China's Lunar Calendar 2015 04-04

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/9...................................................................................................................4/2

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
日

六期星

Fourth Month, Fourth Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, April 4

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不十歲
將靈德
Generational Virtue
Ten Spirits
Not General

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

凶中凶

戌午寅
凶吉中
亥未卯
中吉中

23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
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 In-Between
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 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) 

忌
產修結
室置綱
Binding Nets
Repairing Houses
Setting-up Industry

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
六
庚
戌
金

胃
危

Sixteenth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: gengxu (47/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Stomach (17/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

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

宜

復食初
圓甚虧
亥戌酉
初時時
廿正正
一二十
時十八
四時時
十零十
六一六
分分分

————

Moon Completely Consumed
(Total Lunar Eclipse)
First Stage, at the beginning of the you hour 18:16
Full Eclipse, in the xu hour 20:01
End of Eclipse, in the hai hour 21:46

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫
Bifurcation, Landmass

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Section Eight

Miscellaneous
碓

栖 磨

Pestle

Perch, Mortar