CHINESE CALENDAR

PART OF SERIES, "TRACKING TIME: BEHIND THE CLOCK AND CALENDAR"

Author: Ken Klark L. Flores

Photo: Lindsey Wharton / Pinterest

Introduction

The traditional Chinese calendar is a lunisolar system that uses both the Moon's phases and the Earth's orbit around the Sun to organize time. It is used today for determining traditional holidays, auspicious dates, and for astrology, while the Gregorian calendar is used for civil and business purposes (Hocken, n.d.).

Origins

over 4,000 years ago, with historical evidence tracing back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 14th century BCE) and mythical origins attributed to the Yellow Emperor around 2637 BCE (FamilySearch Wiki, 2025). Legend credits the mythical Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) and his minister Ta Nao with creating the first calendar, known as the Chia-tzu or Kan-chih system, around 2637 BCE. The earliest surviving records are from oracle bone inscriptions during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE), which show a working lunisolar calendar with evidence of intercalary (leap) months to keep the lunar cycles aligned with the solar year. The calendar, often referred to as the "agricultural calendar" (nóng lì), was vital for farmers to track seasons, planting times, and harvests, making a sophisticated understanding of both solar and lunar cycles necessary (Yeromiyan, 2020).

System

The calendar features months that begin on the day of the astronomical new moon, typically having 29 or 30 days. A common year has 12 months (about 354 days), but a leap month (13th month) is added approximately every three years to keep it aligned with the solar year of roughly 365 days and the seasons.  Each year within the 12-year cycle is associated with a specific animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The current year (2025 in the Gregorian calendar) is the Year of the Snake (Chinese Calendar, 2020).

During the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046–256 BCE), the 60-year cycle was introduced. This system combines the 10 Celestial Stems and the 12 Terrestrial Branches (represented by the 12 Chinese zodiac animals) to name each year, month, and day (Lee, 2023). A major reform occurred in 104 BCE with the Taichu calendar, which established the framework for the traditional calendar still largely in use today for cultural purposes. 

Usage

China officially adopted the Gregorian calendar for civil and administrative purposes in 1912, though the traditional Chinese calendar remains essential for determining the dates of major festivals like the Lunar New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and for use in astrology and traditional practices. 

Reference

Hocken, V. (n.d.). The Chinese Calendar. Www.timeanddate.com. https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/about-chinese.html

‌Chinese Calendar. (2020, January 17). Calendar. https://www.calendar.com/blog/chinese-calendar/

‌FamilySearch Wiki. (2025, March 13). Chinese Dates and Calendars • FamilySearch. FamilySearch Wiki. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Chinese_Dates_and_Calendars

Yeromiyan, T. (2020, March 25). What is the Chinese Calendar? | The Chinese Language Institute. CLI. https://studycli.org/chinese-zodiac/chinese-calendar/

‌Lee, C. (2023, May 5). An Introduction to the Chinese Calendar (Part 1). Imperial Harvest. https://imperialharvest.com/blog/introduction-to-the-chinese-calendar-part-1/

‌