China's Lunar Calendar 2020 08-01

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/1...............................................................................................................7/25

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

一八
日月

六期星

Eighth Month, First Day 
Saturday August 1
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)
解金
神堂

Golden Hall
Unleashing Spirits

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

吉中中
23:00-01:00 Auspicious

01:00-03:00 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 In-Between

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

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
作修
灶廚

Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十
二
丙
子

水
氐
執

Twelfth Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: bingzi (13/60)

Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Foundation (3/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  

(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜

祭
祀
裁
衣
理
髮
捕
捉
咸水
池痕
歸小
忌耗
————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Seizing and Capturing

Baleful Astral Influences

Water Scar
Small Squander
Widespread Pond
Return Taboo

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

White, 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)

廚
碓 灶

Kitchen
Pestle, Stove