China's Lunar Calendar 2019 12-05

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/08.........................................................................................................11/30

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
五
日
四期星

Twelfth Month, Fifth Day 
Thursday, December 5

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天吉官
馬期日
Official Days
Auspicious Time-Slice
Heavenly Equinity

————

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

亥未卯
吉中中

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

07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between

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

 ————

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

忌
成作修
服灶廚

Planting and Cultivating
Marriage Alliances

 
Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初
十
丙
子
水
奎
除

Tenth Day (Eleventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: bingzi (13/60)

Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Astride (15/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

建理出
屋髮行
上掃訂
樑舎婚
安醫裁
門病衣
安開移
葬市徙
將俱
復白咸
喪虎池

————

Appropriate Activities

Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Moving Residences
Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Sweeping Rooms
Physician Visits
Opening Markets
Establishing Rooms
Raising Beams
Positioning Gates
Positioning Graves

Everything General

Baleful Astral Influences

Widespread Pond
White Tiger
Repeat Mourning

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left, but the English translation is underneath each character)
人 火

Person, Fire

 ————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items 
(the Chinese should be read top-to-bottom, and right-to-left;the English translation for is under the bottom characters)

廚
碓 灶

Kitchen
Pestle, Stove