Jingzhe
Encyclopedia
Jīngzhé or Keichitsu (rōmaji
Romanization of Japanese
The romanization of Japanese is the application of the Latin alphabet to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is known as , less strictly romaji, literally "Roman letters", sometimes incorrectly transliterated as romanji or rōmanji. There are several different romanization systems...

)
is the 3rd of 24 solar term
Solar term
A solar term is any of 24 points in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. The points are spaced 15° apart along the ecliptic and are used by lunisolar calendars to stay synchronized with the seasons. Solar terms...

s (節氣) in the traditional East Asian calendars. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 345°. In the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

, it usually begins around March 5 and ends around March 20.

The word 驚蟄 has the meaning of awakening of hibernated
Hibernation
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...

 insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s. 驚 is startling, and 蟄 is hibernated (insects). The traditional Chinese farming culture said that during Jingzhe, thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...

s will wake up the hibernated insects, which also means the weather is getting warm.

Pentads

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentad
Pentad
The pentad was a Pythagorean term for the quantity of five.-See also:*Related greek numerical terms**Monad **Dyad **Triad **Tetrad **Decad *Other...

s (候). They are first pentad (初候), second pentad (次候) and last pentad (末候). Pentads in Jingzhe including:

China
  • First pentad: 桃始華
  • Second pentad: 倉庚鳴
  • Last pentad: 鷹化為鳩


Japan
  • First pentad: 蟄虫啓戸
  • Second pentad: 桃始笑
  • Last pentad: 菜虫化蝶



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