- published: 18 Jun 2015
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The Tung Shing (simplified Chinese: 通胜; traditional Chinese: 通勝; pinyin: Tōngshèng) is a Chinese divination guide and almanac. It consists primarily of a calendar based on the Chinese lunar year.
The Tung Shing originated from the Wong Lik (黃曆, the "Yellow Calendar"), which is rumoured to have been written by the Yellow Emperor. It has changed its form numerous times throughout the years during all the dynasties; the latest version was said to have been edited by the Qing dynasty and was called the Tung Shu (通書). Tung means "myriad" or "all", Shu means "book", so Tung Shu literally meant "All-knowing Book". However, in Cantonese and Mandarin, the pronunciation of the word for "book" is a homophone of a word for defeated, so Tung Shu sounded like "Defeated in All Things" (通輸). Therefore the name was changed to Tung Shing (通勝), which meaning "Victorious in All Things".
Most of the contents of the book deals with what is suitable to do on each day. Some Chinese families still follow these days for wedding ceremonies, funerals, etc.