China's Lunar Calendar 2014 02-05

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT February 12...........................................................................................February 4 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) 
五
日
三期星

 Second Month, Fifth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, February 5

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天六歲
德合支

Generational Branch
Six Linkages
Heavenly Virtue

—————————————————

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

凶中凶

酉己丑
吉吉凶

戌午寅

中吉中

亥未卯

吉吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious

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

田整理
獵甲髮

Patterning Hair
Trimming Nails
Field Venery

—————————————————  

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
六
丁
未
水
壁
執

Sixth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingwei (44/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Wall (14/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜

動會祭
土友祀
上出祈
樑行福
除移求
服徙嗣
安開入
葬市學

兀下

大小八
空亡耗專 

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Seeking Position
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going out (and about)
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Discarding Clothing
Positioning Graves

Lower Amputee

Miscellaneous Information

 Eight Specializations
Small Squander
Great Void-Loss

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白 山
White, Mountain
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
倉
厠 庫
Granary
Toilet, Storehouse