Dongzhi (solar term)

Dongzhi
Dongzhi
Chinese name
Chinese	冬至
Literal meaning	winter's extreme; (i.e. winter solstice)
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	dōngzhì
Bopomofo	ㄉㄨㄙㄓㄧˋ
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	dūng ji
Jyutping	dung1 zi3
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	đông chí
Chữ Hán	冬至
Korean name
Hangul	동지
Hanja	冬至
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	dongji
Japanese name
Kanji	冬至
Hiragana	とうじ
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	tōji

The traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms.^[1] Dōngzhì, Tōji, Dongji, Tunji (in Okinawan), or Đông chí (in Vietnamese) is the 22nd solar term, and marks the winter solstice. The term begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 270° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 285°^{[disputed – discuss]}. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around 21 December (22 December East Asia time) and ends around 5 January.

In common usage, Dongzhi more often refers to the particular day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 270°.

Along with equinoxes, solstices (traditional Chinese: 至點; simplified Chinese: 至日; lit. extreme day) mark the middle of Traditional Chinese calendar seasons. Thus, in "冬至", the Chinese character "至" 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.

Culture

China

Sunlight directed through the 17 arches of Seventeen Arch Bridge, Summer Palace, Beijing around winter solstice

In China, Dongzhi was originally celebrated as an end-of-harvest festival. Today, it is observed with a family reunion over the long night. In southern China, pink and white tangyuan are eaten in sweet broth to symbolise family unity and prosperity, whereas in northern China, the traditional Dongzhi food is jiaozi.^{[citation needed]}

Korea

In Korea, the winter solstice is also called the "Small Seol," and there is a custom of celebrating the day. People make porridge with red beans known as patjuk (팥죽) and round rice cakes (새알심 saealsim) with sticky rice. In the past, red bean porridge soup was sprayed on walls or doors because it was said to ward off bad ghosts. In addition, there was a custom in the early days of the Goryeo and Joseon Period in which people in financial difficulty settled all their debts and enjoyed the day.^[2]

Japan

In Japan, the name of the solar term is Tōji. On this day, it is customary to drink grapefruit hot water and eat pumpkin in certain places. White flowers begin to bloom around the winter solstice.^{[citation needed]}

Pentads

Each solar term is divided into three pentads which are typically named after seasonal natural events. The pentads during Dongzhi are:^{[citation needed]}

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

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

Date and Time (UTC)
year	begin	end
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
乙未	2015-12-22 04:45	2016-01-05 22:09
丙申	2016-12-21 10:43	2017-01-05 03:54
丁酉	2017-12-21 16:29	2018-01-05 09:47
戊戌	2018-12-21 22:23	2019-01-05 15:41
己亥	2019-12-22 04:17	2020-01-05 21:31
庚子	2020-12-21 10:01	2021-01-05 03:22
辛丑	2021-12-21 15:59	2022-01-05 9:14
壬寅	2022-12-21 21:48	2023-01-05 15:05
癸卯	2023-12-22 3:27	2024-01-05 20:49
甲辰	2024-12-21 9:21	2025-01-05 02:33
Source: JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System
Source for 2021-24: Hong Kong Observatory^[3]

References

^ Zhang, Peiyu; Hunag, Hongfeng( (1994). "The Twenty-four Solar Terms of the Chinese Calendar and the Calculation for Them". Purple Mountain Observatory. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
^ "동지". terms.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
^ "Date and Time of the 24 Solar Terms". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

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

[1] Zhang, Peiyu; Hunag, Hongfeng( (1994). "The Twenty-four Solar Terms of the Chinese Calendar and the Calculation for Them". Purple Mountain Observatory. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.

[2] "동지". terms.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 28 March 2021.

[hkobservatory-3] "Date and Time of the 24 Solar Terms". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

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