China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 04-14

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
4/21.................................................................................................................................................4/14

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

四

四期星

Fourth Month, Fourteenth Day

Thursday, April 14

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

德天合歲

合月日德

Generational Exemplaritiy

Linked Days

Heavenly Lunarity

Exemplarity Linkage

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

凶中中

酉巳丑

吉中吉

戌午寅

凶吉中

亥未卯

吉吉凶

23:00-1:00 In-Between

1:00-3:00 Auspicious

3:00-5:00 In-Between

5:00-7:00 Inauspicious

7:00-9:00 In-Between

9:00-11:00 In-Between

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious

17:00-19:00 Auspicious

19:00-21:00 Inauspicious

21:00-23:00 Auspicious

————

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

忌
穿動整理

井土甲髮

Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)

Trimming Nails

Moving Soil

Boring Wells

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

四

丁

酉

火

斗

執

Thirteenth Day (Third Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: dingyou (34//60)

Phase (element): Fire

"Constellation Personality" Cycle:  Southern Dipper (8/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle:  Grasp (6/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

and Miscellaneous Information

(top-to-bottom; right to left) 

宜

安醫鈉祭

牀病采祀

捕立嫁祈

捉約娶福

納交裁出

畜易衣行

安上移訂

葬樑徙婚

虛五

土咸月上

符池忌兀

Appropriate Activities

Venerating Ancestors

Inquiring-into Fortune

Going Out (and about)

Marriage Engagements

Grain Payments

Marriage Alliances

Cutting-out Clothing (Sewing and Tailoring)

Moving Residences

Physician Visits

Making Appointments

Trade and Commerce

Raising Beams

Positioning Beds

Seizing and Capturing

Livestock Payments

Positioning Graves

Five Voids

Baleful Asterisms

Upper Amputee

Lunar Taboo

Widespread Pond

Soil Charm

————

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

白

White

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Items

庫 倉 門

Storehouse, Granary, Gate