The Ancient Chinese like many people, observed the behaviour and the movement of the sun. They kept their notes, year after year. With an accumulation of data, the Chinese began to apply their knowledge most importantly to their agriculture which underpinned their existence, but it was also applied to their everyday lives in things like clothing and seasonal planning.
The codification of their notes is called The 24 Solar Terms and it divides the year into 24 parts. This division was based on the geographic location in China, so it's accuracy is therefore geographic, but according to its observations, August 7 is the beginning of Autumn and August 23 is the limit of the Summer heat. September 7 is the beginning of the white dew, when morning brings dew drops on everything.
Listed below are the 24 Terms in the Chinese order of the Solar year.
"Start of Spring" around February 4th of the solar calendar, indicating the beginning of spring.
"Rain Water" around February 18th of the solar calendar, indicating the gradual increase of rainfalls.
"Awakening of Insects" around March 5th of the solar calendar, indicating a relatively fast temperature rise and possible spring thunders.
"Vernal Equinox" around March 20th of the solar calendar, indicating the equal length of day and night.
"Clear and Bright" around April 5th of the solar calendar, indicating clear skies, fresh air, warm weather and lush plants.
"Grain Rain" around April 20th of the solar calendar, indicating the increase of rainfalls, which is good for grain crops.
"Start of Summer" around May 5th of the solar calendar, indicating the beginning of summer.
"Grain Full" around May 21st of the solar calendar, indicating that the seeds of summer crops are getting plump but not ripe yet.
"Grain in Ear" around June 6th of the solar calendar, indicating the ripening of wheat crops and the beginning of a busy farming season.
"Summer Solstice" around June 21st of the solar calendar, indicating the extreme of summer in astronomical terms.
Minor Heat" around July 7th of the solar calendar, indicating that the hottest days are yet to come.
"Major Heat" around July 23rd of the solar calendar, indicating the hottest time of the year.
"Start of Autumn" around August 7th of the solar calendar, indicating the beginning of autumn.
"Limit of Heat" around August 23rd of the solar calendar, indicating that summer is coming to an end.
"White Dew" around September 7th of the solar calendar, indicating that the temperature begins to fall, the weather is getting cold and there are dewdrops on grass and trees in the morning.
"Autumnal Equinox" around September 23rd of the solar calendar, indicating the equal length of day and night.
"Cold Dew" around October 8th of the solar calendar, indicating lower temperature, dew in the air and cold feeling.
"Frost Descent" around October 23rd of the solar calendar, indicating the appearance of frost.
"Start of Winter" around November 7th of the solar calendar, indicating the beginning of winter.
"Minor Snow" around November 22nd of the solar calendar, indicating the beginning of light snowfalls.
"Major Snow" around December 7th of the solar calendar, indicating the beginning of heavy snowfalls.
"Winter Solstice" around December 22nd of the solar calendar, indicating the extreme of winter in astronomical terms.
"Minor Cold" around January 5th of the solar calendar, indicating that the weather is getting colder, but the coldest days are yet to come.
"Major Cold" around January 20th of the solar calendar, indicating the coldest time of the year.
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