Chinese Traditional Calendar/ Lunar · BaZi · Solar Terms

Not exactly. A 'pure lunar calendar' follows only the moon's phases. China's traditional calendar is lunisolar — months follow the moon, but leap months are inserted to stay in sync with the solar year. The 24 solar terms are entirely based on the sun's position.

The 10 Heavenly Stems combine with the 12 Earthly Branches to form a 60-year cycle (60 Jiazi). Each year gets a unique stem-branch pair. 2025 is Yisi (乙巳), 2026 is Bingwu (丙午), and so on.

BaZi means 'Four Pillars and Eight Characters' — derived from the stem-branch of your birth year, month, day, and hour. Each pillar has two characters (heavenly stem + earthly branch), totaling eight. This tool only charts the pillars; it doesn't interpret destiny.

Ancient Chinese divided the ecliptic into 24 segments (every 15°), each marking a seasonal or climatic turning point. They guide agriculture and daily life. Inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Examples: Vernal Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice.

Buddhist Era (BE) counts from the Buddha's Parinirvana, roughly 543 years before the Common Era — so 2025 CE ≈ 2568 BE. Taoist Era counts from the legendary birth of the Yellow Emperor (~2697 BCE) — so 2025 ≈ 4722 TE.

12 lunar months ≈ 354 days, about 11 days short of a solar year. A leap month is inserted roughly every 3 years to prevent the calendar from drifting out of seasonal sync. The month without a 'major' solar term becomes the leap month.