China's Lunar Calendar 2020 04-06

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/14..................................................................................................................4/6

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
六
日
一期星

Fourth Month, Sixth Day 
Monday, April 6

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天進要
恩神安
Urgent Calm
Entering Spirits
Heavenly Kindness

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

亥未卯
凶吉吉

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

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

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

 ————

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

忌
除開穿
服池井

Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Discarding Clothing

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十
四
己
卯

土
張
閉

Fourteenth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jimao (16/60)

Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

入開祭
倉市祀
作立祈
灶約福
補交嫁
塞易娶
栽安裁
種牀衣
兀上
重血月
喪支忌

————

Appropriate Activities

 Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Marriage Alliances
Cutting-out Clothing
Opening Markets
Making Appointments
Trade and Commerce
Positioning Beds
Entering Granaries
Stove Work
Patching and Plugging
Planting and Cultivating

Upper Amputee

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Taboo
Blood Branch
Repeat Mourning

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

White, Mountain

 ————

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
門 大

Divination
Gate, Great