A major feature of the current Chinese astrology and Feng Shui is the concept of the calender based Four Pillars. The Chinese would determine the tiangan and dizhi signs of the year, month, day and hour, hence its other term "Eight Characters". The combination of the tiangan and dizhi signs composes the nayin sexagenary sign. That is, each of the Four Pillars will have one of the 60 sexagenary signs.

For some time we, at GUI Management Center, realised that the year sign has to be shifted one sign ahead. This is because precession of the equinoxes causes the 12 Zodiac signs to advance one sign every 2,000 years. Historically, the emperors shifted one sign in the Hsia, Chou and Han dynasties. However, nearly 2,000 years since the Han dynasty, the modern Chinese astrologers failed to advance the Zodiac one sign. Year 2016 is not of Monkey but that of Rooster!

• Tests on our students show that 85% of the students have to shift their year sign one sign in order to get the correct prognosis of their characters. For the rest, no shift and shfting give similar results.

During our teaching of advance Qi Men Dun Jia we found startling historic evidence about another rather lethal fatal error in the calender based Four Pillars dating. Our students were reading the Sung dynasty text "Jing You Dun Jia Tally Application Classic Compilation 1". The text was written during the time of Sung Emperor Ren Zong, Zhao Zhen. Jing You 1st Year, Jia Xu year 1034 AD. The classic has this startling passage:

• Ge Hong says, those in combination in the middle palace. Calling it Yang Dun Yang officer. Dong Zhi upper Yuan Jia Si day forming I midnight. Jia Zi early Chen (morning) starting at 1 palace. Lasting 5 shi (10 hours) also reaching Wu Chen. At middle palace, Yin officer starting 9 palace traveling in go against direction. Lasting 5 shi (10 hours) also reaching Wu Chen. Also at the middle palace Yin Dun Yin officer Xia Zhi upper Yuan Jia Si day forming at midnight. Jia Zi initial starting 9 palace. Lasting 5 shi (10 hours) Wu Chen at middle chamber. Yang officer starting on palace. Yang officer starting one palace. Lashing 5 shi (10 hours) Wu Chen also at middle palace. That is why said it is in combination.

The remarkable passage says that the day correspondings to either Summer Solstice or Winter Solstice always have the sign Jia Zi! Every time it is Summer or Winter Solstice, the sexagenary sign will be the first sexagenary sign vis Jia Zi!

72 Jus of Qi Men Dun Jia

Indications that the same day in every year has the same geomantic status have been there all the time in the ancient Chinese divination. Students of Qi Men Dun Jia would be aware that a day in the year has a Ju number. The method of determining the Ju number of a day is illustrated in the Table below:

• The Ju number is anything from 1 to 9.

  Note that the same day in the year will have the same Ju number next year and through all the years.

  This is because every time the Earth returns to the same day, it returns to the same spot along the orbit around the Sun. Thus, the day will have the same geomantic status as the same day last year or next year.

  However, the problem is that if the calendar is used, the geomantic status of the day will shift 5 or 6 signs depending on the leap year.

That is why Qi Men Dun Jia is said to have a "360 degrees" cycle. For the status of the day is calculated through the year having 360 degrees. One of the 60 sexagenary sign will be equivalent to one degree. In one year, the 360 degrees complete 6 cycles and equate to 6 x 60 sexagenary signs. One degree is about 1.0139 days.

It is by considering the year as 360 degrees, not 365 or 366 days, that the Sung dynasty classic "Jing You Dun Jia Tally Application Classic Compilation 1" will have Winter Solstice or Summer Solstice as always having the Jia Zi sign. The 365 or 366 days will be squeezed within 360 degrees.

This means that during the past the day geomantic status was never calculated from the calender which will give the erroneous shift in the day status 5 or 6 signs every year. What modern practioneers do in using the calender to get the Four Pillars is wrong, as it will give the wrong geomantic status for the day. It means that current Chinese divination, in using the calenderical Four Pillars will always get the wrong readings and predictions!

• The basis of the conventional calender based Four Pillars is already wrong. So, how can there be any "results"? These "results" are usually produced by forcing events to fit the predictions.

The true cycle of the 60 sexagenary signs are that the 60 sexagenary sgns equate to 60 degrees and each year there will be 6 cycles of 60-"degrees" sexagenary signs. Thus each day will return to the same spot along the orbit of Earth arond the Sun and will have the same geomantic status every year.

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Data: Historical Records of Signs of Days

Ancient Counts for Days

We have previously published evidence that the Ganzhi signs of the day and year had been changed arbitraily in the past (see article Ba Zi Eight Character Divination: Myth of Four Pillars). Some of its implications are re-written here.

Wechsler (1985) published an analysis of the Jade and Cotton Sacrifices (Wechsler, Howard J. 1985. Offerings of Jade and Silk. Ritual and Symbol in the Legitimisation of the Tang Dynasty. Yale University Press. New York and London). In this book, he noted certain days and their sexagenary signs:

• Dec 24 105 BC was a winter solstice and the new moon and 1st day of the eleventh month and had the sign jiazi. This date was the beginning of the Han "Great Inception" calendar.

  On June 12, AD 618 the Sui dynasty handed over the imperial emblems to the founding emperor of Tang dynasty. It was a jiazi day and the 14th day of the fifth month.

  Dec 24 AD 640 was also a winter solstice and the first day of the eleventh month. But according to the Wu Lin calendar the 2nd day of the eleventh month had the sign jiazi. The Tang emperor shifted the jia zi sign to the first day of the eleventh month.

Note how the ancient status of the Winter Solstice was kept at Jia Zi! The proper status of the Winter Solstice has always been the same, being that of Jia Zi The modern conventional calender based Four Pillars are very very wrong!

Calculations on the Continuity of 60 Days Counts

Assuming the above dates, we can calculate their runs through the ancient periods up to present.

December 24 113 BC to December 24 105 BC covers 8 years.

• If the years are multiplied by 365.2421644 days, there will be 2921.9373152 days.
  If these days are divided by 60, there will be 48.6989552533333 cycles of sexagenary signs. The fraction involves 0.69896 x 60 = 41.9373 day.
  If December 24 113 BC was a hsin ssu (xin si - 18), then the calculations show that December 24 105 BC should 42 signs later, a gui hai sign (60), not jia zi (1) as noted.

May 17, 110 BC was a i-mao day (52). December 24 110 BC to December 24 105 BC covers 5 years.

• If the years are multiplied by 365.2421644 days, there will be 1826.210822 days. With the rest of December in 110 BC, the days in months June to November and May 17 to 31, the days are 2047.210822.
  If these days are divided by 60, there will be 34.1201803666667 cycles. The fraction involves 0.1202 x 60 = 7.2108 day.
  If May 17 110 BC was a i-mao day (52), then the calculations show that December 24 105 BC should 7 signs later, a ren xu sign (59) or gui hai (60) not jia zi as noted.

Both historical dates of December 24, 113 BC and May 17, 119 BC show that December 24 105 BC was either a ren xu (59) or more likely a gui hai (60) day. This indicates that for the Han Grand Inception calendar the emperor had purposefully and artificially reset December 24, 105 BC, a ren xu or gui hai day, to become a jia zi day.

Han Kao Tsu had broken the continuity by forcing the winter solstice of December 24 105 BC to assume the jia zi sign which actually was that of December 25. Thus, the historical evidence is that by Han Kao Tsu time the 60 cycle counts were no longer continuous.

Another historical tampering of the 60 cycle count occurred in the Tang dynasty. December 24 105 BC to December 24 AD 640 covers 744 years.

• If the years are multiplied by 365.2421644 days, there will be 271740.1703136 days.
  If these days are divided by 60, there will be 4529.00283856 cycles. The fraction involves 0.168 day.
  Hence, if December 24 was a jiazi day, then the calculations show that December 24 AD 640 should also be a jiazi day.

  However, the Wu Lin calendar actually noted that it was December 25 AD 640 which was a jia zi day. Evidently, the creator of the Wu Lin calendar was aware that the December 24 105 BC jia zi sign for the Han Grand Inception calendar was a shift and corrected it back. Only, during the Tang dynasty, the Tang court decided that for calendrical purposes, the jiz zi sign for the Han Grand Inception should be accepted and December 24 AD 640 became a jia zi day when it should be a gui hai day.

Consider June 12 AD 618, which was supposed to be a jiazi day.

• December 24 AD 618 to December 24 AD 640 covers 22 years.
  If the years are multiplied by 365.2421644 days, there will be 8035.3276168 days.
  If these days are divided by 60, there will be 133.922126946667 cycles. The fraction involves 55.3278 days.
  The rest of December AD 618 back to June 12 covers 195 days. With the 55.3278 days this totaled to 250.3278 days. If June 12 AD 618 was a jiazi day, December 24 AD 640 should not be a jiazi day but at least 10 signs ahead! So, between June 12 AD 618 to December 24 AD 640 there was a slip of at least 10 signs!

The historical evidence is that considerable arbitrary breaks and shifts in the 60 cycle counts for the day occurred since the Han dynasty.

Now, let us take December 24 AD 640 as a jia zi day. Look at the recent Chinese calendar. January 10, 1965 was a jiazi day.

• December 24 AD 640 to December 24 AD 1965 covers 483580.6256656 days.
  The duration involves 8059.67709442667 cycles. The fraction has 40.674 days.
  The rest of December 1964 and the next 10 days of January 1965 totaled 17 days.
  Hence, 10 January 1965 should not be a jiazi day but at least 3 signs back!

The calculations shows that there were repeated discontinuities in the 60 cycle day counts between the Han dynasty to the present.

Calculations on the Continuity of 60 Cycle Counts for Years

Ssuma Qian's Shih Ji. Shih Chi 28: The Treatise on the Feng and Shan Sacrifice page 60 notes the count for a year: In addition, let a general amnesty be granted in the empire of the same kind as that ordered in the year i-mao (120 BC).

Ho (2003) noted that in 1282, during Kublai Khan time, The Tai Yi divination had a Tai Yi Dun number of Yang Dun 32.

There are also calculations evidence that the 60 cycle counts are not continuous for the years. Note that 1984 was a jia zi year.

Year Case 1

Ssuma Qian's Shih Ji. Shih Chi 28: The Treatise on the Feng and Shan Sacrifice page 60 notes: In addition, let a general amnesty be granted in the empire of the same kind as that ordered in the year i-mao (120 BC).

• BC 120 to AD 1984 = 2104 years
  Divide by 60 = 35.0666666666667 cycles
  Fraction = 4.0002 years
  If 120 BC was a i-mao (52) year, then AD 1984 should be sign 4 signs later, a Ji Wei (56) year not a jia zi year. There was a deviation of 4-5 years!

Year Case 2

Ho (2003) noted that in 1282, during Kublai Khan time, The Tai Yi divination had a Tai Yi Dun number of Yang Dun 32. The Tai Yi astrology has a 360 years cycle, where the first year is a Jia Zi Year with a Dun count of 1. There are 72 Duns.

In the current Tai Yi divination, 1984 was a Superior Epoch. The Chinese calendar shows that 1984 was Jiazi year. Let us make calculations as follows:

• 1984 back to 1282 = 702 years.
  360 years before 1984 = 1624
  720 years before 1984 = 1264

  1984, 1624, 1264 should be Superior Epochs and Jiazi years, with Dun 1.

1264 should have Dun 1. If so, then 1282 was 18 years later and should be Dun 19. But the Yuan history noted it as Dun 32 = 13 years different. That is, Ganzhi count for years has deviated 13 years!

• If 1924 is used as the Superior Epoch, then 1204 would be the Superior Epoch closest to the Kublai Khan incidence and will have Dun 1. Dun 1 will come again 72 years later in 1276. 1282 was 6 years later and should have Dun 7

  If 1084 was the Superior Epoch, then Dun 1 would be 1084, 1156, 1228. 1282 was 54 years after 1228 and should have Dun 55.

  They all do not fit Dun 32 as recorded.

These historical evidence indicate the 60 cycle counts for years are not continuous.

Practitioners have often referred to the famous Battle of the Red Cliff of AD 208, where Zhuge Liang defeated Cao Cao. The Ming dynasty strategist Liu Bo Wen analysed this battle. He had given the Eight Characters for that date as Ding Chou hour, Yi Chou day, Jia Zi month and Wu Zi year

The tradition is that this day was after the Winter Solstice. On the day after the Winter Solstice Zhuge Liang had carried out the famous Seven Steps Altar ritual to call for the winds. The movies often show the soldiers eating "kueh ee", the Tong Chih round sweet rice dumplings on the day before the battle.

Now, note that Liu Bo Wen had given the day as "Yi Chou". Those familiar with the 60 sexagenary signs will know that "Yi Chou" is the second sign of the sexagenarty cycle, Thus, the Winter Solstice of the Battle of the Red Cliff was the previous sign, vis that of Jia Zi!

• From Dec 24 105 BC to Winter Solstce AD 208 are 104+ 208 = 312 years. 312 years x 365.2421644 days = 113955.555293 days. Divide this by 60 will give 1899.25925488.

• The remainder of 0.25925488 will be give 15.5 days. If Dec 24 105 BC is a Jia Zi, a calender count will not get Jia Zi for AD 208 Winter Solstice but 15 to 16 signs later. It is evident that during those ancient times, the sexagenary signs were not calculated using the calender but through another method. We teach our students what is this "360 degrees" method.

• Modern practitioners have been calculating nonsense all the time!

Note that AD 208 has the year sign Wu Zi (sign 25) while that of 120 BC was i-mao (sign 52). There are 327 years from 120 BC to AD 208. 327 years divided by 60 = 5.45. 0.45 x 60 = 27. If 120 BC has the sign i-mao (sign 52) then AD 208 should have the sign 52 + 27 = 19th sign or Ren-wu. The year tally was also wrong.

There have been misleading assumptions among practitioners of a wide range of geomancy arts that the 60 signs in the Four Pillars have continuous counts since the time of Yao back in 2400 BC or Yellow Emperor Huang Di back in 2650 BC. Evaluations of certain historical data yield the startling findings that, at least since the Han dynasty to the present, both the 60 cycle counts for the day and year were never in continuity!

What this article also shows is that the ancient texts shown that the geomantic status of the Winter Solstice was always the first sexagenary sign Jia Zi!

• Due to the creeping advance of 5 or 6 days in the year, the erratic calender based Four Pillars dating will get the day status wrong!

• Of course, the Ganzhi status of the hour will be affected, as its tiangan sign depends on the day status.

• The 60 sexagenary signs for the day was traditionally calculated on a "360 degrees" basis, not 365 days. This, every year the 60 sexagenary signs will make 6 complete cycles, allowing every day to have the same geomantic status as the previous years and into the future years.

So, generations of current Chinese astrologers, unable to understand the historics and mathematics, are getting their dating wrong!

• This evidence means that the ancients did not use the calender method to get the Four Pillars. Enrol in our ZWDS course to know how the ancient astrologers without using calendar methods ensured that the Winter Solstice was correctly kept at Jia Zi.

Read also other Four Pillars articles:
Ba Zi Eight Character Divination: Myth of Four Pillars"
next related article: more historical records of changes and breaks in 60 cycle counts!

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