China's Lunar Calendar 2013 03-12

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 

I'm on the road; this calendar will be updated on Thursday 3/14!

(A placeholder picture; to be updated soon)

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.

(Color copy by Thursday) 

 

Section One
Solar Calendar Date

十三

二月

二期星

Third month, twelfth day

Astral Period Two

(Tuesday, March 12) 

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars

不月生時

將恩氣陽
 Timely Yang

Birth Vapors

Lunar Favor

Negative General

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申辰子

中中吉

酉己丑

凶吉中

戌午寅

中吉中

亥未卯

凶凶凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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.

————————————————— 

Section Four
Activities to Avoid 

忌
塞補整理

穴垣甲髮
Patterning Hair

Renovating Nails

Strengthening Embankments

Plugging Caves  

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 
初

一

丁

丑

水
觜

開

Opening Day (second lunar month)

Cyclical day: dingchou (14/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

————————————————— 

Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)

宜

開移出祭

渠徙行祀

穿修嫁祈

井造娶福

安動納入

門土采學

置上裁會

產樑衣友

___________________
虛五
___________________

勾九九寡

陳焦坎宿

Appropriate Activities

Paying Reverence

Inquiring into Fortune

Entering Study

Meeting Friends

Moving About

Marriage Alliances

Grain Payments

Cutting-out Clothing

Moving Residences

Repairing and Constructing

Moving Soil

Erecting Beams

Opening Sluices

Boring Wells

Positioning Gates

Setting-up Industry  

Five Vacancies
 
Miscellaneous Information

Solitary Residence

Nine Thresholds

Nine Charrings

Hooked Narratives

 

 ————————————————— 

 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 林
White, Copse

————————————————— 

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

厠 庫 倉

Toilet, Storehouse, Granary