[Untitled traditional Chinese almanac for 2005]
The traditional Chinese Almanac (Yin li, min li or tong shu) is a calendrical and astrological guide to daily life. It is also a repository of traditional values and philosophy. Tradition has it that it originated in 2256 B.C., when the Emperor Yao commanded officials to prepare a regular publication of the coming year’s calendar. It lists the dates of the solar calendar with the equivalent days of the lunar calendar and provides advice on what activities are auspicious or inauspicious on each day. These calendars have also come to include other practical advice on daily living. Despite the onslaught of Communism and other modern ideologies in the twentieth century, use of the almanac has persisted, particularly in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora. The item on display is an almanac for 2005 (The Year of the Rooster).
