The evolution of fate calculation from antiquity to modern times
c. 2700 BCE – 1000 BCE
The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (Tiangan Dizhi) are among China's oldest symbolic systems, originating from the calendrical and sacrificial needs of high antiquity. The ten Heavenly Stems (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui) and twelve Earthly Branches (Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai) were first used to record days, and later expanded to years, months, and hours. This system is deeply rooted in the ancient observation of celestial movements and the cycles of all things, becoming the foundational framework for all later Chinese metaphysical arts. Its yin-yang attributes and five-element correspondences were gradually perfected over the long centuries.
Open recordc. 1000 BCE – 200 BCE
The Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory germinated during the Shang-Zhou transition and formed a systematic theory during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The concept of yin-yang originated from natural observation of sunlight and shadow, later abstracted into two fundamental opposing yet unified forces in the universe. The Five Elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth) were initially five basic substances; in the Shangshu · Hongfan they were first endowed with philosophical meaning, and Zou Yan developed them into a cosmological model explaining historical change and the generation of all things. By the late Warring States period, the mutual generation and overcoming relationships of the Five Elements were largely complete, becoming a universal theoretical framework connecting astronomy, medicine, music, politics, and metaphysics.
Open recordc. 1000 BCE – 1 CE
The Jiazi sexagenary cycle is formed by sequentially pairing the ten Heavenly Stems with the twelve Earthly Branches to create a sixty-term repeating cycle, and is one of ancient China's most important temporal measurement systems. Stem-branch day-recording was already extensively used in Shang-dynasty oracle-bone inscriptions, while stem-branch year-recording was formally established in the Western Han period, with the Taichu calendar promulgated in the first year of Emperor Wu's Taichu era (104 BCE) serving as an important institutional milestone. The cyclical recurrence of the sixty Jiazi terms was not only used to record years but was also endowed with philosophical meaning regarding the waxing and waning of yin-yang and the circulation of the Five Elements, becoming the basic temporal unit for later metaphysical calculations of major luck periods and annual flows.
Open recordc. 200 BCE – 200 CE
During the Qin-Han transition, Chinese metaphysics began to differentiate itself from astrological divination and turtle-shell or milfoil divination, gradually forming an independent system that calculates personal destiny from birth time. During this period, numerological activities were extremely vibrant: Jing Fang introduced the Na Jia method into Zhouyi divination, and Dong Zhongshu used yin-yang and five elements to explain the resonance between Heaven and humanity, providing philosophical legitimacy for metaphysics. In the Eastern Han period, Wang Chong offered profound discussions on fatalism in Lunheng; although he did not create fortune-telling techniques, he systematically argued for the objective existence of 'ming' (destiny), laying the ideological foundation for the independent development of later metaphysics.
Open recordc. 200 CE – 600 CE
The Wei, Jin, and Northern-Southern Dynasties period was one of rapid expansion for the spirit-noble (shensha) system. During this era Buddhism and Daoism flourished, Chen-Wei apocryphal learning was popular, and metaphysical calculation became deeply integrated with astrology, auspicious-date selection, and fengshui, giving rise to hundreds of auspicious and inauspicious spirit-nobles. Concepts such as the Tianyi Noble, Wenchang, Peach Blossom, Traveling Horse, and Emptiness that are commonly seen in later periods mostly took shape or became standardized during this time. Because warfare was frequent and society unstable, people felt deep anxiety about the uncertainty of fate, and the unprecedentedly strong demand to seek good fortune and avoid harm drove the explosive growth of the spirit-noble system from simplicity to complexity.
Open recordc. 600 CE – 900 CE
The Tang dynasty was a crucial period for the systematization of metaphysical terminology. The 'Four Pillars' — the year, month, day, and hour columns — became established, marking the basic formation of the Bazi fortune-telling technique that arranges a destiny chart from birth time. Li Xuzhong is considered the central figure of this transformation; he used the three pillars (year, month, day) of stems and branches to calculate destiny, and was later revered as the founding ancestor of Bazi metaphysics. The prosperity and openness of the Tang provided fertile ground for the development of numerology; the imperial examination system stimulated scholarly attention to the question of fate, while the flourishing of Buddhism and Daoism infused metaphysics with rich religious and philosophical resources. Na Yin Five Elements was widely applied to life-destiny calculation during this period, forming a complex year-destiny system.
Open recordc. 900 CE – 1200 CE
The Song dynasty was the peak of Chinese scholarly thought, and metaphysics also underwent a transformation during this period from experiential folk art to normalized theory. The rise of Northern Song Neo-Confucianism infused metaphysics with new philosophical depth; cosmology, human nature theory, and the concept of destiny were examined within a unified rational framework. More importantly, the destiny-analysis system centered on the day stem gradually replaced the tradition centered on the year pillar, and core concepts of later Bazi metaphysics such as the Ten Gods, patterns, and useful god basically took shape during the Song. The popularization of printing enabled metaphysical classics to spread widely, and the literati class's interest in metaphysics was unprecedentedly strong, driving the standardization and academicization of metaphysical knowledge.
Open recordc. 1200 CE – 1368 CE
The Yuan dynasty was a period of continuation and deepening of the ancient-method metaphysical model. Under the special political environment of Mongol rule, Han Chinese literati found their official careers blocked, and large numbers of intellectuals turned to numerological research and making their living in society, objectively promoting the folk dissemination of metaphysics. The ancient-method model used the year-pillar Na Yin as its core, complemented by spirit-nobles, fetal origin, life palace, and other elements for judgment; the system was complex and retained strong Tang-Song vestiges. The metaphysical practice of this period displayed the characteristic of coexistence and transition between 'ancient method' and 'modern method,' with some technicians beginning to attempt to fuse the two methodologies, laying the technical foundation for the comprehensive synthesis of Ming-dynasty metaphysics.
Open recordc. 1368 CE – 1644 CE
The Ming dynasty was the golden age in which the modern-method metaphysical model was fully established and flourished. Ziping technique thoroughly triumphed over the ancient method in the Ming, and the modern-method system using the day stem as primary, the month branch as outline, pattern selection, and useful-god analysis became mainstream. The developed commodity economy and the growth of the urban citizen class in the Ming led to a surge in fortune-telling demand, giving rise to numerous metaphysical works and professional metaphysicians. The anxiety of literati under the imperial examination system about success and fame further drove the refined development of metaphysics. The metaphysical classics of this period were vast in number and mature in format, and Bazi metaphysics as an independent numerological discipline was completely finalized.
Open recordc. 1644 CE – 1840 CE
The Qing dynasty was a period of differentiation and deep transmission of metaphysical schools. Under the literary inquisition and high-pressure cultural policies, many scholars devoted their energy to evidential research and numerological studies, and metaphysics thus unexpectedly gained an environment for academic development. The most distinctive feature of Qing-dynasty metaphysics was the proliferation of schools: the pattern school represented by Ziping Zhenquan emphasized the purity of month-branch patterns and the distinction between successful and failed patterns; the strength school represented by Di Tian Sui focused on the prosperity or decline of the day stem and the selection of the useful god; and there were also the climate-harmonizing school, the spirit-noble school, the image school, and other branches. The various schools debated methodologies with one another and transmitted knowledge through master-disciple lineages, forming rich technical traditions and genealogies.
Open recordc. 1644 CE – 1911 CE (mid-to-late Qing)
In the mid-to-late Qing, metaphysics reached unprecedented heights in textual compilation and theoretical synthesis. During this period, multiple monumental works appeared that attempted to integrate the various schools and gather the comprehensive achievements of all previous eras. Metaphysicians were no longer satisfied with the narrow views of a single school, but devoted themselves to building a unified theoretical framework capable of accommodating pattern, strength, climate-harmonizing, spirit-noble, and multiple other dimensions. The influence of evidential scholarship made Qing-dynasty metaphysical works more rigorous in textual citation and more precise in conceptual analysis. At the same time, metaphysics became more closely integrated with social life, with in-depth metaphysical applications in marriage matching, date selection, naming, and fengshui.
Open recordc. 1911 CE – 1949 CE
During the Republican period, the influx of scientism brought an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy to Chinese metaphysics. Under the impact of the New Culture Movement and the May Fourth spirit, traditional numerology was fiercely criticized as 'feudal superstition.' Yet it was precisely this external pressure that prompted the metaphysical community to begin a conscious 'removing the false and preserving the true' movement: a group of metaphysicians with modern scholarly backgrounds attempted to examine traditional metaphysics with new academic standards, eliminating obviously absurd elements while preserving technically valid methods with empirical reasonableness. Yuan Shushan, Wei Qianli, and others rewrote metaphysical works in modern vernacular Chinese, introducing Western statistical and psychological concepts for explanation, attempting to find a new academic positioning for metaphysics.
Open recordc. 1912 CE – 1949 CE
During the Republican period, despite the impact of scientism on metaphysics, it maintained vigorous vitality at the level of social practice. Stories of political, business, and cultural celebrities secretly consulting metaphysicians were common, and metaphysics continued to function as psychological comfort and decision-making reference within folk belief networks. More importantly, a group of metaphysicians emerged during this period who connected past and future; they were well-versed in ancient methods yet capable of reinterpreting metaphysics with modern thinking. The publication of metaphysical works formed a small peak during the 1920s and 1930s, and major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou saw the emergence of professional metaphysical research and service institutions, with traditional metaphysics finding new space for survival within modern social structures.
Open recordc. 1950 CE – 2000 CE
In the second half of the twentieth century, the center of metaphysics shifted from mainland China to Hong Kong and Taiwan, ushering in an unprecedented era of prosperity. Hong Kong and Taiwan preserved the continuous thread of traditional Chinese culture while enjoying a relatively open social environment, allowing metaphysics to develop publicly and operate commercially within modern society. Hong Kong produced household-name metaphysical stars such as Lin Guoxiong, Li Juming, and Su Minfeng, who combined metaphysics with media, bringing metaphysical knowledge to the masses through television, newspapers, and books. Taiwan developed a more academic atmosphere for metaphysical research, with Ziwei Dou Shu and Bazi metaphysics advancing side by side, and various academic institutions and folk societies promoting the systematic organization and international dissemination of metaphysical knowledge.
Open recordc. 1980 CE – 2020 CE
After the reform and opening up, mainland China's attitude toward traditional culture gradually relaxed, and metaphysics quietly revived amid the wave of 'Zhouyi fever.' From the 1980s to the 1990s, large numbers of Hong Kong and Taiwan metaphysical books poured into the mainland, sparking the interest of a new generation of young people in metaphysics. Entering the twenty-first century, the popularization of the internet and social media provided entirely new channels for metaphysical dissemination, with content creators on platforms such as Weibo, WeChat, Zhihu, and Bilibili emerging in endless streams. At the same time, academic research on numerological culture was gradually unbanned, and some universities and research institutions began to examine the metaphysical tradition from the perspectives of history, sociology, and cultural anthropology. The revival of metaphysics on the mainland presents a complex landscape of popular fervor and official ambiguity.
Open recordc. 2020 CE – present
The maturation of artificial intelligence and big-data technology is bringing metaphysics into an entirely new 'Computational Era.' Large language models (LLMs) can instantly process vast amounts of case data, assisting metaphysicians in pattern analysis and historical case comparison; machine-learning algorithms are being used to explore statistical correlations between Bazi structures and life events; professional metaphysical software has fully automated Bazi charting, major luck periods, annual flows, and spirit-noble queries. More importantly, AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to accessing metaphysical knowledge — anyone can obtain personalized metaphysical analysis through conversation with an intelligent assistant. This generational transformation brings leaps in efficiency while also sparking profound discussions about algorithmic bias, data privacy, and the essential nature of metaphysics.
Open recordc. 2000 CE – present
Entering the twenty-first century, metaphysics has gradually become a topic of multidisciplinary cross-cutting research. Psychology researchers explain the 'accuracy' of metaphysics from cognitive mechanisms such as the Barnum effect and confirmation bias; sociologists examine the functions of metaphysics in Chinese society — from risk decision-making to psychological comfort, from social capital to cultural identity; historians dedicate themselves to clarifying the origins, textual authentication, and intellectual-historical positioning of metaphysical literature. In mainland China, metaphysics has been included in academic discussions as an important component of numerological culture within Zhouyi research courses offered at some universities. The international academic community has also begun to pay attention to Chinese metaphysics, viewing it as an important window for understanding Chinese cosmology and the concept of the body.
Open recordFuture Outlook
Looking ahead, metaphysics will seek new directions of development amid the tension between tradition and modernity, humanities and technology. On one hand, digitization and globalization will spread metaphysical knowledge with unprecedented breadth, and cross-cultural metaphysical exchange may give birth to new metaphysical forms fusing Eastern and Western wisdom; on the other hand, metaphysics faces persistent pressure for scientific validation — how to maintain its discursive space before modern scientific standards such as falsifiability and statistical significance will be a core challenge. The most likely evolutionary path is the 'stratification' of metaphysics: as a cultural symbol and psychological tool, metaphysics will continue to flourish at the popular level, while as a precise analytical technique, it may evolve in professional circles toward a more rigorous, more data-driven direction. Ultimately, the vitality of metaphysics depends on whether it can continue to respond to humanity's eternal questions about destiny, meaning, and self-knowledge.
Open record