China's Lunar Calendar 2016 03-08

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/8..............................................................................................................3/1

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
八
日

二期星

Third Month, Eighth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, March 8

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

生德歲
氣日支

Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Engendered Vapor
—————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
吉中吉
酉己丑
凶吉凶

戌午寅
中中凶

亥未卯
凶凶吉

23:00-01:00 Auspicious
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 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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
進新補
水船塞
Patching and Plugging
New Boats
Entering Water

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

三
十
己
丑
火
觜
開
Thirtieth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jichou (26/60)

Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

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

宜

開出祭
市行祀
動嫁祈
土娶福
上納入
樑采學
置移會
產徙友
痕水
五寡下
虛宿兀

————
Appropriate Activities  
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Setting-up Production   

Baleful Astral Influences

Classified Balefulness
Widespread Pond
Lunar Punishment
Heavenly Dipper
 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 林

White, Copse
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

占
厠 門 

Divination
Toilet, Gate