China's Lunar Calendar 2013 07-26

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT July 29.............................................................................................................July 22 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) 
廿
六

五期星

Seventh Month, Twenty-sixth Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, July 26

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Section Two

Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)

生合歲
氣日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days
Engendered Vapor

—————————————————

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

吉吉吉

酉己丑

中吉凶

戌午寅

吉中中

亥未卯

凶凶吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
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

除遠詞
服行訟

Litigation
Long Journeys
Discarding Clothing

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
九
癸
巳
水
婁
開

Nineteenth Day (sixth lunar month)

Cyclical day: guisi (30/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Mound (16/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜

安裁祭
牀衣祀
安理入
門髮學
作求會
灶醫友
納治訂
畜病婚
不債
地月重
火厭日

Appropriate Activities  
Venerating Ancestors
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Marriage Engagements
Putting-together Clothing
Patterning Hair
Seeking Medical-treatment
Treating Illness
Positioning Beds
Positioning Doors
Stove Work
Livestock Payments

Debt Not

Miscellaneous Information 
Repeated Days
Lunar Repression
Earth Fire

————  

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

(right to left)
白 林
White, Copse

—————————————————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

(Top to bottom; right to left)
占
牀 房
Divination
Bed, House