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()
1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996
Ox()
1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997
Tiger()
1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998
Rabbit()
1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999
Dragon()
1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000
Snake()
1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001
Horse()
1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002
Sheep()
1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003
Monkey()
1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004
Rooster()
1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005
Dog()
1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006
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
lìchun
February 4
start of spring
yushui
February 19
rain water indicates more rain instead of snow
jingzhé
March 5
awakening of the insects indicates animals and insects awakening from hibernation
chunfen
March 21
vernal equinox
qingmíng
April 5
clear and bright the time for tending graves
guyu
April 20
grain rain indicates rain will help grain growth
lìxià
May 6
start of summer
xiaman
May 21
small plumpness indicates plumpness of grains
mángzhòng
June 6
grain in ear indicates grains growing ears (botany usage)
xiàzhì
June 21
summer solstice
xiaoshu
July 7
minor heat
dàshu
July 23
major heat
lìqiu
August 7
start of autumn
chùshu
August 23
stop of heat
báilù
September 8
white dew indicates condensed moisture makes dew white
qiufen
September 23
autumnal equinox
hánlù
October 8
cold dew
shuangjiàng
October 23
frost descent indicates appearing of frost and descent of temperature