China's Lunar Calendar 2015 02-28

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/1.................................................................................................................2/22

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
八

六期星

Second Month, Twenty-Eighth Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, February 28

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

合歲
日德

Generational Virtue
Linked Days

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
凶中吉
酉己丑

中凶凶

戌午寅
中中吉
亥未卯
中吉吉

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

07:00-09:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between

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
嫁栽
娶種
Planting and Cultivating
Marriage Alliances

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
十
乙
亥
火

女
收

Tenth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: yihai (12/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Woman (10/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Receive (10/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜
移祭
徙祀
動祈
土福
上會
樑友
作出
灶行
重

日
陰債
將不

————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Moving Households

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Stove Work

Doubled Days

Baleful Astral Influences

Debt Not
Yin General

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人 州
Person, Landmass

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

碓

牀 磨

Pestle
Bed, Mortar

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 02-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/1.................................................................................................................2/22

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
七

五期星

Second Month, Twenty-Seventh Day

Astral Period Five
Friday, February 27

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天天
醫喜

Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
凶凶中
酉己丑

中吉凶

戌午寅
中凶吉
亥未卯
中吉吉

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

07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between

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
成開
服倉
Opening Granaries
Completing Clothing

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
九
甲
戌
火

牛
成

Ninth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiaxu (11/60)

Phase (element): Fire

Constellation: Ox (9/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜
開祭
市祀
交會
易友
補出
垣行
塞裁
穴衣
火
星
重犬
喪口

————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Patching Embankments
Plugging Caves

Fire Star

Baleful Astral Influences

Dog Mouth
Repeat Mourning

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人 水
Person, Water

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

門

栖 碓

Gate
Perch, Pestle

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 02-26

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
3/1.................................................................................................................2/22

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

四期星

Second Month, Twenty-Sixth Day

Astral Period Four
Thursday, February 26

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

除陰福
神德生

Lucky Engenderment
Yin Virtue
Expelling Spirits

—————————————————

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
凶吉吉
酉己丑

中吉凶

戌午寅
中中吉
亥未卯
中凶凶

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between

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
產修詞
室置訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Setting-up Production
Repairing Rooms

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

初
八
癸
酉
金

斗
危

Eighth Day (First Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: guiyou (10/60)

Phase (element): Metal

Constellation: Dipper (8/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜
上理祭
樑髮祀
作移祈
灶徙福
開修入
倉造學
安動出
葬土行
將俱
元五五
武虛離

————
Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Going Out (and about)
Patterning Hair
Moving Households
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Putting-up Beams
Stove Work
Opening Granaries
Positioning Graves

Everything General

Baleful Astral Influences

Five Separations
Five Voids
Primal Martiality

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
(right to left) 
人 人
Person, Person

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

房

門 牀

Edifice
Gate, Bed

The Round and Square Radio Show 2015 02-25

Click here for "The Round and Square Show" Resource Center—(all posts available)  
Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "The Round and Square Show" (coming soon) 
This is a "small" (小) post—click here for an explanation of Round and Square post lengths.

***  *** 

On this date on Round and Square's History 

25 February 2014—China's Lunar Calendar 2014 02-25
25 February 2013—French Bulldog Puppy: Fernand Braudel
25 February 2013—China's Lunar Calendar 2013 02-25
25 February 2012—Divinatory Economics (3)

[a] Putting it together RF

So here we go again. We continue to fly under the radar for the next few weeks, but it is not as though we want no audience at all. If you have been tuning into RSQ for the last few years (we've been at it for four of 'em already), you have read a lot of...stuff. Well, now you can listen (too...and soon you'll be able to watch, as well, but that is another story for another time). 

The Round and Square Show begins on Wednesday, February 18, and "we" will figure it all out from there. It broadcasts on WBCR 90.3 in Beloit, Wisconsin. It is uncertain when podcasts will be available, since there are at least a few legalities to consider before we can get 'er done.

Even today (2/25/2015), you can listen online from 1-3 p.m. CST (GMT -5).

Here is the idea behind it all...in a nutshell (a longer version can be found in the introduction to this RSQ series). For fourteen years, a talented young man named Garrison Keillor hosted Minnesota Public Radio's morning show on KSJN 91.1 in Minneapolis/St. Paul. My father loved the show, and talked about it almost every evening at dinner. Even as a wee lad, I vaguely knew about Keillor's show (which is only distantly related to A Prairie Home Companion).

[b] Patchwork RF

Although KSJN's morning show began in 1969, it was not until the early 1980s (when Keillor's role in it was almost over) that I started paying attention. But even the few dozen months I heard changed my life. If I can channel (so to speak) even a little of what Garrison Keillor did on that morning show between 1969 and 1983, Round and Square will "click" for even more people around the world.

It's another big "classical" day on The Round and Square Show, and that has an intensely autobiographical dimension, as "we'll" see. There will be plenty of classical, folk, and country as we proceed. 

Stay tuned.

The Round and Square Show

With Rob LaFleur

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

1:00-3:00 p.m. CST (13:00-15:00)

(GMT-5) 
Beloit College WBCR 90.3 FM (live-streaming) 
Listen Here

13:00-13:20     Round and Square...and Bricolage

                             *Introducing Bricolage

13:20-13:53     Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18

13:53-14:15     Bricolage, Myth, and Music

                             *Bricolage and "Engineering"

14:15-15:00    Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Opus 30

[c] Patterned RF