China's Lunar Calendar 2013 04-30

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT May 1......................................................................................April 24 RIGHT

[a] 24 April - 1 May 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)  
三
十

二期星

Fourth month, thirtieth day

Astral Period Two

Tuesday, April 30

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

月生時陽
空氣陽德

Yang Virtue
Timely Yang
Engendered Vapor
Lunar Void 

—————————————————

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

凶凶吉

酉己丑

吉中中

戌午寅

凶吉中

亥未卯

凶中吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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

祈祭作修
福祀灶倉

Repairing Granaries
Stove Work
Paying Respects
Inquiring-into Fortune 

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
一

丙

寅
火

室

開

Twenty-first Day (third lunar month)

Cyclical day: bingyin (3/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Room (14/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜
動開納入
土市采學
上立裁會
樑約衣友
安交移出
牀易徙行
置修醫訂
產造病婚
戴勝降于桑
血招厭
忌搖對

Appropriate Activities
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
 Doctor Visits
Opening Markets
Setting-up Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Positioning Beds
Setting-up Industry    

Hoopoe Alights in Mulberry
The eighteenth of seventy-two five-day micro-periods in the solar year.

Miscellaneous Information

Repressed Facing
Ostentatious Braggadocio
Blood Taboo 

 ————————————————— 

 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
人 火
Person, Fire

————————————————— 

Section Eight 
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left) 

爐 灶 廚

Furnace, Stove, Kitchen