Lixia

For other uses, see Lixia District.
Lixia
Chinese name
Chinese立夏
Literal meaningstart of summer
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinlìxià
Bopomofoㄌㄧˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationlaahp hah
Jyutpinglaap6 haa6
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetlập hạ
Chữ Hán立夏
Korean name
Hangul입하
Hanja立夏
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationipha
Japanese name
Kanji立夏
Hiraganaりっか
Transcriptions
Romanizationrikka
Solar term
Term Longitude Dates
Lichun 315° 4–5 February
Yushui 330° 18–19 February
Jingzhe 345° 5–6 March
Chunfen 0° 20–21 March
Qingming 15° 4–5 April
Guyu 30° 20–21 April
Lixia 45° 5–6 May
Xiaoman 60° 21–22 May
Mangzhong 75° 5–6 June
Xiazhi 90° 21–22 June
Xiaoshu 105° 7–8 July
Dashu 120° 22–23 July
Liqiu 135° 7–8 August
Chushu 150° 23–24 August
Bailu 165° 7–8 September
Qiufen 180° 23–24 September
Hanlu 195° 8–9 October
Shuangjiang 210° 23–24 October
Lidong 225° 7–8 November
Xiaoxue 240° 22–23 November
Daxue 255° 7–8 December
Dongzhi 270° 21–22 December
Xiaohan 285° 5–6 January
Dahan 300° 20–21 January

Lìxià (literally "start of summer" or "inauguration of summer") is the 7th solar term according to the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, which divides a year into 24 solar terms (節氣).[1]

It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 45° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 60°. The word Lixia most often refers specifically to the first day of this period, the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 45°. In the Gregorian calendar, this is around May 5, and the Lixia period ends with the beginning of the next solar term, Xiaoman, around May 21.[2][3]

Lixia signifies the beginning of summer in Chinese culture,[4] and due to the importance of summer in the agrarian society of ancient China, the day is associated with many cultural traditions, which vary by region.[5]

  1. ^ Zhang, Peiyu; Hunag, Hongfeng (1994). "The Twenty-four Solar Terms of the Chinese Calendar and the Calculation for Them". Purple Mountain Observatory. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  2. ^ Stepanchuk, Carol (1991). Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China. San Francisco: China Books & Periodicals. ISBN 0-8351-2481-9.
  3. ^ Yang, Dr Herong (10 January 2021). Chinese Calendar Algorithm - Year 1901 to 2100. HerongYang.com. p. 34. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  4. ^ 菇溪風情 (in Chinese). 寧波出版社. 1 January 2019. pp. 9, 21. ISBN 978-7-5526-3347-4. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference 中國節日的故事 2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).