XinggeWhat Do Wen Chang and Wen Qu Mean in the Annual Luck?
〈問流年昌曲若何？〉
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 「問流年昌曲若何？」 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 Wen Chang and Wen Qu mean in the Annual Luck? Its subject is exam luck. The annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu (a separate pair placed by the year's Heavenly Stem) reaching the Life Palace or a luck period govern exam degrees and honours. The answer lists the conditions under which one 「決然高中」, is certain to pass: the Decade and Minor Luck meeting the annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu, Tai Yang and the annual wealth star embracing from the trine, and the Minor Luck and Tai Sui also meeting Tian Kui and Tian Yue, Zuo Fu and You Bi, San Tai and Ba Zuo, the sun and moon, and Ke, Quan, Lu and Ma. But it also says not every one is needed: with the annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu as the main thing and two or three more lucky stars embracing, one is still sure to pass.
The verse (segments 3 to 5) calls the pair 「南北昌曲星，數中推第一」. Entering office needs Zuo Fu and You Bi; it fears Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo; fallen, it is 「苗而不秀實」, making either a clerk or a practitioner of the nine trades; a woman is often lewd; it delights in the Hai and Zi palaces.
Annual stars are not on the natal chart, so only the parts about Wen Chang and Wen Qu in the Life Palace can be checked against Your chart.
1答曰：命逢流年昌曲，為科名科甲。大小二限逢之，三合拱照太陽，又照流年祿；小限太歲逢魁鉞、左右、臺座、日月、科權祿馬三方拱照，決然高中無疑。然亦此數星俱全方為大吉，但以流年科甲為主。如命限值之，其餘吉曜，若得二三拱照，亦必高中。但二星在巳酉得地，不富即貴，只是不能耐久。
TranslationThe answer: when the Life Palace meets the annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu, it means exam honours and degrees. When the Decade and Minor Luck meet them, with Tai Yang embracing from the trine, and the annual wealth star shining on it too; and when the Minor Luck and Tai Sui meet Tian Kui and Tian Yue, Zuo Fu and You Bi, San Tai and Ba Zuo, the sun and moon, and Hua Ke, Hua Quan, Hua Lu and Tian Ma embracing from the San Fang, one is certain to pass high, without doubt. Still, only with all these stars complete is it greatly lucky; but the annual exam stars are the main thing. If the Life Palace or a luck period has them, and two or three of the other lucky stars embrace it, one is still sure to pass high. But the two stars are well placed in Si and You, where one is either rich or noble, only it cannot last long.
- 流年昌曲
- The annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu: a separate pair placed by the Heavenly Stem of the current year.
- 太歲
- Tai Sui: the palace of the current year's Earthly Branch.
- 臺座
- San Tai and Ba Zuo, two minor stars.
This question is about the annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu, not the natal pair. They are placed separately by the year's Heavenly Stem and move every year; when a Xingge chart is switched to an Annual Luck, the two appear as annual stars (see The Annual Luck). A year in which the Life Palace or the Decade or Minor Luck meets them is a year for exams and honours.
The original gives a long list of extra conditions: Tai Yang and the annual wealth star embracing from the trine, and the Minor Luck and Tai Sui also meeting Kui and Yue, Zuo and You, Tai and Zuo, the sun and moon, and Ke, Quan, Lu and Ma. Then it lowers its own bar: 「若得二三拱照，亦必高中」. This is unusually practical for the Quan Shu: the ideal set never all arrives, and two or three are enough. The last line, 「二星在巳酉得地，不富即貴，只是不能耐久」, goes back to the natal pair; Wen Chang and Wen Qu are both Miao in Si and You.
歌曰
3南北昌曲星，數中推第一，身命最為佳，諸吉恐非吉，得居人命上，桃花浪三汲，
TranslationWen Chang and Wen Qu, the stars of the Southern and Northern Dipper, are ranked first in the reckoning. They are best in the Body or Life Palace, where the other lucky stars may fall short of them. Sitting in a person's Life Palace, they are like the peach-blossom waters rising and the carp leaping the three-tiered waves,
- 南北昌曲
- The Quan Shu's chapter on how the stars produce and overcome one another counts Wen Chang as a star of both the Southern and Northern Dippers and Wen Qu as a star of the Northern Dipper; the verse calls the pair the literary stars of the two Dippers.
- 諸吉恐非吉
- The meaning is not very clear; taken literally, it seems to say the other lucky stars cannot compare.
- 桃花浪三汲
- 汲 should be its homophone meaning 'tier': the three-tiered waves of the Yu Gate. A carp that leaps them turns into a dragon, a figure for passing the exams.
Textual note: In 「桃花浪三汲」 the character 汲 (to draw water) is probably an error for its homophone meaning 'tier', as in the three-tiered waves of the Yu Gate.
「南北昌曲星」: the Quan Shu's chapter on how the stars produce and overcome one another says Wen Chang belongs to the Southern and Northern Dippers and Wen Qu to the Northern Dipper, and the verse calls the two together the literary stars of the two Dippers. Ranking them 「數中推第一」 is said from the angle of exam honours, which was what scholars of old cared about most.
In 「桃花浪三汲」 the 汲 should be its homophone meaning 'tier': the three-tiered waves of the Yu Gate, the carp leaping the Dragon Gate, the same allusion as 「桃花浪暖」 in the Wen Qu chapter. Today it reads as success in school entrance exams, civil service exams or certification exams, or as getting over a key threshold in a career.
4入仕更無虛，從容要輔弼，只恐惡殺臨，火鈴羊陀激，若還逢陷地，苗而不秀實，
Translationand entering office is all the surer. But to rise with ease needs Zuo Fu and You Bi. The only fear is evil malefic stars coming, stirred up by Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo; and if they also fall in a fallen place, they are like rice shoots that never come into ear or bear grain,
- 苗而不秀實
- Shoots that never ear or bear grain: a start with no achievement.
「從容要輔弼」: Wen Chang and Wen Qu govern exams, but to hold office with ease one also needs the help of Zuo Fu and You Bi. It is the same logic as Zi Wei needing Zuo Fu and You Bi: beyond personal learning, one needs people to help.
「火鈴羊陀激」 and 「逢陷地，苗而不秀實」: with malefic stars, or in fallen positions, Wen Chang and Wen Qu give talent that never flowers or bears fruit. The Tian Liang chapter also uses 「苗而不秀」 for the four malefic stars clashing and breaking, a figure the Quan Shu is fond of. In present-day terms: exam luck is decent, but things easily go wrong at the last step, or one earns the qualification and then finds no stage to use it on.
5不是公吏輩，九流工數術，無破宰職權，女人多淫佚，樂居亥子宮，空亡官無益。
Translationand one is either a clerk in a government office or works at the arts and numerology of the nine trades. Without breaking, one becomes a chief minister and holds power; a woman is often lewd and dissolute. They delight in the Hai and Zi palaces; meeting Kong Wang (the void), office brings no benefit.
- 九流工數術
- People who work at the various arts and numerology.
- 淫佚
- Lewd and dissolute.
This passage gives Wen Chang and Wen Qu three outcomes: when clashed and broken, 「公吏輩」 or 「九流工數術」; unbroken, 「宰職權」. Both stars are skills of writing and paperwork; at best they make a chief minister, at worst a clerk handling documents or a numerologist, and the difference is whether they are broken.
「女人多淫佚」 is the Quan Shu's usual verdict on Wen Chang and Wen Qu in a woman's chart; the reasoning was probably that the two govern talent, the arts and romance, which a society bound by ritual saw as restless. 「樂居亥子宮」: Hai and Zi are water places. On the brightness table Wen Qu is Wang in Hai, while Wen Chang is only Li in Hai and De in Zi, so the two stars are not rated alike here. 「空亡官無益」: meeting a void such as Xun Kong or Jie Kong, honours come to nothing.
Base text (Wikisource, partly in simplified Chinese)
FAQ
What are the annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu?
The annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu are a separate pair placed by the Heavenly Stem of the current year, not the Wen Chang and Wen Qu on the natal chart. The Quan Shu says that when the Life Palace or the Decade or Minor Luck meets them, they govern exam degrees and honours, which makes them a key sign for exam luck.
How does the Quan Shu tell whether someone will pass an exam?
The answer says that when the Decade and Minor Luck meet the annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu, with Tai Yang and the annual wealth star embracing from the trine, and the Minor Luck and Tai Sui also meet Tian Kui and Tian Yue, Zuo Fu and You Bi, San Tai and Ba Zuo, the sun and moon, and Ke, Quan, Lu and Ma embracing from the San Fang, one is 「決然高中無疑」. Not all are needed: with the annual Wen Chang and Wen Qu as the main thing and two or three more lucky stars embracing, one is still sure to pass.
In which palaces are Wen Chang and Wen Qu well placed?
The answer says 「二星在巳酉得地，不富即貴，只是不能耐久」: in Si and You the two stars are well placed and bring wealth or rank, but it does not last. The verse says they 「樂居亥子宮」, and that fallen they are 「苗而不秀實」.
Main stars in this section