Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/8.................................................................................................................9/1
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.
9/8.................................................................................................................9/1
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.
二期星
Ninth Month, Fifteenth Day
Tuesday, September 15
————
Tuesday, September 15
————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
玉官
堂日
玉官
堂日
Official Days
Jade Hall
Jade Hall
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
中吉中
酉巳丑
凶吉中
戌午寅
中凶吉
亥未卯
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
中吉中
酉巳丑
凶吉中
戌午寅
中凶吉
亥未卯
中中凶
23:00-01:00 In-Between
23:00-01:00 In-Between
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
07:00-09:00 Auspicious
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 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
07:00-09:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between
15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
動醞
土釀
動醞
土釀
Fermenting Beverages
Moving Soil
Moving Soil
Section Five
Cosmological Information
Cosmological Information
廿
八
辛
酉
八
辛
酉
木
觜
建
觜
建
Twenty-Eighth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: xinyou (58/60)
Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Beak of the Turtle (20/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)
————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
出
行
掃
舎
重上
喪兀
復土
日府
————
宜
出
行
掃
舎
重上
喪兀
復土
日府
————
Appropriate Activities
Going Out (and about)
Sweeping Rooms
Baleful Astral Influences
Sweeping Rooms
Baleful Astral Influences
Lower Amputee
Soil Palace
Repeat Mourning
Returning Days
Soil Palace
Repeat Mourning
Returning Days
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left,
but the English translation is underneath each character)
白 州
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left,
but the English translation is underneath each character)
白 州
White, Landmass
————
————
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)
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese should be read top-to-bottom, and right-to-left;
the English translation for is under the bottom characters)
廚
門 灶
門 灶
Kitchen
Gate, Stove
Gate, Stove
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