Twenty-four solar terms in a day

We say that there are twenty-four solar terms in a year. The word "solar terms" is a common name, and "qi" is the formal name, which means "two solar terms". "Fourteen Qi" is the most correct name. Why do you say that?

First of all, we have to understand what "jie" is and what "qi" is.

When we usually talk about the day of the month, this is the solar calendar, which is calculated based on the cycle of the sun; when we talk about the day of the month, this is the lunar calendar, which is calculated based on the lack of the moon; when we say twenty The four solar terms are the lunar calendar, which is based on the climate during the agricultural season. It is calculated based on the movement of the sun and the waxing and waning of the moon. It is a mixed lunar calendar. The year, month, day and hour of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are determined based on the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar. In other words, the twelve Earthly Branches are divided according to solar terms. For example, next year 2019 is the year of Jihai in the lunar calendar, so when does it truly enter the year of Jihai? We say that the day of "beginning of spring" is the first day of Yihai year. From this we can know that the day of "beginning of spring" is the node of the alternation between years, so it is called "Jie". The alternating nodes of the month are also called "festivals", and there are twelve in total: Beginning of Spring, Jingzhe, Qingming, Beginning of Summer, Ear Grain, Minor Heat, Beginning of Autumn, White Dew, Cold Dew, Beginning of Winter, Heavy Snow, Minor Cold, etc.

This "section" is just like the section of bamboo, a principle. The two bamboo joints are connected and ventilated, so in the twenty-four solar terms, the section between the joints is called "qi". They are named after the point in the middle of the two equinoxes, and there are twelve of them: Rain, Vernal Equinox, Grain Rain, Xiaoman, Summer Solstice, Great Heat, End of Heat, Autumnal Equinox, Frost Descent, Light Snow, Winter Solstice, and Great Cold.

But the word "qi" is not strictly used. Strictly speaking, it should be called "degree". Degree, its original meaning is a distance in time and space. The word "Jiedu" was later used as the name of an official, which means: stationed at key points in the region, radiation management for a certain distance and an area.

So, why was the word "degree" later replaced by the word "qi"? Because "degree" is divided into two parts at the midpoint. Since there are two parts, according to the principles of Yi Xue, a yin and yang can be distinguished.

The so-called twelve degrees are the areas dominated by the twelve earthly branches. In this way, the twelve degrees are divided into two parts, that is, each of the twelve earthly branches can be subdivided into two qi, yin and yang, and become the so-called twenty-four qi.

We say that "nothing is without yin and yang", and the same is true for the twelve earthly branches. For example, the earthly branch "Zi" has a general attribute of Yang, so it is called a Yang branch. But further subdividing it, this "child" still has two attributes of yin and yang, that is, the two qi of yin and yang. So, how to define the yin and yang of "zi"? "Zi" is the yang branch, so his yang has a parabolic transformation process from weak to strong, and then to weak. So in its first half, we say that Yang Qi is the offensive side and is dominant, so the attribute of this section is defined as "Yang". And what about the second half? Yang Qi declines, and Yin Qi becomes dominant and a growing trend. We say that the attribute of this second half is "Yin".

Based on this principle, we say that the first half of the Yang branch belongs to Yang, and the second half belongs to Yin; and for the Yin branch, the first half belongs to Yin, and the second half belongs to Yang. At this point, the twelve earthly branches have become the twenty-four qi - the twenty-four yin and yang qi.

The twenty-four qi came into being almost simultaneously with the twelve earthly branches, because of the Yixue thought of "nothing without yin and yang", but it was not applied to the earliest calendar, but when applied to the calendar it is That happened later. The more the calendar develops, the more detailed it will be. The modern international unit is seconds.

This positioning law of the twenty-four qi is also an important part of the Yixue taught by Wenshi Taoism, and has a very wide range of applications. We will not discuss it in detail here.

Some friends may ask, how do you say "winter solstice is a yang birth, summer solstice is a yin birth"?

The saying that "winter solstice generates yang and summer solstice generates yin" is based on the division of yin and yang from the perspective of the entire year. In the Wenshi Dao Yi culture, there are two division methods:

One is divided by the meridian, which is called left yang and right yin;

The day of the winter solstice happens to be the day of the year The intersection of "Yang on the left and Yin on the right", so the Yin energy reaches its peak on this day. It is said that "the extremes of things must reverse", and the Yang energy is produced on this day. This is the so-called "winter solstice and Yang generation". The same principle applies to "summer solstice and Yin Sheng".

This is how the concept of "Yin Qi is strongest in the Zi month and Yang Qi is strongest in the Noon month" comes from.

The second is divided by Maoyou, which means upper yang and lower yin. Yang Qi starts to be generated from the point Mao and reaches the anode at noon. Then it decays to the point where Yang Qi is exhausted and Yin Qi is generated. Then it reaches the cathode at the Zi point, and is exhausted at the Mao point, and then the Yang energy is produced again. This is another easy-to-learn concept. This is like day and night in a day, but this usage has its own special purpose, which we will not expand on.

Let’s focus on the division of Mao and You into day and night, which is relatively intuitive and easy to understand. All the times represented by the earthly branches belonging to the day are said to be Yang time; and all the times represented by the earthly branches belonging to the night belong to Yin time. This is viewed from a day and night perspective. And after specifically dividing the day and night into twelve parts, each hour has its own yin and yang attributes. Everyone must understand this division from different angles.

We say that "Yin Qi is strongest during the Zi period". This is from the perspective of the whole day and night. It does not mean that the attribute of the earthly branch "Zi" is yin, but its earthly branch attribute is still yang. .

But if we need to further divide the yin and yang of this "zi" time, then the concepts of "yin sub-time" and "yang sub-time" will appear.

Those who regard the entire sub-hour on days when the heavenly stems and earthly branches are all yin as "yin child-hour", and those who regard the entire sub-hour on days when the heavenly stems and earthly branches are all yang and earthly branches as "yin child-hour" The statement "Yang Zi Shi" is very wrong. To put it bluntly, this is called not understanding Yi at all.

This division of the twenty-four Qi applies not only to the "sun", but also to the "moon".

I posted a picture circulated by Wen Shi Taoism for everyone, so that everyone can clearly understand the division of yin and yang among the twelve earthly branches. As shown in the picture below:

We can see from the picture that among the twelve hours of the day, Zi hour belongs to the Yang branch. When the Yang energy reaches its peak, the Yin energy begins to be generated. Until the middle point of the ugly time, the Yin Qi reaches its highest peak. By analogy, Yang Qi is generated from the highest point of the Yin branch of Chou, and reaches its peak at the midpoint of Yin, the Yang branch... Yang Qi is generated from the highest peak of the Yin branch of Hai, and reaches its peak at the midpoint of Zi. , is such a yin and yang cycle of growth and decline. The same is true for the twenty-four solar terms of the twelve months of the year, so I won’t repeat them here.