The 24 Solar Terms in Chinese lunar calendar originated from the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. It appeared in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD). The ancient Chinese based on knowledge in astronomy, climatology and agricultural meteorology to invent it. According to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun Solar Terms divide a year into 24 segments. Since the Earth takes about one year to complete its orbit once (360 degree), by dividing it into 24 equal segments, each 15 degrees (approximately 15 days) will mark a Solar Term. The 24 Solar Terms generally represent the seasonal change over central China in a year, and in turn, closely relate to agricultural activities in ancient China.
Solar Terms are in general named according to the astronomical phenomena, climatological characteristics or agricultural activities prevalent at the respective times of the seasons.
The 24 Solar Terms were determined by the changes of the Sun’s position in the zodiac all through the year. In the lunar calendar, the date of each solar term is basically fixed, with the minor changes within one or two days. As a reflection of the regularity of the changes of the climate in the central part of China, the 24 Solar Terms still guide the agricultural activities there.
The following chart is a brief introduction of 24 Solar Terms

24 Solar Terms	Month and Date	Meaning
Lichun	About on Feb 4th	The Begining of Spring.
Yushui	About on Feb 19th	The Begining of Raining.
Jingzhe	about on Mar 6th	Waking of Hibernating Insects and Small Animals.
Chunfen	About on Mar 20th	The Vernal Equinox, the day and night are of equal length.
Qingming	About on Apr 5th	Pure Brightness, the weather gets warmer, this is the time to sweep the ancestors' graveyard.
Guyu	About on Apr 20th	Rainfall for Grain, it is the time to grow.
Lixia	About on May 6th	The Begining of Summer.
Xiaoman	About on May 21st	Wheat becomes plump.
Mangzhong	About on Jun 6th	It is the time to growAutumn crops.
Xiazhi	About on Jun 21st	the Summer Solstice, the daytime is the longest in a year.
Xiaoshu	About on Jul 7th	Torridity comes.
Dashu	About on Jul 23rd	The hottest time in the year.
Liqiu	About on Aug 8th	The begining of the Autumn.
Chushu	About on Aug 23rd	It marks the end of the summer.
Bailu	About on Sep 8th	White dew, the dew curdles.
Qiufen	About on Sep 23rd	The Autumn Equinox, the day time and the night time are equal.
Hanlu	About on Oct 8th	Cold dew, the weather gets distinctively colder and the leaves begin to fall.
Shuangjiang	About on Oct 23rd	Frost descends in the early morning.
Lidong	About on Nov 7th	The begining of Winter.
Xiaoxue	About on Nov 22nd	It starts snowing.
Daxue	About on Dec 7th	Heavy snow begins.
Dongzhi	About on Dec 22nd	The Winter Solstice, the shortest day time in the year.
Xiaohan	About on Jan 6th	It is rather cold.
Dahan	About on Jan 21st	The coldest time in a year.