Open a BaZi chart and you will see small labels like "Direct Officer", "Eating God" or "Indirect Resource" next to the stems. These are the Ten Gods, one of the most basic concepts in Ziping BaZi.
Origin: centered on the day stem
From the Song dynasty onward, fate reading came to treat the day stem as "me" — the Ziping method, associated with Xu Ziping; Yuan Hai Zi Ping was an early systematic text. Every other character is compared with the day stem on two points: the Five Element cycles, and whether yin/yang match. Combining them gives ten relationships.
Rules
Element cycles — produce: Wood→Fire→Earth→Metal→Water→Wood; control: Wood→Earth→Water→Fire→Metal→Wood.
Five categories relative to the Day Master:
- Same element: Companion, Rob Wealth.
- I produce: Eating God, Hurting Officer.
- I control: Indirect Wealth, Direct Wealth.
- Controls me: Seven Killings (Indirect Officer), Direct Officer.
- Produces me: Indirect Resource, Direct Resource.
Same polarity gives the first of each pair (Companion, Eating God, Indirect Wealth, Seven Killings, Indirect Resource); opposite polarity gives the second (Rob Wealth, Hurting Officer, Direct Wealth, Direct Officer, Direct Resource).
Example: Jia (yang Wood) Day Master
- Jia = Companion, Yi = Rob Wealth
- Bing = Eating God, Ding = Hurting Officer
- Wu = Indirect Wealth, Ji = Direct Wealth
- Geng = Seven Killings, Xin = Direct Officer
- Ren = Indirect Resource, Gui = Direct Resource
Branches usually take the Ten God of their main hidden stem — Zi hides Gui Water, Direct Resource for Jia. Finer readings include secondary hidden stems.
Traditional associations
- Companion / Rob Wealth: self, peers, friends, competition.
- Eating God / Hurting Officer: expression, talent, creativity, enjoyment; Hurting Officer is sharper.
- Direct / Indirect Wealth: money and management; steady income vs. flexible or windfall sources.
- Direct Officer / Seven Killings: rules, duty, pressure, leadership; Seven Killings is more challenging and driven.
- Direct / Indirect Resource: learning, protection, thinking; Indirect Resource links to unusual knowledge.
No Ten God is absolutely good or bad. Zi Ping Zhen Quan says Wealth, Officer, Resource and Eating God are best supported, while Killings, Hurting Officer, Owl and Blade are best restrained — what matters is how they are arranged.
Study tips
- Learn stem polarity first: Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, Ren are yang; Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, Gui yin.
- Practice on real charts.
- Never read one Ten God in isolation.
- Separate symbolism from real life.
Summary
The Ten Gods are ten relationships derived from the day stem by element cycles and polarity — the "language" on which structures, Useful Gods and luck cycles are built.
This article is for cultural reference only and is not advice for any decision.