China's Lunar Calendar 2013 02-19

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
Today's date:                                                    *

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
九

二期星

Nineteenth Day

Astral Period Two

(Tuesday, February 19) 

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars

十月月

靈恩德

Lunar Virtue

Lunar Kindness

Ten Spirits

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申辰子

凶凶中

酉己丑

吉吉中

戌午寅

凶中中

亥未卯

凶中中

23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 In-Between

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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

行作修

喪灶廚

Repair Granaries

Stove Work

Mourning Visits

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初

十

丙

辰

土
翌

滿

Tenth day (first lunar month)

Cyclical day: bingchen (53/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Wings (27/28)

Jianchu Cycle: Full (3/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)

宜

動嫁祭

土娶祀

上納祈

樑采福

納移會

畜徒友

安開出

葬市行

喪三

招厭小

揺對☐*

Appropriate Activities

Paying Reverence

Inquiring into Fortune

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Marriage

Grain Payments

Moving Residence

Market Days

Moving Earth

Erecting Beams

Livestock Payments

Positioning Graves    

Miscellaneous Information
THREE MOURNINGS 

Small Vacancy

Mutual Loathing

Beckoning Swaying

*My computer character programs don't have this variant. See the Chinese text at the top of the page for the actual character. 

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 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
人地
Person, Ground

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Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities
廚

栖灶

Kitchen

Perch, Stove