note that New Year According to the Chinese calendar, 2017 will only come on January 28th. But we are already accustomed to the fact, and we have verified it more than once on our own experience, that you can attract the future symbol of the year to yourself from January. In general, according to the Chinese calendar, they will celebrate the New Year 2017 on the night of January 27-28.
New Year during this period, according to Eastern tradition, is celebrated in countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Mongolia and, of course, China. In some regions of Russia, this holiday is also celebrated. For example, in Buryatia and Kalmykia, Altai and Tuva. If you celebrate, they will help.
2017 will be held under the auspices of the Rooster
January 28 is the date when the new year will come according to the Chinese calendar 2017. The Eastern calendar has been used for forty-seven centuries. It is popular in Asia, but for some time in the Slavic countries they began to be interested in its features and signs. The origin of the Eastern calendar is shrouded in secrets and numerous legends. After all, the animal patron of the year is chosen for a reason.
One of the most popular legends of the origin of the Eastern calendar is associated with the death of the Buddha. On the eve of this event, the Buddha called all the animals to him, but only 12 representatives of the animal world came. The Buddha was so grateful to them that he appointed each one as the patron of the year. The very first came the Rat, it was she who crowned the beginning of the twelve-year cycle of patronage.
Many people in the East, and even in our country today, believe that every animal is a symbol of the year, personifies cosmic forces. It affects the character of a person, his life. Especially for the lives of those people who were born in a certain year. When celebrating the Chinese New Year, a lot of attention is paid not only to animals, but to the five elements:
Earth;
Water;
Wood;
Metal;
Fire;
Also, the color of the animal is chosen every year. It can be blue, black, red, white or yellow. If we say the full name of 2017 according to the Eastern calendar, then this will be the year of the fiery red Rooster.
Other interesting facts
We now know exactly what date the new year is on the Chinese calendar 2017. This is not December 31, but the night of January 27-28, 2017. By the way, this year will be the ninth in the minor cycle. This means that the Rooster came to the Buddha ninth. He is the personification of the feminine and refers to fearful animal birds. But, despite his fearfulness, the Rooster loves courageous people who are confidently moving towards their goal.
In order to succeed, you can not sit idle. It will be necessary to show colossal activity, but you can definitely be sure that such activity will be rewarded. You should not make rash, frivolous decisions in 2017. The rooster has a changeable character, and this will affect the course of life in 2017.
Fire - another symbol of the coming year, is the personification of life, birth. Chastity is the most important characteristic this element. Therefore, in the year of the Rooster, you will need to learn how to combine activity, but at the same time be chaste. Fire is also responsible for the development of creativity and imagination. The most successful year will be for couples who decide to start a family in 2017. So this year will be beneficial for replenishment in the family.
What does the color red symbolize, if we turn to the origins of the Chinese calendar? This color has long been associated with prosperity and happiness throughout life. Therefore, in general, 2017 can be called a successful year. It is important to reconcile in 2017 with your old friends, especially those who hold a grudge. The Year of the Rooster will definitely not be boring, because this bird loves to have fun.
So, according to the Chinese calendar, the New Year of the Rooster will come only on the night of January 27-28. But this does not mean at all that it is impossible to start attracting the attention of the future symbol of the year already in December. Undoubtedly, every little thing will play a role. If you can please the Rooster, you can expect that 2017 will bring creativity and great success. Enrich your inner world, because the coming year is a unique and appropriate time for spiritual development.
Instruction
The Chinese calendar is divided into solar and solar-lunar. The first can be attributed more to the agricultural. And the second is known in such variants as the Xia calendar, which is popular in East Asia, and the Qin Dynasty calendar, invented in 221 BC by Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Today in China, the Gregorian calendar is also widely used, but the lunar calendar still determines the days of national celebrations: the New Year or the Mid-Autumn Festival. It also dictates the start time of field work.
The Chinese call the New Year the Spring Festival. Its date is variable, but it necessarily coincides with the interval of January 21-February 20. Each new year is counted from the day of the first new moon after the winter solstice. The old calendar does not know the concept of "calendar year", so the Chinese use a sixty-year cycle, the beginning of which is considered to be 2397 BC. Accordingly, now it is 4711 according to the Chinese calendar, which will end on February 18, 2015. Although it is more correct to consider not years, but cycles, then 2014 according to the Gregorian calendar is the 74th cycle, the 3rd year.
It is extremely difficult for a European to calculate Chinese cycles and years on his own, however, few people in the Celestial Empire count them themselves. Translation tables and adaptation of cycles to modern realities come to the aid in working with the calendar.
After the Gregorian (new) calendar entered the broad masses, the lunar calendar began to be called the old one. The "trace" of the Chinese calendar can be clearly seen in other peoples. For example, the Korean calendar is completely similar to the Chinese one, there are slight changes in the Vietnamese one (the Cat replaced the Rabbit in the zodiac circle), and the principle of calculation was changed in the Japanese one.
Some elements of the old Celestial calendar are also used by Islamic peoples. For example, the names of animals, which were translated into Turkish, have been used to keep records of historical officials from the Middle Ages to the present day. In Iran, the lunar calendar was used by peasants and those who collected taxes, but only until 1925, in which a ban on this type of calendar was introduced in the country.
A closer to the modern version of the Chinese calendar was approved by Emperor Wudi in 104 BC. The calendar was named Taichu, and the era of U-di's reign was also named, which means "Great Beginning" in translation.
A great contribution to the development of Chinese calendar systems was made by the scientist Zhang Heng. He owns many discoveries: he was the first to try to count the number of stars and pointed out that the Moon, most likely, does not have its own light, but only reflects the light of another star.
The 12 animals in the ancient Chinese calendar were used to mark the months, and later to determine the time of day. When in everyday life the Chinese discuss a famous person or communicate with each other, the question of age can simply be answered in the year of whom one was born, for example, in the year of the Cat. A more accurate age can be determined by appearance.
The Xia calendar is used when choosing the day of a wedding or the opening of an institution. The “map of fate” of each Chinese is also drawn up using the Xia calendar. The easiest way to distinguish a lunar calendar from a solar one is to see how it is described. If in hieroglyphs, then this is a solar calendar, and if in numbers, you can be sure that this is a lunar calendar.
7. Eastern (Chinese) calendar
The Eastern calendar, which has been in force for several thousand years in Vietnam, Kampuchea, China, Korea, Mongolia, Japan and some other Asian countries, was compiled during the time of the semi-legendary Emperor Huang Di in the middle of the third millennium BC. This calendar is a 60-year cyclical system.
It is based on the astronomical cycles of the Sun, Earth, Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. The 60-year cycle includes a 12-year Jupiter cycle and a 30-year Saturn cycle. The most important for the life of nomads, and in those days the main peoples of the East were nomadic tribes, was considered the 12-year period of Jupiter. The ancient Chinese and Japanese believed that the normal movement of Jupiter brings benefits and virtues.
Dividing the path of Jupiter by twelve equal parts and giving each part the name of a certain animal, the peoples of Asia created a solar-Jupiter 12-year calendar cycle. Legend has it that all the animals were invited by the Buddha to celebrate the first New Year. Since only twelve arrived, the Buddha decided to give their names to the years, so that each person born in the year of a certain animal would acquire the character traits of that animal, both good and bad.
Jupiter completes five rotations in sixty years. This number corresponded to the worldview of Chinese natural philosophy. The number five was a symbol of the five elements of nature - wood, fire, metal (gold), water, earth, which correspond to color designations (blue, red, yellow, white, black).
The Chinese sixty-year-old was formed as a result of the combination of the duodecimal cycle ("earthly branches"), for each year of which the name of the animal was assigned, and the decimal cycle of the "elements" ("heavenly branches"): five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) , each of which corresponded to two cyclic signs, personifying the male and female principles (therefore, in the Chinese calendar there are consecutive years corresponding to different animals, but one element).
Such cyclicity multiple of 60 in ancient China was extended to account for the time of day, weeks and months. The day was divided into 12 double hours, each of which corresponds to an animal of the Chinese zodiac (months were also determined).
Celestial branches (untranslatable):
| Jia | Ji | ||
| Yi | Geng | ||
| Bing | xin | ||
| Ding | Ren | ||
| wu | GUI |
Earth shoots and corresponding zodiac signs:
| zi | rat | wu | horse | ||
| chou | bull | Wei | sheep | ||
| yin | tiger | Shen | monkey | ||
| mao | Hare rabbit | You | rooster | ||
| chen | the Dragon | xi | dog | ||
| si | snake | hai | pig |
Each of the two components is used sequentially. That is, for the next year you need to take the next sign of the zodiac and the next element.
The Chinese calendar, like the Jewish one, is a combined solar-lunar calendar, so they have a lot in common:
- A normal year has 12 months, a leap year has 13.
- A normal year has 353, 354 or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384 or 385 days.
The new moon is the first day of the month. In the Chinese calendar, the new moon is determined by the full conjunction with the sun, and not when the visible crescent of the moon appears, as in the Islamic and Jewish.
Month numbers are defined as follows: The date when the sun's longitude is a multiple of 30 degrees (0 is the vernal equinox, 90 is the summer solstice, 180 is the autumn equinox, and 270 is the winter solstice) is determined. These dates are called Principal Terms and are used to determine the number months:
| Main period | Sun longitude (degrees) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 330 |
| 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 30 |
| … | ... |
| 12 | 300 |
Each month gets the base period number for that month. In cases where a month contains two periods, the numbering is shifted. For example, a month containing period 1 and 2 will be numbered 1 and the next month 2. Period 11 (winter solstice) always falls on the 11th month.
To determine a leap year, which has 13 months, the number of new moons between the 11th month of the year and the 11th month of the next year is calculated. If 12 falls within the interval full months is a leap year. In this case, at least one month will not contain a main period. The first of these months is declared a leap month. It is numbered with the same number as the previous one, but with the clarification that this is an additional month.
All astronomical calculations are carried out for 120 meridian east longitude. This roughly corresponds to the east coast of China.
7.1. Beginning of the year
In the lunar-solar-Jupiter calendar of Vietnam, China, Japan, the New Year is always between January 21 and February 20.
7.2. chronology
The Chinese calendar does not count years in an endless sequence. Years have names that repeat every 60 years.
Historically, years were counted from the year of the emperor's accession to the throne, which was abolished after the 1911 revolution. Before the revolution, Sun Yat-sen decided to establish a republican alternative to the imperial eras of rule. According to Chinese tradition, the first year of the reign of the Yellow Emperor Huang Di was 2698 BC. The alternative system is based on the fact that the first historical record of the beginning of the 60-day cycle was made on March 8, 2637 BC.
This date is considered the date of invention of the calendar, and all cycles are counted from this date.
7.3. History of the Chinese calendar
In China, the calendar was a sacred document maintained by the reigning monarch. For more than 2 millennia, the Department of Astronomy has been making astronomical observations, calculating astronomical events, and preparing astrological predictions. In addition, a successful calendar contributed not only to practical purposes, but also confirmed the agreement between heaven and the empire.
Analyzing the surviving astronomical records on the bones, according to which divination and predictions were carried out in ancient China, they discover in China a lunisolar calendar with intercalation of lunar months, dating back to the Shang dynasty of the XIV century BC. Were developed various schemes intercalations in early versions of the calendar, including the 19-year and 76-year moon phase cycles known in the west as the Metonic and Calliptic cycles.
From the earliest records, the beginning of the year was on a new moon around the winter solstice. However, the choice of month to start the civil year varied over time and geographically. At the end of the second century BC. the calendar reform established the practice, which continues to this day, which requires that the winter solstice always fall on the 11th month of the year. This reform also included an intercalation system in which new moons were compared to 24 solar periods. However, the calculations were based on the average motion derived from cyclic relationships. The inequalities for calculating the motion of the moon were applied no earlier than the 7th century AD, but solar mean longitude was used to calculate solar periods until 1644.
Although the eras were counted from the beginning of the reign of the new emperor,
The emperor could also declare a new era arbitrarily during his reign. This was done to restore the broken connection between heaven and earth, personified by the emperor. The new era could indicate the death of an emperor, natural disasters, or the failure of astronomers to predict astronomical events. In the latter case, the era could mark the introduction of a new astronomical or calendar model.
Cycles in multiples of 60 were used to count years, months, days, and fractions of a day using a set of heavenly branches and earthly shoots.
The use of the 60-day cycle is seen in the earliest astronomical records. The 60-year cycle was introduced only in the first century AD. or a little earlier. Although such a count of days has ceased to be used at the present time, it is still tabulated in calendars. Western astronomical theories entered China with Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century.
7.4. What year is it in the Chinese calendar?
The current cycle began on February 2, 1984 (Chinese year 4693). This date is bing yuin in a 60 day cycle, and the month of gui chow in a 60 month cycle.
7.5. Japanese calendar
Based on the traditional Chinese calendar. The account is kept on 12 zodiacal animals or "12 heavenly branches" (junishi). In parallel with them, the count also goes on the "10 earthly shoots" (dzikkan) - senior and junior symbols of natural elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Gold, Water):
| Year | Animals (junishi) | Elements (jikkan) | Name of the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ne (Mouse) | Ki-no-E (Elder Tree) | Ki-no-E-Ne |
| 2 | Wuxi (Ox) | Ki-no-To (Younger Tree) | Ki-no-To-Ushi |
| 3 | Torah (Tiger) | Hi-no-E (Elder Fire) | Hi-no-E-Tora |
| 4 | U (Hare) | Hi-no-To (Junior Fire) | Hi-no-To-U |
| 5 | Tatsu (Dragon) | Tsuchi-no-E (Elder Earth) | Tsuchi-no-E-Tatsu |
| 6 | Mi (Snake) | Tsuchi-no-To (Younger Earth) | Tsuchi-no-To-Mi |
| 7 | Uma (Horse) | Ka-no-E (Elder Gold) | Ka-no-E-Uma |
| 8 | Hitsuji (Sheep) | Ka-no-To (Junior Gold) | Ka-no-To-Hitsuji |
| 9 | Saru (Monkey) | Mizu-no-E (Elder Water) | Mizu-no-E-Saru |
| 10 | Tori (Rooster) | Mizu-no-To (Younger Water) | Mizu-no-To-Tori |
| 11 | Inu (Dog) | Ki-no-E (Elder Tree) | Ki-no-E-Inu |
| 12 | I (Boar) | Ki-no-To (Younger Tree) | Ki-no-To-I |
| 13 | Ne (Rat) | Hi-no-E (Elder Fire) | Hi-no-E-Ne |
7.5.1. chronology
It is also a Chinese invention. Each emperor, ascending the throne, approves the motto under which his reign will pass. In ancient times, the emperor sometimes changed the motto if the beginning of the reign was unsuccessful.
In any case, the beginning of the emperor's motto is considered the first year of the new reign, and a new era begins with it - the period of reign under this motto. All mottos are unique, so they can be used as a universal time scale.
The era of "Heisei" (Peace and Tranquility), like the reign of Emperor Akihito, began in 1989. Accordingly, the year 2000 is the 12th year of the Heisei era.
During the Meiji Restoration (1868), one system Japanese chronology, originating in 660 BC. - the legendary date of foundation of the Japanese state by Emperor Jimmu.
This system was actively used only until the end of the Second World War.