The Heavenly Stems are so named because there are ten of them. They are: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui. Their sequence is fixed. Just remember this mnemonic: Jia and Yi are wood in the east, Bing and Ding are fire in the south, Wu and Ji are earth in the center, Geng and Xin are metal in the west, and Ren and Gui are water in the north.
Specifically, Jia and Yi are in the exact east and belong to wood; Bing and Ding are in the exact south and belong to fire; Wu and Ji are in the center and belong to earth; Geng and Xin are in the exact west and belong to metal; Ren and Gui are in the exact north and belong to water. There are interactive relationships among the Heavenly Stems.
Terrestrial branch
There are twelve Earthly Branches in total, also known as the Twelve Earthly Branches, namely Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai. The Twelve Earthly Branches hold a significant position and play a crucial role, such as in the Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs. Here are a few important representations listed below.
1.The Earthly Branches and Yin-Yang. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches share the same Yin-Yang attributes, with odd numbers being Yang and even numbers being Yin. That is, Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen and Xu are Yang Branches, while Chou, Mao, Si, Wei, You and Hai are Yin Branches.
2. The Earthly Branches and the Five Elements. The Five Elements of the Earthly Branches are very important. They are: Wood for the branches of Yin and Mao, Fire for the branches of Si and Wu, Metal for the branches of Shen and You, Water for the branches of Zi and Hai, and Earth for the branches of Chou, Chen, Wei and Xu. Generally, the Earthly Branches and the Five Elements are read together: Zi-Water, Chou-Earth, Yin-Wood, Mao-Wood, Chen-Earth, Si-Fire, Wu-Fire, Wei-Earth, Shen-Metal, You-Metal, Xu-Earth, Hai-Water.
3. The directions of the Earthly Branches: Zi is the exact north, Chou and Yin are the northeast, Mao is the exact east, Chen and Si are the southeast, Wu is the exact south, Wei and Shen are the southwest, You is the exact west, and Xu and Hai are the northwest.
4. The Earthly Branches and Months. The twelve Earthly Branches correspond exactly to the twelve months of the year. Time is determined by the twenty-four solar terms, but since people have little knowledge of the solar terms, they generally use the lunar calendar, which is similar to the perpetual calendar, to roughly judge the time. Among them, the first month is Yin, the second month is Mao, the third month is Chen, the fourth month is Si, the fifth month is Wu, the sixth month is Wei, the seventh month is Shen, the eighth month is You, the ninth month is Xu, the tenth month is Hai, the eleventh month is Zi, and the twelfth month is Chou.
5. The Earthly Branches and the Four Seasons. The twelve Earthly Branches correspond to the four seasons. Among them, the branches of Yin, Mao and Chen represent spring; Si, Wu and Wei represent summer; Shen, You and Xu represent autumn; and Hai, Zi and Chou represent winter.
6. Earthly Branches and Time Periods. The twelve earthly branches and the twelve time periods are also in one-to-one correspondence. Ancient people divided a day into twelve time periods, each equivalent to two hours of the present time. Converted to the current time, they are as follows: Zi period (23:00 to 1:00), Chou period (1:00 to 3:00), Yin period (3:00 to 5:00), Mao period (5:00 to 7:00), Chen period (7:00 to 9:00), Si period (9:00 to 11:00), Wu period (11:00 to 13:00), Wei period (13:00 to 15:00), Shen period (15:00 to 17:00), You period (17:00 to 19:00), Xu period (19:00 to 21:00), and Hai period (21:00 to 23:00). From this, it can be seen that in ancient times, the dividing line of a day was not at 24:00 at night, but at 23:00 during the Zi period. Therefore, for some people born between 23:00 and 24:00, their actual date of birth should be considered as the next day.
7. Earthly Branches and the Chinese Zodiac. The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac that we usually refer to correspond to the twelve Earthly Branches respectively: Rat (Zi), Ox (Chou), Tiger (Yin), Rabbit (Mao), Dragon (Chen), Snake (Si), Horse (Wu), Goat (Wei), Monkey (Shen), Rooster (You), Dog (Xu), and Pig (Hai). It should be noted that the starting and ending times of the zodiac signs are not determined by New Year's Eve, but by the Beginning of Spring.
8. The Earthly Branches and Organs. They are respectively: Hài and Zǐ for the bladder and kidneys, Yín and Mǎo for the liver and gallbladder, Wǔ and Yǐ for the heart, Shēn and Yǒu for the lungs, and Chén, Xuán, Chǒu and Wèi for the spleen and stomach.
9. The Earthly Branches and Numbers. The numbers of the Earthly Branches start from Zi and end at Hai, in sequence from 1 to 12. Zi is 1, Chou is 2, Yin is 3, Mao is 4, Chen is 5, Si is 6, Wu is 7, Wei is 8, Shen is 9, You is 10, Xu is 11, and Hai is 12.
10. The Earthly Branches and the Eight Trigrams. The Earthly Branches and the Eight Trigrams correspond to each other in terms of directions. One only needs to verify the directions of the twelve Earthly Branches with those of the Eight Trigrams. Specifically, Zi corresponds to Kan, Chou and Yin to Gen, Mao to Zhen, Chen and Si to Xun, Wu to Li, Wei and Shen to Kun, You to Dui, and Xu and Hai to Qian.
