Birth (Chang Sheng) — The First of the Twelve Stages
In a Nutshell
The first of the Twelve Stages: the Five Elements' qi just born, like a newborn child or a sprouting plant.
Quick facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Stage | First of the Twelve Stages; the Five Elements' qi newly born |
| Birth branch for each stem | Jia–Hai, Yi–Wu, Bing–Yin, Ding–You, Wu–Yin, Ji–You, Geng–Si, Xin–Zi, Ren–Shen, Gui–Mao |
| Ordering rule | Yang stems move forward from Birth; yin stems move backward |
What is Birth (Chang Sheng)?
Birth is the first stage of the "Twelve Stages" (Shi Er Chang Sheng), describing the Five Elements' qi at the moment it comes into being and begins to grow — like a newborn infant, or plants breaking through the soil. Each Heavenly Stem has its own Birth branch: Jia meets Hai, Yi meets Wu, Bing meets Yin, Ding meets You, Wu meets Yin, Ji meets You, Geng meets Si, Xin meets Zi, Ren meets Shen, Gui meets Mao (Wu follows Bing, Ji follows Ding). Yang stems count forward from their Birth branch; yin stems count backward.
Take Bing Fire: Bing's Birth is at Yin — Yin is Fire's Birth, then Mao is Bath, Chen is Coming of Age, and so on forward. For a yin stem like Ding Fire, Birth is at You, and counting goes backward from You: You is Birth, Shen is Bath, Wei is Coming of Age. Memorizing each stem's Birth branch is the starting point for laying out the whole Twelve Stages; MoZhu's Twelve Stages lookup tool lists the stage of each of the Four Pillars' stems automatically from a birth time. For example, a Jia Wood Day Master with Hai in the Day Branch is at Birth; a Bing Fire Day Master with Yin in the Day Branch is likewise at Birth.
In traditional usage, the Birth stage is often associated with "foundations newly laid, undertakings just begun" — but that is imagery, not a prediction about real life. The other stages (Bath, Peak, Grave, Extinction, and so on) each carry their own images; see the related entries. This page introduces the stage's meaning and the lookup method, and draws no inferences from it.
Classical sources
"Jia Wood is born at Hai, Yi Wood at Wu, Bing Fire at Yin, Ding at You, Wu at Yin, Ji Earth at You, Geng Metal at Si, Xin Metal has its Birth at Zi, Ren Water at Shen, Gui Water at Mao."
(Rendered from the classical Chinese original.)
Source: *San Ming Tong Hui* (Comprehensive Treatise on the Three Destinies), Book 2, *Lun Tian Gan Yin Yang Sheng Si* (On the Yin-Yang Life and Death of the Heavenly Stems)
Plain-language reading: Each stem's Birth branch: Jia–Hai, Yi–Wu, Bing–Yin, Ding–You, Wu–Yin, Ji–You, Geng–Si, Xin–Zi, Ren–Shen, Gui–Mao (Wu follows Bing, Ji follows Ding) — matching the stem-by-stem account in the cited chapter.
*For entertainment purposes only.*