''Qīngmíng'', ''Seimei'', ''Cheongmyeong'' or ''Thanh minh'', is the name of the 5th solar term of the traditional Chinese

lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of mont ...

, which divides a year into 24 solar terms ( 節氣/ 节气). In space partitioning, Qingming begins when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 15° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 30°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 15°, usually on April 5. Compared to the space partitioning theory, in the time division theory Qingming falls around April 7 or approximately 106.5 days after winter equinox. In the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

, it usually begins around 4 or 5 April and ends around 20 April.

Pentads

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentads (候). They are: first pentad (初候), second pentad (次候) and last pentad (末候). Pentads in Qingming include: ; China * First pentad: 桐始華/桐始华, 'The paulownia begins to bloom'. * Second pentad: 田鼠化為鴽/田鼠化为鴽, 'Voles(you) transform into quails'. * Last pentad: 虹始見/虹始见, 'Rainbows begin to appear'. ; Japan * First pentad: , 'The swallow flies back from the south'. * Second pentad: , 'The goose migrates to the north'. * Last pentad: , 'Rainbows begin to appear in the sky after shower'.

Pentads

Date and time

References

See also