Lunisolar calendar

Record of the Chinese lunisolar calendar for 1834, 1835, and 1836 during the Qing dynasty under the Daoguang Emperor's Reign (道光十四年,道光十五年,道光十六年)

A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, incorporating lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Earth's sky. If the sidereal year (such as in a sidereal solar calendar) is used instead of the solar year, then the calendar will predict the constellation near which the full moon may occur. As with all calendars which divide the year into months there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of months. In some case ordinary years consist of twelve months but every second or third year is an embolismic year, which adds a thirteenth intercalary, embolismic, or leap month.

The Five Phases and Four Seasons of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, with English translation.
1729 Japanese calendar, which used the Jōkyō calendar procedure, published by Ise Grand Shrine

Their months are based on the regular cycle of the Moon's phases. So lunisolar calendars are lunar calendars with – in contrast to them – additional intercalation rules being used to bring them into a rough agreement with the solar year and thus with the seasons.


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