The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-23
THE CHINESE CALENDAR.
Why Dafcs in Gable Dispatches Are
seIuctin,cs Confusing.

(From the New York TIibune)
The soicurner in the Far East is some
times driven to wonder why the Chinese
have a calendar at all. They view the
passing OF time with superb Indifference;
punctuality. if such tEing were ever to
enter into the Celestial calculation, would
| be regarded as urdiguiiied Nevertheless.
they have a calendar which is By no means
a bad one when one considers its immense
antiquity. A wise monarch named Yao
some time about 23c0 B. c. revised the cal
endar in use before that date 10 the form
in which it is found at present. i volume
would be needed to explain all rs pecu-
liarities. but now that dispatches are men
tioring Chinese dates it is as well to have
come idea as to wherein the Celestial cal
enGar differs from the Gregorian.
The Chinese year is lunar, ard therefore
consists Of 354 days. Before the time OF
Yao tradition has it that the year con-
sisted Of $50 days and that confusion had
resulted That ruled decreed that time
should be measured by the moon and that
every nineteen years should contain seven
additional months-almost one extra
month every three years. This reckoning
| is excellent; it varies only about an hour
| every nineteen years from the true time.
Although the year is lunar its beginning
| is regulated by the sun. Thus the new
| year comes between January and Feb
ruary g. unlike the NIohammedan new year,
| which is regulated entirely by the moon
| and comes at any time, winter or summer
| The year is divided into twelve lunar
months called by numbers, as first, sec
| ond. and so on. The extra month that
| comes about every three years is not added
| at the end as one would suppose. but is
! inserted anywhere, probably according 10
| some system too subtle for Western minds.
| The months are sub-diyidel into three
| parts which are not again sub divided, so
| that a Chiaanan may speak Of an event
| without mentioning the exact time within
I ten days. The days are also numbered,
| so that eNact1ess mag be secured il a
| CLinaman should ever happen to want such
| a thing. There is no week. but foreigners
| are gradually teaching y meaning Of such
! q division. The Chinese hour is 100 min
/ foreigner is making some impression on
| the ancient custom, and the Chinese in and
near the treaty ports are familiar with
| the Western method. It may be added in
cfd=ntally, that Pekin is just about twelve
hours ahead Of New York in point Of time.
The Chinese gather the years tose.h her
into cycles as Occiieutals do. but for
some extraordinary reason the cycle con-
sists Of sixty years. This cycle is very
ancient 9nd PROBABLY has something u do
with ola astrological sup,-stitioas. An
other methcd Of rumberHg years is by
the regrs of the Emperor. The present
! year is the thirty-sixtl year Of the
| seyerty-sixth cycle or the year 1886 since
the adoption of the present Chronology.
Each year has separate rsne, formed
| by some combination Of ten Stem char
acters Joined with twelve branch char
| acters. These are used in an Ingenious
way that could be describe only by
lengthy article. and would probably then
| be not quite Ineligible to the Western
| mind. To 90 straight to anything IS i'm
possible to the Oriental, and the compli-
Gated system Of naming the years is proof
| of Chinese ingenuity.
Of late years it has been supposed that
| the Chaldeans and Chinese had some IN
| tercourse at the time when Yao reformed
the calendar. ard that the two countries
worked together in making the change.
Certain it is that a similar event occurred
| in Chaldea about the same time. But
whenever the calendar was adopted it is
| likely for a long time to Withstand the
march of progress. 1t is correct enough.
and the Inconvenience does not worry the
Chinaman in the least.