The traditional Chinese Lunar Calendar has connections to the Five Elements of ancient China: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water which in turn have given their names to the Five Planets: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury. The Five Elements are also related to the Five Directions: East, South, Centre, West and North as well as to the Four Seasons plus the Change of Seasons. Consequently tables explaining these have been included. The 5 Elements combine with the sun and moon to give us the 7 days of the week which are ...
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The traditional Chinese Lunar Calendar has connections to the Five Elements of ancient China: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water which in turn have given their names to the Five Planets: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury. The Five Elements are also related to the Five Directions: East, South, Centre, West and North as well as to the Four Seasons plus the Change of Seasons. Consequently tables explaining these have been included. The 5 Elements combine with the sun and moon to give us the 7 days of the week which are still used in Japan. The 24 Solar Terms, which divide the year into 24 periods of about 15 days, are another feature of the traditional Chinese calendar. They mark the summer and winter solstices, the spring and autumn equinoxes as well as the beginnings of the seasons. These are essential for deciding on times for planting and harvesting of crops and the 12 major Solar Terms are closely related to the 12 signs of the Western Zodiac. The 12 Earthly Branches represented by 12 animals give us a 12 year period and, when they are combined with the 10 Heavenly Stems, they give us the 60 year cycle of the traditional Chinese calendar. Tables related to all of these have been included as well as 40 pages of conversion tables from the Chinese Lunar calendar to the Gregorian calendar from 1804/1805 to 2100. Readers can easily and accurately find out the Chinese year and animal of their birth as well as the birth details of their parents and grandparents. These tables are also a useful tool for looking at Chinese history. For example the Xin Hai Revolution, which ended the rule of China's emperors, occurred during the year Xin Hai between 30 Jan 1911 and 17 Feb 1912. The charts show how Xin Hai is composed of Heavenly Stem Xin and Earthly Branch Hai. Fortune telling is another function of the traditional calendar and a 13 page table related to fortune telling in marriage, derived from a wall chart in the Wan Shou Eight Immortals Temple in Xi'an, is also included.
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