The Chinese Calendar

[Randy W]

The Samsung calendar includes a notation for the lunar date, alongside the usual solar calendar date. Beginning on May 23, the lunar month is indicated as 'le4', for leap month. Leap months are designated with the same number as the preceding months. So this is 'le4', according to Samsung.

 

 

Why did some Samsung smartphones crash in China on May 23?

It happened on May 23, an unremarkable date in the Gregorian calendar commonly used worldwide. But at midnight, some Samsung users in China suddenly saw their phones crash and go into recovery mode.

 

One peculiarity of the Chinese lunar calendar is that it introduces a leap month every two or three years, rather than adding a leap day every four years like the Western Gregorian calendar. Under the Chinese calendar, this year carries a leap month that comes after the fourth month -- known in Chinese as “run si yue” or “leap fourth month.” It began on May 23 -- the day that Samsung phones crashed in China.

 

 

 

Mine didn't.

 

From the article, it sounds like the leap month is added between 4 and 5. It's not clear how they decide where to put it during the year that it's needed. All I know is that the Chinese New Year (1/1 on the Chinese calendar) falls on the 2nd new moon after the winter solstice).

 

The next leap month will occur on March 22, 2023 as' le2', or 'run er yue'.

[Randy W]

from China Highlights - I've included the ASCII text, in case anyone wants to copy the characters.

 

But usually, the Chinese lunar months are simply referred to as yi yue, er yue, etc. (this is a screen grab from the China Highlights page)

 

 

Month Chinese Pinyin English Explanation 1 正月 Zhēngyuè Start Month It starts the year. 2 杏月 Xìngyuè Apricot Month Apricot trees blossom. 3 桃月 Táoyuè Peach Month Peach trees blossom. 4 槐月 Huáiyuè Locust Tree Month Locust trees blossom. 5 蒲月 Púyuè Sweet Sedge Month Lunar month 5 day 5 is the Dragon Boat Festival, when people hang sweet sedge on doors to ward off evil spirits. 6 荷月 Héyuè Lotus Month Lotus flowers bloom. 7 巧月 Qiǎoyuè Skill Month On lunar month 7 day 7, women traditionally prayed for and showed their dexterous domestic skills. 8 桂月 Guìyuè Osmanthus Month Osmanthus flowers bloom. 9 菊月 Júyuè Chrysanthemum Month Chrysanthemum flowers bloom. 10 阳月 Yángyuè Yang Month The Taoist yang force is believed to be strong this month. 11 冬月 Dōngyuè Winter Month The winter solstice (starting the so-named solar term) is in this month. 12 腊月 Làyuè Preserved Month Chinese preserve meats ready for Spring Festival, and traditionally worship all gods and ancestors.

[Randy W]

"Leap month" (or intercalary month) in Chinese is

闰月 or rùnyuè

The month name will include the number of the previous month, so this is

闰四月

Edited February 2, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The same page, updated for 2022

Chinese Calendar

Written by Mike Ho
Updated Jan. 26, 2022

Chinese Calendar Days

Ancient Chinese people used the 12 heavenly systems and 10 earthly branches to name each hour of a day. The Western hour-minute-second system was brought into China in the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). On a Chinese calendar, all dates use a regular two characters.

• Days 1 to 10 of a month are written with Chinese number characters and preceded by the Chinese character 初 (chu, which means ‘beginning’ or ‘first’). For example, the 10th of the month is 初十.
• Days 11 to 20 are written as regular two-character Chinese numerals. For example, 十五 (shiwu) is the 15th day of the month, and 二十 (ershi) is the 20th.
• Days 21 to 29 are written with the character 廿 (nian, which means ‘20’) preceding the characters ‘one’ through ‘nine’. For example, 廿三 (niansan) is the 23rd day of the month. Day 30 is written as 30 usually is in Chinese: 三十 (sanshi).

 . . .

The next leap month will be in 2023, when a second lunar month 2 will be observed.