China's Lunar Calendar 2016 05-15

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/18................................................................................................................5/11

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
十
五

日期星

Fifth Month, Fifteenth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, May 15

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不十天民
將靈貴日 

People's Days
Heavenly Wealth
Ten Spirits
Not General  

————

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

戌午寅
中吉凶
亥未卯
凶吉凶

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

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 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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
合裁整理
帳衣甲髮
Patterning Hair
Trimming Nails
Cutting-out Clothing
Making Banners 

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
九
丁
酉
火
房
定
Ninth Day Day (Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingyou (34/60)

Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Edifice (4/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

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

修修移出
倉造徙行
納動開訂
畜土市婚
成上立納
服樑約采
安醞交嫁
葬釀易娶
生瓜王
朱死下長
雀氣兀星

————

Appropriate Activities
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Opening Markets
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Fermenting Beverages
Repairing Granaries
Livestock Payments
Completing Clothing
Positioning Beds

Cucurbit Flourishes
(the twenty-first of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)

Baleful Astral Influences

Long Star
Lower Amputee
Death Vapor
Vermilion Bird
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

人 林

Person, Copse
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

庫 倉 門

Storehouse, Granary, Gate