Chances are you have heard about the Chinese Lunar Calendar, and 24 minor solar terms — one of the most popular practices of the Lunar calendar.

In fact, the Chinese lunar calendar is a type of calendar which is calculated by the cycle of the Moon. Moreover, the world of the Chinese Lunar Calendar covers much more interesting things than you can imagine. That is the reason why we would like to show you meaningful facts and practices relating to the Chinese Lunar Calendar that you might not ever know.

Let take a step deeper into the world of the Chinese Lunar calendar.

The Chinese Lunar calendar covers fun facts you might not know.

1. What is The Chinese Lunar Calendar?

A quarter of the world population is influenced by the Chinese lunar calendar. For thousand years ago, Chinese and Eastern people had to rely on the observation skills, and their object is the Moon, so as to improve agriculture. As a result, they had noticed the repeated changes in the Moon’s shape throughout a month, a year. Especially, they had discovered its influence in the weather condition. It can be said that this awareness was the basis for the modern astronomy. Finally, by realizing the movement of the Moon, the had created the Chinese Lunar calendar. In other words, this was the Lunar Calendar, or agricultural calendar (“Nong lì”, in Chinese).

That is the reason why the Chinese Lunar Calendar has played a significant role in agriculture. Moreover, its practices also are helpful for medical treatment, spiritual development, astrology. In sum, the Chinese Lunar Calendar covers itself a mental treasure for Chinese in detail and Eastern people in general.

The ancient people had looked at the cycle of the Moon to create the Lunar calendar.

2. Which Types of Information are Covered in The Chinese Lunar Calendar?

1. Date, month, and year in the Gregorian calendar (Solar calendar)
2. Date, month, and year in Chinese Lunar calendar, respectively
3. Symbolic Animal Zodiac of Date: Rat/Ox/Tiger/Rabbit/ Dragon/Snake/Horse/Sheep/Monkey/Rooster/Dog, and Pig.
4. Golden Hours: The lucky period in each day that is suitable for celebrating significant events. For examples, the golden hours for starting building construction, wedding day, death ritual, etc.
5. Unfortunate Hours: Likewise, unfortunate hours are the periods in each day that we should avoid doing something extremely important.
6. Solar Hours: It shows information about the time the sun rises, sets, comes to the peak, and the length of day.
7. Lunar Hours: It also expresses the cycle of going up and down of the Moon, to what extent how the Moon is round, and the length of night.
8. The Best Direction for Financial Chances and Happy Chances.
9. Chinese Animal Zodiac of the ones who can bring you good lucks and bad lucks.
10. Name of both lucky star and unlucky star of a day.
11. Top the Dos and Don’ts in a day.

Chinese Lunar calendar screenshot

3. How to Convert Your Date of Birth in The Gregorian Calendar into The Chinese Lunar Calendar?

Filling into the required information below. As a result, you will see your date of birth in the Chinese Lunar calendar and your Chinese Animal Zodiac.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hI5jP6t-qA[/embedyt]

4. How to change the hour in the Gregorian calendar into the Chinese Lunar calendar?

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, one day is divided into 12 periods which are named by 12 popular animals in Eastern countries. In order to determine the hours in a day, the ancient people had relied on the Sun’s position on the sky. When the Sun is at its highest point or Sun Transit, it is in the Horse period.

Two-hour periods in Sun calendar Chinese Animal Hours/Chinese Zodiac Hours 23:00–01:00 Rat 01:00–03:00 Ox 03:00–05:00 Tiger 05:00–07:00 Rabbit 07:00–09:00 Dragon 09:00–11:00 Snake 11:00–13:00 Horse 13:00–15:00 Sheep 15:00–17:00 Monkey 17:00–19:00 Rooster 19:00–21:00 Dog 21:00–23:00 Pig

5. Which are the popular practices of the Chinese Lunar Calendar?

• 24 minor solar terms for agriculture, breed, and going fishing

In the year perspectives, the Chinese Lunar calendar is divided into 24 minor solar terms. In comparison to the Gregorian calendar, the beginning day of 24 minor solar terms is just one more day or one less day.

Solar Terms Month Date The beginning of Spring Feb 4th or Feb 5th Rain Water Feb 19th or Feb 20th Waking of insects Mar 6th or Mar 7th Vernal equinox Mar 21st or Mar 22nd Clear and bright Apr 5th or Apr 6th Grain Rain Apr 20th or Apr 21st The start of summer May 6th or May 7th Small Full (Grain) May 21st or May 22nd Pleiades rising time Jun 6th or Jun 7th The summer solstice Jun 21st or Jun 22nd Minor heat Jul 7th or Jul 8th Major heat Jul 23rd or Jul 24th The start of the autumn Aug 8th or Aug 9th The limit of heat Aug 23rd or Aug 24th White dew Sep 8th or Sep 9th The autumnal equinox Sep 23rd or Sep 24th Cold dew Oct 8th or Oct 9th Frost descent Oct 23rd or Oct 24th The start of the winter Nov 8th or Nov 9th Minor snow Nov 22nd or Nov 23rd Major snow Dec 7th or Dec 8th Winter solstice Dec 22nd or Dec 23rd Minor cold Jan 6th or Jan 7th Major cold Jan 20th or Jan 21st

24 minor solar terms relate to the typical weather condition.

And the ancient farmer base on the 24 solar terms so as to serve the agriculture activities such as planning of planting, harvesting, and breed.

24 minor solar terms in the Chinese Lunar calendar had proven its great role in agriculture for ages.

For more details:

• 8 minor solar terms show the change of seasons: The beginning of the spring, vernal equinox, the start of summer, the summer solstice, the start of the autumn, autumn equinox, the start of the winter, and winter solstice.
• 5 minor solar terms express the change of the temperature: minor heat, major heat, limit of heat, minor cola, and major cold.
• 7 minor solar terms reflect the rainfall amounts: minor snow, major snow, frost descent, cold dew, White dew, grain rain, and rainwater.
• 4 minor solar terms the cycle of animal and plants: waking of insects, the clear and bright term, small full (grain), and the Pleiades rising time.
• Nowadays, 24 minor solar terms are considered as the great achievement in science. They play an important role for the farmers to predict the weather and maximize agriculture productivity.

Besides that, the Chinese Lunar calendar also closely connected to the tide waves. In fact, the Moon causes tides on Earth. Tides caused by the pull of the Moon usually occur in regular cycles. Especially, the full moon and new moon influence the sea tidal waves. The fishermen and those who work on the seas can predict the tide waves so as to maximize the economic activities. For examples, the fishers can reply on the tidal waves for going fishing or navigating ships.

• Finding the Yidam in Tibet Buddhism by the date of birth in Lunar Calendar

You can imagine Yidam is your Master, a spiritual teacher. You learn your Master’s method, honor your Master, and cultivate Dharma pathway in the same way as your Master did. It can be said that it is such a great dependent origination for you to know who your Yidam is. By practicing Dharma pathway like your Yidam, you will find it easier to attain enlightenment as well as have a fulfilling life.

In fact, there are 8 ways to find your Yidam. And determining your Yidam by date of birth in the Lunar calendar is one of the easiest and fastest ways.

After checking your date of birth in the Lunar calendar, you have already know your Chinese Zodiac. Hereby the Buddha, Boddhisattva who is your Yidam, respectively.

Chinese Zodiac Yidam in Tibet Buddhism Rat Thousand-hands Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara Ox Akasagarbha Bodhisattva Tiger Akasagarbha Bodhisattva Rabbit Manjusri Bodhisattva Dragon Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Snake Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Horse Mahastamaprapta Bodhisattva Sheep Vairocana/Mahavairocana Monkey Vairocana/Mahavairocana Rooster Acala Dog Amida Buddha Pig Amida Buddha

• Fortune Telling (Bazi)

Bazi is the date of birth in the Lunar calendar that is used for predicting a human’s fate, basing on the theory of Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Ganzhi cycle.

The lunar birthday is converted to Ganzhi that will be applied to the ancient methods of fortune telling, medical treatment, Ayurveda, Feng-shui, etc.

From Bazi, people can find information relating to both the universe and the elements’ energy within. Moreover, Bazi also shows data about the health and the genes code. Or the interaction between the types of energy. It covers the full information relating to Western zodiacs such as Sun signs, Moon sign, Venus sign.

Although the Bazi’s calculation just requires the hour, date, month, and year in the Chinese Lunar calendar, it can show us enough facts for predicting and managing our fate.

If we look forward to understanding deeply about Bazi, it should be necessary for calculating in more detail. For examples, not only the hour of the date of birth, but the second, the sect, or minutes.

Bazi shows much information about a human’s fate.

• 24 minor solar terms for medical treatment, festival, construction, Ayurveda

For ages, ancient people have relied on the 24 minor solar terms so as to make the decisions for medical treatment, festival, construction, and Ayurveda, etc.

For examples:

• Festival: The fifth minor solar term in a year, when the sky is clear and bright, is a festival called “Qingming Festival”. According to the traditional culture, people usually visit the ancestors’ tomb. This festival is also called “Festival for Tending Graves”, “Tomb Sweeping Day”, “Ancestors Day”, or “Pure Sweeping Day”. Besides that, the first day of the first month of the Lunar year is also called “Lunar New Year”. In the past, the farmers celebrated this festival for 10–14 days to take rest after a hard-working year.
• Construction: It is suitable for construction in the winter solstice or the minor solar term of major cold. As it is either much sunny nor rainy in these periods.
• Ayurveda: At the beginning of the spring, summer, autumn, and winter, it is important for us to take care of our health well. In each season, people should follow special diets and suitable physical activities.

6. How about Further Information Relating to The Chinese Lunar Calendar?

• The Chinese Lunar Calendar and Its Harmony to The Five Elements

First of all, we should know that the theory of Yin & Yang, the Five Elements play an important role in the Chinese world vision, human vision. All of the cultural practices in Eastern countries such as Fengshui, divination follow these rules. And the Chinese lunar calendar is not the exception. For examples, each Shígān in the Chinese Lunar calendar corresponds to the Yin & Yang and the Five Elements rule.

Let take a look at the below table.

The Yin &Yang and The Five Elements Shígān Yang Wood jiǎ 甲 Yin Wood yǐ 乙 Yang Fire bǐng 丙 Yin Fire dīng 丁 Yang Ground wù 戊 Yin Ground jǐ己 Yang Metal gēng 庚 Yin Metal xīn 辛 Yang Water rén 壬 Yin Water guǐ 癸

It is essential for us to know that each Shígān, Dìzhī, and each year in the Ganzhi cycle all follow the rule of Yin &Yang as well as the Five Elements.

• The Chinese Lunar Calendar and Western Zodiacs

According to Western astrology, 12 Western zodiacs relate to the Sun signs. However, the Moon’s position on the day we were born — or the Moon signs do really matter for your inner potentials. People believe that your horoscope calculated by Sun signs can’t show totally exact information about your character. Besides that, while practicing fortune telling about our fate, people usually convert the date of birth in Sun sign into Moon sign so as to show full description.

The cycle of the Moon also has a strong influence on 12 Western Zodiacs. For ages, people have known that the position of the Moon and the constellations have a strong influence on things in the Earth. The Chinese Lunar calendar is one of the greatest inventions of Eastern civilization. And for a long time, it had been proving its significant role in agriculture, medical treatment, festival, construction. Especially, the Chinese lunar calendar shows great influence on the cultural and spiritual life.

We will discuss more the Chinese lunar calendar and its relating practices such as Yidam, fortune telling, Fengshui in other content.

5 interesting facts of the Chinese Lunar Calendar