A plain-language definition for anyone researching tong shu (chinese almanac), what it is, where it comes from, and how practitioners use it.
85 plain-language definitions · Cited sources · Persona-authored
By Master Wei Lin · Updated August 3, 2026
Chinese Metaphysics Scholar
What is tong shu (chinese almanac)?
The Tong Shu (通書 Tōng Shū, 'Almanac' or 'Book of All Things') is the annual Chinese almanac that lists auspicious and inauspicious days for every type of activity, weddings, moves, business launches, travel, even haircuts. It draws on BaZi, feng shui, and traditional date-selection lore.
The Tong Shu is one of the most widely consulted reference works in classical Chinese culture. For every day of the year, it lists the day's stem-branch combination, its compatible and conflicting zodiac animals, and which activities are favored or unfavored. Major life decisions, wedding dates, business openings, building groundbreakings, are traditionally selected by consulting the Tong Shu.
Date selection (擇日 Zé Rì) is a specialized practice within classical Chinese metaphysics. Specialists who do nothing but date-select for life events are still consulted across Chinese communities globally. The classical sources describe the practice as aligning a person's BaZi with the qi of a specific day, and Tong Shu is the reference manual that makes this possible at scale.
The Tong Shu tradition dates to the earliest classical Chinese calendars (Han dynasty, around 200 BCE) and has been published annually in some form for over two thousand years. The modern Tong Shu, sometimes called the Yellow Calendar (黃曆 Huáng Lì) or Imperial Calendar, is published yearly in many Chinese-language editions. English summaries appear in Lillian Too's annual feng shui forecasts and Joey Yap's writings.
Practitioners use the Tong Shu for date selection. To choose a wedding date, a specialist consults the Tong Shu for the couple's zodiac animals, identifies days that harmonize with both, and cross-references with the activity-specific listings. The classical reading shows this is the most consulted classical Chinese metaphysics practice in everyday life.
Most modern English readers encounter the Tong Shu through annual feng shui books and via the 'Chinese horoscope' columns that summarize the year's themes. The classical sources note treating these summaries as starting points, not full date selection.
These glossary terms are closely connected to tong shu (chinese almanac):
Selecting auspicious dates for important activities, weddings, moves, business openings, travel, building groundbreakings, even haircuts in some traditions. It is the reference manual of classical Chinese date selection.
Yes, widely. The Tong Shu (or 'Yellow Calendar') is published annually and consulted across Chinese communities globally, especially for wedding-date selection and major business decisions.
Full Tong Shu editions are rare in English. Summaries appear in annual feng shui books by Lillian Too, Joey Yap, and others. The classical reading shows these are useful starting points; the full classical practice typically requires reading Chinese.
Date selection (擇日 Zé Rì) is the specialized practice of choosing auspicious dates for important activities, using the Tong Shu and BaZi. Specialists who do date selection professionally are still active across Chinese communities.
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