China's Lunar Calendar 2014 04-19

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ 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.

Section One
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom; right to left
十
九

六期星

Fourth Month, Nineteenth Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, April 19

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

月金歲
恩匱馬

Generational Horse
Golden Cupboard-bare
Lunar Kindness

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

吉吉凶
酉己丑

中吉吉
戌午寅
凶吉凶

亥未卯

中吉中

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
09:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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.

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Section Four 
Activities to Avoid  
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

忌
取安結
魚牀綱

Binding Nets
Positioning Beds
Garnering Fish

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

二
十
庚
申
木
氐

定

Twentieth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: gengshen (57/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Foundation (3/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (5/12)

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

宜
移納祭
柩畜祀
成修沐
服齋浴
除建掃
服醮舍
安漆安
葬棺門
厭月
地死上
火氣兀

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Bubbling and Bathing
Sweeping Rooms
Positioning Doors
Livestock Payments
Fasting
Performing Sacrifice
Lacquering Coffins
Moving Biers
Completing Clothing
Discarding Clothing
Positioning Graves

Lunar Repression

Baleful Astral Influences

Upper Amputee
Death Vapor
Earth Fire

————
 Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人    
Person       
————

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

Pestle
Furnace, Mortar