The concept of the four auspicious times (四大吉時) originated from the liurenshi (六壬式) divinatory technique, and rooted in the theory of yin and yang (陰陽) and five elements (五行) as well as astronomical observation. It was one of the most significant auspicious-time-selection techniques practiced in the Tang and Song dynasties. In the Tang dynasty, the four auspicious times were the hours of jia (甲), bing (丙), geng (庚) and ren (壬) for the first months of the four seasons (namely the first, fourth, seventh and tenth month), the hours of qian (乾), kun (坤), gen (艮), xun (巽) for the second months of four seasons (namely the second, fifth, eighth, eleventh month) and the hours of gui (癸), yi (乙), ding (丁), xin (辛) for the third months of four seasons (namely the third, sixth, ninth, twelfth month). Accordingly, the month of xingming month (星命月) was derived by measuring the solar terms. However, during the years of Jingyou (1034-1038) to the first year of Qingli (1041) of Song Renzong’s reign, the concept of the four auspicious times underwent great transformation. The universe was divided into twelve regions, which were called twelve ci (十二次), and the four auspicious times were therefore chosen according to which ci the sun was at. Roughly in the fourteenth year of Chongxi (1045) or sometime later, this renewed technique was adopted by the Liao region, and then was inherited by the Southern Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties afterwards and was widely practiced in social activities like funeral ritual or rituals held prior to constructions. It was a time concept and belief which widely influenced the poor and the rich, the south and the north, the Han Chinese and those of other ethnicities, Buddhists and those who are secular. This historical fact demonstrated that the liurenshi technique had profoundly shaped the general time concept and belief of the commoners from the Tang to the Qing dynasties. In other words, traditional Chinese divinatory technique and the divinity-devil belief presented by the liurenshi technique, though many people didn’t know their origin, were the foundation of the Chinese culture.
four auspicious times, time concept, Tang-Song transition
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