China's Lunar Calendar 2013 08-21

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT August 27........................................................................................................August 20 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) 
廿
一
三期星

  Eighth Month, Twenty-first Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, August 21

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

母麒
倉麟

Unicorn
Maternal Granary

—————————————————

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

吉中中

酉己丑

中吉凶

戌午寅

中吉凶

亥未卯

凶吉吉

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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

作修
灶廚

Kitchen Repairs
Stove Work

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
五
己
未
火
壁
閉

Fifteenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiwei (56/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Wall (14/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

___________________

中
元
___________________ 
 宜

動祭
土祀
補訂
垣婚
塞修
穴造
火
星
羊血
口支

Ghost Festival 
(fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month)

Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestors
Marriage Engagements
Repairs and Building
Moving Soil
Patching Embankments
Plugging-up Caves

Fire Star

Miscellaneous Information

Blood Branch
Goat Mouth

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

丫 山
Bifurcation, Mountain

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left)
占
厠 門

Divination
Toilet, Gate