Which eight characters?
Each year, month, day and hour pillar has a stem and branch, forming eight characters. The day stem is the day master, used for relational classifications. An unknown hour is not invented or presented as a complete four-pillar chart.
The seasonal month is not a Gregorian month
Year and month pillars follow the stated solar-term convention. The month command reflects the season, not a Gregorian month number. An instant near a boundary may require minute-level accuracy.
Why counts do not determine strength
Ziping discussion starts useful-factor analysis from the month command and considers roots, exposed stems and relations. Visible counts do not automatically identify favorable elements or justify adding an element to every name.
Sources and further reading
Explanations are written by this site; original excerpts are labeled separately. See the source catalogue for editions and scope.
Reviewed: 2026-10-09