XinggeWhat Do Tian Ku and Tian Xu Govern?
〈問天哭天虛二星所主若何？〉
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 「問天哭天虛二星所主若何？」 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 do Tian Ku and Tian Xu govern? The whole chapter is one passage of five-character rhymed lines from Master Xiyi. Tian Ku and Tian Xu are evil stars, and in the Life Palace they are most out of the ordinary. In the Parents Palace, ruin and the sale of the family fields; fallen in the Body or Life Palace, poverty, loneliness and wounds, too few of the six relations, days passed in worry, plans east and west that come to nothing. Only in the Chou, Mao and Shen palaces are they good, and meeting a wealth star there one's name spreads. When the Decade or Minor Luck meets them, 「哀哀哭斷腸」.
Tian Ku and Tian Xu are minor stars placed by the birth-year branch. The Quan Shu treats them together, and the point is in their names: 哭 (weeping) governs grief, 虛 (emptiness) governs loss.
1希夷先生答曰：哭虛為惡曜，臨命最非常。加臨父母內，破蕩賣田莊。若教身命陷，窮獨帶刑傷。六親多不足，煩惱過時光。東謀西不就，心事匆忙忙。丑卯申宮吉，遇祿名顯揚。二限若逢之，哀哀哭斷腸
TranslationMaster Xiyi answered: Tian Ku and Tian Xu are evil stars; in the Life Palace they are most out of the ordinary. If they come into the Parents Palace, the family is ruined and the fields and farms are sold. If they are fallen in the Body or Life Palace, poverty and loneliness, and wounds from punishment. The six relations are mostly lacking; time passes in worry. Plans made east and west come to nothing, and the mind is always hurried and anxious. In the Chou, Mao and Shen palaces they are lucky; meeting a wealth star, one's name spreads. If the two luck periods meet them, one weeps in grief until the heart breaks.
- 哭虛
- Tian Ku and Tian Xu, two minor stars.
- 非常
- Out of the ordinary; here, bad.
Tian Ku and Tian Xu are placed by the birth-year branch starting from Wu: Tian Ku counts backward and Tian Xu forward, so for people born in Zi or Wu years the two share a palace (see Placing Di Kong, Di Jie, Shang Shi, the Twelve Bo Shi Spirits and Minor Stars). This verse writes out the harm of the two stars in full: out of the ordinary in the Life Palace, ruin and the sale of fields in the Parents Palace, poverty, loneliness and wounds when fallen in the Body or Life Palace, too few relations, plans that fail east and west, and heartbreak when the two luck periods meet them. Weeping governs grief and emptiness governs loss; the names are the natures.
「丑卯申宮吉，遇祿名顯揚」 is the only good line, and gives the two stars' lucky positions. Tian Ku and Tian Xu carry no brightness on a Xingge chart, so judge them by the branch. Taken today, they suggest a leaning toward melancholy, being easily moved to sadness, and plans that often fall through; in a luck period, a stretch of low spirits or a bereavement. These two weigh little among the minor stars, so read them together with the main stars, the malefic stars and Hua Ji, not on their own.
Base text (Wikisource, partly in simplified Chinese)
FAQ
What do Tian Ku and Tian Xu govern in the Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu?
Master Xiyi says Tian Ku and Tian Xu are evil stars, most out of the ordinary in the Life Palace. In the Parents Palace, ruin and the sale of the family fields; fallen in the Body or Life Palace, poverty, loneliness and wounds, too few of the six relations, time passed in worry; when the Decade or Minor Luck meets them, one weeps in grief until the heart breaks.
In which palaces are Tian Ku and Tian Xu good?
The original says 「丑卯申宮吉，遇祿名顯揚」: Tian Ku and Tian Xu are good in the Chou, Mao and Shen palaces, and meeting a wealth star there one's name spreads.