TL;DR: 2028 is Mậu Thân (lunar year from 26 January 2028 to 12 February 2029): the stem Mậu is Thổ, the branch Thân is Kim, and the nạp âm is Đại Trạch Thổ. In the folk way of matching ages, the branch axis is favourable with parents born in Tý and Thìn years, unfavourable with Dần and Hợi, both ways with Tỵ; the nạp âm axis is favourable with Thổ, Hỏa and Kim parents, unfavourable with Mộc and Thủy; the stem axis is favourable with the stem Quý. The axes often point different ways, and all are conventions, not scientific conclusions.
What are the can chi characteristics of the year 2028 Mậu Thân?
2028 is the Mậu Thân year, the year of Thân (the monkey). The stem Mậu is yang Thổ (Earth), the branch Thân is yang Kim (Metal); Thổ generates Kim, so the stem generates the branch. Mậu Thân and Kỷ Dậu share the nạp âm Đại Trạch Thổ (大驿土, Earth of the Great Marsh; some books read it Đại Dịch Thổ), of the Thổ element.
The year boundary depends on the method. The lunar year Mậu Thân begins at Tết Nguyên đán on 26 January 2028 and runs to the end of 12 February 2029; Tử Vi and the folk way of counting age use this boundary. Bát Tự takes the year pillar by the Lập Xuân solar term, which begins at 14:30 on 4 February 2028 and at 20:19 on 3 February 2029 (Vietnam time). So a baby born from 26 January 2028 until before 14:30 on 4 February 2028 is a Mậu Thân by the lunar year but carries the Đinh Mùi year pillar in Bát Tự; a baby born from 20:19 on 3 February 2029 to the end of 12 February 2029 is still a Mậu Thân by the lunar year but carries the Kỷ Dậu year pillar.
The book Hiệp kỷ biện phương thư, volume 1, explains the name of this nạp âm: "戊申己酉大驛土者，申為坤，坤為地，酉為兌，兌為澤，戊己之土加於坤澤之上，非其他浮薄之土也". That is, Thân corresponds to the Khôn trigram, which is the earth, and Dậu to the Đoài trigram, which is the marsh; the Thổ of Mậu and Kỷ is laid on that earth and marsh, so it is not thin, floating soil.
The can chi Mậu Thân is a calendrical datum that can be calculated; inferring compatibility from it is a convention of the folk way of matching ages, not a datum.
Why do people assess a child's compatibility with the parents by can chi and nạp âm?
The folk way of matching ages compares three things of the child's birth year with the birth year of each parent: the heavenly stem (combining or clashing), the earthly branch, that is the zodiac animal (tam hợp, lục hợp, tứ hành xung, lục hại), and the nạp âm element (generating or overcoming). The three axes rest on separate conventional tables, so a pair of years can be favourable on one axis and unfavourable on another.
The book Tử Vi khảo luận by Hoàng Thường and Hàm Chương reads the stem and branch within a single year by generating and overcoming: Giáp Ngọ, where the stem generates the branch, is "the root nourishing the tip", and Giáp Thân, where the branch overcomes the stem, is "the tip breaking the root"[1]. That is a reading within one year, different from comparing the child's year with the parents'.
A child born in 2028 Mậu Thân is compatible with which parents' birth years?
In the folk way of matching ages, each axis gives its own conclusion, and the axes often point different ways:
- Earthly branch: Tý and Thìn form the tam hợp with Thân and count as favourable. Dần is in the same tứ hành xung group as Thân and is Thân's opposite branch; Hợi is both in the tứ hành xung group and in lục hại with Thân; these two count as unfavourable. Tỵ is both in lục hợp and in the same tứ hành xung group as Thân, so the tables contradict each other. Parents born in a Thân year share the child's branch, which is put in neither the combining nor the clashing groups; Sửu, Mão, Ngọ, Mùi, Dậu and Tuất have no relation with Thân in these four tables.
- Heavenly stem: Mậu combines with Quý, so a parent whose birth-year stem is Quý counts as favourable; Mậu clashes with no stem in the stem-clash table.
- Nạp âm: Đại Trạch Thổ shares the element with Thổ parents, is generated by Hỏa parents and generates Kim parents; these three cases count as favourable. The child overcomes Thủy parents and is overcome by Mộc parents; these two cases count as unfavourable.
The table below applies these tables to parents born from 1984 to 2001 (lunar years: someone born in January or February before Tết belongs to the previous year):
| Parents' birth year | Nạp âm | Branch compared with Thân | Nạp âm compared with Đại Trạch Thổ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 Giáp Tý | Hải Trung Kim | Tam hợp, favourable | Child generates parent, favourable |
| 1985 Ất Sửu | Hải Trung Kim | Neither combining nor clashing | Child generates parent, favourable |
| 1986 Bính Dần | Lư Trung Hỏa | Tứ hành xung, unfavourable | Parent generates child, favourable |
| 1987 Đinh Mão | Lư Trung Hỏa | Neither combining nor clashing | Parent generates child, favourable |
| 1988 Mậu Thìn | Đại Lâm Mộc | Tam hợp, favourable | Parent overcomes child, unfavourable |
| 1989 Kỷ Tỵ | Đại Lâm Mộc | Lục hợp and tứ hành xung, both ways | Parent overcomes child, unfavourable |
| 1990 Canh Ngọ | Lộ Bàng Thổ | Neither combining nor clashing | Same element, favourable |
| 1991 Tân Mùi | Lộ Bàng Thổ | Neither combining nor clashing | Same element, favourable |
| 1992 Nhâm Thân | Kiếm Phong Kim | Same branch | Child generates parent, favourable |
| 1993 Quý Dậu | Kiếm Phong Kim | Neither combining nor clashing | Child generates parent, favourable |
| 1994 Giáp Tuất | Sơn Đầu Hỏa | Neither combining nor clashing | Parent generates child, favourable |
| 1995 Ất Hợi | Sơn Đầu Hỏa | Tứ hành xung and lục hại, unfavourable | Parent generates child, favourable |
| 1996 Bính Tý | Giản Hạ Thủy | Tam hợp, favourable | Child overcomes parent, unfavourable |
| 1997 Đinh Sửu | Giản Hạ Thủy | Neither combining nor clashing | Child overcomes parent, unfavourable |
| 1998 Mậu Dần | Thành Đầu Thổ | Tứ hành xung, unfavourable | Same element, favourable |
| 1999 Kỷ Mão | Thành Đầu Thổ | Neither combining nor clashing | Same element, favourable |
| 2000 Canh Thìn | Bạch Lạp Kim | Tam hợp, favourable | Child generates parent, favourable |
| 2001 Tân Tỵ | Bạch Lạp Kim | Lục hợp and tứ hành xung, both ways | Child generates parent, favourable |
On the stem axis only one year in this range is favourable, 1993 Quý Dậu; 1988 Mậu Thìn and 1998 Mậu Dần share the stem Mậu with the child, which counts as neither combining nor clashing. The same birth year can be favourable on one axis and unfavourable on another: 1988 Mậu Thìn is tam hợp on the branch axis, but its Đại Lâm Mộc overcomes Đại Trạch Thổ on the nạp âm axis. To check the exact birth years of the father and the mother, including the child's expected month and hour of birth, the Child's birth year by parents' ages tool can be used.
Which elements does the nạp âm Đại Trạch Thổ count as favourable?
By the five-phase generating and overcoming that the folk way of matching ages applies to nạp âm, Đại Trạch Thổ (Thổ element) counts as favourable with Thổ parents (same element), Hỏa parents (Hỏa generates Thổ) and Kim parents (Thổ generates Kim), and unfavourable with Mộc parents (Mộc overcomes Thổ) and Thủy parents (Thổ overcomes Thủy).
A common mistake is to take the element of the branch instead of the nạp âm. Canh Thân (1980) and Tân Dậu (1981) have Kim branches but their nạp âm is Thạch Lựu Mộc; Giáp Dần (1974) and Ất Mão (1975) have Mộc branches but their nạp âm is Đại Khê Thủy. A site that goes by the branch element and a site that goes by nạp âm can therefore reach two different conclusions for the same birth year.
Should clashes between the child's birth year and the parents' birth years be a worry?
No research has shown that clashing years between parents and child affect the child's health or character. Folk belief speaks of "a child overcoming the parents" when the axes are unfavourable; that is the wording of a belief, and no one has proven it.
Even in fate-studies books, the relationship between parents and child is not judged by the birth year alone: Tử Vi đẩu số tân biên by Vân Đằng Thái Thứ Lang discusses it in the Phụ Mẫu (Parents) palace, by the stars placed in that palace of the chart.
Should one choose the year of a child's birth only for compatibility?
The folk way of matching ages is not enough of a basis for choosing a child's birth year. The birth year is only one of the four pillars, year, month, day and hour, that Bát Tự considers, and the three axes often point different ways, as the table above shows. Having a child depends on health, family circumstances and work; the actual date and time of birth is decided by the health of mother and child, following the doctor's advice.
Frequently asked questions when considering the birth year of a child in 2028
If a child is born in 2028 Mậu Thân, how should one choose a name?
In folk practice there is a way of naming by the five elements of the birth year: a Mậu Thân child has a Thổ stem, a Kim branch and a Thổ nạp âm, so some choose a name of an element that generates Thổ, such as Hỏa, while others choose Thủy or Mộc to "balance" it; the views do not agree. This is a belief with no scientific basis; a name that is easy to call, fits custom and carries the meaning the family wants remains the main thing.
What about parents born in a Tỵ year having a child in 2028?
Tỵ and Thân are a lục hợp pair but also sit in the same tứ hành xung group, so the branch tables contradict each other and the folk way of matching ages counts this axis as both ways. The nạp âm axis depends on the year: 1977 Đinh Tỵ (Sa Trung Thổ) and 2001 Tân Tỵ (Bạch Lạp Kim) count as favourable with Đại Trạch Thổ, while 1989 Kỷ Tỵ (Đại Lâm Mộc) counts as unfavourable.
Is 2028 a good year to have a child?
No year is absolutely good or bad for having a child, and the folk way of matching ages does not rank years that way either: it only compares the child's birth year with each parent's birth year. In the same year 2028, some parents count as favourable on one axis, others as unfavourable on another. Having a child rests on the family's actual circumstances.
