From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 04-30

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"  
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/1.....................................................................................................................4/23
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


四期星
Fourth Month, Thirtieth Day
Astral Period Four
Thursday, April 30
———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
不天德歲
將喜日支
Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Heavenly Happiness
Not General
—————————————————

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

酉己丑
吉吉
戌午寅
凶凶
亥未卯
吉中中
23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 In-Between

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
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) 

進新作修
水船灶廚
Kitchen Repairs
Stove Work
New Boats
Entering Water
—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 






Twelfth Day (Third Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: bingzi (13/60)
Phase (element): Water
Constellation: Astride (15/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)
—————————————————  

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
上開出祭
樑市行祀
修交嫁祈
倉易娶福
成修內入
服造采學
安動裁會
葬土衣友
煞班
 天歸大 水
 牢忌亡空
————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Repairing Granaries
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Classified Balefulness

Baleful Astral Influences
Water Scar
Great Loss-Void
Return Taboo
Heavenly Penitentiary

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
白 地
White, Earth
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous
碓 灶 廚
Pestle, Stove, Kitchen

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 04-29

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"  
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/1.....................................................................................................................4/23
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

三期星
Fourth Month, Twenty-Ninth Day
Astral Period Three
Wednesday, April 29
———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
合歲
日德
Generational Virtue
Linked Days
—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left
申辰子
吉中吉
酉己丑
凶凶
戌午寅
中吉
亥未卯
中吉吉
23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious

07:00-09:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
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.
                             —————————————————

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

嫁栽
娶種
Planting and Cultivating
Marriage Alliances
—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 






Eleventh Day (Third Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: yihai (12/60)
Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Eastern Wall (14/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)
—————————————————  

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
游上
禍兀
天重
賊日
————
Appropriate Activities
Bubbling and Bathing
Positioning Beds
Garnering Fish
Livestock Payments

Baleful Astral Influences
Upper Amputee
Doubled Days
Natatorial Disaster
Heavenly Thief

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
白 林
White, Copse
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous
牀 磨
Pestle
Bed, Mortar

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 04-28

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"  
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/1.....................................................................................................................4/23
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

二期星
Fourth Month, Twenty-Eighth Day
Astral Period Two
Tuesday, April 28
———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
解天
神貴
Heavenly Nobility
Unleashing Spirits
—————————————————

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

酉己丑
中吉吉
戌午寅
凶凶
亥未卯
中吉吉
23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious

07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
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.
                             —————————————————

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

出開
財倉
Opening Granaries
Capital Outflow
—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 






Tenth Day (Third Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: jiaxu (11/60)
Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Pyre (13/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)
—————————————————  

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








四月
撃破
白債
虎不
————
Appropriate Activities
Seeking Physicians
Treating Illness
Destroying Rooms
Smashing Embankments

Baleful Astral Influences
Lunar Destruction
Debt Not
Four Fisticuffs
White Tiger

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
人 天
Person, Heaven
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous
栖 碓
Gate
Perch, Pestle

Monday, April 27, 2015

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 04-27

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"  
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/1.....................................................................................................................4/23
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

一期星
Fourth Month, Twenty-Seventh Day
Astral Period One
Monday, April 27
———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
除六普
神合護
Universal Protection
Six Linkages
Expelling Spirits
—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left
申辰子
吉吉吉
酉己丑
中吉
戌午寅
中吉
亥未卯
凶凶
23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 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 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.
                             —————————————————

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

作動詞
灶土訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Moving Soil
Stove Work
—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 






Ninth Day (Third Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: guiyou (10/60)
Phase (element): Metal
Constellation: Danger (12/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)
—————————————————  

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
安裁祭
    衣祀
捕理祈
捉髮福
內醫訂
畜病婚
安掃嫁
葬舍娶
符土
咸五楊
池虛忌
————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Marriage Engagements
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Physician Visits
Sweeping Rooms
Positioning [blank]
Seizing and Capturing
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Earth Charm

Baleful Astral Influences
Poplar Taboo
Five Voids
Widespread Pond

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 

Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous
門 牀
Edifice
Gate, Bed