China's Lunar Calendar 2020 10-21

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
10/29..........................................................................................................10/21

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

三期星

Tenth Month, Twenty-First Day
Wednesday, October 21
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)
官十寶
日靈光

Precious Rays
Ten Spirits
Official Days

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

吉吉凶
23:00-01:00 In-Between

01:00-03:00 Auspicious
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 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between
17:00-19:00 Auspicious

19:00-21:00 In-Between

21:00-23:00 Auspicious

 ————

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

忌
開針理
倉灸髮

Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Opening Granaries

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初
五
丁
酉

火
軫
閉

Fifth Day (Ninth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: dingyou (34/60)

Phase (element): Fire
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Running Board (28/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed (12/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information  
(top-to-bottom; right to left)    

宜
塞詞祭
穴訟祀
成搭裁
服厠衣
化掃合
靈舎帳
安補沐
葬垣浴
將俱
血五月
支離忌
————

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors
Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)
Putting-together Sails

Bubbling and Bathing

Lawsuits and Litigation

Erecting Outhouses

Sweeping Rooms
Patching Embankments
Plugging Caves
Completing Clothing
Transforming Spirits
Positioning Graves

Everything General

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Taboo
Five Separations
Blood Branch

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

Bifurcation
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items 
(the Chinese should be read top-to-bottom, and right-to-left;
the English translation is under the bottom of each character)

門
庫 倉

Gate
Storehouse, Granary