Calendar Production, Calendar Printing, Calendar Design

发布时间:2023-11-13 13:55

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Calendar Production, Calendar Printing, Calendar Design

China’s calendar system dates back approximately four thousand years. An oracle bone calendar unearthed proves that the Yin dynasty already possessed a relatively advanced calendar system. This oracle bone calendar is the oldest physical calendar in the world, also known as a daily calendar.

A Tang-dynasty poem reads: “In the mountains, there is no calendar, and one does not know the passing of years.” By “calendar,” we may mean the earliest form of the desk calendar. During the Tang period, court historians would cut and bind paper daily into monthly volumes. Each page listed the month and date, with blank space left for the eunuchs to record the emperor’s activities. This was known as a “calendar.” At the end of each month, the calendar was submitted to the emperor for review before being archived by the historians for use in compiling the national history. Its function of recording time and events led to its widespread adoption by civil and military officials.

Early Development

Historical records indicate that calendars were already in use in the imperial palace around 1100 years ago, in the first year of the Yongzhen era under Emperor Shunzong of Tang. These calendars, also known as imperial calendars, not only recorded dates but also served as crucial materials for compiling national history. Similar to a modern day planner, the calendar was divided into 12 volumes, one for each month, with the number of pages corresponding to the number of days in the month. The month and date were written on each page. Eunuchs attending to the emperor temporarily kept the calendar, recording the emperor's daily activities in the blank spaces. At the end of each month, the calendar was submitted to the emperor for approval before being archived by the historians. The historians then combined the calendar entries with major events from the court and various regions of the country, refining and embellishing them before recording them into the national history.

Later, thanks to the convenience they offered, calendars gradually found their way into the homes of many high-ranking officials. These officials adapted them and even created their own versions. As calendars became more widespread and increasingly family-oriented, people began printing the stems-and-branches, lunar months, solar terms, and auspicious dates from calendar books directly onto the calendar pages, while leaving plenty of blank space for personal notes.

The evolution of calendars into wall calendars, desk calendars, and other formats is a relatively recent phenomenon, emerging within the past century. The transformation of desk calendar designs—from simple, utilitarian layouts to a wide array of sophisticated variations—reflects contemporary market dynamics, the widespread adoption of the internet, and heightened cultural exchange. In particular, desk calendars have grown smaller and more refined over time.

appearance,Concept,Calendar,Archive

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