Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/20..............................................................................................................9/12
9/20..............................................................................................................9/12
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.
十
四
六期星
Ninth Month, Fourteenth Day
Saturday, September 14
Saturday, September 14
————
Beneficent Stars
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
青歲
龍德
Generational Exemplarity
Blue-Green Dragon
龍德
Generational Exemplarity
Blue-Green Dragon
————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶吉中
酉巳丑
吉凶中
戌午寅
吉凶吉
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶吉中
酉巳丑
吉凶中
戌午寅
吉凶吉
亥未卯
中吉凶
中吉凶
23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious
15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious
15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 In-Between
————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
祭開
祀倉
祭開
祀倉
Opening Granaries
Venerating Ancestors
Venerating Ancestors
Section Five
Cosmological Information
十
六
甲
寅
水
胃
執
六
甲
寅
水
胃
執
Sixteenth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)
Cyclical day: jiayin (51/60)
Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Stomach (17/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Stomach (17/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)
————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
宜
理
髮
捕
捉
修
墳
安
葬
歸四
忌廢
陽劫
將煞
髮
捕
捉
修
墳
安
葬
歸四
忌廢
陽劫
將煞
————
Appropriate Activities
Baleful Astral Influences
Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Seizing and Capturing
Repairing Tombs
Positioning Graves
Seizing and Capturing
Repairing Tombs
Positioning Graves
Baleful Astral Influences
Four Abandonments
Plundered Balefulness
Return Taboo
Yang General
Plundered Balefulness
Return Taboo
Yang General
Section Seven
丫 地
Bifurcation, Earth
————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
Miscellaneous Items
占
爐 門
爐 門
Divination
Furnace, Gate
Furnace, Gate
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