LiDong: The 19th of Twenty-Four Solar Terms to Notify You About the Beginning of Winter in November

What is "Li Dong"?

立冬指什么？ [Lì dōng zhǐ shén me]

The word "LiDong" comes from the pinyin form (lì dōng) of a Chinese term 立冬, also known as the Beginning of Winter in English.

Li Dong，取自中国的一个节气词汇“立冬”的汉语拼音，英文里也称作“Beginning of Winter”。

LiDong is the 19th term of the well-known Chinese Twenty Four Solar Terms, which is called "中国二十四节气" (èr shí sì jié qì) in Standard Chinese.

立冬，是中国二十四节气里的第 19 个 节气。

Each time when the sun moves to the 225 degrees (225°) of the ecliptic longitude, the time of the day was defined as the start time of the term Beginning of Winter, which was marked as 立冬 (lì dōng) on the Chinese calendar of the year.

每当太阳运行至位于黄经 225 度时，这一天的某个具体时刻则被定为节气“立冬”，在中国农历中这一天也会标记为“立冬”日。

LiDong is the 19th term of the well-known Chinese Twenty-Four Solar Terms which is called 中国的二十四节气 (lì dōng)

每当太阳运行至位于黄经 225 度时，这一天的某个具体时刻则被定为节气“立冬”，在中国农历中这一天也会标记为“立冬”日。

When is "Li Dong" in China?

立冬的日期？[Lì dōng de rì qī]

In the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese Solar Term 立冬, the Beginning of Winter usually takes place in the early November, falling on November 7 or 8 depending on the movement of the sun and the traditional Chinese calendar, with an 1-or-2-day discrepancy.

在公历中，节气“立冬”对应的日期通常落在每年 11 月上旬的 7-8 日之间，误差不会超过 1 或 2 天。

Specifically, the date November 7th, 2022 at Beijing time 18:45 (UTC+8) comes the solar term of LiDong of the year, which will end on November 22th, 2022 at 16:20 (UTC+8) when the next solar term arrives.

2022年的雨水节气始于北京时间 11 月 7 日傍晚 18 时 45 分，止于 11 月 22 日 16 时 20 分，即下一个节气来临之时。

What Does "Li Dong" Mean?

“立冬”的含义 [Lì dōng de hán yì]

The Chinese term of "Li Dong" literally consists of two basic Chinese character: 立 and 冬. In modern times, the second 冬 (dōng) is simply known as the Winter season in Chinese language. And the first one 立 (lì) here as a Chinese verb means something is to be established. To merge them together, this term is going to notify the people that the Winter begins now.

从字面上看，“立冬”里包含的两个基础汉字：“立”和“冬”。其中，“冬”，在现代通常指冬天的季节。“立”在这里表示自此开始。合起来，即向人们预告着，冬季从此刻开始了。

Not only that, the term is not just telling about the start of winter. In ancient China, the character "冬" also contained the meaning of "end". When it appeared in the LiDong term, it gives an implication that the vital energy is restrained and stored, and all livings start turning into a status of hiding and resting, like the animals going into hibernation.

但立冬的含义并不仅指冬季的开始。在古代，“冬”字还表示“终了”的含义。出现在节气“立冬”里，也意味着生气开始闭蓄，万物进入休养、收藏、避冬的状态，如动物们开始藏起来冬眠。

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