China's Lunar Calendar 2013 02-13

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
Today's date is marked by the 
asterisk to the right:     *

This is one in a never-ending series—following the movements of the calendar—in Round and Square perpetuity. It is today's date in the Chinese lunar calendar, along with basic translation and minimal interpretation. Unless you have been studying lunar calendars (and Chinese culture) for many years, you will likely find yourself asking "what does that mean?" I would caution that "it" doesn't "mean" any one thing. There are clusters of meaning, and they require patience, reflection, careful reading, and, well, a little bit of ethnographic fieldwork. The best place to start is the introduction to "Calendars and Almanacs" on this blog. I teach a semester-long course on this topic and, trust me, it takes a little bit of time to get used to the lunar calendar. Some of the material is readily accessible; some of it is impenetrable, even after many years. 

As time goes on, I will link all of the sections to lengthy background essays. This will take a while. In the meantime, take a look, read the introduction, and think about all of the questions that emerge from even a quick look at the calendar.

 

Section One
Solar Calendar Date

十
三

三期星

Thirteenth Day

Astral Period Three

(Wednesday, February 13) 

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars

德歲

日支

Generational Branch

Virtuous Days

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申辰子

凶凶凶

酉己丑

中中吉

戌午寅

凶吉中

亥未卯

凶吉中
23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 In-Between

07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
09:00-11:00 In-Between
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

*The hours above are for Hong Kong. It is up to you if you want to recalibrate or to assume that the cyclicality of the calendar "covers" the rest of the world. This is a greater interpretive challenge than you might think.
 

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Section Four
Activities to Avoid 
 忌

除結

服綱

Binding Nets

Discarding Clothing

 

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 
初 
四
庚

戊

金

參

成
Fourth day (first lunar month)

Cyclical day: jiyou (47/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Orion (21/28)

Jianchu Cycle: Completion (9/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)

宜 
祭
祀
入
學
掃
舍
魚

陟

負

冰

復火

喪星

Appropriate Activities

Paying Reverence

Studying

Sweeping Floors 

Fish Swim Upstream, Breaking the Ice 

(Third of 72 five-day mini-periods of the solar year)
Miscellaneous Information
Fire Star

Repeat Mourning  

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 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
丫水
Bifurcation, Water

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Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

 碓

栖磨

Pestle 

Perch, Grindstone