Start of Spring (Lichun 立春): dates, pentads and the BaZi month change
Li (立) means to begin. Start of Spring opens the season and is the first of the twenty-four terms. Taiwan is still in the tail of winter, but warm days become more common.
Start of Spring dates, 2026–2035
| Year | Date | Time (Taiwan, UTC+8) | Month pillar from this moment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | February 4 | 04:02 | Geng-Yin 庚寅 month |
| 2027 | February 4 | 09:46 | Ren-Yin 壬寅 month |
| 2028 | February 4 | 15:31 | Jia-Yin 甲寅 month |
| 2029 | February 3 | 21:20 | Bing-Yin 丙寅 month |
| 2030 | February 4 | 03:08 | Wu-Yin 戊寅 month |
| 2031 | February 4 | 08:58 | Geng-Yin 庚寅 month |
| 2032 | February 4 | 14:48 | Ren-Yin 壬寅 month |
| 2033 | February 3 | 20:41 | Jia-Yin 甲寅 month |
| 2034 | February 4 | 02:41 | Bing-Yin 丙寅 month |
| 2035 | February 4 | 08:31 | Wu-Yin 戊寅 month |
Times computed by our calendar code (UTC+8); they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. Between 1901 and 2100, Start of Spring always falls on February 3–5. Subtract 8 hours for UTC.
The three pentads of Start of Spring
| Sign of the season | When | |
|---|---|---|
| First pentad | The east wind thaws the ice (東風解凍) | about days 1–5 after Start of Spring |
| Second pentad | Hibernating insects begin to stir (蟄蟲始振) | about days 6–10 after Start of Spring |
| Third pentad | Fish rise up under the ice (魚陟負冰) | about days 11–15 after Start of Spring |
The ancients split each solar term into three pentads (hou 候) of about five days each, and marked them by changes in birds, animals and plants: seventy-two pentads a year. These follow the standard list in Wu Cheng's Yuan-dynasty Collected Explanations of the Seventy-Two Pentads. They were observed in the Yellow River basin, so they do not always match what you see in Taiwan, let alone elsewhere. Some, like hawks turning into doves, record old beliefs rather than biology.
Start of Spring in the sky: where the Sun is
The solar terms follow the Sun along the ecliptic: one term for every 15°, and Start of Spring is the moment the Sun reaches longitude 315°. In 2027, at Start of Spring the Sun sits against the stars of Capricornus (drowned out by daylight, of course).
What Start of Spring means in BaZi
Start of Spring is a jie (節, "node") term: from this moment the Yin month (寅) begins, the month that roughly matches the 1st lunar month, and the BaZi month pillar switches to a new pillar. The Yin month's element is Wood, so for people born in it, Wood is usually "in season" and strong in the chart. BaZi changes the year at the Start of Spring: if you were born before it, your year pillar is still the previous year. The Start of Spring and Chinese New Year are not the same day and are often several days apart.
BaZi months are not counted from the lunar new moon but from the jie terms: Start of Spring, Awakening of Insects, Pure Brightness, Start of Summer, Grain in Ear, Minor Heat, Start of Autumn, White Dew, Cold Dew, Start of Winter, Major Snow and Minor Cold each open a month. If you were born on the day of a jie term, within a few hours of it, your month pillar (and for the Start of Spring, your year pillar too) can shift by one; it depends on the exact time. See solar term boundaries, and for how the month's heavenly stem is worked out, the month pillar.
Customs
In imperial times the Start of Spring was greeted with ceremonies to "welcome spring" and whip a clay "spring ox" to urge on the farming year. Farmers' almanacs still print a spring ox picture each year.
Look up the solar terms for any year
Pick a year to list the exact time of all 24 solar terms (Taiwan time, UTC+8) and the month pillar each jie term starts. Add a month and day, such as a birthday, to see which solar-term period it falls in and its month pillar. Everything is calculated in your browser.
The times come from the same calendar code our BaZi charts use; for 1901–2100 they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. If you were born within minutes of a term changing, see solar term boundaries.
The terms before and after
The previous term is Major Cold; the next is Rain Water.
A straight word: solar terms are astronomy; luck is something else
The twenty-four solar terms divide the year by the Sun's position on the ecliptic, and their times can be computed to the second. BaZi uses them to change the year and the month; that is a rule of calculation. A solar term carries no good or bad luck of its own, and no term is a "better" one to be born in: a chart is read as a whole, by its Five Elements and Ten Gods. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Born in the Yin month? See your whole chart
The month branch is the most important pillar in BaZi: it sets how strong each of the Five Elements is. Enter your birth date for a free Four Pillars chart.
Start of Spring: common questions
What date is Start of Spring in 2026?
In 2026, Start of Spring falls on February 4 at 04:02 Taiwan time (UTC+8); in 2027 it is February 4 at 09:46.
Why does Start of Spring move from year to year?
A solar term is the moment the Sun reaches a set longitude, here 315°. A year is about 365.24 days, not a whole number, and leap years reset the count, so the date drifts within a few days. From 1901 to 2100, Start of Spring always falls on February 3–5.
What are the three pentads of Start of Spring?
First: The east wind thaws the ice (東風解凍); second: Hibernating insects begin to stir (蟄蟲始振); third: Fish rise up under the ice (魚陟負冰). They follow the standard Yuan-dynasty list.
What does Start of Spring do in a BaZi chart?
It is a jie term: from this moment BaZi switches to the Yin month and the month pillar changes.