Examples of Great Noble Persons Born in the Twelve Years of the Ten Heavenly Stems

Original Text

六甲年丁卯月乙未日戊寅时六乙年己卯月甲戌日乙亥时六丙年庚寅月丁巳日丙午时六丁年丙午月壬辰日丁未时六戊年壬戌月己丑日戊寅时六己年辛未月己未日丙寅时六庚年甲申月庚申日辛巳时六辛年丙申月庚午日辛巳时六壬年辛亥月壬辰日丁未时六癸年丙辰月丙辰日戊子时以上逐年，只有一日一时主有大贵人应世建功立业之命，不然，出尘神仙，常术不能晓也。

大贵人莫过帝王，考历代创业之君，乃明朝诸帝，无一合者。余尝谓天下之大，兆民之众，如此年月日时生者，岂无其人？然未必皆大贵人。要之，天生大贵人，必有冥数气运以主之，年月日时多不足凭。馀纪缙绅与凡民，命同者不能悉数。姑就缙绅论，如黄懋官侍郎，与申价副使命同，黄死子兵祸，申死牖下，申先黄死，官之大小又不论也。朱衡与李庭龙命同，朱发科壬辰，李发科癸丑，朱官至尚书，李止大参，寿又不永，其子孙之多寡贤否，又不论也。万举与饶才命同，万举进士，官至卿贰，饶止举人，官至太守，然饶多子而万则少，又万以谪戌死而饶则否，其寿夭得丧又难论也。三河王且斋兄弟同产，而功名先后亦自不同，况天下之大，九洲之广，兆民之众，其八字同者何限，又乌可以例论耶！余记下说，说一走卒与鲁公命同，鲁公遇朝廷有大恩宠，则此卒受大责罚，鲁公有小喜庆，则此卒有小谴责，其相反有如此者。又某家生子与鲁公命同，前后差六十年，术者以鲁公之命证之，其家大喜，谓他日必贵，自孩童时恣其所为，后遂酗酒，游荡醉死于水，年止十九。

又记《乐善录》，太学二士人命同，又同发解过省，约就相近游宦，庶彼此得知灾福，后一人任鄂州教授，一人任黄州教授，未几黄州者死，鄂州者为治后事，祝曰：「我与公生年月日时同，出处同，公先舍我去，使我今死已后公七日矣，若有灵，宜托梦以告。」其夜果梦云：「我生于富贵，享用过当，故死，公生于寒微，未得享用，故活。」后鄂官至典郡，岂非有所警惕享用不过之所致乎？又吾郡有颜守芳生员，与厂民袁大纲命同，颜贫喜富，颜多子袁仅二子，颜在而袁已死，颜读书守礼，有危疾而能自保，竟岁贡出身，袁则反是。合是数人观之，岂所生之家不同，而各人所习之业又异，其保身慎修，克俭长年，在吾人自求多福耳，若曰我命该富贵长寿，而不修德进学，骄恣不法，岂命之所以为命也耶！

Interpretation

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The most noble position is that of the emperor. Examining the founding emperors of all dynasties, none of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty fit a certain pattern. I have always thought that in such a vast world with a countless population, there must be people born at the same year, month, day, and hour. However, not all of them will become great and noble people. In essence, when a great and noble person is born, there must be some mysterious destiny and fortune governing it. The year, month, day, and hour of birth are often unreliable. I have recorded many cases where gentry and ordinary people have the same birth - time, and I can't list them all. Just taking the gentry as an example: Huang Maoguan, a vice - minister, and Shen Jia, a deputy official, had the same birth - time. Huang died in a military disaster, while Shen died in his own bed, and Shen died before Huang. Moreover, the difference in their official ranks is not even considered here. Zhu Heng and Li Tinglong had the same birth - time. Zhu passed the imperial examination in the Ren - Chen year, and Li in the Gui - Chou year. Zhu rose to the position of a grand secretary, while Li only reached the position of a provincial administrative official, and Li didn't live long. Also, the number and quality of their descendants are not considered. Wan Ju and Rao Cai had the same birth - time. Wan became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and rose to the position of a high - ranking official, while Rao was only a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination) and became a prefect. However, Rao had many sons while Wan had few. Moreover, Wan died in exile, but Rao did not. Their longevity, gains, and losses are also difficult to explain. The Wang brothers in Sanhe were twins, but their achievements in official careers came at different times. Considering the vastness of the world, the expanse of the nine continents, and the countless population, there are countless people with the same eight - character birth - time. How can we make generalizations? I once read a story. A soldier had the same birth - time as Duke Lu. When Duke Lu received great imperial favors, the soldier was severely punished; when Duke Lu had small joys, the soldier faced small reprimands. Their fates were completely opposite. Also, a family had a son with the same birth - time as Duke Lu, but with a sixty - year difference. The fortune - teller predicted a glorious future for the boy based on Duke Lu's fate. The family was overjoyed and let the boy do whatever he wanted since childhood. Later, he became an alcoholic, wandered around, and died drunk in the water at the age of nineteen.

I also remember an incident recorded in "Records of Benevolence". Two scholars at the Imperial College had the same birth horoscope. They both passed the local and provincial examinations. They agreed to take up official posts in nearby places so that they could know each other's good and bad fortunes. Later, one of them became a professor in Ezhou, and the other in Huangzhou. Before long, the one in Huangzhou died. The one in Ezhou handled his post - mortem affairs and prayed, saying, "You and I were born on the same year, month, day, and hour, and our career paths were the same. You left me first. Now I've outlived you by seven days. If you have a spirit, you should come to me in a dream and tell me the reason." That night, he really had a dream in which the dead man said, "I was born into a wealthy family and over - indulged in worldly pleasures, so I died. You were born into a poor family and haven't had the chance to enjoy such pleasures, so you're still alive." Later, the man in Ezhou became the governor of a prefecture. Isn't it because he was vigilant and didn't over - indulge in pleasures? There was also a scholar named Yan Shoufang in my county. He had the same birth horoscope as Yuan Dagang, a factory worker. Yan was poor but desired wealth. Yan had many sons while Yuan only had two. Yan was still alive when Yuan died. Yan read books and abided by the rites. When he was seriously ill, he could take good care of himself and finally obtained the title of "Annual Tribute Scholar". Yuan, on the contrary, did not do so. Looking at these people, isn't it because they were born into different families and engaged in different occupations? To preserve one's health, be cautious in self - cultivation, be thrifty, and live a long life, one should seek blessings on one's own. If one says, "I'm destined to be wealthy, noble, and live a long life" but doesn't cultivate virtue, pursue learning, and instead acts arrogantly and lawlessly, is this what destiny really means?