玄ZenTellATLAS OF WISDOM TRADITIONS
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BaZi · Four Pillars / ENCYCLOPEDIA

Four Pillars charts

四柱排盘

Four Pillars comprises year, month, day and hour stem–branch pairs. Chart construction precedes the separate task of natal interpretation.

Introductory article2 min readUpdated 2026-09-30AI-assisted · Editorially checked

At a glance

Composition
Four pairs, eight characters
Inputs
Date, time, place and conventions
A modern ink illustration of books, brushwork and mountains
Original ZenTell AI illustration · Contemporary artwork, not a historical object
Four Pillars and eight charactersEach pillar pairs a stem and a branch. This schematic is not a real person’s chart. Actual charting requires birth data and stated calendar conventions.Year甲Stem子BranchMonth丙Stem寅BranchDay戊Stem辰BranchHour壬Stem子BranchWu: this example’s Day Master
Four Pillars and eight charactersEach pillar pairs a stem and a branch. This schematic is not a real person’s chart. Actual charting requires birth data and stated calendar conventions.

Definition and terminology

Each pillar contains a stem and branch: four pairs make eight characters. They are not copied directly from lunar date numbers, and a zodiac animal is insufficient. Reliable date, recorded clock time, location and historical time-zone information define the input. Preserve those facts before comparing chart calculations or interpretations.

[1][2]

Structure and rules

Ziping practice commonly uses Start of Spring for the year and twelve solar-term boundaries for months, rather than lunar month beginnings. Day labels follow a continuous cycle; hour stems derive from day stems. Solar-time correction and day rollover vary. A chart should expose its conventions rather than conceal disagreements in defaults.

[1][2]

Worked reading

Suppose a teaching input has a verified Jia-Zi day and falls within Zi hour under the chosen convention. The hour-stem table gives Jia for Zi hour on a Jia day, yielding a Jia-Zi hour pillar. This checks one mapping only. Year and month require separate calculation, and boundary inputs may warrant alternative charts.

[1][2]

Context and limits

Sanming Tonghui documents natal rules without proving that birth timing determines life events. Recorded minutes may exceed the actual precision of historical records. Solar-term transitions and overseas daylight saving need checking. Explain the conversion process and uncertainty before presenting interpretations as school-specific opinions rather than facts about destiny.

[1][2]

References & further reading

Historical sources document ideas and rules of their time, not empirical proof of predictive accuracy. Source notes identify the nature and scope of each reference.

  1. 《三命通会》（四库全书本）Primary / tradition source

    Public-domain natal-divination compilation with historical editorial criticism; rule documentation, not modern validation.

  2. Hong Kong Observatory: Heavenly Stems and Earthly BranchesInstitutional / reference source

    Official calendar reference for sequences and double hours; does not validate natal divination.

Keep exploring

Day MasterIntroductionTen GodsIntroductionHidden stemsIntroductionChart patternsIntroductionFavorable elementsIntroductionLuck cycles and annual influencesIntroductionApparent solar timeIntroduction