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Chapter 30 of 48
Zi Ping Zhen Quan — True Explanation of Zi Ping
Bazi fortune-telling has its core principles, but many people do not understand these principles, leading to various erroneous theories. Blind belief and dissemination of these fallacies have deeply entrenched misconceptions. 🔥 For example, when analyzing the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, some ignore the fundamental principles of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, instead treating folk rhymes as absolute truths. When discussing patterns, they focus not on the critical importance of the Monthly Order but rigidly apply external patterns to feign flexibility. When analyzing interactions of generation and restriction, they fail to observe favorable and unfavorable elements, mistakenly believing that simply weakening the strong and supporting the weak suffices. When evaluating life cycles, they do not distinguish subtle differences, simplistically generalizing similar Stems and Branches.
Xu Yuewu's Commentary: The principles of Bazi refer to the proper logic of the Five Elements' interactions of generation, restriction, transformation, and harmony. Lack of humble study, preconceived notions, half-knowledge coupled with self-perceived cleverness—these are the root causes of errors. The folk rhymes in common books, such as the "Broken Face and Hanging Needle Pattern," which labels the characters甲 (Jia) and 辛 (Xin) as "hanging needles" and the巳 (Si)-酉 (You) combination as a "broken face," treat fate analysis like a character divination game, making their absurdity evident. Rigid adherence to external patterns—such as neglecting the use of Gods, instead determining patterns through stars and Na Yin—or failing to discern favorable and unfavorable elements and differences, stems from shallow knowledge and self-righteousness.
The sources of error are several: First, ancient texts use terms with varying emphasis, leading to biases when readers misunderstand the original intent. Second, some ignorant and reckless books mislead people, leading them astray. Third, occasional coincidences in fate analysis and cycle interpretation are mistaken for absolute truths. Fourth, the命例 (case studies) recorded by ancients themselves contain errors, or even if correctly recorded, later generations forcibly fit them into external patterns, causing significant harm.
Xu Yuewu's Commentary: Ancient authors of fate books favored rhyming language, constrained by character count and tonal patterns, often leading to miscommunication and misunderstandings. Reckless writings by ignorant authors are also common. For instance, Five Stars astrology focuses on the year, using stars and Na Yin to establish patterns, whereas the Ziping method focuses on the day. Yet, some use stars and Na Yin to flaunt knowledge, deceiving themselves and others. Many ancient case studies are misrecorded, as seen in《Shenfeng Tongkao》; some are not errors but were meant to illustrate specific points, though later generations misinterpreted them as patterns. Historical texts like《Sanming Tonghui》,《Shenfeng Tongkao》, and《Yuanhai Ziping》, though extensive, are disorganized and lack refinement, serving only as references.《Qiong Tong Bao Jian》is precise but only discusses experience without explaining principles;《Shenfeng Tongkao》is biased. Finding a comprehensive and perfect text is challenging.
For example, the Bazi:壬申 (Rén Shēn)、癸丑 (Guǐ Chǒu)、己丑 (Jǐ Chǒu)、甲戌 (Jiǎ Xū)—this is originally a pattern of prosperous wealth in mixed energies generating authority, but some mistakenly consider it as乙亥 (Yǐ Hài) hour, treating it as the偏官 (Partial Authority) at the hour. They fail to understand that prosperous wealth generating a killing energy would leave one struggling for survival, let alone attaining nobility. There are many such examples of misclassified patterns. Another example:己未 (Jǐ Wèi)、壬申 (Rén Shēn)、戊子 (Wù Zǐ)、庚申 (Gēng Shēn)—this is clearly a pattern of食神生财 (Food God generating wealth), yet some attempt to discard the Monthly Order,强行 (forcibly) labeling it as the戊日庚申合禄格 (Wu Day Geng Shen Harmony with Nobility Pattern). Ignoring the clearly visible wealth and food, they labor to combine with external authority stars—such forced application of external patterns is common.
Xu Yuewu's Commentary: It is common for arrogant individuals to act cleverly; when encountering an unsolvable Bazi, they claim the hour is wrong and arbitrarily alter it. They do not realize that a slight difference in hour completely changes favorable elements and life cycles, making it impossible to find a solution. Reading this section reveals that such arrogance has existed since ancient times. In the壬申 example, the甲戌 clearly contains fire for temperature adjustment. If changed to乙亥 hour, prosperous wealth generates killing energy without restraint, with water cold, earth frozen, and wood not thriving—yet they consider it a合时上一位贵格 (Noble Pattern at the Hour), isn't that ridiculous? In the己未 example, the食神生财 (Food God generating wealth) is extremely evident. Ignoring the clear wealth and food, they focus on暗合 (hidden harmony) with the authority star—such interpretations are purely self-deceptive and irrational.
Embedded chart
| Pillars | Year | Month | Day | Hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ten Gods | 正财 | 偏财 | Self (M) | 正官 |
| Stem | 壬 | 癸 | 己 | 甲 |
| Branch | 申 | 丑 | 丑 | 戌 |
| Hidden Stems | 庚伤壬财戊劫 | 己比癸才辛食 | 己比癸才辛食 | 戊劫辛食丁枭 |
| Stage | 沐浴 | 墓 | 墓 | 养 |
Embedded chart
| Pillars | Year | Month | Day | Hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ten Gods | 劫财 | 偏财 | Self (M) | 食神 |
| Stem | 己 | 壬 | 戊 | 庚 |
| Branch | 未 | 申 | 子 | 申 |
| Hidden Stems | 己劫丁印乙官 | 庚食壬才戊比 | 癸财 | 庚食壬才戊比 |
| Stage | 衰 | 病 | 胎 | 病 |
If one lacks firm understanding and fails to study principles meticulously, how can they not be confused upon encountering such fallacies? Moreover, recently, there are often cases where noble patterns are difficult to explain. Little do they know that practitioners always aim for noble destinies—either treating rumors as facts or, after learning the birth date, adding the birth hour according to their own wishes, fabricating noble patterns. The hours of those Bazi are mostly inaccurate, unknown even to the individuals themselves. If fortune-tellers do not investigate the fundamentals but only accommodate theories of wealth and nobility through forced interpretations, they will never find resolutions!
Xu Yuewu's Commentary: Cases where noble patterns are inexplicable are common. In our study of principles, we should know what we know and admit what we do not, leaving room for further research rather than forcing explanations.
Bazi fortune-telling is based on the proper logic of the Five Elements' interactions of generation, restriction, transformation, and harmony. However, it is easily misunderstood and distorted during transmission. Several common errors are criticized: blind belief in folk rhymes, neglect of the Monthly Order and use of Gods, failure to observe favorable and unfavorable elements in interactions, and overlooking subtle differences in life cycles. Emphasizes returning to fundamental principles and avoiding blind followership and self-perceived cleverness.
In the era of information explosion, similar issues are more pronounced: pseudo-fate analysis content floods the internet, with many seeking shortcuts, using simple rhymes or external patterns for quick judgments while ignoring basic principles. This parallels the spread of modern "pseudo-science"—people are easily misled by superficial phenomena, lacking depth in thought. 🌍 Studying Bazi should focus on logical analysis and empirical validation rather than blind faith in internet-famous masters or fragmented knowledge.
Knowledge transmission always accompanies distortion—from the constraints of ancient rhyming texts to modern fast-food culture online. Human cognition has limitations, easily misled by biases and coincidences. This reminds us: the pursuit of truth requires humility—know what you know, and know what you don't know. In fate analysis, this mirrors life decisions: do not blindly follow authority; instead, rely on rational exploration and continuous reflection.