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Stems & Branches

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches — China's Ancient Time System

The Stem-Branch system is one of the oldest continuous time-keeping systems in human history, still used today in Chinese astrology and calendar.

#Heavenly Stems#Earthly Branches#Ganzhi#calendar

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, collectively known as Ganzhi, form the backbone of the traditional Chinese calendar and time-keeping system.

【The Ten Heavenly Stems】 Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui Each stem belongs to one of the Five Elements, in yin-yang pairs: Jia(Yang Wood)-Yi(Yin Wood), Bing(Yang Fire)-Ding(Yin Fire), etc.

【The Twelve Earthly Branches】 Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai Each branch corresponds to an animal sign, a month, and a two-hour period of the day.

【The Sixty-Year Cycle】 The stems and branches combine sequentially to form sixty unique pairs: Jia-Zi, Yi-Chou, Bing-Yin... and so on through Gui-Hai. This cycle is called the Sixty-Year Cycle or Sexagenary Cycle.

【Modern Uses】 The Ganzhi system remains active in: Ba Zi (Four Pillars) astrology, where a person's birth year, month, day, and hour each have a stem-branch pair; traditional Chinese calendar; choosing auspicious dates; and acupuncture timing.