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.

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 12-27

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/27......................................................................12/23...................................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 o


f 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
七
二期星
Twelfth Month, Twenty-Seventh Day
Tuesday, December 27
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
月時
恩德
Timely Exemplarity
Lunar Kindness
————

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

申辰甲
凶吉中
酉巳丑
吉中中
戌午寅
吉凶吉
亥未卯
中凶中
23:00-1:00 In-Between
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) 

忌
祭開
祀倉
Opening Granaries
Venerating Ancestors
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
初
五
甲
申
水
室
滿
Fifth Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: jisshen (51/60)
Phase (element): Water
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Room (13//28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Fullness
 (3/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top to bottom; right to left)
宜
動出
土行
上裁
樑衣
安開
葬市
麋
角
解
歸上
忌兀
Appropriate Activities
Going Out (and about)
Cutting-out Clothing
Opening Markets
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Positioning Graves

Elk Shed Their Antlers
(the sixty-fifth of seventy-two five-day solar micro-periods on the agricultural calendar)

Baleful Asterisms
Upper Amputee
Return Taboo
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" directly below each character)
丫 水
Bifurcation, Water
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,
however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)
占
爐 門
Divination
Furnace, Gate

Monday, December 26, 2022

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 12-26

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/27......................................................................12/23...................................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 o


f 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
一期星
Twelfth Month, Twenty-Sixth Day
Monday, December 26
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
天陰吉鳳
貴德期凰
Phoenix
Auspicious Time-Slice
Yin Exemplarity
Heavenly Nobility
————

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

申辰甲
凶吉吉
酉巳丑
吉吉吉
戌午寅
吉凶中
亥未卯
中凶吉
23:00-1:00 Auspicious
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 Inauspicious
13:00-15:00 Inauspicious

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) 

忌
行成除詞
喪服靈訟
Lawsuits and Litigation
Exorcising Spirits
Completing Clothing
Mourning Visits
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
初
四
癸
丑
木
危
除
Fourth Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: guichou (50/60)
Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Danger (12//28)
"Day Personality" Cycle:
 Discard (2/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top to bottom; right to left)
宜
動掃嫁祭
土舍娶祀
上開納祈
樑市采福
作交移會
灶易徙友
醞修理出
釀造髮行
喪重
陽復三牛
將日喪口
Appropriate Activities
Venerating Ancestors
Inquiring-into Fortune
Meeting Friends
Going Out (and about)
Marriage Alliances
Grain Payments
Moving Residences
Patterning Hair (Haircuts and Styling)
Sweeping Rooms
Opening Markets
Trade and Commerce
Repairing and Constructing
Moving Soil
Raising Beams
Stove Work
Fermenting Beverages

Doubled Days

Baleful Asterisms
Ox Orifice
Three Mournings
Returning Days
Yang General
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" directly below each character)
丫 人
Bifurcation, Person
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,
however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)
厠 牀 房
Toilet, Bed, Edifice

Sunday, December 25, 2022

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 12-25

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/27......................................................................12/23...................................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 o


f 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
五
日期星
Twelfth Month, Twenty-Fifth Day
Sunday, December 25
————

Section Two
Beneficent Stars 
(top to bottom, right to left)
月歲
德德
Generational Exemplarity
Lunar Exemplarity
————

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

申辰甲
凶吉吉
酉巳丑
中吉吉
戌午寅
中凶吉
亥未卯
中吉吉
23:00-1:00 Auspicious
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) 

忌
動開
土渠
Opening Irrigation Sluices
Moving Soil
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
初
三
壬
子
木
虛
建
Third Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: renzi (49/60)
Phase (element): Wood
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Void (11//28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Establish
 (1/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top to bottom; right to left)
宜
修
飾
垣
墙
土債
府不
地密
火日
Appropriate Activities
Repairing and Adorning Embankments and Walls

Baleful Asterisms
Debt Not
Mysterious Days
Soil Palace
Earth Fire
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" directly below each character)
白 鬼
White, Ghost
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,
however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)
倉
碓 庫
Granary
Pestle, Storehouse

Saturday, December 24, 2022

China's Lunar-Solar Calendar 2022 12-24

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

⇦⇦⇦⇦⇦ From right to left: ⇦⇦⇦⇦
12/27......................................................................12/23...................................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 o


f 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
四
六期星
Twelfth Month, Twenty-Fourth Day
Saturday, December 24
————

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
凶中中
酉巳丑
凶凶吉
戌午寅
吉凶吉
亥未卯
中吉吉
23:00-1:00 In-Between
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 Inauspicious
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) 

忌
嫁合
娶醬
Mixing Sauces
Marriage Alliances
————

Section Five 
Cosmological Information
初
二
辛
亥
金
女
閉
Second Day (Twelfth Lunar Month)
Cyclical Day: xinhai (48/60)
Phase (element): Metal
"Constellation Personality" Cycle: Maiden (10//28)
"Day Personality" Cycle: Closed
 (12/12)
————

Section Six
Appropriate Activities
and Miscellaneous Information
(top to bottom; right to left)
宜
補
垣
塞
穴
血上
支朔
朱重
雀日
Appropriate Activities
Patching Embankments
Plugging Caves

Baleful Asterisms
Upper Decade
Doubled Days
Blood Branch
Vermilion Bird
————

Section Seven
Inauspicious Stars
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English, however, "fits" directly below each character)
白 山
White, Mountain
————

Section Eight
Miscellaneous Items
(the Chinese is read from right to left; the English,
however, "fits" intuitively in the configuration of characters)
厨
牀 灶
Kitchen
Bed, Stove