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Bushi Zhengzong · The Orthodox Tradition of Divination
Essentials for Beginners · Nayin, Stems, and Branches
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Essentials for Beginners
Verse on the Nayin Assigned Tones of the Sixty Stem-Branch Pairs
Method One:
Jia and Yi: brocade, river, smoke—Metal, Water, Fire.
Zi, Chou, Wu, Wei: Metal; Yin, Mao, Shen, You: Water; Chen, Si, Xu, Hai: Fire.
Bing-Zi: submerged grain fields—Water, Fire, Earth.
Zi, Chou, Wu, Wei: Water; Yin, Mao, Shen, You: Fire; Chen, Si, Xu, Hai: Earth.
Reading note: The source writes 丙子 here rather than the expected pair of stem names; Bing-Zi is retained as written.
Wu and Ji: camp, dike, willow—Fire, Earth, Wood.
Zi, Chou, Wu, Wei: Fire; Yin, Mao, Shen, You: Earth; Chen, Si, Xu, Hai: Wood.
Reading note: Wu in the opening is the stem 戊; Wu in the branch list is 午. These are distinct names in the same romanization.
Geng and Xin: hanging, staff, money—Earth, Wood, Metal.
Zi, Chou, Wu, Wei: Earth; Yin, Mao, Shen, You: Wood; Chen, Si, Xu, Hai: Metal.
Ren and Gui: full within the wood; the six tones of the sexagenary cycle are complete.
Reading note: 林中满 and 六音 follow the current wording. Missing characters or a further phase sequence are not supplied.
Method Two:
Jia-Zi, Yi-Chou: Metal in the Sea.
Bing-Yin, Ding-Mao: Fire in the Furnace.
Wu-Chen, Ji-Si: Wood of the Great Forest.
Geng-Wu, Xin-Wei: Earth beside the Road.
Ren-Shen, Gui-You: Metal of the Sword Edge.
Jia-Xu, Yi-Hai: Fire on the Mountain Top.
Bing-Zi, Ding-Chou: Water beneath the Ravine.
Wu-Yin, Ji-Mao: Earth of the City Wall.
Geng-Chen, Xin-Si: White-Wax Metal.
Ren-Wu, Gui-Wei: Willow Wood.
Jia-Shen, Yi-You: Water in the Spring.
Bing-Xu, Ding-Hai: Earth on the Roof.
Wu-Zi, Ji-Chou: Thunderbolt Fire.
Geng-Yin, Xin-Mao: Pine and Cypress Wood.
Ren-Chen, Gui-Si: Long-Flowing Water.
Jia-Wu, Yi-Wei: Metal in Sand.
Bing-Shen, Ding-You: Fire beneath the Mountain.
Wu-Xu, Ji-Hai: Wood of the Level Ground.
Geng-Zi, Xin-Chou: Earth on the Wall.
Ren-Yin, Gui-Mao: Tin-Foil Metal.
Jia-Chen, Yi-Si: Covered-Lamp Fire.
Reading note: Tin-foil follows the source 锡箔; it is not silently replaced by a different traditional phase name.
Bing-Wu, Ding-Wei: Water of the Heavenly River.
Wu-Shen, Ji-You: Earth of the Great Post Station.
Geng-Xu, Xin-Hai: Metal of Hairpins and Bracelets.
Ren-Zi, Gui-Chou: Mulberry and Zhe Wood.
Jia-Yin, Yi-Mao: Water of the Great Stream.
Bing-Chen, Ding-Si: Earth in Sand.
Reading note: The source writes 桑拓; Zhe gives the tree-name reading in this phase name without changing the supplied graphic.
Wu-Wu, Ji-Wei: Fire in Heaven.
Geng-Shen, Xin-You: Pomegranate Wood.
Ren-Xu, Gui-Hai: Water of the Great Sea.
Five-Phase Attributes:
Five Phases: Metal; Wood; Water; Fire; Earth.
Generation: generates Water; generates Fire; generates Wood; generates Earth; generates Metal.
Control: controls Wood; controls Earth; controls Fire; controls Metal; controls Water.
Heavenly Stems: Geng, Xin; Jia, Yi; Ren, Gui; Bing, Ding; Wu, Ji.
Earthly Branches: Shen, You; Yin, Mao; Hai, Zi; Si, Wu; Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei.
Directions: West; East; North; South; Center.
Seasons: Autumn; Spring; Winter; Summer; the concluding seasonal months.
Colors: White; blue-green; black; red; yellow.
Tastes: Pungent; sour; salty; bitter; sweet.
Climate: Dryness; wind; cold; heat; dampness.
Five Zang Organs: Lung; Liver; Kidney; Heart; Spleen.
Five Fu Organs: Large Intestine; Gallbladder; Bladder; Small Intestine; Stomach.
Body: Skin and hair; sinews; bones and marrow; vessels; flesh.
Fluids: Nasal mucus; tears; spittle; sweat; saliva.
Five Sense Organs: Nose; eyes; ears; tongue; mouth.
Five Tones: Shang; Jue; Yu; Zhi; Gong.
Reading note: The fourth tone is written 征 in the source and read as Zhi in this five-tone sequence.
Discussion of the Earthly Branches:
Earthly Branches: Zi; Chou; Yin; Mao; Chen; Si; Wu; Wei; Shen; You; Xu; Hai.
Phase Affiliations: Water; Earth; Wood; Wood; Earth; Fire; Fire; Earth; Metal; Metal; Earth; Water.
Hidden Stems: Gui; Gui.
Xin.
Ji; Jia.
Bing.
Wu; Yi; Wu.
Yi.
Gui; Bing.
Wu.
Geng; Ding.
Ji; Yi.
Ding.
Ji; Geng.
Wu.
Ren; Xin; Xin.
Ding.
Wu; Ren.
Jia.
Reading note: The preceding hidden-stem cells are split across source records. Their order and repeated names are preserved; they are not reassigned to branches or filled from another table. Wu in these hidden-stem cells is the stem 戊.
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