China's Lunar Calendar 2013 07-16

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT July 21.............................................................................................................July 13 RIGHT

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) 
十
六

二期星

Seventh Month, Sixteenth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, July 16

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

十合歲
靈日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days
Ten Spirits

—————————————————

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

中中吉

酉己丑

中吉凶

戌午寅

吉吉吉

亥未卯

凶凶吉

23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
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 In-Between
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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

行動詞
喪土訟

Litigation
Moving Soil
Mourning Visits

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
九
癸
未
木

尾
建

Ninth Day (sixth lunar month)

Cyclical day: guiwei (20/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Tail (6/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

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

竪移祭

柱居祀

上赴會

樑任友

蓋開出

屋市行

安交嫁

門易娶
府土

三月大
喪建亡空＊

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Moving Residences
Taking-up Office
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Placing Pillars
Erecting Beams
Thatching Rooms
Positioning Beds

Earth Palace

Miscellaneous Information

Great Void-Loss*
Lunar Establishment
Three Mournings
*A character used only in calendars.
————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

(right to left)
人 神 
Person, Spirit

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left)
房

厠 牀

House
Toilet, Bed