China's Lunar Calendar 2014 03-23

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT March 30.........................................................................................................March 23 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
廿
三

日期星

Third Month, Twenty-third Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, March 23

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

聖福
心德

Fortunate Virtue
Sagacious Heart-Mind

—————————————————

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

吉吉凶

酉己丑
凶吉中
戌午寅
吉中中

亥未卯

凶凶吉

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

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 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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
遠詞
行訟

Lawsuits and Litigation
Distant Journeys

—————————————————  

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
三
癸
巳
水
房
滿

Twenty-third Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guisi (30/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: House (4/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜
開祭
市祀
交祈
易福
安會
牀友
作裁
灶衣
重
日
土水
符痕

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Cutting-out Clothing
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Positioning Beds
Stove Work

Doubled Days

Miscellaneous Information

 Water Scar
Earth Charm

Section Seven
(right to left)

Inauspicious Stars 
人 山
Person, Mountain
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
占
牀 磨

Divination
Bed, Mortar