China's Lunar Calendar 2016 05-04

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/6.................................................................................................................4/28

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
四
日

三期星

Fifth Month, Fourth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, May 4

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

解歲
神德

Generational Virtue
Unleashing Spirits

————

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

戌午寅
凶中凶
亥未卯 

吉中吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious

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
作修
灶廚
Kitchen Repairs
Stove Work

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
八
丙
戌
土
參
破
Twenty-Eighth Day Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingxu (23/60)

Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Gathering (21/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)

————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
治
病
破
屋
餘日
事值
不四
注絕
四
絕
下月
兀破

————

Appropriate Activities
Treating Illness
Destroying Rooms

The day is overseen by the Four Separations;
other matters are not recommended. 

Four Separations

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Destruction
Lower Amputee
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

丫 天

Bifurcation, Heaven
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

廚
栖 灶 

Kitchen
Perch, Stove