China's Lunar Calendar 2013 09-29

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT October 4........................................................................................September 26 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
九
日期星

  Ninth Month, Twenty-ninth Day

Astral Period Sun
Saturday, September 28

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

德歲歲
日支德

Generational Virtue
Generational Branch
Virtuous Days

—————————————————

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

吉凶吉

酉己丑

中中吉

戌午寅

中吉凶

亥未卯

凶吉凶

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

07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
09:00-11:00 In-Between
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

行置買
喪業田

Buying Land
Setting-up Industry
Mourning Visits

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
五
戊
戌
木
星
除

Twenty-fifth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuxu (35/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Asterism (25/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜 
築掃祭
提舍祀
安醫出
牀病行
作修沐
灶造浴
栽動理
種土髮

喪三

 陽血密
將忌日

Appropriate Activities  

Venerating Ancestor
Going Out (and about)
Bubbling and Bathing
Patterning Hair
Sweeping Rooms
Physician Visits
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Building Dikes
Positioning Graves
Stove Work
Planting and Cultivating

Three Mournings

Miscellaneous Information  

Mysterious Days
Blood Taboo
Yang General

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白
White
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)
房

栖 牀

House
Perch, Bed
————