Li Chun (立春), 2026

Every year, Lì Chūn  (立春), or Jip Chūn (also known as the Coming of Spring, one of many other descriptions) as it is called in Penang Hokkien, sneaks in quietly. In 2026, it falls on 4 February at 4.02am 5.02am, while most people are still asleep. By the time the sun comes up, spring will have already started. At least, according to the old Chinese way of reckoning.

Back then, farmers didn’t wait to feel the warmth before preparing their fields. They do so because the calendar told them it was time. In many homes, the rice bucket gets topped up at Lì Chūn, which is not superstition but a simple gesture. Food, like time, moves in cycles. Sometimes abundance starts with the smallest act.

It is also worth remembering that, in older reckoning, Lì Chūn was once regarded as the beginning of the year itself. Before Chinese New Year became the social and festive turning point, the solar cycle held greater authority. Even today, systems like Bāzì still count the year from Lì Chūn, which is a reminder that the calendar we celebrate and the calendar the heavens follow are very seldom in sync.

So at 4.02am 5.02am on 04 February 2026, nothing dramatic will happen in my life. But I’ll be doing what I’ve been doing every year: filling my rice bucket to the brim and sticking a fresh chūn (春) character on its side. It’s a small, habitual act done without ceremony and always by myself. By that measure, before the firecrackers of Chinese New Year sound on the 17th of February, the new year will already have begun for me.

I've been writing consistently about Jip Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and if anyone wants to find the historical dates and time, the information is all here:

Li Chun, 2025 
Li Chun, 2024 
Li Chun, 2023 
Li Chun, 2022 
Li Chun, 2021 
Li Chun, 2020 
Li Chun, 2019 
Li Chun, 2018 
Li Chun, 2017 
Li Chun, 2016 
Li Chun, 2015 
Li Chun, 2014 
Li Chun, 2013 
Li Chun, 2012 
Li Chun, 2011 
Li Chun, 2010 
Li Chun, 2009 
Li Chun, 2008 
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2025

I’m writing this short note on the winter solstice, the day when the sun reaches its southernmost position in the sky before making an about-turn to start its trek northwards. In the northern hemisphere, today marks the shortest day of the year—though here in the tropics, we barely notice the difference.

When the sun reaches this southernmost point, the winter solstice, Chinese astrologers recognise the occasion as the beginning of the solar term known as Dong Zhi (冬至), or Tang Chik as we Hokkien people in Penang call it. I’ve written before about solar terms and how ancient Chinese astrologers divided the sky into 24 segments, covering all 360 degrees of the heavens. Each solar term spans 15 degrees, reflecting the rhythm of seasonal changes, as the sun journeys northward and southward each year, passing through every one of them.

Forty-five days after the winter solstice comes the solar term known as Li Chun (立春) or the Coming of Spring. We call this day Jip Chun in Penang Hokkien. For 2025, Li Chun falls on the third of February at 10:12 PM, Malaysian local time. At that precise moment, many households will ceremonially fill their rice buckets to symbolise abundance and prosperity for the year ahead. Incidentally, this date coincides with the sixth day of Chinese New Year—a coincidence with no deeper connection other than tradition. Nevertheless, on this day, the local Chinese folks in Penang flock to the small and rather unassuming Snake Temple in Sungai Kluang—located about five kilometres from Bayan Lepas town, which my grandparents called Bang Ka Lan (萬腳蘭)—to celebrate the birthday of the temple’s resident deity, Chor Soo Kong.

By the way, I've been writing consistently about Jip Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and if anyone wants to find the historical dates and time, the information is all here:

Li Chun, 2024 
Li Chun, 2023 
Li Chun, 2022 
Li Chun, 2021 
Li Chun, 2020 
Li Chun, 2019 
Li Chun, 2018 
Li Chun, 2017 
Li Chun, 2016 
Li Chun, 2015 
Li Chun, 2014 
Li Chun, 2013 
Li Chun, 2012 
Li Chun, 2011 
Li Chun, 2010 
Li Chun, 2009 
Li Chun, 2008 
Li Chun, 2007

#lichun #snaketemple

Li Chun (立春), 2024

Li Chun (立春) or Jip Chun, otherwise known as the First Day of Spring, will be upon us in 30 days time. At 4.29pm on 04 February 2024, the sun crosses the 315° longitudinal line in the sky on its annual journey to the northern hemisphere. For us Chinese everywhere in the world, Jip Chun marks the actual start of the new year, not the 10th of February which is the full moon nearest to the  day of Jip Chun. 

But for this year, this Jip Chun is extra special because it also signifies the start of Period Nine. For the uninitiated, Period Nine refers to one of the nine 20-year cycles in the Flying Star Feng Shui (風水) system. (In Penang Hokkien, we prefer to call it Hong Sui. Either way, the term translates as "wind-water" which is the arrangement of objects and the layout of spaces that can affect the qi or energy in a particular locality.) 

Each 20-year Period is associated with a unique combination of energy influences represented by stars, and it is believed to have an impact on the overall energy of a space. The Feng Shui Flying Star system is based on the Lo Shu (洛書) Square which is a grid of nine squares containing the numerals One to Nine. Each period has its own distinctive energy map, and Period Nine spans from the year 2024 to 2043. 

By the way, I've been writing consistently about Jip Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and if anyone wants to find the historical dates and time, the information is all here:

Li Chun, 2023 
Li Chun, 2022
Li Chun, 2021
Li Chun, 2020
Li Chun, 2019
Li Chun, 2018
Li Chun, 2017
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2023

Li Chun (立春) or the Coming of Spring comes around but once a year and for this year, it will arrive upon our doorsteps, or rather, our rice bucket, at 10.44am on 4 February 2023. This will correspond with the 14th day of the first Chinese lunar month. The Hokkien and the Baba Nyonya communities in Penang will invariably refer to this first day of Spring as Jip Chun instead of Li Chun. 

But what's so special about Jip Chun or Li Chun? It has no religious significance but we Chinese acknowledge this date as the day when the sun crosses the 315° longitudinal line in the sky. Of course you don't see this imaginary line but it is there, all right. For astronomical and perhaps astrological purposes as well, this longitudinal line has always been there.

Right after this time on Jip Chun day, it is traditional for me to paste a new Chun (春) character on the rice bucket and then fill it up to the brim with rice to signify abundance for the coming year. 

This year, however, I had to really clean out my rice bucket to rid it of the rice weevil and its eggs. The last packet of rice must have been really infested with the eggs because although I didn't see any sign of any weevil at all when I purchased it from the supermarket. But soon enough, I noticed that the rice was gradually being attacked and the weevil came crawling to the surface whenever I opened the lid. It reached a stage where we decided to throw away the rest of the uncooked rice. To my horror, the bottom of the bucket was coated with a thick crust of rice dust. So everything went off into the washroom where I gave the bucket a good wash followed by drying it out under the sun and subjecting it to a good vacuum subsequently. Hopefully, my new stock of rice will be spared this infestation.

By the way, I've been writing diligently about Jip Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and if anyone wants to find the historical dates and time, the information is all here:

Li Chun, 2022
Li Chun, 2021
Li Chun, 2020
Li Chun, 2019
Li Chun, 2018
Li Chun, 2017
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2022

When I was writing about the Tang Chek festival a few days ago, my mind was on what comes next. What Chinese festival would we would be celebrating next? According to the calendar, the Chinese New Year holiday will fall on 01 February 2022 to coincide with the new moon.

While my family shall also celebrate the occasion - and I am looking forward to my son and daughter returning to the family home in Bukit Mertajam - to us, the actual date of the Chinese New Year according to the lunisolar calendar will be on 04 February 2022.

At 4.52am (2052 UTC) on this date, the sun is calculated to have crossed the 315° longitudinal line in the sky. This important event heralds the annual Li Chun (立春) or the Coming of Spring. In the olden days when I was still staying in Seang Tek Road, my grandparents - all Baba Nyonyas in Penang - would more commonly say Jip Chun instead of Li Chun. 

It is all cultural, by the way, nothing religious about Jip Chun at all. The sun crosses the imaginary longitudinal line in the sky. The day comes and the day goes. The only traditions that I shall attach to this day are to fill up the rice bucket to the brim and then stick a new piece of red paper with the character Chun (春) on it to signify continuous abundance for the forthcoming year. 

That's all the symbolism I shall attach to the moment. And because the exact time of Jip Chun is in the early pre-dawn hours, at 4.52am, I shall wait for a more appropriate time to accomplish this task. After that? Well, it is still Chinese New Year after all. What DO you do during Chinese New Year, anyway?

By the way, I've been writing diligently about Jip Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and you can still read them here:

Li Chun. 2021
Li Chun, 2020
Li Chun, 2019
Li Chun, 2018
Li Chun, 2017
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2021

This is normally what I do every year on the third or fourth day of February: filling my rice bucket to the brim with a big packet of rice. It is a cultural tradition that has been handed down for many generations in my family. And, no doubt, in many other families also. 

My forefathers observed it during those distant days in the Ow-Quah village in Hokkien, China, more than 200 years ago. Today, so very far removed from my ancestral village, I still practice this tradition in my house in Penang, Malaysia. A brief 15 to 30 seconds to cut open the bag of rice and empty it into the rice bucket. Perhaps it takes a little bit longer to stick a new piece of red paper with the auspicious Chun character (春) on the bucket.

The whole process is simply to signify the hope that the forthcoming year will be bountiful and abundant for me and my family. After all, this is the day which, according to the Chinese luni-solar calendar, signifies the Li Chun (立春) or Coming of Spring. On this day, the sun moves across the 315° longitudinal line in the sky. The start of a new year when winter officially ends and spring takes its place.

In 2021, Li Chun falls on the third day of February at exactly 11pm in Malaysia (1500 hours UTC). And it will be at this time that I shall begin replacing that piece of Chun (春) paper and then pouring in my new packet of rice.

By the way, I've been writing diligently about Li Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and you can still read them here:

Li Chun, 2020
Li Chun, 2019
Li Chun, 2018
Li Chun, 2017
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2020

With Chinese New Year in 2020 falling early on 25 Jan next year, it is perhaps timely for me to write about next year's Li Chun (立春) now, even before we get to celebrate the Tang Chik festival on the 22nd of this month.

Li Chun or Jip Chun, as it is more commonly called by the Penang Baba Nyonya community, heralds the actual start of the new year according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar. This is the day of the Coming of Spring; when the season is deemed to have turned and Spring is accepted to have begun officially. Astronomically, the sun is calculated to have crossed the 315° longitudinal line in the sky.

The celebration of Chinese New Year Day will vary every year but invariably, Li Chun falls on the fourth day of February although there are some occasions when it is observed on the third day of February. For instance in 2021, Li Chun will fall on the third instead of the fourth.

For next year anyway, Li Chun will fall on 04 February 2020 at 5.05pm. Although it is still 63 days away, it is never too late to prepare for its coming. As usual, my household will ensure that the family rice bucket is filled up with a bountiful supply of uncooked rice to signify abundance for the year, and a new piece of the Chun character (春) is pasted on it. And that's it done for yet another year.

I've been writing about Li Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and you can still read them here:

Li Chun, 2019
Li Chun, 2018
Li Chun, 2017
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2019

This year, I made good my resolve to buy a new copy of Joey Yap's book, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar, to replace the one that was practically falling apart at the seams. However, I was unable to find a similar copy.

All I found was a new edition of the book which was physically a smaller size. But it's just as good. All the information is still there.

For instance, the annual observance of the festival of Li Chun (立春) or Jip Chun as more called by the Penang Baba Nyonya community, which heralds the start of the new year according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, can still be easily ascertained.

So when will be Li Chun in 2019? According to the book, this will fall on 4 Feb 2019 at 11.41pm. That's pretty close to midnight. And, according to Chinese custom, anything after 11 o'clock at night is already considered as the next day. Thus, even though Li Chun technically falls on the fourth of February, in Chinese terms it is already the next day.

But 5 Feb 2019 is also Chinese New Year. Thus, we have the unique and happy occasion when Li Chun and Chinese New Year will coincide in 2019!

You bet that I'm going to be doubly busy come next fourth of February evening, what with the family reunion, making preparations to greet in the Chinese New Year and also having to keep an eye on the clock in order to paste a new Chun (春) character on the rice bucket after 11.41pm!

Happy New Year!

I've been writing about Li Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and you can still read them here:
Li Chun, 2018
Li Chun, 2017
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2018

After years of flicking through the pages, my copy of Joey Yap's book, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar, is almost coming apart. It has been my most faithful reference companion as I consult it every year to find out the date and time of various cultural festivals such as Tang Chek (冬至) and Cheng Beng (清明).

But it is for the festival of Li Chun (立春) or Lip Chun, which actually heralds the start of the  new year according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, that I consult this reference book the most and luckily, other than the pages falling off, the book is still more or less intact.

Incidentally, we of the Penang Baba Nyonya community have another name for this festival, which is Jip Chun, where Jip means literally "the entering of" and Chun meaning, of course, Spring. Jip Chun = The Entering of Spring. Get it?

For 2018, Li Chun will occur before the start of the popularly known Chinese New Year festivities. To be exact, the date for Li Chun is 4 February 2018 which corresponds to the 19th day of the 12th Chinese lunar month. So, if you are like me and have to paste a new Chun (春) character on the rice bucket, please do so shortly after 5.30 in the morning.

I've been writing about Li Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and you can still read them here:
Li Chun, 2017
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

The solar terms defined

It is appropriate that today, being technically the first day of the Chinese New Year according to the lunisolar calendar, should be devoted to me saying something about the Solar Term.

The Solar Term is an ancient Chinese invention. But before I say anything else, I should first mention that just like the earth can be divided into 360 imaginary longitudinal degrees, so can the heavens above us.

Through thousands of years, the learned astrologers in ancient China made it into their art form. They divided the heavens, or sky, into 360 degrees with the zero-degree celestial longitude defined by the Vernal or Spring equinox.

The Chinese astrologers went further by grouping the heavens into 24 solar terms, with each solar term corresponding to 15 degrees of the sky. During the year, the sun will be seen to transit from one solar term to the next.

In technical terms, the Coming of Spring or Li Chun (立春) (or as we say in Penang Hokkien, Lip Chun) occurs on the first day of the first Chinese solar term when the sun crosses the 315-degree celestial longitude which is usually on a fourth of February. (There are occasional variations, like in this year which Li Chun occurs today, 03 February 2017. I had elaborated on this here.) The true Chinese New Year actually starts on this day, irrespective of the new moon's appearance any time between the 21st of January and 19th of February.

Likewise, we know that the Clear and Bright festival or Qing Ming (清明) (or Cheng Beng) takes place on the first day of the fifth solar term (sun crossing the 15-degree celestial longitude), usually on a fifth of April. I say "usually" because every now and then, there may be a one-day difference. Note: Cheng Beng occurs three solar terms or 45 days after Lip Chun.

Another pertinent point of interest in the Chinese lunisolar calendar is the Winter Solstice or Dong Zhi (冬至) (or Tang Chik) on the first day of the 22nd solar term when the sun crosses the 270-degree celestial longitude usually on the 22nd of December. Note: Tung Chik occurs three solar terms or 45 days before Lip Chun.

Li Chun (立春), 2017

Ever since I've been writing about Li Chun (立春) (or Lip Chun) in this blog - which would have been in Year 2007 or 10 years ago - I've always been mentioning that this Chinese festival, signifying the Coming of Spring, falls on the fourth of February.

But apparently, this has not always been the case. I took the trouble to check up on past occurrences of Li Chun in Joey Yap's book, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar (万年历), and to my surprise, found that during the past 20th Century from Year 1900 till Year 1999, Li Chun had occurred 33 times on the fifth of February. That is a rather high percentage indeed.

There were even several cases on Li Chun falling on the fifth of February for three consecutive years but as the century rolled along, this became less frequent and the Coming of Spring last fell on a fifth of February in 1980. In the years since then, Li Chun had almost invariably fallen on the fourth of February. However, I should have been alerted that in Year 2000, Li Chun fell instead on the third of February.

But I've a good explanation for missing that fact: Yap's book was published in 2004 and it was three years later that I first became interested in knowing the time of day for every year's occurrence of Li Chun. It's now part of my household responsibility to continue with our tradition of pasting a new Chun (春) character on the rice bucket. If this Chinese character cannot be found, I suppose another auspicious character, such as a Hock (福), on the bucket will do just as well.

So what happens in Year 2017? After having written so much today about Li Chun falling on the third, fourth or fifth of February, it shouldn't surprise anyone now to learn that in Year 2017, the Coming of Spring will be on 3 February 2017 at 23.36 pm. Well before then, I'll be getting my new packet of rice and my new Chun (春) character ready for the rice bucket.

Meantime, here are my past blog entries on this Chinese festival:
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2016

Today being the fourth of January, there is just one month to go before the start of Li Chun (立春) on 4 February 2016. 

The significance of Li Chun (or Lip Chun which was how my grandmother and mother used to say it) is that to the Chinese all around the globe, this is the day for the Coming of Spring. The day, which I had explained last year, when the sun is deemed to have crossed the 315° longitude in the sky.

This year, Li Chun coincides with the 26th day of the Chinese lunar calendar, which means the Chinese New Year celebrations would only be four days away. According to the Joey Yap book, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar, which I consult at about this time every year, Li Chun will occur at 5.48 p.m. on 4 February 2016.

At this time, if you are like me, you will get ready to stick a new piece of decorative red paper with the Chinese character 春 (Chun) on the family rice bucket. I will also be filling up my rice bucket to the brim with uncooked rice to signify abundance. Happy Li Chun, everyone!

Meantime, here are my past blog entries on this Chinese festival:
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Our Tony Robbins experience

My wife, son and I were in Singapore last week to attend the Anthony Robbins TOTAL SUCCESS seminar. While it had been promoted as a three-day event, Robbins appeared for only two days.

The last day was filled with various other speakers who tried so hard to hard-sell their own seminar programmes to us. While they were entertaining enough on their own and they did provide quite a lot of useful information,

I found their hard-selling tactics to be a great turn-off. Nevertheless, we tried to stay till the very end of the third day and left only because a more pressing engagement awaited us that night.

It would be rather difficult to describe everything that went on during the two days of the Tony Robbins seminar and I think it would be better for me to provide some pictures and try to explain the circumstances behind them.

We were outside Hall #1 of the Singapore Expo grounds, where the Anthony Robbins seminar took place. Just before we entered the hall itself. We managed to buy the Silver tickets which cost RM1,217 a piece, but the organisers had offered three tickets to us for the price of two which meant that our tickets effectively cost about RM800 each. Not a bad deal, actually.

 I had wandered to the far back of the hall in order to see how large the crowd was. According to the organisers, there were more than 6,000 people here. Impossible for us to gauge correctly, of course.

Tony Robbins first appearance onstage which caused the crowd to erupt deliriously. During the two days, Robbins whipped the crowd up into a frenzy several times. He is truly a master in motivating his audience.

 One of several occasions when Robbins left the stage to walk along the corridors and get up close with the audience. This close-up interaction probably did a lot to reinforce his popularity.

 Unfortunately, this is about as close and I could get to take a photograph with Antony Robbins.

Robbins had a few one-on-one sessions with a few select people from the floor. Here, he was walking round and collecting handbags from a few ladies. The crux of this example was, he asked them why they had bought their own particular handbag and then he analysed their decision.

It was almost impossible to get up close with Tony Robbins. Unless he approached you, no-one could approach him. Reason? The three burly minders that you see above. They were always around him: walking ahead of him, trailing behind him or checking out the routes beside him. As if the audience would suddenly become uncontrollable and pounce on him. Or maybe they would?

Taking part in a role-playing session. Jeremy's new-found friend trying to pumped a message into his sub-conscious mind.

It's almost the end of the road now. One for the road. I do hope my son has learnt a few things from this seminar. It is not often that a person of Tony Robbins' calibre passes through this region. The last time he was here was six years ago. He had also come to Kuala Lumpur but I was told that he had an unpleasant experience with Immigration or Customs and was held up for several hours at the airport. He vowed never to step foot into Malaysia again.

Thailand's big contingent to the Tony Robbins seminar. Indonesia and Vietnam had equally large contingents too but they are not in the picture. Those who were not fluent in English were provided with translation headsets, available for a fee. But I was told that the translators could not keep up with Robbins' presentation and many were left disappointed. Also, reception was rather erratic in the hall and there were many blind spots where there was no reception at all. I could see people rushing from one area to another in order to pick up the translations.

Li Chun (立春), 2015

I was flipping through the calendar in the kitchen this morning and realised that today is the first day of the Chinese 10th lunar month, which meant that for the past 59 days, we had been living through an extended ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar.

This set me thinking because the ninth lunar month has always been the month of prayers and celebration of the Nine Emperor Gods. And I distinctly remember that we in Malaysia had been celebrating this occasion from the 24th of September until the second of October. Those dates would have made it almost two months ago and yet, we were still in the ninth lunar calendar month until yesterday!

At first, this did not make sense because how could a lunar month be 59 days long? Then I took a closer look at the calendar. The mystery unravelled itself. From the 24th of October until yesterday, the 21st of November, we have been living through what is known as the intercalary ninth lunar month.

This is an extra month inserted into the Chinese lunar calendar every third year or so to compensate for the shorter Chinese lunar year when compared to the consistent mean solar year (365.2425 days) which is the time it takes the sun to move across the sky and return to the same relative position in the sky every year as seen from the earth.

The intercalary month in the Chinese lunar calendar need not always be the ninth lunar month. It can be any month, depending on some complex calculations and astrological observations vis-a-vis the position of the moon and sun in the sky, but what it does is that it brings the Chinese lunar calendar into closer conformity with the other measurement of time using the Chinese luni-solar calendar which is roughly equivalent to 365¼ days.

For many of us, the Chinese luni-solar calendar is lesser known than the Chinese lunar calendar because many of our celebrations - such as Chinese New Year or the Dragon Boat dumpling festival or the Hungry Ghosts festival or the Mid-Autumn lantern festival or the Nine Emperor Gods festival - depend on the lunar calendar.

Yet the luni-solar calendar has its importance too and we have at least three significant dates that depend solely on the use of this calendar: the Lip Chun Coming of Spring (立春) on the fourth of February, Cheng Beng (清明) on either the fourth or fifth of April and the Tang Chik (Tung Chik) Winter Solstice (冬至) on either the 21st or 22nd of December.

At this time of the year, my thoughts always turn to the coming Lip Chun or Li Chun (立春) which marks the beginning of Spring in China and takes place officially on the fourth of February annually. On this date, the sun is deemed to have crossed the 315° longitude in the sky. The only question is to ascertain the time that it does so.

Without much reference material to read from, my only resource is this book by Joey Yap which is called The Ten Thousand Year Calendar (and yes, I got it signed by him, finally!)

It's a very useful book if you know what to use it for. Unfortunately for me, I've only two main uses for it and one of them is to find out when exactly is the time of Li Chun (立春) every year so that I can prepare for my annual family ritual of sticking that red piece of paper on my rice bucket to signify abundance for the forthcoming year.

Now having already established all this, let me tell you that this Ten Thousand Year Calendar book says that Li Chun (立春) will fall exactly on noon time (12p.m.) on 4 February 2015. For those referring to the Chinese lunar calendar, this is the 16th day of the 12th moon.

Meantime, here are my past blog entries on Li Chun (立春) through the recent past years:
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun (立春), 2014

Li Chun (立春) is going to be very different for my family and I in 2014. No more can we depend on our old aunt to do everything when the first day of Spring comes rolling by. You see, she had passed away in May. It has been, what, half a year already! Time flies.

But life must go on with or without her, and we've got to continue with this tradition of getting ready to stick this piece of red paper with the Chinese character Chun 春 on the family rice bucket on the fourth of February. Luckily, I had already purchased several copies of it last year when she insisted that I do so. (Last checked: good for five more years of usage!)

As usual, though, my own ritual begins by consulting that reference book of Joey Yap's, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar, which I hope to get him to autograph at his fengshui talk in Penang next year.

According to the page on Year 2014, Li Chun will coincide with the fifth day of Chinese New Year and the time that Spring begins officially is at 6.05 a.m. That's the time when we shall have to stick that piece of red paper on the rice bucket.

Meantime, here are my past blog entries on Li Chun through the years:
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun, 2013

I was bounding down the stairs this morning when I bumped into my aunt. Evidently, she had been waiting patiently for me to come down. Her first words: "What time is Li Chun 立春 this year?"

"Why do you want to know so early?" I asked back. "It's still more than three weeks away."

"I just need to know, that's why" was her reply. Faced with this obstinacy but indisputable reason from her, I had no choice but to reverse myself and creep back upstairs to my study area and search for my once-a-year reference book, Joey Yap's The Ten Thousand Year Calendar. Found it.

I flipped it open to the page on Year 2013. Couldn't find the date. Then I realised that Li Chun, the Coming of Spring, for 2013 was on the preceding page (on Year 2012). The book was arranged according to the Chinese lunar months and as this year's Li Chun will fall even before the first day of the new lunar calendar, the day wouldn't show on the Year 2013 page. So there it was, finally, Li Chun falling on 4 Feb 2013 which corresponds with the 24th day of the 12th lunar month. The exact time of Li Chun will be 00:15 on that day, that is, 15 minutes past midnight.

So I came downstairs again to let my aunt know. Her second request: the next time I go over to the island, she wanted me to go to her regular joss stick shop to pick up several pieces of the red paper with the Chinese character Chun 春 to stick on the family rice bucket when the day comes rolling by. I wouldn't dare ask her why she needed so many pieces when one would do. I can anticipate her answer: "to keep, lah, it won't spoil one." Irrefutable logic.

Past entries:
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Li Chun, 2012

I was woken up in the middle of the night. Well, not exactly in the middle of the night but it was at about five o'clock this morning. My mobile phone had gone off; I had received a text message from one of my friends. "Hey," it read, "when are you gonna tell us about Li Chun this year?"

Omigosh, I have been so caught up in a project that I have failed to update this blog for several days now and my guilt has extended to my annual announcement about the Li Chun or the Coming of Spring. My apologies to everyone far and near who must have thought that I have disappeared from the earth's surface.

As always, I have to mention first that everything I know about Li Chun comes from this book by Joey Yap. His reference book on the Ten Thousand Year Calendar. And if you are still interested, here are what I wrote about Li Chun in 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007.

So what about the date for Li Chun 立春 in 2012? First of all, the date remains unchanged. It is always on the fourth of February. The date doesn't move about like most of the other Chinese festivities because Li Chun, like Cheng Beng and Tang Chik (Tung Chik), depends on the position of the sun in the sky. Not the moon.

Now having already established that, let me tell you that this Ten Thousand Year Calendar book says that Li Chun will fall exactly on 6.24pm on 4 February 2012. For those referring to the Chinese calendar, this is the 13th day of the first moon.

So there you have it. It will be in the late afternoon that the real New Year starts for us Chinese. Just remember to be at home at this time and date to stick that little piece of red paper onto the family rice bucket. That's our nice, quaint tradition...

Li Chun, 2011

I'm no fengshui master. Nay, I'm not even a fengshui student. All I know about Chinese geomancy comes from the fengshui books that my wife bought. And that's knowing very, very little because I don't read them.

Still, I have with me this thick book by Joey Yap, called The Ten Thousand Year Calendar or Wan Nian Li 萬年曆. Why it's called that is beyond me, because the book covers only the years from 1900 to 2050. Maybe it's part of a Larger Picture that I'm not aware of.

Anyway, it's that time of the year again when I have to delve into this book to see when this year's Li Chun 立春 would occur. That it will fall on 4 Feb 2011 is without doubt. But I need to let my aunt know the exact time. She needs it to gum that little piece of red paper onto the family rice bucket to signify abundance. So let's see what the book says...

Hmm, yes, Li Chun for 2011 is at 12.34pm, that is, 34 minutes after the hour of noon on 4 Feb 2011. That's when the Chinese lunisolar calendar officially marks the Coming Of Spring. And in case you don't already know, that is the real start to the Chinese New Year.

Li Chun, 2010

As the date draws nearer, my aunt keeps reminding me that I should tell her when exactly this year's Li Chun, the Coming of Spring,would be. "I need the exact time," she keeps saying. So finally, this morning, I caved in to her persistent reminders and whipped out my copy of Joey Yap's book, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar.

Strange, I thought to myself as I turned to the year 2010 in the book. There doesn't seem to be any mention of Li Chun on this page!

Then I remembered. We had an intercalary fifth month in the present Chinese calendar which runs from 26 Jan 2009 to 13 Feb 2010. That's why Chinese New Year will fall much later on 14 Feb 2010.

And that's also why there are two Li Chun dates in the Chinese calendar. Though the two dates for Li Chun in our westernised Gregorian calendar are the same, 4 Feb, the equivalent dates in our Chinese lunisolar calendar are different: falling on the 10th day of the first month and then on the 21st day of the 12th month.

Cool, I thought, when I noticed this. Anyway, I told her that if she wanted to prepare for Li Chun - she'd only be glueing red paper with auspicious Chinese characters on the family rice bucket but maybe, if I can successfully persuade her this year, she would also want to hang out the red cloth over the front doorway to signify the official start of the new year - then the time to do so on 4 Feb 2010 will be at 6.49am.

Li Chun, 2009

I'm no fengshui student, let alone an amateur fengshui practitioner, but when my aunt suddenly asked me last night about the coming Li Chun in 2009, I had to whip out my copy of Joey Yap's book, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar.

Li Chun is the time of the year when we Chinese observe the coming of Spring. It's a throwback to our ancestral practices in China. Like most overseas Chinese, we still observe the traditional Chinese customs, especially those that are still considered practical enough to practise. At Li Chun, my aunt would want to glue red paper with auspicious Chinese characters on the family rice bucket to signify abundance and luck for the coming Year Of The Ox.

Interestingly, Li Chun is one of three Chinese customs I know that falls on more or less the same dates every year. The other two are, of course, Cheng Beng and Tung Chek. There is a general misconception that the Chinese follow the lunar calendar. However, it's not true. Actually, we follow the solar calendar and Li Chun marks not only the beginning of Spring but is also considered as the official start of the New Year. That's why Li Chun always falls on the same date, the fourth of February.

commentThe first is, of course, the Winter Solstice or Tung Chek, which is celebrated with the glutinous rice balls in a light sugar syrup. Tung Chek is normally on 22 Dec every year unless it is a leap year when the observance is pushed to 21 Dec, like in 2008.

Similarly, Li Chun falls on a fixed date in the solar calendar. You just need to count 44 or 45 days from the Winter Solstice and there you have it, Li Chun. It marks the Coming Of Spring. This year, Li Chun will fall on 4 Feb 2009.

</!--->So why did I still have to whip out the Joey Yap book if Li Chun will be on 4 Feb 2009? It's because I needed to know the exact time when Li Chun starts: 00:51am, says the book. So I suppose my aunt will only be gumming the Chinese auspicious characters on our rice bucket at about 1am in the morning of 4 Feb. Here's what I wrote about Li Chun one year ago.

(Perhaps I should also add that Cheng Beng falls 60 days after Li Chun. It's either on 4 Apr or 5 Apr, depending on whether or not there is a leap day (29 Feb) in the Gregorian calendar. Similarly, count 321 days after Li Chun and it will be Tung Chek. Again, depending on the extra leap day in the Gregorian calendar, it's either on 21 Dec or 22 Dec.)