China's Lunar Calendar 2016 07-28

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/2...............................................................................................................7/26

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
八

四期星

Seventh Month, Twenty-Eighth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, July 28

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

十月合歲
靈恩日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days
Lunar Kindness
Ten Spirits

————

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

戌午寅
吉吉凶
亥未卯
中吉吉

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
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
除嫁造合
服娶酒醬
Mixing Sauces

Making Liquor

Marriage Alliances

Discarding Clothing

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
五
辛
亥
金
井
定
Twenty-Fifth Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: xinhai (48/60)

Phase (element): Metal
Constellation: Well (22/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
上立出祭
樑約行祀
開交納祈
倉易采福
安修裁入
門造衣學
作動移會
灶土徙友
兀 下
厭死重大
  對氣日亡空 

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Opening Granaries
Positioning Doors
Stove Work    

Lower Amputee

Baleful Astral Influences

Great Loss-Void
Doubled Days
Death Vapor
Mutual Repression
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 人

White, Person
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

牀 灶 廚

Bed, Stove, Kitchen