How are the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches used? How to convert to and from the solar calendar?

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are referred to as "Stems and Branches". Heavenly Stems: A, B, C, D, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui; Earthly Branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai (Note: The twelve earthly branches correspond to the twelve zodiac signs - Zi: rat; Chou: ox; Yin: tiger; Mao: rabbit; Chen: dragon; Si: snake; Wu: horse ; Wei: sheep; Shen: monkey; You: chicken; Xu: dog; Hai: pig). The ten stems and twelve branches match in turn to form sixty basic units. The ancients used this as the serial number of the year, month, day and hour, which is called the "Stem and Branch Discipline".

As early as 2697 BC, when the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of China, founded the country, he ordered Darao to explore the qi of heaven and earth, explore the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth), and began to write A, B, C, D, The ten heavenly stems such as Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui, and the twelve earthly branches such as Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai, cooperate with each other to form the Sixty Years. Used as a calendar symbol.

The Chinese calendar uses the time it takes the moon to orbit the earth once (29.5306 days) as one month, and the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun (365.2419 days) as one year. In order to make the average number of days in a year and the tropical year If the days match, a leap month is set. According to records, in the sixth century BC, China began to adopt the nineteen-year seven leap month method to coordinate the lunar and solar calendars.

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are symbols set up by the ancients to make it easier to make 60-digit numbers when they established the calendar. To the ancient Chinese, the existence of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches was as simple as Arabic numerals. Later, they began to use these symbols on maps, directions and time (time axis and space axis), so these numbers were assigned It means more and more.

The ancients (some say the Yellow Emperor) observed the synodic moons and found that the length of two synodic months is about 59 days. The 12 synodic months are roughly more than 354 days (similar to the length of a tropical year), so the ancients got the concept of 12 months in a year. In combination with the diary method (ten heavenly stems), the yin and yang calendar was produced, and the current heavenly stems and earthly branches developed; it should have been more mature in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Source

It originated from the observation of celestial phenomena in ancient times and is called the "River Map".

The Hetu and Luoshu were generated from the observation of celestial phenomena and became precious treasures of the emperors during the Three Dynasties period. The Hetu and Luoshu have a simple structure and are one of the cultural cornerstones of ancient China. Liao Ping, a classics scholar in the Qing Dynasty, repeatedly verified the Book of Songs, the Book of Changes, and the Nei Jing, and confirmed that the theory of the Nei Jing was based on the Yi Jing, and the mathematics of the Yi Jing was derived from Heluo.

The river map combines ten numbers with five directions, five elements, yin and yang, and the symbols of heaven and earth. The diagram uses white circles as yang, sky, and odd numbers; black dots as yin, earth, and even numbers. And the heaven and earth are combined into the five directions, and the yin and yang are combined into the five elements, so the schema structure is distributed as follows:

One and six *** clans live in the north, because the sky creates water, and the earth creates six parts; Friends live in the south, because two of the earth produce fire, and the sky produces seventy percent of it; three and eight are friends and live in the east, because three of the sky produce wood, and eighty of the earth produces it; four and nine live in the west, because four of the earth produce metal, and ninety percent of it comes from the sky. ; Five and ten stay together and are in the center, because the five in the sky generate the earth, and the earth becomes the ten. The river map was drawn according to the seasons when the five stars appeared. The five stars were called the five latitudes in ancient times. They are the five planets in the sky. Wood is called the Sui Star, Fire is called the Yinghuo Star, Earth is called the Zhenxing, Venus is called the Taibai Star, and Water is called the Chen Star. The movement of the five elements is divided into twenty-eight dormitories. Because its track is not far from the path of the sun, the ancients used it to keep track of the date. The five stars generally appear in the Arctic sky one after another in the order of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each star travels for 72 days, and the five stars combine 360 ??degrees around the sky. It can be seen that the river map was drawn based on the celestial phenomena of the five stars, which is also the source of the five elements. Because before the winter solstice in November every year, Mercury is seen in the north. When the winter weather comes and everything is dormant, there is only ice, snow and water on the ground. This is how the concept of water movement was formed. After the summer solstice in July, Mars is seen in the south. Just as the summer weather is changing, the ground is very hot. This is how the concept of the element of fire was formed. At the spring equinox in March, Jupiter is seen in the east. When spring is in season, vegetation sprouts and grows. It is said that "spring comes to the world and the vegetation knows it." This is how the concept of the wood element was formed. During the Autumn Equinox in September, Venus appears in the west. In ancient times, it represented weapons, to show that the murderous spirit of autumn was in season, and that all things would grow old and wither, thus forming the golden element. In May, Saturn appears in the mid-heaven, indicating that the long-summer wet earth air is in season. Wood, fire, metal, and water all use this as the midpoint. The four-season climate changes caused by wood, fire, metal, and water are all observed from the ground. The concept of earth element is Formed this way.

Meaning

▲The stem is like the trunk of a tree.

A: Like plants and trees sprouting from the ground, with yang inside and wrapped by yin.

B: The grass and trees are newly born, and the branches and leaves are soft and bent.

Bing: Bingye, like the sun, the scorching light, everything is burning, and it is bright when you see it.

Ding: Plants and trees grow strong and strong, just like human beings growing up.

E: Lush, symbolizing the lush and prosperous vegetation of the earth.

Ji: Rise and discipline. All things rise up and down, and they can be traced in a tangible way.

Geng: Geng Ye, harvest in autumn and wait for spring.

Pin: Gold tastes pungent, and things have a flavor after they are formed. Pungent means new, and everything changes solemnly, and it is beautiful and new.

Ren: Pregnancy, Yang Qi lurks in the earth, and all things are pregnant.

Gui: Kui, all things are hidden, pregnant underground, and Kui sprouts.

▲The branches are like the branches of a tree.

Zi: Breeding, Yang Qi begins to sprout, and breeding occurs below.

Chou: Niu means that cold air buckles on its own.

Yin: Patella, the yang energy is about to come out, the yang is strong and the patella is acting down.

Mao: Risk, all things emerge from the ground.

Chen: Stretch, everything stretches out.

Si: Si Ye, the Yang Qi has been fully clothed.

Wu: Wu also, the yin and yang intersect and become stunned.

Wei: 眛, when the sun is in the middle, it will be dark, and when the sun is facing, it will be dark.

Shen: Stretch out the bundles to complete them, and the body of all things will be completed.

You: All things are mature.

Xu: Destruction means the annihilation of all things.

Hai: Core, all things collected have a solid core.

Function

——It can be used to estimate the age of Chinese history

Archaeological discoveries revealed that an oracle bone from Emperor Yi of the late Shang Dynasty was engraved with a complete six characters. Shi Jiazi may be the calendar at that time. This also shows that the use of Ganzhi to record dates had already begun in the Shang Dynasty. According to textual research, a solar eclipse occurred on February 10th, the tenth day of February in 720 BC, in the third year of Duke Yin of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. This is more conclusive evidence that China uses Ganzhi to mark dates. The emperor's reign name is used to date the year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

The method of stems and branches has been used in ancient China without interruption. Therefore, it is very helpful for studying history and it is very easy to calculate historical time.

For example, "Feng Wanzhen": "Xianfeng Gengshen, the British and French allied forces invaded the White Sea."

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and the Summer Calendar

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are referred to as stems and branches, and are used to arrange year numbers and dates in the lunar calendar.

The calendar uses Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to organize year numbers and dates. Heavenly Stems have ten characters, so they are also called "Ten Heavenly Stems". Their order is: A, B, C, D, E, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui; the twelve characters of the Earthly Branches are arranged in the order: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai. Among them, A, B, E, Geng and Ren are Yang stems, and B, Ding, Ji, Xin and Gui are Yin stems. Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, and Xu are Yang branches, and Chou, Mao, Si, Wei, You, and Hai are Yin branches.

Match one stem and one earthly branch and arrange them so that the heavenly stem is in front and the earthly branch is behind. The heavenly stem starts from A, the earthly branch starts from Zi, the Yang stem is opposite to the Yang branch, and the Yin stem is to the Yin branch (the Yang stem does not match the Yin branch) branch, the Yin stem does not match the Yang branch), resulting in a cycle of sixty years. It is called "Sixty Jiazi" or "Huajiazi". In the past, our people used the sixty-year cycle to mark the year, month, day, and time.

The twenty-two symbols of the heavenly stems and earthly branches are intricate and orderly, full of harmony and regularity. It shows the laws of nature's operation, the interaction of real-time (time) and space (direction), and the results of the effects of "Yin" and "Yang". The Chinese calendar contains the ideas of yin and yang and the five elements and the laws of natural cycles.

Year: Each stem and branch is one year. After sixty stems, the calculation starts from the beginning again, and the cycle continues. Starting from Jiazi, sixty years are called Yijiazi or Yihuajiazi. It is called the stem and branch chronology.

Month: The first month starts with Yin, and the earthly branches of each month are fixed, and then combined with the heavenly stems in sequence; starting from the first month of the first year, Bingyin month, the second month is Dingmao month, and the third month is Wu month. Chen. From Jiazi month to Guihai month, it is sixty Jiazi, exactly five years.

Day: Starting from Jiazi day, arranged in order, sixty days is exactly a cycle of stems and branches.

Hour: It starts from Jiazi hour, but the earthly branches that keep time are fixed, twelve hours a day.

The chronology of heavenly stems and earthly branches

The chronology of stems and earthly branches sprouted in the Western Han Dynasty, first became popular in Wang Mang, and became popular in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. In the second year of Yuanhe (AD 85) of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court ordered the implementation of the Ganzhi calendar throughout the country. Some people believe that China had already used stems and branches to record years before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. However, it is actually a similar Tai Sui calendar. The position of Tai Sui is used to calculate the year. The stems and branches are only used to represent the twelve zodiac signs (dividing a day around the ecliptic into twelve equal parts); Jupiter (Tai Sui) orbits the sky once in 11.862 years, so Tai Sui In about 86 years, one extra chen will pass, which is called "super chen". In the Zhuanxu calendar, in the first year of Taichu (104 BC) of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Tai Sui was in Bingzi. The Taichu calendar used the Chaochen method to change it to Ding Chou. At the end of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, the Santong Calendar revised by Liu Xin changed the first year of Taichu to Bingzi, and the second year of Taishi (95 BC) from Yiyou to Bingxu. However, the scholars of the Eastern Han Dynasty did not use the Chaochen method. Therefore, the Tai Sui chronology and the Ganzhi chronology appear to be the same from the second year of Taishi.

The first year of a cycle is "Jiazi" (for example, the slogan of the Yellow Turban Uprising is "If you are in Jiazi, the world will be prosperous"), the second year is "Yichou", and so on, 60 There is a cycle every year; once a cycle is completed, it is used again and again, and the cycle continues. For example, 1864 was the year of Jiazi of the lunar calendar, and 60 years later, 1924 was also the year of Jiazi of the lunar calendar; 1865 was the year of Yichou of the lunar calendar, and 1925 was also the year of Yichou of the lunar calendar, and so on.

It must be particularly noted that the beginning of spring is the beginning of the year, not the first day of the first lunar month. For example, 1984 was roughly the year of Jiazi, but strictly speaking, the year of Jiazi at that time started from the beginning of spring in 1984 and ended at the beginning of spring in 1985.

▲Approximate conversion of the chronology of the heavenly stems and earthly branches to the Gregorian calendar

Calculate the chronology of the stems and branches from the known Gregorian calendar year: subtract 3 from the year number, and the remainder divided by 10 is the celestial stem, divided by 12 The remainder are earthly branches. (The year in BC is calculated using 58 - "the remainder of the year divided by 60")

▲Conversion of the stem and branch chronology to the Gregorian calendar

If we take the celestial stem's , B,..., Ren, and Gui are numbered with 0,..., 8, 9, etc.; the Earthly Branches of Zi, Chou,..., Xu, and Hai are also numbered with 0, 1,... ..., 10, 11 and other serial numbers, then:

Calculate the chronology of the stems and branches from the known Gregorian calendar year: subtract 4 from the year number, the remainder divided by 10 is the heavenly stem, and the remainder divided by 12 is Earthly Branches. For example:

(1972 - 4) mod 10 ≡ 8, so the Heavenly Stem is "Ren";

(1972 - 4) mod 12 ≡ 0, so the Earthly Branch is "Zi".

Attachment: Knowing the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, how to get the current year in 60 years (Yang Linkun)

X=Heavenly Stems N=Earthly Branches

Y= Natural numbers from 0 to 5

A=Natural numbers from 0 to 4

Z=X+10Y

Z<=60

Z =N+12A

Modify Y and A so that Z=N+12A or Z=N is true, then Z is the stem year to be queried. For example: use this formula to solve the Guiyou year, then Z is 10.

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Monthly Period

When the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are in the monthly period, each earthly branch corresponds to the twenty-four solar terms. From one solar term (non-middle solar term) to the next solar term, the starting time is determined by the intersection time. The period of a month at the beginning of the month is not the first to the end of a certain month in the lunar calendar. Many almanacs indicate that a certain lunar month corresponds to a certain stem or branch, but these are approximate rather than congruent correspondences. If it falls in the year of A or Ji, the first month is roughly Bingyin; in the year of B or Geng, the first month is roughly Wuyin; in the year of B or Xin, the first month is roughly Gengyin; in the year of Ding or Ren, the first month is roughly Renyin. The first month of the year Wu or Gui is roughly Jiayin. According to the stems and branches of the first month, the rest of the months are calculated based on the stems and branches. There is a cycle of 60 months and 5 years; once a cycle is completed, it is used again and again, and the cycle continues. In the 29th year of Emperor Jianwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Guichou Year (53 AD), the winter solstice month (the month from heavy snow to light cold, similar to the eleventh month of the lunar calendar) was the "Jiazi month". There are songs to prove it: C in the year of Jia and Ji is the first, and Wu in the year of Yi and Geng is the head; Bing and Xin will definitely look for Geng to rise, Ding and Renren will be in the same position; and where can Wu and Gui be found? It is easy to pursue Jia and Yin.

The following table shows the corresponding solar term time period, mid-qi, approximate lunar month, approximate solar calendar month, and the monthly stems and branches composed of annual celestial stems and monthly earthly branches:

The approximate mid-qi time period of the monthly earthly branches and solar terms The lunar calendar months are similar to the solar calendar months A or Ji year B or Geng year C or Xin year D or Ren year Wu or Gui year

Yin month Beginning of Spring - Jingzhe rain first month February Bing Yin month Wu Yin month Geng Yin month Renyin month, Jia Yin month

The Waking of Insects in Mao month - Qingming Spring Equinox February March Ding Mao month Ji Mao month Xin Mao month Guimao month Yi Mao month

Chen month Qingming - Beginning of summer Guyu March April Wu Chen month, Geng Chen month, Ren Chen month, Jia Chen month, Bing Chen month

Si month, Beginning of Summer - Manzhong Xiaoman, April, May, Ji Si month, Xin Si month, Gui Si month, Yi Si month, Ding Si month

< p>Wu Yuemangzhong—Small Heat, Summer Solstice, May, June, Gengwu Month, Renwu Month, Jiawu Month, Bingwu Month, Wuwu Month

Wet Moon, Minor Heat—Beginning of Autumn, Great Heat, June, July, Xinwei Month, Guiwei Month, Yiwei Month, Ding No month, Ji Wei month

Shen month, Beginning of Autumn - White dew, July, August, Renshen month, Jia Shen month, Bingshen month, Wu Shen month, Geng Shen month

You month, White dew - Cold dew, Autumnal equinox eight September, Guiyou month, Yiyou month, Dingyou month, Jiyou month, Xinyou month

The cold dew of Xu month - frost at the beginning of winter, September, October, Jiaxu month, Bingxu month, Wuxu month, Gengxu month, Renxu month

Hai month, Beginning of Winter - heavy snow and light snow, October, November, Yihai month, Dinghai month, Jihai month, Xinhai month, Guihai month

Zi month, heavy snow - light cold winter to November, December, Bingzi month, Wuzi month, Geng Zi month, Renzi month, Jiazi month

Chou month, Xiaohan - Beginning of spring, Great Cold, December, January, Ding Chou month, Jichou month, Xin Chou month, Guichou month, Yi Chou month

Stem and branch month The method is not widely practiced and is mainly used by astrologers to calculate horoscopes.

Example of calculation: 2004 is roughly the Jiashen year of the lunar calendar. The Jiashen Year began at 19:56 on February 4, 2004, and ended at 1:43 on February 4, 2005. The time here is 120 degrees east longitude standard time.

Bingyin month, the beginning of spring at 19:56 on February 4, 2004 to the awakening of insects at 13:56 on March 5, 2004

Dingmao month, March 5, 2004 Waking of Insects at 13:56 ~ Qingming Festival at 18:43 on April 4, 2004

Wuchen month, Qingming Festival at 18:43 on April 4, 2004 ~ 12:2 on May 5, 2004 Beginning of Summer

Jisi month, May 5, 2004 at 12:20 Beginning of summer ~ June 5, 2004 at 16:14 Engzhong

Gengwu month, June 5, 2004 At 16:14 on the same day, there will be a slight heat at 2:31 on July 7, 2004

Xinwei month, a slight heat at 2:31 on July 7, 2004 - at 12:20 on August 7, 2004 Beginning of Autumn

Renshen month, 12:20 on August 7, 2004 - Beginning of autumn at 15:13 on September 7, 2004

Guiyou month, September 2004 White dew at 15:13 on October 7 ~ Cold dew at 6:49 on October 8, 2004

Jiaxu month, cold dew at 6:49 on October 8, 2004 ~ 9 on November 7, 2004 Winter begins at hour 59

Yihai month, November 7, 2004, winter begins at 9:59 ~ December 7, 2004, 2:49 heavy snowfall

Bingzi month, 2004 Heavy snowfall at 2:49 on December 7, 2005 ~ Xiaohan at 14:30 on January 5, 2005

Ding Chouyue, Xiaohan at 14:3 on January 5, 2005 ~ February 4, 2005 Big Cold at 1:43 on the day

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Calendar

Roads and Branches Calendar, 60 days roughly corresponds to a 2-month cycle; once a cycle is completed, it is used again and again, and the cycle continues.

Certain documents indicate that the Ganzhi calendar began on Jisi day in the second month of the lunar calendar in the third year of Duke Yin of Lu (the tenth day of the second month in 720 BC).

Because the Julian calendar has 365 days in an ordinary year, and once every 4 years, the AD year can be divisible by 4, and there are 366 days in leap years, and the average year is 365.25 days, so 1461 days in 4 years and 16 years 60 days, the least common multiple is 29220 days, which equals 80 years. This means that every 80 years, the Julian calendar month and day dates corresponding to the zodiac signs will cycle again and again. (The year 4 AD was supposed to be a leap year, but after the Julian calendar was implemented in 45 BC, the addition of a leap day "every 3 years" was mistaken for the addition of a leap day "every 3 years", so the Roman Emperor Oda Wei ordered the first 5 years, 1 year, and 4 years to stop leap years to correct the error)

Because the Gregorian calendar has 365 days, and once every 4 years, the AD year can be replaced by 100 days. It is not divisible by 400. There are 366 days in leap years, and the average year is 365.2425 days. Therefore, the least common multiple of 146097 days in 400 years and 60 days in a period is 2921940 days, which equals 8000 years. This means that every 80 years, if the Gregorian calendar month and day dates corresponding to the zodiac signs do not encounter an AD year that is divisible by 100 but not 400, the cycle will repeat. But overall, it is assumed that the format will never change in the future. According to the Gregorian calendar, every 8,000 years, the Gregorian calendar month and day dates corresponding to the stems and branches will repeat a complete cycle. February 18, 1912, the first day of the first lunar month of the Renzi year, and February 18, 9912, are both "Jiazi Days".

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Time

Stems and Earthly Branches Time, 60 hours combined into a 5-day cycle; once a cycle is completed, it is used again and again, and the cycle continues. It must be noted that Zi time is divided into early Zi time from 0 o'clock to 1 o'clock and late Zi time from 23 o'clock to 24 o'clock. Therefore, on the day of A or Ji, 0 o'clock to 1 o'clock is Ji Zi time, but 23 o'clock to 24 o'clock is It's Bingzi time. Late night is also called midnight or night. There is also a song when the sun rises: Jia and Ji add Jia, Yi, Geng and B are the beginning; Bing and Xin start from Wu, Ding, Ren and Gengzi live; Where does Wu and Gui come from, Renzi is the true path.

The following table lists the hourly stems and branches composed of daily and heavenly stems and hourly and earthly branches, which are based on Beijing time (UTC+8):

hourly and earthly branches Beijing time (UTC+8) A or day B or day C Or Xin Ri Ding or Ren Ri Wu or Gui Ri

Zaozi hour 0 o'clock - 1 o'clock Jiazi hour Bingzi hour Wuzi hour Gengzi hour Renzi hour

Chou hour 1 o'clock - 3 o'clock Yi Chou hour Ding Chou hour Ji Chou hour Xin Chou hour Guichou hour

Yin hour 3 o'clock - 5 o'clock Bing Yin hour Wu Yin hour Geng Yin hour Ren Yin hour Jia Yin hour

Mao hour 5 o'clock - 7 o'clock Ding Mao hour Ji Mao hour, Xin Mao hour, Guimao hour and Yi Mao hour

Chen hour 7 o'clock - 9 o'clock Yisi hour and Dingsi hour

Noon hour 11 o'clock - 13 o'clock Gengwu hour Renwu hour Jiawu hour Bingwu hour Wuwu hour

Wei hour 13 o'clock - 15 o'clock Xinwei hour Guiwei hour Yiwei hour Ding Wei Shi Ji Wei Shi

Shen Shi 15 o'clock - 17 o'clock Ren Shen Shi Jia Shen Shi Bing Shen Shi Wu Shen Shi Geng Shen Shi

You Shi 17 o'clock - 19 o'clock Gui You Shi Yi You Shi Ding You Shi Ji You Shi Xin Youshi

Xu Shi 19:00 - 21:00 Jiaxu Shi Bingxu Shi Wuxu Shi Gengxu Shi Renxu Shi

Hai Shi 21:00 - 23:00 Yi Hai Shi Ding Hai Shi Ji Hai Shi Xin Hai Shi Gui Hai Shi

Wanzi hour 23:00-24:00 Bingzi hour Wuzi hour Gengzi hour Renzi hour Jiazi hour

Sequence of heavenly stems and earthly branches

1. Jiazi 2. Yichou 3. Bingyin 4. Dingmao 5. Wuchen 6. Jisi 7. Gengwu 8. Xinwei 9. Renshen 10. Guiyou

11. Jiaxu 12. Yihai 13. Bingzi 14. Ding Chou 15. Wu Yin 16. Ji Mao 17. Geng Chen 18. Xin Si 19. Ren Wu 20. Gui Wei

21. Jia Shen 22. Yi You 23. Bing Xu 24. Ding Hai 25. Wuzi 26. Ji Chou 27. Geng Yin 28. Xin Mao 29. Renchen 30. Guisi

31. Jiawu 32. Yiwei 33. Bingshen 34. Dingyou 35. Wuxu 36. Jihai 37. Geng Zi38. 49. Renzi 50. Guichou

51. Jiayin 52. Yimao 53. Bingchen 54. Dingsi 55. Wuwu 56. Jiwei 57. Gengshen 58. Xinyou 59. Renxu 60. Guihai

The relationship between the earthly branches, the five elements and the directions

Zi (Rat) belongs to the Yang water, the north; Hai (Pig) belongs to the Yin water, the north.

Yin (tiger) belongs to the Yang wood, the east; Mao (rabbit) belongs to the Yin wood, the east.

Si (snake) belongs to yin fire, south; Wu (horse) belongs to yang fire, south.

Shen (Monkey) belongs to Yang Metal, the West; You (Chicken) belongs to Yin Metal, the West.

Chen (Dragon) and Xu (Dog) belong to Yang earth and are in the Chinese direction;

Chou (ox) and Wei (Sheep) belong to the yin earth and are in the Chinese direction.

The relationship between the heavenly stems, the five elements and the directions

A is the wood of the pillar, the east. B is the tree of flowers and fruits, the east. C is the fire of the sun, south. Ding is the fire of the lamp, the south.

W is the soil of the city wall, in the middle. I am the pastoral soil, China. Geng is the gold of the axe, the west. Xin is gold for jewelry, Western.

Ren is the water of the river, north. Gui is the water of rain and dew, in the north.