Zi Ping Zhen Quan
5 chapters available
Traditionally attributed to Shen Xiaozhan of the Qing dynasty, this work centers on the month command, chart patterns, and the Useful God (yong-shen).
Text and Commentary Sources
The Chinese original follows the text attributed to Shen Xiaozhan, checked against an unannotated copy. The English translation and interpretation refer to Xu Lewu’s commentary on Zi Ping Zhen Quan, with references identified separately.
Zi Ping Zhen Quan begins with the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches, yin–yang generation and control, and Stem combinations. It then develops its discussion of the month command, chart patterns, and the Useful God (yong-shen), followed by relationships and the interpretation of luck cycles within different patterns.
The chapters build on one another: read each term within the argument where it appears, rather than treating similar Stem or Ten-God combinations as interchangeable rules. Each passage presents the Chinese original, an English translation, and a separate interpretation, with later commentary attributed to its source. Only chapters available in English are listed below.
Contents
Chapters
- On the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches
This chapter explains the Five Phases through the One Qi, yin and yang, and the Four Images, then uses Wood to distinguish the different levels of Jia and Yi, and Yin and Mao. The distinctions between qi and substance, and between Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, clarify the fixed sequence of month-branches and the rotation of month-stems—and why Jia and Yi cannot be reduced to a fixed comparison between a great tree and a seedling.
- On Yin–Yang Generation and Control
This chapter first uses the four seasons and an analogy about eating to explain how generation and control work together. It then distinguishes yin–yang pairings within the Five Phases (wuxing, also called the Five Elements) and uses Jia, Yi, Geng, Xin, Bing, and Ding to explain the Officer and Seven Killings classifications. The original text’s analogies about qi (vital breath) and substance are presented alongside Xu Lewu’s objections, so these labels are not mistaken for judgments of favorability.
- On Yin–Yang Birth and Death
This chapter explains the yang-forward and yin-reverse sequence of the Twelve Stages through an analogy about qi (vital breath) and substance in Jia and Yi, then turns from a month command in a state of rest or constraint to roots in the other Branches. Xu Lewu objects to assigning yin Stems their own stages of Birth, Peak, and Grave, and disputes how storehouses function as roots. Read the original and commentary separately to compare their grounds.
- On the Nature of the Ten Stems in Combination
This chapter moves from the sequence of the Five Stem combinations to the effects of their pairings, explaining how a combination may change the role of something previously relied upon or avoided. Xu Lewu distinguishes combination from transformation and adds conditions concerning the positions of the Stems and roots in the Earthly Branches; his disagreement about the origin of the Five combinations is also presented separately from the original text.
- On the Ten Stems That Combine and Those That Do Not
This chapter distinguishes whether combinations take effect, whether a role is lost through combination, and how its function is directed. It discusses an intervening or distant Stem, combining away one role while retaining another, the Day Master’s own combination, and contending or jealous combinations. Xu Lewu adds conditions concerning chart pattern and position, and differs from the original on whether an Officer is combined away. The final passage addresses conditions for true and false transformation.
Reference Texts
- Zi Ping Zhen Quan (Shen Xiaozhan-attributed text): Base text for the Chinese original.
- Zi Ping Zhen Quan (unannotated text): Cross-check for the Chinese original.
- Xu Lewu’s Commentary on Zi Ping Zhen Quan: Reference for the translation and interpretation.