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The Hakka Calendar ?
The Hakka Calendar ?
China had been using the Xia Calendar (Lunar Calendar) since
the beginning of the Han Dynasty (206BC to 220AD).
During the Qing Dynasty (1644AD to 1911AD) a Hakka man called Hong Xiu
Quan (1814AD to 1864AD) founded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851AD to
1864AD). He titled himself the Heavenly King, the Second Son of God and
the Younger Brother of Jesus Christ.
Hong Xiu Quan discarded the Xia Calendar. He proclaimed that Taiping
Heavenly Kingdom was to adopt a new calendar called the Calendar of
Heavenly Kingdom (Hakka Calendar?).
This calendar was unique because it was neither Solar nor Lunar but
somewhere in between. There were 366 days per year. Every odd month
(January, March, May, July, September and November) had 31 days.
Every even month (Febuary, Apirl, June, August, October and december)
had 30 days. Thus it created three (3) extra days in every four (4) years
according to the Solar Calendar (there is a leap year - 366 - days in every
4th year). In each period of 40 years time it had 30 extra days. Then every
month of that particular 40th year had 28 days - making a total
of 336 days, just short of 30 days in the regular year. That was to say it
had wiped off the 30 extra days that had been accumulating for the past
40 years. Therefore, it was back to square one.
The 41st year would start again with 31 days in all the odd
months and 30 days in all the even months - making a total of 366 days
per year and so on until the 80th year which would have accumulated
another 30 extra days and that particular year having only 336 days.
January 1, of the first year of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Calendar
was Febuary 4, 1852. This Taiping Calendar was in use only within the
areas which were under the control, and jurisdiction of the Taiping
Heavenly kingdom. After the Heavenly Kingdom was crushed by the Qing
Government the Taiping Calendar was discontinued and had been forgotten since.
CHUNG Yoon-Ngan.