About the book: 1989 / This collective monograph is the first study in Soviet and world science of calendar customs and rituals of the annual cycle among the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Mongols and Tibetans. The book is based both on literary sources and on field materials collected by the authors in the countries studied - China, Mongolia, North Korea, Japan. Based on a large amount of factual material, the monograph solves the theoretical problems of the calendar rituals of the annual cycle, identifies the functional orientation of the customs and rituals of each season, the ancient symbolism of games and entertainment, the relationship between calendar holidays and creativity, historical and cultural interaction and the typological commonality of the development of cultures.