24 Solar Terms 二十四节气

The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar that takes into account the movement of Sun and Moon. In a monthly basis, it follows the Moon's movement strictly while in a year basis, it follows the Sun's movement. That explains the reason for leap month after some time to correct the calendar.

The Chinese uses the Solar Terms (节气), which is a calendar of 24 periods and climate, to govern agricultural arrangements and functions in China. One of the significant similarity of Chinese calendar and Gregorian calendar is that both takes into account the longest (Summer Solstice) and the shortest days (Winter Solstice) of the year as well as two days eah year when the length of the day is equal to that of the night (Spring and Autumn Equinoxes).

During the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese had used only 4 solar terms. The number was increased to 8 during the Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 221BC). It was until the Western Han Dynasty (206BC - AD24) that the 24 terms were finally decided upon, which is the same as what it is today.

The 24 Solar Terms (二十四节气)


The date of Solar Terms are better described by the Gregorian Calendar as both follow the Sun's movement. However, there is a range of date for each terms as the Gregorian Calendar is not accurate on a year basis. (It has an error of around 6 hrs per year. That's why there is a leap day correction every 4 years and every 400 years)

Solar Terms	节气	Mth	Dates	Meaning
Beginning of Spring	立春	Feb	03 - 05	Spring begins
Rain Water	雨水	Feb	18 - 20	It begins to rain
Waking of Insects	惊蛰	Mar	05 - 07	Hibernating animals come to sense
Spring Equinox	春分	Mar	20 - 21	Day and night are equally long. Mid Spring
Pure Brightness	清明	Apr	04 - 06	It is warm and bright
Grain Rain	谷雨	Apr	19 - 21	Rainfall is helpful to grain
Beginning of Summer	立夏	May	05 -07	Summer begins
Lesser Fullness of Grain	小满	May	20 - 22	Kernels plump
Grain in Beard	芒种	Jun	05 - 07	Wheat grows ripe
Summer Solstice	夏至	Jun	21 - 22	Longest daytime and shortest night
Lesser Heat	小暑	Jul	06 - 08	Torridity comes
Greater Heat	大署	Jul	22 - 24	Hottest moment of a year
Beginning of Autumn	立秋	Aug	07 - 09	Autumn begins
End of Heat	处暑	Aug	22 -24	Heat hides
White Dew	白露	Sep	07 - 09	Dew curdles
Autumn Equinox	秋分	Sep	22 - 24	Day and night are equally long. Mid Autumn
Cold Dew	寒露	Oct	08 - 09	Dew is very cold
Frost's Descent	霜降	Oct	23 - 24	Frost descends
Beginning of Winter	立冬	Nov	07 - 08	Winter begins
Lesser Snow	小雪	Nov	22 - 23	It begins to snow
Greater Snow	大雪	Dec	06 - 08	It snows heavily
Winter Solstice	冬至	Dec	21 - 23	Shortest daytime and longest night
Lesser Cold	小寒	Jan	05 - 07	It is rather cold
Greater Cold	大寒	Jan	20 - 21	Coldest moment of a year

Two important Solar Terms to the Chinese are the Pure Brightness (清明) and Winter Solstice (冬至) which happen around 5th Apr and 22nd Dec on Gregorian Calendar each year respectively.

Singapore - A Brief History

Singapore was first known as Temasek ('sea town' in Javanese). It was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire (7th to 13th century). Legend has it that Sang Nila Utama seen a lion on this island and named the island as "Singapura" meaning "Lion City" or "Lion Fortress" in Malay.

During the Malay-Portugal wars in 1613, the settlement in Singapore was set ablaze by Portuguese troops. The Portuguese held control of this island and later by the Dutch in the 17th century. During all these time, Singapore island remained as a small fishing village and was part of the Sultanate of Johor (16th and early 19th centuries).






Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles [6 July 1781 - 5 July 1826 (aged 44)]

On 29 January 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed on the main island. Spotting its potential as a strategic geographical trading post in Southeast Asia, Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company on 6 February 1819 to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post and settlement. In August 1824, Singapore officially became a British colony.

Resident	Name	Photo	In Office	Remark
1st	William Farquhar (1770 – 13 May 1839)		6 Feb 1819 – 1 May 1823	Clear the plain on the north-east bank of the Singapore River and set up a new trading post.
2nd	John Crawfurd (13 Aug 1783 – 11 May 1868)		27 May 1823 – 15 Aug 1826	Signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on 2 August 1824 in which the Sultan and the Temmenggong handed over the whole island to the British East India Company.

The British India office governed the island from 1858, but Singapore was made a British crown colony in 1867, answerable directly to the Crown.

The Japanese occupied the island during War World II from 15 Feb 1942 to 12 Sep 1945 and name the island as Shōnantō (昭南島) meaning "southern island obtained in the age of Shōwa" in Japanese.

Singapore became a self-governing state within the British Empire in 1959 with Yusof bin Ishak as its first president and Lee Kuan Yew as prime minister.

Singapore declared independence from British in August 1963, before joining the Federation of Malaysia in September along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak. Singapore officially gained sovereignty on 9 August 1965 after leaving federation 2 years later.

President	Name	Photo	In Office	Remark
1st	Yusof bin Ishak (12 Aug 1910 – 23 Nov 1970) (aged 60)		9 Aug 1965 – 23 Nov 1970	First served as Yang di-Pertuan Negara (head of state) between 1959 and 1965. Founder of the Malay newspaper Utusan Melayu.
2nd	Benjamin Henry Sheares (12 Aug 1907 – 12 May 1981) (aged 73)		2 Jan 1971 – 12 May 1981	The Benjamin Sheares Bridge and Sheares Hall in NUS is named after him.
3rd	Devan Nair a/l Chengara Veetil ((5 Aug 1923 – 6 Dec 2005) ) (aged 82)		23 Oct 1981 – 27 Mar 1985	Nair resigned in unclear circumstances on March 28, 1985.
4th	Wee Kim Wee (4 Nov 1915 – 2 May 2005) (aged 89)		3 Sep 1985 – 1 Sep 1993	Died of prostate cancer in his home
5th	Ong Teng Cheong (22 Jan 1936 - 8 Feb 2002) (aged 66)		28 Aug 1993 – 1 Sep 1999	Died from lymphoma at the age of 66
6th	Sellapan Ramanathan (Born: 3 Jul 1924)		Since 1 Sep 1999	Sworn in for a second term of office on 1 Sep 2005

Prime Minister	Name	Photo	In Office	Remark
1st	Lee Kuan Yew (Born: 16 Sep 1923)		3 Jun 1959 – 28 Nov 1990	He has immerse contribution in transforming Singapore into a developed capitalist economy. He is currently the Minister Mentor of Singapore.
2nd	Goh Chok Tong (Born: 20 May 1941)		28 Nov 1990 – 12 Aug 2004	Introduced several major policies and policy institutions such as Medisave, Vehicle Quota Scheme and Elected President. He is currently the Senior Minister of Singapore.
3rd	Lee Hsien Loong (Born: 10 Feb 1952)		Since 12 Aug 2004	Initiated "Five-day work week", adovated the building of the two Integrated Resorts (IRs) and use of Progress Package to distribute wealth.

China's Ancient Capitals - Beijing, Nanjing, Louyang and Chang'an

Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang and Chang'an are the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.

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Beijing 北京

Beijing is located in northern China, close to Tianjin Municipality and partially surrounded by Hebei 河北 Province. Beijing simply means "Northern Capital" and its name is derived from that.






Beijing was the capital city of China particularly during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing dynasty (1616-1911). It was also the capital city for the Liao Dynasty (907-1125) and Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). It is still the capital city for the People's Republic of China.

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Nanjing 南京

Nanjing is located on the south bank of the Yangtze 长江 River and is the capital of Jiangsu 江苏 Province. Nanjing simply means "Southern Capital" and its name is derived from that.






Nanjing was the capital city of city on many occasions particularly during Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD) and Southern & Northern Dynasties (420-589 AD).


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Louyang 洛阳

Currently located in West of Henan 河南 Province. The origin of the name "Luoyang" is the city's location to the north of the Luo River 洛河. The river flows from west to east while the sun 太阳 is on south of the river, hence the sun shine is always on north side of the river. (洛河+太阳= 洛阳)





Luoyang was the capital city of China for several instances since Xia Dynasty (21st-16th century BC) in the 21st century BC, particularly during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220), Western Jin Dynasty (265-317 AD), Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD) and Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).

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Chang'an 长安

Chang'an's actual location is 3 km northwest of modern Xi'an. Xian 西安 is the capital of Shaanxi 陝西 province, located in the southern part of the Guanzhong Plain. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese.





Xi'an has different names during its history. They are "Fenghao" (丰鎬) in the Zhou Dynasty (周) beginning around 1046 BC, Chang'an (长安) during the Han Dynasty (汉) in 206 BC, Daxing (大兴) during the Sui Dynasty (隋) in 581 AD, Fengyuan (奉元), then Anxi (安西), then Jingzhao (京兆) during the Yuan (元) Dynasty and finally named as Xi'an (西安) in the year 1369 AD during the Ming Dynasty. It was the capital city during Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 771 BC), Western Han Dynasty (206 BC –AD 23), Western Jin Dynasty (265-317 AD), The Sixteen Kingdoms (304-439 AD) and Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).