典藏书目

6. The Five Days (Cang, Dan, ?, Xuan, Su), the Qi of Heaven and Heavenly Stems combine and transform to descend; Jia-Ji transform into Earth, Bing-Xin into Water, Ding-Ren into Wood, Yi-Geng into Metal, Wu-Gui into Fire—these are the Five Moving Operations (Ke Yun). They rotate starting from the Central Operation (Zhong Yun) according to the generation cycle of the Five Elements. Yin is "Shao" (Minor/Deficient): Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, Gui; Yang is "Tai" (Major/Excessive): Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, Ren.

[Annotation] The "Five Days" refer to: Cang Tian (Azure Heaven), whose color is green; Dan Tian (Cinnabar Heaven), whose color is red; ? Tian (likely Huang Tian/Yellow Heaven in context), whose color is yellow; Xuan Tian (Dark Heaven), whose color is black; and Su Tian (White Heaven), whose color is white. The Qi of these heavens corresponds to the Five Elements: the Qi of Cang Tian is Wood; the Qi of Dan Tian is Fire; the Qi of ? Tian is Earth; the Qi of Xuan Tian is Water; and the Qi of Su Tian is Metal. The Heavenly Stems are Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui.

In ancient times, the Sages looked up at the Five Heavens and their Five Qis. They observed that the Wood Qi of Cang Tian descended upon the direction of Ding and Ren, thus recognizing that Ding and Ren combine and transform to generate the Wood Operation. They observed that the Fire Qi of Dan Tian descended upon the direction of Wu and Gui, thus recognizing that Wu and Gui combine and transform to generate the Fire Operation. They observed that the Earth Qi of ? Tian descended upon the direction of Jia and Ji, thus recognizing that Jia and Ji combine and transform to generate the Earth Operation. They observed that the Water Qi of Xuan Tian descended upon the direction of Bing and Xin, thus recognizing that Bing and Xin combine and transform to generate the Water Operation. They observed that the Metal Qi of Su Tian descended upon the direction of Yi and Geng, thus recognizing that Yi and Geng combine and transform to generate the Metal Operation. This describes how the combination and transformation of the Qi of Heaven and the Heavenly Stems descend to govern the Five Moving Operations within the five stages of the Main Operation (Zhu Yun).

The sequence begins with the operation generated by the combination, which serves as the First Operation (Chu Yun) for the Central Operation of that year. Following the generation cycle of the Five Elements, the subsequent operations are taken in order. For example, in years of Jia or Ji, the Earth Operation governs, serving as the First Operation. Earth generates Metal, which becomes the Second Operation; Metal generates Water, which becomes the Third Operation; Water generates Wood, which becomes the Fourth Operation; and Wood generates Fire, which becomes the Fifth Operation. The remaining four operations follow this pattern based on the Earth Operation.

Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, and Gui belong to the Yin Stems, representing the five Yin years, which correspond to the "Shao" (Minor/Deficient) operations. Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, and Ren belong to the Yang Stems, representing the five Yang years, which correspond to the "Tai" (Major/Excessive) operations (Figure 9).