Dongzhi (solar term)

The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms. Dōngzhì, Tōji, Dongji, Tunji (in Okinawan), or Đông chí (in Vietnamese) is the 22nd solar term, and marks the winter solstice. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 270° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 285°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 270°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around 21 December (22 December East Asia time) and ends around 5 January.

Dongzhi
Chinese name
Chinese冬至
Literal meaningwinter's extreme
(i.e. winter solstice)
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetđông chí
Chữ Hán冬至
Korean name
Hangul동지
Hanja冬至
Japanese name
Kanji冬至
Hiraganaとうじ
Solar term
  Longitude    Term    Calendar
  Spring
  315°  Lichun  4 – 5 February
  330°  Yushui  18–19 February
  345°  Jingzhe  5 – 6 March
   Chunfen  20–21 March
  15°  Qingming  4 – 5 April
  30°  Guyu  20–21 April
  Summer
  45°  Lixia  5 – 6 May
  60°  Xiaoman  21–22 May
  75°  Mangzhong  5 – 6 June
  90°  Xiazhi  21–22 June
  105°  Xiaoshu  7 – 8 July
  120°  Dashu  22–23 July
  Autumn
  135°  Liqiu  7 – 8 August
  150°  Chushu  23–24 August
  165°  Bailu  7 – 8 September
  180°  Qiufen  23–24 September
  195°  Hanlu  8 – 9 October
  210°  Shuangjiang    23–24 October
  Winter
  225°  Lidong  7 – 8 November
  240°  Xiaoxue  22–23 November
  255°  Daxue  7 – 8 December
  270°  Dongzhi  21–22 December
  285°  Xiaohan  5 – 6 January
  300°  Dahan  20–21 January
Sunlight directed through the 17 arches of Seventeen Arch Bridge, Summer Palace, Beijing around winter solstice

Along with equinoxes, solstices (traditional Chinese: 至點; simplified Chinese: 至日; "extreme day") mark the middle of East Asian calendar seasons. Thus, in "冬至", the Chinese character "" means "extreme", which implies "solstices", and therefore the term for the winter solstice directly signifies the summit of winter, as "midwinter" is used in English.

In China, Dongzhi was originally celebrated as an end-of-harvest festival. Today, it is observed with a family reunion over the long night, when pink and white tangyuan are eaten in southern China in sweet broth to symbolise family unity and prosperity. Whereas in Northern China, the traditional Dongzhi food would be the dumpling.

Pentads

  • 蚯蚓結, 'Earthworms form knots', referring to the hibernation of earthworms.
  • 麋角解, 'Deer shed their antlers'
  • 水泉動, 'Spring water moves'

Date and time

Date and Time (UTC)
yearbeginend
辛巳 2001-12-21 19:21 2002-01-05 12:43
壬午 2002-12-22 01:14 2003-01-05 18:27
癸未 2003-12-22 07:03 2004-01-06 00:18
甲申 2004-12-21 12:41 2005-01-05 06:03
乙酉 2005-12-21 18:34 2006-01-05 11:46
丙戌 2006-12-22 00:22 2007-01-05 17:40
丁亥 2007-12-22 06:07 2008-01-05 23:24
戊子 2008-12-21 12:03 2009-01-05 05:14
己丑 2009-12-21 17:46 2010-01-05 11:08
庚寅 2010-12-21 23:38 2011-01-05 16:54
辛卯 2011-12-22 05:30 2012-01-05 22:43
壬辰 2012-12-21 11:11 2013-01-05 04:33
癸巳 2013-12-21 17:11 2014-01-05 10:24
甲午 2014-12-21 23:03 2015-01-05 16:20
Source: JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System

See also

References

    Preceded by
    Daxue (大雪)
    Solar term (節氣) Succeeded by
    Xiaohan (小寒)

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