Most people open the Chinese almanac and look first at the "favorable" (yi) and "unfavorable" (ji) lists. Few explain where they come from, why almanacs differ, or what to look at. This guide covers it.
What the lists are
The almanac (Huangli or Tongshu) lays out each day's stem-branch, solar term and date-selection terms on top of the traditional calendar. The lists name activities such as offerings, weddings, travel, moving in, groundbreaking or opening a business. They are derived by fixed rules: day stem-branch, month and solar-term position map to the Twelve Officers, yellow/black path deities and many named stars, and the results are compiled. The Qing court's Qinding Xieji Bianfang Shu unified the competing schools and influenced later folk almanacs. So the lists are a traditional classification of days.
What's on a page
- Gregorian and lunar dates.
- Stem-branch day, e.g. Xin You — a sixty-day cycle unbroken since antiquity.
- Twelve Officers: Establish, Remove, Full, Balance, Stable, Initiate, Destruction, Danger, Success, Receive, Open, Close.
- Day deity: six yellow-path, six black-path.
- Clash note, e.g. "clashes Rabbit (Yi Mao), sha East".
- Favorable and unfavorable lists.
- Some add Pengzu taboos, more stars and hour-by-hour notes.
How to check today
- Confirm the date and region — the lunar calendar uses Beijing time (UTC+8), so abroad the date may differ.
- Read the stem-branch and Officer — they set the day's framework.
- Read the lists for the activity you care about, e.g. "entering the home" or "relocation" for moving.
- Learn the terms — na cai is betrothal gifts, yi xi relocation, ru zhai moving into a new home, kai shi opening a business, dong tu breaking ground. Literal readings mislead.
- Compare versions — publishers use different rules; differences are normal.
Reminders
- The lists are calendar culture, not instructions.
- Hours differ within a day, another reason almanacs look inconsistent.
- Some entries simply copy old texts — read them as cultural history.
- No need to worry — an "unfavorable" mark doesn't mean you can do nothing.
Summary
Checking today's dos and don'ts means reading an almanac page: confirm date and time zone, read stem-branch, Officer and deity, then the lists and their terms. It is a traditional classification with a history, not a mystical verdict. For cultural reference only.
This article is for cultural reference only and is not advice for any decision.