Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Tian Gan Di ZiTraditionally, the Chinese system of time-keeping is based on the Ganzhi system. Ganzhi is the short-form for Tian Gan or Heavenly Stems and Di Zhi or Earthly Branches .
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StemJia 甲
Yi 乙 Bing 丙 Ding 丁 Wu 戊 Ji 己 Geng 庚 Xin 辛 Ren 壬 Gui 癸 |
ElementWood
Wood Fire Fire Earth Earth Metal Metal Water Water |
BranchZi 子
Chou 丑 Yin 寅 Mao 卯 Chen 辰 Si 巳 Wu 午 Wei 未 Shen 申 You 酉 Xu 戌 Hai 亥 |
ElementWater
Earth Wood Wood Earth Fire Fire Earth Metal Metal Earth Water |
StatusYang
Yin Yang Yin Yang Yin Yang Yin Yang Yin Yang Yin |
60 Jia ZiThe 10 Heavenly Stems combine with the 12 Earthly Branches to form a cycle of 60 combinations known as the 60 Jia Zi .
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1 - 10Jia Zi
Yi Chou Bing Yin Ding Mao Wu Chen Ji Si Geng Wu Xin Wei Ren Shen Gui You |
11 - 20Jia Xu
Yi Hai Bing Zi Ding Chou Wu Yin Ji Mao Geng Chen Xin Si Ren Wu Gui Wei |
21 - 30Jia Shen
Yi You Bing Xu Ding Hai Wu Zi Ji Chou Geng Yin Xin Mao Ren Chen Gui Si |
31 - 40Jia Wu
Yi Wei Bing Shen Ding You Wu Xu Ji Hai Geng Zi Xin Chou Ren Yin Gui Mao |
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This 60 Jia Zi applies to all year, month and day cycles; and is repeated infinitely. If the year 1924, 1984 and 2044 are all Jia Zi Year, then the following years of 1925, 1985 and 2045 are all Yi Chou Year which is the next combination in the sequence.
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Similarly if this month is associated with Yi Chou, then next month will be Bing Yin which is the next combination in the sequence.
The same applies to the day. If today is Jia Zi then tomorrow will be Yi Chou. The cycle is repeated every 60 days. If the present bi-hour is Ding You, the next bi-hour will be Wu Xu which is the next combination in the cycle. |
This explains why each day in the Chinese Solar Calendar is represented by four Jia Zi combinations namely, the Jia Zi of the year, month, day, and hour, if specified.
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