China's Lunar Calendar 2017 04-21

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/25..................................................................................................................4/19

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
一

五期星

Fourth Month, Twenty-First Day

Friday, April 21

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

生天德歲
氣赦日支

Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Heavenly Amnesty
Engendered Vapor

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

凶吉凶
亥未卯
中吉凶

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 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Inauspicious
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
祈祭置買
福祀業田
Buying Land
Setting-up Industry
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
五
戊
寅
土
牛
開
Twenty-Fifth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuyin (15/60)

Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Ox (9/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

————

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

宜

上開納入
梁市采學
安交嫁會
牀易娶友
作修移出
灶造徙行
納動醫訂
畜土病婚
日復
復血下虎
喪忌兀口
————

Appropriate Activities
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Residences
Treating Illness
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Livestock Payments

Repeated Days

 Baleful Astral Influences

Tiger Mouth
Lower Amputee
Blood Taboo
Repeat Mourning

———— 

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
丫 火

Bifurcation, Fire
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

爐 牀 房

Furnace, Bed, Edifice