Sanming Tonghui, Volume 4: Stem-Branch Seat Analysis and Seasonal Fortunes

Jia Wood is yang -- the timber of ridgepoles and pillars. It favors birth in autumn and winter; meeting Shen or Zi months is auspicious. When the chart shows Geng and Xin [metal], this is the 'axe and chisel' principle -- governing fame and profit. Yi Wood is yin -- the wood of living growth. When it encounters spring or the 'early spring' period, and meets the Hai-Mao-Wei or Jia-Zi-Chen wood/water combinations, with northern cycles, then even Bing-Ding fire or Geng-Xin metal showing through is not harmful. [The chapter continues through all ten stems, providing detailed guidance on which Branch positions are favorable for each day-stem to 'sit' on, which birth months and hours are advantageous, and which major cycle directions bring prosperity or disaster.] Six Jia Days use Xin as the proper official, Geng as the partial official, and Wu-Ji as wealth. If the year, month, and hour columns reveal Wu, Ji, or Xin, and one is born in the three autumn months, the four earth months, or in metal-earth combinations, then wealth and official stars are useful. If these three characters are not revealed, but one is still born in autumn or earth months, it is still analyzed as having wealth and official stars. Seeing Jia-Yi robs wealth; Bing-Ding injures the official -- fame and profit become difficult. If born in spring, summer, or fire-wood combinations, wealth and official stars lack energy; even with assistance, fame and profit are modest.

[This section reverses the perspective, examining each birth month and what it means for different day-stems. It provides month-by-month analysis of which day-stems are strong, weak, or neutral in each seasonal context.]

[The remainder of Volume 4 provides extended essays on each of the five phases, discussing their qualities, behaviors, and fortunes in comprehensive detail:] 'On Wood': Wood in its vital state seeks metal to carve it into useful form. If wood is excessive without metal, the person is unrestrained. If metal is excessive without fire, wood is destroyed. Wood requires water for nourishment but fears water's excess, which causes floating and rootlessness. 'On Fire': Fire requires wood as its source and earth as its vessel. Without wood, fire has no root; without earth, fire has no containment. Excessive fire without water produces arrogance and cruelty. 'On Earth': Earth is the mediator of all phases. Without wood to break it, earth remains raw and useless. Without fire to warm it, earth remains cold and barren. Earth's great virtue is its capacity to contain all other phases. 'On Metal': Metal in its raw state requires fire's refining to become useful. Without fire, metal is crude ore; with excessive fire, metal melts. Metal requires earth for its origin and water for its sharpening. 'On Water': Water seeks earth for its banks and metal for its source. Without earth, water floods; without metal, water lacks purity. Water's nature is to descend, but when meeting obstruction, it can rise to great heights.