Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/29..............................................................................................................9/22
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.
9/29..............................................................................................................9/22
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.
五期星
Ninth Month, Twenty-Fifth Day
Friday, September 25
————
Friday, September 25
————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
不 生陰
將氣德
不 生陰
將氣德
Yin Exemplarity
Engendered Vapor
Not General
Engendered Vapor
Not General
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
吉中中
酉巳丑
凶吉凶
戌午寅
中凶吉
亥未卯
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰子
吉中中
酉巳丑
凶吉凶
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 Inauspicious
03:00-05:00 Auspicious
05:00-07:00 Inauspicious
07:00-09:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between
15:00-17:00 Auspicious
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 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 In-Between
15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Inauspicious
————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
除動醞
服土釀
除動醞
服土釀
Fermenting Beverages
Moving Soil
Discarding Clothing
Moving Soil
Discarding Clothing
Section Five
Cosmological Information
Cosmological Information
初
九
辛
未
九
辛
未
土
亢
開
亢
開
Ninth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: xinwei (8/60)
Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Neck (2/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Neck (2/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Open (11/12)
————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
竪嫁祭
柱娶祀
上納祈
樑采福
牧裁入
養衣學
納移會
畜徙友
符土
復重上
日喪兀
————
宜
竪嫁祭
柱娶祀
上納祈
樑采福
牧裁入
養衣學
納移會
畜徙友
符土
復重上
日喪兀
————
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)
Moving Residences
Erecting Pillars
Raising Beams
Tending Livestock
Livestock Payments
Soil Charm
Baleful Astral Influences
Inquiring-into Fortune
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)
Moving Residences
Erecting Pillars
Raising Beams
Tending Livestock
Livestock Payments
Soil Charm
Baleful Astral Influences
Upper Amputee
Repeat Mourning
Repeated Days
Repeat Mourning
Repeated Days
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left,
but the English translation is underneath each character)
人 人
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left,
but the English translation is underneath each character)
人 人
Person, Person
————
————
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
厠 灶
厠 灶
Kitchen
Toilet, Stove
Toilet, Stove
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