On Substantive Principles and On Human Nature - Volume 6
Holistic Interpretation
On Substantive Principles 🌟
Humans are born between heaven and earth by receiving the qi of yin and yang. Thus, destiny is bestowed upon humanity, and the same applies to all things—none are beyond the determination of yin and yang's creative transformation. Therefore, deducing human fortunes and misfortunes is a principle that is evident. However, although there are many methods of fate calculation, upon delving into the subtleties, none are more profound than the Ziping method. The Ziping method specifically centers on the Day Stem (the heavenly stem of the birth day) and takes the Month Branch (the earthly branch of the birth month, which harbors the five elements) as the foundation of the fate chart. It then references the branches of the year, day, and hour to assist in judgment. In all fate analysis, the Month Branch should be the primary focus, and one should not seek patterns from the year, day, or hour. Many people today do not understand this method, leading to errors in judgment. For example, the Month Branch is key to the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and one should focus solely on the Month Branch itself for conclusions. Seeking patterns from other aspects can easily lead to mistakes. When determining the actual condition of the Month Branch, adjustments can be made based on emphasis, weight, depth, formation, or disruption. Master Yijian from Xichuan excelled in flexibility, simplifying the ten patterns into six: Official, Seal, Wealth, Kill, Food God, and Hurt Officer. Using these for deduction, his method proved unfailingly accurate. His approach was: when encountering a Hurt Officer, look at Wealth; when encountering a Kill, look at the Seal; when encountering a Seal, look at the Official. This contains esoteric secrets. The four pillars (year, month, day, hour) must be balanced, with generation and restraint as the superior method, and disruption or exhaustion as the inferior. In major cycles, support or resolution brings fortune, while exacerbation or erosion brings calamity. This principle is profound and requires meticulous study. Avoid vagueness; master the common discussions and strive to study diligently.
To take what is stored in the Month Branch, for example, the Zi branch solely contains Gui Water (Zi belongs to water and stores Gui Water). Master Yijian from Xichuan, surname Yi, given name Jian.
The Ziping method takes the Day Stem as the core, prioritizing the Month Branch, and then uses the branches of the year, day, and hour to form patterns for fate judgment. All rely on the Month Branch for application and should not use the year to determine patterns. Those who analyze Ziping fate without fixed patterns are nine out of ten wrong. Only Master Yijian's method is reliable: if the Month Branch uses metal, take only metal; if it uses fire, take only fire. If the eight characters have abundant water but water is taken instead of fire, this is a mistake. Using this method for judgment will lead to errors in most cases. Master Yijian from Xichuan penetrated the mysteries, selecting six patterns from the eighteen as most important, using mutual generation to fix patterns and form configurations. Based on the year, month, and day, he deduced weight and depth, never failing. The six-pattern method states: when encountering an Official, look at Wealth; when encountering Wealth, look at the Kill; when encountering the Kill, look at the Seal; when encountering the Seal, look at the Official. When using the Seal, do not fear the Kill, as the Kill restrains the Seal, and the Seal generates the self—this can still be taken as a superior pattern. If the four pillars encounter the Seal and see the Seven Kill, but there are Officials or Kills present, and the cycle runs to the Official or Kill phase, it can also be considered a noble pattern. If the Month Branch connects with the Official and the pillars encounter Wealth, Wealth generating the Official is excellent—this is a pattern of wealth and nobility. If the pillars see Wealth, one must enter a Wealth-prosperity cycle to flourish and attain fortune. However, if the Kill is seen, then the Kill should be emphasized, and one must not again enter a Wealth-prosperity phase, as Wealth generates the Kill's vigor, making it a pattern of poverty and low status. This must be discussed with emphasis on the Kill's heaviness.
The Month Branch refers to the earthly branch of the birth month. Depth refers to, for example, the Yin palace containing Bing Fire 🔥 and Jia Wood 🌱. If born in the first ten days, take Bing Fire; if born in the middle ten days (around the 18th), take Jia Wood; other palaces follow analogously.
On Human Nature 💡
Human nature refers to the roots of joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, love, aversion, and desire, and the manifestations of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. Formed from the father's essence and mother's blood, all are related to the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. For example:
- Wood Day - Bending and Straightening: Sour taste governs benevolence 🌱. Possesses a compassionate heart, kindness, harmony, aiding others and benefiting the people, pitying the lonely and caring for the widowed, tranquil and lofty. The person is elegant and tall with a bluish-white complexion, hence "abundant wood means abundant benevolence." Excess leads to stubbornness and bias; deficiency leads to lack of benevolence and a jealous heart.
- Fire Day - Flaming Upward: Bitter taste governs propriety 🔥. Possesses a deferential heart, respectful dignity, and honest simplicity. The person has a pointed top and rounded bottom of the face, narrow Yintang (space between eyebrows), exposed nostrils, sparkling spirit, hasty speech, and anxious, rapid thoughts. Complexion bluish or red, shakes knees when sitting. Excess leads to intelligence but a irritable nature, with red beard; deficiency leads to sallow thinness, cunning, jealousy, and starting without finishing.
- Metal Day - Following and Changing: Pungent taste governs righteousness ⚔️. Possesses a sense of good and evil, is generous with wealth, brave and heroic, knowing shame and honor. The person is of medium build, with proportionate bones and flesh, a square face and white complexion, high eyebrows and deep-set eyes, high nose and upturned ears, clear and resonant voice, resolute and decisive. Excess leads to lack of benevolence, combativeness, and greed; deficiency leads to overthinking, lack of resolution, stinginess, and frustrated ambitions in endeavors.
- Water Day - Moistening and Flowing Downward: Salty taste governs wisdom 🌊. Possesses a sense of right and wrong, is resourceful and strategic, deeply cunning, literary and intelligent, but deceitful, unstable, weak, and prone to overthrow, scheming and malevolent. Deficiency leads to timidity and lack of strategy; the person is small and thin.
- Earth Day - Sowing and Reaping: Sweet taste governs faithfulness ⛰️. Possesses an honest heart, is sincere and trustworthy, consistent in word and deed, reverent towards gods and Buddhas. The person has a rounded back and broad waist, large nose and square face, clear and elegant eyebrows and eyes, face like a wall, yellow complexion, handles affairs steadily, and is extremely tolerant. Excess leads to simplicity and stubbornness, like foolishness; deficiency leads to a worried expression, low nose and flat face, heavy and dull voice, simplicity, and obstinacy. Excessive obstinacy leads to isolation, hardness, stinginess, lack of popular sentiment, deep malice, cruelty, broken trust, and madness.
If the Day Stem is weak, the person is timid and shy; if the Day Stem is strong, the person is boastful, stubborn, and arrogant. The above is discussed based on degree, and is unfailingly accurate.
Observing human nature relies on taking images from the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. For water nature, as long as the four pillars do not conflict, if there is too much, it becomes mixed, and the person is not lofty; if overly restrained, there is illness. If only the Day Stem's belonging is used to distinguish form, it is indeed verifiable; if it matches the current season, it is indeed灵验. For example, autumn water withering and decaying indicates the person is likewise. The rest are judged similarly. Earth-natured persons, if not restrained by wood, are foolish and dull.
🧠 In-Depth Understanding
Core Concepts 💡
- Core of Ziping Method: Bazi metaphysics centers on the Day Stem (heavenly stem of the birth day), with the Month Branch (earthly branch of the birth month storing the five elements) as the key foundation. It emphasizes that "pattern extraction" must focus on the Month Branch to avoid分散 judgment from the year, day, and hour, ensuring accuracy.
- Simplified Six Patterns: Master Yijian simplified the traditional ten patterns into Official, Seal, Wealth, Kill, Food God, and Hurt Officer. Through relationships of generation and restraint (e.g., encountering Official, look at Wealth; encountering Kill, look at Seal), fate is deduced, reflecting the dynamic balance of the five elements' mutual generation and restraint.
- Five Elements Nature Theory: Human nature, appearance, and destiny are influenced by the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth). Each corresponds to specific personality traits (e.g., wood governs benevolence, fire governs propriety) and changes due to strength (excess or deficiency), emphasizing the profound connection between natural elements and human nature.
Modern Interpretation 🌟
- Contemporary Metaphysical Application: In modern society, the Ziping method can be seen as a tool for personality and destiny analysis, similar to psychological personality assessments. The Month Branch corresponds to "core environmental factors" (e.g., influence of birth season), while the Day Stem represents "core personal traits." The six-pattern method provides a structured framework to understand one's strengths and challenges (e.g., "encountering Hurt Officer, look at Wealth" can be interpreted as: when the fate chart shows strong creativity, focus on wealth management).
- Scientific Rational Perspective: Removing superstitious elements, the five elements nature theory can be analogized to modern behavioral science: wood type (benevolent, cooperative) corresponds to high-empathy personalities; fire type (impatient, passionate) resembles Type A personality; metal type (decisive, just) reflects leadership traits; water type (wise, variable) symbolizes adaptability but warns against over-calculating; earth type (trustworthy, steady) embodies reliability. These traits can be partially explained by environmental factors at birth (e.g., seasonal climate) but should be validated with empirical personal experiences.
- Adaptive Adjustments: Traditional "pattern extraction" methods need flexibility in modern diverse societies—the Month Branch can be extended to "early growth environment" (e.g., family or cultural background), while major cycles (life stage fortunes) remind people to focus on timing management (e.g., actively invest during Wealth-prosperity cycles, be cautious during Kill-heavy phases).
Practical Value ⚡
- Personal Development:
- Self-Awareness: Through five elements nature analysis, identify personal tendencies (e.g., wood abundance indicates benevolence, suitable for helping professions; fire excess indicates irritability, requiring patience practice).
- Decision Support: The six-pattern method, like "encountering Official, look at Wealth," can be translated into practical advice—in career (Official), focus on financial planning (Wealth); "encountering Kill, look at Seal" means when facing pressure (Kill), rely on learning or mentorship (Seal) to resolve.
- Health Reference: Over-restraint of five elements leads to illness (e.g., wood restraint易liver issues), combinable with modern health practices (e.g., wood types eat more green foods).
- Interpersonal Relationships: Understanding others' five elements nature (e.g., earth types are reliable but stubborn) improves communication efficiency.
- Cultural Interest: As traditional cultural interest, it can be used for historical research or artistic inspiration, but avoid blind belief, emphasizing critical thinking.
Philosophical Reflection 🤔
- Unity of Heaven and Humanity: The text reflects ancient Chinese "harmony between heaven and human" philosophy, viewing humans as microcosms of nature (yin-yang and five elements), with destiny intertwined with cosmic laws. This encourages reverence for nature and seeking internal balance, not passive fatalism.
- Dynamic Balance Wisdom: The principle of generation and restraint (e.g., Seal resolving Kill) reflects life philosophy—finding transformation opportunities in conflict (e.g., pressure driving growth), emphasizing adaptability over absolute prediction.
- Limitations Reflection: Traditional methods are based on agricultural society observations; modern environments are complex (e.g., globalization, technology influence), requiring critical inheritance: extract the essence of "environment-personality" interaction, discard deterministic dross, and advocate for personal agency.
📚 Related Knowledge
Related Concepts
- Ziping Method: Also known as Bazi metaphysics, named after Song Dynasty's Xu Ziping. Core is four pillars (year, month, day, hour) stem-branch analysis, focusing on Ten Gods (Official, Seal, etc.), pattern extraction, and major cycle transitions.
- Five Elements Theory: Metal, wood, water, fire, earth mutual generation and restraint theory, applied in fields like traditional Chinese medicine and feng shui, representing correspondences between natural elements and the human body/personality.
- Month Branch: Refers to the earthly branch of the birth month and its stored heavenly stems, determining fate chart strength and patterns, cornerstone of Bazi analysis.
- Master Yijian: Historical figure who simplified the Ziping method to six patterns, emphasizing practicality and flexibility, influencing later metaphysical development.
Further Reading
- 《Yuanhai Ziping》: Classic on Ziping method,深入探讨Ten Gods and patterns.
- 《Sanming Tonghui》: Compiled by Wan Minying in Ming Dynasty, comprehensive metaphysical knowledge, suitable for advanced study.
- 《Wuxing Jingji》: By Liao Zhong of Song Dynasty, focuses on five elements theory and metaphysical application.
- Modern books: 《Bazi and Chinese Wisdom》(by Liu Dajun), combines modern interpretation.
Modern Research
- Academic Views: Contemporary scholars like Li Juming, Xu Lewu, etc., reinterpret the Ziping method, emphasizing integration with psychology and environmental factors.
- Empirical Research: Some studies explore the relationship between birth season and personality (e.g., winter births may be more introverted), but no scientific consensus; recommend rational viewing.
- Application Trends: Metaphysics in modern times is often used for cultural education and self-reflection tools, not absolute prediction, aligning with scientific rational spirit.
