China's Lunar Calendar 2014 03-25

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦

LEFT March 30.........................................................................................................March 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

二期星

Third Month, Twenty-fifth Day

Astral Period Two
Tuesday, March 25

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Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

時三六歲
陰合合支

Generational Branch
Six Unities
Three Unities
Temporal Yin

—————————————————

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

吉中凶

酉己丑
凶凶凶
戌午寅
吉中吉

亥未卯

吉中吉

23:00-01:00 Inauspicious
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 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 In-Between

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious

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
成除動栽
服靈土種

Planting and Cultivating
Moving Soil
Expelling Spirits
Completing Clothing

—————————————————  

 Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
五
乙
未
金
危
定

Twenty-fifth Day (Second Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yiwei (32/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Danger (6/28)

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

————————————————— 

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

宜
安開出祭
牀市行祀
作納訂祈
灶財婚福
開豎裁入
光柱衣學
醞上移會
釀 樑徙友
囊地
復重血死
日喪忌氣

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Opening Markets
Tax Payments
Erecting Pillars
Putting-up Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Opening Lighting*
Fermenting Beverages
*Even more than most items, this one packs a wide range of cultural practices into a single term.

Earth Duffel

Miscellaneous Information

 Death Vapor
Blood Taboo
Repeat Mourning
Repeated Days

Section Seven
(right to left)

Inauspicious Stars 
白 人
White, Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Information 
(Top to bottom; right to left)
厠 磨 碓

Toilet, Mortar, Pestle