Pure Brightness (Qingming 清明): dates, pentads and the BaZi month change
Clear skies and fresh green growth: the most pleasant stretch of spring. Pure Brightness is the only solar term that is also a public holiday in Taiwan (Tomb-Sweeping Day). It falls on April 4 or 5, and families visit and tidy their ancestors' graves around this time.
Pure Brightness dates, 2026–2035
| Year | Date | Time (Taiwan, UTC+8) | Month pillar from this moment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | April 5 | 02:40 | Ren-Chen 壬辰 month |
| 2027 | April 5 | 08:17 | Jia-Chen 甲辰 month |
| 2028 | April 4 | 14:03 | Bing-Chen 丙辰 month |
| 2029 | April 4 | 19:58 | Wu-Chen 戊辰 month |
| 2030 | April 5 | 01:41 | Geng-Chen 庚辰 month |
| 2031 | April 5 | 07:28 | Ren-Chen 壬辰 month |
| 2032 | April 4 | 13:17 | Jia-Chen 甲辰 month |
| 2033 | April 4 | 19:08 | Bing-Chen 丙辰 month |
| 2034 | April 5 | 01:06 | Wu-Chen 戊辰 month |
| 2035 | April 5 | 06:53 | Geng-Chen 庚辰 month |
Times computed by our calendar code (UTC+8); they agree with an astronomical calculation to within about a minute. Between 1901 and 2100, Pure Brightness always falls on April 4–6. Subtract 8 hours for UTC.
The three pentads of Pure Brightness
| Sign of the season | When | |
|---|---|---|
| First pentad | Paulownia trees begin to flower (桐始華) | about days 1–5 after Pure Brightness |
| Second pentad | Field mice turn into quails (田鼠化為鴽) | about days 6–10 after Pure Brightness |
| Third pentad | Rainbows first appear (虹始見) | about days 11–15 after Pure Brightness |
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.
Pure Brightness in the sky: where the Sun is
The solar terms follow the Sun along the ecliptic: one term for every 15°, and Pure Brightness is the moment the Sun reaches longitude 15°. In 2027, at Pure Brightness the Sun sits against the stars of Pisces (drowned out by daylight, of course).
What Pure Brightness means in BaZi
Pure Brightness is a jie (節, "node") term: from this moment the Chen month (辰) begins, the month that roughly matches the 3rd lunar month, and the BaZi month pillar switches to a new pillar. The Chen month's element is Earth, so for people born in it, Earth is usually "in season" and strong in the chart.
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
Pure Brightness falls close to the old Cold Food Festival, and over time the two merged: grave sweeping, spring outings and hanging willow sprigs all belong to this season.
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 Spring Equinox; the next is Grain Rain.
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 Chen 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.
Pure Brightness: common questions
What date is Pure Brightness in 2026?
In 2026, Pure Brightness falls on April 5 at 02:40 Taiwan time (UTC+8); in 2027 it is April 5 at 08:17.
Why does Pure Brightness move from year to year?
A solar term is the moment the Sun reaches a set longitude, here 15°. 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, Pure Brightness always falls on April 4–6.
What are the three pentads of Pure Brightness?
First: Paulownia trees begin to flower (桐始華); second: Field mice turn into quails (田鼠化為鴽); third: Rainbows first appear (虹始見). They follow the standard Yuan-dynasty list.
What does Pure Brightness do in a BaZi chart?
It is a jie term: from this moment BaZi switches to the Chen month and the month pillar changes.