XinggeWhat Does Hua Ji Govern?
〈問化忌星所主若何？〉
The Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu, Volume 1: Rhapsodies, questions on the stars, and chart patterns · Original text with translation
Introduction
This is the question 「問化忌星所主若何？」 in the Zhu Xing Wen Da Lun (Questions and Answers on the Stars) in volume one of the Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu: what does Hua Ji (the Transformation of Obstruction) govern? The chapter is two passages from Master Xiyi. Hua Ji is 「多管之神」, the spirit that meddles in much. Guarding the Body or Life Palace, it means a life of setbacks; in a Minor Luck, a year of shortfall; in a Decade Luck, ten years of regret; when the two lucks and Tai Sui arrive together, one is sure to stumble. Scholars do not last, soldiers come to no harm even with official trouble and quarrels, and merchants and craftsmen are all at a disadvantage. The second passage says that even meeting Zi Wei and Tian Fu, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, Zuo Fu and You Bi, and Ke, Quan and Lu, if Hua Ji shares the palace and the four malefic stars are there too, wealth gained is no good and honours are not achieved; meeting only the four malefic stars, 耗使 and Di Jie and Di Kong, one rushes about and carries illness. The last line, 「處事只求七分」, is the Quan Shu's advice on how to live with Hua Ji.
1希夷先生答曰：忌為多管之神。守身命一生不順，小限逢之一年不足，大限十年悔吝。二限太歲交臨，斷然蹭蹬。文人不耐久，武人縱有官災口舌不妨。雖商賈技藝人，皆不宜利。
TranslationMaster Xiyi answered: Hua Ji is the spirit that meddles in much. Guarding the Body or Life Palace, it means a whole life of setbacks; met in a Minor Luck, a year of shortfall; in a Decade Luck, ten years of regret and difficulty. When the two luck periods and Tai Sui arrive together, one is sure to stumble and fail. A scholar does not last; a soldier, even with official trouble and quarrels, comes to no harm. Even merchants and craftsmen all find it unprofitable.
- 多管之神
- The spirit that meddles in much: one that holds back and hampers at every turn; literally it can also be read as meddling in others' business.
- 悔吝
- Regret and difficulty.
- 蹭蹬
- Frustrated, out of luck.
Hua Ji is 「多管之神」: meddling in much means being held back everywhere; the note gives both readings. The verdicts in this passage are ordered by length of time: guarding the Body or Life Palace, a life of setbacks; a Minor Luck, a year of shortfall; a Decade Luck, ten years of regret; the two lucks and Tai Sui together, a sure stumble. Hua Ji's effect follows the time layer it sits in: natal Hua Ji is a lifelong theme, in a Decade Luck a ten-year one, in an Annual Luck a one-year one; see Hua Ji.
「文人不耐久，武人縱有官災口舌不妨」: the same Hua Ji cuts a scholar's career short but does a soldier no harm, probably because a soldier makes his living amid conflict anyway. The Nature of the Four Transformations lists several exceptions after the same passage: Tian Tong as Hua Ji in Xu, for people born in Ding years meeting lucky stars; Ju Men as Hua Ji in Chen, which is actually good for people born in Xin years; Tai Yang as Hua Ji from Yin to Wu and Tai Yin as Hua Ji from You to Zi are all judged as blessings. The first two do not fit the year-stem table, though: in Ding years Tian Tong becomes Hua Quan (its Hua Ji comes in Geng years), and in Xin years Ju Men becomes Hua Lu (its Hua Ji comes only in Ding years). They match the Gu Sui Fu's 「天同戌宮為反背，丁人化吉主大貴」 (Gu Sui Fu) and 「巨門辰戌為陷地，辛人化吉祿崢嶸」 (Gu Sui Fu), where a good transformation lifts a weakly placed star (Tian Tong in Xu is Ping, Ju Men in Chen is Xian), and were probably copied into the Hua Ji passage by mistake; the chart follows the table. The sun and moon cases do fit it (Tai Yang becomes Hua Ji in Jia years, Tai Yin in Yi years). So Hua Ji is not bad across the board; it depends on the star, the palace and the brightness.
2如會紫府、昌曲、左右、科權祿，與忌同宮又兼四殺共處，即發財亦不佳，功名亦不成就。如單逢四殺、耗使、劫空，主奔波帶疾。僧道流移還俗。處事只求七分。
TranslationIf it meets Zi Wei and Tian Fu, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, Zuo Fu and You Bi, and Hua Ke, Hua Quan and Hua Lu, but shares a palace with Hua Ji and has the four malefic stars there too, then even the wealth gained is no good, and honours are not achieved. If it meets only the four malefic stars, Tian Shang (waste), Tian Shi, Di Jie and Di Kong, it means rushing about and carrying illness. Monks and Daoist priests wander and return to lay life. In handling affairs, aim only for seventy per cent.
- 耗使
- 耗 is Tian Shang (the Quan Shu calls Tian Shang 「上天虛耗之神」) and 使 is Tian Shi, the same pair as 傷使 elsewhere; some read 耗 as Da Hao or Po Jun.
- 還俗
- A monk or priest returning to lay life.
This passage is about Hua Ji and the lucky stars: even meeting Zi Wei and Tian Fu, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, Zuo Fu and You Bi, and Ke, Quan and Lu, as long as Hua Ji shares the palace and the four malefic stars are there, 「即發財亦不佳，功名亦不成就」. The Nature of the Four Transformations puts it more concretely: 「作事進退，橫發橫破，始終不得久遠，即係發不住財是也」. Hua Ji keeps the gains of the lucky stars from staying.
「單逢四殺、耗使、劫空，主奔波帶疾」 is the case with no lucky stars at all. The last line, 「處事只求七分」, is a rare piece of practical advice in the Quan Shu: a person with Hua Ji in the chart should not ask for everything to be full, and should leave thirty per cent of margin. It still reads as useful: Hua Ji marks the area where one tends to cling and get stuck, and lowering expectations there actually makes things go more smoothly. On a Xingge chart, the cell with the birth-year Hua Ji mark is where this seventy-per-cent attitude is needed most.
Base text (Wikisource, partly in simplified Chinese)
FAQ
What does Hua Ji govern in the Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu?
Master Xiyi says Hua Ji is the spirit that meddles in much. Guarding the Body or Life Palace, it means a life of setbacks; met in a Minor Luck, a year of shortfall; in a Decade Luck, ten years of regret; when the Decade and Minor Luck and Tai Sui arrive together, one is sure to stumble and fail.
Can lucky stars resolve Hua Ji?
The original says that even meeting Zi Wei and Tian Fu, Wen Chang and Wen Qu, Zuo Fu and You Bi, and Ke, Quan and Lu, if Hua Ji shares the palace and the four malefic stars are there as well, 「即發財亦不佳，功名亦不成就」. Meeting only the four malefic stars, 耗使 and Di Jie and Di Kong, one rushes about and carries illness.
What does 'aim for seventy per cent' mean?
It is the last line of the Hua Ji chapter: a person whose chart meets Hua Ji should aim for things to be seventy per cent full in whatever they do, and not ask for perfection.