China's Lunar Calendar 2018 01-04

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
1/8........................................................................................................12/31

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
四
日

四期星

First Month, Fourth Day

Thursday, January 4

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天天三母
醫喜合倉

Maternal Granary

Three Linkages

Heavenly Happiness

Heavenly Physician

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

吉凶凶
亥未卯
吉吉凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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
動安作修
土牀灶廚

Kitchen Repairs
Stove Work
Positioning Beds
Moving Soil

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

八
丙

申
火
奎
成
Eighteenth Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingshen (33/60)

Phase (element): Fire
Constellation: Astride: (15/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

————

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

宜

醞理納入
釀髮采學
納開嫁會
畜市娶友
成交移出
服易徙行
安上醫訂
葬樑病婚
符土
俱大無五
將煞祿離

————

Appropriate Activities
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about) 
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Residences
Physician Visits
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Raising Beams
Fermenting Beverages
Livestock Payments
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Soil Charm

Baleful Astral Influences

Five Separations
Without Emolument
Great Balefulness
Everything General

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 地

White, Earth
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities

爐 灶 廚

Furnace, Stove, Kitchen