But this statement fails to capture the peculiar truth: The calendar that the civil authorities publish every year is derived from the West and should not rightfully be called the "Chinese national calendar." Furthermore, that old-style (farmer's) calendar that old wives know so intricately is not entirely based on the movements of the moon.
然而這句話再吊詭不過：現在國內官方的曆法其實傳自西方，稱不上「國曆」；而老太太知之甚詳的舊曆（農曆），也並不等同於陰曆。