Solar term 1 of 24

Start of Spring立春

Spring opens, and in Four Pillars the new year begins here.

Sun at
315°
Date in 2026
4 Feb
Type
Opens a month
Sunrise
乙
立春雨水驚蟄春分清明穀雨立夏小滿芒種夏至小暑大暑立秋處暑白露秋分寒露霜降立冬小雪大雪冬至小寒大寒
Its place in the solar year

Sunrise

In Beijing, as the book records it, the sun rises 21°33′ south of due east.

Three pentads

Each term splits into three five-day pentads, each named for a sign in nature.

  1. 1東風解凍East wind thaws the ground
  2. 2蟄蟲始振Sleeping insects stir
  3. 3魚陟負冰Fish rise to the ice

Sources Xie Ji Bian Fang Shu, vol. 12.