China's Lunar Calendar 2015 08-31

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/3..................................................................................................................8/26

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
卅
一

一期星

Eighth Month, Thirty-First Day

Astral Period One
Monday, August 31

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

時歲
神祿
Generational Emolument
Timely Spirits

—————————————————

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

凶中凶

戌午寅
中吉凶
亥未卯
凶吉吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
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
動穿
土井
Boring Wells
Moving Soil

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
八
己
卯
土
張
危
Eighteenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jimao (16/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Drawn Bow (26/28)

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

—————————————————  

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

宜

理祭
髮祀
開會
市友
成訂
服婚
安納
葬采
土
符
俱五
將虛

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Patterning Hair
Opening Markets
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Earth Charm

Baleful Astral Influences

Five Voids
Everything General

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
白 林

White, Copse

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

占

門 大

Divination
Gate, Large

Zweirad Szenen (9)—Where Fish Sleep

Click here for the "Zweirad Szenen" Resource Center (all posts available)
Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Zweirad Szenen"
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 

30 August 2014—China's Lunar Calendar 2014 08-30
30 August 2014—Social and Cultural Theory: Theory Letter (2014)
30 August 2013—China's Lunar Calendar 2013 08-30
30 August 2013—New York Review of Books Syllabus (2013)
30 August 2012—The New Yorker and the World: Course Introduction
30 August 2011—Styling Culture: Introduction

Back in Germany, and back on my two wheels, I decide to go for a long ride through the woods before taking a nap. The flight was long and oppressive in its own peculiar way (an exit row seat is countered by the, er, bathrooms. 

On the bike, I peer to my left as I enter a copse. And what do I see? Well, it looks like a comfortable place where the fish sleep at night.

This is not what I thought "sleeping with the fishes" meant.

Mind you, I have been awake for almost forty-eight hours, and jet-lag might be playing with my thoughts.

Fish dorm.

That is all.

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 08-30

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/3..................................................................................................................8/26

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
三
十

日期星

Eighth Month, Thirtieth Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, August 30

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

合天
日德
Heavenly Virtue
Linked Days

—————————————————

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

中吉凶

戌午寅
中吉凶
亥未卯
中吉吉

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Auspicious
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
祭置
祀產
Setting-up Industry
Venerating Ancestors

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
七
戊
寅
土
星
破
Seventeenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuyin (15/60)

Phase (element): Earth

Constellation: Asterism (25/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜

求
醫
治
病
破
屋
壞
垣
大月
砂破
月水
刑痕

————
Appropriate Activities
Seeking Medical-Treatment
Treating Illness
Destroying Rooms
Smashing Embankments

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Destruction
Water Scar
Great Sand
Lunar Punishment

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫 天

Bifurcation, Heaven

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

房
爐 牀

Edifice
Furnace, Bed

New York Review of Books Questions: Autumn 2015

On this date on Round and Square's History 

29 August 2014—China's Lunar Calendar 2014 08-29
29 August 2014—New York Review of Books Questions: Autumn 2014
29 August 2013—China's Lunar Calendar 2013 08-29

29 August 2013—Syllabic Cycles: Mountains Syllabus (b)

29 August 2012—The New Yorker and the World: Course Description (h)

29 August 2011—Annals of Ostracism: Discovered Notes

[a] Review RF

New York Review of Books

Questions to Ask of Every Review

Questions such as these will be on the quizzes and in class discussions.

  1   What is the title?

  2   Who is the author (check the Table of Contents page…and maybe Google™)? 

  3   How is the bibliographical information organized? 

[b] Holes (in the argument) RF

  4   How is the essay divided? 

  5   How does the essay begin? 

  6   What is the end of the beginning? 

  7   How does the text end? 

  8   What is the beginning of the end? 

  9   At what level is the essay written?  Who is the audience? 

10   What kind of essay strategies does the author use? 

11   What is the rhetorical role of illustrations in the text?

[c] Step-by-step RF

China's Lunar Calendar 2015 08-29

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/3..................................................................................................................8/26

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
廿
九

六期星

Eighth Month, Twenty-Ninth Day

Astral Period Six
Saturday, August 29

———————————————— 

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

合月
日德
Lunar Virtue
Linked Days

—————————————————

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

吉吉凶

戌午寅
中吉凶
亥未卯
吉凶凶

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

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

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
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
整理
甲髮
Patterning Hair
Trimming Nails

—————————————————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

十
六
丁
丑
水
柳
執
Sixteenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: dingchou (14/60)

Phase (element): Water

Constellation: Willow (24/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)

—————————————————  

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

宜

祭
祀
掃
舍
歸歲
忌破
俱小
將耗

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Sweeping Rooms

Baleful Astral Influences

Generational Destruction
Small Squander
Return Taboo
Everything General

Section Seven

Inauspicious Stars 
丫

Bifurcation

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous

倉
厠 庫

Granary
Toilet, Storehouse