China's Lunar Calendar 2014 04-04

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT April 11 ........................................................................................................April 4 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
四
日

五期星

Fourth Month, Fourth Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, April 4

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

驛相天
馬日貴

Heavenly Preciousness
Facing Days
Post Horse

—————————————————

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

吉中凶

酉己丑
凶凶吉
戌午寅
吉中中

亥未卯

凶中中

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

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

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
動遠栽
土行種

Planting and Cultivating
Distant Journeys
Moving Soil

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
五
乙

巳
火
樓
滿

Fifth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yisi (42/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Mound (16/28)

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

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

宜
上裁祭
樑衣祀
補理祈
塞髮福
安開會
牀市友
作交訂
灶易婚
日復
月土重
忌符日

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Putting-up Beams
Patching and Plugging
Positioning Beds
Stove Work

Returning Days

Miscellaneous Information

Doubled Days
Earth Charm
Lunar Repression

————

 Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
丫 山
Bifurcation, Mountain
————

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

Pestle

Bed, Mortar