Although the Gregorian calendar has been adopted by popular China and across Asia, the Chinese calendar still predominates in the cultural and religious life of much of Asia. It is therefore the Chinese New Year and not 1 January that is celebrated each year. The Chinese calendar has been in existence for over 5,000 years. Minor changes have been made over the years. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, based on a lunar calendar that has been adapted and corrected to take into account very important seasons in the calendar. A Chinese year normally consists of 12 months, 6 of which (sometimes 7) are long. A year lasts 354 days and sometimes 355. These months are based on the lunar cycle. As the Chinese year has to tie in with the cycle of seasons and always has to begin in spring, a 13th month is added every two or three years. This 13th month has no set place in the calendar. Its place is worked out each year according to a fairly complicated calculation to ensure that the Chinese calendar always reflects the changing seasons and the arrival of spring. Thus: the spring equinox always falls in the second month of the year;the summer solstice always falls in the fifth month of the year; the autumn equinox always falls in the eighth month of the year; the winter solstice always falls in the eleventh month of the year. The thirteenth month has no name but takes the name of the month preceding it and as such is a sort of repeat month.The Chinese calendar months vary in name according to region and country. The only constant is that they are always numbered from 1 to 12. The Chinese calendar months vary in name according to region and country. The only constant is that they are always numbered from 1 to 12. Chinoise Watches produced mostly after 1780 in Switzerland for the Chinese market. They were made of gold or silver and decorated with painted enamel, pearls and stones. Much of the enamelling was carried out by the most renowned painters of the day (Richter, Dupont, Dufax, Rosselet, Patux, and others). The usual features of a Chinoise watch were: central seconds hand; often a dead seconds hand; bridge movement in gilded brass; often a hanging barrel; elaborate engraving. The majority had a duplex, cylinder or, later on, side lever escapement. Movements of this kind were manufactured to a large extent at Fleurier. Piguet & Meylan had bridge movements made entirely of polished steel to withstand the rust caused by the humid climate of these regions.
Log in to post a comment
Would you like to be notified about replies by e-mail? YESNO