Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/14.......................................................................................................................12/7
12/14.......................................................................................................................12/7
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.
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom, right to left)
十
四
一期星
Twelfth Month, Fourteenth Day
Monday, December 14
————
Monday, December 14
————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
玉民
堂日
Peopled Days
Jade Hall
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰甲
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰甲
中中中
酉巳丑
凶吉中
戌午寅
吉凶吉
亥未卯
中中吉
23:00-1:00 In-Between
1:00-3:00 In-Between
3:00-5:00 Auspicious
5:00-7:00 Auspicious
7:00-9:00 In-Between
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 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 In-Between
————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
動醞
動醞
土釀
Fermenting Beverages
Moving Soil
Section Five
Cosmological Information
Cosmological Information
三
十
辛
卯
木
張
平
Thirtieth Day (Tenth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: xinmao (28/60)
Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Level (4/12)
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Level (4/12)
————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
平
平
治
道
塗
修
飾
垣
牆
地水
囊痕
月火
刑星
Appropriate Activities
Leveling and Painting Roadways
Adorning Embankments and Walls
Baleful Astral Influences
Water Scar
Fire Asterism
Earth Duffel (Dirt Bag)
Lunar Punishment
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 is under the bottom of each character)
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese should be read top-to-bottom, and right-to-left;
the English translation is under the bottom of each character)
廚
門 灶
Kitchen
Gate, Stove
No comments:
Post a Comment