China's Lunar Calendar 2013 02-28

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

八

四期星

Twenty-eighth Day

Astral Period Four

(Thursday, February 28) 

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars

天明

恩堂

Hall of Light

Heavenly Kindness

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申辰子

凶中吉

酉己丑

吉凶吉

戌午寅

中中吉

亥未卯

凶凶吉

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

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

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

土種

Planting

Moving Earth

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
九

乙

丑

金
斗

閉

Nineteenth day (first lunar month)

Cyclical day: yichou (2/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Dipper (8/28)

Jianchu Cycle: Closed (12/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)

宜
安祭
牀祀
開出
渠行
結治
婚病
草
木
萌
動
土債
符不

Appropriate Activities

Paying Reverence

Entering Study
Going Out (and about)
Managing Illness
Positioning Beds

Opening (Irrigation) Sluices

Marriage
Grasses and Trees Sprout 
(sixth of seventy-two micro-periods in the solar year).

   

Miscellaneous Information

Accumulated Negativity

Earth Charm

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 Section Seven
Inauspicious Star
白
White

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Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities 

碓
厠磨

Pestle

Toilet, Polish