I wrote this because a software developer wants me to recommend his 4P software to my students. The software is above average but the English translations of 4P terms are horrible and confusing, like translating day-master as "self" and bi-jian also as "self". So you will find more than one "self" in a chart.
Let's begin:
There are no commonly agreed translations of 4P terms. Different schools or teachers translate 4P
terms according to his/her personal preferences. There are three major rules used in
translations:
1. Literal translations: This simply gives a faithful and very
often, horrible (in terms of culture shock) translations of the terms. For
examples, “shi-shen” is translated as “eating god”, “qi-sha”
becomes “7-killings”, “shang-guan” becomes “hurting officials or
officers” and the likes. Problem with literal translations is that it may bias
student perceptions towards certain term as “bad” or negative because it
sounds horrible. In reality, every one of the “10 gods” or "transformation
stars” (my terminology) can be positive or negative depending on the
composition of the 4P chart. Another common misconception is the ubiquitous
uses of the term "god" in 4P, like "useful god" (yong
shen), "enmity god" (chou shen) and the like, making 4P
sound "religious" when it is actually more statistical and
logical in nature.
2. Pin-yin translations: This gives a transliteration of the 4P terms like “shi-shen”, “zheng-guan” and etc. It takes some time to get used to these foreign terms. But it is great when you go back to the original Chinese texts or switching teachers/school.
3. Translation based on interpreted meanings: This translates the 4P terms based on the understanding of the translator. For example, shi-shen and shang-guan are translated as “output” stars. But different people have different understanding of the terms, so the translations can sometimes be confusing and shocking as well. Good translations under this should be “value-free” or NOT “value-laden”. It should also give meanings that are faithful or close to the original meanings of the terms. The translated terms should not influence the perception of the readers and students.
4. Mixing of all of the above
My personal bias is trying to make the translated terms as
neutral as possible, so as not influence the reader's perception. Each of
these 10 "stars" or "gods" can be positive or negative
depending on the combination of the natal chart and luck periods. Ancient Chinese writers used the term “god”
pretty loosely to draw attention. In
fact, the meaning has nothing to do with religion or gods or spirits.
In this course, we use both pin-yin
and interpreted meanings approach. The
following table shows some major terms as translated by different schools:
Note: top row is the convention used in 4P Bootcamp
4P TERMS: Stem/ Branch interactions
|
Five Stem
Combinations (天干五合)
-- combinations
|
Stem Clashes (天干相剋 )“ke”
-- clashes and countering
|
Six Branch
Combinations (地支六合) ”he”
-- combinations
|
Six
Branch Clashes (地支六冲) “chong”
-- clashes
|
Branch 3-Meetings (地支三会) “san hui”
-- frame,
directional combinations, regional combinations
|
Branch 3-Unities (地支三合) “san he”
--
3-harmony, triangular branch combinations, 60-degrees combinations
|
Half 3-Unities (半地支三合) “san
he”
--
semi/half 3-harmony
|
Branch
Six Harms (地支六害) “hai”
--
harms
|
Earthly
Branch Six Damages (地支六破) “po”
--
destruction
|
Branch
3-Penalties (地支三刑) “san xing”
--
punishment
|
Branch
Self-penalties
(自刑) “zi xing”
--
self-punishment
|
4P TERMS: Miscellaneous
|
Favorable
element (“Yong Shen”) 用神
-- “useful god”: the element that a chart needs most
|
Unfavorable
element (“Ji Shen” ) 忌神
-- “annoying god”: the
element that hurts a chart most
|
Supporting
element (“Xi Shen” ) 喜神
-- “happy god”: the
element that nurtures the favorable element
|
Vengeful
element (“Chou
Shen” ) 仇神
-- “vengeance god”: the
element that nurtures the unfavorable element
|
Trivial
element (“Xian
Shen” ) 閑神
-- “trivial god”: the
element that does not affect Day-master much
|
Transformation
platform (“Fa Shen”) 化神
-- “transformation god”: the element needed for combination and
transformation to take place
|
Profiles/ Chart type
|
Extreme strong专旺格
w/ Extreme wood 曲直格, Extreme fire 炎上格, Extreme earth 稼墙格,
Extreme metal 從革格, Extreme water 潤下格
--
ultra-strong
|
Extreme weak 從弱格
w/ Follow wealth 從财格, Follow sha (power) 從杀格, Follow
offspring 從兒格,
Follow the powerful 從势格
-- ultra-weak
|
Follow the strong 從强格
-- follow strength
|
Qi-transformation 化氣格
JIA-JI EARTH transformation 甲己化土格
YI-GENG METAL transformation 乙庚化金格
BING-SHEN WATER transformation 丙辛化水格
DING-REN WOOD transformation 丁壬化木格
WU-GUI FIRE transformation 戊癸化火格
--
qi-transformation
|
Happy Chinese New Year!
Ken Lai
"Destiny/Luck Mgmt. w/ Bazi- Basic/ Advanced w/18 hr. HD video each
"Advanced Visual Form Feng Shui w/ 23 hr. HD video
"Feng Shui Toolbox: Sha-qi, Health/Wealth & Career" w/ 7 hr. HD video
"Period 7/8 Feng Shui Toolkit w/ Advanced Flying Star techniques" w/ 6 hr. HD video
"Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
"Professional Imperial Qi-Men-Dun-Jia 4G" w/ 21 hr. video
"EZ QMDJ series: Astrology, Date/Task Selection, Annual Luck/Feng Shui"w/ 3 hr. HD
"EZ QMDJ Advanced Feng Shui" with 4 hr. HD video
"Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui/Blessing" w/ 24 hr video
"Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth" w/ 3 hr. video
"4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp" with 12 hr. video
http://www.kenlaifengshui.com
http://kenlaifengshui.blogspot.com
