Solar term
TermLongitudeDates
Lichun315°4–5 February
Yushui330°18–19 February
Jingzhe345°5–6 March
Chunfen20–21 March
Qingming15°4–5 April
Guyu30°20–21 April
Lixia45°5–6 May
Xiaoman60°21–22 May
Mangzhong75°5–6 June
Xiazhi90°21–22 June
Xiaoshu105°7–8 July
Dashu120°22–23 July
Liqiu135°7–8 August
Chushu150°23–24 August
Bailu165°7–8 September
Qiufen180°23–24 September
Hanlu195°8–9 October
Shuangjiang210°23–24 October
Lidong225°7–8 November
Xiaoxue240°22–23 November
Daxue255°7–8 December
Dongzhi270°21–22 December
Xiaohan285°5–6 January
Dahan300°20–21 January

Jīngzhé (simplified Chinese: 惊蛰; traditional Chinese: 驚蛰) 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 the day when the Sun is exactly at a celestial longitude of 345°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around March 5 and ends around March 20.

The word 驚蟄 means the awakening of hibernating insects. 驚 is to startle and 蟄 means hibernating insects. Traditional Chinese folklore says that during Jingzhe, thunderstorms 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

Japan

  • First pentad: Japanese: 蟄虫啓戸 (Romanisation: Chitchū kei to), 'Awakening of hibernating insects'.
  • Second pentad: Japanese: 桃始笑 (Romanisation: Momo Hajime Emi), 'Peach trees start to bloom (smile)'.
  • Last pentad: Japanese: 菜虫化蝶 (Romanisation: Na mushi-ka chō), 'Caterpillars become butterflies'.

Date and time

Date and Time (UTC)
YearBeginEnd
辛巳2001-03-05 12:322001-03-20 13:30
壬午2002-03-05 18:272002-03-20 19:16
癸未2003-03-06 00:042003-03-21 00:59
甲申2004-03-05 05:552004-03-20 06:48
乙酉2005-03-05 11:452005-03-20 12:33
丙戌2006-03-05 17:282006-03-20 18:25
丁亥2007-03-05 23:182007-03-21 00:07
戊子2008-03-05 04:582008-03-20 05:48
己丑2009-03-05 10:472009-03-20 11:43
庚寅2010-03-05 16:462010-03-20 17:32
辛卯2011-03-05 22:292011-03-20 23:20
壬辰2012-03-05 04:212012-03-20 05:14
癸巳2013-03-05 10:142013-03-20 11:01
甲午2014-03-05 16:022014-03-20 16:57
乙未2015-03-05 21:552015-03-20 22:45
丙申2016-03-05 03:432016-03-20 04:30
丁酉2017-03-05 09:322017-03-20 10:28
戊戌2018-03-05 15:282018-03-20 16:15
己亥2019-03-05 21:092019-03-20 21:58
庚子2020-03-05 02:562020-03-20 03:49
辛丑2021-03-05 08:532021-03-20 09:37
壬寅2022-03-05 14:432022-03-20 15:33
癸卯2023-03-05 20:362023-03-20 21:24
甲辰2024-03-05 02:222024-03-20 03:06
乙巳2025-03-05 08:072025-03-20 09:01
丙午2026-03-05 13:592026-03-20 14:45
丁未2027-03-05 19:392027-03-20 20:24
戊申2028-03-05 01:242028-03-20 02:17
己酉2029-03-05 07:172029-03-20 08:01
庚戌2030-03-05 13:032030-03-20 13:52
Source: JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System

Related topics

Cultural references

Lim Giong has a 2005 album titled Insects Awaken.

Jingzhe (film) is a 2004 Chinese film directed by Wang Quan'an.

Preceded byYushui (雨水)Solar term (節氣)Succeeded byChunfen (春分)