China's Lunar Calendar 2014 05-22

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/28..................................................................        ...................................................5/21

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
二

四期星

Fifth Month, Twenty-Second Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, May 22

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

王吉
日神

Auspicious Spirits
Kingly Days

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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 In-Between
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.

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

忌
遠詞
行訟

Lawsuits and Litigation
Distant Travel

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 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
四
癸
巳
水
斗
建

Twenty-Four Day (Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guisi (30/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Dipper (8/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

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

宜
會
友
裁
衣
修
飾
垣
牆
土蛇
府口
俱重
將日

Appropriate Activities
Meeting Friends
Cutting-out Clothing
Repairing and Ornamenting Embankments and Walls

Baleful Astral Influences

Snake Mouth
Doubled Days
Earth Palace
Everything General

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  Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
白 州
White, Landmass
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
(right to left) 
占
牀 房
Divination
Bed, Edifice
————