Qingming

The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms . Qīngmíng or Seimei is the 5^th solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 15° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 30°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 15°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around April 4 and ends around April 20.

Pentads

Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentads . They are: first pentad , second pentad and last pentad . Pentads in Qingming include:

; China
* First pentad: 桐始華
* Second pentad: 田鼠化為鴽
* Last pentad: 虹始見

; Japan
* First pentad: 玄鳥至
* Second pentad: 鴻雁北
* Last pentad: 虹始見