THE WORLD’S OLDEST ALMANC
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009Is it a good day to have a haircut? Is that cat good or evil? What is the best cure for an earache? What does last night’s dream imply? For the millions of Chinese around the world the answer to these and other everyday problems is found in their almanac – the T’ung Shu (“Book of Myriad Things). According to tradition, the almanac was first produced in china in 2256 B.C. It was probably one of the first books to be printed by block printing press, invented in the 7th century A.D. By the beginning of the 9th century a writer commented that “these printed calendars have flooded the empire”.