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.

Thursday, June 30, 2022

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 06-30

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/2...............................,,,,,,,,,,,..................................6/29.........................................Monthly Calendar 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 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)
四期
Sixth Month, Thirtieth Day
Thursday, June 30
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
天天三母
醫喜合倉
Maternal Granary
Three Linkages
Heavenly Happiness
Heavenly Physician
————

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 In-Between
3:00-5:00 Auspicious
5:00-7:00 In-Between

7:00-9:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 In-Between
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 In-Between
————

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


祈祭出開
福祀行倉
Opening Granaries
Capital Outflow
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
Second Day (Sixth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: jiayin (51/60)
Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Horn (1/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Completion (9/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 
醞交裁入
釀易衣學
安修理會
牀造髮友
栽動醫出
種土病行
安上開訂
葬樑市婚
忌歸
陽大白八
將煞虎專
Appropriate Activities
Entering Study
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Engagements
Cutting-out Clothing
Patterning Hair
Physician Visits
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Fermenting Beverages
Positioning Beds
Planting and Cultivating
Positioning Graves

Return Taboo

Baleful Asterisms
Eight Specialties
White Tiger
Great Balefulness
Yang General
————

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

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese should be read left to right)
爐 門 占
Furnace, Gate, Divination

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 06-29

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
7/2...............................,,,,,,,,,,,..................................6/29.........................................Monthly Calendar 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 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
九月
三期
Sixth Month, Twenty-Ninth Day
Wednesday, June 29

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
陰寶
德光
Precious Rays
Yin Exemplarity

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 In-Between
5:00-7:00 Auspicious

7:00-9:00 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 In-Between
21:00-23:00 In-Between
————

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


除詞
服訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Discarding Clothing
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
First Day (Sixth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: guichou (50/60)
Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Running Board (28/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 
動祭
土祀
安開
牀市
開交
渠易
補修
塞造
復下
喪兀
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Opening Irrigation Sluices
Patching and Plugging

Water Scar

Baleful Asterisms
Lower Amputee
Return Mourning
————

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

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese should be read left to right)
厠 牀
Edifice
Toilet, Bed

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 06-28

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/28...............................,,,,,,,,,,,...........................................................................................................6/21


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 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
二期
Sixth Month, Twenty-Eighth Day
Tuesday, June 28

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
解歲
神德
Generational Exemplarity
Unleashing Spirits

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

申辰甲
酉巳丑
中吉
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 Auspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

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) 


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

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
Thirtieth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: renzi (49/60)
Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Wings (27/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Destroy (7/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 
水月
痕破
大上
耗兀
Appropriate Activities
Destroying Rooms
Smashing Embankments

Baleful Asterisms
Lunar Destruction
Upper Amputee
Water Scar
Great Squander
————

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

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese should be read left to right)
碓 庫
Granary
Pestle, Storehouse

Monday, June 27, 2022

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 06-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
6/28...............................,,,,,,,,,,,...........................................................................................................6/21


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 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
Sixth Month, Twenty-Seventh Day
Monday, June 27

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
十歲
靈祿
Generational Emolument
Ten Spirits

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 Auspicious
13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
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) 


嫁合
娶醬
Mixing Sauces
Marriage Alliances
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
廿
Twenty-Ninth Day (Fifth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: xinhai (48/60)
Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Drawn Bow (26/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Receive (6/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left) 
朱上
雀朔
陰重
將日
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Meeting Friends

Baleful Asterisms
Upper Decade
Doubled Days
Vermilion Bird
Yin General
————

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

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese should be read left to right)
牀 灶
Kitchen
Bed, Stove