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
April 19
........................................................................................................April 12 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
十
五
二期星
Fourth Month, Fifteenth Day
Astral Period Two
Tuesday, April 15
Tuesday, April 15
————————————————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
十清
靈龍
靈龍
Blue-Green Dragon
Ten Spirits
Ten Spirits
—————————————————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
吉凶凶
酉己丑
酉己丑
吉吉中
戌午寅
凶中中
戌午寅
凶中中
亥未卯
吉中中
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 In-Between
07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
09:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 In-Between
15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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
動作
土灶
動作
土灶
Stove Work
Moving Soil
Moving Soil
—————————————————
Section Five
Cosmological Information
十
六
寅
辰
土
翌
建
六
寅
辰
土
翌
建
Sixteenth Day (Third Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: yinchen (53/60)
Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Drawn Wings (27/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)
—————————————————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
(and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
Appropriate Activities
(and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
————
月
全
食
————
香
月
全
食
————
香
港
地
區
不
見
————
虹
始
見 ————
三土
喪府
三土
喪府
Moon Completely Consumed
Not Seen in the Hong Kong Area
(Total lunar eclipse)
Rainbows Appear
(The fifteenth of seventy-two five-day lunar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)
Baleful Astral Influences
Earth Palace
Three Mournings
Three Mournings
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
丫 鬼
Bifurcation, Ghost
————
(right to left)
丫 鬼
Bifurcation, Ghost
————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
(Top to bottom; right to left)
廚
栖 灶
Kitchen
Perch, Stove
Perch, Stove
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