China's Lunar Calendar 2018 09-24

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/30.............................................................................................................9/23

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-solar (or "luni-solar" calendar; I call it the "lunar" calendar in order to distinguish it from the kinds of calendars most Westerners use. It has a basic translation and minimal interpretation. Unless you have been studying 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. You will likely find that several of the translations seem quite "fanciful" in English. I am simply trying to convey that they also sound fairly fanciful in Chinese.

Section One

Solar Calendar Date
廿
四

一期星

Ninth Month, Twenty-Four Day  
Monday, September 24

————

Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

生陰
期德

Yin Exemplarity
Engendered Vapor

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰子
吉凶中
酉巳丑
中吉凶
戌午寅
中吉吉

亥未卯
凶吉凶

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

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

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

 ————

Section Four 
Activities to Avoid  
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

忌
補動
塞土

Moving Soil
Patching and Plugging

 ————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十
五
己
未
火
張
開

Fifteenth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiwei (56/60)

Phase (element): Fire
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)

秋
節
————
宜

移會
徙友
上出
樑行
納裁
畜衣
土
符
陰上
將兀

 ————

Autumn Festival

Appropriate Activities
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Raising Beams
Livestock Payments

Soil Charm

Baleful Asterisms

Upper Amputee
Yin General

 ————

Section Seven

丫 人

Bifurcation, Person
 ————

Section Eight 
Miscellaneous Activities

占
厠 門

Divination
Toilet, Gate