Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
9/30...................................................................9/26................................Monthly Calendar Information
9/30...................................................................9/26................................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 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.
Solar Calendar Date
(top to bottom, right to left)
三
十
五期星
Ninth Month, Thirtieth Day
Friday, September 30
————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
續三歲
世合支
Generational Branch
Three Linkages
Succeeding Generations
————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰甲
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰甲
凶凶吉
酉巳丑
吉吉中
戌午寅
吉中吉
亥未卯
吉中凶
23:00-1:00 Auspicious
1:00-3:00 In-Between
3:00-5:00 Auspicious
5:00-7:00 Inauspicious
7:00-9:00 Inauspicious
9:00-11:00 Auspicious
11:00-13:00 In-Between
13:00-15:00 In-Between
15:00-17:00 Inauspicious
17:00-19:00 Auspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious
————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
行作修
喪灶出
Repairing Kitchens
Stove Work
Mourning Visits
————
Section Five
Cosmological Information
Cosmological Information
初
四
丙
戌
土
牛
除
Fifth Day (Ninth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: bingxu (23/60)
Phase (element): Earth
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Oxen (9/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)
————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
宜
動掃祭
土舍祀
安求出
牀醫行
牀醫行
開治赴
池病任
栽修理
種造髮
喪三
俱血月
將忌忌
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Going Out (and about)
Taking Up Office
Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Sweeping Rooms
Seeking Physicians
Physician Visits
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Positioning Beds
Opening Ponds
Planting and Cultivating
Three Mournings
Baleful Asterisms
Lunar Taboo
Blood Taboo
Everything General
————
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read left to right）
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese should be read left to right）
丫
Bifurcation
————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese should be read left to right）
廚
栖 灶
Kitchen
Perch, Stove
