Imperial Guide to Date Selection and Directional Harmony

The Xieji Bianfang Shu (欽定協紀辨方書) is an imperially commissioned encyclopedic reference on date selection (擇日) and directional analysis (辨方). Compiled in 1739 under the Qianlong Emperor, it systematically examines the cosmological foundations of Chinese calendar science: the 24 compass directions, Five Elements systems, trigram transformations, Nine Stars, yearly/monthly/daily spirit-forces (神煞), the Jianchu twelve-spirit cycle, virtue stars, and compiled auspicious/inauspicious tables. The text is notable for its critical methodology -- it preserves traditional categories while rigorously analyzing their logical coherence, identifying redundancies, and correcting accumulated errors from centuries of transmission. The work draws on dozens of classical sources including the Shenshu Jing, Guangsheng Li, Kanyu Jing, and commentaries by scholars such as Cao Zhengui and Li Dingzuo.

Text source: SKQS scans (CADAL volume 06067680 et seq.) · First half (juan 1-6) complete with bilingual structured translations. Second half (juan 7-36) planned.