China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 05-12

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
5/16............     ...........................................5/12...............................................Monthly 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)

十五

二月

三期星

Fifth Month, Twelfth Day

Wednesday, May 12

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

鳴除月

吠神德

Lunar Exemplarity

Exorcising Spirits

Summoning Canines

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

吉吉凶

酉巳丑

中吉吉

戌午寅

凶吉凶

亥未卯

凶凶中

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

1:00-3:00 Auspicious

3:00-5:00 Inauspicious

5:00-7:00 In-Between

7:00-9:00 Auspicious

9:00-11:00 Auspicious

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious

17:00-19:00 In-Between

19:00-21:00 Inauspicious

21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

————

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

忌
針安解

灸牀網

Binding Nets

Positioning Beds 

Cauterization and Moxibustion

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初

一

庚

申

木

箕

平

First Day (Fourth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: gengshen (57/60)

Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Winnowing Basket (7/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Level (4/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

作開會

灶市友

醞交出

釀易行

成動裁

服土服

安上移

葬樑徙

將陰

五月血

虛刑忌

Appropriate Activities

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)

Moving Residences

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Moving Soil

Raising Beams

Stove Work

Fermenting Beverages

Completing Clothing

Positioning Graves

Yin General

Baleful Astral Influences

Blood Taboo

Lunar Punishment

Five Voids

————

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

White, Heaven

————

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)

碓

爐 門

Pestle

Furnace, Gate