commonly referred as the "Tong Shing", or "Book for everything", can be bought on the newspaper stand at the beginning of each year, lunar new year, that is. from fortune telling, prophecy, picking the dates for having a haircut, or even pronunciation of some basic english words in chinese, you have it!
it was initially a book for the farmers as it accurately(apparently) forecast the weather, coming of seasons, or when is the best time to sow seed, but it later evolved into a handbook for everyday people like you and me when trying to pick a date to do certain things.
though it does not explain in depth why on a certain day certain activity must not be carried out or vice versa, i am inclined to think that such is compiled via years of observation through the intangible orders in the world we live in. you heard the famous "Butterfly Effect" on chaos and emergence, of cause and effect, the writer of this book possibly manage to notice the changes in one end on the causes side, and therefore can deduce the possible outcome at a specific time of day. in a way, it's nothing superstitious, but a rather illuminating act.
it would be interesting to see and understand the reasoning behind these deductions, and i suspect we might find out the theories on chaos, complexity, or strings, might be something the ancient chinese has stepped upon centuries ago.
on the other hand, on a lighter side, i would say this book is probably one of the best souvenir you can get if you are visiting the city, so rich of information and so unique!
btw, legend has it that the writing of this book was started by the First King of China, "Yellow King" or " Wong Dai", hence it is also sometimes referred as the Calendar of the King.
not sure if i got the translation right, pls help correct them if you know a more appropriate translation.
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