China's Lunar Calendar 2014 02-19

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
九
日
三期星

 Second Month, Nineteenth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, February 19

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

陰合月
德日德

Lunar Virtue
Linked Days
Yin Virtue

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

凶吉凶

酉己丑
凶吉中

戌午寅

中吉吉

亥未卯

中中凶

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
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 Inauspicious
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
造造合
醋酒醬

Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor
Making Vinegar

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

二
十
辛
酉
木
軫
危

Twentieth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: xinyou (58/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Running Board (28/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

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

水雨
九五一丑
分十時初
宜

安立祭
牀約祀
安交祈
葬易福
魚祭獺
陽元五
將武虛

Rain Water
(the second of twenty-four fifteen-day solar periods on the agricultural calendar)
 

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Setting-up Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Positioning Beds
Positioning Graves

River Otters Sacrifice Fish
(the fourth of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)

Miscellaneous Information

 Five Vacancies
Primal Martialness
Yang General

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

人 人
Person, Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
廚
門 灶

Kitchen
Gate, Stove