China's Lunar Calendar 2016 01-22

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
1/22..............................................................................................................1/15

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
廿
二

五期星

First Month, Twenty-Second Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, January 22

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天福歲
倉德祿

Generational Emolument
Lucky Virtue
Heavenly Granary

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

戌午寅
吉中吉

亥未卯
中凶凶

23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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
開穿詞
池井訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds 

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
三
癸
卯
金
亢
滿
Thirteenth Day Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guimao (40//60)

Phase (element): Metal
Constellation: Neck (2/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12) 

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

宜

安理祭
門髮祀
作移出
灶居行
入開嫁
倉市娶
安交裁
葬易衣
將陰
天天灾
狗火煞

————
Appropriate Activities 
Venerating Ancestors
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Moving Residences
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Positioning Gates
Stove Work
Entering Granaries
Positioning Graves      
  

Yin General

Baleful Astral Influences

Disastrous Balefulness
Heavenly Fire
Heavenly Canine 

 ———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白

White
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

房

門 牀

Edifice
Gate, Bed