Desk calendar production, desk calendar printing, desk calendar design

　　China’s earliest calendar dates back more than four thousand years. According to a page of oracle‑bone calendar inscribed on oracle bones, the Yin dynasty already possessed a remarkably sophisticated calendar system. This particular oracle‑bone calendar is the oldest surviving physical record of a calendar in human history, and it is therefore also known as a “calendar.”

　　Tang poetry reads: “In the mountains, there is no calendar; when the cold ends, one knows not the passing of years.” The “liri” may well be the earliest form of a desk calendar. During the Tang dynasty, imperial historians cut paper into daily sheets and bound them into volumes—one for each month. Each page bore the month and date, with blank spaces reserved for the emperor’s close eunuchs to record his words and deeds; this was the “liri.”

　　At the end of each month, the “calendar” was first submitted to the emperor for review, after which it was filed by the imperial historians for use in compiling the “National History.” Because it served both to record time and to document events, officials of both civil and military ranks eagerly sought to emulate it.

Early Development

　　According to historical records, as early as the first year of the Yongzhen era under Emperor Shunzong of the Tang dynasty—roughly 1,100 years ago—the imperial court was already making use of a calendar. At that time, this calendar, known as the “imperial calendar,” not only kept track of the dates but also served as crucial material for compiling the official national history. The calendar of that period bore some resemblance to the modern almanac: it divided the year into twelve volumes, with the number of pages in each volume determined by the number of days in the corresponding month. Each page bore the month and date, after which the calendar was entrusted to the eunuchs who attended the emperor for temporary safekeeping. These eunuchs would record the emperor’s words and deeds on the blank pages of each day, and at the end of every month, they would submit the calendar to the emperor for review and approval. Once approved, it was then handed over to the imperial historians for archival purposes. The historians would subsequently integrate the calendar’s entries with major events from the court and various regions across the empire, refining and polishing them before committing them to writing—thus giving rise to the national history.

　　In time, as calendars brought great convenience to daily life, they gradually found their way into the households of many high-ranking officials. After undergoing various adaptations, these evolved into family‑specific calendars. Later, as calendars became increasingly popular and household‑oriented, people began printing on them the sexagenary cycle, monthly ordinances, solar terms, and auspicious days along the Yellow Path, while also leaving ample blank space for recording personal notes.

　　As for the calendar, its evolution into wall calendars, desk calendars, and other formats is a development of only the past century. Desk calendars have progressed from their earliest simple designs to a wide array of variations; in recent years, the rise of the market economy and the widespread adoption and growth of the internet have fostered cross-cultural exchanges, naturally including the realm of desk calendars. Most notably, desk calendars have become smaller and more refined.