What is Địa Chi?

What is Địa Chi?

What is Địa Chi and where does it come from?

Địa Chi (地支) is a system of 12 symbols used to mark time, direction and interactive relationships in East Asian culture. People in the past attached each Chi to a familiar animal, creating the image of the 12 zodiac animals: Tý (Rat), Sửu (Buffalo), Dần (Tiger), Mão (Cat; the Chinese calendar has the Rabbit), Thìn (Dragon), Tỵ (Snake), Ngọ (Horse), Mùi (Goat), Thân (Monkey), Dậu (Rooster), Tuất (Dog), Hợi (Pig). The exact origin of this system has not been clearly determined in historical records, but it appeared very early in ancient calendrical science and is closely tied to agriculture, astrology and religious life.

How is Địa Chi used?

In calendrical science, Địa Chi combines with the 10 Thiên Can (Giáp, Ất, Bính, Đinh, Mậu, Kỷ, Canh, Tân, Nhâm, Quý) to form a 60-year cycle called the lục thập hoa giáp (sixty-year cycle). Every year, month, day and hour has its own Can Chi pair. In Bát Tự (BaZi, Four Pillars), the birth hour is determined based on the Can of the day and the 12-animal Địa Chi system, forming the Hour Pillar that reflects later life fortune and later relationships. In addition, each Chi is also attached to a period of time in the day (each Chi corresponds to two hours) and a particular direction.

What are the relationships between the Địa Chi?

The Địa Chi do not exist independently but interact with each other according to many rules. Tam hợp (three harmony) is a group of three Chi of the same element, for example Thân - Tý - Thìn combine into the Water frame, Dần - Ngọ - Tuất combine into the Fire frame, Tỵ - Dậu - Sửu combine into the Metal frame. Lục hợp (six harmony) is six pairs of mutually harmonising Chi, such as Tý - Sửu, Mão - Tuất, Tỵ - Thân. Tứ hành xung refers to four Chi that directly clash, such as Tý clashing with Ngọ, Mão clashing with Dậu. Lục hại (six harms) is six pairs that secretly constrain each other, such as Tý - Mùi. These relationships are widely applied in Tử Vi (Vietnamese astrology), choosing days, choosing ages and other fields of metaphysics.

How do you distinguish Địa Chi from Thiên Can and the 12 zodiac animals?

Địa Chi is one half of the Can Chi system, while Thiên Can is the other half. Thiên Can consists of 10 elements, Địa Chi consists of 12 elements; when paired together they create 60 combinations. Địa Chi should be distinguished from the 12 zodiac animals: the 12 zodiac animals are the folk way of using animal images to refer to the 12 Địa Chi, but Địa Chi itself is a more abstract system of symbols, used in calendrical science and the various divination arts. In addition, Địa Chi also differs from the concept of "zodiac animal age" in everyday life, which is simply a simple application of Địa Chi to calculating age.

Note: This is traditional knowledge of a reference nature, not yet verified by science, especially when applied to fortune-telling and metaphysics.

How do different schools understand Địa Chi?

• The calendrical understanding: Địa Chi is purely a tool for marking time, combining with Thiên Can to create a 60-year cycle, used to record years, months, days and hours in the lunar calendar.
• The symbolic-number and metaphysical understanding: Địa Chi carries symbolic meaning regarding yin and yang, the five elements and the relationships of tam hợp, lục hợp, clash and harm, applied in Tử Vi, Bát Tự and choosing days.
• The folk cultural understanding: Địa Chi is identified with the 12 zodiac animals, attached to animal images and the personality traits and fates passed down orally among the people.

Related articles

• What are the 12 zodiac animals? Meaning and how to calculate age according to Địa Chi
• Tam Hợp Thân - Tý - Thìn (Water frame): Meaning, nature and application in Tử Vi
• The meaning of Lục hợp Mão - Tuất according to Eastern folk belief
• The meaning of Lục hợp Tỵ - Thân according to Eastern folk belief
• What is the Hour Pillar in Bát Tự (Four Pillars)?
• Tam Hợp Tỵ - Dậu - Sửu (Metal frame): Meaning, nature and application in Tử Vi
• The meaning of Lục hợp Tý - Sửu according to Eastern folk belief
• Tý - Mùi harm: the lục hại pair among the 12 zodiac animals, a detailed view
• The meaning of Tứ hành xung Tý - Ngọ - Mão - Dậu according to Eastern folk belief
• Tam Hợp Dần - Ngọ - Tuất (Fire frame): the tam hợp group among the 12 zodiac animals

What are the 12 Địa Chi?

Time slots are according to Vietnam time. The hour of Tý bridges across midnight (23h of the previous day to 1h of the next day), so the Can Chi day changes at 23h rather than 0h.

The figures in the table match the results of the lookup tools on Nhật Nguyệt.