Start of Summer (Lixia) 立夏
The solar term
The Start of Summer. Temperatures rise noticeably, thunderstorms increase, and crops enter their season of fastest growth. According to the Book of Rites, on this day the emperor went to the southern outskirts to welcome the summer.
| Year | Start of Summer |
|---|---|
| 2026 | May 5 |
| 2027 | May 6 |
| 2028 | May 5 |
| 2029 | May 5 |
| 2030 | May 5 |
Dates are for China time (UTC+8); in other time zones the term may fall on a different day.
The three pentads
Each solar term lasts about fifteen days and is divided into three pentads of five days, each named after a sign in nature. In 2027:
Mole crickets sing 螻蟈鳴from May 6
Mole crickets (some say frogs) begin to sing in the fields.
Earthworms come up 蚯蚓出from May 11
Earthworms come up out of the soil.
Snake gourds grow 王瓜生from May 16
The vines of the snake gourd, a wild climbing plant, begin to grow quickly.
Hexagrams
In the table of the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar (recorded in the New Book of Tang), the three pentads of Start of Summer belong to three hexagrams:
- first pentad56 Lü (The Wanderer)Marquis
- second pentad7 Shi (The Army)Grandee
- third pentad8 Bi (Alliance)Minister
Separately, the twenty-four lines of Kan, Zhen, Li and Dui govern the twenty-four solar terms in turn; Start of Summer belongs to Zhen, nine in the fourth place.
The hexagram calendar marks the season. It says nothing about fortune and has no bearing on a hexagram you cast. See sources and method.