China's Lunar Calendar 2013 04-05

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

From right to left: 

LEFT April 9............................................April 2 RIGHT

2-9 April 2013

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
(top to bottom; right to left)  
五
日

五期星

Fourth month, fifth day

Astral Period Five

Friday, April 5

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

三歲
合支
Generational Branch

Three Linkages

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子

吉中中

酉己丑

凶吉吉

戌午寅

凶吉吉

亥未卯

凶凶吉

23:00-01:00 In-Between
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 Auspicious
11:00-13:00  Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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) 

忌

造合

酒醬

Mixing Sauces

Making Alcoholic Beverages

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
五

辛

丑

土
婁

收

Twenty-fifth Day (second lunar month)

Cyclical day: xinchou (38/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Mound (16/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Acceptance (10/12)
(Note that the "personality characters are occasionally repeated or skipped;
today it is repeated) 

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)
(top-to-bottom; right to left)

 宜
取祭

魚祀

作納

灶財

納建

畜屋

成補

服捉

五
虛

陰河

將魁

 Appropriate Activities

Paying Reverence

Financial Outlays

Building Rooms

Seizing and Capturing

Garnering Fish

Stove Work

Livestock Payments

Putting-together Clothing

Five Voids  

Miscellaneous Information
River Demon

Yin General

 ————————————————— 

 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
丫 神
Bifurcation, Heaven

————————————————— 

Section Eight 
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left) 
廚

厠 磨
Kitchen
Toilet, Mortar