XinggeWhat Do Tian Shang and Tian Shi Govern?
〈問天傷天使所主若何？〉
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 「問天傷天使所主若何？」 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 Shang and Tian Shi govern? Tian Shang is 「上天虛耗之神」, the spirit of emptiness and waste in heaven, and Tian Shi is 「上天傳使之神」, heaven's messenger spirit. The two have fixed places on the chart, Tian Shang in the Friends Palace and Tian Shi in the Health Palace, so the Quan Shu speaks only of luck periods: when Tai Sui or the Decade or Minor Luck reaches them, whether or not they are well placed, many lucky stars make it a blessing and the misfortune lighter; without lucky stars, and meeting Ju Men, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing, Hua Ji or Tian Ji, that year is sure to bring official trouble, death and ruin. Two lines of seven characters close the chapter with two allusions: Confucius running out of food in Chen, and the rich Shi Chong ruined.
1希夷先生答曰：天傷乃上天虛耗之神，天使乃上天傳使之神。太歲二限逢之不問得地否？只要吉多為福其禍稍輕，如無吉，值巨門、羊陀、火鈴、忌、天機，其年必主官災，喪亡破敗。
TranslationMaster Xiyi answered: Tian Shang is the spirit of emptiness and waste in heaven; Tian Shi is heaven's messenger spirit. When Tai Sui or the two luck periods meet them, do not ask whether they are well placed: so long as lucky stars are many, it is a blessing and the misfortune is somewhat lighter. If there are no lucky stars, and they meet Ju Men, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing, Hua Ji or Tian Ji, that year is sure to bring official trouble, death and ruin.
- 天傷
- Tian Shang, a minor star, always in the Friends Palace.
- 天使
- Tian Shi, a minor star, always in the Health Palace.
- 太歲
- Tai Sui: the palace of the current year's Earthly Branch.
Tian Shang and Tian Shi have fixed places: Tian Shang is always in the Friends Palace and Tian Shi always in the Health Palace, as the placement rhyme makes plain (see Placing Di Kong, Di Jie, Shang Shi, the Twelve Bo Shi Spirits and Minor Stars). So the two stars do not differ from one natal chart to another; all their effect lies in the luck periods: when the Decade Luck, the Minor Luck or Tai Sui reaches those two cells, that is 'meeting Shang and Shi'.
Another structural fact: the Health and Friends Palaces sit exactly on either side of the Travel Palace, so Tian Shang and Tian Shi always flank the Travel Palace. The placement rhyme also says 「身與歲限夾在傷使中間，謂之加夾地」. The original's method: in a year that meets Tian Shang or Tian Shi, many lucky stars mean no trouble; no lucky stars plus Ju Men, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing, Hua Ji or Tian Ji mean official trouble, death and ruin. The condition is explicit; reaching Tian Shang or Tian Shi is not bad in itself.
2限至大耗號天傷，夫子在陳也絕糧，天使限臨人共忌，石崇巨富破家亡。
TranslationWhen the luck reaches Da Hao, it is called Tian Shang: even the Master, in Chen, ran out of grain. When Tian Shi comes upon the luck, everyone dreads it: even Shi Chong, with his vast wealth, saw his house ruined and himself dead.
- 夫子在陳也絕糧
- The Analects records that when Confucius was travelling in the state of Chen his food ran out, and his followers grew so hungry they could not stand.
- 石崇
- Shi Chong, a man of enormous wealth in the Western Jin, later executed and his property confiscated.
This verse uses two historical figures: Confucius running out of food in Chen, and Shi Chong ruined and killed. Note that the Quan Shu does not attribute these stories consistently. The Gu Sui Fu says 「夫子絕糧限到天傷之內」 (Gu Sui Fu), which agrees with this chapter, but the appended discussion in The Nature of Ling Xing says 「劫空二限最乖張，夫子在陳也絕糧」, giving it to Di Kong and Di Jie. Shi Chong is given to Tian Shi here, yet the Gu Sui Fu says 「石崇豪富限行劫地以亡家」, giving him to Di Jie.
「限至大耗號天傷」 is also a problem: Da Hao is one of the twelve Bo Shi spirits or the twelve annual spirits, while Tian Shang is a minor star fixed in the Friends Palace. The two are different to begin with, and here they are equated. It shows these rhymes in the Quan Shu were pieced together from different sources; it is enough to take away the general direction, that Tian Shang governs waste and Tian Shi carries disaster.
Base text (Wikisource, partly in simplified Chinese)
FAQ
What kind of stars are Tian Shang and Tian Shi?
The Quan Shu says Tian Shang is the spirit of emptiness and waste in heaven, and Tian Shi is heaven's messenger spirit. By the placement rules Tian Shang is always in the Friends Palace and Tian Shi always in the Health Palace, so they are used mainly to judge luck periods that reach these two palaces.
What happens when a luck period meets Tian Shang and Tian Shi?
Master Xiyi says that when Tai Sui or the Decade or Minor Luck meets them, many lucky stars make it a blessing and the misfortune lighter; without lucky stars, and meeting Ju Men, Qing Yang and Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Ling Xing, Hua Ji or Tian Ji, that year is sure to bring official trouble, death and ruin.
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