Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
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 calendar, along with basic translation and minimal interpretation. Unless you have been studying lunar 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.
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
LEFT January 5..................................January 1..........Monthly Calendar Information RIGHT
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.
Section OneSolar Calendar Date
(top to bottom; right to left)
卅
一
二期星
Twelfth Month, Thirty-first Day
Astral Period Two
Tuesday, December 31
Tuesday, December 31
————————————————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
要麒
安麟
安麟
Unicorn
Urgent Calm
Urgent Calm
—————————————————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
吉中中
酉己丑
中凶吉
凶吉凶
戌午寅
戌午寅
亥未卯
凶中吉
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 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between
15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious
The hours above are for Hong Kong. It is up to you if you want to recalibrate or to assume that the cyclicality of the calendar "covers" the rest of the world. This is a greater interpretive challenge than you might think.
—————————————————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
酒醬
Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
造合酒醬
Mixing Sauces
Making Liquor
—————————————————
Section Five
Cosmological Information
Cosmological Information
廿
九
辛
未
土
尾
危
九
辛
未
土
尾
危
Twenty-ninth Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: xinwei (8/60)
Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Tail (6/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)
—————————————————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
(and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
Appropriate Activities
(and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
伐交
木易
田安
獵牀
出補
服塞
水
泉
動
羊月
口煞
羊月
口煞
Appropriate Activities
Trade and Commerce
Positioning Beds
Patching Cave-holes
Felling Timber
Field Venery
Discarding Clothing
Spring Waters Move
(the sixty-sixth of seventy-two five-day micro-periods in the lunar calendar)
Miscellaneous Information
Lunar Balefulness
Goat Mouth
Goat Mouth
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(right to left)
白 林
White, Copse
————
White, Copse
————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information
Miscellaneous Information
(Top to bottom; right to left)
厠
廚 灶
廚 灶
Toilet
Kitchen, Stove
