China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2024 11-21

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
11/22....................................................................................................................................................11/14

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

一

四期星

Eleventh Month, Twenty-First Day

Thursday, November 21

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

德歲

合月

Generational Lunarity

Exemplary Linkage

————

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

吉中吉

酉巳乙

吉凶凶

戌午寅

凶中吉

亥未卯

凶凶吉

23:00-1:00 Auspicious

 01:00-03:00 Inauspicious

 03:00-05:00 Auspicious

 05:00-07:00 Auspicious

07:00-09:00 In-Between

  09:00-11:00 Inauspicious

11:00-13:00 In-Between

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious

17:00-19:00 Auspicious

19:00-21:00 Inauspicious

21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

————

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

忌

行成

喪服

Completing Clothing

Mourning Visits

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿

一

己

丑

火

斗

滿

Twenty-First Day (Tenth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: jichou (26/60)

Phase (element): Fire

"Constellation Personality: Southern Dipper (8/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top to bottom; left to right)

宜

修祭

造祀

動會

土友

作裁

灶衣

補開

塞市

歸

忌

三下

喪兀

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors

Meeting Friends

Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)

Opening Markets

Repairing and Constructing

Moving Soil

Stove Work

Patching and Plugging

Return Taboo

Baleful Asterisms

(top down, starting on the right; two characters each)

Lower Amputee

Three Mournings

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" directly below each character)

人 山

Person, Mountain

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Items

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,

however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)

占

厠 門

Divination

Toilet, Gate

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2024 11-20

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
11/22....................................................................................................................................................11/14

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

十

三期星

Eleventh Month, Twentieth Day

Wednesday, November 20

————

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

吉吉中

酉巳乙

吉凶吉

戌午寅

凶凶凶

亥未卯

中中吉

23:00-1:00 In-Between

 01:00-03:00 Auspicious

 03:00-05:00 Inauspicious

 05:00-07:00 Auspicious

07:00-09:00 Auspicious

  09:00-11:00 Inauspicious

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 In-Between

————

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

忌

置買

業田

Purchasing Land

Setting-up Industry

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

二

十

戊

子

火

箕

除

Twentieth Day (Tenth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: wuzi (25/60)

Phase (element): Fire

"Constellation Personality: Winnowing Basket (7/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top to bottom; left to right)

宜

動出

土行

上裁

樑衣

安理

牀髮

作開

灶市

咸

池

俱白

將虎

Appropriate Activities

Going Out (and about)

Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)

Opening Markets

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Positioning Beds

Stove Work

Widespread Pond

Baleful Asterisms

(top down, starting on the right; two characters each)

White Tiger

Everything General

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" directly below each character)

白 火

White, Fire

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Items

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,

however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)

房

碓 牀

Edifice

Pestle, Bed

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2024 11-19

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
11/22....................................................................................................................................................11/14

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)

十

九

二期星

Eleventh Month, Nineteenth Day

Tuesday, November 19

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

續王

世日

Kingly Days

Successive Generations

————

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

中中中

酉巳乙

吉凶吉

戌午寅

凶吉吉

亥未卯

吉吉凶

23:00-1:00 In-Between

 01:00-03:00 Auspicious

 03:00-05:00 Auspicious

 05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

07:00-09:00 In-Between

  09:00-11:00 Inauspicious

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between

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

嫁理

娶髮

Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)

Marriage Alliances

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

九

丁

亥

土

尾

建

Nineteenth Day (Tenth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: dingxu (24/60)

Phase (element): Earth

"Constellation Personality: Tail (6/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top to bottom; left to right)

宜

祭

祀

沐

浴

重上

日兀

土債

府不

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors

Bubbling and Bathing

Baleful Asterisms

(top down, starting on the right; two characters each)

Upper Amputee

Debt Not

Doubled Days

Soil Palace

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" directly below each character)

白 神

White, Spirit

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Items

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,

however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)

倉

牀 庫

Granary

Bed, Storehouse