On the Origins of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches

Original Text

夫干犹木之干，强而为阳；支犹木之枝，弱而为阴。昔盘古氏明天地之道，达阴阳之变为三才。首君以天地既分之后，先有天而后有地，由是气化而人生焉，故天皇氏一姓十三人，继盘古氏以治，是曰天灵淡泊，无为而俗自化，始制干支之名，以定岁之所在。其十干曰：阏逢、旃蒙、柔兆、疆圉、著雍、屠维、上章、重光、玄黓、昭阳；十二支曰：困敦、赤奋若、摄提格、单于、执徐、大荒落、敦洋、协洽、涒滩、作噩、阉茂、大渊献。蔡邕独断曰：「干，干也。其名有十，亦曰十母，即今甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸是也；支，枝也。其名十有二，亦曰十二子，即今子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥是也。」谓之天皇氏者，取其天开于子之义也；谓之地皇氏者，取其地辟于丑之义也；谓之人皇氏者，取其人生于寅之义也。故干支之名在天皇时始制，而地皇氏则定三辰，道分昼夜，以三十日为一月，而干支始各有所配。人皇氏者，主不虚王，臣不虚贵，政教君臣所自起，饮食男女所自始，始得天地之气而有子母之分，于是干支始有所属焉。至于伏羲仰观象于天，俯观法于地，中观万物与人，始画八卦以通神明之德，以类万物之情，以作甲历而文字生焉。逮及黄帝授河图，见日月星辰之象，于是始有星官之书。命大尧探五行之情，占斗纲所建，于是始作甲子配五行纳音之属。

Interpretation

The Heavenly Stems are like the trunks of trees, strong and representing yang; the Earthly Branches are like the branches of trees, weak and representing yin. In ancient times, Pangu understood the principles of heaven and earth and the changes of yin and yang, and created the Three Realms. After the separation of heaven and earth, there was heaven first and then earth. Through the transformation of qi, human beings came into being. Therefore, the Heavenly Emperor Clan, with one surname and thirteen members, succeeded Pangu in governing. They were pure - minded and took no arbitrary actions, yet the common people were naturally influenced. They first created the names of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to determine the position of the years. The ten Heavenly Stems are: Efang, Zhanyanmeng, Rouzhao, Qiangyu, Zhuyong, Tuwei, Shangzhang, Chongguang, Xuanli, Zhaoyang; the twelve Earthly Branches are: Kundun, Chifenruo, Shetigge, Chanyu, Zhixu, Dahuangluo, Duyang, Xieqia, Tuntan, Zuo'e, Yanmao, Dayuanxian. Cai Yong's *Duduan* says: "The Heavenly Stems are the main parts. There are ten of them, also called the Ten Mothers, which are now known as jia, yi, bing, ding, wu, ji, geng, xin, ren, gui; the Earthly Branches are the branches. There are twelve of them, also called the Twelve Sons, which are now known as zi, chou, yin, mao, chen, si, wu, wei, shen, you, xu, hai." The name of the Heavenly Emperor Clan is derived from the meaning that heaven opened at the time of zi; the name of the Earthly Emperor Clan is derived from the meaning that the earth was formed at the time of chou; the name of the Human Emperor Clan is derived from the meaning that human beings were born at the time of yin. Therefore, the names of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches were first created during the time of the Heavenly Emperor Clan. The Earthly Emperor Clan determined the three celestial bodies, divided the day and night, and set thirty days as a month. From then on, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches began to be paired with each other. The Human Emperor Clan ensured that the rulers were not in vain and the ministers were not over - honored. Politics, education, the relationship between rulers and ministers originated from this time, as did the concepts of food, clothing, men and women. People began to receive the qi of heaven and earth and distinguish between mothers and children. Thus, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches began to have their proper associations. As for Fuxi, he observed the celestial phenomena in the sky, the laws on the earth, and all things and human beings in between. He first drew the Eight Trigrams to understand the virtues of the divine and the conditions of all things. He created the calendar and the written language came into being. By the time of the Yellow Emperor, he received the Hetu and observed the phenomena of the sun, moon, stars and constellations. Then, books on astronomy began to appear. He ordered Dayao to explore the principles of the Five Elements and observe the position of the Big Dipper. Then, the system of pairing the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches with the Five Elements and the sounds of the twelve pitches began to be created.