China's Lunar Calendar 2019 09-11

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/11..............................................................................................................9/4

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
一

三期星

Ninth Month, Eleventh Day 
Wednesday, September 11

————

Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

十福麒
靈德麟
Unicorn
Fortunate Exemplarity
Ten Spirits

————

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

亥未卯
中吉凶

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

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 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 In-Between

 ————

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

忌
嫁造合
娶酒醬

Mixing Sauces

Making Liquor

Marriage Alliances

 
Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十
三
辛
亥
金
壁
滿

Thirteenth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: xinhai (48/60)

Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Eastern Wall (14/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

動裁祭
土衣祀
上移祈
樑徙福
安理出
牀髮行
補修會
塞造友
日復
陽五重
將虛日

 ————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Going Out (and about)
Meeting Friends

Cutting-out Clothing (Tailoring)

Moving Residences

Patterning Hair

Repairing and Constructing

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Positioning Beds

Patching and Plugging

Repeated Days

Baleful Astral Influences

Doubled Days
Five Voids
Yang General

Section Seven
白

White

 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items

廚
牀 灶

Kitchen
Bed, Stove