Ren Xue Suo Ji (壬學瑣記)

唐時功令，以奇門、雷公、六壬為三式，雷公即太乙，所謂太乙雷公式是也。唐時禁奇門、雷公不傳，惟六壬便於民用，不涉兵事，故不之禁，傳其歧多，精者獨鮮。

In the Tang dynasty, the government classified the three schools of divination, namely Qi Men, Leigong, and Liu Ren, together as the "San Shi" or "Three Formulae." Here, "Leigong" refers to "Taiyi." The ancient texts refer to "Taiyi Leigong formula" as exactly this. The Tang court explicitly prohibited the transmission of Qi Men and Leigong outside the country, because both schools involved military and state affairs. Only Liu Ren was suitable for common people's daily inquiries and did not involve military secrets, so it was not subject to prohibition. Because it was not banned, Liu Ren had many branches and schools, with various lineages and teachers. As a result, those who truly mastered it became rare.

叔父承偉堂族祖之傳，肆習有年，占驗輒中。猶憶庚申之亂，里黨為墟，叔父之灼見機先，寓書親友，謂八月有凶，聞者疑信參半，至期果應，遂群服無閒言。以偉堂族曾祖手錄秘秩甚夥，曾為刊《大六壬一字訣玉連環》，今又復刊《畢法集覽》《壬學瑣記》兩種，而《瑣記》一書昭示後學尤切。剞劂甫竟，見示全冊，命綴數語於後。夔不諳數學，何敢漫言？爰舉夙昔所聞推驗之一端，抑以驗同志，抑以見藝術亦有分途，而法守必宗正軌，則技也進於道已。

My uncle inherited the teachings of our clan's ancestor, Wei Tang Gong, and devoted many years to studying them diligently. His divination often proved accurate. I still remember the turmoil of the Gengshen year, when the village was burned to the ground. My uncle had already sensed the signs beforehand and wrote to his relatives and friends, warning them that there would be danger in August. Those who heard him were doubtful, but indeed the event occurred in that month, and thus everyone became convinced and ceased to make any further remarks. Our clan's great-grandfather Wei Tang Gong had personally copied many secret manuscripts. My uncle had already published "The One-Character诀 of Great Six壬" and now is reissuing "Bifa Jiluans" and "Miscellaneous Notes on Ren Studies." Among these, "Miscellaneous Notes on Ren Studies" offers particularly important guidance for later learners. The woodblock printing was just completed, and my uncle asked me to write a few words at the end of the book. I am not well-versed in the study of divination, so how could I dare to make any remarks? I can only cite a case I heard about in daily life as an appendix: first, to seek confirmation from fellow enthusiasts, and second, to illustrate that although the techniques may differ, they must all follow proper principles and be guided along the right path. When this is achieved, the skill becomes the "Dao."

光緒七年歲次辛巳立夏後五日，侄夔謹跋。

In the seventh year of Guangxu, the sexagenary cycle year was Xinsi (1881), on the fifth day after the beginning of summer, the nephew Cheng Kui respectfully wrote this colophon.

予資拙而多健忘，凡有見聞及屢試屢驗者，隨筆記之，不能分其門類，聊當懷中記事珠云爾。

I am naturally dull and forgetful, so whatever I have heard or seen, as well as the insights I have repeatedly tested and found to be effective, I simply jot down as I go, without the energy to organize them systematically. I will treat these notes as the "memory beads" that ancient people kept in their pockets, using them merely to help me remember things.

六壬不知始於何時。《雲笈七籖》云：上皇三年七月二十九日壬子，太真皇人下授黃帝六壬式圖、六甲三元、遁甲造式之法，法威天下，流傳子孫。黃梨洲《易學篆數總論》以《國語》中伶州鳩之論七律即是六壬之法；馬端臨《文獻通考》六壬出於秦；張鋐《說約》則據《漢書·律曆志》注“大橈作甲子，占斗罡所建，探五行之精”，是六壬當始於大橈，成於隸首；焦裡堂先生獨云：徐嶽《術數記遺》所謂“周公掯悶”“孔子三不能”“西老成子四維”等數即六壬之天地盤，大端皆猜度之言。

The origin of Liu Ren is unknown. The "Yun Ji Qi Jian" records that on the 29th day of the seventh month in the third year of the Upper Emperor, on a day of Ren Zi, the Taizhen Huangren descended and taught Huangdi the "Liu Ren Shi Tu" as well as the methods of the six Jia and the three yuan of Liu Jia, and the method of Dun Jia. This method spread throughout the world and was passed down through generations. Huang Zongxi, who was known as Li Zhu, in his "Yixue Xiangshu Zonglun" (the original text has "Xiang" mistakenly written as "Zuan") believes that the passage in the "Guoyu" where Ling Zhoujiu discusses the seven laws refers to the method of Liu Ren. Ma Duolin's "Wenxuan Tongcao" says that Liu Ren originated in the Qin dynasty. Zhang Fu's "Shuo Yao" bases his argument on the annotation in the "Han Shu · Lüli Zhi" which says, "Da Rao created the Jia Zi, observed the position of the handle of the Big Dipper, and explored the subtle aspects of the Five Phases." He claims that Liu Ren was created by Da Rao and completed by Lishou. Jiao Xun, who was known as Litang, has a different view. He says that the several divination methods mentioned in Xu Yue's "Shushu Ji Yi," such as "Zhou Gong Kunmen," "Confucius San Beneng," and "Xilao Chengzi Siwei," are the Heaven Plate and Earth Plate of Liu Ren. All these views are mostly conjectures and there is no conclusive evidence.

然讀《吳越春秋》《越絕書》子胥、少伯諸占，與今時六壬無異，則其來久矣，吳越已。觀於《春秋傳》，左氏好言卜筮，何以不及六壬？然則《吳越春秋》《越絕書》所載亦難必其真確。而著此二書者為趙煜、袁康，二者皆後漢時人，可知後漢時始有六壬矣。今見《天官壬學》一書，內有《端木夫子十二字經》《顓孫夫子二十七字經》，豈因子貢億則屢中、子張才高藝廣，有十世可知之問，故依記而成此二篇歟！何其寥寥數語，初無異人處也。

However, reading the divination examples in the "Wuyue Chunqiu" and "Yuejue Shu" concerning figures like Wu Zixu and Fan Li (whose name was Shao Bo), their methods of divination are exactly the same as today's Liu Ren, showing that this system of divination has a long history, existing as early as the time of the struggle between Wu and Yue. (The original text seems to have a missing character in the phrase "Wuyue yi," so I have read it as the above sentence according to the meaning.) But if we look at the "Zuo Zhuan" of the "Spring and Autumn Annals," Zuo Qiuming loved to record divination matters, yet he never mentioned Liu Ren. So, the divination examples recorded in the "Wuyue Chunqiu" and "Yuejue Shu" are hard to confirm as reliable. Moreover, the authors of these two books, Zhao Yu (probably Zhao Ye) and Yuan Kang, were both from the Later Han dynasty, which suggests that Liu Ren probably appeared only during the Later Han. Recently, I have also seen a book called "Tian Gao Ren Xue," which includes the "Shi Wu Fu Zi Shier Zi Jing" and the "Zuan Sun Fu Zi Erqiushizi Jing." Endu Mu Ci is Zi Gong, whom Confucius called "yi ze lv zhong," meaning that he often guessed correctly. Zuan Sun Shi is Zi Zhang, who was talented and knowledgeable in many skills, once asking Confucius the question about "shi shi ke zhi." It is likely that later people attached these two stories to the names of these two men and compiled these two texts. In reality, the content is only a few words, and there is nothing remarkable about it.

太乙、奇門、六壬，古稱三式。愚以為六壬最先出，奇門次出，太乙晚出。何以明之？觀六壬純用干支神將推演，並不用九星、八門、文昌、計都等項，以是知其先出。奇門所用天三門、地四戶、天馬方則採用六壬矣。太乙所用九星、八門、五符等類，則採用奇門、六壬矣，以是知二書皆在六壬之後也。三式雖以太乙為尊，但其積算推至一千萬年以上，荒渺無稽，況天運循環、國祚修短，何敢予知？固不若六壬之切於日用而又不干例禁也。

The three schools of divination, Taiyi, Qimen, and Liu Nin, were collectively known as the "Three Systems" by ancient people. I believe that Liu Nin appeared first, followed by Qimen, and Taiyi came last. Why do I say this? Looking at the calculations of Liu Nin, they use only heavenly stems, earthly branches, and the Twelve Heavenly Generals, without incorporating elements such as nine stars, eight gates, Wen Chang, and Ji Du. This shows that Liu Nin appeared earlier. The terms "Three Heavenly Gates," "Four Earthly Doors," and "Heavenly Horse Direction" used in Qimen clearly come from Liu Nin. The nine stars, eight gates, and five symbols used in Taiyi are elements taken from both Qimen and Liu Nin. From this, we can conclude that the books of Qimen and Taiyi were formed after Liu Nin. Although Taiyi holds the highest status among the three systems, its calculations often trace back millions of years, making them too vague to verify. Moreover, matters such as the cycles of heaven and the length of a nation's fortune are things ordinary people dare not predict in advance. Therefore, Taiyi is ultimately less practical than Liu Nin and does not violate the imperial ban.

六壬之名，說者不一。有云水生於一、成於六，故名六壬者，宋人也。有云《周易》以乾卦為首，乾內卦納甲，故奇門稱遁甲；外卦納六壬，故稱六壬者，祝泌也。有云天一生水，天五生土，合而成六壬，字上一撇象水之朝東，下一畫重者像地之厚載，中一畫長者，縱則為天地，橫則為宇宙，六壬與天地宇宙同用，加以水土生育之功，有厚載之至德，故云六壬者，《未悟書》中語也。有云乾為天屬金，壬承天屬水，壬得天之氣，即洩天之機，故云六壬者，張江村也。至《六壬廛談》則云：本旬有壬將主事，當於排天地盤時，默祝曰“本旬壬某神將護我”，判籤則自然響應，於壬將本日拜之，則壬將默助，有斷即靈，是又以六壬為神祗矣。

The origin of the name "Liu Ren" is subject to different interpretations among various schools. Some say that water is generated from one and completed at six in the Five Phases system, hence the name "Liu Ren," according to the explanation from the Song dynasty. Others say that the "Dun Jia" system is named after the inner trigram of the Qian hexagram in the Zhou Yi, while the "Liu Ren" system is named after the outer trigram of the Qian hexagram, according to the explanation by Zhu Bi. Another view suggests that "Heaven produces water and Heaven five produces earth," with one and five combining to form six, hence the name "Liu Ren." It also analyzes the character "Ren": the first stroke resembles water flowing eastward, the middle horizontal stroke is thick, resembling the earth's bearing, and the longest horizontal stroke, when viewed vertically, represents heaven and earth, and horizontally, the universe. Thus, "Liu Ren" shares the same function as heaven and universe, and with the merit of water and earth nurturing all things and the virtue of bearing all things, hence the name "Liu Ren," according to the "Weiwu Book." Another explanation says that Qian represents heaven and belongs to the metal element, while Ren, following heaven, belongs to the water element. Since Ren receives the energy of heaven, it can reveal the secrets of heaven, hence the name "Liu Ren," according to Zhang Jiangcun. As for the "Liu Ren Chuantan," the explanation is even more mysterious: it says that in each ten-day period, there is a "Ren general" in charge. When arranging the Heaven Plate and Earth Plate, one should silently pray, "May the god general Ren of this ten-day period protect me." Thus, the divination signs will naturally respond. On the day when the "Ren general" is in charge, one should worship him, and the "Ren general" will secretly assist, making the divination accurate. This has already regarded Liu Ren as a deity to be worshipped.

《金旨占論》則曰：“旬內之壬各有主，如甲子旬壬申，丙寅日以申為財，即不求財，亦有意外之得；乙丑日以申為官，即不求官，亦有得名之事，否則口舌官非。”是又以壬為最重之神，故以六壬立名矣。諸說紛紛，未知誰是，姑集於此，請教高明。

The "Jin Zhi Zhan Lun" also says: "In each ten-day period, the 'Ren' has its own master. For example, in the ten-day period starting with Jiazi, if 'Ren' falls on Shen, then on Bingyin day, Shen is considered 'Cai' (wealth), and even if the question is not about seeking wealth, there will be unexpected income; on Yichou day, Shen is considered 'Guan' (official position), and even if the question is not about fame, there will be an opportunity to gain reputation, otherwise there will be disputes and arguments." This again treats 'Ren' as the most important deity in the ten-day period, hence the name 'Liu Ren' (Six壬). The above statements vary greatly, and I do not know which school of thought is correct. I will merely collect them here for the guidance of those who are more knowledgeable.

《景祜神定經》云：壬式楓天棗地，朝向東，暮向西。董說《詩》云：“藜杖讖圖文訂楓天神，式將移壬。”蓋古人以楓木規為天盤，棗木規為地盤，向太陽旋而用之，以觀上下相加，發四課與三傳也。

The *Jingyou Shen Ding Jing* (the original text has "Youshu" instead of "Yushu") says: The Six Rén divination plate uses maple wood for the Heaven Plate and date wood for the Earth Plate. In the morning, it is oriented to the east, and in the evening, to the west. The poem by Dong says, "With a gourd staff, the prophecy's text confirms the maple Heaven God, the system shifts to Rén," referring precisely to this. Originally, the ancients carved maple wood into a round plate as the Heaven Plate and date wood into a round plate as the Earth Plate. When using them, they turned the Heaven Plate towards the sun's direction and then observed the corresponding relationships between the Heaven and Earth Plates when they were overlaid. Based on this, they derived the "Four Lessons" and the "Three Transmissions." The "Four Lessons" refer to four groups formed by pairing the Day Stem and Day Branch with two sets of deities each, serving as the foundation of the entire lesson. The "Three Transmissions" consist of the First Transmission, Middle Transmission, and Final Transmission, representing the beginning, middle, and conclusion of an event respectively.

月將即是太陽，以太陽加正時，順布十二宮，則與天上星宿所臨方位相符，故陰陽動盡天人感應。唐朝王遠知引其師陶宏景之言曰：“六壬精髓，其一為月將，天上太陽隨月而異宮，其光普照四方，故萬事皆見。月將為誤，然後凡事不誤。”此語最為明顯，宋人邵彥和論次客曰：“古次客之法，因數人同時來占，乃用前五後三，換將不換時之例，試之每不驗。蓋燭照禍福，全賴太陽之光明，故以正將正時為最，其次則換時不換將耳。餘則不換將，亦不換時，惟以各人年命為主，課雖同而理則異。區別懸殊，十不失一。”是亦月將即太陽之明證。乃《銀河棹》則曰：“錯認日躔為月將”，而張松源之注，又惑於俗本奇門超神接氣之法，以交接之後據河圖生成數而定月將，殊屬無謂。

The "month general" refers to the palace where the sun resides during the month. By placing the month general on the "correct hour" of the divination, and arranging the twelve palaces in sequence, the heaven plate's palaces align with the actual positions of the star mansions in the sky. Thus, the interplay of yin and yang is fully captured, enabling the heavens and humanity to respond to each other. Wang Yuanzhi of the Tang dynasty quoted his teacher Tao Hongjing's words: "The essence of the Six壬 (Liuren) system is first and foremost the month general. The sun changes its palace with the months, its light illuminates all directions, so it can illuminate all things. If the month general is correct, then nothing will be wrong." This passage explains the principle most clearly. Shao Yanhe of the Song dynasty discussed the concept of "secondary guests" — that is, how to distinguish between multiple people seeking divination at the same time — saying: "In the old method for handling secondary guests, when several people came for divination at the same time, the practice was to use the rule of 'front five, back three' and to change the month general but not the hour. I tried this method and found it often inaccurate. Knowing that the illumination of fortune and misfortune depends on the light of the sun, it is best to use the correct month general and correct hour for divination. If not, then only change the hour but not the month general; if not even that, then do not change either the general or the hour, but instead use each person's age and birth sign as the main factors. Although the divination may be the same, the reasoning differs for each person, leading to vastly different judgments, and even ten times out, it would not be wrong once." This is another clear proof that the month general is the sun. However, the "Galaxy Boat" says, "Do not mistake the degree the sun has passed for the month general." Zhang Songyuan's commentary was misled by the popular method of "transcending the divine and connecting the qi" in the Qi Men system, and he proposed determining the month general after the solar term according to the generating numbers of the River Chart, which is entirely without reason.

交月將之法，古書間有異同，然總在中氣之後，或一日二日，或三日五日不等。故人所用者恆氣，每年二十四氣勻派，而太陽行度有盈縮，未必恰於交中氣之日時過宮。況其過宮，又限定於某宿某度，是以有一日二日、三日五日之殊。今時憲書則以定氣為主，故太陽即於交中氣日時過宮，便換月將，此正合天之妙。張松源之注《銀河棹》以月將並非太陽，宜其另生一法而交月將。及陳耕山作《三才發秘》，誤解“步戌成歲”一語，以為正月太陽在戌宮，更可笑也。

The specific date for changing the Month General varies in ancient records, but generally occurs after the "zhong qi" or "middle solar term"—the latter half of the twenty-four solar terms such as Rain Water, Vernal Equinox, and Grain Rain. The old method used "heng qi" or "constant solar terms," evenly distributing the twenty-four solar terms throughout the year. However, the actual movement of the sun is not uniform, so it does not always pass through the zodiac palace exactly on the day of the solar term. Moreover, the transition is restricted to specific constellations and degrees, hence the variation of one or two days, or three or five days. Now, the "Shi Xian Shu" uses "ding qi" or "fixed solar terms," where the sun passes through the zodiac palace exactly on the day and hour of the solar term, thus changing the Month General immediately. This truly aligns with the subtle workings of the heavens. Zhang Songyuan, in his commentary on "Yin He Zhao," originally believed the Month General was not the sun, which is why he established his own method of changing the Month General. As for Chen Gengshan's "San Cai Fa Mi," he misinterpreted the phrase "bu xu cheng sui," mistakenly thinking that the sun was in the Xu palace in the first lunar month, which is quite amusing.

“月將不誤，然後凡事不誤。”此至言也。乃《指南占驗》嘗有誤用月將而大事仍驗者何也？蓋無心之錯，機即隨之，故能符合相應。若有意標奇示異，恐未必然也。

"The Moon General must be correct, then all other matters will not go wrong," this is a profound truth. However, in the divination examples recorded in the "Six Rats Guide," there are cases where the Moon General was used incorrectly yet major events still came to pass. Why is this so? Perhaps because those were unintentional mistakes, and the heavenly mechanism moved along with that unintentional error, so it still matched reality. But if someone intentionally uses an incorrect Moon General to show off or be novel, it is unlikely to be effective.

《銀河棹》有兩種，一種不言遁干，不知誰人所輯，乃雜採諸書而成，為書六卷，惜選擇不精，又多訛錯。一種專用遁干，七言詩僅十六句，又擇以四言數十句，以為出於姚廣孝。寧波張松源詳註《馬松源自序》云：“姚少師得此書而藏之內府，正統中土木之變，蓉城孫南葉先生於燕臺曾門室中得之，未有師傳也，後從史道鄰兵憲於安慶，始遇異人指授，遂精其學。餘懇求再四，僅以經文相授。”按正統土木之變，距史公在安慶約為一百八十餘年，竊恐南華先生未必有此高壽。彼松源者，焉從執贄而求之哉？其用遁干，雖本《中黃經》，而又分出天地人三遁，已為節外生枝，至於月將貴人起例，一切與他書迥異。若依此推斷，則唐宋以來諸書咸不可信矣。況廣孝初見成祖，懷中出太平錢五枚，並非六壬也哉！

The *Galaxy Boat* has two versions. One does not discuss "dun gan" (hidden stems), and it is unknown who compiled it; it is merely a miscellaneous compilation of various sources, totaling six volumes. Unfortunately, its materials are not well selected, and it contains many errors. The other version specializes in "dun gan," with a seven-character verse containing only sixteen lines, and it also selects dozens of four-character lines, claiming they were written by Yao Guangxiao. Zhang Songyuan of Ningbo provided a detailed commentary on it. In his preface, he wrote: "Yao Shao Shi (Yao Guangxiao, who held the title of Shao Shi) obtained this book and kept it in the imperial palace. During the Zhengtong period, the incident at the Mudanbao fortress occurred. Sun Nanye, a scholar from Rongcheng, obtained it from the Yan Tai Chen Men Shi (a room of the master Chen in Yan Tai) but had no teacher to guide him. Later, he went to Anqing to follow Shi Daolín, the military supervisor, and only then met a strange person who personally taught him, enabling him to master this discipline. I repeatedly requested, but he only agreed to pass on the classics to me." According to the text, the incident at Mudanbao during the Zhengtong period occurred about one hundred and eighty years before Shi Kefa's tenure in Anqing. It is unlikely that Sun Nanye could have lived that long (the original text refers to "Nanye," but here it is "Nanhua," which is likely the same person). So, to whom could Zhang Songyuan have paid respects and sought instruction? Although he uses "dun gan" based on the *Zhonghuang Jing* (Middle Yellow Classic), he further divides it into three types: heaven, earth, and human, which is an unnecessary complication. As for the methods of determining the "month general" and the "nobleman," they are entirely different from other schools. If we follow his system, all the six壬 books since the Tang and Song dynasties would be unreliable. Moreover, when Yao Guangxiao first met the Ming Chengzu emperor, he took out five pieces of "Taiping Qian" (peace coins) from his pocket to divinate, using a method that was not six壬 at all!

《銀河棹》以子至巳為陽，用陰貴人；午至亥為陰，用陽貴人；復有責陰神。假如例一課，戊戌日寅時戌將，明明寅是陽時，當用陰貴人，乃作陰時而用陽貴人丑，何也？以子之矛，攻子之盾，張氏窮矣。

The *Galaxy Boat* prescribes that from the hour of Zi to Si, which belongs to the Yang, the Yin Nobleman should be used; from the hour of Wu to Hai, which belongs to the Yin, the Yang Nobleman should be used. It also establishes another term called "Responsible Yin Spirit." However, in one example lesson given in its own book, on the day of Wuxu at the hour of Yin, with the hour's general (戌将), Yin is clearly a Yang hour. According to its own rules, the Yin Nobleman should be used, but it instead took the Yang Nobleman Chou, treating it as a Yin hour. What is the reason for this? Using its own sword to pierce its own shield, the Zhang school has no words to reply.

起貴人法，論理當從先天後天坤上起甲，先天坤在子，故在子上起甲，順布十干，不加魁罡，不加子所沖午；取其干合為陽貴人。後天坤在申上起甲，逆布十二，不臨魁罡，不臨申所沖之寅，取其干合為陰貴人。嘗讀《吳越春秋》七月辛亥日平旦大吉為白虎而臨辛，功曹為太常而臨亥，則知辛日陰貴果在午，三月甲日陽貴果在丑。《晉書戴洋傳》十月丁亥夜半，從魁為貴人加丁，則知丁日陰貴果在酉，是皆起貴人之明證。而《六壬元女經》，其第一繫天乙所在，甲戊庚日旦大吉，夕小吉；乙己晝神后，夜傳送；丙丁日旦登明，暮從魁；辛日晝勝光，夜功曹；壬癸日晝太乙，夜太沖。此書出於隋朝，厥後徐道覆、凌福之、元軫、劉日新、苗公達等咸遵之，則相沿已久矣。

The method of determining the "Heavenly Benefactor" (天乙贵人) should be based on both the Earlier Heaven (primordial) and Later Heaven (postnatal) positions of the坤 (Earth) trigram. In the Earlier Heaven arrangement, the坤 position is at 子 (Zi), so one starts from 子 and proceeds through the twelve earthly branches in order, arranging the ten heavenly stems. When encountering the "Kui Gang" (魁罡), which are the two branches 辰 (Chen) and 戌 (Xu), they are not included. Also, the branch that conflicts with 子, which is 午 (Wu), is also excluded. The one that matches the day stem (日干) is taken as the "Yang Benefactor" (阳贵人). In the Later Heaven arrangement, the坤 position is at 申 (Shen), so one starts from 申 and proceeds in reverse order through the twelve earthly branches, again excluding the "Kui Gang" and the branch that conflicts with 申, which is 寅 (Yin). The one that matches the day stem is taken as the "Yin Benefactor" (阴贵人). I once read the "Wuyue Chunqiu" (吴越春秋), which mentions a divination lesson on the seventh month, on the day of Xinhai (Xinhai), at dawn. The result was Daji (Chou) (Great Favor) at 丑 (Chou), which was the White Tiger (白虎), and Gongcao (Yin) (Gongcao) at 寅 (Yin), which was the Tai Chang (太常) and fell on 亥 (Hai). From this, it is clear that the Yin Benefactor for 辛 (Xin) day is at 午 (Wu), and the Yang Benefactor for 甲 (Jia) day is at 丑 (Chou). Another example is from the "Jin Shu · Dai Yang Zhuan" (晋书·戴洋传), which records a divination lesson on the tenth month, on the day of Dinghai (Dinghai), at midnight. The result was Congkui (You) (Cong Kuai) at 酉 (You), which was the Benefactor and fell on 丁 (Ding). This confirms that the Yin Benefactor for 丁 (Ding) day is at 酉 (You). These are clear examples of the method of determining the Benefactor. The "Liu Ren Yuan Nu Jing" (六壬元女经) begins with the first entry listing the positions of the Heavenly Benefactor: for 甲 (Jia) and 戊 (Wu) and 庚 (Geng) days, the daytime Benefactor is Daji (Chou) (Great Favor) at 丑 (Chou) and the nighttime Benefactor is Xiaoji (Wei) (Minor Favor) at 未 (Wei); for 乙 (Yi) and 己 (Ji) days, the daytime Benefactor is Shenhou (Zi) (Shen Hou) at 子 (Zi) and the nighttime Benefactor is Chuansong (Shen) (Chuan Song) at 申 (Shen); for 丙 (Bing) and 丁 (Ding) days, the daytime Benefactor is Dengming (Hai) (Deng Ming) at 亥 (Hai) and the nighttime Benefactor is Congkui (You) (Cong Kuai) at 酉 (You); for 辛 (Xin) day, the daytime Benefactor is Shengguang (Wu) (Sheng Guang) at 午 (Wu) and the nighttime Benefactor is Gongcao (Yin) (Gongcao) at 寅 (Yin); for 壬 (Ren) and 癸 (Gui) days, the daytime Benefactor is Taiyi (Si) (Tai Yi) at 巳 (Si) and the nighttime Benefactor is Taichong (Mao) (Tai Chong) at 卯 (Mao). This text dates back to the Sui Dynasty, and later scholars such as Xu Daofu, Ling Fu Zhi, Yuan Zhen, Liu Rixin, and Miao Gongda all followed this method, showing that this system has been passed down for a long time.

貴人治旦暮，或以日出為旦，用陽貴；日入為暮，用陰貴。或以卯至申時用陽貴，酉至寅時用陰貴。《六壬心鏡注》云：“用晝夜長短分旦暮”，則以太陽出入為準可知矣。

The Nobleman oversees both day and night, but the boundary between them is defined in two ways: one divides it by sunrise as 'dawn' using the Yang Nobleman and sunset as 'dusk' using the Yin Nobleman; the other uses Yang Nobleman from卯 to申 and Yin Nobleman from酉 to寅. The "Six壬 Mind Mirror Annotation" says "divide dawn and dusk according to the length of day and night," indicating that it advocates dividing based on the actual rising and setting of the sun, rather than sticking to fixed time boundaries.

予以甲戌年閏二月丙子日戌將戌時，卜往維揚，見鬼臨三四，水路有災。幸末傳有長生可求，即於次日啟行。戊寅日三更，舟為巨石碰傷，大水冒入而受大驚。是子鬼乘蛇之故，然則丙日陰貴在亥矣。若以酉為貴人，則子鬼乘元武，當主盜賊矣。

In the year of Jiaxu, in the leap second month, on the day of Bingzi, with the hour of Xu and the general of Xu, I cast a divination for myself going to Yangzhou. I saw "ghosts in the third and fourth lessons" — the official ghost was in the third and fourth lessons — indicating disaster on the water route. Fortunately, the final transmission carried "growth," which still offered some hope, so I set out the next day. On the day of Wuyin at three in the morning, the boat was hit by a large stone, and a great amount of water poured into the cabin, causing a serious fright. This exactly corresponds to the water official ghost riding the Teng Snake. This serves as evidence that the hidden nobleman of the day of Bing is indeed in Hai. If another interpretation takes You as the nobleman of the day of Bing, then the water official ghost riding would become the Black Tortoise (the original text says "Yuanwu," which was altered to avoid taboo), and the divination would indicate a disaster of theft, which does not match the actual situation.

《金匱》、《玉門》、《曾門》三經，似覺太簡。蓋作書之初，斷法未備，後則踵事增華，又未免稍有穿鑿。《中黃經》出遁干，則又六壬之一變。

The three classics, "The Golden Chest," "The Jade Gate," and "The Zeng Gate," seem to me overly brief when read. Probably, when they were first compiled, the methods of divination were not yet complete; later generations added more and more details, but this inevitably led to some forced interpretations. When "The Middle Yellow Classic" introduced the method of "dun gan," it marked a major change in the Six壬 system.

《中黃經》之名，見於焦竑《經籍志》，然不知誰人所著。是書各家抄本錯漏遺誤最多，難以較正。家惠蒼小阮得一本於淮陰，其註明白直捷，雖用遁干而不專憑，遁干待散。何為初建？日干五子元遁是也。何為復建？時干五子元遁是也。以建干多寡逐情而變，不執本支五行。由是觀之，生中有鬼，財中有克，窮在建干變化也。

The book title "Zhonghuang Jing" appears in Jiao Hong's "Jingji Zhi," but its author is unknown. This text is found in various copied versions, which contain many errors and omissions, making it difficult to correct. My nephew Hui Cang, from Huaiyin, obtained a copy, whose annotations are clear and straightforward. Although it uses the method of "dun gan," it does not rely solely on it. The use of dun gan still needs further clarification: what is "chujian"? It refers to starting the "Wuzi Yuan Dun" based on the day stem, beginning with the Zi hour, and proceeding in order to determine the heavenly stem for each hour. What is "fujian"? It refers to starting the "Wuzi Yuan Dun" based on the stem of the time being divined, and obtaining the heavenly stem from that. According to the number of obtained jian gan, one should flexibly adapt to the situation, not rigidly adhere to the five phases of the earthly branches. In this way, it seems that the concept of mutual generation may contain hidden official ghosts, and the concept of wealth yao may contain hidden harmful influences. The subtleties lie in the changes of the jian gan.

朱恆又曰：“若取來情，當以聚散鬼救論。若斷休咎，只用日干為主，與正時三傳生克論始終平安，不必用變求奇。古人有云，求奇反不奇也。”愚按：朱恆此言最為明顯，歷觀徐道符、元軫、苗公達、劉日新、邵彥和諸公占案內，何嘗憑遁干斷吉凶耶？朱恆，元末明初之松江府人，見於《一字訣玉連環跋》，又見《五要權衡跋》。

Zhu Heng also said: "If one wants to infer what matter the visitor is thinking about, one should judge based on the gathering and dispersion of the lesson pattern, the ghost爻 and the saving god; if one wants to determine fortune and misfortune, one should only take the day stem as the main factor, combine it with the birth and death of the correct hour and the three transmissions, to discuss whether the matter from beginning to end is safe. There is no need to seek for novelty and oddity. An ancient saying goes well: deliberately seeking for the strange, one ends up not strange at all." I comment: Zhu Heng's words are the most thorough. Looking through the divination cases left by the predecessors such as Xu Daofu, Yuan Zhen, Miao Gongda, Liu Rixin, and Shao Yanhe, which one is based on hidden stems to determine fortune and misfortune? Zhu Heng was a person from Songjiang Prefecture in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. His name appears in the跋 of "Yi Zhe Yu Lian Huan" and also in the跋 of "Wu Yao Quan Heng."

《中黃經》中《五惡》章予試之，己酉年六月二十五日占天時，戌時午將得己卯日，干上卯虎，三傳未卯亥木局傷干，貴占天門，斷其即有風暴，屋倒驚塌之驚。果至次日未時，迅雷暴雨從西南而起，仰見一紅黑二云，或高或下，各處牆屋斜倒，人以為龍吼相鬥雲。

In the chapter "Five Evils" of the Zhonghuang Jing, I have tried using it. On June 25th of the Jiyou year, I divined the weather at the hour of Xu and the general of Wu. The divination result was on the day of Jimao: the day stem was on the卯 wood, which was occupied by the White Tiger. The three transmissions were Wei, Mao, and Hai, forming a wood trinity to injure the day stem. The nobleman also occupied the "Heavenly Gate" position at Hai. I predicted that there would be a storm immediately, causing danger such as collapsing houses and falling walls. Indeed, the next day at the hour of Wei, a sudden thunderstorm came from the southwest. Looking up, I saw two clouds, one red and one black, swirling high and low. Many houses and walls collapsed everywhere, and people said it was the dragon roaring and fighting.

《一字訣玉連環》最重占時，予嘗試之，果驗，不第占來意用之，凡占時與初傳相沖，或與類神相戰，或於正課有礙，便多不利，縱課傳全吉，亦主阻滯。

The "One Character Decree Yulianhuan" places the greatest emphasis on "the time of divination." I have tried it, and it indeed proves effective, not only for predicting the true intention of the person coming. Whenever the time of divination conflicts with the first transmission, or when it clashes with the "class god" — the earthly branch or heavenly general representing the category of the matter being asked — or when it hinders the main divination, it is usually unfavorable. Even if the lesson pattern and the three transmissions are entirely auspicious, it often indicates that the matter will be delayed or obstructed.

六壬最重正時，正時者，吾心忽於此時發動，自與天機感應也。其次則以雷擊棗木制盒搖時，拈門抽籤等法，尤不及報時之準。但報時必須隨口，若稍遲迴，則天機不在。或云，壬將靜則在位，動則周遊天上人間，凡事皆知，故一旬之中各有本旬神將主事，即不占之時，壬將亦在，不在一身之左右，即在書盒之左右，故凡置盒之處，皆須潔淨，則神將敬服，有斷即靈。

Six Rén divination places the greatest emphasis on the "correct time." By correct time, it is meant that at this moment, my heart suddenly awakens and naturally resonates with the heavenly mechanism. Only after this is the time determined by shaking a box made of thunder-struck date wood or by drawing lots, but these methods are not as accurate as the time spontaneously reported by the person seeking divination. However, the time must be spoken out immediately; any hesitation or delay will cause the heavenly mechanism to no longer respond. There is another saying: when the Rén general is still, it remains in its original position, but once it moves, it travels throughout the heavens and the world, knowing all things. Therefore, within a ten-day period, each day has its own guardian general in charge. Even when no divination is performed, the Rén general is always present—either by the person's side or by the side of the box. Therefore, wherever the box is placed, it must be clean, so that the generals will respect and obey it, and the divination will be effective at once.

雷擊棗木盒，以赤珊瑚為珠，此古法也。近見《兵帳賦》氏蒙矢路執示投注云：式者，六壬式也。以擊盤畫十二宮（按擊盤二字不可解，內必有錯誤。）內寫十二神辰，用雷擊棗木或檀木竹十二彈，每彈上刻一辰，十二彈刻十二辰為十二月將，遇昏蒙各按月將取其彈投於盤中，蓋覆搖動，待定啟視，其彈落於何宮，即作正時占之。愚按：比棗制更妙，故錄之。

Using a box made from thunder-struck jujube wood and red coral beads is an ancient method. Recently, I saw the "Tent Assignment" (the original text here has the phrase "氏蒙矢路执示投注" which does not make sense, and it is suspected that there are missing or incorrect characters) saying: the so-called "shi" refers to the Six Rens disk. On a round disk, twelve palaces are drawn, within each palace the twelve divine hours are written. Then, using thunder-struck jujube wood or sandalwood or bamboo, twelve small balls are made, each engraved with one of the earthly branches. The twelve balls together represent the twelve months' generals. When encountering a matter that is unclear and difficult to decide, take the corresponding ball according to the current month's general, throw it into the disk, cover the disk and shake it, then open it when it stops. See which palace the ball falls into, and take that palace as the starting point for the lesson. I note: this is better than the old method of shaking the jujube wood box, so I record it here.

虎乘遁鬼，《畢法》言其極凶，予占恆得之，未見大凶處，惟虎乘干鬼而遁旬丁者，凶動最速。如己巳日干乘丁卯，夜貴作虎星也。

The White Tiger riding on the hidden stem's official ghost is described in the "Bi Fa Fu" as an extremely ominous sign. However, I often encounter this pattern in my divination sessions without experiencing significant danger. The danger becomes most immediate when the White Tiger is riding on an official ghost that is also in conflict with the day stem, and the hidden stem happens to be the "Ding Shen" of the current ten-stem cycle—the stem that is most active in causing change. For example, on a Jisi day, if the day stem is riding on a Dingmao, and at night the noble star is the White Tiger, this is precisely such a situation.

郭氏所刊《畢法賦》內有錯誤一條，今拈出之，“避難逃生須棄舊”注：乙酉日干上亥，辛丑日干上未，比舍益就損格。蓋乙酉日舍去干上亥水之長生而就酉支之鬼克。辛丑日舍去干上未土之生而就丑支之墓，所謂舍益就損也。乃錯列於舍就皆不可格內。

In the published "Bi Fa Fu" by Guo's edition, there is an error which I now point out. The note under the entry "Avoiding danger and escaping must abandon the old" gives two examples: on Yiyou day, the day stem is亥, and on Xinchou day, the day stem is未. These two examples are said to belong to the pattern "abandoning benefit for loss." Originally, on Yiyou day, the day stem is abandoning the亥 water, which is the place of growth for the day stem, and instead yielding to the酉 metal, which is the ghost that harms the day stem. On Xinchou day, the day stem is abandoning the未 earth, which supports the day stem, and instead yielding to the丑 earth, which is the storage place. This is called abandoning the beneficial and yielding to the harmful. However, the Guo edition mistakenly classifies these two examples under the pattern "neither abandoning nor yielding is acceptable."

舍就皆不可格，惟有庚子日干上辰，生我者既空，而庚加子支，又脫我氣；庚午日干上戌，生我者既空，而庚加午支，又為日鬼也。己日卯加巳，夜將乘虎而克干，其上所載之課式亦加巳，三傳卯亥未。而《大全》則錯作卯加乙，其上所載之課云亦是卯加巳，三傳丑亥酉。

The only two cases that truly belong to the pattern "both abandoning and taking are not possible" are: on a Gengzi day, when the day stem is seen on the Chén branch, the Chén earth that nourishes the day stem is already empty, and the Geng metal is also weakening the day stem by being on the Zi branch; on a Gengwu day, when the day stem is seen on the Xū branch, the Xū earth that nourishes the day stem is already empty, and the Geng metal is also acting as the day stem's official ghost by being on the Wu branch. These two examples are neither taking nor abandoning, hence called "both abandoning and taking are not possible." As for the case where the Ji day has the Mǎo branch added to the Sì branch, with the night general riding the White Tiger to attack the day stem, the original book's lesson format also shows Mǎo added to Sì, with the three transmissions being Mǎo, Hài, and Wèi; however, the "Complete Liuren" mistakenly engraved it as "Mǎo added to Yǐ," while its own recorded lesson still writes Mǎo added to Sì, and the three transmissions change to Chǒu, Hài, and You, which contradicts itself before and after.

又《大全》少刻眉批一則：蛇乘丁格，原本眉批云：白虎屬金，故止六甲日忌遁旬內之庚，螣蛇屬火，故止六辛日遁旬內之丁。此批甚為明暢，乃《大全》失之，可惜也！

In addition, the "Daquan" also omitted a marginal note. Below the entry "Shé Chéng Ding Ge," the original printed edition's marginal note states: The White Tiger belongs to the Metal element, so only on six Jia days is it taboo to have the hidden庚 (Geng) appearing within the same ten-day cycle; the Teng Snake belongs to the Fire element, so only on six Xin days is it taboo to have the hidden Ding appearing within the same ten-day cycle. This comment explains the reasoning very clearly and smoothly, yet "Daquan" deliberately omitted it, which is truly regrettable!

下博郭御青先生，因梓人徐振南之請刻《畢法賦》二卷，《課經集》四卷，共六卷，每卷首頁則有“徐振南梓”數字，是知為初刻原本，後不知何時復益以七卷，共十三卷，名曰《大全》。原本中《占驗存略》一篇，兵占六課刪去。嘗讀《明史藝文志》有袁祥六壬三十三卷，後觀《蘇州府志》，知袁祥為元和縣人，有《六壬大全》三十六卷。此書必有可觀，惜遍求而不得，若郭氏所較輯者，雖曰“大全”，實多缺略，況較讎未盡善歟？

The person from Xiaobo, Guo Yüqing, was commissioned by the book carver Xu Zhennan to publish two volumes of the "Bifa Fu," four volumes of the "Ke Jing Ji," totaling six volumes. Each volume's front page bore the inscription "Xu Zhennan Zi," indicating that this was the original first edition. Later, seven more volumes were added at some point, making a total of thirteen volumes, and the title was changed to "The Complete Liuren." In the original work, the section "Zhanyan Cunlue" contained six military divination lessons, which were deleted. I once read the "Ming Shi · Yiwen Zhi," which recorded that Yuan Xiang had written thirty-three volumes of Liuren books. Later, when I checked the "Suzhou Fu Zhi," I learned that Yuan Xiang was from Menghe County and had written thirty-six volumes of "The Complete Liuren." His book must have had considerable merit, but it is regrettable that I could not find it anywhere. As for the edition compiled and edited by Guo's family, although it is called "The Complete Liuren," it has many omissions, and the collation and proofreading were not sufficiently meticulous.

凌福之《畢法賦》，因用邵彥和斷案而作，而復參以心得，故其書從考驗中得來，非揣摩五行之比，然亦有矛盾處。如“干乘墓虎無占病”注說既云“辛酉日丑為空墓，猶可畏矣。”，至“受虎克神為病症”注又曰“辛酉日丑作空亡，容易治療”是也。予嘗為人占病，得此課者，毫無一生，縱二月占，丑是生氣，亦不能解。惟年命在辰，則未沖丑墓(以下脫漏十九字)邵氏《斷案》惟有乙巳日干上卯，三傳不用卯寅丑而用辰卯寅，疑《畢法》因此一課而推演者也。

Ling Fu Zhi's "Bi Fa Fu" was written based on Shao Yanhe's case analysis as its main framework, and also incorporated his own insights. Therefore, this book comes from practical experience rather than mere speculation about the Five Phases. However, there are some contradictions within the text. For example, in the note of the entry "The Day Stem Multiplying the Buried Tiger Indicates No Disease," it says "On Xinyou day, the Chou is an empty burial, still dangerous." But in the note of the entry "Being Attacked by the Tiger Indicates Disease," it says "On Xinyou day, the Chou falls into Kongwang, which is easy to treat." These two statements contradict each other. I have once used this method to predict illness, and those who received such a chart never survived. Even if the chart was cast in February, when Chou is in its vital phase, it could not be resolved. Only when the person's birth year is in the position of Chen can it be considered differently. The original text continues with only four characters "Chen conflicts with Chou," and the following nineteen characters are missing, making the meaning incomplete. I dare not make up the missing parts. In Shao's "Duan An," there is only one case on Yisi day with the Mao on the Day Stem. The three transmissions do not take Mao, Yin, and Chou, but instead take Chen, Mao, and Yin. I suspect that "Bi Fa" was derived from this case.

有陰陽之比，有五行之比。比用課取初傳，陰陽之比也。《畢法》於甲辰日干上戌，不取戌加甲為用，亦取子加辰，以為戌土畏甲木而不比，是拉入五行之比矣，亦似可商。

"Bi" has two interpretations: one is the comparison of yin and yang, and the other is the comparison of the Five Phases.the so-called "Bi yong ke" takes the first transmission, relying on whether the yin and yang attributes are the same, which belongs to the comparison of yin and yang. However, the "Bi Fa" mentions that on a Jiachen day, when the hour is Xu, it does not take Xu added to Jiachen as the useful god, but instead takes Zi added to Chen. The reason given is that Xu earth fears Jiachen wood, thus not being comparable to Jiachen—this brings in the comparison of the Five Phases' generation and overcoming relationships. This approach may still be worth further discussion.

《畢法》一書，最為純正，亦宜融通活法看之，不可拘泥。予憶五十七年正月初十日，族人元正先生占終身財福，其時未交春，尚是丑建，庚辰日子將未時，丑墓並月建加干，根土太固，恐非中傳之未所能沖去。況寅是本命，落於空克之地，休囚無氣，末傳子水螣蛇又脫日干，安可以求財大獲格斷？後果蹇滯。

The book "Bifa" is most pure, but it should also be viewed with flexibility and adaptability, not rigidly adhering to its rules. I remember that on the tenth day of the first lunar month in the fifty-seventh year of Qianlong, a relative named Yuanzheng came to seek a divination about his lifetime's wealth and fortune. At that time, the beginning of spring had not yet arrived, and the month builder was still the month of Chou. The divination was cast on the day of Gengchen with the hour of Zi in the hour stem of Wei. The墓 of Chou was connected with the month builder and both were added to the day stem. The earth's foundation was too thick and solid, and it seemed unlikely that the earth in the middle transmission, which was Wei, could break through it. Moreover, the寅 was his own destiny, but it was placed in a position that was both Kongwang and being overcome, thus weak and confined. The final transmission, which was Zi water, was riding on Teng Snake, and it also drained the energy of the day stem. How could such a divination be interpreted according to the pattern of "great gain in seeking wealth"? Later on, he indeed encountered many difficulties and obstructions everywhere.

又嘉慶十四年三月庚辰日酉將辰時，蘇允文乙丑命占將來就何處口舉，財利若何。得求財大獲格，予見天羅自裹，命上虎鬼，象最凶。況寅馬落空，非特難動，須防災病。後果未往岸店，次年正月暴亡。

In the 14th year of the Jiaqing era, on the 3rd month, on the Gengchen day, at the You hour of the Chen period, Su Yunwen, born in the Yichou year, came to consult about which port he would go to seek his fortune and how his wealth would fare. The divination revealed the pattern of "great gain in seeking wealth." However, I noticed that the Heavenly Net was entangling his own destiny, and the White Tiger was sitting on his birth sign along with the official ghost, indicating the most dangerous omen. Moreover, the Post-horse (post-horse) of the寅 wood was in an empty position, meaning he would not be able to move, and he should also beware of illness. Later, he indeed did not manage to go to the port, and in the first month of the following year, he suddenly fell seriously ill and died.

又十九年正月十八，汪應璧先生丙申命占漢年，此課予亦不以財福斷，支上、行年上見酉為日刃也，為病符，被勾陳夾住，主舊事纏繞不清；財空主財不聚，難望如意。後果如占。二月患外症甚危。蓋丑墓帶血支、血忌，陰神虎鬼，支上病符。占流年以行年為主，行年上亦是病符故耳。其先予未斷出。其危而獲安者，猶賴未沖丑墓，行年上既見比劫，財福定不相宜。

In addition, on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month in the nineteenth year of the Jiaqing era, Mr. Wang Yingbi (born in the Bingshen year) came to consult about the current year (the original text mistakenly writes 'Han' instead of 'Liu'). I did not interpret this divination based on wealth and happiness. The day branch and the year branch both showed You, which is the 'day blade' of this day, also serving as the 'bingfu'. It was also caught between Gou Chen from both sides, indicating entanglement with past matters. The wealth hexagram was empty, indicating difficulty in gathering wealth and failing to achieve one's desires. Later, it indeed came true; in the second lunar month, he suffered from a serious external injury, which was very dangerous. Originally, the Chou tomb carried both the 'blood branch' and 'blood taboo' evils, and the spiritual ghost was the White Tiger official ghost, with the 'bingfu' sitting on the day branch. When consulting about the current year, one should primarily focus on the year branch, and the year branch itself was also the 'bingfu'—this point I initially did not notice. The reason he was in danger but eventually recovered was due to the Wu earth冲 (conflict) opening the Chou tomb. Since the year branch showed a fellow-born and劫财 (robbery wealth) to compete and take away, the wealth and happiness aspects were destined to be unsmooth.

今人論年，有交生日、未交生日之殊，此法蓋本之邵氏。然觀其斷案內，止有三課如此，其餘不然。

Modern people distinguish between "having already passed the birthday" and "not yet passed the birthday" when calculating the annual fate. This method probably originated from Shao Yanhe. However, examining his case judgments, only three instances were handled this way, while the rest were not. This indicates that it was not a general practice.

長生至胎養十二位，宜從五行論長生，以次順布為是。今人亦有以十干分陰陽順布逆布者，蓋因所傳之書非人，無折中之故也。又以日祿臨官，合而為一，勢不能不分出陰陽順布逆布，則日祿即是臨官，殊不知臨官與日祿本不相蒙。

The twelve positions from "Growth" to "Infancy" and "Nurturing" should be discussed according to the Five Phases. The order should be arranged sequentially. Some modern people divide the ten Heavenly Stems into yin and yang, arranging the yang stems in order and the yin stems in reverse. This is because the person who passed down the text was not a wise individual, making it impossible to choose a balanced approach. They also equate "Day's Wealth" with "Officialdom," leading them to distinguish between yin and yang and order accordingly, thus making "Day's Wealth" equivalent to "Officialdom." However, they fail to realize that "Officialdom" and "Day's Wealth" are entirely separate and have nothing to do with each other.

故《畢法》“旺祿臨身”之法，謂日之旺神，又作日之祿神，此惟陰干有之。如乙日祿在卯，而乙木長生在亥，亦旺於卯；丁日祿在午，而丁火長生在寅，亦旺於午；辛日祿在酉，而辛金長生在巳，亦旺於酉；癸日祿在子，而癸水長生在申，亦旺於子。惟己日不能相兼，故注云“己酉、巳亥、己巳，干上午雖不是己之旺神，亦可用也。”

Therefore, the "Bi Fa" mentions the method of "Wang Lu Lin Shen," which refers to the situation where the Day Stem's strong god is also its禄 god. This situation only occurs with yin stems. For example, the stem Yi's禄 is in Mao, and Yi wood is born in Hai and is strong in Mao; the stem Ding's禄 is in Wu, and Ding fire is born in Yin and is strong in Wu; the stem Xin's禄 is in You, and Xin metal is born in Si and is strong in You; the stem Gui's禄 is in Zi, and Gui water is born in Shen and is strong in Zi. Only the stem Ji cannot have both at the same time. Therefore, the commentary says: "On the days of Ji You, Ji Hai, and Ji Si, although the Wu in the day stem is not the strong god of Ji earth, it can still be used." (The original text mistakenly writes "Si Hai" instead of "Ji Hai.")

且予嘗征之占驗，如辛日干上丑，無未相沖，占病不救 ，日墓故也。若辛金長生在子，則丑是養神，當不至於此之之凶。己日干上酉占事脫賺，占人貪慾，日敗故也。若己土長生在酉，當不至若是之咎。乙日干上亥，六處無土剋制，占病沉痾獲起，占事利益恆多，長生故也。若乙木死於亥，則死神臨日，當不至於若是之吉，此皆屢試而屢驗者，其餘不能枚舉。然則習六壬者，何必惑於他歧，反滋疑而莫能斷耶？

Moreover, I have verified this point through actual divination cases. For example, if on a day with the day stem Xin, there is the branch Chou on the day stem, and there is no future conflict to open it, the divination on illness will certainly indicate no salvation, because Chou is precisely the tomb of Xin metal. If, as some people claim, Xin metal is born in Zi, then Chou should be the "nourishing" stage, and the outcome would not be so dire. Similarly, if on a day with the day stem Ji, there is You on the day stem, the divination on matters will surely involve deception and loss, and the divination on people will indicate greed, because You is precisely the decline of Ji earth. If Ji earth were born in You, it would not lead to such severe consequences. On a day with the day stem Yi, if there is Hai on the day stem, and there are no soils in the four lessons and three transmissions to restrain it, the divination on illness will indicate recovery from a serious illness, and the divination on matters will indicate frequent gains. This is because Hai is precisely the birth of Yi wood. If, according to the saying that Yi wood dies in Hai, then the Death Deity would be present on the day, and the outcome would not be so favorable. All these examples have been repeatedly verified, and there are countless other cases. If this is the case, why should students of the Six壬 (Liuren) be confused by various incorrect doctrines, leading to further doubts and indecision?

日干投墓，占病更忌。即日年命上有沖墓之神，無益也。《心鏡》六般入墓列於第四，不過次序如此，非其凶氣輕於三項也。巳年申月辛未日午將酉時，占戌命人病，日干臨丑墓，三傳亥未未，土重埋金，皆非吉象，況未是三丘，丑為五墓，行年上太陽為鬼，迴光返照，能有幾時？即斷此病不起，果七十有九日而死，己丑日辰，仍是日墓。干上未，中末未，命上未，並不見其能沖丑墓，是亥水為初而而遭群土之克，恐其凶尚不止此，奈何？

The day stem falls into the storage, which is especially ominous in divination for illness; even if there are spirits in the day branch or year stem that can break open the storage, it is of no help. The "Heart Mirror" ranks "six kinds of entering the storage" as the fourth item, which is merely the order of narration and does not mean its malevolent influence is less severe than the first three. Once, on a year of Si, month of Shen, day of Xinwei, and time of You in the afternoon, I divined for a person born in the year of Xu for illness: the day stem Xin metal was placed on the branch Chou, which is the storage of metal. The three transmissions were Hai, Wei, and Wei, with layers of earth burying the metal, with no auspicious signs at all; moreover, Wei is "Sanqiu" and Chou is "Wumu," and the solar term in the year's branch also acts as the official ghost, like a final flicker of light, how much longer can it last? I immediately concluded that the illness would not recover, and indeed, the person died after seventy-nine days. He died on the day of Jichou, and the day branch was still the storage of the day stem. In this divination, the day stem was Wei, the middle and final transmissions were also Wei, and the birth year was still Wei, yet none of them could break open the Chou storage; the water in Hai was in the first transmission, but was surrounded and attacked by the earth. I fear the danger may not be limited to this, so what else can be done?

或問曰：土長生在申，一作在寅，未知誰是？余曰：土長生自宜在申，不宜在寅。如戊己日寅木克干，無救者凶，其證也。昔者李覺子《卜易》以天時而參驗，五行見土父母，有應申日雨者，有應子日雨者；又見土為子孫，有應申日晴者，有應子日晴者。蓋申為長生，子為帝旺，是又一證也。

Someone asked: There are two different opinions regarding the long life (长生) of earth; one says it is in Shen (申), and the other says it is in Yin (寅). Which one is correct? I answered: The long life of earth should naturally be in Shen, not in Yin. For example, on a Wu day or Ji day, if Yin wood is strong and overcomes the day stem, and there is no saving god, it will result in misfortune. This is clear evidence. In the past, Li Juexi's "Boyi" (卜易) used weather to verify: when earth is considered as the parent爻 (yao), there are cases where rain occurs on Shen day and also on Zi day; when earth is considered as the son爻 (yao), there are cases where the weather clears on Shen day and also on Zi day. The reason is that Shen is the long life of earth and Zi is the prosperity of earth — this is another piece of evidence.

或曰：“淩氏《畢法賦》以六戊六己日干上子正月占，主有孕故曰‘戊己當絕在亥懷，明知子上是胞胎’，此非土長生在寅乎？”予曰：“此淩氏兩歧之言也。彼不云‘妻財作生氣，縱不作胎神，亦可用’乎？”然則戊日己日干上子，正月占主有孕妻財故也。況其孕止其一端，而戊日己日以申為長生，以子為帝旺，以辰為墓庫，以酉為敗神，以寅為鬼賊，為吉為凶，未可悉數。試取古人占案用語、己所常占者驗後而細詳之，當亦憬然而悟矣。

Someone asked: "Ling Fuzhi's 'Bi Fa Fu' says that on six Wu days and six Ji days, when the day stem is seen with Zi, in the first lunar month it indicates pregnancy. Therefore, it says, 'Wu and Ji reach their decline at Hai, yet they are pregnant in Zi.' But if soil's growth is in Yin, how can Hai be a decline and Zi be a fetus?" I replied: This is a contradiction in Ling's own statements. He also said, "The wife and wealth hexagram can be considered as life qi, even if it is not regarded as the fetal hexagram, it can still be used." According to this, the reason for predicting pregnancy on Wu and Ji days when Zi is present is because Zi is the wife and wealth hexagram of Wu and Ji, not necessarily related to the fetal hexagram. Moreover, pregnancy is just one of many methods of divination. On Wu and Ji days, Shen is the growth, Zi is the prosperity, Chen is the storage, You is the failure, and Yin is the ghost thief. From these, there are countless implications of good and bad fortune. It is advisable to refer to the divination cases from ancient times, as well as one's own daily divinations, and compare them after they come true, and one will naturally understand clearly.

予友吳稼雲先生嘗云：“《周易》言象而不言生克，故六壬家亦宜觀象定吉凶，而不可以生克定吉凶。”此稼雲先生一家之言也。夫《周易》不盡言五行，故不論生克；六壬專言五行，則不能離生克。十二神將之所屬，即象也。或生焉，或克焉，即象之吉凶者也。古人又患人之情偽，事之變幻，非生克兩字可盡也，於是曰德，曰合，曰刑，曰沖，曰破，曰官，曰祿，曰刃，曰旺，曰墓，曰死，曰絕，曰胎，曰養，曰敗，所以參其象而盡其變也。然後吉凶悔吝無所逃於三傳四課中矣。

My friend Wu Jiayun once said, "The Zhou Changes only discusses hexagrams and not the generating and overcoming relationships, so the Six Rens should determine fortune and misfortune by observing the images, not by using generating and overcoming relationships." This is Mr. Jiayun's personal opinion, and I think we should consider it separately. The Zhou Changes does not entirely focus on the Five Phases, so it is acceptable to not discuss generating and overcoming relationships; however, the Six Rens specifically deals with the Five Phases, so it naturally cannot be separated from generating and overcoming relationships. Moreover, each of the Twelve Heavenly Generals has a Five Phase affiliation—Teng Snake belongs to fire, White Tiger belongs to metal, and so on. This affiliation itself is an "image"; their mutual generating, assisting, overcoming, or fighting are the manifestations of good and bad fortune within the image. Therefore, observing images and discussing generating and overcoming relationships are not two separate paths; generating and overcoming relationships are originally contained within the images. Ancients also worried about the authenticity of human emotions and the changes of situations, which cannot be fully explained by just the terms "generating" and "overcoming." Therefore, they established a series of terms such as virtue, harmony, punishment, conflict, destruction, official, fortune, blade, strength, burial, death, extinction, fetal, nurturing, and failure, to combine with the four lessons and three transmissions, to exhaust all possible variations. With these, there is nothing in fortune, misfortune, regret, or hardship that can escape the scope of the four lessons and three transmissions.

稼雲先生學問淵博，深於古文，嘗與予談六壬，經日不倦，其法重初傳，重丁神，以神機兆於動，既得其動，然後融會全課體象而斷之，不可枝枝節節。蓋初傳與丁神皆課中之動者也。先生此言，最為微妙，是佛家上乘工夫，予愧未能造到此境也。庚午春，予自維揚回，見先生於崖市，送寓言談，侃侃仍如往年，今則宿草悽悽矣，悲夫！

Master Jia Yun was highly learned and had profound expertise in classical texts. He once discussed the Six壬 (Six Changes) with me for an entire day without tiring. His approach emphasized the first transmission and the Ding Shen, believing that the divine mechanism is always revealed in the "movement." One should first grasp that movement, then integrate the overall atmosphere of the entire lesson to make a judgment, rather than analyzing piece by piece in a fragmented way—because the first transmission and the Ding Shen are precisely the "moving" elements within a lesson. These words of Master were most refined, belonging to the superior practice described by Buddhism. I feel ashamed that I have not yet reached such a level. In the spring of the Gengwu year, I returned from Yangzhou and met Master once in the崖市 (Cliff Market). When I accompanied him back to his lodging, our conversation was as vigorous as before. Now, the grass on the tomb has already turned withered and sad, how lamentable!

吉凶成敗，雖有德合等之繁，究竟以生克為主，如壬寅日伏吟，雖曰干支上下相合，無如支辰脫干；乙酉日伏吟，亦是干支上下相合，無如鬼臨三四，脫氣鬼克，安得為吉？昔族兄廉階先生精於醫學而不遇時，有鄭姓之友，許為其榆楊傳醫道廣行，先生因索占於予，得壬寅日伏吟課，予曰：“干支上下相合，究竟脫干，所謂有言不信，況巳貴空亡，何益之有？”後果如所占，此壬子年五月十五日所占課也。

Although the fortune of success or failure may involve many factors such as virtue and harmony, in the end it is mainly determined by the relationship of generation and overcoming. For example, in the case of a hidden chant lesson on the day of RENYIN, although the heavenly stem and earthly branch are in mutual union, the day branch drains the energy of the day stem. In the case of a hidden chant lesson on the day of YIYOU, the heavenly stem and earthly branch are also in mutual union, but the official ghost falls in the third and fourth lessons, which both drain energy and are subject to the ghost's overcoming; how can this be considered auspicious? In the past, my cousin, Lianjie, was skilled in medicine but had poor fortune. A friend named Zheng promised to help him spread his reputation and promote the practice of medicine. Lianjie came to me for a divination, and the result was a hidden chant lesson on the day of RENYIN. I said, "Although the heavenly stem and earthly branch are in mutual union, they ultimately drain the energy of the day stem, as the saying goes, 'words may sound good but are not reliable.' Moreover, the nobleman in the position of SI is also in the empty position, how can there be any benefit?" Later, it indeed turned out as predicted. This divination was made on the fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month in the year RENZI.

諺云：“熟讀王叔和，不如見症多。”故六壬家亦如己所占驗者，信而有據。古人多好奇之論、信筆之言，如《管子神書》，有天官天將斷不相兼者；《指掌賦》有斷無此三傳者，有天官斷不臨此處者，乃作者居然作之，注者居然注之，不可解也。他書信筆指鹿為馬者更難悉數焉。今將順逆連數課中無此三傳列於左：

A proverb says, "Even if one reads Wang Shuhe's medical texts thoroughly, it is still better to see more kinds of diseases in person." The same applies to the Six壬 school; only those divinations personally verified can be trusted and have evidence. Many ancient people made curious remarks and wrote them down casually, such as in The Divine Book of Guanzi, which says that certain heavenly officials and heavenly generals will never appear together on the same day; in The Zhizhang Fu, it says that certain three transmissions will never occur, and also says that a certain heavenly official will never be located in a certain place. The writers wrote these things down, and the commentators followed suit, which is really hard to understand. There are countless other books that contain statements that are clearly incorrect. Now I list below the three transmissions that cannot appear in the classes of consecutive and reverse connections.

子丑寅、卯辰巳、巳午未、戌亥子，無以上順連。亥戌酉、酉申未、辰卯寅（惟乙巳日邵氏取此三傳）、寅丑子，以上逆連數。逆連茹間傳無此三傳者：午申戌、戌子寅，無以上順；申午辰、辰寅子、子戌申，無以上逆。順逆三合課無此三傳者：丑巳酉、巳酉丑、午戌寅、戌寅午、卯未亥，無以上順；辰子申、丑酉巳，無以上逆。

In the course of the continuous sequence, there are four groups of three transmissions that cannot be arranged: Zi-Chou-Yin, Mao-Chen-Yisi, Yisi-Wu-Wei, Xu-Hai-Zi. In the reverse continuous sequence, there are four groups that cannot be arranged: Hai-Xu-You, You-Shen-Wei, Chen-Mao-Yin (only on the Yisi day has Shao Yanhe used this group), and Yin-Chou-Zi. "Reverse continuous transmission" refers to the intermediate transmission where the transmissions are passed by skipping positions. In the forward sequence, the groups Wu-Shen-Xu and Xu-Zi-Yin cannot be arranged. In the reverse sequence, the groups Shen-Wu-Chen, Chen-Yin-Zi, and Zi-Xu-Shen cannot be arranged. In the courses of triple harmony, in the forward sequence, the groups Chou-Yisi-You, Yisi-You-Chou, Wu-Wu-Yin, Wu-Yin-Wu, and Mao-Wei-Hai cannot be arranged. In the reverse sequence, the groups Chen-Zi-Shen and Chou-You-Yisi cannot be arranged. Any occurrence of these three transmissions in books is fabricated by the authors and cannot be used as a basis for establishing rules.

十二天官中，惟貴人天空無處不臨，其餘有臨有不臨。螣蛇不臨戌亥，白虎不臨辰巳，朱雀不臨酉戌亥子，太常不臨卯辰巳午未，青龍不臨戌亥，天后不臨辰巳，勾陳不臨酉戌亥子，太陰不臨卯辰巳午。以上皆指不臨地盤而言，若天盤惟貴人天空不乘辰戌，六合元武不乘丑未，其餘無支不乘。

Among the Twelve Heavenly Generals, only the Nobleman and Tian Kong can be present in any palace. The other generals have specific palaces they can and cannot occupy: Teng Snake cannot be in Xu or Hai, Bai Hu cannot be in Chen or Si, Zhu Que cannot be in You, Xu, Hai, or Zi, Tai Chang cannot be in Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, or Wei, Qing Long cannot be in Xu or Hai, Tian Hou cannot be in Chen or Si, Gou Chen cannot be in You, Xu, Hai, or Zi, and Tai Yin cannot be in Mao, Chen, Si, Wu. The above refers to the Heavenly Generals not being able to be in these Earthly Branch palaces. If we consider the Heaven Plate, only the Nobleman and Tian Kong cannot be in Chen or Xu. Liu He and Xuan Wu (the original text says 'Yuan Wu') cannot be in Chou or Wei. The other generals can be in any Earthly Branch.

《心鏡占同居人為賊歌》云：“一家之內十人居，一人失物九人籲。未知盜者定是誰，欲占先以將加時。若有人年元武下，此人盜去更無疑。”此說未可從也，何也？元武不臨寅卯辰巳午未，豈為賊者皆行年在申酉戌亥子丑耶？依此推斷，恐反誣良，不若仍以元武初傳、官鬼參看為穩，推而言之。《指南》占驗，以元武臨戌，風水在西北山岡，亦是偶中，特據此推斷，豈無在東南方之風水乎？若《中黃經》之占盜賊不盡看元武所臨，而必參之以生克，測之以三傳，可謂得其三味矣。

The "Heart Mirror · Song on the Same Household Being a Thief" says: "Within a family living with ten or so people, one person loses something and nine others claim innocence. To know who the thief is, first place the Month General on the time of the divination; if someone's year pillar falls exactly under the Black Tortoise, then that person is the thief without doubt." This statement should not be trusted. Why? The Black Tortoise does not appear in the six palaces of寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未. How could the thief's year pillar just happen to fall in申, 酉, 戌, 亥, 子, 丑? Using this method for deduction might even wrongly accuse the innocent. It is better to still combine the Black Tortoise, the First Transmission, and the Official Ghost for a more reliable judgment. By extension, in the divination examples in the "Six Yin Guide," the statement that the Black Tortoise being in 戌 indicates the风水 is in the Northwest Hill is just a coincidence. If one relies solely on this, would there not be风水 located in the Southeast? As for the "Middle Yellow Classic" in divining thieves, it does not rely solely on the position of the Black Tortoise, but must combine the principles of generation and overcoming, and consider the three transmissions, to truly grasp the essence.

凡占事之重大者，課體最重。若課體不吉，即有一二吉神，無補於課體之疵也。甲戌年十二月初三日，諸公在鄭典五翁花園內為鮑右曾先生預饌大壽，右曾先生從院上來，鹽臺何公囑其占拜奏摺旨意報回若何，生意、鹽務若何，得己未日井欄格，予曰：“巳火皇恩發動生干生支，天后為恩澤之神，又在干支之上，入中末兩傳，必蒙恩允，且有疊疊賞賜。但井上架木，易欹易斜。且一火陷於眾土之中，為力不久，恐鹽務仍無起色耳。”後果一一如占。

Whenever divining about important matters, the most crucial thing is to examine the overall lesson pattern. If the lesson pattern is not auspicious, even if there are one or two auspicious deities among them, they cannot compensate for the inherent defects of the lesson pattern. On the 3rd day of the 12th lunar month in the Jiwu year, many people were preparing a birthday banquet for Mr. Bao Youceng in the garden of Zheng Dianwu's residence. Mr. Bao had just come from the official office. The salt commissioner He Gong asked him to cast a divination: what would be the outcome of the imperial decree on the memorial he had submitted, and how would his business and salt affairs fare. The divination was cast on Jiwei day, forming the "Well Opening" pattern. I said, "The fire of Si is the deity of imperial grace, which when activated, both supports the day stem and the day branch. The Heavenly Empress, who is naturally the deity of grace, is seated above the stem and branch, and enters both the middle transmission and the final transmission. This matter will surely receive imperial favor, and there will be successive rewards. However, the 'Well Opening' pattern is like placing a wooden beam on the well opening, which is easily tilted and unstable. Moreover, a single fire is submerged among many earths, its strength is short-lived, so the salt affairs may still not improve." Later, all these predictions came true.

今人占課，除家宅、風水、婚姻、六甲、官訟、謀干外，往往不看支辰，此大錯也。須知干支為兩儀，不可偏廢，如占天雨，以干為天，以支為所占之地；占考試，干為舉子，支為場屋；占求官，干為求官之人，支為所歷之任；占謀事求財，干為我，支為我所求之人；占出行，干為此處，支為彼處，餘依此推。故每一課演成，先省察干支上神，心中便有把握，然後詳觀三傳，則事之始終定矣。

Modern people who cast divination charts often neglect the day branch when they divinate matters other than family, feng shui, marriage, childbirth, legal cases, and seeking opportunities. This is a great mistake. One must understand that the day stem and day branch are like the two principles of heaven and earth, neither can be missing. When divining about rain, the day stem represents heaven and the day branch represents the specific place being divined; when divining about exams, the day stem represents the examinee and the day branch represents the examination hall; when divining about seeking official positions, the day stem represents the person seeking office and the day branch represents the position to be taken up; when divining about seeking opportunities and wealth, the day stem represents oneself and the day branch represents the person one is seeking; when divining about travel, the day stem represents the current place and the day branch represents the destination. All other cases can be similarly inferred. Therefore, whenever a chart is cast, one should first examine the heavenly stems and earthly branches riding on the day stem and day branch, and then have a clear understanding in mind. Only after that should one carefully examine the three transmissions, and thus the beginning and end of the matter will be determined.

崇正丁丑年五月戊辰日未將辰時，郭公御青為姚君占任所，干上青龍申金，支上未土天空，三傳亥寅巳，郭公以為官馬臨亥，亥為衛；巳祿臨寅，寅為燕，任所非衛即燕。後選周之新野，課體全無影響。詳玩數日，方知四課暗拱地盤周之故。郭公此斷，未免牽強，須知支為任所，支上未土，天空土即野也，是日初交夏至，太陽初到未宮，即新也。丁丑年五月戊辰朔子正一刻夏至，見於崇正萬年書。若清朝萬年書，則○○日。新野二字，其象如此。

In the year Dingchou of the Chongzhen era, on the fifth month, fifth day, wuichen day, at the hour of wei (the hour of the goat), Master Guo Yuqing divined for Yao's future official post. The day stem was the Azure Dragon riding on Shen metal, and the day branch was Tian Kong riding on Wei earth. The three transmissions were Hai, Yin, and Si. Master Guo believed that the official star and the post-horse were on Hai, which could represent Wei; the禄 of Si was on Yin, which could represent Yan, so the official post was either Wei or Yan. However, Yao was later appointed to a new post in Xinye, a place in Zhou, which had nothing to do with the divination. Master Guo pondered over it for several days and finally said that the four lessons secretly formed the character for Zhou on the earth plate. This interpretation seems forced. In fact, the day branch represents the official post: the day branch was Wei earth with Tian Kong, and earth represents 'wild'; on that day, the summer solstice was just beginning, and the sun had just entered the Wei palace. 'Initial arrival' means 'new'—the imagery of 'Xinye' should be interpreted this way. (The summer solstice occurred at the first moment of the first day of the fifth month in the year Dingchou of the Chongzhen era, as recorded in the perpetual calendar of the Chongzhen dynasty; if calculated according to the Qing dynasty's perpetual calendar, the date would differ, and the original text leaves this blank.)

又癸亥日辰將丑時，為劉公占任所，干上天后辰，支上元武寅，三傳辰未戌，以為干支上神拱地盤子，子為山東，子上卯為草，必有草頭之處，查現出之缺，有莘縣、蓬萊，必是蓬萊，以子又為水鄉也。後果選蓬萊，殊不知支為任所，支上元武寅木亦草木之象也。況元武乘寅加亥水，蓬萊乃登州府，屬東北，皆海。寅為東北，元武水、亥水即海也。又元武乘寅加亥長生為道士，寅為山，復道家有蓬萊方丈之山在海中，為神仙所居，是亦其象也。若云干支上神拱地盤，殊不知癸亥日辰無論上乘何神，皆拱地盤子。

In another case, on the day of Guihai, with the time of Chou, the master was asked to predict the place of appointment for Liu Gong. The day stem had the Heavenly Empress riding on Chen, and the day branch had the Black Tortoise riding on Yin. The three transmissions were Chen, Wei, and Xu. The traditional method of interpretation believed that the heavenly stems and earthly branches combined to point to the Earth Plate's Zi, which represented Shandong. Zi was also associated with Mao, which symbolized grass, so the appointment must be in a place with a name containing the radical for grass. At that time, there were two places with such names: Xin County and Penghai. The prediction concluded that it must be Penghai, because Zi also represented water areas. Later, Penghai was indeed appointed. However, this method did not grasp the essential point: the day branch is the key to the appointment place. The Black Tortoise riding on Yin, which is the day branch, itself symbolizes grass and trees. Moreover, the Black Tortoise on Yin added to the亥 water, and Penghai belonged to the Dingzhou Prefecture, located in the Northeast, surrounded by the sea. Yin is associated with the Northeast, the Black Tortoise belongs to water, and亥 is also water, which is the image of the sea. Furthermore, the Black Tortoise on Yin added to亥, which is the long life of Yin, indicating a Daoist master. Yin also represents mountains, and Daoist legends say that there are mountains such as Penghai and Fangzhang in the sea, which are the dwelling places of immortals. These are all the symbolic images of Penghai. As for the idea that the heavenly stems and earthly branches combined to point to the Earth Plate, this is even less reliable. On the day of Guihai, regardless of what deity was riding on the day stem, it would always point to the Earth Plate's Zi, with no distinction.

憶昔壬子年巳月己卯日，鄭君衡翁占乃叔辛未命部選省分，得伏吟課，彼時予尚不悟支為任所之理，只看日祿臨午，當在南方，次年選在福建，分野在丑，課中全無影響，逮後悟得支為任所之理，支上卯作六合為門，福建為八閩，固有門字也。

I remember once in the year Renzi, fourth lunar month, day Jimao, Zheng Hengweng divined for his uncle, who was born in the year Xinwei, about which province the official selection would send him to. He got the Hidden Chant lesson. At that time I had not yet understood the principle that the Day Branch represents the place of appointment. I only saw the Day's禄 (favorable position) on Wu, and therefore concluded that he would be sent to the southern province. However, the next year he was assigned to Fujian, and the territory of Fujian is associated with Chou. There was no correspondence between this and what was seen in the divination. It was only later, after I understood that the Day Branch represents the place of appointment, that I realized: the卯 (Mao) on the Day Branch was multiplied by Liu He (六合), and Liu He signifies 'gate'. Fujian is known as 'Ba Min' (Eight Gates), and the character 'Min' itself contains the character for 'gate'.

又辛丑日未將寅時，鮑石曾先生占尊人柳堂先生當升何官，予曰：“支上卯，干上午，一旬周遍格。午為禮儀，又作旬儀，上得太常，其太常寺正卿乎？”果應。

Again, on the day of Xinchou, at the hour of Yin, Master Bao Shizeng consulted about the official rank his father, Master Liu Tang, would attain. I said, "The day branch is Mao, and the day stem is Wu, forming the pattern of 'a complete cycle.' Wu represents ceremony, and also serves as the current旬's 旬仪. It is occupied by Tai Chang—perhaps he will become the chief officer of the Tai Chang Temple?" Later, it indeed came true.

占逃亡，古法以支為宅，予嘗以支為所逃之處，往往應驗。往年裡人名長六者，占子逃亡，予用李九萬法，以卯為類神，加於未，斷其逃於西南，支上午，午為街市，崖市在吾裡之西南方，命其往崖市尋之，果於崖市見。

Divination for missing persons traditionally uses the Day Branch to represent the home, but I often use the Day Branch to indicate the direction the person has fled, and this method often proves accurate. Years ago, a man named Chang Liu came to consult about his son who had run away. I used Li Jiowan's method, taking Mao as the "class god," and found that Mao was placed over Wei. I predicted he had fled southwest. I also noticed that the Day Branch was Wu, which signifies the market, and there is a market called Ya Shi located southwest of our village. I told him to look for his son in Ya Shi, and indeed he was found there.

又辛亥年除夕，廉階先生占一鄰婦因爭鬥而逃出赴水者，得庚午日昴星課，並無凶煞，河不覆井，知其未赴水矣。太陰為類神加申，尚在西南，支上未貴生太陰，未得老婦，當有老婦勸回。果逃出遇西南方之老尼，拉往尼庵一宿，元旦送回。予始悟貴人為神佛，未為華蓋，故在尼庵耳。

Again, on New Year's Eve in the Xinhai year, Lian Jie Master divined for a neighbor's woman who had quarreled with someone and ran away; her family feared she might commit suicide by drowning. The divination resulted in the Gengwu day with the昴 star lesson. There were no Inauspicious Sha in the lesson, nor was there an image of 'the river does not cover the well' which signifies drowning. This indicated that she had not committed suicide by drowning. Tai Yin is the deity associated with women, and it was placed on the Shen position, still in the Southwest direction. The Wei position on the day branch had a Nobleman assisting to generate Tai Yin. The Wei position can also represent an old woman, so it was concluded that an old woman would persuade her to return. In fact, after she ran away, she met an old nun in the Southwest direction, was taken to a monastery and stayed overnight, and was returned on New Year's Day. It was then that I realized: the Nobleman can represent a deity or Buddha, and Wei is Huagai. The combination of these two signs indicated that the place would be a monastery.

又癸亥年七月，江愷堂先生占門人走失，己得寅時，己未日八專課，干支上皆太陰乘戌，初傳亥為閉口，皆是藏匿之象，不主走颺。但閉口發傳，無人肯言。太陰為老婦，又為神佛，無向僧寺尼庵中尋雲。誰知此門人是被老乳媼藏於香火櫥內，所以恐嚇先生不敢督責耳，為蒙師者難矣哉。

Again, in the Guihai year, seventh month, Mr. Jiang Kaitang divined the case of a student who had gone missing. The report was that it happened at the寅 hour. The divination result was a Jiwei day with an eight-special lesson. The day stem and day branch both had Tai Yin riding on Xu. The first transmission was亥, which was 'closed mouth'—the water of亥 was hidden, indicating silence and not speaking out. The entire lesson showed signs of concealment, not indicating the person had run away far. However, since 'closed mouth' was the initiating transmission, no one was willing to tell the truth, and no matter how much was asked, nothing could be obtained. Tai Yin, as a general, signifies an old woman and also deities and Buddhas, so I advised him to look around temples and monasteries. Unexpectedly, the student had been hidden by an old nursemaid in a shrine cabinet, intending to scare the teacher and make him stop being strict in the future. Being an启蒙 teacher is truly difficult!

又乙丑年三月二十日午時，有占妾逃亡者，得甲辰日干上午，支上申，三傳申子辰，予曰：“支上會成印局，申屬坤之為母，是必逃亡母家。”妾逃責酉與太陰，皆臨長生之地，但不入課傳，而合中犯煞，雖尋得而不能合矣。因即往稻田伊母家尋之，伊母堅雲未歸，直至酉時，母家著人來報云“已於大六望亭尋得首飾也。”

Again, on the day of Yichou in the third lunar month at the fifth hour, someone came to consult about a maid who had run away. The divination was done on the day of Jiachen: the day stem was Wu, the day branch was Shen, and the three transmissions were Shen, Zi, and Chen. I said, "The day branch forms an official seal pattern. Shen belongs to Kun, and Kun represents the mother. She must have run back to her mother's house." For a consultation about a maid running away, one should inquire about You and Tai Yin. In this divination, both of these are located in the growth position, but they are not present in the four lessons or three transmissions, and they also involve a凶煞 (auspicious and inauspicious) conflict. Therefore, although the person can be found, they cannot be reconciled. Immediately, I went to search her mother's house in the rice fields, but her mother denied that she had returned. Until the hour of You, the mother's family sent word saying, "She has already been found at Da Liuwang Pavilion, and her jewelry is also there."

又汪天賜兄占妻舅走失，戊子日申將未時，癸巳生二十一歲，行年戌作元武臨酉為西方，支貴人乘丑，在神廟內無疑。況陰神功曹又帶雷煞也。但驛馬發傳為順連珠，亦不定在一處。干上午為過馬，行年戌，初傳寅成三合，尋之可見。是人初逃往靈山天竺閣蹲一夜，次日逃於崖鎮之下廟，因而遇得之。

Another case, where Wang Tianci's brother divined the loss of his brother-in-law: On the day of Wuzi, with the hour of Shen and the time of Wei, the missing person was born in the year Guisi, aged twenty-one. His year pillar was Xu, riding on the Black Tortoise, which was located on You. You represents the west. The nobleman was on the day branch, riding on Chou. It can be concluded that he must be in a temple. Moreover, the hidden spirit Gongcao accompanied by the thunder demon further indicates the image of a temple. However, the post-horse initiating the transmission formed a consecutive chain, indicating he would not remain in one place. The day stem's Wu was 'over the horse,' and together with the year pillar Xu and the first transmission寅, they formed a triple harmony, indicating that he would be found. This person first hid in the Ling Mountain Tianzhuo Pavilion for the night, and the next day moved to the lower temple in Yatown, hence being discovered and recovered.

占家宅須分新宅舊宅，或求宅得失，或人宅吉凶，不可混同。以干為人，以支為宅，此常經也。若問新舊兩宅誰吉，則又以日上神為舊寬，支上神為新宅，故不可混同也。大概占宅吉凶，支上克干，便為不吉。鬼臨三四更凶。

When divining about a house, it is essential to distinguish whether it is a new or an old house, and whether the question is about whether the house can be obtained or about the fortune of the person living in it. Different types of questions should not be confused. Generally, the day stem represents the person, and the day branch represents the house. If the question is about which of the new or old house is more auspicious, then the heavenly stem above the day stem should represent the old house and the heavenly stem above the day branch should represent the new house. Therefore, they cannot be treated as the same. In general, when divining the auspiciousness of a house, if the heavenly stem above the day branch overcomes the day stem, it is considered inauspicious. If the official ghost falls in the third or fourth lesson, it is even more ominous.

予往年曾卜一宅可居否，得甲戌日干上丑，支上酉，鬼臨三四，畏之而不敢居，因畢法有“鬼空無畏”之說，觀亥水長生在傳，仍還居之，誰知自甲寅至癸未十年，雖財窘而人口平安，且添二丁，至甲子年亥水長生一空，予便大病，辛未年妻又大病，庚午、壬申連喪二子，癸酉又因他事耗財，皆由此十年長生即空則申酉之鬼為患也。甲戌年後方安，因長生又實耳。予既自誤，敢告同人，且以自警。

I once divined whether a house was suitable to live in, and the day was Jia Xu. The day stem was Chou, and the day branch was You. Officials and ghosts were present in the third and fourth lessons, making me afraid and unwilling to move in. Later, I saw in the "Bifa" that "if ghosts fall into Kongwang, there is no need to fear," and also noticed that the water of Hai was in the growth position within the three transmissions. Eventually, I decided to move in. However, during the ten years from Jiayin year to Guiwei year, although I was financially strained, my family remained safe and even had two sons. But when the growth of Hai water fell into Kongwang in Jiazi year, I fell seriously ill. In Xinwei year, my wife also fell ill. In Gengwu and Renshen years, two sons died consecutively. In Guiyou year, I suffered financial loss due to other matters. All these were because after those ten years, when the growth fell into Kongwang, the officials and ghosts of Shen and You took advantage of the situation to cause trouble. It was only after Jia Xu year that things stabilized again, as the growth was filled again. Since I have personally suffered these losses, I dare to share this with fellow enthusiasts, and also serve as a warning to myself.

邵彥和先生為人占求宅基，庚寅日寅將酉時，干上丑，支上未，三傳子巳戌，斷云：“大凡占求宅基，須看支辰，今支上空亡，此宅不可得而圖也。”是知有宅可指，須看支辰，及云“中傳巳乃長生，作太陰，是買得老婦人店業，便是宅基”，是知傳中既有長生，便可舍彼而圖此，善學者悟之！一切取舍趨避之道，皆可得而知矣。豈第求宅云乎哉？

Master Shao Yanhe once divined for someone seeking a place to build a house on Gengyin day, with Yin as the general and You hour: the day stem was Chou, the day branch was Wei, and the three transmissions were Zi, Si, and Xu. He interpreted: "When seeking a house, one must look at the day branch. Now the day branch falls on Kongwang, meaning this house cannot be obtained, nor can it be acquired." From this we know that whenever a specific house is involved, one must look at the day branch. He then continued: "The middle transmission Si is the Growth, and it is also accompanied by Tai Yin, which indicates buying a shop from an old woman, and that is the house that can be obtained." From this we also know that if the three transmissions show Growth, one should abandon the original house and instead seek this one. Those who are good at learning should understand this. All the principles of what to take and what to abandon, what to pursue and what to avoid, can be known from this, not only concerning the matter of seeking a house.

取舍趨避之道，莫妙於《管子神書》之總論，其首章云：“干支傳課作提綱，先審安命無所傷，事業一生經歷處，存亡隱現莫明詳。”項章云：“干祿得地守求加，略有些傷支用尋。壬到好邊方住腳，有些疑惑不堪停。”三章云：“或財或比或生身，要把無傷細酌尋。得個穩中方住腳，莫令衰敗又無存。”四章云：“先從干上作原因，次把用神配合存。初不行傳須看日，方知此事得何神。”既此四章意，又以日祿、日財、相比、長生為吉，須擇其無傷者而趨之也。

The explanation of choosing, rejecting, moving towards, and avoiding is nowhere more refined than in the general discussion of the "Spirit Book of Guanzi." Its first chapter says: "Take the day stem, day branch, three transmissions, and four lessons as the main points. First examine one's own destiny to ensure it is secure and unharmed; clearly distinguish all the places one's career will go through, as well as matters of life and death and hidden or visible things." The second chapter (the original text says "next" but is mistakenly written as "item") says: "If the day's wealth is in a favorable position, hold onto it, seek it, and add to it; if there is slight damage, then look for it in the day branch and the useful god. Only when reaching a good side can one establish a firm position; if there is any doubt, one must not stay." The third chapter says: "Whether it is wealth, a companion, or the god that supports life, one must carefully choose those that have not been harmed; only after finding a secure place can one establish a firm position, avoiding situations that are both declining and without support." The fourth chapter says: "First find the cause of the matter from the day stem, then combine it with the useful god for analysis; if the first transmission is not suitable, one must look back at the day stem to determine which god this matter falls upon." Summarizing the meaning of these four chapters, one must choose the favorable elements such as day's wealth, day's fortune, companions, and growth, and go towards those that have not been harmed.

吳稼雲先生以邵公“丙戌日子將未時為乙亥人占終身課”是全案中最得意之作，熟玩乃見其精，蓋取其斷法靈活，不專在生克處講求耳。

Master Wu Jiayun believes that Shao Yanhe's lesson on "Bingxu day and hour, replacing Wei time for Yihai year-born individuals to predict their entire life" is the most satisfying case in all divination. One must study it repeatedly to appreciate its subtlety. What he values most is the flexibility of this method, which does not rely solely on the principles of generation and overcoming.

休寧程先生精六壬，有叩求其學者，九圭云：“是全須精神。”吾嘗澄心息慮，以先天之靈，得自然之妙，其所言者，百不失一。心有所寄，而強為人斷，雖有數學詩書，終不驗矣。

Master Cheng from Xiu Ning is skilled in the Six壬 (Liuren) divination method. When someone came to seek his guidance, Cheng Jiugui said, "This discipline relies entirely on spirit. I often clear my mind, hold my breath, and eliminate all distractions, using my innate clarity to grasp the subtle workings of nature. What I say is never wrong. If my mind is preoccupied with other matters and I force myself to give a judgment, then even if I have extensive knowledge of divination and literary talent, it will never come true."

族伯吟園先生，名庭和，字用修，善六壬，嘗與眾友同舟赴鄉試，共占一課，以占諸人誰中。其吉神吉將，咸在己年命之上，先生喜曰：“惟予得解元，諸公無望也。”眾友共譏笑之，及榜發，乃中第一名副榜。此中必有元微，先生未探討耳。

My cousin uncle Yin Yuan, whose name was Ting He and courtesy name Yong Xiu, was skilled in the Six壬 system. He once traveled by boat with some friends to take the local examination, and they all cast a divination to see who among them would pass. In the divination, all the auspicious deities and generals were gathered at his own year and destiny, and the master was delighted, saying, "Only I can become the top scorer, and none of you have any hope." The friends all laughed at him. But when the results were announced, he actually came first in the supplementary list. There must be some subtle distinction in the divination that the master did not deeply explore at that time.

先生嘗卜地葬親，曰：“可發一榜。”後辛卯科其侄仲升先生果中第十九名舉人。

The master once selected a burial site for his relative and said, "This land can bring forth one who ranks among the top candidates." Later, in the Xinmao imperial examination for the county-level exam, his nephew Zhongsheng indeed ranked nineteenth as a juren.

吟園先生吾未及見，嘗聞其設賬於褒家旦，一日，東君戲問曰：“先生知今午之餚乎？”先生占曰：“是必風雞也。然公不可回，回則不驗矣。”少頃，東君託故他往，實回家省視，果是風雞。命易以烹魚，復進館。及午，僕人送烹魚至，東君笑曰：“先生課亦不驗耶？”先生曰：“硯下有紙，公可讀之。”乃“風雞變魚”數字，主賓大笑。惜乎先生不留存案，予嘗問仲升先生何以知風雞變魚，仲升先生曰：“往年得聞吾伯雲‘因課中有丁馬，故知其動而必變。’”

I was unable to meet Master Yinyuan. I heard that he once taught at the Bao family's academy. One day, the master of the house jokingly asked him, "Can you tell me what dish we will have for lunch today?" Master Yinyuan cast a divination and said, "It must be wind chicken. However, you cannot go home to check, because once you go home, it will no longer be accurate." A while later, the master of the house made an excuse to go out, actually going home to check. Indeed, it was wind chicken; he then ordered it to be changed to braised fish and returned to the academy. At noon, the servant brought the braised fish, and the master of the house laughed and said, "Master's divination is not always accurate." Master Yinyuan said, "There is a piece of paper under the inkstone; please take it and see." The paper wrote exactly the four characters "wind chicken becomes fish." The host and guest looked at each other and laughed heartily. Unfortunately, Master Yinyuan did not preserve this divination for record. I once asked Master Zhongsheng how he knew that wind chicken would turn into fish. Master Zhongsheng said, "I heard from my uncle long ago. It was because the divination had the Ding spirit and the Post-horse, so I knew something would change. Once something moves, it must change."

《畢法》有論丁神，不過金日或虎遁丁而已，及《管子神書》則觸類旁通，其法大備。然丁神不過如卦爻中之重，其吉凶仍在神將，不可不知。

In the "Bi Fa," the discussion on Ding Shen is limited to cases where it is on a metal day or when the White Tiger rides the hidden Ding; it is only in the "Guan Zi Shen Shu" that the application of Ding Shen is fully explained. However, Ding Shen is equivalent to the "Chong" line in the hexagram lines, serving as a mark of initiative and transformation. Whether it is auspicious or inauspicious still depends on the Heavenly General it rides upon, a point that must not be overlooked.

六壬變化不可方物，即無丁神入傳，其變化說非一法可定，《磨鏡藥》、《精蘊》、《前知》等書，雖關白條暢，便於初學。微嫌拘泥太甚，更失之於信筆，非徵驗之書也。

The changes of the Six壬 system have no fixed form; even without the presence of the Ding spirit in the transmission, its variations cannot be confined by any single rule. The books "Mojing Yao," "Jing Yun," and "Qianzhi," although explaining clearly and conveniently for beginners, are somewhat too rigid and tend to be written carelessly, and thus cannot be considered as works derived from actual verification.

課名多有不可解處，如四上克下為無祿是矣，而四下賊上為絕嗣，其意何居？《訂訛》則云“下克上為絕嗣，以上不容下也，四下賊上，名無祿，位居下而不敢犯上，上必奪其祿也。”此說微有委曲。官應震則云：“此二課須交互言之。總之，一則犯上，一則陵下，皆屬不利。”

There are many parts in the lesson names that do not make sense. For example, the fourth lesson, where the upper part overcomes the lower part, is called "no salary" (无禄), which makes sense; but when the lower part steals from the upper part, it is called "no descendants" (绝嗣), and it is unclear why this is so. The "订讹" explains: "When the lower part overcomes the upper part, it is called 'no descendants,' because the upper position cannot tolerate the lower position; when the fourth lesson's lower part steals from the upper part, it is called 'no salary,' because the lower position dares not offend the upper position, and the upper position will certainly take away his salary." This explanation seems somewhat convoluted. Guan Ying Zhen says: "The names of these two lessons must be explained in relation to each other. In short, one is a case of subversion from below, and the other is a case of oppression from above, both being unfavorable."

乃《磨鏡藥》、《前知書》中占六甲，以之分男女，並不言其凶，何也？《心鏡》占男女歌云：“用神克下生男子。”范蠡三更奏越君，原注引《越復經》云：“越王四月辛巳日申將子時，召范蠡占鄭妃產。蠡曰‘上勝光克下必生男。’”《袖中金》則作四月辛巳日申將子時，巳火克酉金。若用《通龜》則作丁丑日申將子時，巳火克酉金。《御定六壬直指》因之，然予查《越絕書》、《吳越春秋》，亦無此占，所謂《越復經》者，予未之見，《袖中金》則有訛錯，但《磨鏡藥》等書，又云《心鐿》有此歌句而改為“四上克下賊上”，以為更準。初不計其凶災也。

But the books "Mo Jing Yao" and "Qian Zhi Shu" use these two lessons to determine the gender of a child in divination for childbirth, without mentioning where the凶 (misfortune) lies. Why is this so? The "Xin Jing" has a song about determining gender which says, "If the useful god (用神) overcomes the lower branch, it will be a male child." Regarding the story of "Fan Li's Three O'clock Night Report to the King of Yue," the original commentary cites "Yue Jue Jing" (the original text says "Yue Fu Jing") which states: "On the fourth month, on the day of Xinsi, at the hour of Shen with the time of Zi, King Yue summoned Fan Li to divinate the childbirth of Zheng Fei. Fan Li said: The upper god overcomes the lower, and it will certainly be a male child." The "Xiu Zhong Jin" records it as the fourth month, on the day of Xinsi, at the hour of Shen with the time of Zi, with the fire of Si overcoming the metal of You. The "Yu Ding Liu Ren Zhi Zhi" follows the account of "Tong Gui." However, I have searched through both "Yue Jue Shu" and "Wu Yue Chun Qiu," and found no such divination. The so-called "Yue Jue Jing" I have never seen. As for "Xiu Zhong Jin," its own day, branch, hour, and general (将) are already incorrect, so it is not reliable. Moreover, books like "Mo Jing Yao" claim that the "Xin Jing" originally had this verse, but they altered it to "Four upper gods overcoming the lower, the lower stealing the upper," believing this to be more accurate. They completely ignore the fact that these two lessons originally indicate a凶 (misfortune).

六甲占男女法，前人皆以曲直炎上為男，從革潤下為女，予試驗以來，惟曲直為男，從革為母，確不可易，至炎上潤下則不然也。竊思前人蓋以木東火南，東南為陽方，故生男；金西水北，西北為陰方，故生女。殊不知申子辰、寅午戌、巳酉丑、亥卯未，此局也，非方也。三合局中，究以仲謀作主，則子屬坎為男，午為離為女，此炎上潤下所以不然之故歟？往年西商王潔庵翁卜妾孕得炎上，斷其生男而得女，霞表弟占妾孕得潤下，予已悟破此理，斷其生男而不斷其生女，及今晚果得男。

Methods of divining the sex of a child have traditionally used "curved and straight" (Triple Harmony Wood) and "inflaming upward" (Triple Harmony Fire) to indicate a male, and "following transformation" (Triple Harmony Metal) and "moistening downward" (Triple Harmony Water) to indicate a female. From my own trials, only "curved and straight" indicating male and "following transformation" indicating female are certain and unchangeable (the original text mistakenly wrote "mother" instead of "female"). As for "inflaming upward" and "moistening downward," they do not work in this way. I privately suspect that previous scholars probably thought that wood is located in the east and fire in the south, and that the southeast is a yang direction, so they concluded that these indicate a male. They also thought that metal is located in the west and water in the north, and that the northwest is a yin direction, so they concluded that these indicate a female. But they did not realize that the Triple Harmony "circles" such as Shen Zi Chen, Yin Wu Xu, Si You Wei, and Hai Mao Wei are not the four cardinal "directions." In the Triple Harmony circle, the central element is the main one. Therefore, in the water circle, the element of Zi belongs to Kan and indicates a male, and in the fire circle, the element of Wu belongs to Li and indicates a female. This is probably why the "inflaming upward" and "moistening downward" circles do not follow the directional indications. In the past, a merchant from Shanxi named Wang Jie'an once consulted me about a concubine's pregnancy, and the result was the "inflaming upward" circle. I predicted a male, but the child was female. Later, my cousin Xie's brother consulted me about another concubine's pregnancy, which was the "moistening downward" circle. By then I had understood this principle, and I only predicted a male, not a female. That night, the child was indeed a boy.

占失脫，須看內類神，故有支上神將而知所失之物者，此則予未嘗試驗，不敢妄言。古法又有以初傳為盜去之人者，此則有驗，亦未可盡拘。往年汪宅失一金飾，占得天后乘巳發用而剋制酉金，知其為婦人盜去。因年命上諸制巳火，斷其可得。

When divining about lost items, one must look at the "inner class god," which is the god representing the lost object itself. Therefore, some people can identify what was lost by observing the god riding on the day branch, but I have not personally tested this method, so I dare not speak without evidence. An ancient method also uses the first transmission to indicate the person who stole the item, and this has proven effective, but one should not rigidly adhere to it. In the past, a Wang family lost a piece of gold jewelry. The divination showed the Heavenly Empress riding on巳 and controlling酉 gold—the酉 is the class god for gold ornaments, and it was controlled by the巳 fire riding on the Heavenly Empress, indicating that a woman had taken it. Furthermore, since all the gods in the year and destiny could restrain the巳 fire, it was concluded that the item would be recovered.

又鮑宅失一玉猴，占得丙午日干上午，三傳申酉戌，予曰：“支加干，已出外矣。初傳申為猴，次傳酉為玉，明現此象，而入末傳之火庫戌，戌為奴作螣蛇，是奴僕盜去無疑，不必指初傳為盜也。考酉為太陽而臨申金上，干上午又制類神，必可得也。”二課俱驗。但徽州失去玉猴，次年從漢口賣貨處得之，不知何故。占失玉猴課是乙丑年三月二十一日酉將申時。

Another time, a family from the Bao clan lost a jade monkey. The divination was cast on Bingwu day: the day stem was Wu, and the three transmissions were Shen, You, and Xu. I said: "The day branch is added to the day stem, indicating that the thing has already left the house. The first transmission Shen represents a monkey, the middle transmission You represents jade, and both images are clearly present. However, they are included in the final transmission Xu, which is the fire store, and also signifies servants. Moreover, it is accompanied by Teng Snake, indicating that the servant stole it. Therefore, we should not consider the first transmission as the thief. Further examination shows that You is under the influence of the sun, and it is seated on Shen metal. The day stem Wu can control the class god, so the lost item will certainly be recovered." Both of these divinations later came true. However, the jade monkey lost in Huizhou was recovered the next year from a trading place in Hankou, and it is unclear why. The divination for the lost jade monkey was cast on the 21st day of the third lunar month in the year Yichou, with the You general and Shen hour.

指南占驗頗足效法，唯乙酉日占風水一課似有可榷。又有占官訟一課，日辰錯誤，竊意風水之占，與家宅大略相同，以課名而知其大概，以支辰為地，觀其上神與日干較生克沖合，而知其吉凶。以三傳神將知其更替之遲久速暫。以旺衰定丁財，以子孫財祿知參合，神將意義知其發何等人，看鬼殺之所臨知其支干中何命不利，果能是，是亦足矣。

The divination examples in the "Six壬 Guide" are well worth emulating. However, the one on divining风水 on Yiyou day seems questionable, and the one on legal cases has an incorrect record of the day branch. In my opinion, divining风水 is largely similar to divining the family residence. By the name of the lesson, one can get a general idea. Using the day branch to represent the land, one can judge its fortune by comparing the god riding on it with the day stem, looking at their mutual generation, overcoming, conflict, and harmony to determine good or bad fortune. By the heavenly generals riding on the three transmissions, one can know whether the effects after burial will come quickly or slowly. By the prosperity and decline of the five phases, one can judge the fortune of people and wealth. Combining the items of descendants and wealth, and considering the meaning of the heavenly general itself, one can know what kind of person this land will produce. Then by looking at where the official ghost and evil spirits fall, one can know which branch and which birth year of the family is unfavorable. If one can do these steps, it would be sufficient.

若必斷其何處山岡、何處來龍、為何龍虎、為何形象、如何山向、如何明堂、如何水法。徒然動人聽聞，畢竟依稀猜度。須知山川之形勢無定，類神之生克有學，未必一一合拍也。玉藻金英一書雖然詳細亦須節取（後有脫漏）

If one insists on determining which particular hill or ridge it is, which dragon line it comes from, what form the azure dragon and white tiger take, what overall shape it has, which direction the main hill faces, what condition the bright hall is in, and how the water flows, then it is merely a futile exercise that dazzles the listener's ears. In the end, it remains mere guesswork. One must know that the forms of mountains and rivers are ever-changing, while the principles of the interactions among the divine beings have their own systematic theory. These two aspects may not always correspond. Although the book "Juyao Jinying" discusses these matters in detail, one can only select the good and adopt the proper parts. (The original text has missing characters here, and the sentence is incomplete.)

元武，予亦常應六合。蓋六合為和合會合之象耳。往年有考驗行人一篇，皆四書集句，今已失之。占音信雖以朱雀為主，然勝光、信神、天雞皆可參看，得朱雀加於上，信到必速，加於干上反遲。凡朱雀入傳而見丁馬，朱雀三合之期必至。

The general Xuanwu often corresponds with Liu He in actual divination cases, because Liu He represents harmony and meeting, which is in harmony with the subtle connection and interaction of Xuanwu. I once wrote an article called "Testing the Traveler," which was entirely composed of sentences from the Four Books, but it has now been lost. Although the bird Alkaid (Zhu Que) is the main indicator for predicting messages, the victorious light (Wu), the messenger god (Xin Shen), and the heavenly rooster (Tian Ji) can also be considered. If Zhu Que is placed on the day branch, the message will arrive quickly; if it is placed on the day stem, the message will arrive later. Whenever Zhu Que appears in the transmission and also sees the Ding god and the post-horse, the message will definitely arrive by the triple harmony period of Zhu Que.

占疾病亦須兼看類神，若類神不現，則可照常法斷也。予昔年為人占母病，見官鬼旺而無制，以為不宜，復一月而全愈。復取課式詳云：蓋三傳官鬼生占人年命上之父母故也。因思《畢法賦》有“父母空亡，占父母病必死；占子息之病無畏。”之言，是占病要看類神，《畢法賦》已言之矣。

Divination regarding illness must also consider the class god; if the class god does not appear, then follow the usual rules for interpretation. In my early days, I once divined my mother's illness and saw the official ghost was strong and unrestrained, thinking it was not good, but a month later she recovered. Later, I re-examined the divination chart carefully and realized that the official ghost in the three transmissions exactly generated and supported the parent's hexagram in the seeker's birth year. From this, I thought of the saying in the "Bi Fa Fu" that "if the parent's hexagram falls into kongwang, predicting the illness of the parents means certain death; but predicting the illness of children does not need to be feared." This shows that when divining illness, one must consider the class god. The "Bi Fa Fu" has already said this.

饒公亮彩以《心鏡》為秘書，吳公稼雲以《未悟》及《管子神書》為秘書。二公談論六壬常意見不合，然透《心鏡》者，占驗較多，予見吳公占驗，占驗惟甲子年八月十二日丙子占歙縣中舉幾人，得伏吟課，吳公曰：“當中五人！”予與饒公竟莫測其課理，叩問吳公，公大笑而不言，迨榜發竟應。

Rao Liangcai regarded the "Xin Jing" as a secret text, while Wu Jiayun regarded the "Wei Wu" and the "Guanzi Shen Shu" as secret texts. The two gentlemen often had differing opinions when discussing the Six壬 system, but the one who thoroughly understood the "Xin Jing" had more accurate divinations. I personally witnessed Wu's divination on the day of the Jiazi year, eighth month, twelfth day, Bingzi day, when he predicted how many candidates from the Xixian examination would pass. He cast a Fu Yin lesson and said, "Five people will pass." Both I and Rao could not grasp the meaning of his lesson, so we asked Wu, but he just laughed and did not answer. However, when the results were announced, his prediction was spot on.

是科江名九先生銘中式第二十名，先是六月甲子日未將辰時，江象坤兄為其占鄉試，斷其必中，予與饒公嫌青龍內戰，朱雀空亡，俱未敢許。迨榜發，報雲。饒公來問予，曰：“此粗心斷課之過也。夫青龍是官星相氣，朱雀”（以下脫漏十九字）加年命之下，末見太陽，不以幕貴為墓論，予以為深服饒公之好學，所謂因敗而成者其勢進。

In that examination, Jiang Mingjiu (Ming) ranked twenty-first. Before that, on the sixth month's Jiazi day at the hour of Chen, Jiang Xiangkun brother divined for him the local examination, predicting he would pass. I and Rao Gong were suspicious of the divination, noting that the Qinglong was fighting internally and the Zhuque was in Kongwang, so we did not agree. When the results were announced, he had indeed passed. Rao Gong came to ask me, and I said, "This is our fault for being careless in interpreting the divination. Qinglong is originally the official star's phase; Zhuque..." (The original text is missing nineteen characters here.) ...Adding it below the year and destiny, and the final transmission also shows the sun, it cannot be interpreted as "Mugui entering the tomb." Although this missing passage is long, the main idea can still be inferred: even though Qinglong is fighting internally, it is still the phase of the official star; although Zhuque is in Kongwang, as long as it is added below the year and destiny, and the final transmission also shows the sun, it cannot be interpreted according to the rule of "Mugui entering the tomb." I therefore deeply admired Rao Gong's diligence—those who achieve success through failure are indeed on the rise.

斬關課，諸書惟言利於隱遁、逃亡、出行、厭禱、合藥、書符等事，殊不知亦利於行師。

The "Zhang Guan Ke" is mentioned in various texts as being favorable for concealment, escape, travel, repelling evil spirits, prayer, medicine preparation, and drawing talismans. However, it is not recognized that it is also beneficial for military campaigns.

《五代史賀環傳》云：事鄆州朱宣為都指揮使，梁太祖攻朱瑾於兗州，先遣環與賀懷割、柳存等，以兵萬一人攻兗州，環趨待賓館，欲絕梁餉道。太祖略地至中州，得降卒，言環等兵趨待賓館矣。以六壬占之，得斬關，以為吉，乃選精兵疾馳百里，期先至待賓館以逆環，而原黑夜失道，且至鉅野東，過環兵，擊之，環兵大敗，梁兵急追之，環顧路窮，登冢大呼曰：“我賀環也，可弗殺我。”太祖馳騎取之。

The *Five Dynasties History* *Biography of He Gui* (the original text also uses "Huan" for "Gui") records that He Gui served Zhu Xuan in Yunzhou, holding the position of commander of all troops. When Liang Taizu Zhu Wen attacked Zhu Jin in Yanzhou, Zhu Xuan first sent He Gui and He Huaiqie, Liu Cun, and others with an army of 11,000 soldiers to attack Yanzhou. He Gui advanced to the Taiguan inn, intending to cut off the Liang army's supply lines. When Liang Taizu advanced to the central plains and captured surrendered soldiers, he learned that He Gui's forces had already moved to the Taiguan inn. He then used the Six Rens divination method to cast a horoscope, obtaining the "Zhangan" lesson, which he considered a great auspicious omen. He then selected elite troops and rushed 100 li, hoping to arrive at the Taiguan inn first to confront He Gui. However, He Gui's troops became lost in the dark and arrived east of Juyi, passing by the Liang army's side. The Liang army seized the opportunity to attack, and He Gui's entire army suffered a great defeat. The Liang soldiers pursued relentlessly. Seeing no way out, He Gui climbed a grave and shouted, "I am He Gui; do not kill me!" Liang Taizu rode up on horseback and captured him alive.

獨足課最不吉，邵公為人占買賣得此為獨足，宜舟行不利陸行，舟行必加倍獲利，是說也，予未嘗試，未敢以為必然。往日理中有為眾事而執用己財者，因向予占向公家肯認還否，得獨足課，予曰：“重重脫氣，玩一獨字，是爾一人耗財，公家不肯認還也。”又六安張序東翁辛未年占代辦六霍口岸，得獨足課，予曰：“獨足難行，重重脫敗，定不如意。支為店業，既乘敗神，已為廢岸。三傳再敗，無可挽回矣。”二傳俱驗。

The single-footed divination is most inauspicious. Shao Yanhe once used this divination for someone's business and said that the single-footed divination is suitable for water routes but not for land routes, and traveling by water would certainly bring double profit. I have not tried this myself, so I cannot confirm it definitely. Previously, in my hometown, someone used his own money for a public matter and came to me to divinate whether the public would acknowledge the debt and repay it. The divination came out as the single-footed one. I said, "The divination shows repeated leakage of energy. Considering the character 'du' (single), it means you will lose money alone, and the public will not repay." Also, Zhang Xudong, an elder from Liu'an, divined the business of handling trade at the ports of Liu'an and Huoshan in the year Xinwei, and also got the single-footed divination. I said, "Single-footed is difficult to proceed, and there is repeated leakage of energy leading to decline; it is certain that things will not go as desired. The day branch represents the business, and since it is riding on the losing god, it is already a deserted port; the three transmissions also meet the losing place, which is even more irreversible." Both of these divinations later came true.

獨足課主傷子息。庚申年三月一人占門樓倒塌主何吉凶，（此處脫漏十餘字）……（此處脫漏十餘字）家病者五人，是日交立夏，疊疊死氣作六合，凶危極矣。

A single-legged divination lesson indicates harm to children and descendants. In the Gengshen year, during the third month, someone divined about a collapsing gatehouse and asked what fortune or misfortune it indicated (the original text here is missing more than ten characters) ... (the following text also has more than ten characters missing) ... five people in the family fell ill on that day. That day was just before the beginning of the summer solstice, and the divination showed heavy death qi combined with Liu He, reaching the peak of danger. This entry has many missing parts, making it impossible to determine the day branch and the hour general of the divination. Only the remaining sentences can be recorded as they are, without conjecture.

二煩課諸書極言其凶，予為人占升遷，之未見有甚大凶處。因思日宿即太陽，人所易知。月宿乃太陰，太陰有遲疾，其躔度過宮，人所難曉。古法正月朔起室，二月朔起奎云云，而天上太陰躔度六合諸書，以訛承訛，所云某月某日月宿在某宮者，又何嘗在宮也，乃紛紛言其大凶，知其並非欲驗，不過相沿舊說而矣，大抵二煩課，從三交課中來，凡得三交課，須查七政時曆書，此日此時太陰躔度果在子午卯酉宮而發用者，方不錯。

Two-fan divination is generally considered extremely ominous by various schools of thought, but I have encountered it when predicting promotions for others and did not observe significant danger. Therefore, I began to think: the sun's position, or the day mansion, is easy for everyone to know; the moon's position, or the Tai Yin, is the location of the moon, but the moon's movement is sometimes fast and sometimes slow, making it difficult for ordinary people to accurately calculate when it enters a particular mansion. Ancient methods state that the beginning of the first lunar month starts at the Encampment mansion, and the beginning of the second lunar month starts at the Legs mansion, and so on. However, the records of the moon's position in various books have been passed down with errors, and the claim that the moon is in a certain mansion on a certain day is not necessarily accurate. Yet people still insist it is extremely ominous, indicating that these statements were never intended to be verified, but rather followed tradition blindly. In general, the two-fan divination arises from the three-intersection divination. Whenever one casts the three-intersection divination, one must consult the Seven Celestial Officials Almanac to check whether the Tai Yin's position on that day and hour truly falls in the four cardinal mansions—Zi, Wu, Mao, and You—and initiates the divination, only then can it be considered accurate.

其天寇卦，月宿加離辰死，其卦月宿在天罡，皆以七政時憲書中躔度為準，不可草率。

As for the 'Heavenly Enemy Hexagram'—where the moon's position is over the Fire position and the hour is dead—and the hexagram where the moon's position falls on the Heavenly Gang (the hour position), both should be verified according to the actual celestial positions recorded in the 'Seven Political Chronology Book,' and should not be decided hastily.

占此現彼，壬課最多。憶戊午科七月，予在杭州，德安孝廉餘梅波先生卜來年會試，得丙子日返吟，死神加干，死氣入傳，皆為日鬼，常作德絕，予曰：“此課會試而應人口夭亡。”先生驚問：“何人？”予不便直言，答以兄弟等輩。惟私謂予友鄭體功先生、吳友陶先生曰：“梅波先生不能過十日矣。”十日果殃於場田竹谿寺。

When a divination about one matter turns out to be about another, this situation is very common in the Six壬 system. I remember during the Wuwu examination in July, while I was in Hangzhou, Mr. Yu Meibo, a candidate from De'an, divined the next year's imperial examination and received a Bingzi day return lesson. The death deity was placed on the day stem, and death qi entered the three transmissions, both serving as official ghosts for the day stem. The day virtue was also in the绝 position. I said, "This divination is about the imperial examination, but the result is about the death of family members." Mr. Yu was surprised and asked who it was, but I did not want to say directly, only mentioning someone in his younger generation. In private, I told my friends Mr. Zheng Tiguang and Mr. Wu Youtao, "Mr. Yu Meibo will not live more than ten days." Ten days later, he indeed died in the examination hall and was buried at Zhuxi Temple.

又乙庚申年十二月予客儀徵，族兄宰傳占來年專官，得壬戌日返吟課，德喪祿絕，鬼臨三四，且死神死氣各在干支，是大凶象。觀其捐官且緩，急宜照應人口，保重自家，蓋本命壬申加寅，為入反斗，而辰鬼……恐婦人……（以下脫漏十餘字）惟憶其妻之母向來周到，次年夏月無故自經，及回煞……身……不可見，大驚失色，越六日即云“異哉！”。

Again, in the year of Gengshen, during the twelfth lunar month, I was staying in Yizheng, and my cousin Zaituan divined a lesson for the following year's attempt to secure an official post. The divination on the day of Renxu showed a loss of day stem virtue, a broken official god, and the official ghost appearing in the third and fourth lessons. Moreover, the death deity and death qi were pressing upon the day stem and day branch respectively, indicating a very ominous omen. I advised him to delay the donation of an official post, and instead focus on taking care of his family and preserving his own health, because his birth stem, Renshen, was combined with寅, forming the 'reverse battle' pattern. And the official ghost on the辰... might be expected to affect his wife. (The original text is missing more than ten characters here.) I only remember that his wife's mother was always kind to others, but in the summer of the next year she died by hanging without any apparent reason. On the day of her soul returning, ... I could not bear to look, and everyone was greatly shocked. Six days later, only one sentence remained: 'How strange!' The original text is missing here, and the outcome of the matter is no longer clear.

大抵事關緊迫，則神明不報所問之事而報未問之事也。猶神告人曰：“大限已終，何必求名？”

In general, whenever a matter is urgent and critical, the divine does not answer the question you asked, but instead reveals something you did not inquire about. It is as if the divine is telling this person: your time is up, what use is it to seek fame and success?

不獨占此現彼，又有來人心懷數事，欲占類事，殊不知神將於第一課中俱報者，不可不察。此即王遠知所“人止問我一事，殊不知此課事事可問，事事可斷。蓋世人來，已將他通身逐件包括在課中。”之意。

Not only does the method of divination involve "divining the present from the past," but there is also another situation: the person may have several matters in mind, intending to consult only one of them, yet the divine oracle has already revealed all the matters in the first reading. This point must not be overlooked. This is exactly what Wang Yuanzhi said: "A person asks me about one matter, but he does not realize that every matter in this reading can be asked about and interpreted, because as soon as a person enters, all his affairs are already included in the reading."

戊午年八月浙江鄉闈之後，蘭谿柳書旂先生於十九日庚戌先報子時占乃尊己酉命在家安否，再報未時占自身丙子命今科中否。予見子時第一課干為尊長上得青龍戲水，初傳丑上是父母，中傳申是其長生，末傳子是其帝旺，定主安康。命上丑墓遁丁神，不過癭大為患耳。

In the year Wuwu, in the eighth lunar month after the provincial examination in Zhejiang, Mr. Liu Shuqi of Langxi on the nineteenth day, Gengxu, first divined at the beginning of the night whether his father, born in Jiyou year, was safe at home; then he divined again at the hour of Wei whether he himself, born in Bingzi year, would pass the examination. Looking at the first divination at the beginning of the night: the day stem represents the elder generation, and above it there was the Azure Dragon playing with water; the first transmission on Chou was the parent's yao, the middle transmission on Shen was the long growth of the parent's yao, and the final transmission on Zi was the prosperity of the parent's yao. Therefore, I concluded that he would certainly be safe and sound. However, the Chou in his own birth chart was both in the tomb and hidden by the Ding spirit, so he would only suffer from a minor illness like a goiter.

又因青龍戲水，主東事，子水為子孫是因子孫而有東事也。子是書旅先生本命乘龍，由是行年為日祿，年命與辰土旬首結一子孫水局，更主因子命子孫而有耋事，而致東也。朱雀雖不現，卻乘月建加長生，緣子時第一課即應高中，不必推第二課而知矣。是科果中，其父病痰火而年安。

The reason for the joyous event is due to the Azure Dragon playing by the water, which signifies auspicious matters. The water trigram, Zi, represents the grandson's trigram, indicating that the joy is caused by the grandson. Zi is precisely the birth trigram of Shu Qi Master, and it is also accompanied by the Azure Dragon. From this, we can deduce that his year of birth coincides with the day's official luck, and his birth year and the Chen earth, which is the first trigram of the ten heavenly stems, form a water trigram circle, further confirming that the joy is due to the grandson's generation. Although the Vermilion Bird is not present in the lesson, it is riding on the Month Builder and also accompanied by the Growth trigram. Based on the first lesson at the Zi hour, it is already evident that he will pass the examination. There is no need to examine the second lesson to know this. Indeed, he passed the examination in this examination. His father, however, suffered from a cough with phlegm and fever, but remained safe and sound within a year.

吾徽賣卜者占病不言吉凶，而壽言祭禱，此實向來陋習，然《周易》有“用史巫之辭”，則亦未可盡非。

The fortune tellers in the area of Huizhou never say whether the prognosis is good or bad when divining illness; instead, they always emphasize the need for worship and prayer. This is indeed a longstanding bad custom. However, the Zhou Changes originally mention the phrase "using the words of historians, witches, and priests," indicating that relying on the words of these religious figures to comfort the sick family should not be entirely dismissed.

壬子年未月庚申未將辰時有占兄丙寅病者，予曰：“日干加巳，而巳復加寅命，並丁馬克干，於是往東南方得病，巳為婦，乘太常為孝服，八專主淫佚，丑墓發用，縱有淫佚之心，而無淫佚之實，得毋往東南方見孝服婦人而動心，故得病乎？”巳為生氣非鬼，而干支乘死氣巳火，為巳火之夫，既來疊疊脫干，是其乃夫之鬼不依也。

In the year Renzi, month Wei, day Gengshen, with the hour Chen, someone came to consult about his brother, who was born in the year Bingyin. I said, "The day stem is added to Si, and Si is added to his native branch Yin. Furthermore, the Ding spirit and the post-horse are attacking the day stem. This indicates that the illness was acquired by going to the southeast. Si represents a woman and is accompanied by Tai Chang, which signifies mourning attire. The book of eight special positions indicates matters of licentiousness, but the branch Chou is the resting place of the initiating transmission, meaning that although there may have been thoughts of licentiousness, there was no actual act. Perhaps he met a woman wearing mourning attire in the southeast and became emotionally disturbed, thus falling ill." Si is life qi rather than official ghost, but the death qi accompanying the day stem and branch is precisely this Si fire, which represents the deceased husband of that woman. The heavy death qi is draining the day stem's qi, indicating that the husband's ghost is unwilling to be appeased.

然究竟夫鬼病無憂，太常須祭禱，脫多宜補劑自愈。此人因由郡中回家，行至洲沙橋，見一孝服之婦，而評價甚褻，到家即病，日漸昏沉。其家問予，問之不答，乃訪所同行者，始得其詳。次日病人忽作囈語，似嫠婦之夫憑身，責其出褻言者也。其家祭禱方安，兼服芪術而愈。

However, in the end, this illness caused by the ghost of the deceased husband is not something to worry about: if the Tai Chang is in charge, worship and prayer should be performed, and if there is excessive loss of energy, then taking tonifying medicine is appropriate, and naturally the illness will recover. This person had returned from the prefectural city to his home, and when he reached the Zousha Bridge, he saw a woman in mourning clothes who made several very disrespectful remarks. He immediately fell ill upon arriving home, and his condition became worse day by day. His family came to ask me for advice, but the patient himself would not speak about it; later, they inquired from fellow travelers and found out the truth. The next day, the patient suddenly started talking nonsense, as if the husband of the widow had possessed him and scolded him for his disrespectful remarks. Only after his family performed the worship and prayer did his condition stabilize, and after taking herbs such as Huang Qi and Bai Zhu, the illness was cured.

又是年七月壬辰命人從武陵得疾與婦者，其侄來占之。午將辰時得丙申日，三傳子亥戌，予因蛇墓加支帶天目，天后為鬼，既從墓上發傳，主有女祟纏身，所以昏沉不醒。干上小吉，可以制鬼，中傳功曹長生，末傳天罡雖空，卻是本命，可以沖去戌墓，又向三陽格，皆主無慮。

In the same year, in July, a man born in the year of Renchen returned from Wuling and contracted a disease related to a woman. His nephew came to seek a divination. The time was the hour of Chen (noon) with the day of Bingshen. The three transmissions were Zi, Hai, and Xu. I noticed that the Teng Snake was riding on the墓 (grave) and added the heavenly eye evil, while the Heavenly Empress was acting as the official ghost. Moreover, the transmission started from the墓 (grave) itself. I therefore concluded that a female ghost was haunting him, causing him to be drowsy and unconscious. Fortunately, the day stem was Wei (small blessing), which could control the official ghost; the middle transmission, Gongcao (寅), was the long life; the final transmission, Tian Gang (辰), although falling into emptiness, was his own birth stem, capable of breaking the Xu墓 (grave). The lesson also formed the "Three Yang" pattern. All these signs indicated no cause for worry.

然未為祭祀，須用史巫送之，此人因遊西湖花神廟，見塑容端麗，竟動痴情，由是得疾沉重。後乃祭送而安。可見天間實有鬼神，吾人一言一動，不可不慎也。

But no sacrifice has yet been performed, so we must invite the priest, the historian, and the shaman to send him away. This person originally met the goddess of flowers at West Lake's temple, saw her statue with a graceful appearance, and became infatuated, thus falling seriously ill; later, after the sacrifice, he recovered. This shows that there are indeed ghosts and spirits in the world, and we must be careful with every word and action.

怪為聖人所不語，然既現於課傳，不能不告之，使其趨避，辛酉年五月有鄭姓占宅中何年得子，予見天目煞臨干帶丁神克子息，斷其家中有怪，難為子息。鄭云去年往九華進香，誰知帶一怪而回，擾鬧不已，夫婦同床則鬧尤甚。予曰：“中末空亡，不久自去，去後方能得子。果應。

Strange and unusual things are topics that sages do not discuss, but since they have appeared in the divination texts, they cannot be ignored. They must be told to those seeking divination so that they may avoid misfortune and seek good fortune. In the year Xinyou, in the fifth lunar month, a man surnamed Zheng came to consult about which year his family would have a son. I observed that the heavenly eye evil spirit was present on the day stem and that the Ding spirit was also attacking the son's hexagram, so I concluded that there was a strange spirit in his family, making it difficult for him to have a son. Zheng said: "Last year, I went to the Jiuhua Mountain to make offerings, but I unknowingly brought a strange spirit back home, which has been causing a lot of trouble. Especially during the time when my wife and I sleep together, it has been particularly troublesome." I replied, "Both the middle transmission and the final transmission fall into Kongwang, so this strange spirit will not stay long. Once it leaves, you will be able to have a son." Later, this prediction indeed came true.

又乙丑年九月，予客蘭谿，有三五秀才占宅，內一藍姓者，占得天目加支，又帶火怪、光影等煞，斷其家有狐怪放火光，眾人佩服，求禳解之法，予勸其行德以壓之，今不知若何矣。此二課惜失記日時。

Again, in the year Yichou, during the ninth month, I was staying in Lanxi, and several young scholars came to consult about their homes. One of them, surnamed Lan, had the Tianmu sha falling on his day branch, along with fire ghosts and shadowy evil spirits. I predicted that his family had a fox spirit emitting firelight. Everyone was very impressed and asked me for a method to remove the evil. I advised him to do many good deeds and use virtue to suppress the spirit. I don't know what happened later. These two readings are regrettable because the day branch and time were not recorded.

然天目臨支，亦有未見應者。

However, when the Heavenly Eye煞 is located in the Day Branch, there are also examples where the effect has not been observed, so it cannot be universally applied.

丙辰年四月乙未日，族人有名希賢者，庚午年生，占宅得伏吟課，白虎乘天目墓庫加支發用，主有伏尸為患。課傳純財，克去行年上子水印綬，斷不可居。希賢於袖中出一課，繫十年前羅日亭先生為其占宅，丁卯日卯將未時，亦斷其宅有伏尸不利。然其家並無響動怪異之事，惟人丁蕭索，孤寡零丁，希賢越丙午年亦殃，究竟有無伏尸與否，終不得而知也。

In the year of Bingchen, fourth lunar month, day of Yiwei, a relative named Xixian, born in the year of Gengwu, came to consult about his family residence. He received a Hidden Chant divination lesson: the White Tiger was riding the Heaven's Eye curse, sitting on the Storage and placed on the Day Branch as the Initiating Transmission, indicating that there was a "buried corpse" in the residence causing trouble. The Four Lessons and Three Transmissions were all wealth divinatory elements, which overcame the water of the year pillar, and I concluded that this residence was absolutely unsuitable for living. Xixian took another lesson from his sleeve, which was cast ten years earlier by Luo Riting, on the day of Dingmao, with the卯 general at the hour of Wei. It also indicated that there was a "buried corpse" in the residence, which was unfavorable. However, his family had not experienced any strange occurrences or disturbances, only a decline in population and isolation. Xixian died in the year of Bingwu. The term "buried corpse" refers to old bones buried beneath the foundation of the house, which indicates a lack of prosperity in the family. This house showed this image in two different divination lessons, and in reality, the family did indeed experience isolation and decline. However, whether there were actually buried corpses underground could never be confirmed.

羅日亭先生學問淵博，知醫，善六壬。每遇疑難之病，必以六壬決之。徽人稱之曰“半仙”。吾鄉去先生之居僅二十餘里，惜未及門求教，是一憾事。予姐丈之父汪又瞻先生少年得一怪病，耳中如聞人云“齊桓公、晉文公，皆霸諸侯也。”目中便見一霸字，初小後大，極於彌天匝地，而人便暈絕，次日方醒，即瞬目亦見之，每月三五次如此，群醫俱莫名其病。

Master Luo Rizheng was a man of broad learning, skilled in medicine, and adept at the Six壬 (Six Changes) divination method. Whenever he encountered difficult medical cases, he would certainly use the Six壬 to make a decision. The people of Huizhou called him "Half Immortal." My hometown was only more than twenty miles away from his residence, but I was unfortunate not to have visited him in person, which became a regret. My brother-in-law's father, Mr. Wang Yuozhan, once suffered from a strange illness in his youth: he would hear someone saying in his ears, "Qi Huanggong and Jin Wenguang were both hegemonic rulers of the feudal states," and immediately a character "霸" (hegemon) would appear before his eyes, starting small and gradually growing larger until it covered the sky and earth, causing him to faint and not recover until the next day. Even blinking would not stop the vision, and this would occur three or five times each month. All the doctors were unable to identify the nature of this illness.

乃延日亭先生診之，先生診後占曰：“此怪痰為患也！不必服藥，宜飲高梁酒百斤便愈。”如其言飲之，未至百日已愈，乃不復飲。一日遇日亭先生於他處，告以未飲百斤已愈。先生曰：“爾病雖愈，但飲酒不如數，則根終未除，老年因喉痰亡。”後至七十八歲，果如其言，其脈理數學之精如此。

So he invited Master Luo Rizheng to examine him. After taking his pulse, Master Luo cast a divination and said, "This is caused by a strange phlegm spirit. You don't need to take medicine; just drink a full hundred jin of sorghum wine, and it will be cured." Following his advice, he drank the wine, and within less than a hundred days, his illness was cured. Then he stopped drinking. One day, he met Master Luo somewhere else and told him that he had not drunk the full hundred jin and his illness was already cured. Master Luo said, "Although your illness is cured, you have not drunk enough wine, so the root of the disease has not been removed. In old age, you will die from phlegm disease in the throat." Later, Master Wang lived to be seventy-eight years old, and indeed, this prediction came true. The master's profound understanding of pulse diagnosis and numerology reached such a level.

距呈坎縣五里，曰楊干，有王牧夫先生者，六壬尤精。先生名謙，號師孝，又號種道道人，久客維揚，求占等戶外之屢常滿所。有《六壬占驗存略》兩冊，斷法專重取象，與吳稼雲先生見解相同，其貴人起例，壬全在日晝用卯，夜用巳，餘日與諸本相同。其論行年，間有取行年上神之上神者，令人不解。如六十歲行年在丑，丑上見巳，不以巳論吉凶，而以巳上之酉斷吉凶也。

There is a place called Yanggan, five miles from Lichan. The local man Wang Mufu was especially skilled in the Six壬 (Six Changes) divination method. His name was Qian, with the courtesy name Shixiao and the title Zhongdaodao Ren. He lived long-term in Yangzhou, and many people came to seek his divination, so often that the shoes outside his door were piled up. He wrote a two-volume work called "Six壬 Divination Verification and Brief Records," and his method of divination focused on taking symbolic meanings, which was similar to the views of Wu Jiayun. His method for determining the nobleman (guiren) was that on癸 days, during the day he used the卯 branch, and at night he used the巳 branch, while for other days, it was the same as in the commonly used texts. When discussing the year of the person (xingsnian), he occasionally took the upper god above the god on the xingsnian, which was confusing. For example, if the xingsnian was at the丑 branch, and the丑 branch had the巳 god on it, he did not use the巳 god to determine fortune and misfortune, but instead used the酉 branch above the巳 to make the judgment.

都轉盧雅雨先生見曾亦知六壬，嘗請牧夫先生占升遷，辰時丑將得丁卯日，三交課，三傳酉子卯，盧公以為三傳遞生人舉薦，必升。先生曰：“生我者閉口，不能顯薦。況年命皆在未，乘戌空亡，不能著實，何能升遷？三傳乃大概之象，年命方切己耳。”後果未升，丙子年九月占課，壬午冬告仕。而同按年命乘空虛而不實，斯開一種新法門，予嘗試之有驗，其閉口不能顯薦，亦屬《畢法》所未備。

The official Lu Yayu, known as Xianzeng, also understood the Six壬 system. He once asked Master Mufu to divinate his promotion. The time was the hour of Chen, with the general sign of Chou, and the day was Dingmao, with the three transmissions of You, Zi, and Mao. Lu believed that the three transmissions followed the principle of mutual generation, indicating that someone would recommend him and he would certainly be promoted. However, Master Mufu said, "The one that generates me is located on 'Closed Mouth,' so it cannot be openly recommended. Moreover, both the year and the destiny are in Wei, and they are accompanied by Xu, falling into Kongwang, so the matter will not be concrete. How can there be promotion? The three transmissions only give a general outline of one matter, while the year and destiny truly reflect one's own situation." Later, he indeed did not get promoted. In the ninth month of the Bingzi year, he divined another lesson, and by the winter of the Renwu year, he retired. Using the principle "If the year and destiny ride on Kongwang, the matter will certainly not be real," this serves as a new method, which I have tested and found it to be accurate. As for the principle "Closed Mouth cannot be openly recommended," this is also something not mentioned in the "Bifa."

家惠蒼小阮好六壬，常借各種書遺予，及為山東固堤店巡檢，猶寄牧夫先生論六壬數則，今從笥中檢出，備錄於後，以免遺亡。

My cousin Hui Cang has a fondness for the Six Changes (Liu Ren) divination method and often lends me various books on the subject. When he was appointed as the inspector of Gudidi in Shandong, he still sent me several passages from Mr. Wang Mufu's discussion on the Six Changes. Now I have found these passages in my bookcase and have copied them here together, to prevent them from being lost over time.

牧夫先生曰：“生合有情，必搜其本。刑剋無情，必究其根。則富貴窮通，可以據數而言之矣。天時者動也，吉凶悔吝生乎動。時，一念之動也；未動之前，陰含陽也，既動之後，陰陽分也。一念之動之先，陰陽未分，吉凶何由而見？既動之後，則為先鋒，得推而測之者矣。一念之動，不可不慎也。

Master Mu Fu said: "Those that are mutually generating and harmonious should be traced back to their origin; those that are mutually controlling and inharmonious should have their root cause investigated. In this way, one's fortune and misfortune can be determined by the numerical patterns.the so-called天时, when applied practically, is simply the concept of 'movement'. All auspicious and inauspicious outcomes, regret and hardship, arise from movement. Here, the term 'time' actually refers to a single thought movement. Before the thought arises, yin contains yang, and they are undifferentiated; after the thought arises, yin and yang become distinct. Before the thought arises, since yin and yang are not yet separated, how can auspicious and inauspicious outcomes be manifested? Once the thought arises, this single thought becomes the initial signal, providing a basis for prediction. Therefore, a single thought movement must not be taken lightly."

推測之法有五，一曰誠意，意不誠則精神荒亂；二曰靜心，心不靜則妙人難通；三曰觀理，理不觀則專一隅；四曰測向，向不測則論雷同；五曰推義，義不推則數同膠柱。”

There are five methods of divination: the first is sincerity of intention; if the mind is not sincere, the spirit becomes scattered and lacks focus. The second is stillness of the mind; if the mind is not quiet, the subtle aspects cannot be understood. The third is observing principles; if one does not clearly understand the principles, one can only be confined to a corner. The fourth is discerning direction; if one does not consider the direction of things, the interpretation will be merely following others' words. The fifth is exploring meaning; if one does not seek the meaning, the numbers obtained will be as stiff as a dead zither string.

“數之吉凶，雖繫於占類之所向，而數之變化，則在乎卜者之精粗。神以五氣旺衰而告之卜，以六義吉凶而明之干支，猶未卜占也。神明之告之行之，求其權在於卜師，神告吉而師測以凶，神告凶而師測以吉，此謂之心不靜，而誤占人不淺矣。

The auspiciousness or inauspiciousness shown in the divination numbers depends on the nature of the matter being divined, but the changes in the numbers depend on the skill level of the diviner. The deities use the waxing and waning of the Five Phases' energies to convey the divination, and they use the six meanings to clarify the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness. Simply listing the heavenly stems and earthly branches is not enough for a judgment; the deities' messages must be interpreted and implemented by people. The initiative actually lies in the hands of the diviner. If the deities indicate good fortune but the diviner judges it as bad, or if the deities indicate bad fortune but the diviner judges it as good, this is called an unstable mind, and the harm caused to others can be profound.

聖賢之理，非止一隅，而學者之心粗，只宜兩片。遂使神化軋粘，奇文隱合，此又非占者之過，乃學者膠柱鼓瑟也。故先賢以未卜之先，以觀其動，於其坐立之處，以察其方位。然後洞察正時，詳格值事，合乎干支三合年命，而四方八面，玲瓏剔透，不使絲毫窒礙為遺恨也。學子用如是斷，能事畢矣。戊辰又七月牧夫王謙識。”

The principles of sages and virtuous men are not confined to a single aspect. However, scholars often have coarse minds and only look at things from the perspective of opposites, thus making the subtle changes of divination seem contradictory and the hidden, harmonious texts easily overlooked. This is not the fault of divination itself, but rather the scholars' rigid adherence to fixed patterns, like striking a zither with fixed pegs. Therefore, the methods of predecessors were: before setting up the divination, first observe the person's movements and examine their position to determine the direction. Then, understand the correct time, carefully investigate the governing deity of the matter, and combine it with the day stem, day branch, triple harmony, and the person's birth year and destiny, achieving a thorough understanding in all directions without any obstruction or regret. If students follow this method in their judgment, they will truly master the skill. Written by Wang Qian, the Herdsman, in the leap July of the Wuchen year.

牧夫先生又論行人曰：“行人知其何時為，馬臨鬼地識其端。蓋鬼者，病也。”又解《中黃經》十一月丑將甲午日午時占行人，年四十二歲，干上酉乘勾陳，三傳酉辰亥，《中黃經》以貴人逆轉取卯為門，門上神戌中有辛舍，剋日，克行年上寅，又寅是酉舍，剋日克行年，主不歸。牧夫先生則曰：“此主行人在遠即不能來，況身有官非口舌勾留，如何得動？況干乘馬作鬼，行年入墓，上見德祿，戀他鄉，何能得動也？”

Master Mu Fu again discussed divining the return of a traveler, saying: "To know when a person who has left home will return, look to whether the Post-horse is in the ghostly place. From this we can get a hint; the so-called ghost refers to illness." He then explained a lesson from the Zhonghuang Jing: in the eleventh month, with the Chou zodiac as the general, on the Jiawu day at the noon hour, the person in question is forty-two years old, with the day stem on You, riding Gou Chen, and the three transmissions being You, Chen, and Hai. The Zhonghuang Jing's method is to reverse the nobleman, taking Mao as the "door," with the god on Wu containing Xin. Xin can overcome the day stem and also overcome the year stem on Yin; and Yin is the dwelling of You, which also overcomes the day and the year stem, so he will not return. Master Mu Fu said: "This lesson indicates that the traveler is far away and will not return. Moreover, he is involved in legal troubles and disputes, which are holding him back, how can he move? Furthermore, the day stem is riding the Post-horse, and the Post-horse is also serving as the official ghost, the year stem falls into the grave, and above it there is the day virtue and the day fortune, showing a strong attachment to the foreign land, where can he go?"

《心鏡》占行人不知何方法，專看行人之行年所臨處定吉凶，《指南》遵之。若不知行年則以支上神詳之，此法出於《龍首經》。《龍首經》云：“若不知行者年，以日為行處，以辰為行之地，日之神陰與神之神陰，與吉神與凶神並，即凶。”按《龍首經》看日干日支甚是，以辰為行處，尤為的確。愚意以為即知行者年，亦當以日辰參看，而辰上之神並第四課皆可測其所在也。

The Xin Jing does not specify the method used for divining the whereabouts of a traveler, but instead determines fortune and misfortune based solely on the place where the traveler's age stem falls. The Liunin Zhi Nan followed this approach. If the traveler's age stem is unknown, then the divine spirit on the day branch is used for detailed analysis, a method originating from the Longshou Jing. The Longshou Jing states: "If the traveler's age stem is unknown, use the day stem to represent the traveler and the day branch to represent the place he is going. Combine the hidden spirits of the day stem and the day branch, and if they are accompanied by auspicious spirits, it is favorable; if by malevolent spirits, it is unfavorable." Note: The Longshou Jing's emphasis on examining the day stem and day branch is correct, especially using the day branch to represent the destination, which is particularly appropriate. My point is that even if the traveler's age stem is known, one should still refer to the day stem and day branch for consultation. The divine spirit on the day branch, together with the fourth lesson, can be used to infer where another person is.

讀《龍首經》知古人即以六壬選擇，今惟張九儀用之，所著《儀度六壬》又較《龍首經》為詳矣。《通書》中不將日宜嫁娶以及人道、天道日、游神等起例見於《龍首經》，而選擇豈數典忘其祖也久矣！

After reading the "Longshou Jing," one realizes that ancient people had already used the Six壬 method for selecting auspicious days. Nowadays, only Zhang Jiuyi still follows this practice, and his work, "Yidu Liu Ren," is more detailed than the "Longshou Jing." The "Tongshu" mentions that "Bu Jiang days" are suitable for marriage, as well as the principles of human days, heavenly days, and wandering spirits, all of which are already found in the "Longshou Jing." However, the school of selecting auspicious days has long forgotten its origins.

問：疑《龍首經》不知出於何時，觀《吳越春秋》內伍員、范蠡、文種諸占，惟引《金匱》、《玉門》，而不及《龍首》。及葛洪《抱朴子》始有《龍首經》之名，顏之推《家訓》亦言及之，則其書殆出於晉時歟？近見孫湄如先生刊本，《自序》云“考其官銜，知為漢人遺書。”於是前疑頓釋。

Someone asked: When was the "Longshou Jing" (Dragon Head Classic) written? Looking at the divination examples in the "Wuyue Chunqiu" (Spring and Autumn of Wu and Yue) involving Wu Yuan, Fan Li, and Wen Zhong, only the "Jingu Kai" (Golden Chest) and "Yumen" (Jade Gate) are cited, not the "Longshou Jing." It was not until Ge Hong's "Baopuzi" (Master Who Embraces Simplicity) that the title "Longshou Jing" appeared, and Yan Zhitui also mentioned it in his "Yan Shi Jiaxun" (Family Instructions of the Yan Family). Therefore, one might suppose that this book was written during the Jin Dynasty. Recently, I saw a published edition by Sun Meiru, whose preface states that by examining the official titles mentioned in the book, one can conclude that it is a work from the Han Dynasty. This immediately resolved my previous doubts.

宋仁宗最嗜六壬，故其時習此學者甚多，而以元軫、苗公達為最。至徽宗、高宗時，邵彥和一出，又架諸人之上。理宗時，有凌福之等本邵公之法作《畢法賦》，於是諸法咸備，至平至當，一掃疑神疑鬼之習氣。

Song Renzong was most fond of Liu Xin, so many people studied this discipline during his time, among whom Yuan Zhen and Miao Gongda were the most outstanding. By the time of Huizong and Gaozong, Shao Yanhe emerged and surpassed all others. During the reign of Lizong, Ling Fuzhi and others based their work on Shao's methods to compose the "Bifa Fu," thus making all the rules complete and practical, eliminating completely the风气 of being suspicious and superstitious.

至今朝，則以六壬、三命諸術考試司天臺之學生。時有徐次賓者，精於其術，著《一字訣》、《玉連環》，皆六壬一脈相傳也。至於《鳳髓靈》之節外生枝，《六壬通元》師巫邪說。更有一知半解之人，偶然湊合，便立為法，無怪書愈多而愈晦矣，北齊顏之推曰：“世傳之書，皆出於流俗，言辭鄙淺，驗少妄多，然哉，然哉！”。

By the time of this dynasty, they used the Six壬 (Ling) and San Ming (Three Lives) systems of divination to select students for the Astronomical Bureau. At that time, Xu Cibin was particularly skilled in these methods, and he wrote "Yi Zhe" and "Yu Lian Huan," both of which were passed down in the tradition of Six壬. As for works like "Feng Sui Ling," which branched out into irrelevant matters, and "Ling Yuan Tong Yuan," which was full of superstitious and heretical ideas, plus some people who only had partial knowledge and occasionally compiled a few lines to claim they had established their own system, it's no wonder that more and more books were produced, yet the principles became increasingly obscure. Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi dynasty said: "Books circulating in the world are all written by vulgar hands, their language is crude and shallow, few are verified and many are absurd." He was right, he was right!

邵彥和先生所著《口鑑》，今無完本。《斷案》散見於各書者，不多不全；予三十年來自徽而至杭，而蘇，而揚，各處蒐羅，僅得二百餘課，其人斷語為後人改竄者時亦有之。此凌福之所謂“後人恣己見，作繁文以雜其真者”是也。

Master Shao Yanhe's work "Kou Jian" is no longer available in its complete form; his "Duàn Àn" is scattered among various collections, and it is neither numerous nor complete. For thirty years, I have searched from Huizhou to Hangzhou, then to Suzhou and Yangzhou, gathering only over two hundred divination cases. Among them, I have often encountered cases where the original statements have been altered or tampered with by later commentators. This is exactly what Ling Fu Zhi said: "Later people, relying on their own interpretations, add complicated words, thus confusing the original true meaning of the book."

考其自占動靜一課，知先生為衢州人，然查《衢州府志》無其姓名，嘗記相知者在衢州者訪此公遺書，而久不得。讀楊忠愍公年譜，知公通三式之學，可見此學亦為君子所不棄。晉之戴洋，唐之李靖，元之劉秉忠、耶律楚材，明之劉青田，皆粗其學。因非渺見寡聞之輩所能精通者也。

Examining his divination lesson titled "Self-Divination of Movement and Stillness," we can tell that the gentleman was from Quzhou. However, when I checked the Quzhou Annals, there was no record of his name. I once asked a friend who was familiar with the area in Quzhou to search for his lost writings, but I could not find them. Reading the chronicle of Yang Zhongmin (Yang Jiseng), I learned that he was well-versed in the three systems of divination, indicating that this field of study is not something that virtuous scholars would reject. In the Jin Dynasty, Dai Yang; in the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing; in the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Bingzhong and Yelü Chucai; and in the Ming Dynasty, Liu Qingtian (Liu Ji) all had some knowledge of this discipline. From this, we can see that this is not something that can be mastered by those with shallow understanding or limited knowledge.

予所見各書之言善六壬者，《吳越春秋》則載子胥、少伯、文種、公孫聖，《晉書》則載戴洋，《龍城錄》則載馮存澄，《五代史》則載梁太祖，《夷堅志》則載蔣堅，《稗史》則允升、堯山堂，《外紀》亦載朱允升，《徽州府志》則載程九圭，《松江府志》則載陳雨化，《蘇州府志》則載徐大衍、皇甫焯，《元史》則載劉文成，然古今書籍之言善六壬者，當不止此數人，奈予未之見耳。

I have seen various books mentioning people skilled in the Six壬 (Liuren) divination method: The "Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu-Yue" mentions Wu Zixu, Fan Li (also known as Shao Bo), Wen Zhong, and Gongsun Sheng; the "Book of Jin" mentions Dai Yang; the "Dragon City Records" mentions Feng Cuncheng; the "Five Dynasties History" mentions Liang Taizu; the "Yijian Zhi" mentions Jiang Jian; the "Bai Shi" mentions Zhu Yunsheng and Yao Mountain Hall, and the "Wai Ji" also mentions Zhu Yunsheng; the "Huizhou Prefecture Annals" mentions Cheng Jiugui; the "Songjiang Prefecture Annals" mentions Chen Yuhua; the "Suzhou Prefecture Annals" mentions Xu Dayan and Huangfu Zhuo; and the "Yuan Shi" mentions Liu Wencheng (i.e., Liu Ji, posthumously honored as Wencheng). These people had different backgrounds: some were strategists in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, some were officials in charge of divination during the Jin dynasty, some were founders of dynasties in the Five Dynasties period, some were famous ministers in the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, and some were local scholars known for their expertise in numerology and divination. This shows that the study of Six壬 has continued through the ages and is not limited to the realm of technical arts. However, there are certainly more people mentioned in ancient and modern books who were skilled in Six壬, but I have not been able to see all of them.

馬端臨《文獻通考》之《論六壬》云：“近世寧黽消息，而此術甚行。”又云：“《五代史》、《金鑾密記》皆極言其驗。”夫所云《五代史》者，尚指《賀環傳》而言，而《金蠻密記》予所見者皆摘本，未知全部中所載云何。

In his "Discussion on the Six壬" in the "Comprehensive Examination of Literature and Records" by Ma Duolin, it is said: "In recent times, people have become very interested in matters concerning auspicious and inauspicious signs, thus this system of divination has become very popular." It is also said: "Both the "History of the Five Dynasties" and the "Secret Records of the Golden Pavilion" highly praise its accuracy." The "History of the Five Dynasties" he refers to still means the passage about the "Biography of He Gui." As for the "Secret Records of the Golden Pavilion," all the copies I have seen are abridged versions, and I do not know what the full text contains.

《畢法》以丁神帶月厭、天目、飛廉、大煞、墓庫、螣蛇而為本命者，宜祈禱上天星辰，庶免其凶。天網自裹宜祈禱本命星辰。鬼臨三四宜去邪作福，墓虎臨支宜召法官行遣，蓋本邵彥和為伊知縣占課而觸類旁通者也。

The "Bifa" states: When the Ding spirit is accompanied by the Month Aversion, Heavenly Eye, Fei Lian, Great Sha, Storage, and Teng Snake, and it precisely falls on the native's destiny, one should pray to the heavenly stars and celestial bodies to avoid misfortune; when "Heavenly Net Envelops," one should pray to the native's star; when the official ghost falls on the third or fourth lesson, one should exorcise evil and pray for fortune; when the Storage and White Tiger are on the day branch, one should summon a judge to perform rituals and send away the evil. These several rules are actually all derived from Shao Yanhe's divination for the county magistrate, and they are generalized from that case.

其課繫癸亥日未將亥時，干上酉，三傳未卯亥、常貴勾，龍戌加寅命，陰巳加行年，邵公命其露天謝罪七日，壽可少延，而未言其故。予以管窺度之，蓋巳為日德生氣，宜修德也，乘太陰為禱祝；太常乘未發用亦為禱祝，加亥上，亥為天德，宜露天謝罪也；中傳貴為乘神祗乘太沖而制鬼，故可少延也。

That lesson was on Guihai day, with the hour of Hai in the sixth position. The day stem was You. The three transmissions were Wei, Mao, and Hai, each riding Tai Chang, Nobleman, and Gou Chen respectively. The Azure Dragon rode Xu and was placed on the native's birth year Yin, while Tai Yin rode Si and was placed on the year of the person's age. Master Zhao ordered him to confess in the open for seven days, saying his lifespan could be slightly extended, but he did not explain the reason. I dare to offer a tentative interpretation: Si is both the day's virtue and life qi, which is suitable for cultivating virtue, and it rides Tai Yin, which governs prayer and supplication. Tai Chang rides Wei and initiates the transmission, also indicating prayer and supplication. Wei is placed on Hai, which is the heavenly virtue, so confessing in the open is appropriate. The middle transmission's Nobleman has the image of a deity, and it rides Tai Chong, which can subdue official ghosts, hence the lifespan can be slightly prolonged.

其餘見《斷案》中，邵公為應貢元占前程，知其陰德洪泰，貴壽兩全。為應秀才占前程，知其孝義有虧，壽元不久，此實課中觀此象，非附會之言也。

Other examples can be found in the "Dissecting Cases": Shao Gong predicted the future of Ying Gongyuan, seeing that his Yin Virtue was deep and broad, thus he would attain both wealth and honor as well as a long life; he also predicted the future of Ying Xiucai, noting that he lacked filial piety and righteousness, and thus his lifespan would not be long. All these conclusions were genuinely derived from the divination signs, not fabricated after the fact.

予屏山大兄往年亦習六壬，己未歲在金華時，曾為家雲友先生占壽並終身，得干上亥水作太陰生壬，斷其得冥冥中之默佑。雲友因云：“十六歲時，夢至一處，遍堆書籍，隨手抽閱，恰見己名上下注程起隆，字雲友，國學生，妻祝氏，三子一女，壽六十一。”寤後告人，疑信相半，迨後一一不爽。然則壽止六十有一矣。

My older brother, Pingshan, once studied the Six Changes divination method. In the Jiwei year, while in Jinhua, he once cast a fortune for his cousin Cheng Yunyou, predicting both his lifespan and his future. The day stem was亥 water, with Tai Yin multiplying upon it to nourish the壬 water day stem. He concluded that Cheng Yunyou would receive quiet protection from the unseen forces. Cheng Yunyou then said, "At the age of sixteen, I dreamed that I arrived at a place where books were piled up everywhere. I randomly took a book and opened it, and there was my name, with the notes reading 'Cheng Qilong, style name Yunyou, a national student, wife named Zhu, three sons and one daughter, lifespan sixty-one.'" When he awoke, he told others, who were half-believing and half-doubtful. Later, each event turned out exactly as predicted. According to this, his lifespan was only sixty-one years.

果至六十一歲患痢甚危，自以為必死，堅不服藥，一日請其堂弟寄巢先生至床前，曰：“適見一人，手執片紙，上書程起隆有施藥施棺施陰騭文之小善，準延年一季，然則今可不死矣？夫一季為三個月，今雲延年一季者，意豈其三年乎？”次日其痢漸止，服藥乃痊。果延三年而壽終，可見果報之不爽，而太陰生干得冥冥中之默助，信而有征也。

Indeed, when he reached the age of sixty-one, he fell seriously ill with dysentery, believing himself to be dying, and refused to take medicine. One day, he asked his cousin, Ji Naoshan, to come to his bedside and said, "I just saw a person holding a piece of paper that said, 'Cheng Qilong has done small good deeds such as giving medicine, giving a coffin, and printing and distributing the Yinyuzhengwen; therefore, his life is extended by three months.' So does this mean I can now survive? Three months is half a year; now it says extending life by three months, does that mean three years?" The next day, his dysentery gradually stopped, and after taking medicine, he recovered. Indeed, he lived for another three years before passing away. This clearly shows that the principle of cause and effect is never mistaken; and the previous judgment that 'Tai Yin's birthday coincides with the Day Stem, and thus receives secret help from the unseen' was indeed credible and verified.

歙有叔侄二人，交相為惡，唆訟詐財，欺孤滅寡，不可勝數。其侄尤多淫惡，里人畏之如虎。戊午年夏月有常遭其凌虐者，占此二人為何結局，得甲寅日返吟，干叔支侄，此定位也。各受申克，既為死神，又兼暗鬼，德喪祿絕，蛇虎紛紛，豈能久乎？

In She County there were two men, uncle and nephew, who conspired together to do evil, inciting lawsuits, defrauding money, and bullying orphans and widows, their crimes being countless. The nephew was especially wicked, and the villagers feared him as they would a tiger. In the summer of the Wuwu year, a person who had often been oppressed by them came to consult about their ultimate fate, and received the Jiayin day return-echoing divination: the day stem represents the uncle, and the day branch represents the nephew, this being the fixed position. Both are subject to therestrain of Sheng metal. Sheng serves both as the Death Deity and as the hidden ghost; the day's virtue is lost, the禄神 is cut off, and Teng Snake and White Tiger appear in abundance—how can such people last long?

後二年其侄患病，眾鬼憑之，而言內有一女鬼尤厲。蓋此女遭其淫後，被乃夫知之，推滋於河中死也。又其亡兄亦來索命，蓋乾隆五十七年汪裡太為人回家葬祖，其兄分辦酒席，兼有資財，乃唆其兄與人爭訟，藉此捲入己囊，致其兄抱恨而卒，後凌虐兄之子，是以其兄不甘也。患病月餘，藉草臥地，木盤盛食，伏而啜之，哼哼作豕聲而卒。

Two years later, the nephew fell ill, and a number of ghosts attached themselves to his body and spoke through him. Among them, a female ghost was the most powerful. Originally, this woman had been raped by him. When her husband discovered the affair, he pushed her into the river and she drowned. In addition, his deceased elder brother also came to claim his soul. In the 57th year of the Qianlong reign, Wang Li's village invited people back to the village to bury their ancestors. The elder brother was in charge of arranging the banquet, and he was also in possession of some money. The nephew encouraged his brother to file a lawsuit, and took the opportunity to embezzle the money, causing his brother to die with regret. Later, he also bullied his brother's son, so his brother would not rest in peace. The nephew was ill for more than a month, lying on the ground with straw, eating from a wooden tray, crawling to eat, and making noises like a pig, and eventually died.

其叔見乃侄如此 ，次年往九華山進香，殆將懺悔，至羊叉，忽顧謂同伴之萬官曰：“人人說我是黑心，不能進香，今我何為？”語畢仆地而僵，天大雷電，以風尸即潰腐，其家既得凶信，扛梓往迎，而路途相左，仍以尸舁於背現青紫痕一道，人以為靈官鞭此擊雲。

His uncle saw his nephew end up in such a situation, and the next year he went to Jiuhua Mountain to burn incense, probably intending to repent. When he reached Yangxia, he suddenly turned around and said to his companion, Wan Guan: "Everyone says I have a black heart and am not worthy of burning incense; now, what should I do?" As soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed and died. At that moment, there was a thunderstorm, and the body quickly rotted after being exposed to the wind. His family received the news of his death and carried a coffin to meet him, but on the way they took a wrong turn; later they still carried the body back, and a purple-blue mark appeared on his back, and people said it was left by the spiritual officer's whip.

丙辰年五月丁巳日，予卜丙寅命人怙惡不悛，收成若何。得干上申，三傳申酉戌，合朱蛇，從申酉金而入火庫，命上又見敗神，知其必敗，兼帶火鬼、火煞、死神、死氣，命上卯為血忌，以為不出七年，當患火痰血光而亡。誰知是持刀將手足劃破，向一汪姓者訛作，至經官理論，大耗其財，而劃破之處，血流不止，精神逐日消乏，懨懨而亡。

On the day of Dingsi in the fifth lunar month of the Bingchen year, I divined for a person born in the Bingyin year who had been doing evil and refused to change. The day stem was Shen, and the three transmissions were Shen, You, and Xu, each riding on Liu He, Zhuque, and Teng Snake respectively. The path of metal from Shen to You leads into the fire warehouse Xu, and the person's birth year also shows the败神. This clearly indicates that he will surely fail. Moreover, he carries the fire ghost, fire demon, death deity, and death qi, and his birth year's卯 also serves as the blood taboo. I therefore predicted that within seven years he would suffer from phlegm fire, encounter bloodshed, and die. However, the actual outcome was that he used a knife to cut his own hands and feet, falsely accused a man named Wang, and ended up in legal trouble, losing a large sum of money. The wounds bled heavily, and his spirit gradually weakened, leading to a gradual decline and eventual death.

予始悟申金發用，刀也；酉為小刀，亦為血也；酉戌相害，酉卯相沖，戌為足，卯為手，手足受傷也。初傳從干上發出，引出許多不美，自戕也。六合而變蛇雀也。申為官符殺，故具訟也。更異者，未沒之前數月好蹲於地，仰首視人，如犬之狀。每一外出，群犬嘗吠而齧之。此非戌為末傳墓干之故歟？因備記之，即作果報觀可也。

I then gradually understood the correspondence of the divination symbols: the use of the metal element Shen (申) as the initiating transmission indicates a knife; You (酉), representing a small knife, also signifies blood; You and Xu (戌) are in mutual harm, and You and Mao (卯) are in opposition, with Xu representing the feet and Mao representing the hands, which exactly corresponds to injuries to the hands and feet. The first transmission originates from the day stem, leading to many negative events, which corresponds to self-inflicted harm. The Liu He (Liu He) transforms into Teng Snake (螣蛇) and Vermilion Bird (朱雀), indicating a shift from harmony to disputes and litigation. Shen is also the official symbol (官符), hence there is litigation. Even more strangely, in the months before his death, he liked to sit on the ground, looking up at people with a dog-like expression; every time he went out, a group of dogs would bite him—this is precisely because Xu is both the final transmission and the resting place (墓) of the day stem. I therefore recorded this in detail, and regarded it as a case of karmic retribution without any problem.

予友鄭體功先生長於考據之學，嘗取邵公斷案一一疏明其所以然，所疏應貢元一課尤為詳細，發人神智不淺，又讎《心鏡》全部遺予，揚州盧繼塘先生見之，欽佩不已。

My friend Mr. Zheng Tigong is skilled in textual scholarship. He has provided detailed explanations for each case in Shao Yanhe's judgments, clearly explaining the reasons behind them. Among these, his explanation of the case "Should be a top scholar" is especially thorough and very enlightening. He also corrected and sent me the entire book of "Heart Mirror." Mr. Lu Jitan from Yangzhou was greatly impressed upon seeing it.

張繼秀先生名維楨，戊申副貢，又塘其外號也。作文敏捷，頃刻而成一篇。專於天文，兼精三式之法，阮蕓薹先生為諸生時，向先生問終身，先生曾許為兩廣總督，今已如其言矣。而先生謙謙自下，以為當時未有此言。

Zhang Jixiu was a man named Weizhen, who was a secondary candidate in the Wushen examination. His other name was "Youtang." He was quick in writing, able to compose an article in a moment. He specialized in astronomy and also mastered the three systems of divination. When Ruan Yuntai (Ruan Yuan) was still a candidate, he asked Zhang about his destiny, and Zhang predicted that he would eventually hold the position of governor-general of the Two Guang provinces. This prediction has indeed come true; however, Zhang was humble and modest, saying that he had not actually made such a statement at that time.

先生與泰州團蕉墩先生交好，團先生亦善六壬，嘗言：“占鄉試會試，課象雖吉，倘有一端未善，即不可許。”其繼塘先生曾舉以勖予，予按其說良，然當為人占得朱雀空亡而不得地者，年命上神沖剋朱雀者，占鄉試得木局者，占會試得金局者，干支並乘敗神者，縱然簾幕青龍諸吉入課傳，無益也。

Master Zhang is on good terms with Master Tuan from Taizhou, who is also skilled in the Six Changes divination method. Master Tuan once said, "When predicting the local examination or the metropolitan examination, even if the course pattern is favorable, if there is one place that is not appropriate, we cannot predict that the examinee will pass." Master Ji塘 once used these words to encourage me. I comment: these words are indeed correct. I have once predicted for others, and whenever there was the Vermilion Bird in the Kongwang position and not in its proper place, or when the year and life god clashed with the Vermilion Bird, or when predicting the local examination and the course pattern was of the wood structure, or when predicting the metropolitan examination and the course pattern was of the metal structure, or when the day stem and day branch both had the defeated god, even if the auspicious gods and generals such as the Nobleman and the Azure Dragon were all present in the course and transmission, they were of no use. This shows that in matters of academic success, the course must not have any single flaw, and one cannot only look for the good aspects.

六壬金口訣以方傳為主，觀其神將遁干而占吉凶，亦頗有驗，惜其下卷歌括不甚醒，故習之者殊少。昔者屏山大兄嘗以之射覆，似較大六壬為確。又嘗考試，但得天官不受傷而克遁干者，名曰官動，必取中，屢驗。近於繼塘先生處，見《鴉池經》一冊，亦非金口訣之辭也。

The Six Rén Golden Mouth诀 mainly relies on "fang chuan" to determine fortune, judging good or bad based on its spiritual generals and hidden stems. It is quite effective. Unfortunately, the verses in the lower volume are not very clear, so few people study it. My elder brother Pingshan once used it to predict covered objects, and it seemed more accurate than the Great Six Rén. He also used it to predict examination results. If the heavenly official is not harmed and can overcome the hidden stem, it is called "official movement," and it is certain to pass the exam, and it has been verified repeatedly. Recently, I saw a book called "Ya Chi Jing" at Jitang Master's place. Although the title is similar, the content is not the same as the Golden Mouth诀.

金華府入詠門外有馬姓者，丙申年春向屏山大兄占流年，大兄曰：“此課極惡，夏日有跌撲之災。” 蓋驛馬克干，又帶跌撲煞也。馬姓司府中房科，府堂基甚立，階有數十級。一日馬姓者失足跌下，二便出血，舁歸，即云“奇哉！”

In the city of Jinhua, there was a man surnamed Ma who once consulted my elder brother Pingshan about his annual fortune in the spring of the Bingshen year. My elder brother said, "This divination is extremely ominous; there will be an accident involving a fall during the summer." The reason given was that the Post-horse was marked on the day stem, and the chart also contained the falling and bruising evil spirit. This man surnamed Ma was in charge of handling official documents in the prefectural office, which had a high platform with dozens of stone steps. One day, he slipped and fell from the top, suffering from both blood loss from his urine and feces, and was carried home, where he soon died. (The original text ends with the words "qizai," which do not fit the context and are likely a corrupted form of "jimou," meaning "died immediately.")