China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 02-24

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/3............................................................................................................................2/24

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)

廿

四

三期星

Second Month, Twenty-Fourth Day

Wednesday, February 24

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

兵吉玉官

吉期宇日

Official Days

Jade Universe

Auspicious Time-Slice

Soldierly Auspiciousness

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

凶中吉

酉巳丑

凶中中

戌午寅

吉中吉

亥未卯

中凶吉

23:00-1:00 Auspicious

1:00-3:00 In-Between

3:00-5:00 Auspicious

5:00-7:00 Auspicious

7:00-9:00 In-Between

9:00-11:00 In-Between

11:00-13:00 In-Between

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious

17:00-19:00 Inauspicious

19:00-21:00 Auspicious

21:00-23:00 In-Between

————

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

忌
取開穿詞

魚池井訟

Lawsuits and Litigation

Boring Wells

Opening Ponds

Garnering Picsinity

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

三

癸

卯

金

壁

除

Thirteenth (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: guimao (40/60)

Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Eastern Wall (14/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

入開訂祈

倉市婚福

除交嫁入

服易娶學

破醫理會

土病髮友

安歸移出

葬舍徙行

將陰

朱咸楊上

雀池忌兀

Appropriate Activities

Inquiring-into Fortune

Entering Study

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Marriage Engagements

Marriage Alliances

Pattern Hair (Haircuts and Styling)

Moving Residences

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Physician Visits

Sweeping Rooms

Entering Granaries

Discarding Clothing

Ramming Earth

Positioning Graves

Yin General

Baleful Astral Influences

Upper Amputee

Poplar Taboo

Widespread Pond

Vermilion Bird

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

White, Copse

————

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)

門 牀 房

Gate, Bed, Edifice