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The Chinese Almanac

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The Chinese Almanac has a legendary history that stretches back 2000 over years before Christ. The current version is believed to date back to the Qing dynasty and has been in continuous publication for over 200 years. Previous versions existed – very likely less extensive that the current version – throughout Chinese history in one form or another.

‘Tung’ in Chinese means ‘pass thru’. As with most Chinese translation the meaning is not accurately conveyed. A more accurate meaning would be ‘everything become clear’. ‘Shu’ means book. Therefore ‘Tung Shu’ is a book about everything or a book about myriad of things.

In Hong Kong which is predominately Cantonese, the book is known as ‘Tong Sing’. You see, ‘Shu’ sounds like losing while ‘Sing’ sounds like victory which is vastly more auspicious and more accepted by the Cantonese.

The core of the book is the calendar which gives the outlook of the year and auspicious and inauspicious dates. Surrounding this calendar core are a fascinating collection of materials that include fortune telling, predictions, geomancy, physiognomy, palmistry, divination, herbal medicine, numerology, moral codes, dictionary, pregnancy chart, charms and talisman etc.

The Chinese Almanac is thus an extensive collection of traditional Chinese belief and practices. Most traditional Chinese families have a copy that they refer to and even today it still influence the lives of millions of Chinese people.

Much of the Chinese Almanac remains the same each year. Only a few sections of the Almanac such as the calendar changes every year. Some publishers also offer an express version that only contains the parts that change every year.

So what’s in the Chinese Almanac?

Versions of the Chinese Almanac may differ slightly by publishers. Here are the typical sections.

  • The Spring Cow and Feng Shui Chart
  • 100 Years Astrological Calendar Characters
  • Personal Fortune of the Year
  • Last 200 Years Chinese Western Calendar
  • The 24 Sub Season (Joints and Qi)
  • Writing Auspicious Characters
  • The Biscuit Poem
  • The Poem of the Four Seasons Astrology
  • Sunrise and Sunset Times of the 24 Sub Seasons
  • The Ghost Catcher and his Charms
  • The 28 Constellations
  • Fortune Telling by Physical Sensations
  • The Influence of the Five Elements on Childhood
  • Auspicious and Inauspicious Dates for Activities
  • Deity in Charge based on Your Year of Birth
  • Table of Auspicious and Inauspicious Dates
  • Charms – Protect the Fetus and Childhood
  • Grandmaster Chou’s Book of Dreams
  • Weather and Farming Forecast
  • Auspicious and Inauspicious Stars of the Year
  • Cup Divination
  • Coin Divination
  • Chinese Birth Weight Astrology
  • Lucky Direction of the Day
  • Hand Method of Fortune Telling
  • A Story about Confucius
  • Etiquette in Writing Letter and Invitations
  • How to Pronounce English Words
  • Fortune Telling by the Number of Strokes in your Name
  • Writing Styles
  • Telegram Numeration of Chinese Characters
  • The 100 Chinese Family Names
  • Auspicious Times for Misc. Activities
  • Judging People by their Habits
  • Guide to Running a Small Business
  • Guide to Managing Your Home
  • Traditional Medicine and Prescriptions
  • Astrology Charts
  • Eclipses
  • Face Reading and Palmistry
  • Song of Interpreting Personalities
  • Date Selection: Grandmaster Dong’s Methods
  • The Yin Yang Calendar – Lunar and Solar
  • More Charms
  • The Jia Zi Cycles showing Good and Bad Stars
  • Current Year Calendar
  • The Spring Cow and Feng Shui Chart of the Next Year

Phew. There are 47 sections in total covering almost everything. No wonder that the Chinese Almanac is also known as the ‘Know Everything Book’.

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The Dong Zhi or Winter Solstice Festival

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In the olden days the Chinese people celebrate Dong Zhi (Winter Solstice Festival) much like Chinese Lunar New Year by visiting relatives and friends. There is the usual feasting and businesses will take a break on that day. On this day, people will gather around to eat “tang yuan” (glutinous floor balls) which is symbolic of family unity and harmony.

But just what is the winter solstice?

A solstice is an astronomical term used to describe the day of the year when the sun is the greatest distance from our equator. There are two solstices, therefore, one in the summer and one in the winter each causing either the longest or shortest day of the year. The times of these vary, however, depending on which hemisphere you are discussing.

Solstices are caused by the earth being tilted the farthest from the Sun for that hemisphere. While the earth orbits the sun, it meanwhile spins on its axis. This tilt causes one hemisphere to be closer to the sun, creating summer, while the other hemisphere is tilted further way, creating winter.

The term solstice actually come form the Latin word solstitium. They derived the word solstitium from sol meaning the sun and stitium, which means to stop. During the solstice, the sun appears to do exactly that. It reaches almost the same elevation everyday at noon for the several days before and after the solstice.

The winter solstice for the northern hemisphere occurs on one of two dates: December 21st or 22nd every year and the sun will be shinning directly over the tropic of Capricorn. June 20th or 21st is the winter solstice for the southern hemisphere, which occurs when the sun is shinning directly over the tropic of Cancer.

The winter solstice always marks the shortest day of the year and the longest night of the year. Most cultures consider this day to be the middle of winter in their calendars. The date of solstice has surprisingly only moved by one day in the past three thousand years.

Many ancient cultures celebrated the winter solstice as a time of new birth because the sun seemed reborn as the days began to stay lighter longer. This was often seen as a positive change and a purge of evil from the world as the darkness (evil) was defeated by light (good.)

Today, festivals of light are still celebrated by some cultures. In addition to the Chinese Dong Zhi festival, the Germanic cultures celebrate Yule and Hindus celebrate Diwali, a festival of light.

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Traditional Chinese New Year Food

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When ringing in the new year in traditional Chinese fashion, you have to consider the importance of Chinese New Year food as well. Food plays a huge part in such celebrations. The Chinese New Year is a particularly special one. It is one of the most important Chinese holidays.

Sometimes called the Spring Festival, sometimes called the Lunar New Year, it takes place on the first day of the first lunar month, as denoted by the Chinese calendar. It ends on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Now, back to the subject of food – it is indeed hugely important during this celebration. Foods which are considered lucky and fortuitous are served throughout the entire fifteen days. The qualifications for lucky or symbolic foods vary.

In some cases, foods are considered precursors of good fortune because of how they appear. A whole chicken, for instance, is a symbol of family togetherness. Thus, offering a whole chicken during the Chinese New Year festivities promises that the family will remain together throughout the coming year.

Noodles are another food traditionally found during Chinese New Year’s celebrations. In fact, they are practically required. In the Chinese culture, noodles symbolize a long, long life. For that reason, certain superstitions say they should not be cut. To do so would bring bad luck or worse. The inclusion of clams and Spring rolls are used to bring luck in matters of wealth. Clams are said to look a lot like bouillon. Spring rolls represent wealth because they look a bit like bars of gold.

Other foods are significant during the New Year because of the way they sound. Literally, they are used because of the Chinese pronunciation of the word. Lettuce is a good example of this. In Cantonese, the word for it sounds fortuitous. Likewise, certain citrus fruits are served because the words for them sound like forebears of good fortune, such as “luck” and “wealth.”

Fish is symbolic in several ways, and thus is frequently served. One reason is because the word for it is “yu.” This word resembles the terms for “wish” and “abundance.” Both of those are good things to have on your side in the new year. Symbolically, serving the fish whole is good luck as well. When the head and tail are still attached, then the fish is a symbol for a good beginning and a good ending in the year ahead.

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Chinese History Time Line

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Chinese History Timeline from the ancient Xia Dynastic to the present day Chinese government.

Xia Dynasty2100 – 1600 BC
Shang Dynasty1600 – 1100 BC
Zhou DynastyWestern1100 – 771 BC
 Eastern770 – 256 BC
 Spring and Autumn770 – 476 BC
 Warring States475 – 221 BC
Qin Dynasty221 – 207 BC
Han DynastyWestern Han206 BC – 24 AD
 Eastern Han25 – 220 AD
Three KingdomsWei220 – 265 AD
 Shu Han221 – 263 AD
 Wu222 – 280 AD
Western Jin265 – 316 AD
Eastern Jin317 – 420 AD
Northern andSouthernSong420 – 479 AD
Southern Dynasties Qi479 – 520 AD
  Liang502 – 557 AD
  Chen557 – 589 AD
 NorthernNorthern Wei386 – 534 AD
  Eastern Wei534 – 550 AD
  Northern Qi550 – 577 AD
  Western Wei535 – 556 AD
  Northern Zhou557 – 581 AD
Sui Dynasty581 – 618 AD
Tang Dynasty618 – 907 AD
Five DynastiesLater Jiang907 – 923 AD
 Later Tang923 – 936 AD
 Later Jin936 – 946 AD
 Later Han947 – 950 AD
 Later Zhou951 – 960 AD
Song DynastyNorthern Song960 – 1127 AD
 Southern Song1127 – 1279 AD
Liao Dynasty916 – 1125 AD
Jin Dynasty1115 – 1234 AD
Yuan Dynasty1271 – 1368 AD
Ming Dynasty1368 – 1644 AD
Qing Dynasty1644 – 1911 AD
Republic of China1912 – 1949 AD
People’s Republic of China1949 AD – Now

The Date ranges for the Xia and Shang Dynasties are approximates.

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The I Ching or Yi Jing – Its Origin and Purpose

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The I Ching (Romanized as Yi Jing in Pinyin which I will use interchangeably in this article) is without a doubt the most influential book of the entire Chinese civilization. It came to life over 5000 years ago and it has influenced people from all walks of life – both directly and indirectly.

Its influence is not just limited to China but beyond to other civilization in the Far East and the West. For example, books on the Yi Jing written in English are widely available.

A typical I Ching publication would consist of pages devoted to each of the hexagrams. It includes the name of the hexagram, how it is constructed (from two Trigrams), the meaning, judgement, commentary, images and comments on the lines.

According to Chinese literatures, four persons influenced the present form of the Yi Jing. They are Fu Xi, King Wen, his son the Duke of Chou and Confucius.

The originator of the I Ching is the legendary first Chinese emperor Fu Xi (2953-2833 BC). He devised the basic ‘Gua’ and according to legend, the Early Heaven Bagua based on Hetu pattern discovered earlier on the back of a dragon horse (or unicorn). In addition to the eight basic ‘Gua’, either Fu Xi or his successor multiplied the original eight ‘Gua’ eight folds to create the Sixty Four Hexagrams that we know today.

Besides the Bagua which is the foundation of the I Ching, Fu Xi taught his people to hunt, to fish, and to rear live stocks. He contributed to the development of silk threads, a rudimentary musical instrument, some kind of calendar and the institution of marriage!

After Fu Xi, it received farther enhancements made by King Wen (1231-1135 BC) the founder of the Chou dynasty. Before he founded the Chou dynasty and became king, he was imprisoned by the tyrant emperor Chou Hsin of the Shang dynasty for an extended period. While undergoing imprisonment, he devoted his time to the study of the hexagram and appended to each of them certain observations and explanation which become the judgements. His son the Duke of Chou was believed to be responsible for the text on the changing lines.

A few hundred years later (around 550 BC), Confucius came on the old text and he gave it intensive study. It is believe that he added to the commentary and contributed the images to the original text.

What is the purpose of the I Ching or Yi Jing?

The I Ching is first a divining device and is used by countless millions of people to divine on the important issues of life. However it is also meant to be a book of wisdom and philosophy.

Due to its universal appeal, it has also come to mean different things to different people. Confucius sees it as a source of ethics while Buddhists and Taoists sees it as a means of predicting one’s conduct and a guide to living rightly to avoid unnecessary suffering and a tragic fate.

Interestingly, to Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, who invented calculus, it was the essence of binary mathematics while to Carl Jung, the rival to Sigmund Freud in psychology; it was an explorer of the unconscious mind.

And in modern times Wall Street executives, according to Adam Smith of the “Powers of Mind” fame, believe that it can predict the stock market!

The Yi Jing has come a long way from its initial usage as a book of oracles. It has become a dominant influence in Chinese culture and still touches the lives of millions of people through its role in astrology, geomancy, medical theory etc.

The basic premise at the root of the I Ching is that cosmic order and human nature is one. Divination by various methods are a means of stopping time to see the changes that are in progress at a given time thus allowing one to align with these changes instead of going against nature.

We are very lucky to have the Yi Jing today. Around 220 BC, Emperor Shih Huang-Ti ordered the great Burning of Books in his persecution and massacres of Chinese philosophers. Many ancient texts including those by Confucius were destroyed.

The I Ching is one of those that survived!

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Chinese Dreams Dictionary

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It is not uncommon amongst the Chinese to ask someone who has just awaken from a short nap if he or she has just visited Grandmaster Zhou for a discussion. But what is this so?

Grandmaster Zhou (also known as Zhou Gong) who lived approximately 3000 years ago is credited with the earliest Chinese Dream Dictionary known as “Zhou Gong’s Book of Auspicious and Inauspicious Dreams”. Legend has it that this is the same person who is credited with the development of the Yi Jing or the Book of Changes.

Therefore whenever you dream, it is like paying a visit to Grandmaster Zhou!

You can find a section of his book in the Chinese Almanac which until recent times is found in most Chinese household. This also explains the popularity. It is not uncommon during my parent’s and grandparent’s time to refer to this section of the almanac whenever a member of the family has a dream, more so a strange one.

In the Chinese Almanac (also known as the Tung Shu or Tong Sing) dreams are presented in seven categories. They are astronomy, home and surroundings, gods and spirit, person or body, music and disharmony, living creatures and lastly clothing and miscellaneous items.

Some of the interpretations are somewhat logical. For example if you dream of sunset, then you parents are sad. Or of you dream of eating cooked meat versus eating raw meat, it is a sign of good luck.

Some of the interpretations are not so logical. For example if you dream of a blue snake it is a good sign. Or if you dream of sharing an umbrella with someone, you will be separated from your family members.

Some are hilarious. For example if you dream of your own wedding, then it is a sign that you will be separated from your wife! Worst if you dream that your wife is pregnant. It means that she is engaged in an adultery affair!

I would strongly urge you not to take the dream interpretation too literally especially the one mentioned in the last paragraph.

You may be interested to know that the type or meaning of dreams was use – in conjunction with other methods – as a medical diagnostic tool. You can find it in Yellow Emperor’s Medicine Classic – Miraculous Pivot that dates back over 4000 years!

Different type of dreams e.g. fearful, sad dreams, relates to deficiency in different parts of the body! For example falling dream is due to deficiency in the upper and excess in the lower part of the body. This is often seen in water retention in the kidneys and deficiency of yang in the heart.

That is interpreting dreams for you – Chinese style!

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The Hungry Ghost Festival

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The Hungry Ghost Festival is also known as the Zhong Yuan (中元) Festival. Some people fell that the term hungry is inappropriate as it shows disrespect for our ancestors and that is should simply be called the Ghost Festival or better still, the Happy Ghost Festival.

Since ancient times, the Chinese believe that the gates of hell are open between the 1st and 30th day of the Chinese lunar 7th month. During this period hungry ghost are allowed to wander on earth to look for food.

There is a popular Buddhist legend on this festival about a Buddhist priest by the name of Mu Lian. He was very concerned for his bereaved mum who was apparently not a very good person when she was alive.

He remembered Sakyamuni Buddha teachings that when the wisdom eye is opened, one can see anything. Tapping on this teaching and his own power, he looked everywhere for his mother. Finally he found his mother – in hell.

He was saddened. His mother was competing with the other ghosts for food and looking miserable. Seeing that, he sent food (by making offerings) to his mother but to his dismay, the food turn into burning coal and burnt her mother’s mouth.

He went to his teacher for advice. His teacher told him to make offerings (plenty of it) on the 15th Day of the 7th lunar month. Strangely it worked and his mother was fed.

From that day onwards, people made offerings to the ghost in the form of prayers, food and paper money.

In Malaysia, pieces of gold and silver coloured paper are rolled into tubes and folded in both ends to make them look like silver and gold ingots. The Chinese believe that by doing so, they would receive blessings from the gods and spirits (Somehow feeding the ghost became secondary to money).

During this period, the ghost (and human beings) are also entertained with public performance of Chinese operas on make shift stages erected in open spaces.

This is however changing as Chinese operas troupes are dwindling and harder to come by. Replacing them are performances by Chinese pop artists.

In addition to the offering and performances, dinners and auctions are also held raise fund for temples and other charitable organizations.

What has this got to do with Feng Shui? The Chinese believe the 7th month is a dangerous month with so many ghosts wandering in the streets. It is a taboo to move house or get married during this period. This is the connection to Feng Shui!

Not everybody however subscribe to this taboo. In my practice, I normally ask my clients if they adhere to his belief. If they do, I would select a ‘move’ date outside of the lunar 7th month. It so happens that the 8th month is highly auspicious.

The Chinese have other taboos about the 7th lunar month. It is a month of excessive yin and therefore one should not wear black coloured clothing to avoid absorbing negative energy into the body.

Also it is not a good time to attend funerals, visit the sick or attend any ‘yin’ celebration. It is a good time to do some charity work and take vegetarian meals on the 1st and 15th day. And do not stay out late.

Many people claim that there are more disasters and accidents during the 7th month. They also claim that more people fall sick during this period. I have not done any research on this but it is something worth looking into.

In some years, in addition to the 7th month there is another 7th leap month. Does this means that the ghost are out for 60 days instead of 30. The answer is no. The leap month is not considered!

Are you grateful that the ghosts are out for 30 days only instead of 60?

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Qing Ming: Chinese All Souls Day

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Visiting the graves of our ancestors during Qing Ming is an age old Chinese tradition. Apparent it goes back 2000 years to the Han dynasty.

Grave Site
Grave Site

Qing Ming means Clear Brightness in Chinese. In the Chinese solar calendar the season of spring is further sub-divided into 6 divisions of approx 14 days each and it is called the Knots and Qi. Qing Ming is one of sub-season within and normally falls on the 5th or 6th of April.

It is also a period when the days are longer than the nights and is considered to be most ‘yang’. Hence the name Clear Brightness!

The visit need not be made on the first day of Qing Ming. Any time plus or minus 30 days is fine although most people prefer to do it on the weekends immediately prior or after (that is if Qing Ming do not fall on a weekend).

Upon reaching the cemetery, it is customary to visit the ‘Da Bo Gong’ to offer your prayers. The ‘Da Bo Gong’ is like the head deity that looks after the cemetery. A more accurate but less used name is ‘Tu Di Gong’ or ‘Deity of the Earth’. Every cemetery or memorial park has one.

What if you do not offer prayers to ‘Da Bo Gong’ first? It has been rumoured that you may not be able to find your ancestors grave! Some even say that you may lose out in society for not knowing how to shoe respect to the elders.

Upon reaching your ancestor grave, you must first offer prayers to the ‘Hou Tu’. The ‘Hou Tu’ is the deity that looks after the grave and you should offer at least some rice cakes, fruits, wine and tea. Poultry is good too.

The offering of prayers to the ancestors must be done based on seniority. It is unfair but married daughters are ranked the lowest and they can offer prayers only after everyone else has done so.

There is no hard and fast rule on how long you should stay at the site. Most people spend between 30 minutes and an hour.

The cemetery is a place where the Yin energy is very strong. Therefore it is a good idea to wear an auspicious items such as jade or crystals to help ward off such energy. It is also a good idea to wear some light or bright coloured clothes that is full of yang energy to counter the yin energy of the cemetery. Black which is extremely yin is definitely out!

On the way to your ancestor’s grave, you should refrain from stepping on the other graves. If it is unavoidable, quietly ask for forgiveness before doing so.

While at the grave-site, do not talk too loudly and refrain from using foul language. Also be wary of the comments that you make about your ancestor and those of the neighbouring grave. Watch out for the children especially. Do not allow them to play or run around the grave-site or step on the tomb.

By the way, pregnant women should not visit participate in Qing Ming. The ancient Chinese believe that the extreme yin energies there can affect the unborn child.

It is customary to take a bath immediately after returning home is water soaked in pomelo leaves. It is believed that Pomelo is very yang and can wash off any yin energies that you may absorb from the cemetery!

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Chinese Wedding Gifts

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The delivery of gifts in a Chinese wedding is commonly known as ‘Guo Da Li’.

Wedding Gifts
Wedding Gifts

The delivery of Chinese wedding gifts is an affirmation of his intent to marry, a display of respect and also demonstration of the groom’s ability of support the family after marriage.

This is normally done within a month from the date of the marriage.

The gift from the groom-to-be would normally include the following:-

  • Dowry
  • Wedding Biscuits
  • Two pieces of red cloth
  • Seafood e.g. abalone, dried scallops, dried shrimps, dried squid, sea cucumber, mushrooms, shark fins, fish maw and the must have ‘fa cai’
  • Cooked chicken
  • Roasted pig (or a piece of it)
  • Big fish (signifies abundance)
  • Coconut (usually in pairs)
  • Wine (use to be rice wine but nowadays substituted with imported ones)
  • Dried fruits e.g. dried longan, dried lychee, dried plum and ground nuts
  • Others e.g. tea leaves

In this modern day the list of the gift are constantly simplified based on cost and environmental sensitivity. For example, the size of the abalone package has shrunk due to the high price and shark fins may be eliminated from the list in order to be politically correct!

The gifts are delivered by the groom to be accompanied by relatives. There is normally no ceremony and the groom-to-be will take this opportunity to update the bride and in-laws-to-be on the progress of the wedding arrangement. Since many relatives of the bride will be present, this is also an opportunity for the groom-to-be to chat and foster goodwill.

The acceptance of the Chinese wedding gifts is an affirmation from the women’s side of the marriage.

The bride-to-be has to return some gifts in acknowledgement and they would normally include tea leaves, fruits, a pair of trousers, belt, wallet (with a red packet inside), pair of shoes and the remains of the roast pig (after the bride’s family and friends have they way with it!).

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Chinese Wedding Ceremony

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In ancient times, the Chinese wedding ceremony is held to get recognition from society. It comprise of many ceremonial processes that include the wedding proposal, engagement and the actual wedding.

Today recognition is given by the Registry of Civil Marriages who issues the certificate of registration of marriage once they are satisfied that you have complied with the requirements. The couple is then considered legally married and come under the protection of the law.

Many people feel that the ancient style traditional wedding ceremony is complicated. In line with the times and to be practical, many of theses ceremonies are simplified or discarded.

Today’s Chinese Wedding traditions consist mainly of the wedding proposal and the actually wedding. Engagement has become less popular.

I will touch on the wedding proposal in another article. Meanwhile let’s focus on the actually wedding itself. It comprises of the taking of the bride, the prayer and tea ceremony, back to bride’s home tea ceremony and the wedding feast.

The day begins with the groom and friends arriving at the bride’s house at a designated auspicious hour. As a customary practice, the bride’s lady friends will put up some resistance to prevent the groom from taking the bride. This resistance is quickly overcome by giving a red packet and they are on their way back to the groom’s house.

When the bride arrives at the groom’s house, she is quickly taken in to perform the prayer ceremony. This is followed by the tea ceremony where the groom and bride serve tea to the groom’s family and friends as a sign of respect. The groom’s family and friends in turn shower her with gifts and red packet. Family members that are younger than the groom will in turn serve tea to the bride and groom as a sign of respect. This is quickly rewarded with red packets from the bride and groom.

The groom and bride then goes back to the brides family for a similar prayer and tea ceremony, this time for members of the bride’s family.

Then it is back to the groom’s house for some much needed rest before going to the restaurant or hotel for the multi-course wedding feast.

Finally it is time to get home and to bed where the marriage is consummated (at least this is how it is suppose to happen in the good old days!).

This brings us to a question from Chinese Astrology. When is a couple deemed to be married? Is it after the marriage ceremony or after signing the documents at the registry?

Many astrologers believe that it is after the couple has stayed together (as man and wife) for 100 days, certificate or not!

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