China's Lunar Calendar 2016 07-03

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/26................................................................................................................6/18

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
日

日期星

Seventh Month, Third Day

Astral Period Sun
Sunday, July 3

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不天月歲
將貴德德

Generational Virtue
Lunar Virtue
Heavenly Nobility
Not General

————

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

戌午寅
吉中凶
亥未卯
吉中吉

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
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
取田作修
魚獵灶廚
Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work
Field Venery
Garnering Fish

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information 

廿
九
丙
虛
土
星
定
Twenty-Ninth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingxu (23/60)

Phase (element): Earth
Constellation: Asterism (25/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)

————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
倉交婚祭
安易納祀
牀修采祈
醞造嫁福
釀動娶會
成土移友
服上徙出
安樑立行
葬修約訂

密天死犬
日刑氣口

————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Households
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Repairing Granaries
Positioning Bed
Fermenting Liquor
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves  

Baleful Astral Influences

Canine Orifice
Death Vapor
Heavenly Punishment
Secret Days
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

白 火

White, Fire
———— 

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Activities
栖 灶 廚

Perch, Stove, Kitchen