Qīngmíng, Seimei, Cheongmyeong or Thanh minh, is the name of the 5th solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, which divides a year into 24 solar terms ( 節氣/ 节气). In space partitioning, Qingming begins when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 15° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 30°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 15°, usually on April 5.
Compared to the space partitioning theory, in the time division theory Qingming falls around April 7 or approximately 106.5 days after winter equinox. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around 4 or 5 April and ends around 20 April.
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 Qingming include:
China First pentad: 桐始華/桐始华, 'The paulownia begins to bloom'. Second pentad: 田鼠化為鴽/田鼠化为鴽, 'Voles(you) transform into quails'. Last pentad: 虹始見/虹始见, 'Rainbows begin to appear'.
Japan First pentad: , 'The swallow (Xuanniao) flies back from the south'. Second pentad: , 'The goose migrates to the north'. Last pentad: , 'Rainbows begin to appear in the sky after shower'.
Date and time + Date and Time (UTC)Year Begin End Source: JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System
References
See also East Asian cultural sphere Qingming Festival (清明節/清明节), festival celebrated on the day of Qīngmíng Cold Food Festival (寒食節/寒食节), three-day festival starting one day before and ending one day after Qīngmíng Along the River During the Qingming Festival