Heavenly Stems
天干 · Tiangan (Chinese characters)
RU: Тянь Гань
Tian Gan (Chinese 天干, tiāngān — "the Heavenly Stems") is a system of ten cyclical signs in Chinese metaphysics, reflecting the manifestations of Qi (氣) in its Heavenly (active) aspect.
Structure of each stem. Each stem is a combination of an element (五行) and a polarity (Yin/Yang). Ten stems = five elements × two polarities.
The Ten Heavenly Stems
- 甲 Jia — Yang Wood (大樹, big tree)
- 乙 Yi — Yin Wood (花草, flower, grass)
- 丙 Bing — Yang Fire (太陽, the Sun)
- 丁 Ding — Yin Fire (燭火, candle)
- 戊 Wu — Yang Earth (高山, mountain)
- 己 Ji — Yin Earth (田土, field)
- 庚 Geng — Yang Metal (刀劍, sword)
- 辛 Xin — Yin Metal (珠寶, jewel)
- 壬 Ren — Yang Water (大海, ocean)
- 癸 Gui — Yin Water (雨露, rain, dew)
Use in Ba Zi
The Day Master. In Ba Zi (#10), the Heavenly Stem of the day of birth (日主, rìzhǔ) — the "Day Master" — defines the personality of the person. It is the central element of the chart, against which all the others are read.
The 60-Year Ganzhi Cycle
Stems and Branches. The stems combined with the 12 Earthly Branches (地支) form the 60-year Ganzhi cycle (干支), which underlies Chinese chronology, calendar and fate analysis.
Translation note
Translate as 'Heavenly Stems' or 'tian gan'. They encode the five Wu Xing phases in yin/yang polarity, forming half the sexagenary cycle.
Term Info
Cluster Chinese
Script Chinese characters