China's Lunar Calendar 2019 08-22

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/22................................................................................................................8/14

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
二

四期星

Eighth Month, Twenty-Second Day 
Thursday, August 22

————

Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

三歲天
合支貴
Heavenly Nobility
Generational Branch
Three Linkages

————

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

亥未卯
中中吉

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

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

 ————

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

忌
動穿合
土井醬

Mixing Sauces
Boring Wells
Moving Soil

 
Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
二
辛
卯
木
井
危

Twenty-Second Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: xinmao (28/60)

Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Well (22/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

置理祭
產髮祀
詞立祈
訟約福
成交會
服易友
安安訂
葬牀婚
符土
俱五短
將虛星

 ————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Marriage Engagements
Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Positioning Beds
Setting-up Production
Lawsuits and Litigation
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Soil Charm

Baleful Astral Influences

Short Star
Five Voids
Everything General

Section Seven
人 林

Person, Copse

 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items

廚
門 灶

Kitchen

Gate, Stove