MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Autumn Equinox

Yin and yang in balance, day equal to night

Introduction

Day and night are equal again: the autumn rush and the harvest festival

The Autumn Equinox is the sixteenth solar term, beginning when the sun reaches 180° of ecliptic longitude (the autumnal point), around 22–24 September. The sun is overhead at the equator and day and night are equal; thereafter northern nights grow longer. Its three pentads are thunder ceasing, hibernating insects sealing their burrows, and waters beginning to dry up. It is the busy season of autumn harvesting, ploughing and sowing: north China sows winter wheat and the Yangtze basin reaps late rice. The old custom paired sun worship in spring with moon worship in autumn, and since 2018 the equinox has been China's Farmers' Harvest Festival.

Timeline

Late Warring States period to present
239 BCE · OriginThe Lüshi Chunqiu (Zhongqiu ji, c. 239 BCE) records that 'in this month day and night are divided equally; thunder begins to cease', marking the autumn equinox.139 BCE · EvolutionThe Western Han Huainanzi (Tianwen xun, c. 139 BCE) sets out the twenty-four terms by the pointing of the Dipper's handle, recording 'it points to you on the central cord; so it is said that at the Autumn Equinox thunder is restrained', the earliest systematic attestation of Autumn Equinox.104 BCE · EvolutionWith the Taichu calendar of 104 BCE under Emperor Wu of Han, the twenty-four solar terms entered the official calendar, and Autumn Equinox became a fixed term in it.2018 · ImpactFrom 2018, with central government approval, the Autumn Equinox each year became the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival, the first national festival set up for farmers.
  1. 239 BCEOriginThe Lüshi Chunqiu (Zhongqiu ji, c. 239 BCE) records that 'in this month day and night are divided equally; thunder begins to cease', marking the autumn equinox.
  2. 139 BCEEvolutionThe Western Han Huainanzi (Tianwen xun, c. 139 BCE) sets out the twenty-four terms by the pointing of the Dipper's handle, recording 'it points to you on the central cord; so it is said that at the Autumn Equinox thunder is restrained', the earliest systematic attestation of Autumn Equinox.
  3. 104 BCEEvolutionWith the Taichu calendar of 104 BCE under Emperor Wu of Han, the twenty-four solar terms entered the official calendar, and Autumn Equinox became a fixed term in it.
  4. 2018ImpactFrom 2018, with central government approval, the Autumn Equinox each year became the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival, the first national festival set up for farmers.

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