Sanming Tonghui · A Comprehensive Account of the Three Destinies

The Ten Stems Seated on Branches: Months, Hours, and Fortune Periods

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Jia and Yi Jia Wood belongs to yang and is material for beams and pillars. It favors birth in autumn or winter, and meeting Shen or Zi month is auspicious. Geng or Xin in the pillars is compared to an axe and chisel, indicating reputation and profit. Fortune proceeding through Shen, You, Chen, Xu, Chou, or Wei can bring great advancement, and meeting Xin Office is especially fine. It avoids the Yin–Wu–Xu combined configuration and Ding Fire emerging as Hurting Office: this is described as a fate of hard physical labor and unsuccessful undertakings, with these fortunes likewise unfavorable. Yet if the configuration combines and Ding emerges, Chen, Xu, Chou, or Wei is present, Wu or Ji appears in the stems, and Wealth fortune follows, Hurting Office generates Wealth and great blessing results instead. Yi Wood belongs to yin and is living Wood. Born in spring, its flowers and leaves flourish; it also favors the season of Little Spring. Meeting the two configurations Hai–Mao–Wei and the printed Jia–Zi–Chen, then proceeding northward, does no harm even if Bing, Ding, Geng, or Xin emerges. What it avoids is Yin–Wu–Xu Fire and an abundance of Si, You, and Chou, which often indicate injury or disability; southern fortune thereafter is said to bring early death without doubt. “Jia and Yi value Wood obtaining what suits it; know that flourishing Metal and Water are remarkable. In spring go south, in autumn return north; in winter and summer go west to establish blessing.” People born on Jia or Yi days, seated in the Metal territory listed as the printed Yi, You, Chou, Shen, and Xu, favor fortunes in Earth and Metal divisions. If born in Yin, Mao, or Chen without forming a Wood configuration, the hour should lead back to Earth and Metal divisions, producing great nobility; fortune is judged likewise, so Office endures. If born in Si, You, Chou, or Shen month, the hour should lead back to Hai, Mao, Wei, or Yin to obtain nobility. Without such an hour there is excess or deficiency, and fortune must proceed through Water and Wood configurations; otherwise the person is an impoverished scholar. If Wealth Star is already present in the pillars, Equal and Robbing stars dividing and taking it are feared; without Wealth originally, they are not feared. Wood obtains Metal and becomes a useful object: the benevolent then have courage. Metal obtains Wood and becomes material: the courageous must then be benevolent. This is hardness and softness aiding one another, yin and yang in balance. Fortune favors Wealth and Office. If there is Wood without Metal, Geng and Xin are deficient and righteousness scant. Metal without Fire is courage without propriety, producing disorder. Excessive Metal without Water leaves withering; excessive Wood without Metal becomes tangled abundance. Metal and Wood therefore differ in their requirements. A fate biased entirely toward yin or yang is difficult to name; even meeting Wealth and Office, it does not prosper. The six Jia days use Xin as Direct Office, Geng as Indirect Office, and Wu and the printed Si as Wealth. If Wu, Si, and Xin emerge in year, month, or hour, with birth in autumn's three months, the four season-ending months, or Metal and Earth configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Even without these three emerging, birth in those months or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Jia and Yi seizing Wealth, or Bing and Ding injuring Office, make reputation and profit difficult. Birth in spring or summer or Fire and Wood configurations leaves Wealth and Office without energy; even with nourishment and assistance, reputation and profit are slight. Favorable fortunes lead toward Office and approach Wealth in western and season-ending Metal and Earth divisions; southeastern Wood and Fire injuring Office and defeating Wealth are unfavorable. If Geng and Xin both appear in the four pillars, Office and Killing are mixed. Without a choice of retention or removal, or restraint, poverty and low status result instead. The source repeats: poverty and low status result. If there is only Geng without restraint, judge it as a Ghost, distinguishing Body's and Ghost's strengths to determine auspiciousness, harm, longevity, or early death. Restraint achieving a proper balance makes it Indirect Office; excessive restraint brings no blessing instead. Further examine whether the day stem has strength and assistance in its birth month, judging the solar term's early or late position and the relative weight. Favor fortunes where Body flourishes and Ghost declines; avoid those where Body declines and Ghost flourishes. The six Yi days use Wu as Direct Wealth, the printed Si as Indirect Wealth, Geng as Direct Office, and Xin as Indirect Office. If Wu, Si, and Geng emerge in year, month, or hour, with birth in autumn's three months, the four season-ending months, or Metal and Earth configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Even without these three emerging, birth in those months or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Jia and Yi seizing Wealth and Bing injuring Office make reputation and profit difficult. In spring or summer or Fire and Wood configurations, even present Wealth and Office lack energy; nourishment and assistance still have little weight. Favor western and season-ending Metal and Earth divisions, leading toward Office and approaching Wealth; avoid Fire and Wood, which injure Office and defeat Wealth. Mixed Office and Killing are feared; an unrestrained Killing is judged as a Ghost. Restraint too great or insufficient brings no blessing. Examine the day stem's strength and assistance within its birth month, distinguishing the relative weight. Favorable and unfavorable fortunes are as above. Translator's note: The supplied text's Jia–Zi–Chen configuration, the unclear Yi graph in the seated-position list, and Si where an Earth stem might be expected in the Wealth lists are identified rather than silently replaced. The repeated poverty clause, conditional reversal for Hurting Office generating Wealth, and the separate Jia and Yi rules are retained. The brief excessive-Metal/excessive-Wood passage is syntactically uneven in the source. These are historical technical judgments, not established predictions. Bing and Ding Bing Fire belongs to yang and is the sun's proper energy, able to generate the myriad things. It favors birth in spring and summer months, naturally achieving a hundredfold vigor. Further meeting Heavenly and Monthly Virtue and proceeding through eastern fortune is especially fine; even Ren or Gui Water does no harm. Only Wu Earth emerging is avoided, as it reduces the favorable measure. Major fortune and the year's ruler offending one another bring official punishment and imprisonment, lost wealth, and mourning. Birth in autumn or winter, further at a nighttime hour, with the branches combining into a Water configuration, makes one a servant or follower: lifelong separation and solitude, poverty, early death, injury, or disability are attributed to it. Ding Fire belongs to yin and is ordinary fire, able to regulate the myriad things. Gold, silver, copper, and iron cannot become useful objects without Ding's working. It favors nighttime birth, with Si, You, and Chou as excellent monthly commands. Yin in the first month is Heavenly Virtue and the Seal origin; obtaining Mao as well is best. It avoids Ren and Gui Water. If born by day, it often harms wife and children. Southern fortune strips Office and removes one's post; northwestern fortune gives nobility. “For Bing and Ding day rulers, Fire is the root; Metal and Water stars are blessing's source. If fortune arrives in west and north, even wealth and nobility remain incomplete.” Bing and Ding days seated at the Water positions Shen, Zi, Chen, and Hai, further led back to a Metal hour, give great nobility if born in Yin, Wu, or Si month: Water and Fire have achieved mutual completion. In summer's fifth month avoid a three-harmony Fire configuration, where Fire blazes and Water dries. In winter's Zi month the printed wording is “forget” a three-harmony Water configuration, where Water flourishes and Fire is extinguished. Only Water and Fire balanced with one another achieve completion. Major fortune should proceed through Metal and Water divisions, avoiding excess or deficiency. Bias toward yin or yang produces sprouts that fail to flower. If born in Shen, Zi, Chen, or Hai month, Yin, Wu, Xu, or Si hour is necessary for nobility. Without such an hour, Wood fortune is needed for a good result; otherwise there is empty reputation without nobility. The six Bing days use Geng and Xin as Wealth, Gui as Direct Office, and Ren as Indirect Office. If Geng, Xin, and Gui emerge in year, month, or hour, with birth in autumn or winter or Metal and Water configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Even without these three emerging, birth in those seasons or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Bing and Ding seizing Wealth and the printed Yi acting as Hurting Office make reputation and profit difficult. If born in the ninety days of summer, the four season-ending months, or Fire and Earth configurations, even present Wealth and Office have no energy; nourishment and assistance still have little weight. Favor northwestern Metal and Water divisions, leading toward Office and approaching Wealth. If Ren and Gui both appear in the pillars, Office and Killing are mixed; without restraint, low status results instead. Ren without Gui and without restraint is judged as a Ghost. Distinguish Body's and Ghost's strength to determine auspiciousness, harm, longevity, or early death. Properly balanced restraint makes it usable as Indirect Office; excessive restraint brings no blessing. Further examine the day stem's strength and available rescue in its birth month, judging the solar term and relative weight. Favor fortunes where Body flourishes and Ghost declines; avoid those where Body declines and Ghost flourishes. The six Ding days use Geng and Xin as Wealth, Ren as Direct Office, and Gui as Indirect Office. If Geng, Xin, and Ren emerge in year, month, or hour, with birth in autumn or winter or Metal and Water configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Even without these three emerging, birth in those seasons or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Bing and Ding seizing Wealth and Wu injuring Office make reputation and profit arduous. In the ninety days of summer, the four season-ending months, or Fire and Earth configurations, even present Wealth and Office lack energy; nourishment and assistance still have little weight. Favor northwestern and Metal and Water divisions; avoid fortunes that injure Office and defeat Wealth. Mixed Office and Killing are feared; an unrestrained Killing is judged as a Ghost, while excessive restraint gives poverty. Examine the day stem's strength and assistance in its birth month and judge the relative weight. Favorable and unfavorable fortunes are as above. Translator's note: The damaged nighttime expression, “forget” before the winter Water configuration, and Yi in Bing's Hurting Office clause follow the supplied wording rather than an unannounced correction. The verse's qualification of western and northern fortunes is retained alongside the prose that favors them. Both complete day-stem rule sets and their restraint, rescue, and seasonal conditions remain. Wu and Ji Wu Earth belongs to yang and is the earth of embankments and city walls, able only to resist Water, not to plant and nurture the myriad things. When walls and embankments have no punishment, clash, disruption, or harm, the people are secure. It favors Jia and Yi Wood and ground where Killing transforms into Seal. Western fortune is avoided; even if prosperity occurs, loss and anxiety must follow. It needs Fire to generate and support it and dislikes Water's conquest and restraint. Wu and Ji occurring repeatedly lose both reputation and profit; repeated Xin and Geng make undertakings advance and retreat. Ji Earth belongs to yin and is earth of fields, hills, and gardens, able to plant and nurture the myriad things. It needs punishment, clash, disruption, and harm, which are compared to plowing and digging. It favors birth in spring and summer, in Chen and Si territory, the ground of Office and Seal. If Hurting Office and damage to Seal are further absent, blessing develops; the person likes acquiring and building, with abundant fields. Northeastern fortune is especially fine. Further having Hai–Mao–Wei Wood certainly indicates wealth and nobility, with a steady, substantial character, generous in large matters and impatient in small ones. Meeting Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei is Turning Away from Emolument and Pursuing Horse, as well as Robbing Wealth and punitive injury: losses, lawsuits, and mourning vary in form. “Wu and Ji day stems seek Water and Wood; if originally present in the pillars, they bring blessing. When fortune reaches northern plains and eastern lands, virtue enriches the person and wealth enriches the house.” People born on Wu and Ji days, seated at Hai, Mao, or Yin, have Hooked Array Obtaining Position. Fortune should proceed through Water and Wood divisions. Birth in Hai or Zi month needs leading into Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei, Si, or Wu hour; birth in Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei, Si, or Wu month needs Hai or Zi hour for nobility. Earth obtains Wood and is opened and loosened; Wood relies on Earth for cultivation. Much Wood and little Earth cause collapse; much Earth without Wood is stubborn, turbid, useless soil. The printed Si day in Chou year or month finds the west inauspicious and the south greatly distinguished. Among the six Wu days, Wuxu is excluded as Chief Strength, with its Wealth and Office preferences and avoidances said here to be discussed under Zi day. The other five, Wuzi, Wuwu, Wushen, Wuyin, and Wuchen, use Ren and Gui as Wealth, Yi as Direct Office, and Jia as Indirect Office. If Ren, Gui, and Yi emerge in year, month, or hour, with birth in spring or winter or Water and Wood configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Even without these three emerging, birth in those seasons or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Wu and Ji seizing Wealth and Xin injuring Office make reputation and profit difficult. Birth in autumn's three months, the four season-ending months, or Metal and Earth configurations leaves Wealth and Office without energy; nourishment and assistance still have little weight. Favor northeastern Water and Wood divisions, leading toward Office and approaching Wealth; avoid season-ending and western ground that defeats Wealth and injures Office. If Jia and Yi emerge together, Office and Killing are mixed; without restraint, low status results instead. Jia without Yi and without restraint is judged as a Ghost. Distinguish Body's and Ghost's strengths to determine auspiciousness, harm, longevity, or early death. Balanced restraint makes it usable as Indirect Office; excessive restraint brings no blessing. Examine the day stem's strength and available rescue within its birth month, considering the solar term's early or late position and relative weight. Favor Body flourishing and Ghost declining; avoid Body declining and Ghost flourishing. The six Ji days use Ren and Gui as Wealth, Jia as Direct Office, and Yi as Indirect Office. If Ren, Gui, and Jia emerge in year, month, or hour, with birth in spring or winter or Water and Wood configurations, Wealth and Office have energy. Even without these three emerging, birth in those seasons or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Wu and Ji seizing Wealth and Geng injuring Office make reputation and profit difficult. In autumn's three months, the four season-ending months, or Metal and Earth configurations, even present Wealth and Office lack energy; nourishment and assistance still have little weight. Favor northeastern Water and Wood divisions; avoid fortunes that injure Office and defeat Wealth. Mixed Office and Killing are feared; an unrestrained Killing is judged as a Ghost, while excessive restraint gives poverty. Examine the day stem's strength and assistance in its birth month, distinguishing relative weight. Favorable and unfavorable fortunes are as above. Translator's note: The source distinguishes uncultivated embankment Earth from cultivated field Earth, giving them opposite requirements for disturbance. Its printed Si day and reference to discussion under Zi day are retained as supplied. The Wuxu exception, all five remaining Wu days, and the full separate Wu and Ji Wealth/Office rules are included. Geng and Xin Geng Metal belongs to yang and comprises gold, silver, copper, and iron, formed through receiving the sun's yang. It must encounter Ding Fire's regulation to become a useful object. Encountering Bing Fire is meeting yet not truly meeting. It favors southeastern Fire and Wood fortunes, becoming bright as Metal receives working. Yin and Mao arriving with Jia and Yi, and the printed Ji–Wu–Wei ground where Office Star and Seal origin obtain energy, all bring advancement. Remaining only in the northwest is Metal sinking to the Water's bottom, unable to become useful. Xin Metal belongs to yin and comprises mercury, cinnabar, red and blue-green gems, and pearls, condensed from the sun's essence and moon's refined radiance. Above all it needs ground of clear Metal, beautiful Water, and abundant Earth energy, as well as northwestern fortune. In Chen, Xu, Si, or southeastern fortune, absence of Ding Fire from the five phases and four pillars is excellent; its presence prevents useful formation. Like a pearl falling into a furnace, there is beauty without fruition. Especially feared is Yin–Wu–Xu forming a configuration with flourishing Killing; Body must be strong to withstand that strength. If Hai–Mao–Wei is in the pillars and Bing and Ding further emerge, Wu and Wei fortune brings blessing. Si–You–Chou forming a Metal configuration gives a mild and substantial transformation: eastern fortune is greatly auspicious, the south unsuitable. “Geng and Xin day rulers are called Metal stems; Wood and Fire generating one another bring their own blessing. If year, month, and hour gather and combine, eastern and western fortune steps secure official service.” People born on Geng or Xin days, seated upon Yin, Wu, Xu, or Si Fire and also born in Yin, Wu, or Xu month, require leading into a Metal or Earth hour for nobility. In autumn's three months, winter's final month, or the eleventh month, leading into an hour of flourishing Wood and Fire gives great nobility. Fortune proceeds through Wood and Fire divisions, avoiding excess or deficiency; bias toward yang or yin gives sprouts that fail to flower. If connected with Fire's monthly energy, nobility requires Si, You, Chou, or Shen hour, and Metal and Earth fortune is auspicious. Equal stems and three harmonies forming a Metal configuration make Metal abundant and Fire faint; Wood and Fire fortune is favored. Metal cannot become a useful object without Fire; Fire cannot display its usefulness without Metal. Metal and Fire balanced with one another give a carriage, robe, and official cap. If Fire blazes excessively without Earth, Metal must fail. With Earth it forms Casting a Seal: smelting, transformation, and change produce a useful object, the fate of a great person. Much Fire with little Metal, or abundant Metal with faint Fire, both indicate violent people in the text. Among the six Geng days, Gengxu and Gengchen are excluded as Chief Strength, with their Wealth and Office preferences and avoidances discussed under their respective days. The remaining four, Gengshen, Gengyin, Gengwu, and Gengzi, use Jia and Yi as Wealth, Ding as Direct Office, and Bing as Indirect Office. If Jia, Yi, and Ding emerge in year, month, or hour, with birth in spring or summer or Fire and Wood configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Even without these three emerging, birth in those seasons or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Geng and Xin seizing Wealth and Ren and Gui injuring Office make reputation and profit difficult. In autumn or winter or Metal and Water, Wealth and Office lack energy; nourishment and assistance still have little weight. Favor southeastern Wood and Fire divisions, leading toward Office and approaching Wealth; avoid northwestern Metal and Water fortunes, which injure Office and defeat Wealth. If Bing and Ding appear together in the pillars, Office and Killing are mixed; unrestrained Killing gives low status instead. Bing without Ding and without restraint is judged as a Ghost. Distinguish Body's and Ghost's strengths to determine auspiciousness, harm, longevity, or early death. Properly balanced restraint makes it Indirect Office; excessive restraint brings no blessing. Examine the day stem's strength and assistance in its birth month, judging the solar term's early or late position and relative weight. Favor fortunes where Body flourishes and Ghost declines; avoid those where Body declines and Ghost flourishes. The six Xin days use Jia and Yi as Wealth, Bing as Direct Office, and Ding as Indirect Office. If Jia, Yi, and Bing emerge in year, month, or hour, with birth in spring or summer or Fire and Wood configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Even without these three emerging, birth in those seasons or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Geng and Xin seize Wealth and Ren injures Office, making reputation and profit difficult. In autumn or winter or Metal and Water configurations, Wealth and Office lack energy; nourishment and assistance still have little weight. Favor southeastern Fire and Wood divisions, leading toward Office and approaching Wealth; avoid northwestern Metal and Water divisions, injuring Office and defeating Wealth. Mixed Office and Killing are feared; an unrestrained Killing is judged as a Ghost, and excessive restraint is not blessed. Examine the day stem's strength and assistance in its birth month, distinguishing relative weight. Favorable and unfavorable fortunes are as above. Translator's note: Ji–Wu–Wei is the supplied sequence; no missing or mistaken branch is silently reconstructed. The different treatment of worked Geng Metal and jewel-like Xin Metal, contrasting eastern/western fortune clauses, both Chief Strength exceptions, and the source's Ren-and-Gui Hurting Office wording for Geng are preserved. Conditional moderation and the separate Xin rule set are not replaced by a general summary. Ren and Gui Ren Water belongs to yang and is sweet, nourishing, continuously flowing Water, able to nourish grasses and trees and foster the myriad things. It particularly favors people born in spring and summer; when autumn and winter hold the command, there is no generative vitality. Meeting the Yin–Wu–Xu Office Star with energy of generation and assistance makes reputation shine forth. A Metal configuration with birth in the eighth month achieves both reputation and profit; a Water configuration with birth in the third month is Heavenly Virtue and indicates nobility. Hai–Mao–Wei in the branches, followed by southern fortune, brings wealth. Gui Water belongs to yin and is the boundless sea's Water, unable to grow the myriad things. Another account calls it rain and dew that moisten and nourish all things. It favors spring and autumn, and fortune proceeding through Si, Wu, and Xu brings extraordinary blessing. Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei fortunes are greatly avoided, bringing alternating success and failure. Hai–Mao–Wei combining in the branches makes Hurting flourish and adds to Wealth. Even without Yin and Jia, reputation and profit develop. If Ji Earth appears in Chou or Wei month and the three punishments are also present, clothing and Emolument are ordinary; early and middle periods lack fulfillment, while the final period brings honor and advancement. Rescue within the five phases, strong Body, and fortunes favoring Wealth and Office likewise indicate noble distinction. “For Ren and Gui days, Water is ruler; the foundation lies only in Fire and Earth. Spring and autumn's coming and going develop Wealth and Office; winter and summer suit an eastern course.” People born on Ren or Gui days, seated at Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei, Si, or Wu, have Black Warrior Holding Authority. Fortune should proceed through Fire and Wood divisions. Excess or deficiency and bias toward yin or yang give nobility without substance. Birth in the four season-ending months, Si, or Wu, led into Hai or Zi hour, or winter birth led into Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei, Si, or Wu hour, both give nobility. Without these hours, reputation and profit are empty. Fortune favors Metal and Water divisions, with generation and assistance bringing honor. Without Metal, Water is cut off. Equal and Robbing Wealth are avoided. In winter's eleventh month, a three-harmony configuration makes Water swell and overflow, so Earth collapses. Water without Earth thus floods; Earth without Water dries. Earth obtains Water and is moistened and aerated; Water obtains Earth and is embanked into a river. Neither may be favored to the other's exclusion. If energy and fortune are further appropriate, noble distinction always follows in the text. Configurations such as Punishment Combination and Arching Combination are not discussed here. Among the six Ren days, Renchen is excluded as Chief Strength, with its Wealth and Office preferences and avoidances discussed under that day. The remaining five, Renyin, Renzi, Renshen, Renwu, and Renxu, use Bing and Ding as Wealth, the printed Si as Direct Office, and Wu as Indirect Office. If Bing, Ding, and Si emerge in the four pillars, with birth in the ninety days of summer, the four season-ending months, or Fire and Earth configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Even without these three emerging, birth in the ninety days of summer or Fire and Earth configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Ren and Gui seizing Wealth and Yi injuring Office make reputation and profit difficult. In spring or winter or Water and Wood configurations, Wealth and Office lack energy; nourishment and assistance still have little weight. Favor southern and season-ending Fire and Earth divisions, leading toward Office and approaching Wealth. Wu and Ji together in the pillars mix Killing and Office; without restraint, low status results instead. Wu without Ji and without restraint is judged as a Ghost. Distinguish Body's and Ghost's strengths to determine auspiciousness and harm. Properly balanced restraint makes it Indirect Office; excessive restraint is not blessed. Examine the day stem's strength and assistance in its birth month, judging the solar term's early or late position and relative weight. Favor fortunes where Body flourishes and Ghost declines; avoid those where Body declines and Ghost flourishes. The six Gui days use Bing and Ding as Wealth, Wu as Direct Office, and Ji as Indirect Office. If Bing, Ding, and Wu emerge in the four pillars, with birth in the ninety days of summer, the four season-ending months, or Fire and Earth configurations, Wealth and Office are effective. Without these three, birth in those months or configurations is still judged as Wealth and Office. Ren and Gui seizing Wealth and Jia injuring Office are unfavorable. In spring or winter or Water and Wood configurations, Wealth and Office lack energy. Favor southern and season-ending fortunes of Wealth and Office. Mixed Office and Killing are feared; an unrestrained Killing is judged as a Ghost, and excessive restraint is harmful. Examine the day stem's strength and assistance within the monthly command, judging relative weight. Favorable and unfavorable fortunes are as above. Translator's note: Both conflicting descriptions of Gui Water, as unproductive boundless sea and as nourishing rain and dew, are explicitly supplied and retained. The Yin–Wu–Xu Office wording, different Fire/Wood and Metal/Water fortune instructions, and Si in Ren's Direct Office list follow this source. No stem or seasonal rule is silently corrected. Renchen's exception and all separate Ren and Gui qualifications remain.

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