China's Lunar Calendar 2015 04-01

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/1...................................................................................................................3/25

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
一四
日月

三期星

Fourth Month, First Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, April 1

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

月陰寶麒
恩德光麟
Unicorn
Precious Rays
Yin Virtue
Lunar Kindness

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

凶吉凶

戌午寅
中吉中
亥未卯
吉吉凶

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

07:00-09:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
置針整理
產灸甲髮
Patterning Hair
Trimming Nails
Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Setting-up Production

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
三
丁
未
水

壁
定

Thirteenth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingwei (44/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Eastern Wall (14/28)

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

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

宜

開修裁祭
倉造衣祀
安動移祈
門土徙福
納上開會
畜樑交友
安醞交出
葬釀 易行
將陽
血死八大
 忌氣專亡空

————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Patterning Clothing
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Fermenting Beverages
Opening Granaries
Positioning Doors
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Yang General

Baleful Astral Influences

Great Loss-Void
Eight Specializations
Death Vapor
Blood Taboo

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 人
White, Person

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Section Eight

Miscellaneous
厠 庫 倉

Toilet, Storehouse, Granary