''Jīngzhé'', 惊蛰, is the 3rd of the 24

solar term A solar term is any of twenty-four periods in traditional Chinese lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies some natural phenomenon. The points are spaced 15° apart along the ecliptic and are used by lunisolar ...

s (節氣) in the traditional

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

calendars. It begins when the Sun reaches the

celestial longitude Astronomical coordinate systems are organized arrangements for specifying positions of satellites, planets, stars, galaxies, and other celestial objects relative to physical reference points available to a situated observer (e.g. the true horizo ...

of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. More often, it refers to the day when the Sun is exactly at a celestial longitude of 345°. In the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

, it usually begins around March 5 and ends around March 20. The word

驚蟄 ''Jīngzhé'', 惊蛰, is the 3rd of the 24 solar terms (節氣) in the traditional Chinese calendars. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. More often, it refers to th ...

means the awakening of

hibernating Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s. 驚 is ''to startle'' and 蟄 means ''hibernating insects.'' Traditional Chinese folklore says that during Jingzhe,

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

s will wake up the hibernating insects, which implies that the weather is getting warmer.

Pentads

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentads (候). They are the first pentad (初候), the second pentad (次候), and the third pentad (末候): Pentads in Jingzhe are ; China * First pentad: (

pīnyīn Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese form ...

: Táo shǐ huá), 'The

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

es begin to blossom'. * Second pentad: (

: Cāng gēng míng), 'Orioles sing clearly'. * Last pentad: (

: Yīng huà wéi jiū), 'Eagles are transformed into doves'. ; Japan * First pentad: (

Romanisation Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

: Chitchū kei to), 'Awakening of hibernating insects'. * Second pentad: (

: Momo Hajime Emi), 'Peach trees start to bloom (smile)'. * Last pentad: (

: Na mushi-ka chō), 'Caterpillars become butterflies'.

Date and time

Cultural References

Lim Giong Lim Giong (; born 7 June 1964) is a Taiwanese musician, DJ, actor, and an active figure in the Taiwanese experimental electronic music scene. He is known for recording rock songs in Taiwanese Hokkien, starting with his first hit song "Marching F ...

has an 2005 album titled ''Insects Awaken''.

Jingzhe_(film) ''Jingzhe'' is a 2004 Chinese film directed by Wang Quan'an. The film is Wang's second feature and sees him reuniting with actress Yu Nan. ''Jingzhe'' is also known by its original international title, ''The Story of Ermei''. ''Jingzhe'' tells th ...

is a 2004 Chinese film directed by

Wang Quan'an Wang Quan'an () (b. 1965) is a Sixth Generation Chinese film director. Wang was born in Yan'an, China. He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1991. He had a ten-year relationship with actress and muse Yu Nan, which ended in 2009. Career U ...

References

{{Insects in culture 03 Spring (season) Chinese words and phrases

Pentads

Date and time

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Cultural References

References