China first had a calendar about four thousand years ago. According to a page from the oracle bone calendar, it proves that the calendar during the Yin dynasty had reached a considerable level. This page of oracle bone calendar is the oldest physical record of a calendar in human history, and it is also called a calendar.

Tang poetry: "In the mountains, there are no calendars; when winter ends, one does not know the year." "Calendar" may be the earliest form of a desk calendar. During the Tang dynasty, historians would cut paper daily, bind it into volumes, with one volume for each month. Each page had the month and date written on it, leaving space for the eunuchs close to the emperor to record his words and actions. This is what is referred to as a "calendar." At the end of each month, it would first be submitted to the emperor for review and then archived by historians for compiling the 'National History.' Because it had the function of recording time and events, officials competed to emulate it.

Early development

According to historical records, about 1100 years ago during the Tang Shunzong's Yongzhen era, calendars were already in use in the imperial palace. The calendar at that time was also known as the imperial calendar, which not only recorded dates but also served as important material for compiling national history. The calendars then were somewhat similar to booklets, dividing the year into 12 volumes based on the number of days in each month, with months and dates written on each page. These were temporarily kept by eunuchs serving the emperor, who would record his words and actions on the blank pages daily. At the end of each month, they would submit it to the emperor for approval before sending it to historians for archiving. Historians would then combine the content of the calendar with major events from the court and various regions of the country, refining and polishing it before recording it as part of national history.

Later on, as calendars brought much convenience to life, they gradually entered many high-ranking officials' households. After some changes, they compiled their own calendars; further along, with calendars becoming more popular and household-oriented, people began printing elements like heavenly stems and earthly branches, seasonal terms, and auspicious days on calendars while leaving large blank spaces for notes.

As for monthly calendars evolving into wall calendars and desk calendars in various forms, this has only been a matter of the last century. The styles of desk calendars have evolved from simple designs to many variants recently due to market economy growth and internet proliferation facilitating cultural exchanges. Naturally, desk calendars are included in this trend, with the most common being that desk calendars have become smaller and more exquisite.