The day's almanac: suitable and unsuitable activities
The traditional almanac (通書) gives every day two lists: activities the day is considered suitable for (宜) and activities it is considered unsuitable for (忌). The lists come from the day's stems, branches and spirits by the rules of the almanac; the app takes them from the same source as its calendar engine and shows them on the Day calendar screen. This page lists the 142 activity names that can appear there, with the translation the app uses.
This is cultural reference: the almanac's lists describe how the tradition rated a day, not what will happen on it. The names are short translations of classical terms; several of them are rites and trades of a rural economy that have no modern equivalent.
| Activity | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 祭祀 | offerings to ancestors and deities |
| 祈福 | prayers for blessings |
| 求嗣 | praying for offspring |
| 开光 | consecrating a sacred image |
| 塑绘 | sculpting and painting sacred images |
| 齐醮 | holding a Taoist altar rite |
| 斋醮 | fasting before a Taoist rite |
| 沐浴 | ritual bathing |
| 酬神 | thanksgiving to the gods |
| 造庙 | building a temple |
| 祀灶 | offering to the Kitchen God |
| 焚香 | burning incense |
| 谢土 | thanking the earth after building |
| 出火 | moving the household altar |
| 雕刻 | carving |
| 嫁娶 | wedding |
| 订婚 | engagement |
| 纳采 | proposal of marriage |
| 问名 | asking the bride's name and birth details |
| 纳婿 | taking a son-in-law into the family |
| 归宁 | a married daughter visiting her parents |
| 安床 | setting up a bed |
| 合帐 | sewing bed curtains |
| 冠笄 | coming-of-age rite |
| 订盟 | formalizing an engagement |
| 进人口 | adopting a child or taking in a household member |
| 裁衣 | cutting cloth for clothes |
| 挽面 | threading facial hair |
| 开容 | the bride's face-threading rite |
| 修坟 | repairing a grave |
| 启钻 | opening a grave for reburial |
| 破土 | breaking ground for a grave |
| 安葬 | burial |
| 立碑 | erecting a gravestone |
| 成服 | putting on mourning dress |
| 除服 | ending the mourning period |
| 开生坟 | preparing a grave in advance |
| 合寿木 | making a coffin in advance |
| 入殓 | placing the body in the coffin |
| 移柩 | moving the coffin |
| 普渡 | offerings for wandering souls |
| 入宅 | moving into a new home |
| 安香 | installing the household altar |
| 安门 | installing doors |
| 修造 | repairs and construction |
| 起基 | laying a foundation |
| 动土 | groundbreaking |
| 上梁 | raising the main beam |
| 竖柱 | raising pillars |
| 开井开池 | digging a well or pond |
| 作陂放水 | building a reservoir and filling it with water |
| 拆卸 | demolition |
| 破屋 | tearing down an old house |
| 坏垣 | tearing down a wall |
| 补垣 | repairing a wall |
| 伐木做梁 | felling timber for beams |
| 作灶 | building a stove |
| 解除 | cleansing the house to ward off misfortune |
| 开柱眼 | cutting mortises in pillars |
| 穿屏扇架 | fitting screens and door frames |
| 盖屋合脊 | roofing and setting the ridge |
| 开厕 | setting up a latrine |
| 造仓 | building a storehouse |
| 塞穴 | sealing holes and cracks |
| 平治道涂 | levelling and repairing roads |
| 造桥 | building a bridge |
| 作厕 | building a latrine |
| 筑堤 | building an embankment |
| 开池 | digging a pond |
| 伐木 | felling trees |
| 开渠 | digging a canal |
| 掘井 | digging a well |
| 扫舍 | cleaning the house |
| 放水 | filling a pond with water |
| 造屋 | building a house |
| 合脊 | setting the roof ridge |
| 造畜稠 | building a livestock pen |
| 修门 | repairing doors |
| 定磉 | setting foundation stones |
| 作梁 | making beams |
| 修饰垣墙 | plastering and decorating walls and fences |
| 架马 | setting up scaffolding |
| 开市 | opening for business |
| 挂匾 | hanging a signboard |
| 纳财 | receiving money and goods |
| 求财 | seeking income |
| 开仓 | opening a storehouse |
| 买车 | buying a vehicle |
| 置产 | acquiring property |
| 雇佣 | hiring workers |
| 出货财 | shipping and selling goods, lending money |
| 安机械 | installing machinery |
| 造车器 | making vehicles and boats |
| 经络 | setting up the loom and weaving |
| 酝酿 | brewing and fermenting |
| 作染 | dyeing cloth |
| 鼓铸 | casting metal |
| 造船 | building a boat |
| 割蜜 | harvesting honey |
| 栽种 | planting |
| 取渔 | fishing |
| 结网 | making nets |
| 牧养 | raising and herding livestock |
| 安碓磑 | installing a grain pounder or mill |
| 习艺 | starting an apprenticeship |
| 入学 | starting school |
| 理发 | haircut |
| 探病 | visiting the sick |
| 见贵 | meeting people of standing |
| 乘船 | boat travel |
| 渡水 | crossing water |
| 针灸 | acupuncture and moxibustion |
| 出行 | travel |
| 移徙 | moving house |
| 分居 | dividing a household |
| 剃头 | an infant's first head-shaving or monastic tonsure |
| 整手足甲 | an infant's first nail trimming |
| 纳畜 | acquiring livestock |
| 捕捉 | catching pests |
| 畋猎 | hunting |
| 教牛马 | training oxen and horses |
| 会亲友 | gathering with family and friends |
| 赴任 | taking up a post |
| 求医 | seeking a physician |
| 治病 | treating an illness |
| 词讼 | litigation |
| 起基动土 | foundation and groundbreaking |
| 破屋坏垣 | demolishing a house and walls |
| 盖屋 | roofing |
| 造仓库 | building a warehouse |
| 立券交易 | signing contracts and trading |
| 交易 | trading |
| 立券 | signing a contract |
| 安机 | installing a loom or machine |
| 会友 | meeting friends |
| 求医疗病 | seeking a physician and treatment |
| 诸事不宜 | nothing counts as suitable today |
| 馀事勿取 | no other matters count as suitable |
| 行丧 | holding funeral rites |
| 断蚁 | sealing ant nests |
| 归岫 | returning home |
| 无 | none |