To the Editor of the '"NonrH-CHiNa Datty News."
Sin,—After a silence of many moons will you kindly permit me again to encroach upon your space? Your correspondent "H. A. 7." [writing on the subject of the "Spring Festival," does not tell us way Li Ch'un, the "Beginning of Spring" preceded Chinese New Year's day by days in 1929 and followed it by six days in 1930, As a matter of fact in 1928 Li Chun occurred twelve days after Chinese New Year's day, fand in 1931 it will be twelve days ahead, There is nothing unusual in this: the difference is sometimes only' tone day either way, and occasionally the two events actually coincide on the same day.
Tne "Beginning of Spring," or the first day of Spring, however, is not the "Spring. Festival" as the title of the letter would suggest; it is only one of the twenty-four solar terms or divisions of the solar year according to the Chinese; in other words it' is one of the "Eight Bpochs," OG, ie, PILE the first days of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, the two Equinoxes and the Solstices. Chun invariably' falls on the day the sun reaches 15 degrees in Aquarius, on or about February 4 or 5. The Chinese yenr being lunar and consequently shorter than the solar year, it follows that the solar terms cannot keep pace with the lunar festivals, and that in the matter of some nineteen years the seasons would be completely reversed, To adjust things the "intercalary moons? are introduced; roughly speaking there are two "intercalary moons" in five years, or more correctly seven in every nineteen years. 'By this system of periodically ex-year, Chinese New Year's day is made' to fall on the first new moon occurring after the sum has entered Aquarius, not sooner than January 20 and never later than the 19th of February, when the sun enters Pisces.
None of the recognized. festivals are "movable," at least I am not aware of any; for instance the Dragon. Boat Festival is always on the fifth day ofthe fifth moon and the Mid-Autumn Festival always on the 16th day'of the eighth moon, simile arly. a number of other minor anniversarics fall on certain fixed dates.
It remains to be seen how the National Government: in adopting the Gregorian calewtar is going to deal with these lunar festivals, anniversaries, traditions and observances, 30 full of meaning. in the minds and hearts of the Chinese people: are they to be relentlessly abolished, or in some way adjusted to new jeonditions? It is a question that calls for careful consideration.
Tu dismissing the subject as a joke HLA.T. rather conveys the impression that ho is confusing the Lunar calendar with solar chronology] which, though they are two very different stories, exist simultaneous ly-in China. The visible changes of the waxing and waning moon are very natural way of recording time; but the seasons must be governed by the Equinoxes, and they. are governed.
Tam, e
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.