China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 02-12

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/14.............................2/12 New Year's Day............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. 

As for interpreting the translation, 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 (almost any "it" you will see). 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. And do not assume that people from China understand the traditional calendar particularly well, either. I have encountered confusion and furrowed brows for countless items in the calendar. It can seem "remote," in other words, from the world we live in these days, and yet it is printed anew every single year.

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

(top to bottom, right to left)

十二年二二

二月    一〇

五期星

Second Month, Twelfth Day

Friday, February 12

New Year's Day

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

不官合月合歲

將日日德日德

Generational Exemplarity

Linked Days

Lunar Exemplarity

Linked Days

Official Days

Not General

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left) 
申辰甲

凶中中

酉巳丑

凶吉中

戌午寅

吉吉吉

亥未卯

中凶吉

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 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious

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
理田開穿造合

髮獵池井酒醬

Mixing Sauces

Making Liquor

Boring Wells

Opening Ponds

Field Venery (Hunting)

Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初

一

辛

卯

木

亢

除

First Day (First Lunar Month)

New Year's Day

Cyclical Day: xinmao (28/60)

Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Neck (2/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

節春

Spring Festival

The text that follows, much of it distinctive only to New Year's Day,

is a combination of auspicious directions and general recommendations.