Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/21....................................................9/17..........Monthly Calendar Information
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.
9/21....................................................9/17..........Monthly Calendar Information
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.
日期星
Ninth Month, Twentieth Day
Sunday, September 20
————
Sunday, September 20
————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
解歲
神馬
解歲
神馬
Generational Equinity
Unleashing Spirits
Unleashing Spirits
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶凶吉
酉巳丑
吉中中
戌午寅
中凶中
亥未卯
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
凶凶吉
酉巳丑
吉中中
戌午寅
中凶中
亥未卯
中中凶
23:00-01:00 Auspicious
23:00-01:00 Auspicious
01:00-03:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
9:00-11:00 In-Between
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between
15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between
03:00-05:00 In-Between
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
07:00-09:00 Inauspicious
9:00-11:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 In-Between
15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
祭作
祀造
祭作
祀造
Stove Work
Venerating Ancestors
Venerating Ancestors
Section Five
Cosmological Information
Cosmological Information
初
四
丙
寅
四
丙
寅
火
星
執
星
執
Third Day (Eighth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: bingyin (3/60)
Phase (element): Fire
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Asterism (25/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Asterism (25/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)
————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
伐入
木學
捕會
捉友
成訂
服婚
安上
葬樑
長
星
地歸
囊忌
————
宜
伐入
木學
捕會
捉友
成訂
服婚
安上
葬樑
長
星
地歸
囊忌
————
Appropriate Activities
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Marriage Engagements
Raising Beams
Felling Timber
Seizing and Capturing
Completing Clothing
Long Star
Baleful Astral Influences
Meeting Friends
Marriage Engagements
Raising Beams
Felling Timber
Seizing and Capturing
Completing Clothing
Long Star
Baleful Astral Influences
Return Taboo
Earth Duffel (Dirt Bag)
Earth Duffel (Dirt Bag)
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left,
but the English translation is underneath each character)
丫 地
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left,
but the English translation is underneath each character)
丫 地
Bifurcation, Earth
————
————
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
爐 灶
爐 灶
Kitchen
Furnace, Stove
Furnace, Stove
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