China's Lunar Calendar 2019 06-30

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/2...............................................................................................................6/25

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
三
十

日期星

Sixth Month, Thirtieth Day 
Sunday, June 30

————

Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不月普四
將恩護相
Four Facings
Universal Protection
Lunar Kindness
Not General

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

亥未卯
中吉吉

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

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

 ————

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

忌
吃栽置買
犬種業田

Buying Land

Setting-up Industry

Planting and Cultivating

Consuming Caninity

 
Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
八
戊
戌
木
星
定

Twenty-Eight Day (Fifth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: wuxu (35/60)

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

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

上立訂祭
樑約婚祀
醞交納入
釀易采學
修修嫁會
倉造娶友
納動移出
畜土徙行
氣死
天無密四
  刑祿日祥不
 ————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Grain Payments
Marriage Alliances
Moving Residences
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Fermenting Beverages
Repairing Granaries
Livestock Payments

Death Vapor

Baleful Astral Influences

Four Fortune-Nots
Mysterious Days
Without Emolument
Heavenly Punishment

Section Seven
丫 火

Bifurcation, Fire

 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Activities

栖 牀 房

Perch, Bed, Edifice