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 March 5..........................................March 1.............................Monthly Information 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
三
日
一期星
一期星
Third Month, Third Day
Astral Period One
Monday, March 3
Monday, March 3
————————————————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
除陰
神德
神德
Yin Virtue
Expelling Spirits
Expelling Spirits
—————————————————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶吉凶
酉己丑
中吉吉
戌午寅
中中吉
中吉吉
戌午寅
中中吉
亥未卯
中凶凶
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
07:00-09:00 Auspicious
09:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious
15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
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
置詞
產訟
置詞
產訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Setting-up Industry
Setting-up Industry
—————————————————
Section Five
Cosmological Information
初
三
癸
酉
金
危
危
三
癸
酉
金
危
危
Third Day (Second Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: guiyou (10/60)
Phase (element): Metal
Constellation: Danger (12/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)
—————————————————
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
移祭
徙祀
動入
土學
上出
樑行
安理
葬髮
上
兀
致債
死不
移祭
徙祀
動入
土學
上出
樑行
安理
葬髮
上
兀
致債
死不
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Entering Study
Going Out (and about)
Patterning Hair
Moving Households
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Graves
Entering Study
Going Out (and about)
Patterning Hair
Moving Households
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Graves
Upper Amputee
Miscellaneous Information
Debt Not
Delivered Death
Delivered Death
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
白 人
White, Person
————
White, Person
————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
(Top to bottom; right to left)
房
門 牀
House
Gate, Bed
Gate, Bed
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