BabelStone Blog

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Sunday, 24 March 2013

Today's Date in Old Mandarin, Middle Mongolian, Manchu, Jurchen, Khitan, Khitan and Tangut

Last month I had the idea to celebrate the Chinese New Year by creating a javascript-based calendar for the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, but with the calendrical data presented in the Manchu language and script rather than in Chinese. My first step was to borrow some code from the internet (in fact the code that displays the Chinese calendar date at the top right of this page), but after a week spent rewriting and testing it I came to realise that it did not work very well, so I decided it was best to write the code myself from scratch. Rather than try to dynamically calculate the data as some implementations do (far too complicated for me), I chose to use a table-based implementation covering 200 years from 1901 to 2100 inclusively. The result is that the javascript file is quite large, but the code is quite simple, and it should be easy to extend the date ranges if required. I have released the javascript code (calendar.js) under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

Over the past few weeks I have written a set of seven pages that utilise this javascript code to display today's date (or any selected date between 1901 and 2100) according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar in Old Mandarin (Phags-pa script), Middle Mongolian (Phags-pa script), Manchu (Manchu script), Jurchen (Jurchen script), Khitan (Khitan Large Script), Khitan (Khitan Small Script), and Tangut (Tangut script) :

• Today's Date in Old Mandarin — Unicode Phags-pa script, with my system of Phags-pa transliteration on mouseover (Phags-pa readings for Chinese characters are mostly derived from the 14th century Phags-pa rime dictionary, Ménggǔ Zìyùn 蒙古字韻)
• Today's Date in Middle Mongolian — Unicode Phags-pa script with my system of Phags-pa transliteration on mouseover
• Today's Date in Manchu — Unicode Mongolian script with Möllendorff transliteration on mouseover
• Today's Date in Jurchen — Jurchen glyph images derived from a font created by Jing Yongshi (images named according to the head entry position in Jin Qizong's 1984 Jurchen dictionary), with Jin Qizong's reconstructed readings on mouseover
• Today's Date in Khitan Large Script — Khitan Large Script glyph images derived from a font created by myself (images named according to their PUA codepoint values), with English meanings on mouseover
• Today's Date in Khitan Small Script — Unicode Khitan Small script with reconstructed readings and/or English meanings on mouseover
• Today's Date in Tangut — Unicode Tangut with reconstructed readings by Gong Hwang-cherng, as given in Li Fanwen's 2008 Tangut-Chinese dictionary, on mouseover

Several people have asked for an explantion of calendrical data provided on the above pages and/or further information about the calendrical terms in the various languages and scripts used, and this blog post is an attempt to answer such questions. I am by no means an expert on the Chinese calendar, so I won't go into too much technical detail about calendrical calculations, but I attempt to provide the minimum information necessary to understand the data provided on my "Today's Date in ..." pages.

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Chinese Lunisolar Calendar

Each of my "Today's Date in ..." pages provides some or all of the following information for the selected date :

• Lunar date, consisting of the day of the lunar month, lunar month, and cyclical year;
• Solar term if the day falls on one of the 24 solar terms;
• Cyclical year, cyclical month, cyclical day, and cyclical hour.

The data for my javascript calendar is derived from the Gregorian-Lunar Calendar Conversion Tables for 1901–2100 provided by the Hong Kong Observatory, as well as the Chinese Calendar, Calendar Converter, Chinese Lunar Calendar pages on the China the Beautiful site. These sources use the official calendrical data calculated using Chinese standard time at a longitude of 120°E, which very occasionally differs from the calculations of the traditional Wannian 萬年 calendars (the lunar dates of August 9th/10th 1953, September 2nd/3rd 1978, and August 1st/2nd 1989 vary between the two calendars).

Lunar Date

Chinese lunar months start on the day of a new moon, and last for 29 or 30 days. The first lunar month starts on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice, and occurs between January 21 and February 20 inclusively in the 200 years from 1901 to 2100 covered by my javascript calendar. There are normally twelve lunar months in a year, named as the 1st through 12th month. As a lunar cycle is about 29.53 days long and a solar year lasts about 365.2425 days, an intercalary month is inserted every two or three years (approximately seven times every 19 years). When an intercalary month is added, it is the first lunar month of the year that does not contain a midpoint solar term (see Table 4), and it is named after the preceding month (e.g. an intercalary month inserted after the 5th month is called the "intercalary 5th month"). The intercalary month is almost always inserted after one of the 2nd through 8th months, but may very rarely occur after another month. The names of the months and days in the various languages of my javascript calendar pages are listed in Table 2 and Table 3 respectively.

Table 1: Calendrical Terms

English	Chinese		Old Mandarin		Middle Mongolian		Classical Mongolian		Manchu		Jurchen		Large Khitan	Small Khitan		Tangut
year	年	nián	ꡋꡠꡋ	nen	ꡆꡞꡙ	ǰil	ᠵᠢᠯ	ǰil	ᠠᠨᡳᠶᠠ	aniya		ania		𘲐	ai	𗤒	kjiw
month	月	yuè	ꡝꡧꡦ	ʼwė	ꡕ ꡘ	za ra	ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	sara	ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	biya		bia		𘭧		𗼑	lhjị
day	日	rì	ꡔꡞ	ži	ꡢꡡ ꡋꡡꡢ	qo noq	ᠬᠣᠨᠣᠭ	qonoɣ	ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	inenggi		inəŋgi		𘲺		𗾞	njɨ̱
hour	時	shí	ꡚꡞ	ši	ꡅꡢ	čʽaq	ᠴᠠᠭ	čaɣ	ᡝᡵᡳᠨ	erin		fo		𘮗	po	𘝨	zjọ

Table 2: Lunar Month Names

Month	Chinese		Old Mandarin		Middle Mongolian		Classical Mongolian		Manchu		Jurchen		Large Khitan	Small Khitan		Tangut
1st	正 月	zhèng yuè	ꡆꡞꡃ ꡝꡧꡦ	ǰiŋ ʼwė	ꡢ ꡎꡟ ꡘꡟꡋ ꡉꡦ ꡘꡞ ꡖꡟꡋ ꡕ ꡘ	qa bu run tʽė ri •un za ra	ᠬᠠᠪᠤᠷ ᠤᠨ ᠲᠡᠷᠢᠭᠦᠨ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	qabur-un terigün sara	ᠠᠨᡳᠶᠠ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	aniya biya		nienie bia		𘱘𘭧	nai (HEAD) MONTH	𗩭 𗼑	tśjow lhjị
2nd	二 月	èr yuè	ꡔꡞ ꡝꡧꡦ	ži ʼwė	ꡢ ꡎꡟ ꡘꡟꡋ ꡊꡟꡏ ꡊ ꡊꡟ ꡕ ꡘ	qa bu run dum da du za ra	ᠬᠠᠪᠤᠷ ᠤᠨ ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	qabur-un dumdadu sara	ᠵᡠᠸᡝ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	juwe biya		dʒo bia		𘲝𘭧	TWO MONTH	𗍫 𗼑	njɨ̱ lhjị
3rd	三 月	sān yuè	ꡛꡏ ꡝꡧꡦ	sam ʼwė	ꡢ ꡎꡟ ꡘꡟꡋ ꡜꡦ ꡅꡟꡛ ꡕ ꡘ	qa bu run hė čʽus za ra	ᠬᠠᠪᠤᠷ ᠤᠨ ᠡᠴᠦᠰ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	qabur-un ečüs sara	ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	ilan biya		ilan bia		𘯙𘭧	THREE MONTH	𘕕𗼑	sọ lhjị
4th	四 月	sì yuè	ꡛꡜꡞ ꡝꡧꡦ	shi ʼwė	ꡆꡟ ꡋꡟ ꡉꡦ ꡘꡞ ꡖꡟꡋ ꡕ ꡘ	ǰu nu tʽė ri •un za ra	ᠵᠤᠨ ᠤ ᠲᠡᠷᠢᠭᠦᠨ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	ǰun-u terigün sara	ᡩᡠᡳ᠌ᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	duin biya		duin bia		𘲂𘭧	FOUR MONTH	𗥃 𗼑	ljɨr lhjị
5th	五 月	wǔ yuè	ꡟ ꡝꡧꡦ	u ʼwė	ꡆꡟ ꡋꡟ ꡊꡟꡏ ꡊ ꡊꡟ ꡕ ꡘ	ǰu nu dum da du za ra	ᠵᠤᠨ ᠤ ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	ǰun-u dumdadu sara	ᠰᡠᠨᠵᠠ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	sunja biya		ʃundʒa bia		𘬦𘭧	FIVE MONTH	𗏁 𗼑	ŋwə lhjị
6th	六 月	liù yuè	ꡙꡦꡟ ꡝꡧꡦ	lėu ʼwė	ꡆꡟ ꡋꡟ ꡜꡦ ꡅꡟꡛ ꡕ ꡘ	ǰu nu hė čʽus za ra	ᠵᠤᠨ ᠤ ᠡᠴᠦᠰ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	ǰun-u ečüs sara	ᠨᡳᠩᡤᡠᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	ninggun biya		niŋgu bia		𘭬𘭧	SIX MONTH	𗤁 𗼑	tśhjiw lhjị
7th	七 月	qī yuè	ꡑꡞ ꡝꡧꡦ	tsʽi ʼwė	ꡋ ꡏꡟ ꡘꡟꡋ ꡉꡦ ꡘꡞ ꡖꡟꡋ ꡕ ꡘ	na mu run tʽė ri •un za ra	ᠨᠠᠮᠤᠷ ᠤᠨ ᠲᠡᠷᠢᠭᠦᠨ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	namur-un terigün sara	ᠨᠠᡩᠠᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	nadan biya		nadan bia		𘲧𘭧	SEVEN MONTH	𗒹 𗼑	śjạ lhjị
8th	八 月	bā yuè	ꡎ ꡝꡧꡦ	ba ʼwė	ꡋ ꡏꡟ ꡘꡟꡋ ꡊꡟꡏ ꡊ ꡊꡟ ꡕ ꡘ	na mu run dum da du za ra	ᠨᠠᠮᠤᠷ ᠤᠨ ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	namur-un dumdadu sara	ᠵᠠᡴᡡᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	jakūn biya		dʒakun bia		𘬌𘭧	EIGHT MONTH	𘉋 𗼑	•jar lhjị
9th	九 月	jiǔ yuè	ꡂꡞꡓ ꡝꡧꡦ	giw ʼwė	ꡋ ꡏꡟ ꡘꡟꡋ ꡜꡦ ꡅꡟꡛ ꡕ ꡘ	na mu run hė čʽus za ra	ᠨᠠᠮᠤᠷ ᠤᠨ ᠡᠴᠦᠰ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	namur-un ečüs sara	ᡠᠶᡠᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	uyun biya		ujewun bia		𘬪𘭧	NINE MONTH	𗢭 𗼑	gjɨ̱ lhjị
10th	十 月	shí yuè	ꡚꡞ ꡝꡧꡦ	ši ʼwė	ꡝꡦꡟ ꡎꡟ ꡙꡟꡋ ꡉꡦ ꡘꡞ ꡖꡟꡋ ꡕ ꡘ	ʼėu bu lun tʽė ri •un za ra	ᠡᠪᠦᠯ ᠦᠨ ᠲᠡᠷᠢᠭᠦᠨ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	ebül-ün terigün sara	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	juwan biya		dʒua bia		𘰯𘭧	TEN MONTH	𗰗 𗼑	ɣạ lhjị
11th	十 一 月	shí yī yuè	ꡚꡞ ꡗꡞ ꡝꡧꡦ	ši yi ʼwė	ꡝꡦꡟ ꡎꡟ ꡙꡟꡋ ꡊꡟꡏ ꡊ ꡊꡟ ꡕ ꡘ	ʼėu bu lun dum da du za ra	ᠡᠪᠦᠯ ᠦᠨ ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	ebül-ün dumdadu sara	ᠣᠮᡧᠣᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	omšon biya		dʒua əmu bia		𘰯𘬣𘭧	TEN ONE MONTH	𗰗 𘈩 𗼑	ɣạ lew lhjị
12th	十 二 月	shí èr yuè	ꡚꡞ ꡔꡞ ꡝꡧꡦ	ši ži ʼwė	ꡝꡦꡟ ꡎꡟ ꡙꡟꡋ ꡜꡦ ꡅꡟꡛ ꡕ ꡘ	ʼėu bu lun hė čʽus za ra	ᠡᠪᠦᠯ ᠦᠨ ᠡᠴᠦᠰ ᠰᠠᠷ᠎ᠠ	ebül-ün ečüs sara	ᠵᠣᡵᡤᠣᠨ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	jorgon biya		dʒua dʒo bia		𘰯𘲝𘭧	TEN TWO MONTH	𗰗 𗍫 𗼑	ɣạ njɨ̱ lhjị
Intercalary month	閏 月	rùn yuè	ꡔꡦꡟꡋ ꡝꡧꡦ	žėun ʼwė	ꡚꡦꡟꡋ	šėun	ᠱᠦᠨ	šün	ᠠᠨᠠᡤᠠᠨ ᡳ ᠪᡳᠶᠠ	anagan-i biya		ala- -xa bia		𘮧𘲀𘯟𘭧	p.ul.uh MONTH	𘒹 𗼑	lhu lhjị

Notes

1. For all languages in the table except for Mongolian the months are named numerically, but with a special word for the first month: Chinese and Old Mandarin = "principal month"; Manchu = "[new] year month" (alternatively

   ᡨᠣᠪ
   ᠪᡳᠶᠠ

   tob biya "principal month"); Jurchen = "spring month"; Khitan = "head month"; Tangut = "principal month".
2. There are various systems of naming months in Mongolian (see Brian Gregory Baumann, Divine Knowledge: Buddhist Mathematics According to the Anoymous Manual of Mongolian Astrology and Divination (Brill, 2008) pp. 70–83). Extant Mongolian Phags-pa texts use the system referred to as "Black Chinese Mathematics" in Table IV.8 in Baumann pp. 72–73. In this system, months are named as initial, medial or final Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter month.
3. The Mongolian Phags-pa word for a leap month is unattested, and has been reconstructed from Classical Mongolian, which is a borrowing via Old Uyghur of the Chinese word rùn 閏. An intercalary month is also called saban sara in Classical Mongolian.
4. When followed by a date, the Middle Mongolian and Classical Mongolian word for month, za ra/sara is put in the genitive form, za ra yin/sara in.
5. When followed by a date, the Manchu word for month,

   ᠪᡳᠶᠠ

   biya is put in the genitive form,

   ᠪᡳᠶᠠᡳ

   biyai. Jurchen dates do not show a written genitive form of the word bia "month" before a date.
6. Jurchen does have single-character words for "eleven" and "twelve", cognate to Manchu omšon and jorgon, and it is possible that the 11th and 12th months were written as omʃo inəŋgi and dʒïrxon inəŋgi during the Jin dynasty. However, no Jurchen inscriptions dating to the Jin dynasty mention the 11th or 12th months, and in Ming dynasty Jurchen texts the 11th and 12th months are written as "ten-one month" and "ten-two month".
7. The Khitan Small Script numbers one through nine occur in dotted and undotted forms, but only the undotted forms occur before the word "month".

Table 3: Lunar Day Names

Month	Chinese		Old Mandarin		Middle Mongolian		Classical Mongolian		Manchu		Jurchen				Large Khitan	Small Khitan		Tangut
											Jin Dynasty		Ming Dynasty
1st	初 一	chū yī	ꡅꡟ ꡗꡞ ꡔꡞ	čʽu yi ži	ꡋꡞ ꡁꡦꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	ni kʽėn ši nė	ᠨᠢᠭᠡᠨ	nigen	ᡳᠴᡝ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice inenggi		əmu inəŋgi		itʃə inəŋgi		𘬣𘲺	ONE DAY	𘈩 𗾞	lew njɨ̱
2nd	初 二	chū èr	ꡅꡟ ꡔꡞ ꡔꡞ	čʽu ži ži	ꡢꡡ ꡗꡘ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	qo yar ši nė	ᠬᠣᠶᠠᠷ	qoyar	ᡳᠴᡝ ᠵᡠᠸᡝ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice juwe inenggi		dʒo inəŋgi		itʃə dʒo inəŋgi		𘲝𘲺	TWO DAY	𗍫 𗾞	njɨ̱ njɨ̱
3rd	初 三	chū sān	ꡅꡟ ꡛꡏ ꡔꡞ	čʽu sam ži	ꡢꡟꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	qur ban ši nė	ᠭᠤᠷᠪᠠᠨ	ɣurban	ᡳᠴᡝ ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice ilan inenggi		ilan inəŋgi		itʃə ilan inəŋgi		𘯙𘲺	THREE DAY	𘕕 𗾞	sọ njɨ̱
4th	初 四	chū sì	ꡅꡟ ꡛꡜꡞ ꡔꡞ	čʽu shi ži	ꡊꡦꡡꡘ ꡎꡦꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	dėor bėn ši nė	ᠳᠥᠷᠪᠡᠨ	dörben	ᡳᠴᡝ ᡩᡠᡳ᠌ᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice duin inenggi		duin inəŋgi		itʃə duin inəŋgi		𘲂𘲺	FOUR DAY	𗥃 𗾞	ljɨr njɨ̱
5th	初 五	chū wǔ	ꡅꡟ ꡟ ꡔꡞ	čʽu u ži	ꡉ ꡎꡟꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	tʽa bun ši nė	ᠲᠠᠪᠤᠨ	tabun	ᡳᠴᡝ ᠰᡠᠨᠵᠠ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice sunja inenggi		ʃundʒa inəŋgi		itʃə ʃundʒa inəŋgi		𘬦𘲺	FIVE DAY	𗏁 𗾞	ŋwə njɨ̱
6th	初 六	chū liù	ꡅꡟ ꡙꡦꡟ ꡔꡞ	čʽu lėu ži	ꡆꡞꡘ ꡢꡡ ꡖꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	ǰir qo •an ši nė	ᠵᠢᠷᠭᠤᠭᠠᠨ	ǰirɣuɣan	ᡳᠴᡝ ᠨᡳᠩᡤᡠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice ninggun inenggi		niŋgu inəŋgi		itʃə niŋgu inəŋgi		𘭬𘲺	SIX DAY	𗤁 𗾞	tśhjiw njɨ̱
7th	初 七	chū qī	ꡅꡟ ꡑꡞ ꡔꡞ	čʽu tsʽi ži	ꡊꡡ ꡙꡡ ꡖꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	do lo •an ši nė	ᠳᠣᠯᠣᠭᠠᠨ	doloɣan	ᡳᠴᡝ ᠨᠠᡩᠠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice nadan inenggi		nadan inəŋgi		itʃə nadan inəŋgi		𘲧𘲺	SEVEN DAY	𗒹 𗾞	śjạ njɨ̱
8th	初 八	chū bā	ꡅꡟ ꡎ ꡔꡞ	čʽu ba ži	ꡋꡗꡞ ꡏꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	nayi man ši nė	ᠨᠠᠢᠮᠠᠨ	naiman	ᡳᠴᡝ ᠵᠠᡴᡡᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice jakūn inenggi		dʒakun inəŋgi		itʃə dʒakun inəŋgi		𘬌𘲺	EIGHT DAY	𘉋 𗾞	•jar njɨ̱
9th	初 九	chū jiǔ	ꡅꡟ ꡂꡞꡓ ꡔꡞ	čʽu giw ži	ꡗꡞ ꡛꡟꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	yi sun ši nė	ᠶᠢᠰᠦᠨ	yisün	ᡳᠴᡝ ᡠᠶᡠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice uyun inenggi		ujewun inəŋgi		itʃə ujewun inəŋgi		𘬪𘲺	NINE DAY	𗢭 𗾞	gjɨ̱ njɨ̱
10th	初 十	chū shí	ꡅꡟ ꡚꡞ ꡔꡞ	čʽu ši ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡚꡞ ꡋꡦ	har ban ši nė	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ	arban	ᡳᠴᡝ ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	ice juwan inenggi		dʒua inəŋgi		itʃə dʒua inəŋgi		𘰯𘲺	TEN DAY	𗰗 𗾞	ɣạ njɨ̱
11th	十 一	shí yī	ꡚꡞ ꡗꡞ ꡔꡞ	ši yi ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡋꡞ ꡁꡦꡋ	har ban ni kʽėn	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠨᠢᠭᠡᠨ	arban nigen	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᡝᠮᡠ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	juwan emu inenggi		omʃo inəŋgi		dʒua əmu inəŋgi		𘰯𘬣𘲺	TEN ONE DAY	𗰗 𘈩 𗾞	ɣạ lew njɨ̱
12th	十 二	shí èr	ꡚꡞ ꡔꡞ ꡔꡞ	ši ži ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡢꡡ ꡗꡘ	har ban qo yar	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠬᠣᠶᠠᠷ	arban qoyar	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᠵᡠᠸᡝ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	juwan juwe inenggi		dʒïrxon inəŋgi		dʒua dʒo inəŋgi		𘰯𘲝𘲺	TEN TWO DAY	𗰗 𗍫 𗾞	ɣạ njɨ̱ njɨ̱
13rd	十 三	shí sān	ꡚꡞ ꡛꡏ ꡔꡞ	ši sam ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡢꡟꡘ ꡎꡋ	har ban qur ban	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠭᠤᠷᠪᠠᠨ	arban ɣurban	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	juwan ilan inenggi		gorxon inəŋgi		dʒua ilan inəŋgi		𘰯𘯙𘲺	TEN THREE DAY	𗰗 𘕕 𗾞	ɣạ sọ njɨ̱
14th	十 四	shí sì	ꡚꡞ ꡛꡜꡞ ꡔꡞ	ši shi ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡊꡦꡡꡘ ꡎꡦꡋ	har ban dėor bėn	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠳᠥᠷᠪᠡᠨ	arban dörben	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᡩᡠᡳ᠌ᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	juwan duin inenggi		durxon inəŋgi		dʒua duin inəŋgi		𘰯𘲂𘲺	TEN FOUR DAY	𗰗 𗥃 𗾞	ɣạ ljɨr njɨ̱
15th	十 五	shí wǔ	ꡚꡞ ꡟ ꡔꡞ	ši u ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡉ ꡎꡟꡋ	har ban tʽa bun	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠲᠠᠪᠤᠨ	arban tabun	ᡨᠣᡶᠣᡥᠣᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	tofohon inenggi		toboxon inəŋgi		dʒua ʃundʒa inəŋgi		𘰯𘬦𘲺	TEN FIVE DAY	𗰗 𗏁 𗾞	ɣạ ŋwə njɨ̱
16th	十 六	shí liù	ꡚꡞ ꡙꡦꡟ ꡔꡞ	ši lėu ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡆꡞꡘ ꡢꡡ ꡖꡋ	har ban ǰir qo •an	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠵᠢᠷᠭᠤᠭᠠᠨ	arban ǰirɣuɣan	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᠨᡳᠩᡤᡠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	juwan ninggun inenggi		nixun inəŋgi		dʒua niŋgu inəŋgi		𘰯𘭬𘲺	TEN SIX DAY	𗰗 𗤁 𗾞	ɣạ tśhjiw njɨ̱
17th	十 七	shí qī	ꡚꡞ ꡑꡞ ꡔꡞ	ši tsʽi ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡊꡡ ꡙꡡ ꡖꡋ	har ban do lo •an	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠳᠣᠯᠣᠭᠠᠨ	arban doloɣan	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᠨᠠᡩᠠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	juwan nadan inenggi		darxon inəŋgi		dʒua nadan inəŋgi		𘰯𘲧𘲺	TEN SEVEN DAY	𗰗 𗒹 𗾞	ɣạ śjạ njɨ̱
18th	十 八	shí bā	ꡚꡞ ꡎ ꡔꡞ	ši ba ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡋꡗꡞ ꡏꡋ	har ban nayi man	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠨᠠᠢᠮᠠᠨ	arban naiman	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᠵᠠᡴᡡᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	juwan jakūn inenggi		niuxun inəŋgi		dʒua dʒakun inəŋgi		𘰯𘬌𘲺	TEN EIGHT DAY	𗰗 𘉋 𗾞	ɣạ •jar njɨ̱
19th	十 九	shí jiǔ	ꡚꡞ ꡂꡞꡓ ꡔꡞ	ši giw ži	ꡜꡘ ꡎꡋ ꡗꡞ ꡛꡟꡋ	har ban yi sun	ᠠᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠶᠢᠰᠦᠨ	arban yisün	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ ᡠᠶᡠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	juwan uyun inenggi		onioxon inəŋgi		dʒua ujewun inəŋgi		𘰯𘬪𘲺	TEN NINE DAY	𗰗 𗢭 𗾞	ɣạ gjɨ̱ njɨ̱
20th	二 十	èr shí	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡔꡞ	ži ši ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ	qo rin	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ	qorin	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin inenggi		orin inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua inəŋgi		𘬂𘲺	TWENTY DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ njɨ̱
21st	廿 一	niàn yī	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡗꡞ ꡔꡞ	ži ši yi ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡋꡞ ꡁꡦꡋ	qo rin ni kʽėn	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠨᠢᠭᠡᠨ	qorin nigen	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᡝᠮᡠ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin emu inenggi		orin əmu inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua əmu inəŋgi		𘬂𘬣𘲺	TWENTY ONE DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𘈩 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ lew njɨ̱
22nd	廿 二	niàn èr	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡔꡞ ꡔꡞ	ži ši ži ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡢꡡ ꡗꡘ	qo rin qo yar	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠬᠣᠶᠠᠷ	qorin qoyar	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᠵᡠᠸᡝ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin juwe inenggi		orin dʒo inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua dʒo inəŋgi		𘬂𘲝𘲺	TWENTY TWO DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𗍫 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ njɨ̱ njɨ̱
23rd	廿 三	niàn sān	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡛꡏ ꡔꡞ	ži ši sam ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡢꡟꡘ ꡎꡋ	qo rin qur ban	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠭᠤᠷᠪᠠᠨ	qorin ɣurban	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin ilan inenggi		orin ilan inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua ilan inəŋgi		𘬂𘯙𘲺	TWENTY THREE DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𘕕 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ sọ njɨ̱
24th	廿 四	niàn sì	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡛꡜꡞ ꡔꡞ	ži ši shi ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡊꡦꡡꡘ ꡎꡦꡋ	qo rin dėor bėn	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠳᠥᠷᠪᠡᠨ	qorin dörben	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᡩᡠᡳ᠌ᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin duin inenggi		orin duin inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua duin inəŋgi		𘬂𘲂𘲺	TWENTY FOUR DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𗥃 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ ljɨr njɨ̱
25th	廿 五	niàn wǔ	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡟ ꡔꡞ	ži ši u ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡉ ꡎꡟꡋ	qo rin tʽa bun	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠲᠠᠪᠤᠨ	qorin tabun	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᠰᡠᠨᠵᠠ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin sunja inenggi		orin ʃundʒa inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua ʃundʒa inəŋgi		𘬂𘬦𘲺	TWENTY FIVE DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𗏁 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ ŋwə njɨ̱
26th	廿 六	niàn liù	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡙꡦꡟ ꡔꡞ	ži ši lėu ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡆꡞꡘ ꡢꡡ ꡖꡋ	qo rin ǰir qo •an	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠵᠢᠷᠭᠤᠭᠠᠨ	qorin ǰirɣuɣan	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᠨᡳᠩᡤᡠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin ninggun inenggi		orin niŋgu inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua niŋgu inəŋgi		𘬂𘭬𘲺	TWENTY SIX DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𗤁 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ tśhjiw njɨ̱
27th	廿 七	niàn qī	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡑꡞ ꡔꡞ	ži ši tsʽi ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡊꡡ ꡙꡡ ꡖꡋ	qo rin do lo •an	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠳᠣᠯᠣᠭᠠᠨ	qorin doloɣan	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᠨᠠᡩᠠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin nadan inenggi		orin nadan inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua nadan inəŋgi		𘬂𘲧𘲺	TWENTY SEVEN DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𗒹 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ śjạ njɨ̱
28th	廿 八	niàn bā	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡎ ꡔꡞ	ži ši ba ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡋꡗꡞ ꡏꡋ	qo rin nayi man	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠨᠠᠢᠮᠠᠨ	qorin naiman	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᠵᠠᡴᡡᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin jakūn inenggi		orin dʒakun inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua dʒakun inəŋgi		𘬂𘬌𘲺	TWENTY EIGHT DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𘉋 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ •jar njɨ̱
29th	廿 九	niàn jiǔ	ꡔꡞ ꡚꡞ ꡂꡞꡓ ꡔꡞ	ži ši giw ži	ꡢꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ ꡗꡞ ꡛꡟꡋ	qo rin yi sun	ᠬᠣᠷᠢᠨ ᠶᠢᠰᠦᠨ	qorin yisün	ᠣᡵᡳᠨ ᡠᠶᡠᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	orin uyun inenggi		orin ujewun inəŋgi		dʒo dʒua ujewun inəŋgi		𘬂𘬪𘲺	TWENTY NINE DAY	𗍫 𗰗 𗢭 𗾞	njɨ̱ ɣạ gjɨ̱ njɨ̱
30th	三 十	sān shí	ꡛꡏ ꡚꡞ ꡔꡞ	sam ši ži	ꡢꡟ ꡅꡞꡋ	qu čʽin	ᠭᠤᠴᠢᠨ	ɣučin	ᡤᡡᠰᡳᠨ ᡳᠨᡝᠩᡤᡳ	gūsin inenggi		guʃïn inəŋgi		ilan dʒua inəŋgi		𘳀𘲺	THIRTY DAY	𘕕 𗰗 𗾞	sọ ɣạ njɨ̱

Notes

1. Manchu days may use

   ᡩᡝ

   de instead of inenggi.
2. Middle Mongolian dates do not give the word "day" after the day number, but the 1st through 10th days are followed the word ši nė "new". In narrative contexts the last word of the date is in the dative, but is given in the nominative on my calendar pages.
3. Jin dynasty Jurchen inscriptions use a mixture of the forms in the "Jin Dynasty" column and the "Ming Dynasty" column, but Ming dynasty Jurchen inscriptions and texts only use the forms in the "Ming Dynasty" column. Ming dynasty Jurchen texts also use the prefix itʃə "new", cognate to Manchu ice, for the 1st to 10th days, but this prefix is not used in any extant Jin dynasty Jurchen inscriptions.
4. The Khitan Small Script numbers one through nine occur in dotted and undotted forms, but only the undotted forms occur before the word "day".

Solar Terms

The Chinese solar year is divided into 24 equal periods marked by points 15° apart on the ecliptic, known as solar terms 節氣. Twelve of the solar terms, at 30° intervals, are nodes (jiēqì 節氣), and each of these nodes mark the start of a new solar month (see "Cyclical Month" below). The other twelve solar terms are midpoints (zhōngqì 中氣), and these are used in the calculation of intercalary months. Each solar term falls on approximately the same day each year according to the Gregorian calendar.

For the Old Mandarin and Manchu calendar pages the solar term will be displayed in the second column from the left if the selected day falls on a solar term. Solar terms are not displayed in the Jurchen, Khitan, Mongolian and Tangut calendar pages as I do not know what the solar terms are called in these languages.

Table 4: 24 Solar Terms

Ecliptic Longitude	Type	Date Range*	Solar Term
			Chinese			Old Mandarin		Manchu
			Characters	Pinyin	English Name	Phags-pa	Transliteration	Manchu	Transliteration
315°	node	February 3rd – 5th	立春	lìchūn	Start of Spring	ꡙꡞ ꡅꡦꡟꡋ	li čʽėun	ᠨᡳᠶᡝᠩᠨᡳᠶᡝᡵᡳ ᡩᠣᠰᡳᠮᠪᡳ	niyengniyeri dosimbi
330°	midpoint	February 18th – 20th	雨水	yǔshuǐ	Rain Water	ꡝꡦꡟ ꡚꡟꡠ	ʼėu šue	ᠠᡤᠠ ᠮᡠᡴᡝ	aga muke
345°	node	March 4th – 7th	驚蟄	jīngzhé	Awakening of Insects	ꡂꡞꡃ ꡄꡞ	giŋ či	ᠪᡠᡨᡠᠨ ᠠᡧᡧᠠᠮᠪᡳ	butun aššambi
0°	midpoint	March 19th – 22nd	春分	chūnfēn	Vernal Equinox	ꡅꡦꡟꡋ ꡤꡟꡋ	čʽėun fun	ᠨᡳᠶᡝᠩᠨᡳᠶᡝᡵᡳ ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠨ	niyengniyeri dulin
15°	node	April 4th – 6th	清明	qīngmíng	Clear and Bright	ꡑꡞꡃ ꡏꡞꡃ	tsʽiŋ miŋ	ᡥᠠᠩᠰᡳ	hangsi
30°	midpoint	April 19th – 21st	穀雨	gǔyǔ	Grain Rain	ꡂꡟ ꡝꡦꡟ	gu ʼėu	ᠵᡝᡴᡠ ᠠᡤᠠ	jeku aga
45°	node	May 4th – 7th	立夏	lìxià	Start of Summer	ꡙꡞ ꡜꡨ	li hya	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᡵᡳ ᡩᠣᠰᡳᠮᠪᡳ	juwari dosimbi
60°	midpoint	May 20th – 22nd	小滿	xiǎomǎn	Grain Full	ꡛꡦꡓ ꡏꡡꡋ	sėw mon	ᠠᠵᡳᡤᡝ ᠵᠠᠯᡠᡴᠠ	ajige jaluka
75°	node	June 4th – 7th	芒種	mángzhòng	Grain in Ear	ꡏꡃ ꡆꡟꡃ	maŋ juŋ	ᠮᠠᡳ᠌ᠰᡝ ᡠᡵᡝᠮᠪᡳ	maise urembi
90°	midpoint	June 20th – 22nd	夏至	xiàzhì	Summer Solstice	ꡜꡨ ꡆꡞ	hya ji	ᠵᡠᠸᠠᡵᡳ ᡨᡝᠨ	juwari ten
105°	node	July 6th – 8th	小暑	xiǎoshǔ	Minor Heat	ꡛꡦꡓ ꡚꡦꡟ	sėw šėu	ᠠᠵᡳᡤᡝ ᡥᠠᠯᡥᡡᠨ	ajige halhūn
120°	midpoint	July 22nd – 24th	大暑	dàshǔ	Major Heat	ꡈꡗ ꡚꡦꡟ	tay šėu	ᠠᠮᠪᠠ ᡥᠠᠯᡥᡡᠨ	amba halhūn
135°	node	August 6th – 9th	立秋	lìqiū	Start of Autumn	ꡙꡞ ꡑꡞꡓ	li tsʽiw	ᠪᠣᠯᠣᡵᡳ ᡩᠣᠰᡳᠮᠪᡳ	bolori dosimbi
150°	midpoint	August 22nd –24th	處暑	chǔshǔ	Limit of Heat	ꡅꡦꡟ ꡚꡦꡟ	čʽėu šėu	ᡥᠠᠯᡥᡡᠨ ᠪᡝᡩᡝᡵᡝᠮᠪᡳ	halhūn bederembi
165°	node	September 6th – 9th	白露	báilù	White Dew	ꡌꡗ ꡙꡟ	pay lu	ᡧᠠᠨᠶᠠᠨ ᠰᡳᠯᡝᠩᡤᡳ	šanyan silenggi
180°	midpoint	September 22nd – 24th	秋分	qiūfēn	Autumnal Equinox	ꡑꡞꡓ ꡤꡟꡋ	tsʽiw fun	ᠪᠣᠯᠣᡵᡳ ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠨ	bolori dulin
195°	node	October 7th – 9th	寒露	hánlù	Cold Dew	ꡣꡋ ꡙꡟ	xan lu	ᡧᠠᡥᡡᡵᡠᠨ ᠰᡳᠯᡝᠩᡤᡳ	šahūrun silenggi
210°	midpoint	October 22nd – 24th	霜降	shuāngjiàng	Frost Descent	ꡚꡜꡃ ꡂꡨꡃ	šhaŋ gyaŋ	ᡤᡝᠴᡝᠨ ᡤᡝᠴᡝᠮᠪᡳ	gecen gecembi
225°	node	November 6th – 8th	立冬	lìdōng	Start of Winter	ꡙꡞ ꡊꡟꡃ	li duŋ	ᡨᡠᠸᡝᡵᡳ ᡩᠣᠰᡳᠮᠪᡳ	tuweri dosimbi
240°	midpoint	November 21st – 23rd	小雪	xiǎoxuě	Minor Snow	ꡛꡦꡓ ꡛꡧꡦ	sėw swė	ᠠᠵᡳᡤᡝ ᠨᡳᠮᠠᠩᡤᡳ	ajige nimanggi
255°	node	December 6th – 8th	大雪	dàxuě	Major Snow	ꡈꡗ ꡛꡧꡦ	tay swė	ᠠᠮᠪᠠ ᠨᡳᠮᠠᠩᡤᡳ	amba nimanggi
270°	midpoint	December 21st – 23rd	冬至	dōngzhì	Winter Solstice	ꡊꡟꡃ ꡆꡞ	duŋ ji	ᡨᡠᠸᡝᡵᡳ ᡨᡝᠨ	tuweri ten
285°	node	January 4th – 7th	小寒	xiǎohán	Minor Cold	ꡛꡦꡓ ꡣꡋ	sėw xan	ᠠᠵᡳᡤᡝ ᡧᠠᡥᡡᡵᡠᠨ	ajige šahūrun
300°	midpoint	January 19th – 21st	大寒	dàhán	Major Cold	ꡈꡗ ꡣꡋ	tay xan	ᠠᠮᠪᠠ ᡧᠠᡥᡡᡵᡠᠨ	amba šahūrun

* These are the ranges of possible dates in the Gregorian calendar that the solar terms fall on during the 200 period from 1901 to 2100 that is covered by my javascript calendar.

Cyclical Year

The cyclical year is named according to the sexagenary cycle of 10 heavenly stems (天干) and 12 earthly branches (地支), and repeats every sixty years.

Table 5: The Sexagenary Cycle

			甲	乙	丙	丁	戊	己	庚	辛	壬	癸
			jiǎ	yǐ	bǐng	dīng	wù	jǐ	gēng	xīn	rén	guǐ
			wood		fire		earth		gold		water
			green		red		yellow		white		black
子	zǐ	rat	1		13		25		37		49
丑	chǒu	ox		2		14		26		38		50
寅	yín	tiger	51		3		15		27		39
卯	mǎo	rabbit		52		4		16		28		40
辰	chén	dragon	41		53		5		17		29
巳	sì	snake		42		54		6		18		30
午	wǔ	horse	31		43		55		7		19
未	wèi	goat		32		44		56		8		20
申	shēn	monkey	21		33		45		57		9
酉	yǒu	rooster		22		34		46		58		10
戌	xū	dog	11		23		35		47		59
亥	hài	pig		12		24		36		48		60

The ten heavenly stems can be divided into five pairs, with each pair corresponding to one of the five elements (五行) and five colours. The Manchu, Jurchen and Khitan sexagenary cycles use the five colours instead of the ten heavenly stems for the first cyclic element, and in the case of Manchu, each colour is subdivided into two shades, each corresponding to one heavenly stem. The Tangut sexagenary cycle has ten terms corresponding to the ten heavenly stems of the Chinese tradition, but these terms are not translations or transliterations of the Chinese terms, but are semantically more closely related to the five elements. The terms corresponding to the 10 heavenly elements used in the various languages are shown in Table 6.

The 12 earthly branches correspond to twelve zodiacal animals, and the Manchu, Jurchen, Mongolian, Khitan and Tangut sexagenary cycles use the names of the zodiacal animals instead of the earthly branches used in the Chinese tradition. The terms corresponding to the 12 earthly branches used in the various languages are shown in Table 7.

Table 6: The 10 Heavenly Stems and 5 Elements

No.	Heavenly Stems								Colours											Elements
	Chinese		Old Mandarin		Middle Mongolian		Classical Mongolian		Manchu			Jurchen			Large Khitan	Small Khitan				Tangut			Old Mandarin		Chinese		English
1	甲	jiǎ	ꡂꡨ	gya	ꡂ	ga	ᠭᠠ	ga	ᠨᡳᠣᠸᠠᠩᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ	niowanggiyan	green		non.giɛn	blue/green		𘰷𘱹𘮄	𘰷𘱹𘰹	s.iau.qu	blue/green	𗛴	nẹj	seedling	ꡏꡟ	mu	木	mù	wood
2	乙	yǐ	ꡖꡞ	•i	ꡗꡞ	yi	ᠶᠢ	yi	ᠨᡳᠣᡥᠣᠨ	niohon	greenish									𗼴	ljịj	seedling
3	丙	bǐng	ꡎꡞꡃ	biŋ	ꡎꡞꡃ	biŋ	ᠪᠢᠩ	bing	ᡶᡠᠯᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ	fulgiyan	red		fula.giɛn	red		𘱄𘱹𘮄	𘱄𘱹𘰹	l.iau.qu	red	𘔁	bji	(fire-related)	ꡜꡧꡡ	hwo	火	huǒ	fire
4	丁	dīng	ꡊꡞꡃ	diŋ	ꡊꡞꡃ	diŋ	ᠳᠢᠩ	ding	ᡶᡠᠯᠠᡥᡡᠨ	fulahūn	redish									𗸃	we	(fire-related)
5	戊	wù	ꡏꡟꡓ	muw	ꡟ	u	ᠤ	u	ᠰᡠᠸᠠᠶᠠᠨ	suwayan	yellow		so.giɛn	yellow		𘮝	𘮞		yellow/gold	𗍗	we	black	ꡉꡟ	tʽu	土	tǔ	earth
6	己	jǐ	ꡂꡞ	gi	ꡂꡞ	gi	ᠭᠢ	gi	ᠰᠣᡥᠣᠨ	sohon	yellowish									𗽬	tshjị	earth
7	庚	gēng	ꡂꡦꡞꡃ	gėiŋ	ꡂꡞꡃ	giŋ	ᠭᠢᠩ	ging	ᡧᠠᠨᠶᠠᠨ	šanyan	white		ʃaŋ.giɛn	white		𘬈	𘬉		white	𗯝	lhej	to transform	ꡂꡞꡏ	gim	金	jīn	metal/gold
8	辛	xīn	ꡛꡞꡋ	sin	ꡛꡞꡋ	sin	ᠰᠢᠨ	sin	ᡧᠠᡥᡡᠨ	šahūn	whitish									𘏡	khie̱j	result
9	壬	rén	ꡔꡞꡏ	žim	ꡚꡞꡏ	šim	ᠱᠢᠮ	šim	ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ	sahaliyan	black		saxa.lia	black		𘯍𘲚	𘯍𘮡	yô.ú	black	𗋌	nej	(water-related)	ꡚꡟꡠ	šue	水	shuǐ	water
10	癸	guǐ	ꡂꡦꡟꡠ	gėue	ꡂꡦꡟꡠ	gėue	ᠭᠦᠢ	güi	ᠰᠠᡥᠠᡥᡡᠨ	sahahūn	blackish									𘃠	du̱	to store

Notes

1. The exact meaning of the secondary manchu colours is not certain. Sometimes they are translated as "light green", "light red", "light yellow", "light white" and "light black".
2. The Small Khitan words for "gold" and "white" occur in undotted and dotted forms. The undotted forms of "gold" and "white" are most common preceding the name of a zodiacal animal, although dotted forms are occasionally attested before the name of a zodiacal animal, but usage is not consistent in the extant inscriptions. The Small Khitan words for "green", "red" and "black" each occur in two spellings, with different final phonograms. However, there is no consistency in extant inscriptions about when to use which spelling (different spellings of the same colour word may be used before the same zodiacal animal in different inscriptions), and so in my Small Khitan calendar the same colour term is used before all zodiacal animals. The various attested terms for the five colours that occur before names of the zodiacal animals in fifteen Khitan Small Script epitaphs are listed in Table 8.
3. Although modern Mongolian cyclical terms use the five colours, Classical Mongolian texts generally use transcriptions of the Chinese names for the ten heavenly stems. Cyclical year dates in extant Mongolian Phags-pa inscriptions and manuscripts only give the zodiacal animal, and don't use a stem or colour in naming years, so the Phags-pa spellings for Middle Mongolian in this table are reconstructed from the Classical Mongolian spellings of the ten heavenly stems given in Grøbech and Krueger, An Introduction to Classical (Literary) Mongolian (Otto Harrassowitz, 1976).

Table 7: The 12 Earthly Branches and 12 Animals

No.	Earthly Branches				Zodiacal Animals
	Chinese		Old Mandarin		Middle Mongolian		Classical Mongolian		Manchu		Jurchen		Large Khitan	Small Khitan		Tangut		Old Mandarin		Chinese		English
1	子	zǐ	ꡒꡜꡞ	dzhi	ꡢꡟ ꡙꡟ ꡢ ꡋ	qu lu qa na	ᠬᠤᠯᠤᠭᠠᠨ᠎ᠠ	quluɣana	ᠰᡳᠩᡤᡝᡵᡳ	singgeri		ʃïn.gə		𘳆𘲲	?.hu	𘋇	xjwi	ꡚꡦꡟ	šėu	鼠	shǔ	rat, mouse
2	丑	chǒu	ꡅꡞꡓ	čʽiw	ꡖꡦꡟ ꡁꡦꡘ	ʼėu kʽėr	ᠦᠬᠡᠷ	üker	ᡳᡥᠠᠨ	ihan		weixa.an		𘭌	uni	𗵊	mju̱	ꡃꡞꡓ	ŋiw	牛	niú	ox
3	寅	yín	ꡗꡞꡋ	yin	ꡎꡘꡛ	bars	ᠪᠠᠷᠰ	bars	ᡨᠠᠰᡥᠠ	tasha		tasxa		𘭅𘭂𘯢	qa.ha.as	𗱈	le	ꡜꡟ	hu	虎	hǔ	tiger
4	卯	mǎo	ꡏꡓ	maw	ꡉꡓ ꡙꡗꡞ	taw layi	ᠲᠠᠤᠯᠠᠢ	taulai	ᡤᡡᠯᠮᠠᡥᡡᠨ	gūlmahūn		gulma		𘬦𘰎𘯺	tau.lí.a	𗍍	tser	ꡉꡟ	tʽu	兔	tù	rabbit, hare
5	辰	chén	ꡚꡞꡋ	šin	ꡙꡟ	lu	ᠯᠤᠤ	luu	ᠮᡠᡩᡠᡵᡳ	muduri		mudu.r		𘰐	lu	𗵃	we	ꡙꡦꡟꡃ	lėuŋ	龍	lóng	dragon
6	巳	sì	ꡕꡜꡞ	zhi	ꡏꡡ ꡢꡡꡗꡞ	mo qoyi	ᠮᠣᠭᠠᠢ	moɣai	ᠮᡝᡳᡥᡝ	meihe		mei.xə		𘰗𘭞𘯶	mu.ho.o	𗀋	phio	ꡚꡠ	še	蛇	shé	snake
7	午	wǔ	ꡟ	u	ꡏꡡ ꡘꡞꡋ	mo rin	ᠮᠣᠷᠢᠨ	morin	ᠮᠣᡵᡳᠨ	morin		mori.in		𘲜𘰣	mo.ri	𘆽	gjij	ꡏ	ma	馬	mǎ	horse
8	未	wèi	ꡓꡞ	wi	ꡢꡡ ꡋꡞꡋ	qo nin	ᠬᠣᠨᠢᠨ	qonin	ᡥᠣᠨᡳᠨ	honin		xoni		𘱑𘯺	iam.a	𘍂	mjo	ꡗꡃ	yaŋ	羊	yáng	goat, sheep
9	申	shēn	ꡚꡞꡋ	šin	ꡎꡦ ꡅꡞꡋ	bė čʽin	ᠪᠡᠴᠢᠨ	bečin	ᠪᠣᠨᡳᠣ	bonio		mo.non		𘮧𘯶𘯶	p.o.o	𘂶	wjị	ꡣꡞꡓ	xiw	猴	hóu	monkey
10	酉	yǒu	ꡗꡞꡓ	yiw	ꡉ ꡁꡞ ꡗ	tʽa kʽi ya	ᠲᠠᠬᠢᠶ᠎ᠠ	takiya	ᠴᠣᡴᠣ	coko		tixo		𘰺𘯛𘯺	te.qo.a	𗿼	dźjwow	ꡂꡦꡞ	gėi	雞	jī	rooster, hen
11	戌	xū	ꡛꡦꡟ	sėu	ꡋꡡ ꡢꡡꡗꡞ	no qoyi	ᠨᠣᠬᠠᠢ	noqai	ᡳᠨᡩᠠᡥᡡᠨ	indahūn		inda.xoŋ		𘰕𘯛	ńi.qo	𗗻	na	ꡂꡜꡞꡓ	ghiw	狗	gǒu	dog
12	亥	hài	ꡣꡗ	xay	ꡢ ꡢꡗꡞ	qa qayi	ᠭᠠᠬᠠᠢ	ɣaqai	ᡠᠯᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ	ulgiyan		ulja		𘱆	ui	𗘅	gju	ꡆꡦꡟ	ǰėu	豬	zhū	pig

Notes

1. The Khitan large script words for rabbit, snake and monkey may also be written with the two characters ligated together vertically to fit a single character space.
2. The Mongolian Phags-pa spellings for "goat" and "pig" are not attested, and have been reconstructed from Classical Mongolian. The Mongolian Phags-pa word for "ox" is only attested once, where it is spelled

   ꡜꡦꡟ ꡁꡦꡘ

   hėu kʽėr; but hėu is not used in Mongolian Phags-pa orthography, and is probably a mistake for ʼėu (Junast takes it as a mistake for hu, which seems less plausible to me).

Table 8: Attested Khitan Small Script Colour Names

Zodiacal Animal				甲	乙	丙	丁	戊	己	庚	辛	壬	癸
				jiǎ	yǐ	bǐng	dīng	wù	jǐ	gēng	xīn	rén	guǐ
				wood		fire		earth		gold		water
				green		red		yellow		white		black
子	zǐ	rat	𘳆𘲲	𘰷𘱹𘰹		?		𘮝		𘬈		𘯍𘲚
丑	chǒu	ox	𘭌		𘰷𘱹𘮄		?		𘮝		?		?
寅	yín	tiger	𘭅𘭂𘯢	𘰷𘱹𘮄		𘱄𘱹𘮄		𘮝		𘬈 𘬉		?
卯	mǎo	rabbit	𘬦𘰎𘯺		𘰷𘱹𘮄		?		𘮝		?		?
辰	chén	dragon	𘰐	?		𘱄𘱹𘮄		𘮝		𘬈		𘯍𘮡
巳	sì	snake	𘰗𘭞𘯶		?		?		?				?
午	wǔ	horse	𘲜𘰣	𘰷𘱹𘮄		𘱄𘱹𘰹		𘮞		𘬈 𘬉		?
未	wèi	goat	𘱑𘯺		𘰷𘱹𘰹 𘰷𘱹𘮄		?		𘮝		?		?
申	shēn	monkey	𘮧𘯶𘯶	?		𘱄𘱹𘮄		?		?		𘯍𘲚 𘯍𘮡
酉	yǒu	rooster	𘰺𘯛𘯺		𘰷𘱹𘮄		𘱄𘱹𘮄		𘮝		𘬈		𘯍𘲫
戌	xū	dog	𘰕𘯛	𘰷𘲼𘰹 𘰷𘱹𘮄		𘱄𘬛𘮄		?		?		𘯍𘲚
亥	hài	pig	𘱆		?		𘱄𘱹𘮄		𘮝		?		?

Cyclical Month

The cyclical month is named according to the sexagenary cycle of 10 heavenly stems (天干) and 12 earthly branches (地支), and repeats every sixty months. There are two different and incompatible systems for determining the cyclical month, although in both systems a year is spanned by twelve cyclical months which overlap to a certain extent. In one system (not used in my javascript calendar) a cyclical name is assigned to each lunar month (an intercalary lunar month has the same cyclical name as the preceding lunar month, so there are only twelve cyclical months in a year), whereas in the other system (which is used in my javascript calendar) the cyclical months do not coincide with lunar months, but correspond to the length of time covered by two consecutive solar terms (i.e. twelve solar months). A new solar month commences at the time that a transition to one of the solar periods at 30° intervals on the ecliptic occurs (i.e. on transition to chūnfēn, gǔyǔ, etc.), and lasts the length of that jiēqì and the following zhōngqì (e.g. the period of chūnfēn and qīngmíng corresponds to one solar month). As the transition to the new solar period occurs sometime after the start of the day of the solar term, the day of the solar term is included in the previous month in the calendar, and the first day of the solar month according to the calendar is the day after the solar term (even though technically the month started sometime during the previous day).

Cyclical Day

The cyclical day is named according to the sexagenary cycle of 10 heavenly stems (天干) and 12 earthly branches (地支), and repeats every sixty days.

Cyclical Hour

The calendrical "hour" actually lasts two hours, with each day and night divided into twelve equal-lengthed "hours". The cyclical hours are named according to the sexagenary cycle of 10 heavenly stems (天干) and 12 earthly branches (地支), and repeats every sixty hours (i.e. every five days). Within each day, the same zodiacal animal corresponds to the same "hour".

Table 9: The Twelve Hours

Time	Branch		Animal
23:00 – 01:00	子	zǐ	hour of the rat
01:00 – 03:00	丑	chǒu	hour of the ox
03:00 – 05:00	寅	yín	hour of the tiger
05:00 – 07:00	卯	mǎo	hour of the rabbit
07:00 – 09:00	辰	chén	hour of the dragon
09:00 – 11:00	巳	sì	hour of the snake
11:00 – 13:00	午	wǔ	hour of the horse
13:00 – 15:00	未	wèi	hour of the goat
15:00 – 17:00	申	shēn	hour of the monkey
17:00 – 19:00	酉	yǒu	hour of the rooster
19:00 – 21:00	戌	xū	hour of the dog
21:00 – 23:00	亥	hài	hour of the pig

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Daily Calendars for the Song, Liao & Jin, and Western Xia dynasties

I have created the following daily calendars for the Song, Liao (including Northern and Western Liao), Jin, and Western Xia dynasties. For each day the calendar gives the corresponding date in the Julian calendar, the cyclical year and the cyclical day (common across all calendars), the calendrical date (i.e. era name and era year, calendrical month, and day of month) for each dynasty as appropriate, and certain astronomical information recorded in the dynastic histories (solar eclipses, lunar eclipses, and comets). The calendars are very large (135,894 rows for the Liao/Jin calendar, and 71,583 rows for the Western Xia calendar), so are available for download as zipped Excel spreadsheets or tab-separated text files:

• Song, Liao, Jin : LiaoJinCalendar_xlsx.zip or LiaoJinCalendar_txt.zip (907–1279)
• Western Xia : XixiaCalendar_xlsx.zip or XixiaCalendar_txt.zip (1032–1228)

See A Chronology of Khitan Inscriptions for more details about the Liao calendar.

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Last modified: 2020-02-26

If Tangut characters do not display correctly, please download and install the Tangut Yinchuan font.

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Javascript | Jurchen | Khitan | Manchu | Mongolian | Phags-pa | Tangut

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