China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 08-23

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
8/29.................................................................................................................................................8/21

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. 

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

三

一期星

Eighth Month, Twenty-Third Day

Monday, August 23

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

益五四天

後合相德

Heavenly Exemplarity

Four Facings

Five Linkages

Increased Trailing

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

中中吉

酉巳丑

凶中中

戌午寅

吉中凶

亥未卯

中凶吉

23:00-1:00 Auspicious

1:00-3:00 In-Between

3:00-5:00 Inauspicious

5:00-7:00 Auspicious

7:00-9:00 In-Between

9:00-11:00 In-Between

11:00-13:00 In-Between

13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

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
動開穿詞

土池井訟

Lawsuits and Litigation

Boring Wells

Opening Ponds

Moving Soil

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

六

癸

卯

金

張

危

Sixteenth Day (Seventh Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: guimao (40/60)

Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

暑處

五二卯

分刻初

宜

作安交嫁

灶牀易娶

安上裁立

葬樑衣約

鳥祭乃鷹

陽朱五土

將雀虛符

Stopping of Heat

At the beginning of the mao hour

(the fourteenth of twenty-four fifteen-day solar periods on the agricultural calendar)

Appropriate Activities

Marriage Alliances

Making Appointments

Trade and Commerce

Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)

Positioning Beds

Raising Beams

Stove Work

Positioning Graves

Hawks Sacrifice (Mere) Birds

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

Baleful Astral Influences

Lunar Destruction

Great Squander

Lower Amputee

Heavenly Punishment

————

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

丫 林

Bifurcation, Copse

————

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  牀 房

Gate, Bed, Edifice