China's Lunar Calendar 2020 05-21

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/22.........................................................................................................5/15

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
一
四期星

Fifth Month, Twenty-First Day 
Thursday, May 21

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)
不天進
將恩神

Entering Spirits
Heavenly Kindness
Not General

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

凶吉中
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  In-Between
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

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

 ————

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

忌
問出開
卜財倉

Opening Granaries
Capital Outflow
Divinatory Inquiries

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿
九
甲
子

金
奎
危

Twenty-Ninth Day (Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical day: jiazi (1/60)

Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Astride (15/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

動裁祭
土衣祀
上移會
樑徙友
作開嫁
灶市娶
安修納
葬造采
虛五
白致天
虎死吏

————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)
Moving Residences
Opening Markets
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Stove Work
Positioning Graves

Five Voids

Baleful Astral Influences

Heavenly Official
Toward Death
White Tiger

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

White, 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)

占
碓 門

Divination
Pestle, Gate