From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

China's Lunar Calendar 2013 03-17

(A placeholder picture; to be updated soon)

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.

(Color copy soon) 
 
Section One
Solar Calendar Date

十
七
日期星
Third month, seventeenth day
Astral Period Sun
(Sunday, March 17) 
———————————————— 
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
天時
恩德
Timely Virtue
Heavenly Favor
—————————————————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
申辰子
凶中凶
酉己丑
凶吉吉
戌午寅
中中吉
亥未卯
凶吉吉
23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 In-Between

07:00-09:00 In-Between
09:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00  In-Between
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
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 
忌
放開
水渠
Opening Sluices
Going-into Water
————————————————— 
 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 
初
六
壬
午
木
星
平
Sixth Day (second lunar month)
Cyclical day: renwu (19/60)
Phase (element): Wood
Constellation: Asterism (25/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Smooth (4/12)
————————————————— 
Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)
宜
平
治
道
途
修
飾
垣
墻
河反
魁支
俱火
將星
Appropriate Activities
Road Leveling and Painting
Wall and Embankment Decoration
 
Miscellaneous Information
Opposing Branch
Fire Star
River Stalwart
Without-exception General
 ————————————————— 
 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 鬼
White, Ghost
————————————————— 
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities
倉
碓 庫
Granary
Pestle, Storehouse
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