preface
Scientific BaZi Reasoning: Foundation Principles
Five Elements (五行 Wǔxíng) Produce and Clash · Academy of Chinese Metaphysics
By Teacher Wenbao — Book 1
Preface
Preface: Why I Wrote This Book
Five Element (五行 Wǔxíng) production and clash — at first glance it looks simple, but look closer and you find moves hidden within moves, endlessly layered. Dangerous techniques lurk in the monthly luck cycles, lethal strikes are concealed in the shadows. If you cannot tell them apart, you will be wrong by a thousand miles. The characteristics of this style of chart reading can be summed up as: Strange, Dangerous, Fierce, Absolute!
Dear reader! This is my first and debut work. Thank you for purchasing this book, and thank you for your trust in Teacher Wenbao. I hold that trust in high regard, and I wish each of you an enriching read and an enjoyable experience.
This is, however, a very different kind of BaZi book. How so?
First of all, Teacher Wenbao would like to give everyone a word of advice — please prepare yourself mentally. Some readers may feel uncomfortable during the reading process, or may even find themselves unable to accept certain things. This is because Five Elements BaZi (五行八字 Wǔxíng Bāzì) is about to overturn traditional thinking and flip your mind completely upside down. Some of what I have written can hardly be learned in mainstream classrooms, because other teachers either do not understand these core principles themselves, or they are reluctant to bring them out and teach them, or they quietly hold something back in reserve.
As for me — I cannot bear to watch so many earnest students, in this age of technology in 2020, still using the thinking of ancient people and remaining stuck in a feudal time and space to learn BaZi. That is precisely why I am sharing these precious core principles, so that readers may come to understand more clearly and completely what modern, refined BaZi truly looks like.
The greatest feature of this book is that you will not find the difficult and obscure theories of traditional BaZi here. Listen carefully — there is no Three Harmony (三合 Sānhé), Three Meeting (三會 Sānhuì), Punishment (刑 Xíng), Clash, Break, Harm, Piercing, Combination-Transformation (合化 Héhuà), Patterns (格局 Géjú), Rooting (通根 Tōnggēn), Earthly Branch (地支 Dìzhī) Hidden Stems (地支藏干 Dìzhī Cánggān), Twelve Life Stages (十二長生 Shíèr Chángshēng), Spirit Stars (神煞 Shénshā), or anything of that sort. Only Production (生 Shēng), Clash (剋 Kè), Combination (合 Hé), and Leakage (洩 Xiè) are retained — along with Strong and Weak Day Master (日主 Rìzhǔ), Primary Useful God (用神 Yòngshén) (主導用神 Zhǔdǎo Yòngshén), Protective Useful God (用神 Yòngshén) (保護用神 Bǎohù Yòngshén), Healing Useful God (用神 Yòngshén) (治療用神 Zhìliáo Yòngshén), Seasonal Adjustment (調候 Tiáohòu), and the simple logic of Five Elements (五行 Wǔxíng) across the four seasons. Through Five Element (五行 Wǔxíng) flow reasoning and thinking, event prediction becomes accurate. The monthly qi flow (流月氣法 liúyuè qìfǎ) method and the application of Combination represent the highest refinement of chart reading — but the key point is this: "In the world of the five arts, there are no permanent masters. Nothing can be predicted at one hundred percent."
Please, never call me a Grand Master. A destiny consultant is also an ordinary person. Publishing this book is purely a sharing of personal insights and experience — nothing more than that.
Friends who have studied traditional BaZi, upon reading this, may be utterly dumbfounded. You might immediately scoff at me: "Teacher, you are talking nonsense! Studying BaZi without discussing Earthly Branch (地支 Dìzhī) Hidden Stems (地支藏干 Dìzhī Cánggān), Three Harmony (三合 Sānhé), or Three Meeting (三會 Sānhuì) — how on earth does one read a chart? This is pure heterodoxy!"
I apologize! You may set this book aside at any time, because it was never intended to be a work of traditional destiny study — in fact, it deliberately goes in the opposite direction. You might then also ask: "Where does the framework of Five Elements BaZi (五行八字 Wǔxíng Bāzì) come from?" OK, let me put it this way: if BaZi were a history, the traditional path would certainly be the correct and orthodox one. But then, what does the saying "the student surpasses the teacher" actually signify?
It means breaking through tradition! Ancient texts can indeed help many people learn BaZi, but that does not mean one will necessarily learn BaZi well from them. Five Elements BaZi (五行八字 Wǔxíng Bāzì), however, is not history — it is a living science of applied logic. If it could not achieve a seventy percent accuracy rate in predicting events, this book would never have been born. Conversely, if one wanted to achieve one hundred percent accuracy like a divine oracle, one absolutely should not be publishing at all — because that is a fantasy. Even Liu Bowen has made mistakes in his calculations, let alone ordinary mortals.
I am sure you have read the classical dictum from the ancient texts: "When the Hurting Officer (傷官 Shāngguān) sees the Officer Star (官星 Guānxīng), disaster comes from a hundred directions." In truth, this saying is not necessarily a bad thing. The reason lies in the BaZi's taiji point (太極點 tàijí diǎn). The same combination of characters, because the question being asked differs, means that as soon as the taiji point (太極點 tàijí diǎn) changes, the meaning will be entirely different.
For example: suppose someone is concerned about their career luck. The fluctuations in this work may be great, because the Officer Star (官星 Guānxīng) has been damaged by the Hurting Officer (傷官 Shāngguān), and friction with superiors comes easily — this would indeed fall into a very unfavorable situation. But if the concern is about a lawsuit, it becomes a good thing instead — it means the lawsuit is about to be won. And if the question is about financial luck, it means this person is on the verge of breaking through difficulties and making money. BaZi does not mean the same combination of characters will produce the same events — it must be reasoned from the perspective of the events the subject actually cares about. This is also the reason why people with identical BaZi charts have different destinies.
The authors of most classical destiny texts were scholar-officials. Because of their status and the environment they inhabited, the scope of their writing was largely confined to the dynamics of official life. But ancient people and modern people think very differently. In ancient times, "Hurting Officer (傷官 Shāngguān) seeing the Officer" was outright sedition — rebelling against the imperial court — and in the eyes of officials, it was naturally a terrible thing, hence "disaster from a hundred directions."
In truth, many concepts in classical texts require continuous correction by modern people. In the new era, every walk of life follows its own path. Becoming a government official is not modern people's only option. The world is wide. When you understand the principles of the Ten Gods (十神 Shí Shén), you can apply BaZi well, establish correct concepts in destiny study, and thereby change your fate.
"Hurting Officer (傷官 Shāngguān) seeing the Officer, disaster from a hundred directions" — in the feudal society of antiquity, the outcome was absolutely not going to be good. But applied to the technological society of today, this simply does not hold. People who break through authority and official structures often solve problems, break records, create value, become pillars of society, and even become wealthy. So BaZi must also advance with the times — breaking the old and establishing the new is what allows one to stand apart from the crowd.
I might also put it this way: "Hurting Officer (傷官 Shāngguān) seeing the Officer — settle disputes evenly, break through difficult situations." One cannot only see the flaws in a thing while ignoring its strengths. This is an era where yin and yang coexist — good and bad are two sides of the same coin. Sometimes the facts are more persuasive than any argument.
Having entered this field twenty years ago and continuously accumulating hands-on experience from clients, I have in recent years also successfully verified the core principles of Five Elements BaZi (五行八字 Wǔxíng Bāzì). The version has long since been upgraded to 1.6, even reaching 1.7. Five Elements BaZi (五行八字 Wǔxíng Bāzì) is also a science of time — and since it demands scientific rigor, one absolutely cannot be complacent and self-satisfied. One must be bold in innovation rather than falling into the rut of mechanical chart-matching. Year after year, I continue to think and refine, to perceive and discover more Ten God (十神 Shí Shén) archetypes (人生縮影 rénshēng suōyǐng) from daily life.
If you are willing to accept new ideas and enjoy reasoning and deduction — trust me, you will absolutely fall in love with Five Elements BaZi (五行八字 Wǔxíng Bāzì). At the same time, Teacher Wenbao also wishes to remind you: although this system of BaZi is simple and easy to learn, it is very difficult to truly master. Only through continuous real-world practice and drilling can one advance further in this discipline.
Open this book, and you can quickly learn useful chart-reading techniques. It may be a little brain-burning to read, but it is extremely practical! If it conflicts with the ideas you have previously learned, please first set aside the traditional baggage, temporarily start fresh from scratch, and quietly enjoy the great banquet that is Five Elements BaZi (五行八字 Wǔxíng Bāzì)!
The first book discusses the Foundation Principles. Because this is the Basic level, there are not many examples in the text (more cases appear in the second book, Advanced Principles). Nevertheless, a craftsman must first sharpen his tools before he can do good work — in learning anything, one must first get one's stance solid and steady. BaZi is no exception. If you have not properly understood yin-yang production and clash, your chart reading will descend into chaotic generation and clashing.
The structure of this book is divided into three major volumes. If you already have some foundation, you may select the chapters you don't understand or find interesting to read and study.
Feature of This Book
This book does not involve the difficult and obscure theories of traditional BaZi. There is no Three Harmony (三合 Sānhé), Three Meeting (三會 Sānhuì), Clash, Break, Harm, Piercing, Combination-Transformation (合化 Héhuà), Patterns (格局 Géjú), Rooting (通根 Tōnggēn), Earthly Branch (地支 Dìzhī) Hidden Stems (地支藏干 Dìzhī Cánggān), Twelve Life Stages (十二長生 Shíèr Chángshēng), Spirit Stars (神煞 Shénshā), or anything of that sort. Only Production (生 Shēng), Clash (剋 Kè), Combination (合 Hé), and Leakage (洩 Xiè) are retained. Through Five Element (五行 Wǔxíng) flow reasoning and thinking, event prediction becomes accurate.
You may select whichever chapters you don't understand or find interesting to read and study.
The legendary baseball star "Ichiro Suzuki" — I am sure everyone is familiar with him. This great star and the author share the same year, month, and day of birth (which reveals something about my age) — and yet our fates are worlds apart. Ha! You might say: "Of course! If the birth hour is different, how could the fate possibly be the same?" Correct! Yet even with the same birth hour, it would still be impossible to have the same destiny.
Life always has what one might call "firsts"...
The first day of school, the first time going abroad, the first time falling in love, the first marriage, the first time becoming a parent, the first time publishing a book...
I remember one sweltering summer day in 2017 — while taking a shower, a sudden flash of inspiration struck: "What if I made some YouTube teaching videos?" At the time I shared this idea with my wife, and to my surprise she flatly refused. The reason was simple: why share twenty years of knowledge and experience? You don't owe anyone anything!
But I persisted in taking that first step (just as I persisted in publishing this book). And so on July 24, 2017, I uploaded the very first YouTube video: "Using BaZi to Observe the Growth and Decline of the 2017 Stock Market." To be blunt, using BaZi to watch the rise and fall of the stock market is not objective — the market changes in an instant. Never think about using BaZi to make money in stocks.
What is remarkable, however, is that from 2017, once the Taiwan stock index climbed above ten thousand points, it never fell below ten thousand points again — by the end of 2019 it was even approaching a 29-year high. At this point you might scoff again: "Teacher, using BaZi to predict the stock market is simply inaccurate!" True enough! Even weather forecasts can be wrong — how could the rise and fall of stocks ever be one hundred percent predictable?
A month ago, while browsing online, I happened to come across an article about "Predestined Fate" that I found very worth referencing. Teacher Wenbao shares this fine piece of writing with readers here.
What people call "predestined fate" is actually a surface area, not a single point. Within this surface, the position of each point — and the space above, below, left, and right of it — can actually be shifted through human effort. Destiny has its heaven-ordained aspect, but it is also in our own hands. Feng shui, one's name, accumulating virtue, doing good deeds, learning, and benefactors — all of these have the power to change a person's life. Although the framework of one's innate destiny chart is not easily broken, as long as the right direction is found, one can absolutely turn everything around and achieve fulfillment. Do not easily give up on life. Heaven rewards the diligent and the determined. Destiny is fixed — yet also not fully fixed!
On the verge of turning fifty — the age of "knowing heaven's mandate" — I made up my mind to tell myself I could no longer afford to be a loser. When the good friends around me all clicked "Like" and supported me in publishing this book, honestly, my heart was filled with anxiety. I was deeply afraid of people finding out just how low my natural gifts truly are. A few years ago I was still hesitating at the starting line, unsure how to take the first step, worrying about how many obstacles lay ahead. But as long as one is willing to take that first step — there is no fear of not having the chance to walk the road toward one's dreams.
Four Small Bowls of Chicken Soup:
"One small step a day, one big step a year, one milestone in ten years."
"Only by experiencing a certain kind of hardship does one earn the right to a certain kind of life."
"In every corner of the world, there is someone struggling just like you."
"Wherever your time is spent, one day the opportunity will surely appear."
Self-Introduction: From Skeptic to Believer
Comparison has only ever one opponent — and that is yourself, or the you of the past. Not others, not peers in the same industry, and certainly not competitors.
The act of giving expands one's entire life experience because nothing is more fulfilling than one's capacity to give.
In this mortal world, there are no true divine predictors — divine prediction exists only in the realm beyond. The true skill lies in how one helps the subject overcome difficulties and learns to master their own emotions. Often it is at the turning points of life that one can walk out onto a broad and open road — elevating the future self, seizing opportunities and avoiding crises.
— Teacher Wenbao
End of Preface