China's Lunar Calendar 2015 01-29

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/1..............................................................................................................................1/24

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
九

四期星

First Month, Twenty-Ninth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, January 29

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

時玉德天
陰堂合月

Heavenly Lunarity
Virtuous Linkage
Jade Hall
Timely Yin

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Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
吉中凶
酉己丑

吉凶吉

戌午寅
吉中中
亥未卯
凶凶中

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
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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
成除遠栽
服靈行種
Planting and Cultivating
Distant Journeys
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
十
乙
巳
火

斗
定

Tenth Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yisi (42/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Dipper (8/28)

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

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

宜

上立納祭
樑約采祀
開交嫁祈
倉易娶福
作修裁會
灶造衣友
納動移訂
畜土徙婚
口蛇
厭死無重
對氣祿日

————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meetings Friends
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Patterning Clothing
Moving Households
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Opening Granaries
Stove Work
Livestock Payments

 
Snake Mouth

Baleful Astral Influences

Doubled Days
Without Emolument
Death Vapor
Mutual Repression

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人  林
Person, Copse

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

牀 磨 對

Bed, Mortar, Pestle