Liqiu (Start of Autumn)
Liqiu is the moment the Sun reaches 135° of apparent ecliptic longitude. It is one of the twelve "Jie" — the BaZi month pillar turns to the 申 month at this instant, and the governing month changes with it.
Liqiu in 2020–2035
| Year | Instant (UTC+8) | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2020-08-07 09:06:11 | Fri |
| 2021 | 2021-08-07 14:53:58 | Sat |
| 2022 | 2022-08-07 20:29:08 | Sun |
| 2023 | 2023-08-08 02:22:53 | Tue |
| 2024 | 2024-08-07 08:09:16 | Wed |
| 2025 | 2025-08-07 13:51:35 | Thu |
| 2026 | 2026-08-07 19:42:43 | Fri |
| 2027 | 2027-08-08 01:26:46 | Sun |
| 2028 | 2028-08-07 07:21:11 | Mon |
| 2029 | 2029-08-07 13:11:44 | Tue |
| 2030 | 2030-08-07 18:47:20 | Wed |
| 2031 | 2031-08-08 00:42:56 | Fri |
| 2032 | 2032-08-07 06:32:44 | Sat |
| 2033 | 2033-08-07 12:15:46 | Sun |
| 2034 | 2034-08-07 18:09:07 | Mon |
| 2035 | 2035-08-07 23:54:21 | Tue |
Why it is not the same date every year
A tropical year runs about 365.2422 days while a calendar year is a whole 365 or 366. The leftover quarter-day accumulates, pushing Liqiu about 5 hours 49 minutes later each year until a leap day pulls it back. That is the whole reason Liqiu lands on different dates across 2020–2035 and drifts within roughly a day: the term itself is perfectly regular — every 15° of longitude — and the wobble belongs to the calendar, not the sky.
By term
- Chunfen
- Qingming
- Guyu
- Lixia
- Xiaoman
- Mangzhong
- Xiazhi
- Xiaoshu
- Dashu
- Liqiu
- Chushu
- Bailu
- Qiufen
- Hanlu
- Shuangjiang
- Lidong
- Xiaoxue
- Daxue
- Dongzhi
- Xiaohan
- Dahan
- Lichun
- Yushui
- Jingzhe
Sources
- lunar-javascript (6tail, MIT) — solar-term instants, 干支 pillars, 大運/流年, 胎元/命宮/身宮 and the almanac tables.
- Hong Kong Observatory, Date and Time of the 24 Solar Terms — the reference used to check solar-term instants.
- Xieji Bianfang Shu and Sanming Tonghui — classical sources for the Wuhu Dun and Wushu Dun stem rules, hidden stems and the Ten Gods.
Algorithms last checked: 2026-07 · Method and accuracy