''Tung Shing'' () is a Chinese divination guide and

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other ...

. It consists primarily of a

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

based on the Chinese lunar year.

History

''Tung Shing'' originated from ''Wong Lik'' (, the "Yellow Calendar"), which legend attributes to the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

. It has changed its form numerous times throughout the years during all the dynasties; the latest version was said to have been edited under the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

and was called the ''Tung Shu'' (). ''Tung'' () means "all", ''Shu'' () means "book", so ''Tung Shu'' literally meant "All-knowing Book". However, in

Cantonese Chinese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

and

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...

, the pronunciation of the word for "book" is a homophone of a word for ''defeated'' (), so ''Tung Shu'' sounded like "Defeated in All Things" (). Therefore, the name was changed to ''Tung Shing'' (), which means "Victorious in All Things".

Most of the contents of the book deals with what is suitable to do on each day. Some Chinese families still follow these days for wedding ceremonies, funerals, etc. ''Tung Shing'' is also used by many fung shui practitioners and

destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

diviners Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history ...

to complement other date selection methods for selecting dates and times for important events like marriages, official opening ceremonies, house moving-in and big contract signings, as well as smaller events like time to start renovations or travel. The most common use of ''Tung Shing'' is in choosing a wedding date. ''Tung Shing'' contains information on the auspicious and inauspicious days for weddings and/or engagements. In addition, it provides the auspicious timing in which to carry out such activities. ''Tung Shing'' also provide a conversion of years and date between the lunar year and the common year. In more detailed versions, the calendar will list eclipses (both solar and lunar), the start of each season, and days when it will be cold or hot. It also teaches ethics and values through stories. ''Tung Shing'' sold in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

are based on two late-Qing versions. It is known for its English definitions and words transliterated into Cantonese characters.

Gallery

Image:Tōngshèng_通勝_cover.jpg, Cover of a version of Tung Shing from year 2010

Other specialties

* Interpret one's fate * Measure one's soul weight (requires

Four Pillars of Destiny The Four Pillars of Destiny, as known as "Ba-Zi", which means "eight characters" or "eight words" in Chinese, is a Chinese astrology, Chinese astrological concept that a person's destiny or fate can be Divination, divined by the two sexagenary ...

) * Face reading and palm reading charts * "For many centuries the T'ung Shu was known as the Farmers' Almanac, and most of its practical information was geared to weather, crops, sowing, harvesting and so forth."

References

* * * Includes list of chapters

External links

Online Tung shing
{{in lang, zh
List of Auspicious Wedding dates from the 2010 Tung Shu''T'ung Shu'' 1986
at Library Thing
''T'ung Shu'' 1986
at Open Library
''T'ung Shu'' 2001
at Open Library Almanacs Chinese calendars

History

Contents

Gallery

Other specialties

See also

References

External links