China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 07-31

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/7...............................................................................................................................................7/31

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)

卅

一

六期星

Seventh Month, Thirty-First Day

Saturday, July 31

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天月

恩空

Lunar Vacancy

Heavenly Kindness

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

中吉凶

酉巳丑

中吉凶

戌午寅

凶吉吉

亥未卯

吉凶中

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

1:00-3:00 Inauspicious

3:00-5:00 Auspicious

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 In-Between

17:00-19:00 In-Between

19:00-21:00 Inauspicious

21:00-23:00 Auspicious

————

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

忌
修結

倉網

Binding Nets

Repairing Granaries

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿

二

庚

辰

金

氐

收

Twenty-Second Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: gengchen (17/60)

Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Foundation (3/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Receive (10/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

納

采

捕

捉

栽

種

龍下

口兀

無五

祿虛

Appropriate Activities

Capital Outflow

Seizing and Capturing

Planting and Cultivating

Baleful Astral Influences

Lower Amputee

Five Voids

Dragon Orifice

Without Emolument

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left）

人 天

Person, 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

栖 磨

Pestle

Perch, Mortar

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 07-30

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/30...............................................................................................................................................7/22

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. 

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)

三

十

五期星

Seventh Month, Thirtieth Day

Friday, July 30

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

天天德天

醫喜合月

Heavenly Lunarity

Exemplary Linkage

Heavenly Happiness

Heavenly Physician

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

中中吉

酉巳丑

凶中凶

戌午寅

中吉吉

亥未卯

凶凶吉

23:00-1:00 Auspicious

1:00-3:00 Inauspicious

3:00-5:00 Auspicious

5:00-7:00 Auspicious

7:00-9:00 In-Between

9:00-11:00 In-Between

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between

17:00-19:00 Inauspicious

19:00-21:00 In-Between

21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

————

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

忌
成除開穿

服服池井

Boring Wells

Opening Ponds

Discarding Clothing

Completing Clothing

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

廿

一

己

卯

土

亢

成

Twenty-First Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: jimao (16/60)

Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Neck (2/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

上移出祭

墚徙行祀

修開嫁祈

倉市娶福

栽交納入

種易采學

納竪裁會

畜柱衣友

將俱

復辦重小

 日煞喪亡空

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors

Inquiring-into Fortune

Entering Study

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Marriage Alliances

Grain Payments

Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)

Moving Residences

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Erecting Pillars

Raising Beams

Repairing Granaries

Planting and Cultivating

Livestock Payments

Everything General

Baleful Astral Influences

Small Loss-Void

Doubled Mourning

Classified Balefulness

Returning Days

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left）

人

Person

————

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 大占

Gate, Great, Divination

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 07-29

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/30...............................................................................................................................................7/22

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. 

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)

廿

九

四期星

Seventh Month, Twenty-Ninth Day

Thursday, July 29

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

金五四

匱富相

Four Facings

Five Abundances

Golden Cupboard

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

凶吉中

酉巳丑

中吉凶

戌午寅

中吉凶

亥未卯

中凶吉

23:00-1:00 In-Between

1:00-3:00 Inauspicious

3:00-5:00 Inauspicious

5:00-7:00 Auspicious

7:00-9:00 Auspicious

9:00-11:00 Auspicious

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious

17:00-19:00 In-Between

19:00-21:00 In-Between

21:00-23:00 In-Between

————

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

忌
祈祭置

福祀產

Setting-up Production

Venerating Ancestors

Inquiring-into Fortune

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

二

十

戊

寅

土

角

危

Twentieth Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: wuyin (15/60)

Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

上移會

樑徙友

安開出

牀市行

作交訂

灶易婚

醞竪納

釀柱采

喪復

陽上短

牀兀星

Appropriate Activities

Meeting Friends

Going Out (and about)

Marriage Engagements

Grain Payments

Moving Residences

Opening Markets

Trade and Commerce

Erecting Pillars

Raising Beams

Positioning Beds

Stove Work

Fermenting Beverages

Return Mourning

Baleful Astral Influences

Short Star

Upper Amputee

Yang General

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left）

人

Person

————

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)

房

爐 牀

Edifice

Furnace, Bed

China's Lunar-Solar-Calendar 2021 07-28

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/30...............................................................................................................................................7/22

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. 

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)

廿

八

三期星

Seventh Month, Twenty-Eighth Day

Wednesday, July 28

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

神天

在貴

Heavenly Nobility

Spirits In-Place

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

中中吉

酉巳丑

吉吉凶

戌午寅

中凶中

亥未卯

吉凶凶

23:00-1:00 Auspicious

1:00-3:00 Inauspicious

3:00-5:00 In-Between

5:00-7:00 Inauspicious

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 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
開理

市髮

Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)

Opening Markets

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

九

丁

丑

水

軫

破

Nineteenth Day (Sixth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: dingchou (14/60)

Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Running Board (28/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

破

屋

壞

垣

————

土

潤

溽

暑

大月

耗破

Appropriate Activities

Destroying Rooms

Smashing Embankments

Earth is Steaming with Wetness

(the thirty-fifth of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Destruction

Great Squander

————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left）

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)

倉

厠 庫

Granary

Toilet, Storehouse