Chunfen

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Fourth solar term of traditional East Asian calendars

title: "Chunfen" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["solar-terms", "spring-(season)", "observances-on-non-gregorian-calendars", "march-observances", "april-observances"] description: "Fourth solar term of traditional East Asian calendars" topic_path: "general/solar-terms" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunfen" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Fourth solar term of traditional East Asian calendars ::

|c=春分 |l=spring equinox |p=chūnfēn |bpmf=ㄔㄨㄣ ㄈㄣ |phfs=Chhûn-fûn |j=ceon1 fan1 |y=chēun fān |poj=Chhun-hun |tl=tshun-hun |buc=Chŭng-*hŭng |mblmc=Ché̤ng-hóng |kanji=春分 |hiragana=しゅんぶん |romaji=shunbun |hanja=春分 |hangul=춘분 |rr=chunbun |chuhan=春分 |qn=xuân phân The traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. Chūnfēn, Shunbun, Chunbun, or Xuân phân is the 4th solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 0° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 15°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around 20 March and ends around 4 April (5 April East Asia time). It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 0°.

Pentads

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentads (候). They are: first pentad (初候), second pentad (次候) and last pentad (末候). Pentads in Chunfen include:

China

  • First pentad: 玄鳥至, 'The dark birds arrive'. 'Dark bird' in this case refers to swallows, which are also making their northward migration.
  • Second pentad: 雷乃發聲, 'Thunder sounds', referring to the onset of spring thunderstorms.
  • Last pentad: 始電, 'Lightning starts'. This refers to thunderstorms as well, but also to the gradual lengthening of daytime, and the prevalence of sunlight.

Japan

A pentad as follows was referred to Japanese traditional calendar presented in a smaller, easy to use, format.

  • First pentad: , 'Sparrow begins holding a nest'.
  • Second pentad: , 'Cherry blossoms open for the first time'.
  • Last pentad: , 'Distant thunder start to sound'.

Date and time

::data[format=table title="Date and Time ([[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]])"]

YearBeginEnd
Source: JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System
::

References

References

  1. (1994). "The Twenty-four Solar Terms of the Chinese Calendar and the Calculation for Them". Purple Mountain Observatory.
  2. (1901). "新加纂録類 (Shinka Sanrokurui)". 近藤活版所 (Kondō Kappansho).
  3. Fujisawa, Morihiko. (1961). "年中行事編 (Nenjū Gyōjihen)". Akane Shobō.

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solar-termsspring-(season)observances-on-non-gregorian-calendarsmarch-observancesapril-observances