Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
Today's calendar 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.
Today's calendar 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.
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom; right to left)
廿
五
一期星
Third month, twenty-fifth day
Astral Period One
(Monday, March 25)
————————————————
Section Two
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
(top to bottom, right to left)
不十
將靈
Ten Spirits
Not General
—————————————————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶吉凶
酉己丑
戌午寅
凶中吉
凶吉吉
亥未卯
凶吉吉
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious
07:00-09:00 Auspicious
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 Inauspicious
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.
—————————————————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
祀綱
Binding Nets
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
祭結祀綱
Binding Nets
Paying Reverence
—————————————————
Section Five
Cosmological Information
Cosmological Information
十
四
四
庚
寅
木
心
心
閉
Fourteenth Day (second lunar month)
Cyclical day: gengyin (27/60)
Phase (element): Wood
Constellation: Heart (5/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)
—————————————————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
(and Miscellaneous Information)
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
Appropriate Activities
(and Miscellaneous Information)
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
動訂
土婚
安裁
牀種
安交
葬易
——————————————
雷
乃
發
聲
雷
乃
發
聲
——————————————
歸血
歸血
忌支
Appropriate Activities
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Trade and Commerce
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Positioning Graves
Thunder Sings
(the eleventh of seventy-two five-day micro-periods in the solar year)
Miscellaneous Information
Blood Branch
Homecoming Taboo
—————————————————
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
丫地
Bifurcation, Earth
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
丫地
Bifurcation, Earth
—————————————————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities
Miscellaneous Activities
碓
爐 磨
(Top to bottom; right to left)
Mortar
Mortar
Furnace, Pestle
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