From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 11-30

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/3...................................................................................................................................................11/26


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 tha"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 calendarSome 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)
二期
Eleventh Month, Thirtieth Day
Tuesday, November 30

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
德歲
日支
Generational Branch
Exemplary Days

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left

申辰甲
酉巳丑
戌午寅
亥未卯
23:00-1:00 Inauspicious
1:00-3:00 Auspicious
3:00-5:00 Auspicious
5:00-7:00 Auspicious

7:00-9:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
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 Auspicious
————

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


放開
水渠
Opening Irrigation Sluices
Putting-into Water
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
廿
Twenty-Sixth Day (Tenth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: renwu (19/60)
Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Room 
(13/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 
上會
樑友
安訂
牀婚
作理
灶髮
伐動
債水
不痕
Appropriate Activities
Meeting Friends
Marriage Engagements
Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Beds
Stove Work
Felling Timber

Doubled Mourning

Baleful Astral Influences
Water Scar
Debt Not
————

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

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
碓 庫
Granary
Pestle, Storehouse

Monday, November 29, 2021

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 11-29

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/3...................................................................................................................................................11/26


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 tha"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 calendarSome 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
一期
Eleventh Month, Twenty-Ninth Day
Monday, November 29

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
三歲
合歲
Generational Branch
Three Linkages

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left

申辰甲
酉巳丑
戌午寅
亥未卯
23:00-1:00 In-Between
1:00-3:00 Auspicious
3:00-5:00 Auspicious
5:00-7:00 In-Between

7:00-9:00 In-Between
9:00-11:00 Inauspicious
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 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Inauspicious
————

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


遠合
行醬
Mixing Sauces
Distant Travels
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
廿
Twenty-Fifth Day (Tenth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: xinsi (18/60)
Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Danger 
(12/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 
重月
日破
勾大
陳耗
Appropriate Activities
Seeking Physicians
Treating Illness
Destroying Rooms
Smashing Embankments

Baleful Astral Influences
Lunar Destruction
Great Squander
Doubled Days
Narrative Hook
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left)
丫 州
Bifurcation, Landmass
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
牀 灶
Kitchen
Bed, Stove

Sunday, November 28, 2021

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 11-28

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/3...................................................................................................................................................11/26


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 tha"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 calendarSome 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
Eleventh Month, Twenty-Eighth Day
Sunday, November 28

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
天合天
恩日德
Heavenly Exemplarity
Linked Days
Heavenly Kindness

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left

申辰甲
酉巳丑
戌午寅
亥未卯
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 Inauspicious
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) 


動結經
土網絡
Bodily Energy Pathways
Binding Nets
Moving Soil
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
廿
Twenty-Fourth Day (Tenth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: gengchen (17/60)
Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Void 
(11/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Grasp (6/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 
竪納祭
柱采祀
上理祈
樑髮福
納移會
畜徙友
安醫嫁
葬病娶
符土
小龍下
耗口兀
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Patterning Hair
Moving Residences
Physician Treatments
Erecting Pillars
Raising Beams
Livestock Payments
Positioning Graves

Soil Charms

Baleful Astral Influences
Lower Amputee
Dragon Mouth
Small Squander
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left)
白 水
White, Water
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
栖 磨
Pestle
Perch, Mortar

Saturday, November 27, 2021

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2021 11-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/3...................................................................................................................................................11/26


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 tha"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 calendarSome 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
六期
Eleventh Month, Twenty-Seventh Day
Friday, November 27

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
天進合月
恩神日德
Lunar Exemplarity
Linked Days
Entering Spirits
Heavenly Kindness

Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left

申辰甲
酉巳丑
戌午寅
亥未卯
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 Inauspicious
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) 


取田開穿
魚獵池井
Boring Wells
Opening Ponds
Field Venery (Goin' Huntin')
Garnering Piscinity (Goin' Fishin')
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
廿
Twenty-Third Day (Tenth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: jimao (16/60)
Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Maiden 
(10/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Decide (5/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 
上開會祭
樑市友祀
修交出祈
倉易行福
成修嫁求
服造娶嗣
安動納入
葬土采學
下地上天
降氣升氣
元死月楊
武氣忌忌
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Seeking Inheritance
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Repairing Granaries
Completing Clothing
Positioning Graves

Heaven is Above, Earth is Below;
Qi Vapors Rise, Qi Vapors Descend*
(the fifty-ninth of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)
and I have never seen this.

Baleful Astral Influences
Yang Taboo
Lunar Taboo
Death Vapor
Primal Martiality
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read right to left)
白 人
White, Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
門 大 占
Gate, Great, Divination