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.

Thursday, April 30, 2020

China's Lunar Calendar 2020 04-30

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/6..........................................................................................................4/28
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


四期星
Fourth Month, Thirtieth Day 
Thursday, April 30
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
五官
合日
Official Days
Five Linkages

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left
申辰
中中吉
酉巳丑
中中
戌午寅
凶凶
亥未卯

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

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

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

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

穿詞
井訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Boring Wells

Section Five 
Cosmological Information





Eighth Day (Fourth Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: guimao (40/60)
Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Well (22/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
作裁
灶衣
成補
服塞
安安
葬牀





月血
害支
————
Appropriate Activities
 Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)
Patching and Plugging
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Hoopoe Alights on Mulberry
(the eighteenth of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)

Baleful Astral Influences
Blood Branch
Lunar Harm

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

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

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

China's Lunar Calendar 2020 04-29

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/6..........................................................................................................4/28
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

三期星
Fourth Month, Twenty-Ninth Day 
Wednesday, April 29
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
生月天歲
氣德德馬
Generational Equinity
Heavenly Exemplarity
Lunar Exemplarity
Engendered Vapor

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left
申辰
中中
酉巳丑
中中吉
戌午寅
凶凶
亥未卯
中吉吉
23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious

07:00-09:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00  In-Between
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
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
 ————

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

祈祭放開
福祀水渠
Opening Sluices
Putting-into Water
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

Section Five 
Cosmological Information





Seventh Day (Fourth Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: renyin (39/60)
Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Gathering (21/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
動醫納入
土病采學
上開嫁會
梁市娶友
安交裁出
牀易衣行
置修移訂
產造徙婚
忌楊
血厭水上
忌對痕兀
————
Appropriate Activities
 Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)
Moving Residences
Physician Treatments
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Setting-up Production

Poplar Taboo

Baleful Astral Influences
Upper Amputee
Water Scar
Mutual Repression
Blood Taboo

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

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 倉
Furnace, Storehouse, Granary

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

China's Lunar Calendar 2020 04-28

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs" 
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/6..........................................................................................................4/28
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

二期星
Fourth Month, Twenty-Eighth Day 
Tuesday, April 28
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
六歲
合支
Generational Branch
Six Linkages

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left
申辰
吉中中
酉巳丑
吉吉
戌午寅
凶凶
亥未卯

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

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

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

造合
酒醬
Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor

Section Five 
Cosmological Information





Sixth Day (Fourth Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: xinchou (38/60)
Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Receive (10/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
牧祭
養祀
納建
畜屋
成作
服灶
除捕
服捉


河牛
魁口
————
Appropriate Activities
 Venerating Ancestors
Establishing Rooms
Stove Work
Seizing and Capturing
Raising Livestock
Livestock Payments
Completing Clothing
Discarding Clothing

Five Voids

Baleful Astral Influences
Ox Orifice
River Stalwart

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

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
Kitchen
Toilet, Stove