China's Lunar Calendar 2016 08-19

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/23...............................................................................................................8/16

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
九

五期星

Eighth Month, Nineteenth Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, August 19

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不陰四天
將德相德
Heavenly Virtue
Four Facings
Yin Virtue
Not General

————

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

中中凶
亥未卯
中凶凶

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

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 In-Between
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
作塞補詞
灶穴垣訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Patching Embankments
Plugging Caves
Stove Work

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十
七
癸
酉
金
婁
除
Seventeenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guiyou (10/60)

Phase (element): Metal
Constellation: Mound (16/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

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

貨動裁祭
財土衣祀
納上理祈
畜樑髮福
除修掃訂
服開舍婚
安倉修納
葬出造采
池咸
往大大五
亡敗時離
————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Sweeping Floors
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Repairing and Opening Granaries
Cash Payments
Livestock Payments
Discarding Clothing
Positioning Graves       

Widespread Pool

Baleful Astral Influences

Five Separations
Great Temporality
Great Loss
Towards Perishing 

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 人

White, Person
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

門 牀 房

Gate, Bed, Edifice