China's Lunar Calendar 2014 02-16

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ 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.

Section One
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom; right to left
十
六
日
日期星

 Second Month, Sixteenth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, February 16

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

十時天時
靈陰馬德

Timely Virtue
Heavenly Horse
Timely Yin
Ten Spirits

—————————————————

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

凶中凶

酉己丑
吉吉中

戌午寅

中中凶

亥未卯

中吉吉

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

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

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

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

塔苫置買
厠蓋業田

Buying Land
Setting-up Industry
Thatched Roofing
Building Outhouses

—————————————————  

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
七
戊
午
火
星
定

Seventeenth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuwu (55/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Asterism (25/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜

修交嫁祭
倉易娶祀
作修納祈
灶造采福
納動移會
畜土徙友
安上開出
葬樑市行
氣四
   俱白九密
  將虎鬼土日

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Repairing Granaries 
Stove Work
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Death Vapor

Miscellaneous Information

 Mysterious Days
Nine Ghost-soils
White Tiger
Everything General

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白 火
White, Fire
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
碓 牀 房

Pestle, Bed, Building