China's Lunar Calendar 2019 04-12

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/17.............................................................................................................4/10

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
十
二

五期星

Fourth Month, Twelfth Day
Friday, April 12

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Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

進合歲
神日德
Generational Exemplarity
Linked Days
Entering Spirits

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

亥未卯
凶吉吉

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

07:00-09:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
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 Inauspicious
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

 ————

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

忌
除開穿
服池井

Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Discarding Clothing

 
Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初
八
己
卯

土
亢
閉

Eighth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jimao (16/60)

Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Neck (2/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

入開祭
倉市祀
作立祈
灶約福
補交嫁
塞易娶
栽安裁
種牀衣
將陽
重月血
喪害支
 ————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing (Tailoring)
Opening Markets
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Positioning Beds
Opening Granaries
Stove Work
Patching and Plugging
Planting and Cultivating

Yang General

Baleful Astral Influences

Blood Branch
Lunar Harm
Repeat Mourning

Section Seven
白 山

White, Mountain

 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

占
門 大

Divination
Gate, Great

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