**Bazi fortune-telling**, also known as **Four Pillars Prediction** or **ZiPingShu**, is an important part of traditional Chinese numerology. Its origin can be traced back to the ancient astronomical calendar and the doctrine of yin and yang and five elements, and gradually formed a complete set of theoretical system after a long period of development. The following is the origin and development of Bazi fortune telling:
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Background of Origin
1. **Foundation of astronomical calendar**
– The astronomical calendar in ancient China was very well developed, and the stem-and-branch dating system (Tian Gan and Di Zhi) was introduced as early as the Xia and Shang Dynasties.
– Initially used to record time (year, month, day and hour), Tian Gan Di Zi was gradually used for divination and prediction.
2. **Doctrine of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements**
– The doctrine of Yin-Yang and Five Elements (Jin, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth) is one of the core ideas of ancient Chinese philosophy.
– The ancients believed that everything in the universe was composed of yin and yang and the five elements, and that human destiny was also influenced by them.
3. **The rise of the culture of divination***
– As early as the pre-Qin period, the ancients used divination (e.g., tortoise shell divination and divination) to predict good and bad fortune.
– With the development of time, divination was gradually combined with the astronomical calendar and the five elements of yin and yang to form a more systematic doctrine of fortune-telling.
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Development
1. **Han Dynasty: The Budding Stage **
– The Han Dynasty was the budding period of fortune-telling with the emergence of divination methods based on the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (天干地支).
– There were already records of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and the Five Elements in documents such as the Huainanzi and the Records of the Grand Historian.
2. **Tang Dynasty: Initial Formation**
– Li Xuzhong of the Tang Dynasty is considered to be the founder of eight-character fortune-telling. He proposed a method of predicting destiny based on three pillars: year, month and day, which is called the “Three Pillars Method”.
– Li Xiuzhong’s theory laid the foundation for later eight-character fortune-telling.
3. **Song Dynasty: Maturity and Perfection
– In the Song Dynasty, Xu Ziping added the hour pillar to Li Xuzhong’s Three Pillars Method, forming the complete Four Pillars Method (year, month, day and hour).
– Xu Ziping’s theory was known as “Ziping Art” and became a classic system of fortune telling.
– During the Song Dynasty, there were also many works on fortune telling, such as “Yum Hai Zi Ping”, which systematically summarized the theory and method of fortune telling in eight characters.
4. **Ming and Qing Dynasties: further development**
– During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the theory of fortune-telling was further improved, and many important works on fortune-telling appeared, such as “Three Fates”, “The Marrow of Heaven”, etc. Fortune-telling gradually became widely practiced in folklore.
– Fortune telling by eight characters gradually became a widely circulated folk fortune telling technique.
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The core idea of fortune telling by eight characters
1. **Unity of Heaven and Man**
– According to fortune-telling, human destiny is closely related to the nature of heaven and earth, and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and the Five Elements reflect the operating laws of the universe.
2. **Balance of Yin and Yang**
– Horoscopes emphasize the balance of yin and yang and the Five Elements. Excessively strong or weak Five Elements will affect fate.
3. **Destiny and Effort
– Horoscope fortune-telling believes that there is a certain regularity in fate, but one’s efforts and choices can also change fate.
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The Cultural Influence of Fortune-telling by Eight Characters
1. **Folk beliefs**
– Fortune-telling by eight characters is widely spread in Chinese folklore, and many people use eight characters to predict their fortunes in marriage, career, health and other areas.
2. **Literature and Art
– The idea of fortune-telling by eight characters is reflected in classical Chinese literature, such as Dream of Red Mansions, in which there are depictions of eight characters.
3. **Philosophical Thought**
– Fortune-telling by horoscope embodies the ideas of unity of heaven and man, yin and yang, and five elements in ancient Chinese philosophy, which is an important part of traditional culture.
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Eight-character fortune telling originated from the ancient Chinese astronomical calendar and the doctrine of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, and eventually formed a complete theoretical system after sprouting in the Han Dynasty, developing in the Tang Dynasty and maturing in the Song Dynasty. It is not only a fortune-telling technique, but also an important part of traditional Chinese culture. Despite modern science’s reservations about it, Bazi fortune-telling still has a wide influence in folklore and culture.