China's Lunar Calendar 2020 09-10

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/8.................................................................................................................9/1

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
日

四期星

Ninth Month, Tenth Day
Thursday, September 10
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)
十母三歲
靈倉合支

Generational Branch
Three Linkages
Maternal Granary
Ten Spirits

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

吉中凶
23:00-01:00 Auspicious

01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

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 Inauspicious

21:00-23:00 Auspicious

 ————

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

忌
產修作修
室置灶廚

Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work
Repairing Rooms
Setting-up Production

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
三
丙
辰

土
奎
危

Twenty-Third Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: bingchen (53/60)

Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Astride (15/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
安修裁祭
牀造衣祀
栽動移求
種土徙嗣
成上立入
服樑約學
安開交訂
葬渠易婚
將陰
天月四月
刑煞擊忌
————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Seeking Position
Entering Study
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)
Moving Residences
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Opening Sluices
Positioning Beds
Planting and Cultivating
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Yin General

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Taboo
Four Fisticuffs
Lunar Balefulness
Heavenly Punishment

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)

栖 灶 廚

Perch, Stove, Kitchen