China's Lunar Calendar 2016 08-22

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
廿
二

一期星

Eighth Month, Twenty-Second Day

Astral Period One
Monday, August 22

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

時三歲歲
德合支德
Generational Virtue
Generational Branch
Three Linkages
Timely Virtue 

————

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

吉凶凶
亥未卯
吉中中

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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
進新作修
水船灶倉
Kitchen Repairs
Stove Work
New Boats
Entering Water

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

二
十
丙
子
水
畢
定
Twentieth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingzi (13/60)

Phase (element): Water
Constellation: Net (19/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

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

樑開婚祭
修市納祀
倉交采祈
醞易嫁福
釀 修娶會
成造裁友
服動衣出
安土移行
葬上徙訂

   俱死  觸  小
    將氣  龍水亡空
————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain payments
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Households
Opening Granaries
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Repairing Granaries
Fermenting Beverages
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves        

Baleful Astral Influences

Small Loss-Void
Connecting-with Water-dragon
Death Vapor
Everything General 

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
人

Person
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

碓 灶 廚

Pestle, Stove, Kitchen