China's Lunar Calendar 2013 05-01

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)  
一五
日月

三期星

Fifth month, first day

Astral Period Three

Wednesday, May 1

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

德天麒
合月麟

Unicorn
Heavenly Moon
Virtuous Linkage 

—————————————————

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

中中中

酉己丑

凶中中

戌午寅

凶吉吉

亥未卯

凶吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
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

穿整理
井甲髮

Patterning Hair
Ordering Nails
Boring Wells

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
二

丁

卯
火

壁

閉

Twenty-second Day (third lunar month)

Cyclical day: dingmao (4/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Wall (15/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜
修納祭
倉采祀
作移祈
灶徙福
成開出
服市行
安動嫁
葬土娶
將陽
勾血天
   陳支廢休＊

Appropriate Activities
Paying Reverence
Inquiring-into Fortune
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Residences
Opening Markets
Moving Soil
Repairing Granaries
Stove Work
Putting-together Clothing
Positioning Graves

Yang General  

Miscellaneous Information

Heavenly Abandonment
Blood Branch
Delineated Exhibition
*A non-standard character used in the almanac's calendar section. 

 ————————————————— 

 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
人 山
Person, Mountain

————————————————— 

Section Eight 
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left) 

倉
門 庫

Granary
Gate, Storehouse