Foreign Cultures 81 The Culture of Everyday Life in China Peter Bol, Michael Szonyi, Stephen Ford

1
Foreign Cultures 81The Culture of Everyday Life
in ChinaPeter Bol, Michael Szonyi, Stephen Ford
When Part 2 Multichronicity in Daily Life
2
Eight Trigrams Diviner in Pujiang, 1998
3
1368

• Was the 1st year of
• the Hongwu ?? (Overflowing Martiality) reign
  period
• of the founding emperor of the Great Ming.
• The Hongwu reign period ended with the death of
  the emperor in 1398
• His successor took the reign period title of
  Jianwen ?? (Establishing the Civil) in 1399. When
  he was usurped by his uncle in 1403, his reign
  period was erased. The new emperor named his
  reign period Eternal Joy ???

4
But

• 1368 was also the 28th year of the Zhizheng ??
  (Perfect Correctness) reign period of Toghon
  Temur, the reigning emperor/grand khan of the
  Great Yuan.

5
February 16 2012

• Is the 25th day of the 1st moon of the renchen ??
  year a dragon year, the 12th day of Start of
  Spring (?? lìchun) (Four days from today Rain
  Water (yushui??) begins.)
• the 5th day of the third week
• Today is the dingwei ?? day
• It is 10 days past the Lantern Festival (1/15)
• Today the moon is in the lunar mansion
  Encampment (shi ?) in the Black Tortoise
  division ??
• Today is a Water ?day
• It is 6 oclock
• Dont get your head shaved today, but do meet
  with friends

6
the Renchen ?? year the dingwei ?? day
The sexagenary cycle
7
Why is this the year of the Dragon?
The sexagenary cycle
8
Why are months moons?How many moons in a year?

• Today is the 25th day of the 1st moon
• This month is a big month, it will have 30 days
  next month will have 29

9
How to solve this problem?

• Lunar year 12 moons, 29 ½ days each. Thus 6
  small months of 29 days and 6 big months of 30
  (354) . some years 7 big (355) or small. (353).

10
Does the solar year matter?

• yes, of course, but why?
• On what should it be based?
• (the Gregorian Calendar cut off 10 days from
  Julian Calendar in 1582, it took another 200
  years before all Europe adopted Jan 1 as the
  start of the year (rather than a religious event)
• Religious calendars and saint days were practical
  calendars into the 19th c. for most.)

11
EclipticLongitude Chinese Name GregorianDate (approx.) UsualTranslation Remarks
315 ?? lìchun February 4 start of spring spring starts here
330 ?? yushui February 19 rain water starting at this point, the temperature makes rain more likely than snow
345 ?? qizhé(?? jingzhé) March 5 awakening of insects when hibernating insects awake
Today is the the 12th day of Start of Spring (??
lìchun) Rain Water begins 4 days from today
12
Climactic periods (jieqi ??)

• 24 periods of 15 days
• Starts with the Beginning of Spring (2/4)
• Ends with Big Cold (1/22)
• Anchored by spring and autumn equinoxes (fen ?),
  summer and winter solstices (?)

13
EclipticLngt. Chinese Name GregorianDate (approx.) UsualTranslation Remarks
315 ?? lìchun February 4 start of spring spring starts here according to the Chinese definition of a season, see also Cross-quarter day
330 ?? yushui February 19 rain water starting at this point, the temperature makes rain more likely than snow
345 ?? qizhé(?? jingzhé) March 5 awakening of insects when hibernating insects awake
0 ?? chunfen March 21 vernal equinox lit. the central divide of spring (referring to the Chinese seasonal definition)
15 ?? qingmíng April 5 clear and bright a Chinese festival where, traditionally, ancestral graves are tended
30 ?? guyu or guyù April 20 grain rains rain helps grain grow
45 ?? lìxià May 6 start of summer refers to the Chinese seasonal definition
60 ?? xiaoman May 21 grain full grains are plump
75 ?? mángzhòng or mángzhong June 6 grain in ear lit. awns (beard of grain) grow
90 ?? xiàzhì June 21 summer solstice lit. summer extreme (of sun's height)
105 ?? xiaoshu July 7 minor heat when heat starts to get unbearable
120 ?? dàshu July 23 major heat the hottest time of the year
135 ?? lìqiu August 7 start of autumn uses the Chinese seasonal definition
150 ?? chùshu August 23 limit of heat lit. dwell in heat
165 ?? báilù September 8 white dew condensed moisture makes dew white a sign of autumn
180 ?? qiufen September 23 autumnal equinox lit. central divide of autumn (refers to the Chinese seasonal definition)
195 ?? hánlù October 8 cold dew dew starts turning into frost
210 ?? shuangjiàng October 23 descent of frost appearance of frost and descent of temperature
225 ?? lìdong November 7 start of winter refers to the Chinese seasonal definition
240 ?? xiaoxue November 22 minor snow snow starts falling
255 ?? dàxue December 7 major snow season of snowstorms in full swing
270 ?? dongzhì December 22 winter solstice lit. winter extreme (of sun's height)
285 ?? xiaohán January 6 minor cold cold starts to become unbearable
300 ?? dàhán January 20 major cold coldest time of year
14
Date English Name Chinese Name Remarks 2010
month 1day 1 New Year (Spring Festival) ??chunjié Family gathering and festivities for 315 days Feb 14
month 1day 15 Lantern Festival ???yuánxiaojié Tangyuan eatingand lanterns Feb 28
Apr 4or 51 Qingming Festival (Clear and Bright) ???qingmíngjié Tomb sweeping Apr 5
month 5day 5 Dragon Boat Festival ???duanwujié Dragon boat racingand eating zongzi Jun 16
month 7day 7 Night of Sevens ??qixi For lovers, like Valentine's Day Aug 16
month 7day 15 Ghost Festival (Spirit Festival) ???zhongyuánjié Offer tributes and respect to the deceased Aug 24
month 8day 15 Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival)1 ???zhongqiujié Family gathering and moon cake eating Sep 22
month 9day 9 Double-Ninth Festival (Double Yang) ???chóngyángjié Mountain climbingand flower shows Oct 16
month 10day 15 Xiayuan Festival ???xiàyuánjié Pray for a peaceful year to the Water God Nov 20
Dec 21 or 22 Winter Solstice Festival ??dongzhì Family gathering Dec 12
month 12day 23 Kitchen God Festival ??xièzào Worshipping the kitchen god with thanks Jan 30

1 Qingming Festival on the 104th day after the
winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring
Equinox), usually occurring around April 5 of the
Gregorian calendar
15
Today the moon is in the first lunar mansion,
Horn (jiao?)
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
PHASE wood fire earth metal water
SEASON spring summer midsummer fall winter
DIRECTION east south center west north
PLANET Jupiter Mars Saturn Venus Mercury
CROP wheat rice "grain" millet legumes
IMPLEMENT compass balance cord square plumb
EMBLEM bluegreen dragon vermillion bird yellow dragon white tiger dark warrior
COLOR bluegreen vermillion yellow white black
Today is an Earth ?day
20
Why is today an earth day?
The sexagenary cycle
21
(No Transcript)
22
Heaven and Earth
28 Constellations Auspicious Inauspicious
Stars Earthly Heavenly Branches Eclipses
recorded in almanac Geomancy (Feng-shui)
Sun Day Moon Month Seasons
Fortune-Telling
Following your fortunes
Bazi Predictions differ based on calendar
day Hours corresponding to 12 Earthly Branches
Time
Peter Cai, 2008