Daxue (solar term) explained
The traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms.[1] Dàxuě is the 21st solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 255° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 270°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 255°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around 7 December and ends around 21 December (22 December East Asia time).
Pentads
- 鶡旦不鳴, 'The jie-bird ceases to crow': the jie is a bird, similar to the pheasant, which is believed to be aggressive and combatant. As winter progresses, even this active bird slows and ceases to crow.
- 虎始交, 'Tigers begin to mate'
- 荔挺生, 'The litchi plant (tree) starts to germinate.'
Notes and References
- Zhang . Peiyu . Hunag . Hongfeng . The Twenty-four Solar Terms of the Chinese Calendar and the Calculation for Them . Purple Mountain Observatory . 1994 . 9 March 2021 . 12 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210612151759/https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-GXKK403.013.htm . dead .