China's Lunar Calendar 2020 01-22

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
1/24..............................................................................................................1/17

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
三期星

First Month, Twenty-Second Day 
Wednesday, January 22

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

進天歲
神赦德
Generational Exemplarity
Heavenly Amnesty
Entering Spirits

————

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

亥未卯
中凶中

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

07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

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
動出開
土財倉

Opening Granaries
Capital Outflow
Moving Soil

 
Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
八
甲
子

金
箕

閉
Twenty-Eighth Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiazi (1/60)

Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Winnowing Basket (7/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
醞交祭
釀易祀
納堅出
畜柱行
成上裁
服梁衣
安安立
葬牀約
符土
血歸鼠
忌忌口

————

Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Erecting Pillars
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Fermenting Beverages
Livestock Payments
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Soil Charm

Baleful Astral Influences

Rat Orifice
Return Taboo
Blood Taboo

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

Bifurcation, Water

 ————

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)

占
碓 門

Divination
Pestle, Gate