FIELD GUIDEChinese traditions, clearly mapped

M07 · LESSONS 74–85

Module 7 · Destiny Calculation: BaZi and Zi Wei Dou Shu (Lessons 74–85)

This module surveys how BaZi and Zi Wei Dou Shu developed, then works through their charting conventions and interpretive vocabularies. Keep historical evidence, repeatable calendar calculations, and traditional readings distinct. A chart's internal consistency does not establish that it can predict a person's health, character, or future.

Lesson 74 · A History of Destiny Calculation: From Luming to Ziping#

Learning goals#

  • Describe how BaZi developed over time.
  • Distinguish historical sources from later founder traditions.

Lesson#

Luming (destiny-and-emolument calculation) refers to the traditional practice of inferring longevity, status, or fortune from birth-time data. Ziping is a later tradition that centers the day stem and organizes relations through four stem-branch pillars. The Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches are timekeeping symbols; the day stem is the stem of the day pillar. Today's four-pillar procedure was not created all at once.

Han texts such as Wang Chong's Lunheng discuss destiny and endowed qi, but this does not show that the complete modern BaZi method existed then. Han Yu's Tang-dynasty epitaph for Li Xuzhong says that he inferred lifespan and status from the stems and branches corresponding to birth year, month, and day; it does not describe today's full four-pillar procedure. Ming compiler Wan Minying's Sanming Tonghui later recounts Li Xuzhong, Xu Ziping, and the name “Ziping.” A Tang epitaph and a Ming retrospective are different kinds of evidence. The tradition links the day-stem-centered method to Xu Ziping, but the story of a single inventor completing all of BaZi is not established by those sources.

Later schools include structure-based readings, strength/balance readings, seasonal adjustment (tiaohou), oral methods grouped under “Blind School,” and modern schools called “New School.” Labels are broad maps, not guarantees of consistent rules within a school.

Period Historical outline
Han Texts discuss destiny and luming concepts; not proof of a complete modern BaZi chart
Tang Han Yu records Li Xuzhong using year, month, and day stem-branches
Five Dynasties / early Song Later tradition associates the day-stem-centered method with Xu Ziping
Song–Ming Works include Yuanhai Ziping and Wan Minying's Sanming Tonghui
Qing Works include Ziping Zhenquan, Di Tian Sui, and Qiongtong Baojian
Republican era Xu Lewu published influential commentaries; Yuan Shushan wrote Mingli Tanyuan

Practice#

  1. Draw a timeline with author, text, surviving edition, and approximate date as separate fields.
  2. Explain in one sentence what changed when the day stem became central.
  3. Compare Han Yu's epitaph with the later account in Sanming Tonghui.

Check your understanding#

  1. Who is traditionally associated with centering the day stem?
  2. Who wrote Ziping Zhenquan?
  3. Which three pillars does Han Yu's account mention for Li Xuzhong?

Answers: 1. Xu Ziping, by traditional attribution rather than proven sole authorship. 2. Shen Xiaozhan. 3. Year, month, and day.

Lesson 75 · BaZi I: Constructing the Four Pillars#

Learning goals#

  • Calculate the year, month, day, and hour pillars.
  • Account for solar-term boundaries, Zi hour, and true solar time.

Lesson#

The Four Pillars are four stem-branch pairs for year, month, day, and hour. Each has its own boundary convention. The year pillar usually changes at Lichun (Beginning of Spring), not Lunar New Year. The month pillar changes at the twelve “major solar terms” (jie)—for example, Lichun, Jingzhe, and Qingming—not on the first day of a lunar month. The Five Tigers method derives month stems from the year stem; the Five Rats method derives hour stems from the day stem. “True solar time” adjusts clock time for longitude and the equation of time; state whether it is used. Location, time zone, and a sufficiently precise birth time are needed for reproducibility.

The course's fictional example is Beijing, 1 January 2027, 12:30 local time. It is before that year's Lichun, so the year is still Bingwu. The interval from Major Snow to Minor Cold is Zi month; the Five Tigers method gives Geng-Zi. The Hong Kong Observatory calendar lists the day as Geng-Chen, and 12:30 is Wu hour; the Five Rats method gives Ren-Wu. The chart is Bing-Wu, Geng-Zi, Geng-Chen, Ren-Wu, with Geng Metal as the day master. The calendar output can be checked against the Hong Kong Observatory 2027 calendar; this verifies the date conversion, not the BaZi interpretation.

Pillar Method Boundary
Year Stem-branch cycle Lichun
Month Month branch by solar term; stem by Five Tigers Twelve jie terms
Day Calendar or base-date calculation Zi-hour convention
Hour Hour branch by clock time; stem by Five Rats State time-zone convention

Near a solar-term or double-hour boundary, check the time and any true-solar-time adjustment. Keep software settings in the record and independently verify its result. Different settings may produce different charts without either calculator having made an arithmetic mistake.

Practice#

  1. Hand-calculate your own pillars, then compare with software.
  2. Repeat for two relatives, noting birth location and time source.
  3. Identify where a changed boundary convention would alter a chart.

Check your understanding#

  1. What is the year pillar on 1 February 2027, before Lichun?
  2. What determines the BaZi month boundary?
  3. What is the day master in the example chart?

Answers: 1. Bingwu. 2. The twelve jie solar terms. 3. Geng Metal.

Lesson 76 · BaZi II: The Ten Gods#

Learning goals#

  • Derive Ten-God labels from any day stem and another stem.
  • Label the example chart's visible stems and hidden stems.

Lesson#

The Ten Gods are not ten celestial bodies. They are ten labels formed by combining the Five-Phase generating/controlling relation to the day stem with whether the yin-yang polarity is the same or different. In relation to the day stem (“self”), the pairs are: same phase—Peer and Rob Wealth; self generates—Eating God and Hurting Officer; self controls—Indirect Wealth and Direct Wealth; controls self—Seven Killings and Direct Officer; generates self—Indirect Resource and Direct Resource. The polarity distinction assigns the two names within each pair.

For a Geng Metal day master, Ren Water is generated by Metal and is yang like Geng, so it is Eating God; Gui Water is yin and is Hurting Officer. Bing Fire controls Geng and is same-polarity, so it is Seven Killings; Ding Fire is opposite-polarity, so it is Direct Officer. Hidden stems in Earthly Branches are labeled by the same rule.

Classical texts extend these labels into associations with relatives, resources, talent, or authority. Those are interpretive meanings, not literal evidence: “Direct Wealth” does not prove income, and “Seven Killings” is not a diagnosis of danger. When labels differ, first recheck the generating/controlling direction and polarity; then identify the interpretive school.

Relation to day stem Same polarity Different polarity
Same phase Peer Rob Wealth
Self generates Eating God Hurting Officer
Self controls Indirect Wealth Direct Wealth
Controls self Seven Killings (Indirect Officer) Direct Officer
Generates self Indirect Resource Direct Resource

For the example Geng day: year Bing = Seven Killings; month Geng = Peer; hour Ren = Eating God. Hidden stems: Wu (Ding Direct Officer, Ji Direct Resource), Zi (Gui Hurting Officer), Chen (Wu Indirect Resource, Yi Direct Wealth, Gui Hurting Officer), and Wu (Ding Direct Officer, Ji Direct Resource).

Practice#

  1. Make a Ten-God table for Bing Fire and Xin Metal day masters.
  2. Label all visible and hidden stems in your chart.
  3. Explain each label as relation → polarity → name.

Check your understanding#

  1. For Bing Fire, what are Ren Water and Ji Earth?
  2. For Geng Metal, what is Ding Fire?
  3. How are “Direct” and “Indirect” distinguished in the paired labels?

Answers: 1. Seven Killings and Hurting Officer. 2. Direct Officer. 3. By same versus different yin-yang polarity in the relevant relation.

Lesson 77 · BaZi III: Twelve Growth Stages and Day-Master Strength#

Learning goals#

  • Assess strength using seasonal support, roots, and stem support.
  • Treat the Twelve Growth Stages as traditional labels, not literal outcomes.

Lesson#

Day-master strength is not found by counting how many characters represent each phase. First assess whether the month command supports the day-master phase (de ling); then whether the Earthly Branches contain roots or resource phases (de di); then whether visible stems offer peers or resources (de shi). A hidden stem of the day master's phase is called a root (tong gen). “Prosperous, supported, resting, constrained, and weak” are seasonal phase labels; in Zi month, Water is prosperous, Wood supported, Metal resting, Earth constrained, and Fire weak. The Twelve Growth Stages—such as Birth, Imperial Peak, Tomb, and Death—are another symbolic classification, not a measure of lifespan or health.

For the Geng Metal example born in Zi month, Metal is resting rather than seasonally strong; the month stem Geng is direct support; Wu Earth hidden in Chen can generate Metal, though it is not a Geng root; Ren and Gui Water drain Metal, and Ding Fire in Wu controls it. Under the course's simplified weighting, the initial conclusion is “somewhat weak.” Other schools assign different weights to the month, roots, combinations, hidden stems, and seasonal adjustment, so the conclusion must name its rules.

Check Question Evidence
Seasonal command Is the day-master phase prosperous, supported, resting, constrained, or weak? Month branch
Rooting Are same-phase hidden stems or resources present? Branch hidden stems
Support Do visible peers or resources help? Other stems

For Geng Metal, the Twelve Growth Stages include Birth at Si, Imperial Peak at You, and Tomb at Chou. In the example, Geng is at Death in Zi, Bathing in Wu, and Nourishing in Chen. The stage names are terminology within the model.

Practice#

  1. Assess your day master with all three checks and show your evidence.
  2. Repeat for a family member, using the same rules.
  3. Write the twelve stages for Geng Metal and identify its stages in the example branches.

Check your understanding#

  1. What does “the month command is the outline” mean in this method?
  2. What is a root?
  3. What stage is Geng Metal in Zi?

Answers: 1. The month branch has major influence on seasonal strength. 2. A branch contains a hidden stem of the day master's same phase. 3. Death.

Lesson 78 · BaZi IV: Structures and Useful Gods#

Learning goals#

  • Understand the structure method in Ziping Zhenquan.
  • Distinguish a structure-based useful god from a strength-balancing useful god.

Lesson#

A geju (structure) is a framework for describing the chart's central relations. The month-branch method begins with the hidden stem treated as principal and its Ten-God relation to the day master. The eight regular structures are Direct Officer, Seven Killings, Direct/Indirect Resource, Eating God, Hurting Officer, and Direct/Indirect Wealth. “Structure useful god” refers to a relation that supports or repairs the structure; “balancing useful god” (fuyong) is selected to support a weak day master or restrain a strong one. The same phrase, “useful god,” can answer different questions in different schools.

“Structure succeeds” means it receives a fitting configuration; “fails” means a key relation is damaged; “rescue” is a relation that repairs the damage. Jianlu refers to a month command at the day master's “Officer” stage; Yue Ren (month blade) is a traditionally specified strong position. Follow-the-dominant and transformation structures have stricter conditions and should not be assigned casually.

For a Geng day in Zi month, the principal hidden stem Gui Water is Hurting Officer, so this lesson's simplified rule initially calls it a Hurting Officer structure. The traditional “Hurting Officer supported by Resource” configuration treats Resource as checking Hurting Officer and generating the day master. Wu Resource is hidden in Chen, but its presence alone does not establish a successful structure; the text's detailed conditions and the damp Earth context still matter. A balancing approach might instead consider Earth and Metal because the prior lesson judged Geng somewhat weak.

Practice#

  1. Assign a structure to your chart and state the month-branch rule used.
  2. List success, failure, and rescue conditions for Direct Officer and Hurting Officer structures.
  3. Separately identify a balancing useful phase under a stated strength rule.

Check your understanding#

  1. What does the structure method begin with?
  2. What structure does the simplified rule assign to the example?
  3. What does “Hurting Officer supported by Resource” mean traditionally?

Answers: 1. The month command. 2. Hurting Officer. 3. Resource checks Hurting Officer while generating the day master.

Lesson 79 · BaZi V: Seasonal Adjustment and Qiongtong Baojian#

Learning goals#

  • Understand the seasonal tiaohou approach.
  • Compare it with strength balancing and structure analysis.

Lesson#

Tiaohou (seasonal adjustment) uses traditional imagery of cold, heat, dryness, and dampness to discuss whether a chart needs Fire to warm or Water to moisten. These are not meteorological measurements or medical diagnoses. Qiongtong Baojian is often linked to the older title Lanjiang Wang; title, compilation, and transmission differ by edition and should be cited according to the text at hand.

The example Geng Metal born in Zi month shows how schools can diverge. Seasonal adjustment asks whether winter cold and Water call for Bing or Ding Fire. Strength balancing, after the previous lesson's “somewhat weak” conclusion, might prioritize Earth and Metal. Structure analysis begins from the Zi branch's Gui Hurting Officer and asks how it is controlled or supported. These approaches answer different questions and can recommend different useful phases. Put the premises and uncertainty side by side rather than forcing one answer.

Practice#

  1. Does a seasonal-adjustment reading of your chart identify cold, heat, dryness, or dampness? State the textual rule.
  2. Compare the balancing, seasonal, and structure approaches in a three-column table.
  3. Find the entry for your day master and month in an identified edition of Qiongtong Baojian.

Check your understanding#

  1. Which older title is often associated with Qiongtong Baojian?
  2. Which phase is traditionally considered for Metal born in winter?
  3. What plays a seasonal-adjustment role in the example chart?

Answers: 1. Lanjiang Wang, with edition and transmission qualifications. 2. Fire. 3. The year stem Bing Fire.

Lesson 80 · BaZi VI: Decadal Luck and Annual Cycles#

Learning goals#

  • Calculate a starting age and arrange the decadal cycles.
  • Recognize annual cycles, parallel cycles, repetition, and opposition.

Lesson#

Dayun (“great luck”) are traditional ten-year stages arranged forward or backward from the month pillar. Liunian (“flowing year”) is the year's stem-branch. A common convention sets direction from the yin/yang of the birth-year stem and the person's sex: yang-year male and yin-year female move forward; yin-year male and yang-year female move backward. For a forward chart, count from birth to the next jie; for a backward chart, count to the previous one. Under this convention, three days equal one year (one day equals four months). Begin with the month pillar and move forward or backward, each pillar covering ten years. Schools differ, so record the exact rule and solar-term timestamp.

For the fictional 1 January 2027 example, a yang-year male chart moving forward has about 4.4 days until Minor Cold. Dividing by 3 gives about 1.47 years, or roughly one year and five months. From Geng-Zi, the cycles proceed Xin-Chou, Ren-Yin, Gui-Mao. A yang-year female chart moving backward to Major Snow, about 25 days, begins around age eight years and four months, with Ji-Hai, Wu-Xu, Ding-You, and so on. Calculation of the interval and sequence is reproducible; a claim about life events requires a specific prediction recorded in advance and retention of misses.

If an annual pillar matches a decadal cycle, it is called suiyun binglin (annual and decadal cycles coincide). An annual pillar matching a natal pillar is often called fuyin (repetition); stem control plus branch clash is fanyin (opposition). These are chart relations, not guarantees of major events.

Practice#

  1. Calculate your cycle direction, starting age, and pillars; compare settings in software.
  2. List the annual stem-branches for a past decade, then define what event would count before reviewing.
  3. Compare the Ding-Wei year (2027 after Lichun) with your day pillar.

Check your understanding#

  1. Does a yin-year male chart move forward or backward under this convention?
  2. Three days correspond to how many years?
  3. What is suiyun binglin?

Answers: 1. Backward. 2. One year. 3. The annual stem-branch matches the decadal cycle.

Lesson 81 · BaZi VII: Reading a Chart#

Learning goals#

  • Present a chart reading as a traceable chain of rules.
  • Recognize the Barnum effect and reduce vague, unfalsifiable claims.

Lesson#

A careful reading moves from chart construction to Ten Gods, strength, structure, useful phases, and cycles. It should not leap from one symbol to a personality or career conclusion. The Barnum effect describes how broad, two-sided statements—“you want stability but also crave change”—can feel personally accurate to many people. Reduce this effect by specifying the person, time window, and conditions that would disconfirm a claim. Preserve examples that do not fit.

For the fictional chart Bing-Wu, Geng-Zi, Geng-Chen, Ren-Wu: use Geng as day master; Bing is Seven Killings, Ren Eating God, and Zi's Gui Hurting Officer. Under the course's simplified month-branch rule, it is a Hurting Officer structure. The three-part strength check finds no seasonal command, direct Geng support in the month stem, Earth Resource in Chen, Water drain, and Fire control; this lesson provisionally calls it somewhat weak. These conversions can be checked. “Expressive” or “under pressure” is traditional symbolism, not a psychological assessment or forecast.

The seven-step outline is: construct chart → label Ten Gods → assess strength → determine structure → state useful phases (balancing and seasonal) → arrange decadal and annual cycles → write bounded conclusions. A claim such as “a job change will occur within six months” is more testable than “career changes are coming”; define “job change” and retain a miss. Do not use friends' recognition as objective validation: expectations and relationship dynamics affect feedback.

Practice#

  1. Write a 500-word reading using all seven steps and identify each school's premise.
  2. Ask a willing friend to identify what does not fit; keep those examples.
  3. Count statements broad enough to fit almost anyone and rewrite them.

Check your understanding#

  1. Name the seven reading steps.
  2. How can the Barnum effect be reduced?
  3. What structure and seasonal useful phase are used in the example?

Answers: 1. Chart, Ten Gods, strength, structure, useful phases, cycles, bounded conclusion. 2. Make claims specific and falsifiable; retain counterexamples. 3. Hurting Officer structure; Bing Fire for seasonal adjustment.

Lesson 82 · Zi Wei Dou Shu I: Overview and Finding the Life Palace#

Learning goals#

  • Distinguish Zi Wei Dou Shu from BaZi.
  • Know the twelve palaces and calculate the life/body palaces and Five-Phase Bureau.

Lesson#

Zi Wei Dou Shu is a traditional chart system that places stars in twelve palaces using birth date and time. BaZi uses four stem-branch pillars; Zi Wei organizes symbols through palaces, stars, and transformations. A star is a chart symbol, not an astronomical body in this context. The Life Palace (ming gong) is the chart's central interpretive palace. The Body Palace (shen gong) traditionally marks another emphasis related to action. “Setting the life palace” means counting from lunar birth month and hour on the twelve-branch chart. The Five-Phase Bureau is derived from the Life Palace's stem-branch nayin classification: Water 2, Wood 3, Metal 4, Earth 5, or Fire 6. Texts and lineages differ, so state the leap-month and hour rules.

The twelve palaces are Life, Siblings, Spouse, Children, Wealth, Health, Travel, Friends (formerly Servants), Career, Property, Fortune, and Parents. These are symbolic domains, not medical or social facts. Under this course's convention, for lunar month 11 and Wu hour: count from Yin palace for the first month, forward to Zi palace for month 11; use Zi as the Zi-hour starting point and count backward to Wu hour to reach Wu palace for the Life Palace; count forward to Wu for the Body Palace. In a Bing year, the Five Tigers method gives Jia-Wu for the palace stem-branch; Jia-Wu has the nayin “Gold in the Sand,” so it is Metal 4 Bureau. Each step can be reconstructed from the stated convention; the symbolic reading is a separate claim.

BaZi Zi Wei Dou Shu
Calendar convention Stem-branch calendar Lunar date convention
Chart structure Four pillars / eight characters Twelve palaces and stars
Interpretive vocabulary Five-Phase relations Star qualities, palaces, and four transformations
Historical attribution Ziping tradition Often attributed to Chen Tuan; received text dates are disputed

Practice#

  1. Find your Life and Body Palaces by hand and show the counting direction.
  2. Derive the Life Palace stem-branch and Five-Phase Bureau.
  3. Compare with a charting app, noting date and leap-month settings.

Check your understanding#

  1. For lunar month 3 and Mao hour, where is the Life Palace under this course's rule?
  2. Which birth hours make Life and Body Palaces coincide here?
  3. What determines the Five-Phase Bureau?

Answers: 1. Chou palace. 2. Zi and Wu hours. 3. The nayin of the Life Palace stem-branch.

Lesson 83 · Zi Wei Dou Shu II: The Fourteen Principal Stars#

Learning goals#

  • Name the fourteen principal stars and their traditional mnemonic meanings.
  • Understand star placement and the Three Directions / Four Alignments.

Lesson#

The fourteen principal stars are arranged in two groups. The Ziwei group includes Ziwei, Tianji, Taiyang, Wuqu, Tiantong, and Lianzhen. The Tianfu group includes Tianfu, Taiyin, Tanlang, Jumen, Tianxiang, Tianliang, Qisha, and Pojun. Traditional mnemonics describe Ziwei as authority, Tianji as change, Taiyang as visibility and giving, Wuqu as resource management, Tiantong as ease, and Lianzhen as rules and complex attachment. Tianfu suggests storage; Taiyin, inward nourishment; Tanlang, desire and social life; Jumen, speech and dispute; Tianxiang, assistance; Tianliang, protection and elders; Qisha, action; Pojun, breaking and rebuilding. These are symbolic prompts, not astronomical properties or personality diagnoses.

The Ziwei star's position is calculated from the Five-Phase Bureau and lunar birth day; the other Ziwei-group stars follow fixed intervals. Tianfu is positioned in relation to Ziwei across the Yin-Shen axis, and the Tianfu group is then arranged in sequence. This creates a limited set of star combinations. Auxiliary stars such as Zuofu, Youbi, Wenchang, Wenqu, Tiankui, and Tianyue are often called auspicious assistants; Qingyang, Tuoluo, Huoxing, Lingxing, Dikong, and Dijie are traditionally called difficult or malefic stars. Their meanings vary by school.

The “Three Directions and Four Alignments” (sanfang sizheng) include a palace, its opposite, and the two palaces connected through the triad. For a Life Palace with Wuqu, record the charting version, co-resident stars, all four related palaces, and transformations before considering the inherited image. Replace “Wuqu guarantees skill with money” with a question that could be checked, such as whether resource management is a recurring responsibility; keep disconfirming examples.

Practice#

  1. Memorize the fourteen stars and their conventional mnemonics.
  2. Find your Life Palace's principal star and note one supporting and one conflicting observation.
  3. Identify the Three Directions and Four Alignments.

Check your understanding#

  1. Which group contains Tianfu?
  2. Which star is often associated with resource management?
  3. What four palaces make up the Three Directions / Four Alignments around the Life Palace?

Answers: 1. Tianfu group. 2. Wuqu (Taiyin may also carry wealth associations). 3. Life, Wealth, Career, and Travel.

Lesson 84 · Zi Wei Dou Shu III: Four Transformations and Chart Reading#

Learning goals#

  • Use a versioned Four Transformations table.
  • Read birth-year transformations alongside palace and star placements.

Lesson#

The Four Transformations (sihua) mark a star as Transformation of Emolument, Authority, Merit, or Obstruction (often translated as hua lu, hua quan, hua ke, hua ji). They are chart labels, not physical changes to stars. Common symbolic glosses are gain or ease, authority, recognition or assistance, and entanglement or fixation; a reading depends on the star, palace, and school. Birth-year transformations use the birth-year stem. Palace-stem transformations use each palace's stem and must not be confused with them. Some lineages emphasize palace-stem triggers and tracing transformations, often called Flying Star methods. Tables for Wu and Geng stems vary among schools.

Under the table used in this course, Bing-year transformations are Tian Tong Emolument, Tian Ji Authority, Wen Chang Merit, and Lian Zhen Obstruction. Verify the row and then locate each star in the chart. If software uses another table, record its version rather than combining rows from different sources. The table can be checked; whether “Obstruction” means a real-world setback is an interpretive claim.

An introductory reading sequence is Life and Body Palace stars → Three Directions / Four Alignments → birth-year transformations and their palaces → decadal limit → annual cycle. Comparing a BaZi reading and Zi Wei reading for one person can expose differences in the systems' interpretive assumptions; disagreement does not by itself show which system is more accurate.

Practice#

  1. Memorize the four transformations for your birth-year stem.
  2. Locate the four stars in your chart and record the source table.
  3. Compare your BaZi and Zi Wei readings, listing agreements and conflicts.

Check your understanding#

  1. Which star receives Obstruction for a Bing year in this table?
  2. Which star receives Emolument for a Jia year?
  3. What determines birth-year transformations?

Answers: 1. Lianzhen. 2. Lianzhen. 3. The birth-year stem; palace-stem transformations are separate.

Lesson 85 · Assessment: Destiny Calculation#

Learning goals#

  • Review BaZi chart construction, Ten Gods, strength, structures, cycles, and Zi Wei fundamentals.

Lesson#

This assessment covers two chart vocabularies. After finishing, classify each error: solar-term boundary, polarity, strength rule, confusion between types of useful god, or a different Four Transformations edition. That makes review more useful than looking only at the score. Recheck the fictional chart by fixing its birth inputs, constructing the pillars, deriving each Ten-God label from relation and polarity, assessing strength, applying the stated simplified month-branch structure rule, and separately writing seasonal and balancing approaches. Only then calculate cycles and the Zi Wei palaces. Every step should name its source convention. A score tests knowledge of the lesson's procedure, not whether destiny has been predicted.

Closed-book assessment · 50 minutes · 100 points · pass: 80#

  1. What is the center of relational analysis in Ziping BaZi? (6)
  2. Give the example chart and its calculation steps. (12)
  3. Reproduce the Ten-God table; for Xin Metal, label Bing, Ding, Ren, and Jia. (14)
  4. Give the three strength checks and assess the example. (12)
  5. Name the eight regular structures and the example structure. (10)
  6. Distinguish balancing from seasonal adjustment. (8)
  7. State the cycle rule and example male chart's first three decades. (12)
  8. Give the twelve Zi Wei palaces in order. (8)
  9. Find the Life Palace for lunar month 6, You hour. (8)
  10. Give Jia- and Bing-year transformations from the course table. (10)

Selected answers: 1. The day stem as “self” (a feature of the tradition; sole authorship is a separate historical question). 3. Xin sees Bing as Direct Officer, Ding as Seven Killings, Ren as Hurting Officer, Jia as Direct Wealth. 7. About age 1 year 5 months; Xin-Chou, Ren-Yin, Gui-Mao. 9. Xu palace.

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