MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Minor Heat

Warm winds arrive; the heat is still small

Introduction

The heat begins; the plum rains end and the dog days start

Minor Heat is the eleventh solar term, beginning when the sun reaches 105° of ecliptic longitude, around 6–8 July; the name means the heat has begun but not yet peaked. Many regions leave the plum-rain season and enter the dog days. Its three pentads are warm winds arriving, crickets sheltering by the walls, and young hawks learning to strike. Summer and autumn crops grow at their fastest and abundant light and heat favour rice, cotton and maize, while drought, floods and pests must be watched; the northeast and northwest harvest wheat. A custom is 'tasting the new', eating the first new rice.

Timeline

Western Han to present
139 BCE · OriginThe Western Han Huainanzi (Tianwen xun, c. 139 BCE) sets out the twenty-four terms by the pointing of the Dipper's handle, recording 'fifteen days on, it points to ding: Minor Heat', the earliest systematic attestation of Minor Heat.104 BCE · EvolutionWith the Taichu calendar of 104 BCE under Emperor Wu of Han, the twenty-four solar terms entered the official calendar, and Minor Heat became a fixed term in it.1645 · EvolutionIn 1645 the Qing Shixian calendar replaced equal time division with the true-longitude rule, fixing Minor Heat at the moment the sun reaches 105° of ecliptic longitude, as it still is today.
  1. 139 BCEOriginThe Western Han Huainanzi (Tianwen xun, c. 139 BCE) sets out the twenty-four terms by the pointing of the Dipper's handle, recording 'fifteen days on, it points to ding: Minor Heat', the earliest systematic attestation of Minor Heat.
  2. 104 BCEEvolutionWith the Taichu calendar of 104 BCE under Emperor Wu of Han, the twenty-four solar terms entered the official calendar, and Minor Heat became a fixed term in it.
  3. 1645EvolutionIn 1645 the Qing Shixian calendar replaced equal time division with the true-longitude rule, fixing Minor Heat at the moment the sun reaches 105° of ecliptic longitude, as it still is today.

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · X-68 Twenty-Four Solar Terms of the Lunar Calendar · nominated by the China Agricultural Museum · collective item
  2. 2016UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of HumanityThe Twenty-Four Solar Terms · knowledge in China of time and practices developed through observation of the sun's annual motion · collective inscription