We live in a material world, where the forms and actions of matter’s movement influence the development, changes, and outcomes of things. Since it is the movement of matter, it cannot be separated from the three fundamental elements of mechanics: magnitude, direction, and action-reaction forces. Due to the varying effects of forces, things, phenomena, and people exhibit greater complexity and instability during their development.
In prognostication, the movement of matter is the interaction of Yin and Yang, and the relationship of generation and overcoming among the Five Element attributes. Due to the differences in the distribution of forces between generation and overcoming, while maintaining the consistent horizontal development of things, various opportunities arise to change the developmental trend of things, where opportunities and challenges coexist, just as the familiar saying goes, “Fortune dwells within misfortune, and misfortune relies on fortune.” Within the laws of the Five Elements’ generation and overcoming, the material movement attribute of “what does not generate, overcomes; what does not overcome, generates” reflects that the development of things never has a temporary halt. It is always in the midst of different actions of generating and overcoming forces, mutually transforming quantity, quality, and energy. The fluctuation of any single factor is enough to cause the development of affairs to shift from one extreme to another. Therefore, the development of things is never absolutely balanced or absolutely fair; it does not shift according to human will but only proceeds according to its own laws of movement. People can only, based on familiarity with its laws of movement, seek favorable times and spaces, favorable directions, and effective ways to solve problems. This is what is known in I Ching studies as seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster.。
The Five Element attributes of the Heavenly Stems are pure and singular, allowing for direct discussion of generation and overcoming. However, for the Earthly Branches, the situation is quite different. Due to the complexity of hidden stems during the conversion of Earthly Branch forces, it can only be achieved through Punishments, Clashes, Combinations, and Harms. methods to convert their power to the Heavenly Stems to achieve generation, overcoming, control, and transformation.
Heavenly Stems govern the external, Earthly Branches govern the internal, and the power of the Heavenly Stems is fully manifested through the Earthly Branches.
Therefore, for the same principles of generation and overcoming, the Heavenly Stems discuss generation, overcoming, control, and transformation, while the Earthly Branches discuss Punishments, Clashes, Combinations, and Harms.
So, regarding the generation, restraint, and transformation of the Five Elements ‘s dialectical principles, what content do they include? The ancient sage Xu Dasheng clearly pointed out the flexible relationships in his “Yuan Li Fu”.
Metal: When metal is strong and meets fire, it can be forged into utensils.
- Metal generates water, but too much water submerges metal; strong metal meeting water can temper its strength.
- Metal overcomes wood, but too much wood dulls metal; weak wood encountering metal, will surely be cut down.
- Metal relies on earth for generation, but too much earth buries metal; earth generates metal, Excessive Metal transforms Earth.。
Fire: When fire is strong and obtains water, only then can they achieve mutual balance.
- Fire can generate Earth, but abundant Earth dims fire; strong fire, when it obtains Earth, can only then contain its flames.
- Fire can overcome Metal, but abundant Metal extinguishes fire; weak Metal, when it encounters fire, will surely be melted.
- Fire relies on Wood for generation, but abundant Wood makes fire blaze fiercely; Wood can generate fire, but abundant fire burns Wood to ashes.
Water: When water is strong and obtains Earth, only then can it form ponds.
- Water can generate Wood, but abundant Wood makes water recede; strong water, when it obtains Wood, can only then release its force.
- Water can overcome Fire, but abundant Fire makes water boil; weak Fire, when it encounters water, will surely be extinguished.
- Water relies on Metal for generation, but abundant Metal makes water turbid; Metal can generate water, but abundant water makes Metal sink.
Earth: When Earth is strong and obtains Wood, only then can it be loosened.
- Earth can generate metal, but too much metal depletes earth; strong earth with metal can control its excess.
- Earth can overcome water, but too much water washes away earth; weak water encountering earth will surely be blocked.
- Earth relies on fire for generation, but too much fire scorches earth; fire can generate earth, but too much earth obscures fire.
Wood: Prosperous wood with metal can become a pillar.
- Wood can generate fire, but too much fire burns wood; strong wood with fire can transform its stubbornness.
- Wood can overcome earth, but too much earth breaks wood; weak earth encountering wood will surely collapse.
- Wood relies on water for generation, but too much water makes wood float; water can generate wood, but too much wood shrinks water.
This text is widely cited in many books, but it lacks a deep scientific analysis.
The text of “Yuan Li Fu” is easy to understand. Is the relationship of mutual generation and mutual overcoming really that simple? Is the power of mutual generation and mutual overcoming really that obvious? If both mutual generation and mutual overcoming relationships exist simultaneously, is it still that simple? When all five elements are present, how should these theories be understood?
In fact, “Yuan Li Fu” encompasses both the general and dialectical meanings of generating and overcoming relationships. In the process of transformation of the Five Elements’ generating and overcoming relationships, the differing roles of the three major elements of power lead to variations and distinctions in the generating and overcoming phenomena. Generating, overcoming, restraining, and transforming reflect the results and forms of overcoming, draining, restraining, and consuming. Concurrently, the states of overcoming, draining, restraining, and consuming embody the Five Elements that curb malicious generating and overcoming. This is the basic principle for selecting and applying opposing Five Elements in I Ching theory.
Here, I will interpret some content of “Yuan Li Fu” in a rudimentary way, hoping to draw the attention of beginners and help them gain a deeper understanding of the basic principles of the Five Elements’ generating, overcoming, restraining, and transforming. At the same time, as a personal opinion, I also hope it can serve as a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions.
The following analysis is made based on the relationships between Metal and Water, Water and Wood, and Wood and Fire:
- Wood relies on Water to grow, but too much Water causes Wood to float away; Water can generate Wood, but too much Wood causes Water to shrink.
- Metal can overcome Wood, but strong Wood can break Metal; weak Wood encountering Metal will surely be cut and broken.
- Metal relies on Earth to be generated, but too much Earth buries Metal; Earth can generate Metal, but too much Metal changes Earth.
The most essential content of “Yuan Li Fu” is far more than these. Its concise writing, every word carries immense weight. For example: “Too much Earth obscures Fire” mostly refers to damp Earth; “Too much Fire scorches Earth” mostly refers to dry Earth, and so on. In the traditions of many schools, these are often applied to “taking images,” and the results are quite good. However, images are, after all, just images. What an image represents or does not represent must rely on theory. Based on a solid theoretical foundation, one can deduce the development of things: what it resembles, what it says, what it is, and what it possesses. Therefore, the rigor and adaptability of the theoretical system are the solid foundation for clearly judging auspiciousness and inauspiciousness or for “taking images.”
The above explanation of “Yuan Li Fu” clarifies its content from a rational perspective. As long as one understands its adaptability, it can also be interpreted and applied in other forms. Regardless of the theoretical discussion, the ultimate result must return to the power and phenomena of the Five Elements’ generating and overcoming. As long as in Bazi, when identifying the favorable element, one will naturally apply the basic principles of the two opposing Five Elements. The two Five Elements that generate and overcome each other must truly reflect their generating and overcoming relationships and content only when other Five Elements are involved.
To clarify the Sheng-Ke relationships, the concepts, functions, and forms of Sheng-Ke-Zhi-Hua will be explained below.
I. Sheng (Generation)
- Sheng is a form where one of the Five Elements transfers its power to the next element through mutual generation.
- Sheng is divided into active generation and passive generation, where the actively generating element must consume an equal amount of power as the passively generated element. The actively generating element decreases or disappears, while the passively generated element’s power increases.
- If the power of the actively generating element is greater than that of the passively generated element, and the power difference is significant, the actively generating element’s power will overstep and restrain.
- If the power of the passively generated element is less than that of the actively generating element, the passively generated element is said to drain the actively generating element.
- If the power of the passively generated element is greater than that of the actively generating element, the passively generated element is said to transform the actively generating element.
The Year Stem Yi Wood generates the Month Stem Bing Fire, the Month Stem Bing Fire generates the Day Stem Wu Earth, and the Day Stem Wu Earth generates the Hour Stem Xin Metal; this is called Sheng (Generation).
The Hour Stem Xin Metal to the Day Stem Wu Earth is called ‘Hua’ (transformation), because Metal is stronger than Earth. The Day Stem Wu Earth to the Month Stem Bing Fire, and the Month Stem Bing Fire to the Year Stem Yi Wood, are called ‘Xie’ (drainage).
Xin Metal is out of season and rootless; in the process of generating Gui Water, it has completely exhausted its own strength, which is called ‘Hua’ (transformation). The Day Stem Gui Water’s strength has increased from its original basis; whatever strength Xin Metal had, Gui Water’s strength increased by that much.
Both the Year Stem Geng Metal and the Month Stem Gui Water are weak and rootless; when their strengths are equal, the generating element must consume an equal amount of strength as the generated element. Therefore, Gui Water’s strength increases from its original basis, while the generated strength completely disappears.
The Day Master Bing Fire is out of season, sitting on a tomb/storage, the Resource Stars Jia and Yi Wood have qi through the Year, Month, and Hour Branches, and their strength is stronger than Bing Fire. Bing Fire cannot completely transform the strength of Yi Wood, and Yi Wood can bypass Bing Fire to restrain Ji Earth. (Some might think that Earth has two strong roots and should not be considered weak, but this is actually a misunderstanding. This is because Fire and Earth born in Hai month are cold fire and wet/frozen earth, so Fire and Earth cannot exert their original functions. This is due to heavy Water and strong Wood in the chart).
II. Restraint (Ke)
- For the two elements, the restraining and the restrained, both sides consume equal strength.
- When the strength of the restraining element is less than that of the restrained element, the strength of the restraining element is completely exhausted, and this is called ‘Hao’ (depletion) for the restraining element.
The Year Stem Wu Earth to the Month Stem Ren Water, the Month Stem Ren Water to the Day Stem Bing Fire, and the Day Stem Bing Fire to the Hour Stem Xin Metal, are called ‘Ke’ (restraint).
The interaction of the Hour Stem Xin Metal (辛金) with the Day Stem Bing Fire (丙火), the Day Stem Bing Fire (丙火) with the Month Stem Ren Water (壬水), and the Month Stem Ren Water (壬水) with the Year Stem Wu Earth (戊土) is called “depletion”.
Bing Fire (丙火) sits on its “Chang Sheng” (birth stage), has roots in the month, year, and hour branches, and with Yin (寅) and Wu (午) forming a half-fire combination, it becomes extremely strong. Gui Water (癸水) is weak and rootless, and when attempting to restrain Bing Fire (丙火), Gui Water (癸水) is completely depleted.
III. Control
- “Control” (制) and “Restraint” (克) have similar meanings, but the distinction lies in the vast difference in strength.
- When the strength of the controlling element is greater than that of the controlled element, and the difference in strength is significant, it is called “control” (制), meaning complete subjugation and suppression.
- When the strength of the controlling element is less than that of the controlled element, and the difference in strength is significant, the controlling element’s strength is completely depleted.
The Day Master Ji Earth (己土) is weak and rootless, and its original source is dormant. Jia (甲) and Yi (乙) Wood are in season and have roots, making Wood extremely strong and Earth extremely weak. With no Fire to mediate, Wood’s interaction with Earth is called “control” (制).
The Day Master Wu Earth (戊土) is out of season and has no strong roots in the Earthly Branches. The Official Star Yi Wood (乙木) sits on its own strong root, has roots in the Day Branch, and its original source is strong. This constitutes a close “control” (制) over the Day Master.
IV. Transformation
- “Transformation” (化) and “Generation” (生) are similar in form, but also differ in strength.
- Transformation is also a type of drainage, but the two are not entirely the same.
- When the strength of the generating Five Element is generally equal to or less than the strength of the generated Five Element, the generated Five Element is referred to as “transforming” the generating Five Element.
- When the strength of the generated Five Element is less than that of the generating Five Element, and there is a significant disparity in strength, the generated Five Element is referred to as “draining” the generating Five Element.
In the process of Ding Fire generating Ji Earth, it transforms all its own strength, and Ji Earth also receives all of Ding Fire’s strength. While the Owl Seal transforms the power of the Seven Killings, it exhibits the nature of an Indirect Seal, thus making one dutiful.
In a Bazi chart where the Day Master is Ding Fire, rooted in the year, month, and hour branches, and further supported by Rob Wealth/Friend, it completely transforms the power of the Seal Stars Jia Wood and Yi Wood.
The above describes the forms of generation, control, and transformation/drainage. The main distinction lies in the magnitude of the Five Elements’ generating and controlling strengths. Through the pathways of generation, control, and transformation/drainage, one can assess the strength and weakness relationships of the Bazi Five Elements, provide standards for classifying Bazi Five Element strengths, criteria for selecting two opposing Five Elements, and reflect the degree of balance between two opposing Five Elements.
Yi Hun: Four Pillars Chapter, Chapter Two, Section One: Mutual Transformation of Heavenly Stems