On the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments
The Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments fundamentally differ from other He Ju (combinations) and Hui Ju (assemblages). In practical application, they must be conceptually distinguished: a combination is a combination, and a punishment is a punishment. If the power of punishment were similar to that of combinations, why would the ancients discuss both punishment and combination? In reality, what punishment and combination manifest is completely different. Punishment and combination should not be confused. Mutual Punishment implies compulsion, requiring not only corresponding conditions but also a clear objective. The Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are considered ‘punishment’ only when strong Earth aims to control Water. When the objective is not met, it may not be considered a punishment. What does “objective not met” mean? For instance, when Water is strong and has strong Metal to mediate, Chou-Wei-Xu cannot achieve its purpose of control. The Chou-Wei-Xu Mutual Punishment transforms the Hidden Stems of Metal, Wood, and Water within the Earthly Branches into the elemental Qi of Earth. This prevents Wood from controlling Earth and Metal from draining Earth, thereby eliminating opposing forces and multiplying Earth’s own strength, signifying an overwhelming dominance of Earth.
The difference between Chou-Wei-Xu Mutual Punishment and He Ju (combinations) / Hui Ju (assemblages): He Ju and Hui Ju involve generation, transformation, generation, and control. A combination is like one plus one equals two, where one element increases in strength while another decreases. It’s a matter of qualitative and quantitative change for the Five Elements. Mutual punishment, however, is like a nuclear fission reaction, causing the involved Five Elements to become overly strong (fan wang). Therefore, different concepts have different natures; different natures lead to different conditions, functions, and objectives.
All He Ju (combinations) and Hui Ju (assemblages) must yield to the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments when sharing Earthly Branches. The ancients repeatedly emphasized this point, yet the underlying reasons were often glossed over, leading later students of Yi to blindly follow.
In fact, there’s a direct and crucial point here: the three Earthly Branches Chou, Wei, and Xu all belong to the Earth element. Earth is the Mu Ku (tomb and storehouse) for all things. Chou is the Mu Ku for Metal, Wei is for Wood, Xu is for Fire, and Chen is for Water. So, under what circumstances is it considered a ‘tomb’ (Mu), and under what circumstances a ‘storehouse’ (Ku)? This reflects the Yin-Yang principles of the Yi Dao, which is the dialectical thought of ‘one divides into two’. ‘Ku’ (Storehouse) means containment, capacity, storage, collection, and accumulation; it is the source of the Five Elements’ power. In other words, Earth is the mother of all things, vast and accommodating. ‘Mu’ (Tomb), on the other hand, indicates a state of decline, weakness, and death for the Five Elements, facing the dilemma of being controlled. When the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are successfully formed, they cause varying degrees of harm to Metal, Wood, and Fire, while also fundamentally suppressing the Water element. In other words, a successful Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishment can fundamentally destabilize or disintegrate the power of other Five Elements.
The ancients strictly distinguished between the concepts of mutual punishment and combination, acknowledging that the effect and process of mutual punishment inevitably break the normal order and rules of Five Element generation and control. For example, in the process of Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments, ‘punishment transforming into Fire’ indicates too much Earth obscuring Fire; ‘punishment transforming into Wood’ indicates that heavy Earth breaks Wood, and Wood cannot control Earth; ‘punishment transforming into Metal’ indicates too much Earth burying Metal, meaning Earth no longer needs to generate Metal, Metal cannot generate Water, and Earth directly controls Water. These phenomena, in turn, demonstrate various states of Five Element generation and control, such as excessive drainage becoming control, excessive generation becoming control, and no generation leading to control.
Conditions for the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments:
- When the three Earthly Branches Chou, Wei, and Xu appear together, and the Heavenly Stems reveal Wu or Ji Earth, the Three Punishments are successfully formed.
- If He Ju (combinations) or Hui Ju (assemblages) share Earthly Branches with the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments, they must yield to the Three Punishments, unless punishment and combination share the same Qi.
- If the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are formed in the Bazi chart and a Dayun (major luck cycle), and a Liunian (annual luck cycle) encounters one of these branches again, it is considered an ‘activation’.
Analysis of Several Scenarios for Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments in Practical Application:
- When the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are formed, it is always considered a conflict occurring among the Earthly Branches, regardless of whether the controlled element has a root in the Earthly Branches or is merely floating in the Heavenly Stems.
- If the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are formed, but Metal is strong or Wood is strong, it is not considered a punishment.
- If the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are formed, but the controlled element is strong in numbers, or a mediating force appears, it is not considered a punishment.
- When the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are formed and both Metal and Wood elements are present, it implies strong Earth generating Metal, and Metal then controls Wood; this can be considered a successful Three Punishment formation.
- If the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are formed, and Wood counteracts with strong force, creating a balance, but the Fire element appears in the Heavenly Stems, it is considered inauspicious.
The Day Master Wu Earth is in season, rooted in the year, month, day, and hour, and supported by Ding Fire in the year. Ren Gui Water, representing wealth, is weak and unrooted. Therefore, output (Eating God and Hurting Officer) generating wealth is used as the Yong Shen (favorable element).
The three branches Chou, Wei, Xu appear together, and Heavenly Stems reveal Wu and Ji Earth, thus the conditions for the Three Punishments are met. In the Bazi chart, Ren Gui Water also appears in the month and hour, indicating the objective of the Three Punishments is achieved. Here, the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments are successfully formed, awaiting activation by luck cycles (sui yun).
During the Xin Hai Dayun (major luck cycle) and Yi Hai Liunian (annual luck cycle), although Ren Gui Water encountered strong roots, the Tai Sui (annual branch) triggered the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments, punishing and removing the root of Yi Wood in the Tai Sui’s storehouse, thereby transforming the weak Yong Shen (favorable element) into a Ji Shen (unfavorable element). Furthermore, the Tai Sui sits in a ‘death’ position, and the Officer Star appearing cannot exert its effect. The Day Master is strong with Rob Wealth. Wu Gui combine but do not transform. Both Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches experienced conflict. In this year, he lost his wife.
The Day Master Jia Wood sits on its prosperity position, is in season, rooted in the Earthly Branches Yin-Hai combination, making it strong. The Officer Star Xin Metal appears twice, with a storehouse beneath it. Therefore, output (Eating God and Hurting Officer) and wealth generating officer is used as the Yong Shen (favorable element). However, the Yong Shen changes with the variations of luck cycles (sui yun).
During the Wu Xu Dayun (major luck cycle) and Xin Wei Liunian (annual luck cycle), the three branches Chou, Wei, Xu all appeared, with Earth revealed in the Heavenly Stems. The conditions for the Three Punishments were met, and the Yong Shen (favorable element) changed. With strong Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood could be considered favorable elements, because strong wealth (Earth) controls resource (Water). Metal drains strong Earth to generate resources, Water consumes strong Earth, and Wood controls Earth. Chou-Wei-Xu punished and removed the storehouse roots and residual Qi roots of Metal, Water, and Wood elements, transforming the favorable elements into Ji Shen (unfavorable elements). This resulted in “too much Earth burying Metal” and “too much Earth breaking Wood.” Metal could not drain the strong Earth, and Wood could not control the strong Earth. Although Water did not appear in the Heavenly Stems, in practical application, when Ren or Gui Water appeared in the monthly or daily luck cycles, it marked the time of misfortune for the chart owner. In that year, the chart owner borrowed from loan sharks, was dragged into a water prison by the triad, and suffered greatly.
This Bazi chart was provided by a student from the 2007 May 1st Advanced Lecture Class, and I analyzed it live in the classroom.
Bazi Chart Analysis: The Day Stem Gui Water is born in the Wei month, resides in a ‘tomb’ position, and is not in season. It is weak and unrooted in the Earthly Branches. The Officer Star in the hour pillar has strong roots as the elemental Qi in the year, month, day, and hour. Furthermore, the Wu-Wei combination successfully transforms into Earth, closely controlling the Day Master. The Eating God in the month pillar drains the Day Master and generates wealth. A comprehensive analysis of this chart indicates an extremely weak Day Master and extremely strong Officer Star. Therefore, Resource and Friend/Companion (Bi Jie) are taken as Yong Shen (favorable elements), while output, wealth, and officer are Ji Shen (unfavorable elements). Attention should also be paid to how the Yong Shen changes with luck cycles (sui yun).
In 2006, entering the Xin Chou Dayun (major luck cycle), the Dayun and the Bazi chart formed the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments. This means transforming the ‘middle Qi’ and ‘residual Qi’ within the three branches Chou, Wei, and Xu into a single element through the form of mutual punishment. At this point, Earth in the Bazi chart combined with the Dayun became overwhelmingly strong (fan wang) and turned into a Ji Shen (unfavorable element), while Metal, Water, and Wood became Yong Shen (favorable elements). The result of this mutual punishment was that Xin Metal and Gui Water within Chou Earth, Yi Wood within Wei Earth, and Xin Metal within Xu Earth—all these weak Yong Shen—were completely punished and transformed into Ji Shen. Wu Earth, representing the Officer Star, became overwhelmingly strong (fan wang), becoming the absolutely dominant force in destiny. The Liunian (annual luck cycle) could only follow its trend. If any opposing element appeared, it would provoke its overwhelming strength and trigger a disaster.
In 2006, the Liunian (annual luck cycle) Bing Xu (Fire-Earth) once again formed the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments with the Tai Sui (annual branch). In this Dayun (major luck cycle), it cannot be interpreted as activating the Chou-Wei-Xu Three Punishments, because this Dayun has already established a strong Earth situation; it can only be understood as ‘following the strong trend’. I predicted that it would be an auspicious and smooth year for the chart owner, which was confirmed by the owner.
In 2007, the Liunian (annual luck cycle) Ding Hai (Fire-Water), the Day Master Gui Water encountered a strong root of Yang Ren (Goat Blade) in the Tai Sui. This seemed to bring the Yong Shen (favorable element) into place, but it disrupted the Day Master’s continuous state of following the trend from the original chart to the Dayun, and also provoked the strong nature of Earth. Punishment aims to control the next element. In the Si month, Gui Water was weak and without Qi. Si Hai clashed, removing the Day Master Gui Water’s strong root in the Tai Sui. Heavenly Stems Wu and Gui combined but did not transform. Gui Water had control but no generation, and conflicts occurred in both Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. At the same time, the Yong Shen Yi Wood was present in the Tai Sui, and Hai Water was in a ‘death’ position. These factors, in essence, exacerbated the imbalance in the Bazi chart. Because the Bazi chart and the Dayun had already shown an overwhelming dominance, it was not suitable for confrontation. In a situation where the Five Elements are highly unbalanced, using opposing elements as Yong Shen requires not provoking the strong element’s nature.
The classroom erupted in an uproar, with many expressing their disbelief. Many believed that the Ding Hai year should be considered auspicious because the Yong Shen (favorable element) was present, reducing the imbalance. Such a conclusion seemed unbelievable. The chart owner himself felt optimistic, believing that nothing bad would happen to him that year. Given the trust established over a long period, the students still requested me to continue the analysis according to my own perspective.
“There will definitely be a major disaster in the Ding Hai year! And it will happen in the Si month, it’s imminent!” Seeing my unwavering certainty, the chart owner also became afraid and asked if the disaster could be resolved.
I said if he had shown me this Bazi chart before the year (i.e., in 2006), it could definitely have been resolved. But now that the disaster was imminent, it was too late. It’s like volcanic energy accumulating underground. Once it reaches a certain level, it must find an outlet to release. The reason early resolution is effective is that the negative energy hadn’t accumulated to a disastrous level yet; at that time, clearing it was effective. Now, disaster is at the gates, and the negative energy has accumulated to an extent that it cannot be cleared or touched. One can only leave it to fate! There’s another apt analogy: “If you reinforce riverbanks and clear river channels during the dry season, there won’t be dam-breaking disasters during heavy rains. But if you ignore it during the dry season, when the flood comes, clearing will be too late, and reinforcing will be useless!” Therefore, those of us who study Bazi must know our own and our family’s charts thoroughly. If there’s a disaster, resolve it in advance! Waiting until the last minute is useless!
Before coming to Ezhou to study, the chart owner, presuming he had a certain level of Bazi knowledge, didn’t take my words to heart, believing nothing would happen. However, on the third day, while he was out for a walk after class, he was hit by a motorcycle, suffering a comminuted pelvic fracture. It took him three years of bed rest to recover. In 2010 and 2011, he returned to Ezhou to study as a resident student. This case study caused a great stir among the students, serving as a real and painful lesson to remind everyone: when analyzing a Bazi chart, one must carefully weigh and meticulously consider! If there’s a disaster, it must be resolved in advance!!!