China first had a calendar system about more than four thousand years ago. According to a page of oracle bone calendar found in oracle bone inscriptions, it proves that the calendar system during the Yin Dynasty had reached a considerable level. This page of oracle bone calendar is the oldest physical calendar book in human history, also called a calendar.

　　Tang poetry: "In the mountains, there is no calendar day; when the cold ends, one does not know the year." The "calendar day" might be the earliest desk calendar. During the Tang Dynasty, historians cut paper by day and bound them into volumes, one for each month. Each page had the month and date written on it, with blank spaces left for eunuchs attending the emperor to record the emperor's words and deeds. This was the "calendar day."

　　At the end of each month, the "calendar day" was first submitted to the emperor for review, then archived by historians for compiling the "National History." Because it served the function of recording time and events, officials in both civil and military positions competed to imitate it.

Early Development

　　According to historical records, about 1100 years ago, in the first year of Yongzhen during the reign of Emperor Shunzong of the Tang Dynasty, calendars were already in use in the imperial palace. The calendar at that time was also called the imperial calendar, which not only recorded dates but was also important material for compiling national history. The calendar was similar to a set of volumes, dividing the year into 12 volumes, with the number of pages in each volume determined by the number of days in the month. The month and date were written on each page, then temporarily kept by eunuchs serving the emperor. The eunuchs recorded the emperor's words and deeds on the blank pages daily, and at the end of each month, the calendar was submitted to the emperor for approval, then sent to historians for archiving. The historians combined the calendar's content with major events in the court and various regions of the country, refined and polished the records, which then became the national history.

　　Later, because the calendar brought many conveniences to life, it gradually entered the homes of many high-ranking officials in the court. After some changes, it was compiled into family calendars. Subsequently, with the calendar becoming more popular and household-oriented, people printed the heavenly stems and earthly branches, monthly commands, solar terms, and auspicious days on the calendar, leaving large blank spaces for note-taking.

　　As for the monthly calendar, it later developed into various forms such as wall calendars and desk calendars, which is only a matter of the past century. Desk calendar styles evolved from the initial simple designs to many variants. In recent years, the market economy and the popularization and development of the internet have promoted exchanges between different cultures, and desk calendars are part of this. The most common trend is that desk calendars have become smaller and more exquisite.