Presentation Transcript

1. Chinese Calendar

   Alex hart 10-12-10 Think tank factory 3rd period B-days
2. My main points The Chinese calendar has been used since 2637 B.C.E. The calendar is a lunisolar calendar which means the date both have the moon phases and time of the solar years. The chances calendar has 12 different animals on it to give each year a name. The Chinese calendar has many details that makes it different from other calendars.
3. History of the Chinese Calendar The first Chinese Calendar was introduced in 2637 B.C.E., by Emperor Huangdi. The calendar can be track as far back as 14th century B.C.E. The Gregorian calendar was adopted by the nascent Republic of China on January 1, 1912 for official business, but the people continued to use the traditional calendar. The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar or the, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. The Chinese calendar is also used for east Asia traditional holidays, like New Years.
4. There are 12 animals on the Chinese Calendar. The history of why there are animals on the calendar is interesting. There is a total of 12 animals on the calendar; Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. The reason the animals are on the calendar is because they represent the 12 year rotating cycle. Each animal stands for something different.
5. Why are there animals on the calendar? Cont. Legend says the order of the animals were decided by a race between the animals, organized by the Jade Emperor of China. The cat and rat were friends and decided to help each other during the race. They had asked the ox to wake them for the race. The day had come and they could not be woken. The ox put the rat and cat on his back. The rat woke up and had realized that the race had began and that he was a faster runner than the cat. So the rat pushed that cat off the ox and jumped off and ran. The rat won then came the ox, tiger, followed by the rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and boar. The cat was too late and didn’t make it on time. So to this day, according to the Chinese, that is why the cat chases rats.
6. Details about the Chinese Calendar The Chinese Calendar is a Lunisolar Calendar. A lunisolar calendar is a calendar that has both moon phase and the time of the solar year. A regular year has 12 months, but on leap year it has 13 months. An regular year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days. Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Unlike most other calendars, the Chinese calendar does not count years in an infinite sequence. Instead years have names that are repeated every 60 years.
7. More about the Chinese Calendar This year is the year of the tiger. The calendar also shows the days of festivals (holidays) Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. The months are lunar months, which mean the 1st day of each months starts at midnight. Each year began on the new moon which preceded the winter solstice. The winter solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'.
8. My Conclusion In conclusion theChinese calendar has been used since 2637 B.C.E, is a lunisolarcalendar, has 12 different animals on it to give each year a name, and has many details that makes it different from other calendars.
9. References for pictures Background for slide 1: www.zazzle.com Background for slide 2: www.information-logs.com Background for slide 3: www.asianartmall.com All other pictures came from clip art.
10. Sources for my information http://www.chinese.new-year.co.uk/calendar.htm http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-chinese.html http://chinapage.com/newyear.html