China's Lunar Calendar 2020 06-12

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/20..............................................................................................................6/12

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

十

二
五期星

Sixth Month, Twelfth Day 
Friday, June 12
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)
不普天月
將護貴德

Lunar Exemplarity
Heavenly Nobility
Universal Protection
Not General

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

吉中吉
23:00-01:00 Inauspicious

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 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between

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

 ————

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

忌
取田作修
魚獵灶廚

Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work
Field Venery (Hunting)
Garnering Piscinity (Fishing)

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
一
丙
戌

土
牛
定

Twenty-First Day (Intercalary Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingxu (23/60)

Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Oxen (9/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

門交娶祭
安易納祀
牀修采祈
修造裁福
倉動衣會
成土移友
服上徙出
安樑立行
葬安約嫁

下五天死
兀墓刑氣

————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)
Moving Residences
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Gates
Positioning Beds
Repairing Granaries
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Baleful Astral Influences

Death Vapor
Heavenly Punishment
Five Tombs
Lower Amputee

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

Person, 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)

栖 灶 廚

Perch, Stove, Kitchen