Zheng Banqiao
Zheng Banqiao
Painter and calligrapher · One of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou
1693-11-22（32nd year of the Kangxi reign (Qing), 10th lunar month, day 25）～ 1766-01-22
Born in Xinghua, Jiangsu
Three-Pillar ChartBirth hour unknown — three pillars only
Year Pillar
癸酉
Element Water · Metal
NaYin Sword-Edge Metal
Ten Gods Indirect Resource
Month Pillar
癸亥
Element Water · Water
NaYin Great Sea Water
Ten Gods Indirect Resource
Day Pillar
乙未
Element Wood · Earth
NaYin Sand Metal
Ten Gods Day Master
Hour Pillar
？？
Hour unknown
Not cast
Day Master
乙Wood
Element distribution (three-pillar count)
Water 3, Wood 1, Earth 1, Metal 1, Fire 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
Indirect Resource revealed in both year and month stems signifies a lofty, aloof artistic temperament; Water at 3 generates Wood, and Yi (乙) Wood is the wood of flowers and grasses. Looking back on Zheng Banqiao's mottos “It is hard to be muddle-headed” and “Taking a loss is a blessing”: the Indirect Resource is a detached, broad-minded transcendence of worldly concerns, and Water and Wood are the refined backbone of a literatus — this reflects that structure.
He painted orchids and bamboo above all, lived in lifelong poverty without fawning on the powerful, and after resigning office happily supported himself by selling paintings — this may be read here.
This is a cultural retrospective at the level of three pillars, not a fatalistic judgment.
Birth date source:Chinese Wikipedia: “Zheng Banqiao” (郑板桥; birth name Zheng Xie)(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.