China's Lunar Calendar 2013 12-25

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT December 31............................................................................................December 23 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
五
三期星

  Twelfth Month, Twenty-fifth Day

Astral Period Three
Wednesday, December 25

———————————————— 
Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天陰三歲
恩德合支

Generational Branch
Three Linkages
Yin Virtue
Heavenly Kindness

—————————————————

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

吉中吉

酉己丑

吉凶吉
戌午寅

中凶吉

亥未卯

凶凶吉

23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 Auspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Auspicious

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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) 

忌

行成時栽
喪服插種
Planting and Cultivating
Timely Injections
Completing Clothing
Mourning Visits

————————————————— 

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
三
乙
丑
金
軫
除

Twenty-third Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yichou (2/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Running Board (28/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————————————————— 

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

宜

動醫嫁祭

土病娶祀

上立納祈

樑約采福

納交移會

畜易徙友

安修理出

葬造髮行

將陰

下牛三月
兀口喪忌

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Households
Patterning Hair
Physician Visits
Standing Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Building
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Yin General

Miscellaneous Information  

Lunar Taboo
Three Mournings
Ox Mouth
Lower Amputee

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left)

白 人
White, Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information

(Top to bottom; right to left)

厠 磨 碓

Toilet, Mortar, Pestle