Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Calendars and Almanacs"
⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
2/9...................................................................................................................................................2/2
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)
二
月
五期星
Second Month, Second Day
Friday, February 2
————
Section Two
Beneficent Stars
(top to bottom, right to left)
陽五德歲
德富日支
Generational Branch
Exemplary Days
Five Abundances
Yang Exemplarity
————
Section Three
Auspicious Hours
(top to bottom, right to left)
申辰甲
吉凶吉
酉巳丑
凶吉吉
戌午寅
吉中凶
亥未卯
吉凶中
23:00-1:00 Auspicious
1:00-3:00 Auspicious
3:00-5:00 Inauspicious
5:00-7:00 In-Between
7:00-9:00 Inauspicious
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 Inauspicious
19:00-21:00 Auspicious
21:00-23:00 Auspicious
————
Section Four
Activities to Avoid
(top-to-bottom; right to left)
忌
進新安作
水船牀灶
Stove Work
Positioning Beds
New Boats
Entering Water
Section Five
Cosmological Information
廿
三
丙
申
火
鬼
危
Twenty-Third Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: bingshen (33/60)
Phase (element): Fire
"Constellation Personality: Ghost (23/28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Danger (8/12)
————
Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top to bottom; left to right)
宜
醞交掃祭
釀易舍祀
納修出祈
畜造伙福
除動入出
服土宅行
安上開理
葬樑市髮
痕水
陽無五月
將祿離忌
Appropriate Activities
(top down, starting on the right; two characters each)
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Going Out (and about)
Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Sweeping Rooms
Dining Out
Staying Home
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Fermenting Beverages
Livestock Payments
Discarding Clothing
Positioning Graves
Water Scar
Baleful Asterisms
(top down, starting on the right; two characters each)
Lunar Taboo
Five Separations
Without Emolument
Yang General
Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" directly below each character)
人 火
Person, Fire
————
Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,
however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)
爐 灶 厨
Furnace, Stove, Kitchen
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