Chinese cultural term · reviewed 2026-10-21
立春
Beginning of Spring
lì chūn · establishing spring
One of the twenty-four solar terms; it marks the beginning of spring in the traditional solar calendar.
A familiar bridge
Start from something known.
A seasonal boundary marker, comparable to an exact start time for a calendar season.
Worked example
See the term in position.
A birth shortly before the astronomical instant of Lichun and one shortly after can receive different year positions.
Cultural context
What surrounds the word.
In many Four Pillars conventions, the year pillar changes at the astronomical instant of Lichun, not on January 1 or necessarily on Lunar New Year.
Boundary
What it does not mean.
A fixed February 4 date is not precise enough for boundary cases; the actual solar-term instant matters.
Inside the portrait
How this term appears here.
The portrait compares the resolved birth instant with the calculated Lichun event and exposes nearby variants when relevant.