Four Pillars of Destiny

Term: Birth Chart
Chinese 生辰八字
Hanyu Pinyin shēngchén bāzì
Cantonese Yale saang1san4 baat3ji6
Literal meaning Birth Time Eight Characters
Term: Four Pillars
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 四柱命理學
Simplified Chinese 四柱命理学
Hanyu Pinyin sì zhù mìnglǐ xué
Cantonese Yale sei3 chyu5 meng6 lei5 hok6
Literal meaning "Four Pillars of Life" Studies
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese 子平命理
Hanyu Pinyin zipíng mìnglǐ
Cantonese Yale ji2 ping4 meng6 lei5
Literal meaning Method Divination
Korean name
Hangul 사주
Hanja 四柱
Literal meaning Four Pillars Eight Characters
Japanese name
Kanji 四柱推命
Hiragana しちゅうすいめい

The Four Pillars of Destiny is a Chinese astrological concept that a person's destiny or fate can be divined by the two sexagenary cycle characters assigned to their birth year, month, day, and hour. This type of astrology is also used in Japan and Korea.

Method

Days, hours, months, and years are all assigned one of the ten Celestial Stems and one of the twelve Earthly Branches in the sexagenary cycle. A person's fortune is determined by looking up the branch and stem characters for each of these four parts of their birth time.

Years

Months

Days

Hours

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:

Song Dynasty (宋)
  • Sān Mìng Yuān Yuán 三命渊源, by Xú Dà Shēng 徐大升
  • Yuān Hǎi Zi Píng 淵海子平, compiled by Xú Dà Shēng 徐大升 (styled Zi Píng 子平)
Ming Dynasty (明)
  • Dī Tiān Suǐ 滴天髓
  • Sān Mìng Tōng Kuài 三命通會, by Wàn Mín Yīng 万民英
  • Míng Wàn Yù Wú 明萬育吾
  • Míng Liú Jī 明劉基
Qing Dynasty (清)
  • Mìng Lǐ Yuē Yán 命理約言, by Chén Sù Ān 陈素庵
  • Mìng Lǐ Tàn Yuán 命理探源, by Yuán Shù Shān 袁树珊

In Japan

Definitions

Shō-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 Shō-Kan. When we have the Heavenly Stems as 甲 in our birthday, the 丁 acts as a Shō-Kan factor, as follows:

  • 乙 : 丙
  • 丙 : 己
  • 丁 : 戊
  • 戊 : 辛
  • 己 : 庚
  • 庚 : 癸
  • 辛 : 壬
  • 壬 : 乙
  • 癸 : 甲

Meaning

  • Generally speaking, Shō-Kan stands for splendid talents, brilliant appearances, academic potential.
  • Freedom of speech, freedom of thinking and freedom of expression are said to be related to Shō-Kan.
  • When there is not the proper Shō-Kan in our daily life, we may be confused and may even become involved in anti-social acts.
  • Shō-Kan is also the symbol of a sword and slash.
  • The figures with Shō-Kan are usually bright and beautiful; however, true and real success in life is another aspect.

Example

  • Hirohito (also known as Emperor Shōwa), born April 29, 1901, died January 7, 1989. His birthday is 29 April 1901, a day called Shōwa Day in Japan.

The chart is as follows:

  • Year of birth: 1901 : 辛丑
  • Month of birth: April : 壬辰
  • Day of birth: 29th : 丁丑
  • Time of birth: a quarter past 10 at night (10.15 pm) : 辛亥

The main structure of his chart is 傷官 (Shō-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 Shō-Kan. The most important element and worker in his chart is the 甲 or 乙. The Inju is also the worker which controls Shō-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

  • 18 to 28: 庚寅 : corresponding to the reign and beginning of Showa Period in 1926
  • 28 to 38: 己丑 : beginning of Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937
  • 38 to 48: 戊子 : World War II, 1939–1945
  • 48 to 58: 丁亥
  • 58 to 68: 丙戌
  • 68 to 78: 乙酉
  • 78 to 88: 甲申 : end of the Showa Period in 1989
  • 88 to 98: 癸未

Advocates of the Shō-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.

See also

References

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