China's Lunar Calendar 2017 04-02

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/9..................................................................................................................4/2

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
二
日

日期星

Fourth Month, Second Day

Sunday, April 2

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

陰續合月
德世日德

Lunar Virtue
Gathered Days
Successive Generations
Yin Virtue 

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

中吉吉
亥未卯
凶吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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
取田穿針
魚獵耳灸
Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Boring Ears
Field Venery
Garnering Fish

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初
六
己
未
火
昂
定
Sixth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiwei (56/60)

Phase (element): FIre
Constellation: Pleiades (18/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

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

宜

修交訂祭
倉易婚祀
作修裁祈
灶造衣福
納動移會
畜土徙友
安上開出
葬樑市行
將陽
血死八密
忌氣專日
————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Reparing Granaries
Stove Work
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Yang General

Baleful Astral Influences

Mysterious Days
Eight Specialties
Death Vapor
Blood Taboo 

———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 人

White, Person
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

厠 門 占

Toilet, Gate, Divination