China's Lunar Calendar 2013 06-19

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT June 21.....................................................................................................June 13 RIGHT

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.

Section One
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom; right to left)  
十
九

三期星

Sixth Month, Nineteenth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, June 19

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

十生時月
靈氣德德

Lunar Virtue
Timely Virtue
Engendered Vapor
Ten Spirits

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

吉凶凶

酉己丑

吉吉中

戌午寅

凶中中

亥未卯

凶中中

23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 In-Between

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

田伐作修
獵木灶廚

Kitchen Repair
Stove Work
Felling Trees
Field Venery

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
二
丙
辰

土
箕
開

Twelfth Day (fifth lunar month)

Cyclical day: bingchen (53/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Winnowing Basket (7/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

————————————————— 

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

動安出祭
土牀行祀
上開嫁祈
樑市娶福
栽交納入
種易采學
納修移會
畜造徙友
將陽
九天五寡
空牢虛宿

Appropriate Activities  
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Residences
Positioning Beds
Opening Markets
Commercial Exhange
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Erecting Beams
Planting Crops
Livestock Payments

Yang General

Miscellaneous Information    

Orphaned Hostel
Five Vacancies
Heavenly Prison
Nine Voids

 —————————————————  
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

(right to left)
白
White

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left) 

栖 灶 廚

Perch, Stove, Kitchen