A Study on the Punishment Day Calculation Method and Related Issues in the “Punishment Day” Section of the Mawangdui Manuscript Yinyang wuxing A

Abstract

First, through an analysis of the binary categorization of the heavenly stems and the earthly branches in calculations and arts (shushu 數術) literature in transmitted and excavated texts, this paper argues that the two characters meng 䖟（孟） and zhong 中（仲） next to the branches in the Punishment Day diagram do not connote substantive meaning, but constitute a set of binary categories in the same vein as the binarisms yin/yang, hard/soft, man/woman, female/male, heaven/earth, punishment/virtue, and so on. Next, this paper points out a mistake made in the previous calculation of punishment days in the Changsha Mawangdui Han mu jianbo jicheng before putting forward a new calculation method. Based on the new method, we find that the two columns of stem-branch binomes inscribed on the manuscript should be construed such that the stem-branch binomes in one column represent the punishment days resulting from the movements of a stem and a branch starting from contiguous branch positions, and those in the other column represent the punishment days resulting from the movements of a stem and a branch starting from branch positions six branches apart. The reason for the emphasis on the punishment days resulting from these two cases lies in the fact that the branches of these punishment days are the grave branches (muchen 墓辰) in the Three Unions Scheme of the Five Agents. The meaning of the grave branches as vanishing and decaying resonates with the activities of military display, battling, attacking, killing, imprisonment, and demolishing constructions that may be undertaken on punishment days. Therefore, particular attention is paid to the punishment days identified by the four grave branches. In the end, this paper argues against the view that correlates Punishment Day with Meeting Day. This paper maintains that despite their similarity on the surface, they are in fact two different types of calendar spirits and should not be confused.