China's Lunar Calendar 2016 02-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/29..............................................................................................................2/21

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
七

六期星

Second Month, Twenty-Seventh Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, February 27

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天進吉官
恩神期日

Official Days
Auspicious Temporal-slice
Entering Spirits
Heavenly Kindness 

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

戌午寅
中吉凶

亥未卯
凶吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
渡乘開穿
水船池井
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Riding-in Boats
Crossing Water 

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

二
十
己
卯
土
女
除
Twentieth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jimao (16/60)

Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Woman (10/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12) 

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

宜

屋立采祭
安約嫁祀
門交娶會
安易理友
牀修髮出
修造醫行
倉動病訂
成土掃婚
服建舍納

朱大大咸
雀時敗池

————
Appropriate Activities  
Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Patterning Hair
Physician Visits
Sweeping Floors
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Establishing Buildings
Positioning Gates
Positioning Beds
Completing Clothing   

Baleful Astral Influences

Widespread Pond
Great Defeat
Great Temporality
Vermilion Bird 

 ———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 林

White, Copse
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

門 大 占

Gate, Great, Divination