Jīngzhé, 惊蛰, is the 3rd of the 24
solar terms (節氣) in the traditional
Chinese calendars. It begins when the Sun reaches the
celestial longitude of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. More often, it refers to the day when the Sun is exactly at a celestial longitude of 345°. In the
Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around March 5 and ends around March 20.[1][2]
The word
驚蟄 means the awakening of
hibernatinginsects.
驚 is to startle and
蟄 means hibernating insects. Traditional Chinese folklore says that during Jingzhe,
thunderstorms will wake up the hibernating insects, which implies that the weather is getting warmer.[3]
Pentads
Each solar term can be divided into 3
pentads (候). They are the first pentad (初候), the second pentad (次候), and the third pentad (末候): Pentads in Jingzhe are
^"24 Solar Terms". Travel China Guide. Retrieved 12 September 2017. In 2017 ... The Waking of Insects (Jing Zhe) Mar. 5th Hibernating animals come to sense