Seasonal Adjustment: the Qiong Tong Bao Jian

BaZi looks not only at how much of each element a chart holds but also at how cold, hot, dry or damp the birth season is. A chart born in deep winter needs fire for warmth; one born in high summer needs water to cool and moisten. The stems chosen to balance the season in this way are the seasonal adjustment stems (Tiao Hou Yong Shen).

The Qiong Tong Bao Jian, also called the Lan Jiang Wang, is the classic text on seasonal adjustment; it was edited and published by Yu Chuntai in the Qing dynasty. Taking each of the ten Day Masters in turn, it explains month by month which stems are needed to balance the season and in what order.

When you cast a chart, this site lists the seasonal stems the book recommends for your Day Master and birth month and shows whether each appears in the chart: in the year, month or hour stem it is "shown" and acts more clearly; only among the hidden stems of the branches it is "hidden" and acts less directly.

Seasonal adjustment and strength

This site also estimates the Day Master's strength and favourable elements from how much of each element the chart holds. These are two different angles: strength measures quantity, seasonal adjustment measures climate. A Ren water Day Master born in winter, for example, may have plenty of water and call for draining it by strength, yet by season it still needs Bing fire to thaw.

Where the two agree, the direction is clearer; where they differ, practitioners traditionally ask whether the chart is too cold or too dry, giving seasonal adjustment more weight in winter and summer and strength more weight in spring and autumn. This is only a common rule of thumb, and schools differ.

The Qiong Tong Bao Jian on the five elements

「北方陰極而生寒，寒生水。南方陽極而生熱，熱生火。東方陽散以泄而生風，風生木。西方陰止以收而生燥，燥生金。中央陰陽交而生溫，溫生土。」

Each element matches a climate: water is cold, fire is heat, wood is wind, metal is dryness and earth is warmth. This is the root of seasonal adjustment: a chart is judged not only by how much of each element it has but by whether cold, heat, dryness and damp are in balance.

「火為太陽，性炎上。水為太陰，性潤下。木為少陽，性騰上而無所止。金為少陰，性沉下而有所止。土無常性，視四時所乘。」

Fire flames upward and water seeps down; wood climbs without stopping, while metal sinks and comes to rest. Earth has no fixed nature and depends on the season it meets. That is why the same Day Master needs different elements in different months.

「高者抑之使平，下者舉之使崇，或益其不及，或損其太過。所以貴在折衷，歸於中道。」

What is too high is lowered and what is too low is raised; what falls short is supplied and what is excessive is reduced. The aim of choosing useful stems is balance, and seasonal adjustment is no exception.

Seasonal stems for the ten Day Masters

Compiled from the Qiong Tong Bao Jian; the stems for each month are listed in order of priority. For Yi wood born in the You month and Gui water born in the Chen month the book distinguishes the two halves of the month, shown separately.

The elements through the seasons

The Qiong Tong Bao Jian describes each element as it stands in spring, summer, autumn and winter and what it needs. One line per season is quoted below with this site's explanation.

Wood

Spring

「木生於春，餘寒猶存。喜火溫暖，則無盤屈之患；藉水資扶，而有舒暢之美。」

Spring wood still carries the cold: fire lets it unfurl and water helps it thrive, so it needs both.

Summer

「夏月之木，根乾葉燥……欲得水盛而成滋潤之力，誠不可少。」

Summer wood is dry at root and leaf and needs water most; too much fire risks scorching it.

Autumn

「秋月之木，氣漸淒涼，形漸凋敗……中秋之令，果以成實，欲得剛金而修削。」

Autumn wood fades: early autumn still wants water and earth, while by mid-autumn the fruit is set and metal is needed to prune.

Winter

「冬月之木，盤屈在地，欲土多而培養，惡水盛而忘形。」

Winter wood lies curled on the ground and needs earth to bank its roots; too much water unsettles it, and fire brings welcome warmth.

Fire

Spring

「生於春月，母旺子相，勢力並行，喜木生扶，不宜過旺。」

In spring abundant wood feeds fire and its momentum is good; some wood helps, but too much makes it restless.

Summer

「夏月之火，秉令乘權，逢水制則免自焚之咎。」

Summer fire is at full power and needs water to restrain it so it does not burn itself out; more wood only adds danger.

Autumn

「秋月之火，性息體和，得木生則有復明之慶。」

Autumn fire grows quiet and brightens again with wood; heavy earth smothers its light.

Winter

「冬月之火，體絕形亡，喜木生而有救，遇水剋以為殃。」

Winter fire is at its faintest: wood rescues it, and water that quenches it is the greatest harm.

Earth

Spring

「生於春月，其勢虛浮，喜火生扶，惡木太過。」

Spring earth is loose and weak: it likes fire to support it and more earth to help, and fears too much wood weakening it further.

Summer

「夏月之土，其勢燥烈，得盛水滋潤成功。」

Summer earth is hot and dry and needs ample water before anything can grow.

Autumn

「秋月之土，子旺母衰，金多而耗盜其氣。」

In autumn metal is strong and drains the earth that produces it, so earth wants fire for warmth and more earth for help.

Winter

「冬月之土，外寒內溫，水旺財豐，金多子秀。」

Winter earth is cold outside and warm within; fire for warmth and more earth for support make it steady.

Metal

Spring

「生於春月，餘寒未盡，貴乎火氣為榮。」

Spring metal still carries the cold and is soft: it welcomes fire for warmth and thick earth for support.

Summer

「夏月之金，尤為柔弱……火多而卻為不厭，水盛而滋潤呈祥。」

Summer metal is at its softest and does best with water; a little earth helps, but too much buries it.

Autumn

「秋月之金，當權得令，火來煆煉，遂成鐘鼎之材。」

Autumn metal is at its strongest and becomes something useful only when forged by fire; water makes it bright.

Winter

「冬月之金，形寒性冷……土能制水，金體不寒。」

Winter metal is cold through and through and fears sinking in too much water; it needs earth to hold the water back and fire for warmth.

Water

Spring

「生於春月，性濫滔淫……若加土盛，則無泛漲之憂。」

Spring water tends to overflow and needs earth as an embankment; some metal to feed it is good, but not too much.

Summer

「夏月之水，執性歸源，時當涸際，欲得比肩。」

Summer water is close to drying up: it needs more water and metal to feed it, and fears strong fire.

Autumn

「秋月之水，母旺子相，表裡晶瑩，得金助則清澄。」

In autumn strong metal feeds water, which runs clear and bright; too much earth muddies it.

Winter

「冬月之水，司令當權，遇火則增暖除寒。」

Winter water is at full power: fire warms away the cold and earth keeps it from flooding.

Published tables of seasonal stems differ slightly, and the text has many copying errors; this table follows the sense of the original. The book also attaches verdicts on wealth, rank, illness and family to each month; these reflect the society of its time and are left out here.

More topics

• The Four Pillars
• The Ten Day Masters
• The Ten Gods in BaZi
• The Five Elements and Favourable Elements
• BaZi Symbolic Stars and the Twelve Stages
• Branch Interactions
• Void (Kong Wang)
• The Twelve Earthly Branches
• Structures
• Key ideas of the Di Tian Sui

This is fixed text compiled from general convention, not a reading of any individual chart and not a prediction. For important decisions, please consult qualified professionals.