Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
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.
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
LEFT February 20...........................................................................................February 13 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.
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom; right to left
十
五
日
六期星
Second Month, Fifteenth Day
Astral Period Six
Saturday, February 15
Saturday, February 15
————————————————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
相天
日德
日德
Heavenly Virtue
Facing Days
Facing Days
—————————————————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶中凶
酉己丑
吉吉吉
吉吉中
吉吉吉
戌午寅
亥未卯
凶吉凶
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
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 Inauspicious
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
遠理行髮
Patterning Hair
Distant Journeys
Distant Journeys
—————————————————
Section Five
Cosmological Information
十
六
丁
巳
土
柳
平
六
丁
巳
土
柳
平
Sixteenth Day (First Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: dingsi (54/60)
Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Willow (24/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Even (5/12)
—————————————————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
(and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
Appropriate Activities
(and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
祭
祀
平
道
塗
飾
垣
墻
祭
祀
平
道
塗
飾
垣
墻
五上
虛兀
天重
罡日
虛兀
天重
罡日
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Leveling Roads
Painting and Adorning Embankments and Walls
Leveling Roads
Painting and Adorning Embankments and Walls
Miscellaneous Information
Upper Amputee
Doubled Days
Five Vacancies
Heavenly Dipper
Doubled Days
Five Vacancies
Heavenly Dipper
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
丫 神
Bifurcation, Spirit
————
Bifurcation, Spirit
————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
(Top to bottom; right to left)
倉
牀 庫
Granary
Bed, Storehouse
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