The real usage of the yellow calendar

In ancient times, the almanac was called the yellow calendar, the imperial calendar or the constitutional book. Before the Qing dynasty, the almanac used the period of the moon to calculate time, which was called the lunar calendar. This calendar was invented and used in the Xia Dynasty in China, and it is also the basis of agricultural production, also known as the lunar calendar. Folk commonly known as general book, "book" homophonic "lose", so it is also called general victory or general benefit. There are perpetual calendars, centennial calendars, monthly calendars, calendars and so on.

The main function of almanac is to check the time and make a work plan for one year. In rural areas, farming and production are arranged according to the solar terms of the yellow calendar. As far as timeliness and usability are concerned, the almanac is a disposable goods, and it is invalid after expiration. As the saying goes, the outdated imperial calendar is worthless. Use "a thousands of books to look at the old" to satirize those who stick to the rules and are stubborn. I remember hearing such a joke when I was a child: It is said that there are two families living next to each other, both doing small businesses such as picking up vendors. A sells salt for a living, and B sells seasonal products for a living. The wife secretly stores some salt from her husband every day. Near the end of the year, Jia, who had no money for the New Year, spent the New Year by selling the salinity quietly stored by his wife. Wife b was not convinced, so she stole dozens of almanac books sold by her husband and asked him to exchange them for money for the New Year at the end of the year. As a result, she was slapped in the face. This joke vividly shows that almanac will naturally become a pile of waste paper after a period of time.

However, as far as collection and research are concerned, almanac is not waste paper after use, and some can be called literature. Because it records the track of historical development, including history, politics, culture and customs. It is the witness of history. For example, the Zhu Pi Constitution written by Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty for four years was an almanac that failed to circulate after printing, because Xuan Tong Emperor Puyi announced his abdication, thus ending the feudal monarchy that had continued since Qin Shihuang. This year, which was also the first year of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen was sworn in as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China in Nanjing, announcing the establishment of the Republic of China. That is to say, the provinces are ordered to change to the Gregorian calendar, that is, the solar calendar. The solar calendar is based on the cycle of the earth's orbit around the sun, so it is also called the solar calendar. Since then, the lunar calendar and solar calendar in China have been used together, which is the so-called "solar calendar in the world, people remember the summer time". This is the first time in the history of China to bring forth the old and bring forth the new.

The ancient almanac (imperial calendar) was compiled by Qin Tianjian, an official in charge of astronomy and meteorology, and calculating solar terms and calendars, and made into a new calendar at the end of each year, which was promulgated by the Gift Department. In addition to the calendar of the whole year, month, day and timetable, there are solar terms of agricultural production for reference, and the contents of "national mourning", "no banquet, marriage and punishment" and "suitable for travel, school and marriage, but not suitable for cooking, breaking ground and migration" are printed. There are official versions and private publishing houses. After liberation, the almanac adopted the calendar year of A.D. and the calendar of Yin and Yang combined, which deleted the elements of choosing the date of Feng Shui and increased the common sense of life. Only the Hong Kong and Taiwan version of the calendar retains its auspicious color. During the "Cultural Revolution", politics was at the forefront, and The Almanac also had a strong political color, which can be regarded as a special landscape in the history of Almanac.

Because of the limitation of timeliness and practicality, almanac is discarded when it is used up, so there are not many intact objects, and things are rare. It is said that Mr. Qian Daxin, a famous scholar and bibliophile in Qing Dynasty, has only seen a copy of "Da Li", an eight-year Wanli of Ming Dynasty. It can be seen that the almanac before the Ming Dynasty is rare and precious. The stock of the Qing dynasty will not be much, and the stock of almanac during the Cultural Revolution is also limited. Therefore, almanac has become another hot spot in the collection.