China's Lunar Calendar 2018 02-28

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/28.....................................................................................................................2/20

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-solar (or "luni-solar" calendar; I call it the "lunar" calendar in order to distinguish it from the kinds of calendars most Westerners use. It has a basic translation and minimal interpretation. Unless you have been studying 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. You will likely find that several of the translations seem quite "fanciful" in English. I am simply trying to convey that they also sound fairly fanciful in Chinese.

Section One

Solar Calendar Date
廿
八

三期星

Second Month, Twenty-Eighth Day 
Wednesday, February 28

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

六歲德歲
合支日支

Generational Branch
Virtuous Days
Generational Branch
Six Linkages

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

吉吉吉
亥未卯
中中吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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
開穿造合
池井酒醬

Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds

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Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十
三
辛

卯

木
壁
除

Thirteenth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: xinmao (28/60)

Phase (element): Wood
Constellation: Jade Wall (14/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)

宜

動醫訂祭

土病婚祀

上立納祈

樑約采福

除交嫁會

服易娶友

安修移出

葬造徙行

忌楊

朱大大咸

雀敗時池

————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Physician Visits
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Discarding Clothing
Positioning Beds 

Poplar Taboo

Baleful Astral Influences

Widespread Pond
Great Temporality
Great Defeat
Vermilion Bird

 
Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars
白 林

White, Copse
———— 

Section Eight 
Miscellaneous Activities

門 灶 廚

Gate, Stove, Kitchen