Qi Baishi
Qi Baishi
Master of Chinese Painting · Calligrapher and Seal Carver
1864-01-01（2nd year of the Tongzhi reign (Qing), 11th lunar month, day 22）～ 1957-09-16
Born in Xiangtan, Hunan
Three-Pillar ChartBirth hour unknown — three pillars only
Year Pillar
癸亥
Element Water · Water
NaYin Great Sea Water
Ten Gods Indirect Resource
Month Pillar
甲子
Element Wood · Water
NaYin Sea Metal
Ten Gods Rob Wealth
Day Pillar
乙丑
Element Wood · Earth
NaYin Sea Metal
Ten Gods Day Master
Hour Pillar
？？
Hour unknown
Not cast
Day Master
乙Wood
Element distribution (three-pillar count)
Water 3, Wood 2, Earth 1, Fire 0, Metal 0
Chart computed by the MoZhu engine (lunar-javascript); without the hour pillar, luck pillars and yearly cycles can't fully unfold.
Case Review
Original writing · hindsight review · anchored in known history, viewed through chart structure
Yi (乙) Wood is the Wood of flowers and grasses, signifying vitality, with Indirect Resource and Rob Wealth revealed in the year and month and Water strong three times over. Looking back on the life of Qi Baishi, “the People’s Artist”: a carpenter by origin, he “reinvented his style in old age” and captured the full vitality of flowers, birds, fish and insects, mirroring “Water nourishing strong Wood” and late-blooming greatness. Indirect Resource signifies unconventional wisdom, as in his principle that art lies “between likeness and unlikeness.”
Rob Wealth signifies the competition and hardship of his years seeking his fortune in Beijing. Strong Water sets Wood adrift; his repeated examination failures in youth and his living from selling paintings and carving seals can be observed in hindsight from the angle of “much Water, floating Wood, foundations yet to be secured.” Yet Water ultimately nourishes Wood, and his art remained evergreen to the age of ninety-three, a footnote to “an old tree meeting spring.”
This is a cultural retrospective at the level of three pillars, not a fatalistic judgment.
Birth date source:Chinese Wikipedia: “Qi Baishi”(cross-checked with public records; bio is an original summary)
This case is for traditional-culture study only, not a judgment of any historical figure; schools of interpretation differ, and these conclusions claim no exclusive truth.