What were the lives of ordinary people like in the past? You won't find out from reading things like the 25 dynastic histories, which only have tales of emperors, generals, and ministers of state. However, if you look through an old popular almanac, you can glimpse some aspects of life in days of yore.

Most almanacs face the inevitable fate of ending up in the garbage when the new year rolls around, just as the old amulets and couplets are replaced on New Year's Eve. But Huang Yi-nung, a professor at Tsing Hua University, specializes in collecting old tong shu ("popular almanacs").

"Almanacs help us to understand how the 'little traditions' affected the lives of ordinary people. You can't find any information about the functioning of society in the formal historical materials," says Huang, who discovered two Qing dynasty popular almanacs in the library at Leiden University in the Netherlands. For example, in one Qing almanac he discovered a chart showing the correlation between Chinese divisions of the day and the Western 24-hour system, indicating that people had already begun incorporating the Western system into daily life.

You can even see something about medical care through these almanacs. In one almanac produced for Chinese Christians, there was a formula for a medicine to quit opium addiction. The formula uses ingredients from Chinese medicine, showing, Huang surmises, that Western medicine had not made major inroads at the time of publication.

He noticed that even in the Qing some Chinese already had the concept of "exclusive copyrights." One of Hong's almanacs from the 12th year of the Jiaqing reign (1796-1821) includes the following warning: "Almanacs of Jicheng Hall are only available through the Haiqingting Zeri ["day selection"] Studio in Quanzhou City; only those are genuine."

In an almanac published slightly later, in the 21st year of the Jiaqing reign, there is a list of 62 persons said to have received training from the Hong family. In fact, argues Huang Yi-nung, the geographical spread of these people-from all over Fujian, as well as four in Zhejiang and one in Taiwan-would make it unlikely that they actually received instruction from the Hongs. Rather, they were probably authorized dealers of almanacs and other products (like "time-fixing incense" and "all purpose magic oil") made by the Hongs. "The zeri studios opened by these people were probably the earliest 'chain store franchises' anywhere in the world," jests Huang.

There's nothing odd about selling medicines through an almanac, but what on earth is "time-fixing incense"? Though the emperor could have a water clock built for himself, for ordinary people in traditional China there were no convenient clocks. Most folks used a sundial to determine the time of day.

This was all pretty unimportant for the day's work, which began when the sun rose and ended when the sun set. But people couldn't be so casual for important matters, like weddings, funerals, and ground-breaking, or for determining a time of birth (which was essential for a correct horoscope reading). They had to know the exact time of day. And if it was cloudy, or at night, what could they use to tell time?

The ancients were clever in their way, and a "time-fixing incense" was invented. The Hong Chaohe almanac explains its use in determining time of birth: "Light the incense immediately upon the birth of the child. If the sun is up, let the incense burn until dusk. At the time when you can no longer see the wrinkles on the fingers of your hand when extended out in front of you, extinguish the incense. If the birth is at night, light the incense until dawn. At the time when you can first see the wrinkles on the fingers on your extended hand, extinguish the incense." After that, you just took the remaining portion of incense to a zeri studio, where they calculated the time of birth.

"Previously scholars had little understanding of how Chinese traditionally calculated time," says Professor Huang. This section from Hong's almanac is precious for filling in a gap in academic research.

An almanac published 80 years ago, in the 25th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, notes that "day selection" service was available by mail. This tells us that China already had reasonably effective postal services, and also that the almanac producers were sharp businessmen.

In addition, by the time the list of accredited students of the Hong family reached 229, there were more than 100 in Taiwan. This shows that the influence of the Jicheng Hall spread rapidly, and that Taiwan was a valued newly developing market.

Note: Professor Huang's research can be found at http://www.hss.nthu.edu.tw/~vm/

Chinese have long emphasized staying in harmony with cosmic forces. Selection of a suitable day is critical for events like funerals （opposite page, photo by Pu Hua-chih）, paying respects to ancestors （left）, and "drool-stopping" rituals for month-old infants （above）.

The front door of Hong Chaohe's original zeri studio is now a display at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. （photo by Huang Yi-nung）

In this almanac produced by Hong Yingniu, a fifth-generation descendant of the Hong line, there is a picture of the director of the zeri studio as well as a stamp, in order to prevent pirating. （photo by Huang Yi-nung）

Hong Yongqing, a direct male descendant of Hong Chaohe. （photo by Huang Yi-nung）

After restrictions on interactions between Taiwan and mainland China were lifted, some from Taiwan's almanac industry made special trips to be accepted as "disciples" of the Jicheng Hall, conferring legitimacy on them. （photo by Huang Yi-nung）

Kao Ming-te, who emphasizes that he is a sixth-generation student of the Hong school, has zeri studios in Panchiao, Taoyuan, and Miaoli. （photo by Pu Hua-chih）

Stock players crowded into Chungshan Hall to hear a lecture by Li Heng-li, director of the Taoist Studies Association, in order to get the inside dope on how fortunes will run in the Year of the Tiger.

Everyone wants to know what will happen to them, to welcome good fortune and avoid ill. Even the Bible suggests that the fate of man has already been written by God. Yet, how many "holy books" can we really understand?