China's Lunar Calendar 2013 02-25

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

廿

五

一期星

Twenty-fifth Day

Astral Period One

(Monday, February 25) 

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars

天德歲

喜日支

Generational Branch

Virtuous Days

Heavenly Happiness

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申辰子

凶凶中

酉己丑

中吉中

戌午寅

吉中吉

亥未卯

凶吉吉

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

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

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

栽放開
種水渠

Opening Sluices

Going into Water

Planting

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
六

壬

戌

水
心

成

Sixteenth day (first lunar month)

Cyclical day: renxu (59/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Heart (5/28)

Jianchu Cycle: Completion (9/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)

宜

動裁祭

土衣祀

上開祈

樑市福
修交入
倉易學
安修會
葬造友

厭月

大地四

煞火擊

Appropriate Activities

Paying Reverence

Inquiring into Fortune

Entering Study
Meeting Friends

Cutting Out Clothing

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Repairing and Constructing

Moving Earth

Erecting Beams

Repairing Granaries

Positioning Graves    

 

Lunar Repression

Miscellaneous Information

Four Beatings
Earth Fire
Big Baleful

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 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
丫水
Bifurcation,Water

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Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities 
倉
栖庫
Granary

Perch, Storehouse