XinggeWhat Does You Bi Govern?
〈問右弼所主若何？〉
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 You Bi question 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: 「問右弼所主若何？」, what does You Bi govern? The first half is a passage from Master Xiyi: You Bi guarding the Body or Life Palace makes one skilled with ink and brush, and in the same palace as Zi Wei and Tian Fu it brings both wealth and office; a woman is virtuous and has spirit, and even with the four malefic stars clashing and breaking it she is not base. The second half is a verse on Zuo Fu and You Bi together (segments 3 to 6). Its main points:
- Zuo Fu and You Bi are the 'senior ministers' who assist Zi Wei; 「失君為無用」, and beside Zi Wei 「爵祿不須論」.
- In the Spouse Palace, 「主人定二婚」 and 「決定兩妻成」.
- Together with Lian Zhen, 「惡賤遭鉗髡」; together with 刑囚, 「遭傷作盜賊」.
鉗髡 is an old punishment, the Yu Gate is the Dragon Gate the carp leaps, and 刑囚 here means Tian Xing and Lian Zhen.
1希夷先生答曰：右弼帝極主宰之星，守身命文墨精通。紫府吉星同垣，財官雙美，文武雙全。羊陀火忌沖破，下局斷之。女人賢良有志，縱四殺沖破，不為下賤，僧道清閑。
TranslationMaster Xiyi answered: You Bi is the star that serves the emperor's pole and governs. Guarding the Body or Life Palace, it makes one skilled with ink and brush. In the same palace as Zi Wei, Tian Fu and lucky stars, wealth and office are both fine, and one is able in both civil and military affairs. Clashed and broken by Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Hua Ji, it is judged a low pattern. A woman is virtuous and has spirit; even if the four malefic stars clash and break it, she is not base. Monks and Daoist priests have a quiet life.
- 同垣
- In the same palace.
- 下局
- A low-grade pattern.
You Bi holds the same position as Zuo Fu: both assist 「帝極主宰之星」. The difference is in the portrait of character. The Zuo Fu chapter says 「敦厚慷慨風流」; this one says 「文墨精通」 and 「女人賢良有志」. Later writers therefore read Zuo Fu as help out in the open and You Bi as quieter help.
「縱四殺沖破，不為下賤」 is, as in the Wen Chang chapter, the Quan Shu's guaranteed floor for You Bi. 「紫府吉星同垣，財官雙美」: You Bi is best in the same palace as Zi Wei or Tian Fu. You Bi starts from Xu for the first month and counts backward, so it is on every chart; the two stars move one forward and one backward, mirrored around the Chou and Wei axis, and for people born in the fourth or tenth month they share a palace in Wei or Chou.
歌曰
3左輔原屬土，右弼水為根，失君為無用，三合宜見君，若在紫微位，爵祿不須論，
TranslationZuo Fu by origin belongs to earth; You Bi has water as its root. Losing the ruler (Zi Wei), they are of no use; in the trine they should see the ruler. If they are in Zi Wei's position, rank and income need no discussion.
- 君
- The ruler: Zi Wei.
「左輔原屬土，右弼水為根」: the two stars differ in element but do the same job. 「失君為無用，三合宜見君」 takes the bond between them and Zi Wei as far as it goes: without Zi Wei, Zuo Fu and You Bi are useless. It mirrors exactly the Zi Wei chapter's 「無輔弼同行則為孤君」 (see What Does Zi Wei Govern?).
「若在紫微位，爵祿不須論」 is the Jun Chen Qing Hui (ruler and ministers gathered) pattern: Zi Wei with Zuo Fu and You Bi in the same palace or meeting from the San Fang. A modern reading is having both position and help: authority in an organisation and a reliable team behind it.
4若在夫妻位，主人定二婚，若與廉貞並，惡賤遭鉗髡，輔弼為上相，輔佐紫微星，
TranslationIf they are in the Spouse Palace, the person is sure to marry twice. If together with Lian Zhen, he is evil and base and suffers the iron collar and the shaved head. Zuo Fu and You Bi are the senior ministers who assist the Zi Wei star.
- 鉗髡
- Old punishments: an iron ring locked around the neck (鉗) and shaving the head (髡).
- 上相
- The first among ministers.
「若在夫妻位，主人定二婚」: Zuo Fu and You Bi are helpers, and in the Spouse Palace they were read as 'one more person', that is, two marriages. Yet the Quan Shu's Spouse Palace chapter says 「左輔右弼諧老」, growing old together in harmony, the opposite verdict. A reasonable way to reconcile them: Zuo Fu and You Bi in the Spouse Palace mean the spouse is a help, and also that a third party easily enters the marriage; good or bad depends on the other stars.
「若與廉貞並，惡賤遭鉗髡」: the iron collar and shaved head were old punishments, and here again Lian Zhen drags a lucky star toward prison, in the same series as Wen Qu with Lian Zhen making a clerk and Zi Wei with the prisoner making a petty clerk. The last line, 「輔弼為上相，輔佐紫微星」, restates the two stars' role.
5喜居日月側，文人遇禹門，倘居閑位上，無爵更無名，妻宮遇此宿，決定兩妻成，
TranslationThey like to sit beside the sun and moon (Tai Yang and Tai Yin); a scholar then meets the Yu Gate. If they sit in an idle position, there is no rank and no name. If the wife's palace meets this star, he is sure to have two wives.
- 禹門
- The Yu Gate, or Dragon Gate: a carp that leaps it becomes a dragon, a figure for passing the exams.
- 閑位
- An idle position, where a star has no strength.
「喜居日月側」: Zuo Fu and You Bi beside Tai Yang and Tai Yin are assisting the sun and moon, and for a scholar this is like the carp meeting the Dragon Gate. 「倘居閑位上，無爵更無名」: in an idle palace with no main star to attach to, they cannot do their work, which shows again that these are stars that depend on others.
「妻宮遇此宿，決定兩妻成」 repeats the last segment's 'two marriages', so the verdict is quite fixed in the Quan Shu, even though the Spouse Palace chapter speaks of growing old together. Men in old China could have a wife and concubines, so 'two wives' may also mean a wife and a concubine; read now, it suggests two important relationships in one's love life, or a close supporter besides the spouse.
6若與刑囚處，遭傷作盜賊。
TranslationIf they are with Tian Xing and Lian Zhen (the punisher and the prisoner), one is hurt and becomes a robber or thief.
- 刑囚
- Tian Xing and Lian Zhen (whose transformed qi is the prisoner).
「若與刑囚處，遭傷作盜賊」: 刑 is Tian Xing and 囚 is Lian Zhen. Zuo Fu and You Bi are meant to help, and with Tian Xing and Lian Zhen they become accomplices. This is a very typical piece of Quan Shu logic: whether an assisting star is good or bad depends on whom it assists.
Today the line can be taken as help nearby being put to improper use, or getting into legal trouble by following the wrong people. On a Xingge chart, if Zuo Fu or You Bi shares a palace with Lian Zhen, check whether Tian Xing is in the same cell.
Base text (Wikisource, partly in simplified Chinese)
FAQ
What does You Bi govern in the Complete Book of Zi Wei Dou Shu?
Master Xiyi says You Bi is the star that serves the emperor and governs; guarding the Body or Life Palace it makes one skilled with ink and brush. In the same palace as Zi Wei, Tian Fu and other lucky stars, it brings both wealth and office and ability in both civil and military affairs; clashed and broken by Qing Yang, Tuo Luo, Huo Xing and Hua Ji, it is judged a low pattern. A woman is virtuous and has spirit, and even with the four malefic stars clashing and breaking it she is not base.
Do Zuo Fu and You Bi in the Spouse Palace mean two marriages?
The verse says that Zuo Fu and You Bi 「若在夫妻位，主人定二婚」, and again 「妻宮遇此宿，決定兩妻成」. That is the original's verdict.
What does 'without the ruler they are useless' mean?
The verse says Zuo Fu and You Bi 「失君為無用，三合宜見君」: they are the ministers who assist Zi Wei (the ruler), so without Zi Wei they are of no use, and they should see Zi Wei in the trine; in the same palace as Zi Wei, 「爵祿不須論」.
Main stars in this section