of them all, Zhi Nü,
was unable to retrieve her clothes and could therefore not follow her sisters back to heaven. Later on, while remaining in the mortal world,
she bumped into Niu Lang and fell in love with him. Eventually, both of them agreed to become husband and wife. Zhi Nü proved to be a wonderful
wife, and Niu Lang a good husband, and they lived a happy life and even gave birth to a boy and a girl. The Queen Mother of Heaven, however,
became furious when she discovered that a mortal had married one of the fairy girls, and ordered Zhi Nü to be summoned back to her rightful
place. With the help from the celestial ox, Niu Lang pursued his wife all the way to heaven, together with his son and daughter. When the
Queen Mother of Heaven saw this, she took out her hairpin and scratched a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever. This was
later known as the Milky Way separating the stars of Altair (Niu Lang) and Vega (Zhi Nü). Zhi Nü was forced to sit forever on one side of the
river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niu Lang watched her from afar together with their two children. Their loyalty to love touched the
magpies, so tens of thousands of magpies flew up into heaven to form a bridge (Que Qiao) for the lovers. The Queen Mother of Heaven was
eventually moved and allowed Zhi Nü and Niu Lang to meet each year on the seventh night of the seventh moon. In recent years, the youths in
urban cities have celebrated this day as Valentine’s Day in China.
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| Ghost Festival (Zhong Yuan Jie) aka Yulanpen (The 15th day of the seventh month) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 7th month in the Chinese calendar is often called the Ghost Month. It is when ghosts and spirits are
relased from the Underworld to visit earth. The activities during the festival include preparing ritualistic offering food and burning
spirit money to please the visiting ghosts and spirits as well as ancestors. Spirit money, also known as Hell Bank Notes, is a way to
ensure that that spirits can acquire lots of good things in the afterlife. Other activities include burying and releasing miniature paper
boats and lanterns on water, which signifies "giving directions to the lost ghosts".
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| Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) aka The Moon Festival (The 15th day of the eight month) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Moon Festival is a popular Chinese celebration dating back over 3000 years to Zhou dynasty. The moon is at
it's brightest and fullest, marking an ideal time to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest, and also reminding people of Chang E and
the mythical Moon Goddess. The traditional food of this festival is the moon cake. The legend of Chang E and Hou Yi is familiar to every Chinese,
and it is also a favourite subject of poets. This story took place around 2179 B.C. during the reign of Emperor Yao, and it comes in many different
versions. Hou Yi was once an immortal, while Chang E worked as a maiden for the Queen Mother of the West (Jade Emperor's wife). One day, Hou Yi
aroused the jealousy of his fellow immortals, who subsequently reported him to the Jade Emperor. Both Hou Yi and Chang E were then banished from
heaven and forced to live as mortal beings on earth. Later on, Hou Yi became a famous archer and was summoned by Emperor Yao to perform a difficult
task. Ten suns were circling the earth at that time, one for every ten days, and the emperor commanded Hou Yi to kill all of them, but one. When
Hou Yi had completed the task, the emperor rewarded him with a pill that would take him back to heaven and restore his former life as a celestial
being, but he was told not to take the pill until he had fasted for at least a year. Hou Yi rushed home and hid the pill under a rafter. One day,
when Hou Yi was absent from home, a bully called Peng Meng broke into his house and forced Chang E to hand over the elixir of everlasting life.
Chang E refused to give him the pill and decided to swallow it instead. Suddenly, her body was lifted above the ground and she flew out of the
window and into the sky. When Hou Yi found out what had happened, he immediately chased after her with the bow in his hand. Hou Yi was unable to
catch up with his wife and returned to the mortal world. Chang E, however, reached the surface of the moon, where she threw up a part of the pill.
She then found a celestial hare, who she asked to make a new pill out of the remnants of the old one, so that she could return to earth.
As of today, the hare is still pounding. One night later on, Hou Yi suddenly noticed that the shadow on the moon resembled his wife and so he
tried to chase after it. But as he ran, the moon retreated, and as he withdrew, the moon crept closer back to him. Hou Yi knew by then that he
would never get to the surface of the moon. From that day on, Hou Yi could only observe his wife from afar on the 15th day of the eight moon,
the only night when the moon is at it’s fullest and most beautiful.
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| Double Ninth Festival (Chong Yang Jie) (The 9th day of the ninth month) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to Yi Jing (The Book of Changes), nine is a yang number, meaning masculine and positive. Ninth day
of the ninth month has too much yang and is thus a potentially dangerous date. To protect against danger, it is traditionally to climb a
high mountain, drink chrysanthemum wine, and wear a plant named zhuyu (zhuyu is considered to cure illnesses). Double Ninth may have started
out as a day to drive away danger, but over time it became a day of celebration. Today, mountain climbing races are popular during this
festival. In 1989, the Chinese government decided that the Double Ninth Festival should be called Senior’s Day. On this day, all government
units and organizations will organize an autumn trip for those who have retired from their posts. Younger generations will also take the
elder ones to suburban areas or send gifts to them on this day.
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| Winter Solstice Festival (Dong Zhi) (21st or 22nd of December) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dong Zhi is one the most important solar terms celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians. It is the
time when the sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest, and it is also the time when farmers and fishermen collect supplies and food in
preparation of the coming winter. In modern times, it is a time for the family to get together and eat tangyuan (balls of glutinous rice,
which symbolize reunion). Dong Zhi became a festival during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.). It was a day where both officials and
common people would have a rest. During the Tang and Song Dynasties (618 – 1279 A.D.), the Winter Solstice Festival was also a day to offer
sacrifices to Heaven and ancestors.
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| Tian Hou Jie (The 23rd day of the third month) |
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| This day is commemorated to a young girl named Mo Niang. She was later renamed Tian Hou (The Queen of Heaven) and is widely known as the guardian of boat people and sailors. Mo Niang was born in Fujian in the year 1093. Both her father and her brothers were fishermen at that time. One night, after bidding farewell to her family, who had gone off fishing, she had a precognition in her dream about them drowning. Mo Niang then rushed out to the sea, flying on clouds, and managed to arrive just in time to save both her father and her brothers from their imminent death. When Mo Niang died at the age of twenty, she was bestowed the title of Tian Hou for her ability to predict storms and sea traveller’s fortune. Today, there are many shrines and temples throughout China that are dedicated to her spirit. |
| Water Splashing Festival (13th to 18th of April - Festival in the Yunnan province) |
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| According to an ancient legend, there once lived a demon king in Xishuangbanna, who took seven young women as his wives against their will. The women rose in rebellion one day and killed the demon king, but the demon's decapitated head kept rolling and caused fire in it's trail. The fire could only be put out when the head was picked up by the women and held in their arms. Thus, the seven women decided to take turns on holding the demon head once a year. When one woman's turn was over, the local people would splash water on her, so that it would cleanse out the evil spirits from her. As time passed by, the demon king's head slowly burnt into ashes. The ritual of splashing water on each other, however, gradually evolved into a local custom. |
| Spring Flower Fair (28th to 30th of the twelfth month - Festival in the Guangdong province) |
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| During the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty, tea sales flourished, which subsequenlty led to tremendous demands for flowers as ingredients. As a result of this, flower fairs emerged in several cities during the reigns of later Qing Emperors. During the fairs, the streets were filled with booths selling all kinds of flowers, such as water lily, osmanthus, nandina, red maple, magnolia, and winter jasmine. Today, all of these flowers can bee seen at the Guanzhou Spring Flower Fair, which takes place on New Year's Eve. For Guangzhou residents, this event is a part of the Spring Festival celebrations. |
The Legend of the Twelve Animals
According to a Chinese legend, the Jade Emperor (Emperor of Heaven) once called for a contest to decide who to gain a permanent place in the Zodiac Years. In order to win the contest, the contestants had to cross a wild river and reach a designated spot on the other side as fast as possible. Twelve animals decided to answer the Emperor's call.
First out were the rat and the cat. Since both of them were lousy swimmers, they had to figure out another way to cross the river. Luckily, they were both intelligent enough to persuade an ox into letting them sit on it's back while it crossed the river. The ox, being kind and naive, agreed to carry them across the river. When they were halfway across, the crafty rat suddenly pushed the cat into the river. Because of this betrayal, the cat had always hated the rat, and the water as well. When the ox had crossed the river, the rat quickly jumped ahead and cleverly claimed the first place in the race. Following closely behind was the strong ox, who claimed the second place in the Zodiac.
After the ox, came the tiger. The tiger complained alot about the heavy currents in the river, but because of it's powerful strength, it made it across and claimed the third place in the Zodiac. The next two animals in line were the dragon and the rabbit. The rabbit had to jump from one stone to another in order to cross the river, but When it was halfway across, it suddenly slipped and fell into the water. Luckily, the rabbit was fast enough to grab hold of a floating log and survived. The dragon, who floated in the sky, was more busy with making rain to help all the people and creatures of the world than focusing on the race . When the dragon was almost at the finish line, it suddenly saw the helpless rabbit, who was clinging on to the log. The dragon decided to help the poor creature and gave the rabbit a puff of breath so that it could reach the shore. Because of this, the rabbit made it to the finish line before the dragon and claimed the fourth place in the Zodiac. The emperor was very pleased with the actions of the dragon and granted it the fifth place in the Zodiac.
As soon as the dragon had finished the race, a new animal appeared from the swift currents of the river. It was the horse, who came galloping. Just as it reached the shore, a sneaky snake suddenly appeared on the horse's hoof. The snake managed to throw the horse into fear and confusion, and because of this, it reached the finish line before the horse and claimed the sixth place in the Zodiac. The horse reached the finish line short after and claimed the seventh place. Not long after, the goat, the monkey, and the rooster appeared at the shore. These three animals had helped each all the way across the river, and the Emperor was so pleased with their combined efforts that he gave the goat the eight place in the Zodiac, the monkey the ninth place, and the rooster the tenth place in the Zodiac.
The eleventh animal was the dog. The dog was the best swimmer of them all, but it was too busy with taking a bath in the river than making it to the finish line. Just as the Emperor was about to call it a day, one last animal appeared at the finish line. It was none other than the pig. The pig explained to the emperor that it became hungry during the race and had to stop for a small meal. After the feast, it became so tired that it fell asleep, and could therefore not make it to the finish line in time. And that is how the pig became the twelfth animal in the Zodiac.
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