China's Lunar Calendar 2013 03-18

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

This calendar will be updated soon!

(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
(top to bottom; right to left) 
十

八

一期星

Third month, eighteenth day

Astral Period One

(Monday, March 18) 

———————————————— 
Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(right to left)

十陰三合歲

靈德合日德

Generational Virtue

Linkage of Days

Three Linkages

Yin Virtue

Ten Spirits  

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, beginning on the top-right) 
申辰子

中中吉

酉己丑

凶吉凶

戌午寅

吉吉吉

亥未卯

凶凶吉

23:00-01:00 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 Auspicious
11:00-13:00  Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
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) 

忌
進新穿針詞

水船耳灸訟

Litigation

Acupunccture and Moxibustion

Boring Ears

New Boats

Entering Water

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 
初

七

癸

未

木
張
定

Seventh Day (second lunar month)

Cyclical day: guiwei (20/60)

Phase (element): Wood

Constellation: Drawn Bow (26/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Decision (5/12)

————————————————— 

Section Six
Appropriate Activities 
(and Miscellaneous Information)
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

修動移訂祭

倉土徙婚祀

納上開納祈

畜樑市采福

成安交嫁會

服牀易娶友

安作修裁出

葬灶造衣行

 將俱

伏暗血死水

斷金忌氣痕

Appropriate Activities

Paying Reverence

Inquiring-into Fortune

Meeting Friends

Going Out

Marriage Engagements

Grain Payments

Marriage Alliances

Cutting-out Clothing 

 Moving Residences

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Repairs and Building

Moving Soil

Erecting Beams

Positioning Beds

Stove Work

Repairing Granaries

Livestock Payments

Putting-together Clothing

Positioning Graves      

 

Everything General

 
Miscellaneous Information

Water Scar

Death Vapor

Blood Taboo

Dark Metal

Reclining Separation

 ————————————————— 

 Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 人
White, Person

————————————————— 

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

厠 牀 房

Toilet, Bed, House