China's Lunar Calendar 2019 01-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
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.

Section One

Solar Calendar Date
廿
七

日期星

First Month, Twenty-Seventh Day  
Sunday, January 27

————

Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天進天
恩神赦
Heavenly Amnesty
Entering Spirits
Heavenly Kindness

————

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

亥未卯
中凶中

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

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

15:00-17:00 Auspicious

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

 ————

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

忌
動出開
土財倉

Opening Granaries
Capital Outlay
Moving Soil
 ————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
二
甲
子
金
虛
閉

Twenty-Second Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiazi (1/60)

Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Void (11/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
補交祭
塞易祀
醞上出
釀樑行
成安裁
服門衣
安安立
葬牀約
符土
血歸鼠
忌忌口

 ————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Raising Beams
Positioning Gates
Positioning Beds
Patching and Plugging
Fermenting Beverages
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Earth Charm

Baleful Asterisms

Rat Orifice
Return Taboo
Blood Taboo

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars

人 水

Person, Water

 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities
占

碓 門

Divination
Pestle, Gate
————