What a 黃曆 actually contains

The Chinese almanac has been printed continuously for centuries, and its structure has barely changed. For each day it gives the lunar date, the day’s Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch, the solar term, the twelve-day officer, the clashing zodiac animal, and two lists: 宜 (suitable) and 忌 (to avoid).

Those lists are why the almanac is still consulted for weddings, moves, business openings and renovations across Chinese-speaking Asia. They are conventions with long precedent, not superstitions invented for the page.

God directions

The almanac also gives the daily positions of 財神 the God of Wealth, 喜神 the God of Joy and 貴神 the Noble God. In practice these are used to orient yourself for something specific — facing the wealth direction when signing, sitting facing the joy direction at a first meeting.

The directions rotate on a ten-day cycle keyed to the day’s Heavenly Stem.

Conversion accuracy

Lunar conversion is easy to get slightly wrong, especially around leap months. This calendar uses a verified table covering 1920–2039 with leap months handled explicitly, so a date in a leap fourth month is labelled as such rather than silently folded into the fourth month.

Common questions

Which lunar calendar is this?

The Chinese lunisolar calendar as used in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It differs from the Vietnamese and Korean calendars in some years.

Are 宜 and 忌 the same in every almanac?

Mostly, but not entirely — different lineages weight the officers and stars differently. Ours follows the common 通勝 convention.

Can I check a date in the past?

Yes. The range is 1920 to 2039, which covers birth-date lookups and forward planning.