From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

China's Lunar Calendar 2020 03-31

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/5...............................................................................................................3/29
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 tha"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 calendarSome 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


二期星
Third Month, Thirty-First Day 
Tuesday, March 31
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
天玉
成堂
Jade Hall
Heavenly Completion

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left
申辰
吉吉吉
酉巳丑
吉吉
戌午寅

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between
 ————

Section Four 
Activities to Avoid  
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

作詞
灶訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Stove Work

Section Five 
Cosmological Information





Eighth Day (Third Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: guiyou (10/60)
Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)
————

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








火月
星破
灾上
煞兀
————
Appropriate Activities
 Seeking Physicians
Treating Illness
Destroying Rooms
Smashing Embankments

Baleful Astral Influences
Lunar Destruction
Upper Amputee
Fire Star
Calamitous Balefulness

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left, 
but the English translation is underneath each character)
白 州
White, Landmass
 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items 
(the Chinese should be read top-to-bottom, and right-to-left;
the English translation for is under the bottom characters)

門 牀
Edifice
Gate, Bed

Monday, March 30, 2020

China's Lunar Calendar 2020 03-30

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/5...............................................................................................................3/29
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 tha"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 calendarSome 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


一期星
Third Month, Thirtieth Day 
Monday, March 30
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
解歲
神祿
Generational Emolument
Unleashing Spirits

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left
申辰
吉吉
酉巳丑
吉吉
戌午寅

亥未卯
中吉吉
23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00  Auspicious
03:00-05:00 Inauspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious

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

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between
 ————

Section Four 
Activities to Avoid  
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

安開
牀渠
Opening Sluices
Positioning Beds

Section Five 
Cosmological Information





Seventh Day (Third Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: renshen (9/60)
Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Net (19/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)
————

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






————


————
猴水
口痕
————
Appropriate Activities
 Sweeping Rooms
Discarding Clothing
Positioning Graves

Lightning Begins
(the twelfth of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)

Baleful Astral Influences
Water Scar
Monkey Orifice

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left, 
but the English translation is underneath each character)
白 水
White, Water
 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items 
(the Chinese should be read top-to-bottom, and right-to-left;
the English translation for is under the bottom characters)

爐 庫
Granary
Furnace, Storehouse

Sunday, March 29, 2020

China's Lunar Calendar 2020 03-29

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/5...............................................................................................................3/29
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 tha"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 calendarSome 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

期星
Third Month, Twenty-Ninth Day 
Sunday, March 29
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
陰寶時三
德光陰合
Three Linkages
Timely Yin
Precious Rays
Yin Exemplarity

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left
申辰
吉中中
酉巳丑

戌午寅

亥未卯
中中吉
23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00  Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between
 ————

Section Four 
Activities to Avoid  
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

行除造合
喪服酒醬
Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor
Discarding Clothing
Mourning Visits

Section Five 
Cosmological Information





Sixth Day (Third Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: xinwei (8/60)
Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Pleiades (18/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
上開出祭
梁市行祀
作交嫁祈
灶易娶福
納修納入
畜造采學
安動移會
葬土徙友
將俱
復血死密
喪忌氣日
————
Appropriate Activities
 Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Residences
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Stove Work
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Everything General

Baleful Astral Influences
Mysterious Days
Death Vapor
Blood Taboo
Repeat Mourning

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left, 
but the English translation is underneath each character)
丫 人
Bifurcation, Person
 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items 
(the Chinese should be read top-to-bottom, and right-to-left;
the English translation for is under the bottom characters)
厠 灶 廚
Toilet, Stove, Kitchen