China's Lunar Calendar 2013 12-13

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT December 14............................................................................................December 7 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
三
五期星

  Twelfth Month, Thirteenth Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, December 13

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

三歲合歲
合支日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days
Generational Branch
Three Linkages

—————————————————

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

吉吉吉

酉己丑

吉吉吉
戌午寅

吉凶中

亥未卯

凶凶吉

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

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

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

行成除詞
喪服靈訟
Litigation
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing
Mourning Visits

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
一
癸
丑
木
婁
除

Eleventh Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guichou (50/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Mound (16/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜
動醫嫁祭
土病娶祀
上開納祈
樑市采福
修交移會
倉易徙友
納修理出
畜造髮行
兀下
牛陰復三
口將日喪

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Households
Patterning Hair
Physician Visits
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairs and Construction
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Repairing Granaries
Livestock Payments

Lower Amputee

Miscellaneous Information  

Three Mournings
Repeated Days
Yin General
Ox Mouth

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白 人
White, Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)

厠 牀 房

Toilet, Bed, House