China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 06-30

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/30...........................................................................................................................................6/23

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)

三

十

三期星

Sixth Month, Thirtieth Day

Wednesday, June 30

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

三歲

合支

Generational Branch

Three Linkages

————

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

吉吉凶

酉巳丑

中吉凶

戌午寅

中吉中

亥未卯

凶凶凶

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

1:00-3:00  Inauspicious

3:00-5:00 In-Between

5:00-7:00 Inauspicious

7:00-9:00  Auspicious

9:00-11:00 Auspicious

11:00-13:00 In-Between

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious

17:00-19:00 In-Between

19:00-21:00 In-Between

21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

————

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

忌
作修

灶廚

 Repairing Kitchens

Stove Work

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿

一

己

酉

土

軫

平

Twenty-First Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: jiyou (46/60)

Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Running Board (28/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (4/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

理

髮

掃

舍

平

道

飾

垣

火天

性罡

死上

神兀

Appropriate Activities

Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)

Sweeping Rooms

Leveling Roads

Adorning Embankments

Baleful Astral Influences

Heavenly Dipper

Upper Amputee

Fire Star

Death Spirit

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left）

人 神

Person, Spirit

————

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)

占

門 大

Divination

Gate, Great

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 06-29

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/30...........................................................................................................................................6/23

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

九

二期星

Sixth Month, Twenty-Ninth Day

Tuesday, June 29

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

除不四月

神將相恩

Lunar Kindness

Four Facings

Not General

Yin Spirit

————

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

吉吉凶

酉巳丑

中吉吉

戌午寅

中中凶

亥未卯

中凶中

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

1:00-3:00  Auspicious

3:00-5:00 Inauspicious

5:00-7:00 In-Between

7:00-9:00  Auspicious

9:00-11:00 Auspicious

11:00-13:00 In-Between

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00  Auspicious

17:00-19:00 In-Between

19:00-21:00 In-Between

21:00-23:00 In-Between

————

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

忌
開安置買

倉牀業田

 Purchasing Land

Setting-up Industry

Positioning Beds

Opening Granaries

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

二

十

戊

申

土

翌

滿

Twentieth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: wushen (45/60)

Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Wings (27/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

安開裁祭

門市衣祀

作修理祈

灶造髮福

補動病出

垣土病行

塞上移嫁

穴樑徙娶

虛五

天五孤

狗離辰

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors

Inquiring-into Fortune

Going Out (and about)

Marriage Alliances

Cutting-out Clothing

Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)

Physician Treatments

Moving Residences

Opening Markets

Repairing and Constructing

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Positioning Gates

Stove Work

Patching Embankments

Plugging Caves

Five Voids

Baleful Astral Influences

Orphan Dawn

Five Separations

Heavenly Canine

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left）

白 地

White, Earth

————

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)

爐 牀 房

Furnace, Bed, Edifice

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 06-28

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/30...........................................................................................................................................6/23

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

八

一期星

Sixth Month, Twenty-Eighth Day

Monday, June 28

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

吉守

期日

Protected Days

Auspicious Time-Slice

————

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

中中凶

酉巳丑

中吉凶

戌午寅

中吉中

亥未卯

吉凶凶

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

1:00-3:00 Inauspicious

3:00-5:00 In-Between

5:00-7:00 Inauspicious

7:00-9:00 In-Between

9:00-11:00 Auspicious

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between

17:00-19:00 In-Between

19:00-21:00 In-Between

21:00-23:00 Auspicious

————

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

忌
行理

喪髮

 Patterning Hair

Mourning Visits

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

九

丁

未

水

張

除

Nineteenth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: dingwei (44/60)

Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

拆

卸

掃

舍

債歲

不破

三陰

喪將

Appropriate Activities

Unhitching and Unloading

Sweeping Rooms

Baleful Astral Influences

Generational Destruction

Yin General

Debt Not

Three Mournings

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left）

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)

倉

厠 庫

Granary

Toilet, Storehouse

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 06-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/30...........................................................................................................................................6/23

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

七

日期星

Sixth Month, Twenty-Seventh Day

Sunday, June 27

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

月歲

德德

Generational Exemplarity

Lunar Exemplarity

————

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

吉凶凶

酉巳丑

吉吉中

戌午寅

吉吉中

亥未卯

吉凶中

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

1:00-3:00 In-Between

3:00=-5:00 In-Between

5:00-7:00 In-Between

7:00-9:00  Inauspicious

9:00-11:00 Auspicious

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

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
動作

土灶

 Stove Work

Moving Soil

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

八

丙

午

水

星

建

Eighteenth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: bingwu (43/60)

Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Asterism (25/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

祭

祀

地土

火府

月月

刑建

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors

Baleful Astral Influences

Soil Palace

Lunar Establishment

Earth Conflagration

Lunar Punishment

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left）

白 天

White, Heavenly

————

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)

廚

碓 灶

Furnace

Pestle, Stove