Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
1/27..........................................................................................................1/20
1/27..........................................................................................................1/20
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.
廿
五
五期星
First Month, Twenty-Fifth Day
Friday, January 25
Friday, January 25
————
Beneficent Stars
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
聖天
心貴
Heavenly Nobility
Sagely Heart-Mind
心貴
Heavenly Nobility
Sagely Heart-Mind
————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶凶中
酉巳丑
中吉中
戌午寅
吉中吉
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶凶中
酉巳丑
中吉中
戌午寅
吉中吉
亥未卯
吉凶吉
吉凶吉
23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
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 Inauspicious
15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
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 Inauspicious
15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 In-Between
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious
————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
放開
水渠
放開
水渠
Opening Sluices
Putting-into Water
————
Putting-into Water
————
Section Five
Cosmological Information
Cosmological Information
二
十
壬
戌
水
牛
收
十
壬
戌
水
牛
收
Twentieth Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: renxu (59/60)
Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Herdboy (9/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Receive (10/12)
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Herdboy (9/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Receive (10/12)
————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
祭
祀
納
財
捕
捉
————
征
鳥
厲
疾
————
月五
刑虛
宜
祭
祀
納
財
捕
捉
————
征
鳥
厲
疾
————
月五
刑虛
————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Capital Outflow
Seizing and Capturing
Vulture Flies Stern and Swift
(the seventy-first of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)
Baleful Asterisms
Venerating Ancestors
Capital Outflow
Seizing and Capturing
Vulture Flies Stern and Swift
(the seventy-first of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)
Baleful Asterisms
Five Voids
Lunar Punishment
Lunar Punishment
————
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
白 鬼
White, Ghost
————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities
倉
Miscellaneous Activities
倉
栖 庫
Granary
Perch, Storehouse
————
Perch, Storehouse
————
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