Da Liu Ren Calculator

FAQ

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What is Da Liu Ren?

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Da Liu Ren (大六壬, “the Great Six Ren”) is one of the three highest arts of classical Chinese divination, alongside Qi Men Dun Jia and Tai Yi — together known as the San Shi (三式, “Three Cosmic Boards”). Recorded since the Han dynasty and at its height in Tang and Song times, it answers a specific question by casting a board for the exact moment the question arises. Unlike Bazi, which reads a whole life from a birth time, Liu Ren reads one situation from one moment.

How is a Liu Ren chart cast?

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Casting follows five classical steps. First, fix the moment of the question and take its stem-branch date and hour. Second, set the plates: the earth plate is the twelve branches in fixed positions, and the heaven plate is made by placing the current monthly general — the branch marking the Sun’s position — on the hour branch and rotating the rest along. Third, derive the four lessons from the day stem and day branch. Fourth, issue the three transmissions — beginning, middle and end of the matter — from the lessons according to the nine classical rules. Fifth, distribute the twelve generals starting from the Nobleman. This tool performs all five steps the moment you enter a time.

What are the four lessons and three transmissions?

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The four lessons are four stacked pairs read off the plates from the day stem and day branch — they unfold the day’s stem-branch into a structure that can be analysed. The three transmissions are three branches extracted from the lessons by fixed rules; they narrate the opening, development and outcome of the matter asked about. Which rule applies depends on how “conquest” relations fall among the lessons; the rule families are the famous nine gates (such as Yuan Shou, Zhong Shen, She Hai), and the tool labels the chart with the one it used.

What is the monthly general?

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The monthly general (月将) is the branch opposite the Sun’s zodiacal station, changing at each mid-month solar term — it is, in effect, the Sun’s position written as a branch. Because the heaven plate is anchored by placing this general on the hour branch, the board turns as the hours pass and as the solar terms change: every double-hour of every day yields a different chart. That rotation of heaven over a fixed earth is the heart of the method.

What time should I enter?

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Enter the moment the question arises or the event occurs — this is the orthodox “true hour” method. The calculator uses the Gregorian calendar and converts to stems and branches with solar-term boundaries, the same convention as Bazi charts. You can also cast for a past or future moment by simply setting that time, and the result page has previous-hour / next-hour buttons so you can watch the board turn hour by hour.

Can this tool interpret the chart for me?

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The tool produces the complete structure — heaven and earth plates with the twelve generals, hidden stems and void marks, the four lessons, the three transmissions with kin relations, the chart pattern, and the day’s symbolic stars. Interpretation in Liu Ren tradition then depends on choosing the right symbolic focus for the question, which remains the diviner’s craft. The output is presented as cultural heritage for study and reference, not as advice or prediction.

Also try the Bazi Calculator and the Chinese Almanac Calendar, or browse all divination tools.