Chinese 生辰八字 Hanyu Pinyin Wade–Giles sheng1 ch'en2 pa1 tzu4 | Hanyu Pinyin Bopomofo ㄕㄥㄔㄣˊㄅㄚㄗˋ | |
Literal meaning Birth Time Eight Characters | ||
The Four Pillars of Destiny (四柱命理) is a Chinese, Japanese and Korean conceptual term describing the four components that supposedly create a person's destiny or fate. The four components within the moment of birth are year, month, day, and hour. The four pillars (a translation of the Chinese dynastic phrase Shēng Chén Bā Zì; Korean Saju) are used alongside fortune-telling practices such as Zǐ wēi dòu shù within the realm of Chinese astrology. Comparisons have been made between Western astrology and Ba Zi. However, unlike astrology, Ba Zi analysis does not look at an 'alignment' of celestial bodies of stars and planets but is based on the 'alignment' of blocks of time delineated by the Wan Nian Li (萬年曆), the "10,000-year" Chinese almanac.
Contents
Etymology
The "four pillars" refers to the Chinese term (生辰八字, Shēng Chén Bā Zì), which translates as "The Eight Characters of Birth Time". This is also referred to by the Chinese term (四柱命理學, Sì Zhù Mìng Lǐ Xué), which translates to "Study of 'Four Pillars of Life' Principles". In Korea, it is usually called "four pillars eight characters" (四柱八字; Sajupalza).
Commonly referred to by the shortened terms, "Four Pillars" or Bā Zì, a frequently used alternate phrase is "Four Pillars of your birth time". It is called Bā Zì (八字), Eight Characters, because each of the four pillars (representing the year, month, day, and hour of one's birth, respectively) is represented by two characters; one character for a "Heavenly Stem" representing positive (陽; Yang) and one character for an "Earthly Branch" representing (陰; Yin). There are 10 Heavenly Stems (天干, Tiān Gān, 천간) and 12 Earthly Branches (地支, Dì Zhī, 지지). The 12-zodiac-animal reference is a folkloric representation of the 12 Earthly Branches. One four pillars text was that of the Qianlong Emperor.
10 Heavenly Stems (天干) and Positive-Negative (陰陽) Five Elements (五行):
- 甲 (Gab, 갑) : Positive Wood, 陽木
- 乙 (Eul, 을) : Negative Wood, 陰木
- 丙 (Byoung, 병) : Positive Fire, 陽火
- 丁 (Zeong, 정) : Negative Fire, 陰火
- 戊 (Moo, 무) : Positive Soil, 陽土
- 己 (Gee, 기) : Negative Soil, 陰土
- 庚 (Gyoung, 경) : Positive Metal, 陽金
- 辛 (Sin, 신) : Negative Metal, 陰金
- 壬 (Yim, 임) : Positive Water, 陽水
- 癸 (Gye, 계) : Negative Water, 陰水
12 Earthly Branches (干支):
- 寅 (Yin, 인) : Positive Tree, 陽木
- 卯 (Myo, 묘) : Negative Tree, 陰木
- 辰 (Zin, 진) : Positive Soil, 陽土
- 巳 (Saa, 사) : Positive Fire, 陽火 (changes to Negative Fire during four pillars of destiny interpretation)
- 午 (Oho, 오) : Negative Fire, 陰火 (changes to Positive Fire during four pillars of destiny interpretation)
- 未 (Mee, 미) : Negative Soil, 陰土
- 申 (Sin, 신) : Positive Metal, 陽金
- 酉 (Yoo, 유) : Negative Metal, 陰金
- 戌 (Sool, 술) : Positive Soil, 陽土
- 亥 (Hae, 해) : Positive Water, 陽水 (changes to Negative Water during four pillars of destiny interpretation)
- 子 (Zaa, 자) : Negative Water, 陰水 (changes to Positive Water during four pillars of destiny interpretation)
- 丑 (Choog, 축) : Negative Soil, 陰土
The relationship between Earthly Branches and four seasons with direction:
- Yin-Myo-Zin, 寅卯辰: spring, east
- Saa-Oho-Mee, 巳午未: summer, south
- Sin-Yoo-Sool, 申酉戌: autumn, west
- Hae-Zaa-Choog, 亥子丑: winter, north
The Schools
The schools are the Scholarly School (學院派, Xué Yuàn Pài) and the Professional School (江湖派, Jiāng Hú Pài).
The Scholarly School began with Xú Zi Píng (徐子平) at the beginning of the Song Dynasty. Xú founded the pure theoretical basis of the system. Representatives of this school and their publications include:
In Japan
Four Pillars of Destiny, the 傷官 or – in Japanese, Syō-Kan (pr: Show-can) – is a Japanese astrological concept that involves calculating a person's destiny using the values of the birth year, month, day and hour. The Chinese equivalent is 背禄 (shang guan). A study of the four components said to create a person's destiny or fate is complicated and affects the mechanisms of supposedly plotting destiny and prediction.
Definitions
Syō-Kan is also the relative pronoun among the Heavenly Stems. When we have our birthday as 甲子, 甲戌, 甲申, 甲午, 甲辰, 甲寅, in the Chinese calendar, the Tei ,Hi no to (丁) will belong to the Syō-Kan. When we have the Heavenly Stems as 甲 in our birthday, the 丁 acts as a Syō-Kan factor, as follows:
Meaning
Example
The chart is as follows:
The main structure of his chart is 傷官 (Syō-Kan), 格.
The day of 丁 (in the Chinese calendar) meets April, the month of Do-Yo (土用), the month of 戊, so that we get the Syō-Kan. The most important element and worker in his chart is the 甲 or 乙. The Inju is also the worker which controls Syō-Kan. In 1945, in the year of 乙酉, the Inju has no effect. The Heavenly Stem 乙 is in Ku Bo (空亡, the workings are on hold).
Additionally, the Dai Un (Japan's own long-term history) is as follows. The beginning of April in the Lunar calendar is the fifth day, so there are 24 days from day 5 to Hirohito's birthday. One month is equivalent to ten years in Dai Un, and the 24 days are equivalent to eight years. Events in the historical timeline corresponding to his life from age eight to 18 are as follows.
From the age of 8 to the age of 18 : 辛卯
Advocates of the Syō-Kan system believe that Hirohito's chart somehow explains the defeat of Japan in World War II after the catastrophic atomic bomb explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.