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Chapter 41 of 50
基础知识
The Xiji Pian (喜忌篇) states: "On Geng day, when all branches form the Running Down (润下) configuration, avoid the directions of Bing, Ding, Si, and Wu. If the hour pillar falls on Zi or Shen, the fortune is halved." This means: For a Geng metal Day Master, when all earthly branches form the Shen-Zi-Chen three-harmony water bureau (the Running Down pattern), one must avoid additional Bing or Ding heavenly stems or Si or Wu earthly branches in the original chart. If the hour pillar falls on Zi hour or Shen hour, the pattern's power is reduced by half.
This pattern primarily centers on the Geng-Shen, Geng-Zi, and Geng-Chen day pillars, requiring the earthly branches to form the Shen-Zi-Chen water bureau to qualify. The core mechanism is: use the power of the Shen-Zi-Chen water bureau to flush out the Yin-Wu-Xu fire bureau — Geng metal's officer star is fire (🔥), and through "flushing," the hidden officer star is forced into visibility. Geng day obtains its officer, and the pattern is complete.
This pattern dislikes additional Bing or Ding fire in the heavenly stems. Because the purpose of the pattern is precisely to "flush out the fire bureau" — if open fire already manifests in the original chart, there is no need for flushing, and the pattern loses its meaning.
Why does "the hour falling on Zi or Shen halve the fortune"? Because Geng day's Zi hour is the Bing-Zi hour — Bing fire Direct Wealth? No — Bing fire Seven Killings appearing on the stem breaks the "no visible fire" condition. The Shen hour is the Jia-Shen hour — Jia wood Indirect Wealth sitting on its禄 (prosperity root), forming Day Master's Lu Returning to Hour (日禄归时), which runs contrary to the path of the Well Railing Diagonal Fork pattern, greatly reducing its fortune.
This pattern most fears year luck filling in reality (填实). That is, in the fleeting year or major luck cycle, encountering Bing, Ding, Si, or Wu fire luck is unfavorable. Because once fire appears, the "flushed out" virtual officer becomes a real officer, the flushing pattern breaks, and misfortune follows instead.
The Xiji Pian states: "Yang water repeatedly meeting Chen positions — this is the abode of壬 riding the dragon's back." Yang water refers to 壬 water, and Chen position refers to the Chen earth earthly branch.
For a 壬 water Day Master, Ding fire is the Direct Wealth, Ji earth is the Direct Officer, and Yin wood is the Eating God.
For a 壬 water Day Master, when Chen earth branches appear abundantly, they can flush out Xu earth. Xu is the fire warehouse, containing within it Ding fire and Wu earth — Ding is Wealth, Wu is Seven Killings. Thus both Wealth and Officer (Seven Killings) are obtained.
However, one must pay special attention here: Wu is NOT the Direct Officer, but the Seven Killings. Therefore, this pattern absolutely requires the Yin wood Eating God to be present.
Yin wood serves two crucial functions: First, it subdues the flushed-out Wu earth Seven Killings, transforming it into a Partial Officer that can be utilized. Second, after Chen flushes out Xu, Yin coming to combine with Xu is most exquisite — Yin-Xu combine, and the nobility is firmly locked in, not allowed to leak out.
This pattern also dislikes further Wealth or Officer luck, and does not favor year luck filling in reality.
Well Railing Diagonal Fork's essence is "obtaining the Officer through flushing." The Geng metal Day Master is weak and likes water for drainage and expression. The Shen-Zi-Chen water bureau in the earthly branches is powerful, using water's flowing nature to impact the fire bureau, thereby "flushing" out the hidden officer star. This is a method of indirect attainment of nobility — similar to using indirect means to activate latent resources.
壬 Riding Dragon's Back's essence is "obtaining Wealth and Officer through flushing, using Eating God to subdue the Killing and protect the pattern." 壬 water sits on Chen; with abundant Chen, the water reservoir's storage power is strong. Through Chen-Xu clashing, the Ding Wealth and Wu Killing hidden in Xu are drawn out, and the Yin wood Eating God then subdues the Killing and combines with Xu, transforming and locking in what was flushed out. This is an exquisite structure of flush first, subdue second, combining both clash and combine techniques.
The common ground between both patterns: both rely on "flushing" to mobilize hidden resources, and both taboo year luck filling in reality. The difference is that Well Railing Diagonal Fork flushes out only the Officer star, while 壬 Riding Dragon's Back flushes out both Wealth and Seven Killings — which is why the latter more urgently needs the Eating God as a "supporting facility."
Well Railing Diagonal Fork and 壬 Riding Dragon's Back both represent a "latent resource mobilization model" in BaZi. In the modern context, this can be understood as: some people do not possess resources overtly (such as degrees, background, or seniority), but through special methods or channels, they can stimulate potential opportunities.
The "taboo against Bing, Ding, Si, Wu" in Well Railing Diagonal Fork translates to modern language as: when you are pursuing a goal through unconventional means, beware of the goal becoming prematurely "visible." For example, in the early stages of entrepreneurship, one should not prematurely expose core advantages; in negotiations, one should not reveal one's hand too early — once "filled in reality," the room for flexibility is lost.
The role of the "Yin wood Eating God" in 壬 Riding Dragon's Back corresponds to risk management mechanisms in modern decision-making. The flushed-out Wu earth Seven Killings is like "high returns accompanied by high risk," and Yin wood is that safety guardrail — it can both suppress risk (subdue the Killing) and lock in gains (combine with Xu). This suggests to us: behind any aggressive strategy (flushing), there must be a hedging mechanism (Eating God) providing support.
The dialectical relationship between "flushing" and "filling in reality" is the most profound philosophical proposition of these two outer patterns. Flushing represents latent possibility — not yet realized but capable of being activated; filling in reality represents the solidification of actuality — once something becomes an established fact, the space for operation is lost. This evokes the thought from the Dao De Jing: "What is present provides benefit; what is absent provides function." What is truly useful is precisely that "empty," unfilled state.
Well Railing Diagonal Fork's taboo against Bing and Ding is fundamentally a taboo against "premature realization." This reminds us: the tension of the process often carries more vitality than the achievement of the result. When goals are unattained, people are filled with motivation and imagination; once achieved, new problems arise instead.
The "Yin combining with Xu" design in 壬 Riding Dragon's Back embodies a wisdom of "controlling release and restraint": first use flushing to open the pattern (activating resources), then use combining to consolidate the results (locking in resources). This rhythm of "flush then combine" is precisely the embodiment of the traditional Chinese philosophical principle "one tension, one release — the way of the scholar-warrior" (一张一弛，文武之道).
| Concept | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Three-Harmony Water Bureau | Shen-Zi-Chen forms the water bureau; water's nature is flowing and descending — the power source of Well Railing Diagonal Fork |
| Clash Pattern | The special pattern-taking method of activating hidden resources through Six Clashes (Zi-Wu clash, Chen-Xu clash, etc.) |
| Filling in Reality | When year luck causes the "flushed out" virtual spirit in the original chart to become a real spirit, the pattern shifts from virtual to real and breaks |
| Day Master's Lu Returning to Hour | When the hour branch is the Day Master's Lu (prosperity root), e.g., Jia day seeing Yin hour, Geng day seeing Shen hour — indicates the individual's independent fortune |
| Eating God Subduing Killing | The Eating God suppresses the Seven Killings, transforming a hostile spirit into authority — a classic combination |
| Yin-Xu Combination | Yin wood combines with Xu earth, with the function of locking the fire warehouse and securing nobility |
| Running Down Pattern | An extreme water dominance following pattern that shares the Shen-Zi-Chen water bureau foundation with Well Railing Diagonal Fork |
Contemporary BaZi scholars' attention to outer patterns focuses on two points: first, statistical verification — testing the validation rates of outer patterns through large numbers of actual charts, finding that Well Railing Diagonal Fork and 壬 Riding Dragon's Back do show tendencies in career achievement patterns, but they are not definitive "nobility markers"; second, psychological projection — the influence of outer pattern structures on the individual's thinking style and behavioral strategies is more significant than their influence on fate outcomes. This perspective intersects with the "cognitive style" theory in modern psychology and deserves further exploration.