China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 01-02

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
1/4..........................................................................................................................12/28

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. 

As for interpreting the translation, 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 (almost any "it" you will see). 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. And do not assume that people from China understand the traditional calendar particularly well, either. I have encountered confusion and furrowed brows for countless items in the calendar. It can seem "remote," in other words, from the world we live in these days, and yet it is printed anew every single year.

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

(top to bottom, right to left)

二

日

六期星

First Month, Second Day

Saturday, January 2
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

十生鳳歲

零氣凰德

Generational Exemplaritiy

Phoenix

Engendered Vapor

Ten Spirits

————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰甲

吉凶凶

酉巳丑

中中吉

戌午寅

凶凶中

亥未卯

吉中吉

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

1:00-3:00 Auspicious

3:00-5:00 In-Between

5:00-7:00 In-Between

7:00-9:00 Inauspicious

9:00-11:00 In-Between

11:00-13:00 Inauspicious

13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious

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) 

忌
塞補伐結

穴垣木網

Binding Nets

Felling Timber

Patching Embankments

Plugging Caves

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

九

庚

戌

金

胃

開

Nineteenth Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: gengxu (47/60)

Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Stomach (17/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

安開訂祭

門市婚祀

作修嫁祈

灶造娶福

置動裁入

產土衣學

牧上理會

養樑髮友

虛五

陽九天寡

將空刑宿

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors

Inquiring-into Fortune

Entering Study

Meeting Friends

Marriage Engagements

Marriage Alliances

Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)

Patterning Hair

Opening Markets

Repairing and Constructing

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Positioning Gates

Stove Work

Setting-up Production

Tending Livestock

Five Voids

Baleful Astral Influences

Orphan Hostel

Heavenly Punishment

Nine Vacancies

Yang General

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 is under the bottom of each character)

栖 磨 碓

Perch, Mortar, Pestle

————