What Does Tian Liang Govern?

Tian Liang's transformed qi is shelter, meaning protection and shade, which is why it is a star of longevity, master of the Parents Palace, able to 「化暴戾為祥和」. It belongs to earth, and earth is solid and weighty, matching the character of 「厚重溫謙」 and 「循直無私」. 「蔭於身福及子孫」: Tian Liang's blessing is the elder's kind of blessing; one is protected oneself and can also protect others.

The two conditions in the second half: 「遇昌曲於財宮」, Tian Liang in the Wealth Palace meeting Wen Chang and Wen Qu; 「逢太陽於福德三合」, Tian Liang in the Fortune Palace with Tai Yang in its trine or the same palace. Tian Liang and Tai Yang share a palace in Mao and You and often meet from the San Fang, which later writers call Yang Liang. The section on star combinations also has 「天梁太陽昌祿會臚傳第一名」 (see Star Combinations: Tian Liang): Tian Liang, Tai Yang, Wen Chang and a Lu star all meeting is the combination for first place in the examinations.

「臨於風憲」 is Tian Liang's occupational symbol: a censor, in charge of supervision and impeachment. Tian Liang is upright and selfless and carries an elder's authority, which suits it exactly to the role of overseer. Today that corresponds to work in supervision, auditing, legal affairs and judging or assessment.

The second half of this passage is unusual: seeing Lian Zhen with Tian Xing and Hua Ji, no disaster; meeting Huo Xing, Ling Xing, Tian Xing and Ju Men, no war; clashed by Tai Sui, a blessing instead; with Bai Hu arriving, no calamity. This is Tian Liang's nature of 'turning bad luck into good', and the Quan Shu writes it very strongly. But note the chart: under the placement rules, Tan Lang, Ju Men and Lian Zhen never enter Tian Liang's San Fang Si Zheng, so 'Tan Lang and Ju Men in the same degree' and 'seeing Lian Zhen' can only happen in luck periods. As the text notes mention, segment 5 has another version of the same sentence; the two passages are nearly duplicates, showing that this text was repeated in copying.

「命或對宮有天梁主有壽」 brings Tian Liang's nature as a longevity star down to a concrete condition: Tian Liang in the Life Palace, or in the Travel Palace shining across on the Life Palace. The 'long life' here was a very real blessing in old times, when average lifespans were short.

Read today, the line can be taken to mean that people with Tian Liang in or opposite the Life Palace have a sound constitution and room to recover when things go wrong; they are often the type who survives great trouble and grows stronger with age. This is a tendency; actual health still depends on the Health Palace and the luck periods. 「數決窮通之論」 links back to what came before: once the conditions above have been covered, hardship and success can be judged.

Master Xiyi adds two points here. First, 「善識兵法」: Tian Liang looks mild but has strategy and knows when to advance and retreat, which is the same thing as its ability to turn bad luck into good: it knows how to avoid conflict. Second, 「會太陽於福德，極品之貴」, the same condition as in segment 1, rated even higher.

「得昌曲左右加會，位至臺省」 is the condition for Tian Liang's top pattern. On a Xingge chart Tian Liang is mostly Miao or Wang in brightness and Xian only in Si, Shen and Hai; but the verse in the Tian Liang nature chapter says 「子午寅申為入廟」 (see The Nature of Tian Liang), and Shen there is the opposite of the brightness table, a discrepancy within the Quan Shu. A reader who sees Tian Liang marked Xian in Shen on the chart can know that this is the result of using the brightness table.

「戊己生人合局」: Tian Liang belongs to earth, and Wu and Ji are the earth stems, like seeking like; this fits the pattern by the Five Elements, not by the transformations. Tian Liang taking Hua Ke in Ji years is another reason. 「四殺沖破則苗而不秀」, a good shoot that never bears grain, is the most typical verdict for Tian Liang meeting malefic stars: there is shelter and there are chances, but at the crucial moment they come to nothing.

Most of the second half repeats segment 2 with small differences in wording: 'disorder in ritual and family' becomes 「敗倫亂俗」, 「剋激」 becomes 「克敵」, and 「白虎臨」 becomes 「白虎會」. When reading the two passages, one can treat segment 2 as the main text and this one as another transmitted version.

This passage judges Tian Liang by the twelve Bo Shi spirits: Zou Shu means unexpected honour, Qing Long joy in documents, Xiao Hao and Da Hao that whatever one does comes to nothing, and Bing Fu and Guan Fu are no disaster. The Bo Shi spirits are placed starting from Lu Cun, and every palace on a Xingge chart shows its spirit, so one can check directly which spirit sits in Tian Liang's palace.

On women: with lucky stars in its temple, she helps her husband and children; supported by Wen Chang, Wen Qu, Zuo Fu and You Bi, she receives honours; with Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Hua Ji clashing and breaking it, 「刑剋招非不潔」. The Quan Shu's verdict on Tian Liang in a woman's chart resembles those on Tian Tong and Tian Ji: very good when good, and very harsh when clashed and broken. The section on star combinations also has 「天梁月曜女淫貧」 (see Star Combinations: Tian Liang), saying that Tian Liang in Si or Hai with Tai Yin in Yin or Shen means licentiousness, with lighter and heavier verdicts depending on whether it is fallen; the two can be read together.

The verse calls Tian Liang the 「南斗最吉星」, names it Prolonger of Life, and makes it master star of the Parents Palace. The Quan Shu's pairing of stars with palaces runs: Zi Wei and Tai Yang govern the Career Palace, Tian Ji the Siblings Palace, Tian Tong the Fortune Palace, Wu Qu the Wealth Palace, Tian Fu and Tai Yin the Wealth and Property Palaces between them, and Tian Liang the Parents Palace. Tian Liang governs the parents because shelter is the protection of one's elders.

「田宅兄弟內，得之福自生」: Tian Liang in the Property Palace gives the shelter of property and an ancestral estate; in the Siblings Palace, the care of older brothers and sisters. Both palaces concern family and elders, consistent with Tian Liang's nature as the sheltering star.

These lines give the ideal image of Tian Liang in the Life Palace: grave, at peace, free of disaster, known for writing, harmonious with the six relations, serving at court. They confirm the prose descriptions in segments 1 and 4.

「生來無災患」 cannot be read as a life with nothing going wrong. The common later view of Tian Liang is 'turning bad luck into good', that is, it meets trouble, but can resolve it, not that it never meets trouble. So a person with Tian Liang in the Life Palace may go through a good deal, only there is often a way out. 「仕宦居王庭」 today means being respected in the public sector, large institutions or a professional field.

This passage has three combinations. 「巨門若相會，勞碌歷艱辛」: as the note explains, Ju Men never meets Tian Liang on a natal chart. 「若逢天機照，僧道享山林」: Tian Ji and Tian Liang share a palace in Chen and Xu, or meet from the San Fang; both carry an otherworldly colouring, echoing the Tian Ji chapter's 「天梁星同位，定作道與僧」.

「二星在辰戌，福壽不須論」 is Shan Yin Chao Gang (kindly shelter at court): Tian Ji and Tian Liang together in Chen or Xu. Interestingly, for the same Tian Ji and Tian Liang in Chen or Xu, one line says 'monks and Daoists enjoy the mountain forests' and the next says 'blessings and long life need no discussion'; the two outcomes stand side by side, the difference lying in how many lucky stars there are. Tian Ji is Li and Tian Liang is Miao in Chen and Xu, and the Tai Wei Fu calls it 「善蔭朝綱，仁慈之長」.