China's Lunar Calendar 2014 01-08

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT January 13................................................................................................January 6 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) 
八
日
三期星

 First Month, Eighth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, January 8

———————————————— 
Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不進麒
將神麟

Unicorn
Entering Spirits
Not General

—————————————————

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

中中吉

酉己丑

凶中凶
戌午寅

中吉吉

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 In-Between
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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

除開穿
服池井
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Discarding Clothing

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
八
己
卯
土
壁
滿

Eighth Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jimao (16/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Wall (14/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜

納訂祭
財婚祀
入納祈
倉采福
結開求
綱市嗣
牧交入
養易學
日復
重天灾
喪狗煞

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Seeking Position
Entering Study
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Capital Outflow
Entering Granaries
Binding Nets
Raising Livestock

Repeated Days

Miscellaneous Information  

Baleful Disaster
Heavenly Canine
Doubled Mourning

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白
White
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)

占

門 大

Divination

Gate, Large