China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2026 09-22

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦

9/22...................................................................................................................................................9/15

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)

廿

二

二期星

Ninth Month, Twenty-Second Day

Tuesday, September 22

————

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

吉中凶

酉巳乙

中凶凶

戌午寅

中吉吉

亥未卯

凶吉凶

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

 01:00-03:00 Inauspicious

 03:00-05:00 Auspicious

 05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

07:00-09:00 In-Between

  09:00-11:00 Inauspicious

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious

17:00-19:00 In-Between

19:00-21:00 In-Between

21:00-23:00 Inauspicious

————

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

除嫁

服娶

Marriage Alliances

Discarding Mourning Clothing

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

二

己

亥

木

尾

滿

Twelfth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: jihai (36/60)

Phase (element): Wood

"Constellation Personality: Edifice (6/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness (3/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

宜

伐

木

掃

舎

諸日

事值

不四

宜離

四

離

重水

日痕

Appropriate Activities

Felling Timber

Sweeping Rooms

The day is overseen by the Four Separations;

further activity is not considered appropriate

Four Separations

Baleful Asterisms

(top down, starting on the right; two characters each)

Water Scar

Doubled Days

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" below each character)

白

White

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Items

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,

however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)

占

牀 門

Divination

Bed, Gate

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2026 09-21

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦

9/22...................................................................................................................................................9/15

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)

廿

一

一期星

Ninth Month, Twenty-First Day

Monday, September 21

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

吉守母

期日倉

Maternal Granary

Protected Days

Auspicious Time-Slice

————

Section Three

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

吉凶凶

酉巳乙

中中吉

戌午寅

中吉凶

亥未卯

中吉凶

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

 01:00-03:00 Auspicious

 03:00-05:00 Inauspicious

 05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

07:00-09:00 Inauspicious

  09:00-11:00 In-Between

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 Auspicious

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)

行置買

喪業田

Purchasing Land

Setting-up Industry

Mourning Visits

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

十

一

戊

戌

木

心

除

Eleventh Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: wuxu (35/60)

Phase (element): Wood

"Constellation Personality: Heart-Mind (5/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Discard (2/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

社秋

————

宜

安醫出

牀病行

作修理

灶造髮

裁動掃

種土舎

喪三

陽血下

將忌兀

Autumnal Sociality

(an autumn harvest celebratory day)

Appropriate Activities

Going Out (and about)

Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)

Sweeping Rooms

Physician Visits

Repairing and Constructing

Moving Soil

Positioning Beds

Stove Work

Planting and Cultivating

Three Mournings

Baleful Asterisms

(top down, starting on the right; two characters each)

Lower Amputee

Blood Taboo

Yang General

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" below each character)

白

White

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Items

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,

however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)

房

栖 牀

Edifice

Perch, Bed

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2026 09-20

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦

9/22...................................................................................................................................................9/15

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)

二

十

日期星

Ninth Month, Twentieth Day

Sunday, September 20

————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 

(top to bottom, right to left)

十玉

靈堂

Jade Hall

Ten Spirits

————

Section Three

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

中中凶

酉巳乙

吉中吉

戌午寅

中吉中

亥未卯

吉吉凶

23:00-1:00 Inauspicious

 01:00-03:00 Auspicious

 03:00-05:00 In-Between

 05:00-07:00 Inauspicious

07:00-09:00 In-Between

  09:00-11:00 In-Between

11:00-13:00 Auspicious

13:00-15:00 Auspicious

15:00-17:00 In-Between

17:00-19:00 Auspicious

19:00-21:00 In-Between

21:00-23:00 Auspicious

————

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

動理

土髮

Patterning Hair

Moving Soil

————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information

初

十

丁

酉

火

房

建

Tenth Day (Eighth Lunar Month)

Cyclical Day: dingyou (34/60)

Phase (element): Fire

"Constellation Personality: Edifice (4/28)

"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish (1/12)

————

Section Six

Appropriate Activities

宜

掃

舎

伐

木

啟

攢

安

葬

土債

府不

月密

刑日

Appropriate Activities

Sweeping Rooms

Felling Timber

Creating Savings

Positioning Graves

Baleful Asterisms

(top down, starting on the right; two characters each)

Debt Not

Mysterious Days

Soil Palace

Lunar Punishment

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars 

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" below each character)

人 州

Person, Landmass

————

Section Eight

Miscellaneous Items

(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,

however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)

門

庫 倉

Gate

Storehouse, Granary