China's Lunar Calendar 2016 03-24

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/29..................................................................................................................3/21

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
四

四期星

Third Month, Twenty-Fourth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, March 24

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

聖歲
心祿

Generational Emolument
Sagely Heart-Mind
—————

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

戌午寅
吉中凶
亥未卯 

凶中中

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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
遠栽
行種
Planting and Cultivating
Distant Journeys  

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
六
乙
巳
火
斗
滿
Sixteenth Day Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yisi (42/60)

Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Dipper (9/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
開祭
市祀
上會
樑友
作訂
灶婚
補理
塞髮
重
喪
土重
符日

————
Appropriate Activities
 Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends

Marriage Engagements

Patterning Hair

Opening Markets

Raising Beams

Stove Work

Patching and Plugging

Repeat Mourning

Baleful Astral Influences

Doubled Days
Soil Charm

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

丫 山

Bifurcation, Mountain
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

碓
牀 磨 

Pestle
Bed, Mortar