Peak (Di Wang) — The Fifth of the Twelve Stages
In a Nutshell
The fifth of the Twelve Stages: the Five Elements' qi at its fullest — yang stems move forward, yin stems move backward.
Quick facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Stage | Fifth of the Twelve Stages; the qi at its most flourishing |
| Ordering rule | Yang stems move forward; yin stems move backward (Wu follows Bing, Ji follows Ding) |
| Peak branch for each stem | Jia–Mao, Yi–Yin, Bing–Wu, Ding–Si, Wu–Wu, Ji–Si, Geng–You, Xin–Shen, Ren–Zi, Gui–Hai |
What is Peak (Di Wang)?
Peak is one stage of the "Twelve Stages." The Twelve Stages are the ancients' twelve-step picture of the Five Elements' qi from birth to death and round again, in order: Birth, Bath, Coming of Age, Arrival, Peak, Decline, Sickness, Death, Grave, Extinction, Conception, Nurturing. Peak sits fifth — the stage where the Five Elements' qi is at its most flourishing, like a person in their prime or crops at harvest: momentum at its height, before turning into Decline, Sickness, Death.
The counting rule: yang stems move forward, yin stems move backward. A yang stem counts from its Birth branch to the fifth position to find Peak; a yin stem counts backward. Take Jia Wood: Jia's Birth is at Hai, counting forward — Hai is Birth, Zi is Bath, Chou is Coming of Age, Yin is Arrival, Mao is Peak — so Jia Wood's Peak falls on Mao. Each stem's Peak branch: Jia–Mao, Yi–Yin, Bing–Wu, Ding–Si, Wu–Wu, Ji–Si, Geng–You, Xin–Shen, Ren–Zi, Gui–Hai (Wu follows Bing, Ji follows Ding).
One caveat: there is an alternate doctrine for yin stems — instead of starting their own Birth, yin stems follow their element's yang stem forward (called the "Five Elements' Birth"). MoZhu's Twelve Stages lookup tool lets you switch between the two countings; this page follows the standard yang-forward / yin-backward counting.
The flourishing momentum of Peak is often read in traditional usage as "able to carry the weight": a Day Master sitting on its own Peak is traditionally seen as having a solid foundation — though extreme flourishing can also turn toward decline, so the whole chart still has to be weighed. Stage names like Bath and Peak also appear in Symbolic Stars lookups (Peach Blossom, for instance, is taken from the Bath branch), so mastering the Twelve Stages helps you read the other entries.
Classical sources
"The Five Elements lodged in the Twelve Palaces: Birth, Bath, Coming of Age, Arrival, Peak, Decline, Sickness, Death, Grave, Extinction, Conception, Nurturing."
(Rendered from the classical Chinese original.)
Source: *San Ming Tong Hui* (Comprehensive Treatise on the Three Destinies), Book 2, *Lun Wu Xing Wang Xiang Xiu Qiu Si Bing Ji Sheng Shi Er Gong* (On the Five Elements' Prosperity, Decline, and Their Lodging in the Twelve Palaces)
Plain-language reading: The complete order of the Twelve Stages: Birth, Bath, Coming of Age, Arrival, Peak, Decline, Sickness, Death, Grave, Extinction, Conception, Nurturing; each stem's Peak branch is derived by counting yang-forward / yin-backward from Birth, matching the counting used in MoZhu's Twelve Stages lookup tool. Chapter title verified.
*For entertainment purposes only.*