China's Lunar Calendar 2016 04-01

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/6..................................................................................................................3/30

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
一四
日月

五期星

Fourth Month, First Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, April 1 (No Foolin')

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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 Balefulness
—————

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

戌午寅
吉中凶
亥未卯 

中凶吉

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
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 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
伐動詞
木土訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Moving Soil
Felling Timber 

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
四
癸
丑
木
婁
開
Twenty-Four Day Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guichou (50/60)

Phase (element): Wood
Constellation: Mound (17/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

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Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
修出祭
造行祀
上訂祈
樑婚福
安裁入
牀衣學
納移會
畜喜友
囊地
勾五寡
陳虛宿

————
Appropriate Activities
 Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Repairing and Constructing
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Grain Payments    

Earth Duffel

Baleful Astral Influences

Orphan Hostel
Five Voids
Narrative Hook

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 林

White, Copse
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

房
厠 牀  

Edifice
Toilet, Bed