Sources and references. The old books behind your chart.

These books are the base for our calculation rules and our guardian readings. Each links to a full text online (in Chinese).

1. 子平真詮

   Shen Xiaozhan, Qing dynasty

   Zi Ping Zhen Quan

   Our main rulebook, from about 300 years ago. Its chapters show how to read the strongest force in a chart from the birth month, including the tricky months. We test our rule against 51 of its worked charts.

2. 滴天髓

   attributed to Liu Bowen, Ming dynasty

   Di Tian Sui

   A short book in verse on the nature of each sky sign, and on when a weak core element simply goes with the strongest force in the chart (從格, a "follow" chart).

3. 滴天髓闡微

   Ren Tieqiao's commentary

   Di Tian Sui Chan Wei

   Worked examples of "follow" charts, which keep our check for them careful and rare.

4. 窮通寶鑑

   Qing dynasty edition

   Qiong Tong Bao Jian

   Season balance (調候): how the same core element needs warmth in winter and moisture in summer.

5. 三命通會

   Wan Minying, Ming dynasty

   San Ming Tong Hui

   A broad reference for how strong each element is in each season (旺相休囚死), and how sky signs and animal signs pair up or clash.

6. 淵海子平

   Song to Ming dynasty compilation

   Yuan Hai Zi Ping

   The oldest surviving handbook of the classical rules, used for names and terms.

The five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water) are older than BaZi. Their earliest listing is in the “Great Plan” chapter (洪範) of the Book of Documents, about 2,500 years old. The rules for how they feed and tame (hold back) each other were set down in the centuries after.

Each element feeds the next: Wood feeds Fire, Fire feeds Earth, Earth feeds Metal, Metal feeds Water, Water feeds Wood. Each also tames one: Wood breaks up Earth, Earth banks Water, Water puts out Fire, Fire softens Metal, Metal cuts back Wood. We use them for temperament and relationships only, never for health.

The 10 sky signs and 12 animal signs (天干地支, heavenly stems and earthly branches) combine into a cycle of 60 pairs. It has counted days without a break for more than 2,000 years and still runs the traditional Chinese calendar.

The sun's 24 seasons (節氣, solar terms), set by where the sun stands, decide where one BaZi month ends and the next begins. They follow the sun, not the moon, which is why your BaZi month may differ from your Chinese lunar month.

Alongside the classics we read contemporary teachers who brought BaZi to English-speaking readers:

• Joey Yap, author of many books on Chinese metaphysics, including BaZi profiling and the Ten Gods
• Jerry King, for practical, modern interpretation
• Chinese-language study platforms and forums that preserve and debate classical methods

Our engine turns your calendar date into the Chinese calendar using the exact times the sun enters each season, then applies the classical rules from the books above. The methodology page explains each step and lists every simplification.

Calendar tables, the sun's season times and the tables of how signs pair up or clash come from public astronomical data and traditional reference tables, checked against several independent sources.

These sources inform our method and content. No author, publisher or institution listed here endorses Elemental Fate. Classical texts are cited for transparency, as the traditional knowledge base, not as a claim of authority or certification.