The calendar is an important invention in the history of human civilization, which is not only to record time, but also the product of human understanding of the universe and the laws of nature. In China, there is a long history of calendar development, and the lunar calendar is the most distinctive and widely used calendar system. Recently, a TV series "Love of Time" with the theme of the lunar calendar has been broadcast, which has once again aroused heated discussions among the audience about the lunar calendar. How exactly is the lunar calendar formulated? What kind of cultural connotation does it contain? Let's step into history and explore the past and present of the lunar calendar.
1. The intention of the ancients to formulate the lunar calendar
The ancients formulated the lunar calendar in order to better guide agricultural production and social life. In ancient times, agriculture was the main mode of production in human society, and farmers needed to arrange agricultural activities according to the change of seasons, and the emergence of the lunar calendar provided them with an important time reference. In addition, the lunar calendar also contains a wealth of meteorological and agricultural knowledge, such as the "valley rain" season is a good time to sow seeds, and the "Xiaoman" season is the time when crops are headed, which can be described as "farming opens at the time, and farming at the time", which fully reflects the awe and understanding of the ancients on time and natural laws.
2. The historical origin of the lunar calendar
The lunar calendar, which can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty, was formulated according to the changes in the phases of the moon, and the year was divided into twelve months, with the first day of each month being the day of the full moon. With the passage of time, people found that there would be a certain error in calculating the time with the phases of the moon, so in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the lunar calendar began to combine with the movement of the sun, and there was an alternating arrangement of "large and small months", which also laid the basic system of the later lunar calendar.
In ancient China, the calendar has always been highly valued and has undergone many reforms, and the final formation of the lunar calendar can be traced back to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Prior to the Shixian Calendar, the ancient Chinese calendar had undergone many major reforms, such as the Taichu Calendar during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Ming Calendar of the Ming Dynasty, and the Chronological Calendar of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty.
The predecessor of the "Shixian Calendar" was the "Chongzhen Almanac", and under the auspices of Xu Guangqi, the Western missionary John Tang also participated in it, so it can be said that the Western missionaries also played a certain role in promoting the development of the Chinese calendar. They introduced the Western calendar system to China, promoted cultural exchanges between China and the West in this field, and also brought some new ideas and methods to the development of the ancient Chinese calendar.
3. The uniqueness of the lunar calendar
Compared with the solar calendar, the lunar calendar has its own unique advantages and characteristics. First of all, the lunar calendar is formulated according to the law of the moon and the solar cycle, the length of a month is 29.5 days, and the length of a year is the sum of 12 months, that is, about 354 days, which is about 11 days different from the 365.25 days of the sun's return year. In order to make up for this gap, leap months need to be inserted into the lunar calendar from time to time to adjust the relationship between solar terms and lunar years, which is also a unique phenomenon of "leap" years and "leap" months in the lunar calendar.
Secondly, the solar terms and festivals in the lunar calendar are determined according to the position of the sun on the ecliptic, such as the spring equinox, autumn equinox, winter solstice, summer solstice, etc., these solar terms can not only guide farming, but also closely related to people's living customs and cultural traditions, such as the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, etc., which have become unique cultural symbols of the Chinese nation and have also been included in the protection list of the world's intangible cultural heritage.
In addition, the lunar calendar also has 12 earthly branches, 12 zodiac signs and other unique ways of keeping the year, which can correspond to people's zodiac signs and constellations, and is widely used in numerology and divination prediction, which is believed to affect a person's fate and character, fully demonstrating the deep thinking of the ancients in the concept of time and fate.
4. The contemporary significance of the lunar calendar
Nowadays, although our lives have completely departed from the agricultural era, the lunar calendar, as an important part of traditional Chinese culture, still exudes a unique charm and has important contemporary significance.
First of all, the lunar calendar can allow people to have a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese culture, for example, through the way of recording the year of the lunar calendar, you can learn about the legends behind the 12 earthly branches and the 12 zodiac signs, feel the long history of Chinese civilization, and enhance cultural self-confidence and national identity.
Secondly, the solar terms and festivals in the lunar calendar have also brought a variety of experiences to the lives of modern people, such as family reunions during the Spring Festival, moon appreciation during the Mid-Autumn Festival, eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival, etc., these traditional customs can not only promote emotional exchanges between family members, but also promote traditional Chinese virtues and stimulate people's yearning and pursuit of a better life.
In addition, the solar terms in the lunar calendar are also closely related to the changes in the natural ecological environment, which can remind people to pay attention to environmental protection, advocate a green and low-carbon lifestyle, better adapt to the changes in the natural world, and realize the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
The lunar calendar, the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancient Chinese, was formulated by observing the laws of the moon and the sun, and has undergone many reforms. Although Western missionaries were involved, the overall thinking and structure of the lunar calendar was still a contribution of the Chinese. Nowadays, we are living in an era of information explosion, and many people may have become accustomed to using the solar calendar to record time, but the lunar calendar, as an important symbol of traditional Chinese culture, is still quietly affecting our lives. With the development of science and technology and cultural exchanges, the calendar will continue to be updated to meet the needs and development of society, and the lunar calendar will continue to shine in people's lives with a new attitude.