China's Lunar Calendar 2014 02-20

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
二
十
四期星

 Second Month, Twentieth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, February 20

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天合天
喜日德

Heavenly Virtue
Linked Days
Heavenly Happiness

—————————————————

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

凶凶凶

酉己丑
中吉中

戌午寅

吉中吉

亥未卯

吉吉吉

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

07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
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 In-Between
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
裁放開
衣水渠

Opening Sluices
Putting-into Water
Cutting-out Clothing

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
一
壬
戌
水
角
成

Twenty-first Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: renshen (59/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Horn (1/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

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

宜

上開祭
樑市祀
修交祈
倉易福
納修入
畜造學
安動會
葬土友
星短
四月犬
擊厭口

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going to Market
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Repairing Granaries
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Short Star

Miscellaneous Information

 Dog Mouth
Lunar Repression
Four Fisticuffs

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

人 水
Person, Water
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
倉
栖 庫

Granary
Perch, Storehouse