But on the Chinese lunar calendar, a week, known as xún, is 9 or 10 days depending on if the month has 29 or 30 days. On the Gregorian calendar, a week is 7 days. Some countries have only started using it as recently as 2016! In fact, the Gregorian calendar has only been in use since 1582. Today’s near-universally adopted calendar is called the Gregorian calendar, and it’s relatively new, all things considered. Differences Between the Gregorian and Chinese Calendar The last calendar of the Qing dynasty was published in 1908, and on January 1, 1912, China began using the western Gregorian calendar. In the early 20th century, the Chinese calendar fell out of favor as western influence spread throughout China. Later dynasties added solstices, used new methods to determine the length of a solar month, and discovered the true length of the solar year. The Ming and Han dynasties made a few tweaks by introducing 24 solar terms and created the Tàichū calendar. When China was unified under the Qin dynasty, a new calendar was introduced. During the warring states period, multiple competing lunar calendars were created by groups vying for control. Once introduced, it evolved and was adjusted throughout multiple eras and dynasties. The first truly lunisolar calendar was introduced by the Zhou dynasty between 771 B.C. Because of this, calendars were considered sacred and were created and maintained by the government. Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsĪn accurate calendar was an important part of ancient Chinese culture, because it was a sign that the emperor was in harmony with heaven. In the Chinese calendar, each month is numbered and assigned to one of the animals on the Chinese Zodiac. To adjust for the solar year, an intercalary month is added to the calendar about every 3 years to account for the difference. That’s where the "solar" part of lunisolar comes in. When going by a lunar calendar, the months and seasons would drift apart within a few years, coming out of sync. However, the length of the moon’s phases don’t quite line up with the time it takes the earth to make its way around the sun-which takes approximately 365 days. The Chinese calendar is lunar because its 12 months align with the phases of the moon. That means it combines elements of a lunar calendar (which follows the phases of the moon) with a solar calendar (which follows the position of the sun). What Is the Chinese Lunar Calendar?Īlthough it is called a lunar calendar, the Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar. One of the oldest and most famous is the Chinese lunar calendar. Over the course of human history, there have been dozens of calendars. But how we keep track of time hasn’t been consistent for very long. Timekeeping is an important part of every culture, and has been for centuries.
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