Branches of earth
The Twelve Branches of the Earth ( Chinese 地支 , Pinyin dìzhī ; Japanese ち し chishi ), also called Twelve Branches ( 十二 支 , shí'èrzhī ; Japanese じ ゅ う に し jūnishi ), is an ancient Chinese numbering system.
- In the Chinese calendar , each of the twelve animals is assigned an earth branch number, so that the earth branches correspond to the Chinese zodiac 1: 1 and are often confused with it.
- Together with the ten celestial stems , they make up the sixty-year cycle of the Chinese calendar. At the same time they also stand for one (double) hour of the day and the three months of the seasons.
- The twelve branches of the earth also each stand for a cardinal point and also serve as the basis for more complex systems (see below) with 24 or even 48 cardinal points. In the table, starting from north as the zero point and clockwise, the corresponding angle is shown.
It is believed that the division into twelve years is also related to the sidereal period of Jupiter , which is 11.86 earth years.
Table of branches of the earth
The twelve branches have been introduced as a numbering system throughout the CJKV culture area. Katakana and Hiragana are not used in the following table ; the corresponding characters are listed in other tables .
| Earth branch sign |
Chinese | Japanese | Korean |
Vietna- mesisch |
Zodiac signs |
direction | season | Month (moon) |
hour | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinyin | Jyutping | On | Kun | Hangeul | Revised | |||||||
| 子 | zǐ | zi2 | shi | no | 자 | Yes | tý (Tí) | Rat ( 鼠 shǔ ) | 0 ° (north) |
winter | 11 | 0 |
| 丑 | chǒu | cau2 | chū | ushi | 축 | chuk | sửu | Buffalo ( 牛 niú ) | 30 ° | 12 | 2 | |
| 寅 | yín | jan4 | in | Torah | 인 | in | Dan | Tiger ( 虎 hǔ ) | 60 ° | spring | 1 | 4th |
| 卯 | mǎo | maau5 | bō | u | 묘 | myo | mão (mẹo) | Rabbit (VN: cat) ( 兔 tù ) | 90 ° (east) |
2 | 6th | |
| 辰 | chén | san4 | shin | tatsu | 진 | jin | thìn | Dragon ( 龍 / 龙 lóng ) | 120 ° | 3 | 8th | |
| 巳 | sì | zi6 | shi | mi | 사 | sa | tỵ | Snake ( 蛇 shé ) | 150 ° | summer | 4th | 10 |
| 午 | wǔ | ng5 | go | uma | 오 | O | ngọ | Horse ( 馬 / 马 mǎ ) | 180 ° (south) |
5 | 12 | |
| 未 | wèi | mei6 | bi | hitsuji | 미 | mi | mùi | Sheep ( 羊 yáng ) | 210 ° | 6th | 14th | |
| 申 | shēn | san1 | shin | saru | 신 | sin | thân | Monkey ( 猴 hóu ) | 240 ° | autumn | 7th | 16 |
| 酉 | yǒu | jau5 | yū | tori | 유 | yu | du | Rooster ( 雞 / 鸡 jī ) | 270 ° (west) |
8th | 18th | |
| 戌 | xū | seot1 | jutsu | inu | 술 | sul | does | Dog ( 狗 gǒu ) | 300 ° | 9 | 20th | |
| 亥 | hài | hoi6 | gai | i | 해 | hae | hợi | Pig ( 豬 / 猪 zhū ) | 330 ° | winter | 10 | 22nd |
Cardinal points based on the branches of the earth
Although in Chinese with Wörter ( běi "north"), 東 / 东 ( dōng "east"), 南 ( nán "south") and 西 ( xī "west") there are words for the four cardinal points , were used by Chinese navigators and astronomers the twelve directions of the earth's branches (see above) are preferred. Contrary to the eight cardinal points of European character, these have a 30 ° division instead of a 45 °. For seafarers, however, these twelve cardinal points were not enough, which is why their number was doubled and thus a graduation in 15 ° intervals was achieved. New terms with different origins were introduced for the cardinal points between the earth circles.
The corresponding names of the eight trigrams from the Book of Changes (I Ching) were used for the four secondary directions with the corresponding natural aspect, namely:
| Trigram | Surname | meaning | nature | Compass direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
艮 , gèn | resistance | 山 , shān "mountain" | 45 ° NE |
 |
巽 , xùn | Gentleness | 風 / 风 , fēng "wind" | 135 ° SE |
 |
坤 , kūn | femininity | 地 , dì "earth" | 225 ° SW |
 |
乾 , qián | masculinity | 天 , tiān "heaven" | 315 ° NW |
The other four correspond to the main directions:
| Trigram | Surname | meaning | nature | Compass direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
離 / 离 , lí | separation | 火 , huǒ fire | south |
 |
兌 / 兑 , youì | Change | 澤 / 泽 , zé swamp | west |
 |
坎 , can | Danger" | 水 , shuǐ water | north |
 |
震 , zhèn | excitement | 雷 , léi Donner | east |
The celestial trunks were used for the rest.
According to the five-element doctrine , wood was assigned to the east, fire to the south, metal to the west and water to the north (the earth in the center does not matter here). Then a distinction is made between Yīn and Yáng . This combination results in the missing eight cardinal points, which are now entered with (Yīn) or against (Yáng) clockwise at a distance of 15 ° from the respective main cardinal direction. Starting from north as the zero point, this finally results in clockwise direction:
Inner circle: branches of the earth
Outer circle: The 24 cardinal points
north is down, south is up, west is right, east is left
(traditional orientation - man lie down with your back on the earth (to look at the sky / the stars), head pointing south, feet north - then east is on the right and west on the left)
| written characters |
Pinyin | Jyutping | Kun reading | Compass direction | Characteristics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 子 | zǐ | zi2 | no | 0 ° (north) | rat |
| 2 | 癸 | guǐ | gwai3 | mizunoto | 15 ° | Water and yin |
| 3 | 丑 | chǒu | cau2 | ushi | 30 ° | buffalo |
| 4th | 艮 | gene | gan3 | ushitora | 45 ° (northeast) | mountain |
| 5 | 寅 | yín | jan4 | Torah | 60 ° | tiger |
| 6th | 甲 | jiǎ | gaap3 | cinema | 75 ° | Wood and yáng |
| 7th | 卯 | mǎo | maau5 | u | 90 ° (east) | Hare |
| 8th | 乙 | yǐ | jyut6 | kinoto | 105 ° | Wood and yin |
| 9 | 辰 | chén | san4 | tatsu | 120 ° | Dragon |
| 10 | 巽 | xùn | seon3 | tatsumi | 135 ° (southeast) | wind |
| 11 | 巳 | sì | zi6 | mi | 150 ° | Snake |
| 12 | 丙 | bǐng | bing2 | hinoe | 165 ° | Fire and yáng |
| 13 | 午 | wǔ | ng5 | uma | 180 ° (south) | horse |
| 14th | 丁 | thing | thing1 | hinoto | 195 ° | Fire and yin |
| 15th | 未 | wèi | mei6 | hitsuji | 210 ° | goat |
| 16 | 坤 | kūn | kwan1 | hitsujisaru | 225 ° (southwest) | earth |
| 17th | 申 | shēn | san1 | saru | 240 ° | monkey |
| 18th | 庚 | gēng | gang1 | kanoe | 255 ° | Metal and yáng |
| 19th | 酉 | yǒu | jau5 | tori | 270 ° (west) | Rooster |
| 20th | 辛 | xīn | san1 | kanoto | 285 ° | Metal and yin |
| 21st | 戌 | xū | seot1 | inu | 300 ° | dog |
| 22nd | 乾 | qián | kin4 | inui | 315 ° (northwest) | sky |
| 23 | 亥 | hài | hoi6 | i | 330 ° | pig |
| 24 | 壬 | rén | jam4 | mizunoe | 345 ° | Water and yang |
Experienced seafarers like Zhèng Hé used a 48-section compass . In the further halving of the 24 system, the two closest wind directions were used and combined. For example, the center point for the direction 172.5 ° lies between 丙 (bǐng, 165 °) and 午 (wǔ, 180 °), one gets 丙午 (bǐngwǔ).
The branches of the earth and celestial trunks are used in practice, for example in acupuncture .
See also
- Assignment of the branches of the earth to the year of birth
- Chinese horoscope
- Cardinal points
- Twelve clay zodiac figures from a tomb in Xi'an from the Tang period
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ute Engelhardt, Carl-Hermann Hempen: Acupuncture disc for calculating the optimal effective times. Urban & Schwarzenberg, Munich, 1995, ISBN 3-541-16101-9
