Heavenly Stems: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|System of ten ordinals native to China}} |
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The ten '''Heavenly Stems''' or '''Celestial Stems'''<ref>"[[:b:Ba Zi/Heavenly Stems|Heavenly Stems]]"</ref> ({{zh|c=[[wiktionary:天|天]][[wiktionary:干|干]]|p=tiāngān}}) are a Chinese system of [[ordinal number (linguistics)|ordinals]] that first appear during the [[Shang dynasty]], c. 1250 BC, as the names of the ten days of the week. They were also used in Shang-period ritual as names for dead family members, who were offered sacrifices on the corresponding day of the Shang week. The Heavenly Stems were used in combination with the [[Earthly Branches]], a similar cycle of twelve days, to produce a compound [[sexagenary cycle|cycle of sixty days]]. Subsequently, the Heavenly Stems lost their original function as names for days of the week and dead kin, and acquired many other uses, the most prominent and long lasting of which was their use together with the Earthly Branches as a 60-year calendrical cycle.<ref>Smith (2011).</ref> The system is used throughout [[East Asia]]. |
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{{Merge|Earthly Branches|Sexagenary cycle|target=Chinese cyclical signs|discuss=Talk:Sexagenary cycle#Chinese cyclical signs merge proposal|date=July 2024}} |
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{{Infobox Chinese |
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==Table== |
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| c = 天干 |
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{|class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center" |
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| p = tiāngān |
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!rowspan=2| |
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| poj = thian-kan |
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!rowspan=2|Heavenly<br />Stem |
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| j = tin1 gon1 |
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!colspan=4|Chinese |
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| y = tīn gōn |
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!colspan=2|Japanese ([[Romanization of Japanese|romaji]]) |
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| hangul = 천간 |
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!rowspan=2|Korean<br />([[Revised Romanization of Korean|RR]]) |
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| rr = cheongan |
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!rowspan=2|Manchu<br />([[Transliterations of Manchu|Möllendorff]]) |
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| hanja = 天干 |
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!rowspan=2|Vietnamese |
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| qn = thiên can |
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!rowspan=2|[[Yin and Yang]]<br />({{lang|zh|陰陽}}) |
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| chuhan = 天干 |
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!rowspan=2|[[Wu Xing]]<br />({{lang|zh|五行}}) |
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}} |
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!rowspan=2|''Wu Xing''<br />correlations |
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!Mandarin<br />[[Zhuyin]] |
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!Mandarin<br />[[Pinyin]] |
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!Wu<br />[[Wuupin]] |
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!Cantonese<br />[[Jyutping]] |
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!''[[on'yomi]]'' |
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!''[[kun'yomi]]'' |
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||1||[[wiktionary:甲|甲]]||ㄐㄧㄚˇ||jiǎ||ciaeh43||gaap3||コウ (kō)||きのえ (kinoe)||갑 (gap)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠨᡳᠣᠸᠠᠩᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ}} (niowanggiyan, "green")||giáp||陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|木 ([[Tree (Wu Xing)|wood]])||rowspan="2"|東 East |
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||2||[[wiktionary:乙|乙]]||ㄧˇ||yǐ||ieh43||jyut6||オツ (otsu)||きのと (kinoto)||을 (eul)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠨᡳᠣᡥᠣᠨ}} (niohon)||ất||陰 (yin) |
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||3||[[wiktionary:丙|丙]]||ㄅㄧㄥˇ||bǐng||pin51||bing2||ヘイ (hei)||ひのえ (hinoe)||병 (byeong)||{{MongolUnicode|ᡶᡠᠯᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ}} (fulgiyan, "red")||bính|| 陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|火 ([[fire (classical element)|fire]])||rowspan="2"|南 South |
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||4||[[wiktionary:丁|丁]]||ㄉㄧㄥ||dīng||ting44||ding1||テイ (tei)||ひのと (hinoto)||정 (jeong)||{{MongolUnicode|ᡶᡠᠯᠠᡥᡡᠨ}} (fulahūn)||đinh|| 陰 (yin) |
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||5||[[wiktionary:戊|戊]]||ㄨˋ||wù||vu231||mou6||ボ (bo)||つちのえ (tsuchinoe)||무 (mu)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᡠᠸᠠᠶᠠᠨ}} (suwayan, "yellow")||mậu||陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|土 ([[earth (classical element)|earth]])||rowspan="2"|中 Middle |
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||6||[[wiktionary:己|己]]||ㄐㄧˇ||jǐ||ci51||gei2||キ (ki)||つちのと (tsuchinoto)||기 (gi)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠣᡥᠣᠨ}} (sohon)||kỷ||陰 (yin) |
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||7||[[wiktionary:庚|庚]]||ㄍㄥ||gēng||keng44||gang1||コウ (kō)||かのえ (kanoe)||경 (gyeong)||{{MongolUnicode|ᡧᠠᠨᠶᠠᠨ}} (šanyan, "white")||canh||陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|金 ([[metal (classical element)|metal]])||rowspan="2"|西 West |
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||8||[[wiktionary:辛|辛]]||ㄒㄧㄣ||xīn||sin44||san1||シン (shin)||かのと (kanoto)||신 (sin)||{{MongolUnicode|ᡧᠠᡥᡡᠨ}} (šahūn)||tân||陰 (yin) |
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||9||[[wiktionary:壬|壬]]||ㄖㄣˊ||rén||nyin223||jam4||ジン (jin)||みずのえ (mizunoe)||임 (im)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ}} (sahaliyan, "black")||nhâm||陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|水 ([[water (classical element)|water]])||rowspan="2"|北 North |
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||10||[[wiktionary:癸|癸]]||ㄍㄨㄟˇ||guǐ||kue51||gwai3||キ (ki)||みずのと (mizunoto)||계 (gye)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠠᡥᠠᡥᡡᠨ}} (sahahūn)||quý||陰 (yin) |
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The ten '''Heavenly Stems''' (or '''Celestial Stems'''<ref>"[[:b:Ba Zi/Heavenly Stems|Heavenly Stems]]"</ref>) are a system of [[ordinal number (linguistics)|ordinals]] indigenous to China and used throughout East Asia, first attested {{circa|1250 BCE}} during the [[Shang dynasty]] as the names of the ten days of the week. They were also used in Shang-era rituals in the names of dead family members, who were offered sacrifices on the corresponding day of the Shang week. Stems are no longer used as names for the days of the week, but have acquired many other uses. Most prominently, they have been used in conjunction with the associated set of twelve [[Earthly Branches]] in the compound [[sexagenary cycle]], an important feature of historical [[Chinese calendar]]s.<ref>Smith (2011).</ref> |
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The Japanese names of the Heavenly Stems are based on their corresponding Wu Xing elements, while their Manchu names are based on their respective elements' colors. ==Table== |
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{|class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center" |
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!rowspan=2| |
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!rowspan=2|Heavenly<br />Stem |
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!colspan=4|Chinese |
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!colspan=2|Japanese ([[Romanization of Japanese|romaji]]) |
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!rowspan=2|Korean<br />([[Revised Romanization of Korean|RR]]) |
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!rowspan=2|Manchu<br />([[Transliterations of Manchu|Möllendorff]]) |
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!rowspan=2|Vietnamese |
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!rowspan=2|[[Yin and Yang]]<br />({{lang|zh|陰陽}}) |
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!rowspan=2|[[Wu Xing]]<br />({{lang|zh|五行}}) |
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!rowspan=2|''Wu Xing''<br />correlations |
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|- |
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!Mandarin<br />[[Zhuyin]] |
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!Mandarin<br />[[Pinyin]] |
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!Wu<br />[[Wuupin]] |
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!Cantonese<br />[[Jyutping]] |
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!''[[on'yomi]]'' |
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!''[[kun'yomi]]'' |
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||1||[[wiktionary:甲|甲]]||ㄐㄧㄚˇ||jiǎ||ciaeh43||gaap3||コウ (kō)||きのえ (kinoe)||갑 (gap)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠨᡳᠣᠸᠠᠩᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ}} (niowanggiyan, "green")||giáp||陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|木 ([[Tree (Wu Xing)|wood]])||rowspan="2"|東 East |
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||2||[[wiktionary:乙|乙]]||ㄧˇ||yǐ||ieh43||jyut6||オツ (otsu)||きのと (kinoto)||을 (eul)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠨᡳᠣᡥᠣᠨ}} (niohon)||ất||陰 (yin) |
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||3||[[wiktionary:丙|丙]]||ㄅㄧㄥˇ||bǐng||pin51||bing2||ヘイ (hei)||ひのえ (hinoe)||병 (byeong)||{{MongolUnicode|ᡶᡠᠯᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ}} (fulgiyan, "red")||bính|| 陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|火 ([[fire (classical element)|fire]])||rowspan="2"|南 South |
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||4||[[wiktionary:丁|丁]]||ㄉㄧㄥ||dīng||ting44||ding1||テイ (tei)||ひのと (hinoto)||정 (jeong)||{{MongolUnicode|ᡶᡠᠯᠠᡥᡡᠨ}} (fulahūn)||đinh|| 陰 (yin) |
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||5||[[wiktionary:戊|戊]]||ㄨˋ||wù||vu231||mou6||ボ (bo)||つちのえ (tsuchinoe)||무 (mu)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᡠᠸᠠᠶᠠᠨ}} (suwayan, "yellow")||mậu||陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|土 ([[earth (classical element)|earth]])||rowspan="2"|中 Middle |
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||6||[[wiktionary:己|己]]||ㄐㄧˇ||jǐ||ci51||gei2||キ (ki)||つちのと (tsuchinoto)||기 (gi)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠣᡥᠣᠨ}} (sohon)||kỷ||陰 (yin) |
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||7||[[wiktionary:庚|庚]]||ㄍㄥ||gēng||keng44||gang1||コウ (kō)||かのえ (kanoe)||경 (gyeong)||{{MongolUnicode|ᡧᠠᠨᠶᠠᠨ}} (šanyan, "white")||canh||陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|金 ([[metal (classical element)|metal]])||rowspan="2"|西 West |
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||8||[[wiktionary:辛|辛]]||ㄒㄧㄣ||xīn||sin44||san1||シン (shin)||かのと (kanoto)||신 (sin)||{{MongolUnicode|ᡧᠠᡥᡡᠨ}} (šahūn)||tân||陰 (yin) |
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||9||[[wiktionary:壬|壬]]||ㄖㄣˊ||rén||nyin223||jam4||ジン (jin)||みずのえ (mizunoe)||임 (im)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ}} (sahaliyan, "black")||nhâm||陽 (yang)||rowspan="2"|水 ([[water (classical element)|water]])||rowspan="2"|北 North |
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||10||[[wiktionary:癸|癸]]||ㄍㄨㄟˇ||guǐ||kue51||gwai3||キ (ki)||みずのと (mizunoto)||계 (gye)||{{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠠᡥᠠᡥᡡᠨ}} (sahahūn)||quý||陰 (yin) |
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==Origin== |
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Because the Japanese ''on''-readings ''kō'' and ''ki'' are ambiguous, ''kun''-readings are generally used. The Japanese names of the Heavenly Stems are based on their corresponding Wu Xing elements. The Manchu names are based on their respective elements' colors. |
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The Shang people believed that there were ten suns, each of which appeared in order in a ten-day cycle (旬; xún). The Heavenly Stems (''tiāngān'' 天干) were the names of the ten suns, which may have designated world ages as did the [[Five Suns]] and the [[Six Ages of the World]] of [[Saint Augustine]]. They were found in the [[given name]]s of the kings of the Shang in their Temple Names. These consisted of a relational term (Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother) to which was added one of the ten ''gān'' names (''e.g.'' Grandfather Jia). These names are often found on Shang bronzes designating whom the bronze was honoring (and on which day of the week their rites would have been performed, that day matching the day designated by their name). David Keightley, a leading scholar of ancient China and its bronzes, believes that the ''gān'' names were chosen posthumously through divination.<ref>David N. Keightley, "The Quest for Eternity in Ancient China: The Dead, Their Gifts, Their Names" in ''Ancient Mortuary Traditions of China'' ed. by [[George Kuwayama]]. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987, pp. 12–24.</ref> Some historians think the ruling class of the Shang had ten clans, but it is not clear whether their society reflected the myth or vice versa. The associations with Yin-Yang and the Five Elements developed later, after the collapse of the Shang Dynasty. |
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Jonathan Smith has proposed that the heavenly stems predate the Shang and originally referred to ten [[asterism (astronomy)|asterism]]s along the [[ecliptic]], of which their [[oracle bone script]] characters were drawings; he identifies similarities between these and asterisms in the later [[Four Symbols|Four Images]] and [[Twenty-Eight Mansions]] systems. These would have been used to track the moon's progression along its monthly circuit, in conjunction with the earthly branches referring to its phase.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Jonathan M.|date=2011|title=The ''Di Zhi'' 地支 as Lunar Phases and Their Coordination with the ''Tian Gan'' 天干 as Ecliptic Asterisms in a China before Anyang|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/early-china/article/abs/di-zhi-as-lunar-phases-and-their-coordination-with-the-tian-gan-as-ecliptic-asterisms-in-a-china-before-anyang/CFF9A84C9625BB04F0466F8C46CFBC9F|journal=Early China|volume=33|pages=199–228|doi=10.1017/S0362502800000274 |s2cid=132200641 |access-date=January 29, 2022}} |
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==Origin== |
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</ref> |
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The Shang people believed that there were ten suns, each of which appeared in order in a ten-day cycle (旬; xún). The Heavenly Stems (''tiāngān'' 天干) were the names of the ten suns, which may have designated world ages as did the [[Five Suns]] and the [[Six Ages of the World]] of [[Saint Augustine]]. They were found in the [[given name]]s of the kings of the Shang in their Temple Names. These consisted of a relational term (Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother) to which was added one of the ten ''gān'' names (''e.g.'' Grandfather Jia). These names are often found on Shang bronzes designating whom the bronze was honoring (and on which day of the week their rites would have been performed, that day matching the day designated by their name). David Keightley, a leading scholar of ancient China and its bronzes, believes that the ''gān'' names were chosen posthumously through divination.<ref>David N. Keightley, "The Quest for Eternity in Ancient China: The Dead, Their Gifts, Their Names" in ''Ancient Mortuary Traditions of China'' ed. by George Kuwayama. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987, pp. 12–24.</ref> Some historians think the ruling class of the Shang had ten clans, but it is not clear whether their society reflected the myth or vice versa. The associations with Yin-Yang and the Five Elements developed later, after the collapse of the Shang Dynasty. |
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The literal meanings of the characters were, and are now, roughly as follows.<ref>William McNaughton. ''Reading and Writing Chinese.'' Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1979.</ref> Among the modern meanings, those deriving from the characters' position in the sequence of Heavenly Stems are in italics. |
The literal meanings of the characters were, and are now, roughly as follows.<ref>William McNaughton. ''Reading and Writing Chinese.'' Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1979.</ref> Among the modern meanings, those deriving from the characters' position in the sequence of Heavenly Stems are in italics. |
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! rowspan="2" | Heavenly<br />Stem !! colspan="2" | Meaning |
! rowspan="2" | Heavenly<br />Stem !! colspan="2" | Meaning |
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! Original !! Modern |
! Original meaning !! Modern |
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|甲|| shell || ''first (book I, person A etc.)'', ''methyl group'', helmet, armor, words related to beetles, crustaceans, fingernails, toenails |
|甲|| [[turtle shell]] || ''first (book I, person A etc.)'', ''methyl group'', helmet, armor, words related to beetles, crustaceans, fingernails, toenails |
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|乙|| |
|乙|| fish-guts|| ''second (book II, person B etc.)'', ''ethyl group'', twist |
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|丙|| fishtail<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: Picture of a fish tail.</ref>|| ''third'', bright, fire, fishtail (rare) |
|丙|| [[caudal fin|fishtail]]<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: Picture of a fish tail.</ref>|| ''third'', bright, fire, fishtail (rare) |
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|丁|| [[Nail (fastener)|nail]] || ''fourth'', male adult, robust, T-shaped, to strike, a surname |
|丁|| [[Nail (fastener)|nail]] || ''fourth'', male adult, robust, T-shaped, to strike, a surname |
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|戊|| |
|戊|| [[halberd]] || (not used) |
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|己|| threads on a loom<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: 己 may have depicted thread on a loom; an ancient meaning was 'unravel threads', which was later written 紀 jì. 己 was borrowed both for the word jǐ 'self', and for the name of the sixth Heavenly Stem (天干).</ref> || self |
|己|| threads on a loom<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: 己 may have depicted [[Thread (yarn)|thread]] on a [[loom]]; an ancient meaning was 'unravel threads', which was later written 紀 jì. 己 was borrowed both for the word jǐ 'self', and for the name of the sixth Heavenly Stem (天干).</ref> || self |
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|庚|| evening star || age (of person) |
|庚|| [[Venus|evening star]] || age (of person) |
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|辛|| to offend superiors<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: "The seal has 𢆉 'knock against, offend' below, and 亠 above; the scholastic commentators say: to offend (亠 = ) 上 the superiors"</ref> || bitter, piquant, toilsome |
|辛|| to offend superiors<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: "The seal has 𢆉 'knock against, offend' below, and 亠 above; the scholastic commentators say: to offend (亠 = ) 上 the superiors"</ref> || bitter, piquant, toilsome |
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|壬|| burden<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: 壬 rén depicts "a 丨 carrying pole supported 一 in the middle part and having one object attached at each end, as always done in China" —Karlgren (1923). (See 扁担 biǎndan). Now the character 任 rèn has the meaning of carrying a burden, and the original character 壬 is used only for the ninth of the ten heavenly stems (天干).</ref> || to shoulder, to trust with office |
|壬|| burden<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: 壬 rén depicts "a 丨 carrying pole supported 一 in the middle part and having one object attached at each end, as always done in China" —Karlgren (1923). (See 扁担 biǎndan). Now the character 任 rèn has the meaning of carrying a burden, and the original character 壬 is used only for the ninth of the ten heavenly stems (天干).</ref> || to shoulder, to trust with office |
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|癸|| |
|癸|| grass for [[libation]]<ref>Wenlin Dictionary: 癶 "stretch out the legs" + 天; The nicely disposed grass, on which the Ancients poured the libations offered to the Manes</ref> || (not used) |
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==Current usage== |
==Current usage== |
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The Stems are still commonly used nowadays in East Asian counting systems similar to the way the [[alphabet]] is used in [[English language|English]]. For example: |
The Stems are still commonly used nowadays in East Asian counting systems similar to the way the [[alphabet]] is used in [[English language|English]]. For example: |
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* [[Korea]] and [[Japan]] also use heavenly stems on legal documents in this way. In Korea, letters ''gap'' (甲) and ''eul'' (乙) are consistently used to denote the larger and the smaller contractor (respectively) in a legal contract, and are sometimes used as synonyms for such; this usage is also common in the Korean [[Information technology|IT]] industry. |
* [[Korea]] and [[Japan]] also use heavenly stems on legal documents in this way. In Korea, letters ''gap'' (甲) and ''eul'' (乙) are consistently used to denote the larger and the smaller contractor (respectively) in a legal contract, and are sometimes used as synonyms for such; this usage is also common in the Korean [[Information technology|IT]] industry. |
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* Chinese mathematician [[Li Shanlan]] developed a system using the heavenly stems and [[terrestrial branches]] to represent English letters in advanced mathematics. In Li's system, the first ten letters (a-j) are represented by the heavenly stems, the next twelve letters (k-v) are represented by the [[terrestrial branches]], and the final four letters (w-z) are represented by {{linktext|物}} ("[[matter]]"), {{linktext|天}} ("[[Tian|heaven]]"), {{linktext|地}} ("[[Di (Chinese concept)|earth]]"), and {{linktext|人}} ("human"), respectively.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=O54oDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17] (pages 147 and 148)</ref> The [[Radical (Chinese characters)|radical]] '口' ([[Radical 30|the 'mouth' radical]]) may be added to the corresponding heavenly stem, terrestrial branch, or any of '物', '天', '地', and '人' to denote an upper-case letter (e.g. a=甲, A=呷, d=丁, D=叮).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=O54oDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17] (pages 147 and 148)</ref> |
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* Choices on [[multiple choice]] exams, surveys, etc. |
* Choices on [[multiple choice]] exams, surveys, etc. |
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* [[Organic chemistry|Organic chemical]]s (e.g. [[methanol]]: 甲醇 ''jiǎchún''; [[ethanol]]: 乙醇 ''yǐchún''). See [[Organic nomenclature in Chinese]]. |
* [[Organic chemistry|Organic chemical]]s (e.g. [[methanol]]: 甲醇 ''jiǎchún''; [[ethanol]]: 乙醇 ''yǐchún''). See [[Organic nomenclature in Chinese]]. |
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* Diseases ([[Hepatitis A]]: 甲型肝炎 ''jiǎxíng gānyán''; [[Hepatitis B]]: 乙型肝炎 ''yǐxíng gānyán'') |
* Diseases ([[Hepatitis A]]: 甲型肝炎 ''jiǎxíng gānyán''; [[Hepatitis B]]: 乙型肝炎 ''yǐxíng gānyán'') |
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* Sports leagues ([[Serie A]]: 意甲 ''yìjiǎ'') |
* Sports leagues ([[Serie A]]: 意甲 ''yìjiǎ'') |
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* Vitamins (although currently, in this case, the |
* Vitamins (although currently, in this case, the Latin letters are usually used) |
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* Characters conversing in a short text (甲 speaks first, 乙 answers) |
* Characters conversing in a short text (甲 speaks first, 乙 answers) |
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* Students' grades in Taiwan: with an additional ''Yōu'' ([[wikt:優|優]] "Excellence") before the first Heavenly Stem ''Jiǎ''. Hence, American grades A, B, C, D and F correspond to 優, 甲, 乙, 丙 and 丁 (yōu, jiǎ, yǐ, bǐng, dīng). |
* Students' grades in Taiwan: with an additional ''Yōu'' ([[wikt:優|優]] "Excellence") before the first Heavenly Stem ''Jiǎ''. Hence, American grades A, B, C, D and F correspond to 優, 甲, 乙, 丙 and 丁 (''yōu, jiǎ, yǐ, bǐng, dīng''). |
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* In [[astrology]] and [[Feng Shui]]. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches form the [[Four Pillars of Destiny|four pillars]] of Chinese metaphysics in [[Qimen Dunjia|Qi Men Dun Jia]] and [[Da Liu Ren]]. |
* In [[astrology]] and [[Feng Shui]]. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches form the [[Four Pillars of Destiny|four pillars]] of Chinese metaphysics in [[Qimen Dunjia|Qi Men Dun Jia]] and [[Da Liu Ren]]. |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{ |
{{Reflist}} |
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==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
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{{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| publisher = [[State University of New York Press]] |
| publisher = [[State University of New York Press]] |
||
| isbn = 978-0-7914-0459-1 |
| isbn = 978-0-7914-0459-1 |
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| first = Sarah |
| first = Sarah |
||
| title = The shape of the turtle: myth, art, and cosmos in early China |
| title = The shape of the turtle: myth, art, and cosmos in early China |
||
| location = Albany |
| location = Albany NY |
||
| year = 1991 |
| year = 1991 |
||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
|||
{{Cite book |
|||
| publisher = [[Yale University Press]] |
| publisher = [[Yale University Press]] |
||
| isbn = 978-0-300-03578-0 | pages = 141–206 | |
| isbn = 978-0-300-03578-0 | pages = 141–206 |editor1= Kwang-chih Chang | last = Barnard| first = Noel| title = Studies of Shang archaeology : selected papers from the International Conference on Shang Civilization |
||
| chapter = A new approach to the study of clan-sign inscriptions of Shang | location = New Haven | year = 1986}} |
| chapter = A new approach to the study of clan-sign inscriptions of Shang | location = New Haven | year = 1986}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
|||
{{Cite book |
|||
| publisher = [[Chinese University Press]] |
| publisher = [[Chinese University Press]] |
||
| isbn = 978-962-201-144-1 |
| isbn = 978-962-201-144-1 |
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| pages = 13–42 |
| pages = 13–42 |
||
| |
|editor1= David Roy |
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| last = Tsien |
| last = Tsien |
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| first = Tsuen-hsuin |
| first = Tsuen-hsuin |
||
| authorlink1 = Tsien Tsuen-hsuin |
| authorlink1 = Tsien Tsuen-hsuin |
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| author2= |
| author2=Kwang-chih Chang |
||
| author2-link=Kwang-chih Chang |
|||
| title = Ancient China : studies in early civilization |
| title = Ancient China : studies in early civilization |
||
| chapter = T'ien kan: a key to the history of the Shang |
| chapter = T'ien kan: a key to the history of the Shang |
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| year = 1978 |
| year = 1978 |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite journal |
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{{Cite journal |
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| volume = 4 |
| volume = 4 |
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| pages = 45–48 |
| pages = 45–48 |
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| journal = Early China |
| journal = Early China |
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| year = 1978 |
| year = 1978 |
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| doi = 10.1017/S0362502800005897 |
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| s2cid = 161397647 |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite book |
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{{Cite book |
|||
| publisher = University of California, Berkeley, Center for Chinese Studies |
| publisher = University of California, Berkeley, Center for Chinese Studies |
||
| isbn = 978-1-55729-070-0 |
| isbn = 978-1-55729-070-0 |
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| year = 2000 |
| year = 2000 |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite book |
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{{Cite book |
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| publisher = [[Australian National University]] |
| publisher = [[Australian National University]] |
||
| pages = 85–89 |
| pages = 85–89 |
||
| |
|editor1= Graham Thurgood |
||
| last = Norman |
| last = Norman |
||
| first = Jerry |
| first = Jerry |
||
| |
| author-link = Jerry Norman (sinologist) |
||
| title = Linguistics of the Sino-Tibetan area : the state of the art : papers presented to Paul K. Benedict for his 7lst birthday |
| title = Linguistics of the Sino-Tibetan area : the state of the art : papers presented to Paul K. Benedict for his 7lst birthday |
||
| chapter = A note on the origins of the Chinese duodenary cycle |
| chapter = A note on the origins of the Chinese duodenary cycle |
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| year = 1985 |
| year = 1985 |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite journal |
|||
{{Cite journal |
|||
| volume = 8 |
| volume = 8 |
||
| pages = 29–30 |
| pages = 29–30 |
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| year = 1995 |
| year = 1995 |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite book | publisher = Oxbow | isbn = 978-1-84217-987-1 | pages = 1–37 |editor1= John Steele | last = Smith | first = Adam | title = Calendars and years II : astronomy and time in the ancient and medieval world | chapter = The Chinese sexagenary cycle and the ritual origins of the calendar | location = Oxford | year = 2011 | url = http://cangjie.info/public/papers/SmithAdam_2010_sexagenary.pdf | access-date = 2011-06-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110813033543/http://cangjie.info/public/papers/SmithAdam_2010_sexagenary.pdf | archive-date = 2011-08-13 | url-status = dead }} |
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{{Cite book | publisher = Oxbow | isbn = 978-1-84217-987-1 | pages = 1–37 | editors = John Steele (ed.) | last = Smith | first = Adam | title = Calendars and years II : astronomy and time in the ancient and medieval world | chapter = The Chinese sexagenary cycle and the ritual origins of the calendar | location = Oxford | year = 2011 | url = http://cangjie.info/public/papers/SmithAdam_2010_sexagenary.pdf | access-date = 2011-06-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110813033543/http://cangjie.info/public/papers/SmithAdam_2010_sexagenary.pdf | archive-date = 2011-08-13 | url-status = dead }} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* {{cite web|url= |
* {{cite web|url=https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/gts/time/stemsandbranches.htm|title=Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches|website=Hong Kong Observatory|language=en|access-date=2018-11-04|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621091045/http://www.hko.gov.hk/en/gts/time/stemsandbranches.htm|archive-date=2020-06-21}} |
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{{Calendars|collapsed}} |
{{Calendars|collapsed}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heavenly Stems}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heavenly Stems}} |
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[[Category:Chinese calendars]] |
[[Category:Chinese calendars]] |
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[[Category:Eastern esotericism]] |
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[[Category:Chinese character lists]] |
Revision as of 13:05, 8 July 2024
![]() | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Earthly Branches and Sexagenary cycle to Chinese cyclical signs. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2024. |
Heavenly Stems | |||||||||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 天干 | ||||||||||||||||
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Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||
Vietnamese alphabet | thiên can | ||||||||||||||||
Chữ Hán | 天干 | ||||||||||||||||
Korean name | |||||||||||||||||
Hangul | 천간 | ||||||||||||||||
Hanja | 天干 | ||||||||||||||||
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The ten Heavenly Stems (or Celestial Stems[1]) are a system of ordinals indigenous to China and used throughout East Asia, first attested c. 1250 BCE during the Shang dynasty as the names of the ten days of the week. They were also used in Shang-era rituals in the names of dead family members, who were offered sacrifices on the corresponding day of the Shang week. Stems are no longer used as names for the days of the week, but have acquired many other uses. Most prominently, they have been used in conjunction with the associated set of twelve Earthly Branches in the compound sexagenary cycle, an important feature of historical Chinese calendars.[2]
Origin
The Shang people believed that there were ten suns, each of which appeared in order in a ten-day cycle (旬; xún). The Heavenly Stems (tiāngān 天干) were the names of the ten suns, which may have designated world ages as did the Five Suns and the Six Ages of the World of Saint Augustine. They were found in the given names of the kings of the Shang in their Temple Names. These consisted of a relational term (Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother) to which was added one of the ten gān names (e.g. Grandfather Jia). These names are often found on Shang bronzes designating whom the bronze was honoring (and on which day of the week their rites would have been performed, that day matching the day designated by their name). David Keightley, a leading scholar of ancient China and its bronzes, believes that the gān names were chosen posthumously through divination.[3] Some historians think the ruling class of the Shang had ten clans, but it is not clear whether their society reflected the myth or vice versa. The associations with Yin-Yang and the Five Elements developed later, after the collapse of the Shang Dynasty.
Jonathan Smith has proposed that the heavenly stems predate the Shang and originally referred to ten asterisms along the ecliptic, of which their oracle bone script characters were drawings; he identifies similarities between these and asterisms in the later Four Images and Twenty-Eight Mansions systems. These would have been used to track the moon's progression along its monthly circuit, in conjunction with the earthly branches referring to its phase.[4]
The literal meanings of the characters were, and are now, roughly as follows.[5] Among the modern meanings, those deriving from the characters' position in the sequence of Heavenly Stems are in italics.
Heavenly Stem |
Meaning | |
---|---|---|
Original meaning | Modern | |
甲 | turtle shell | first (book I, person A etc.), methyl group, helmet, armor, words related to beetles, crustaceans, fingernails, toenails |
乙 | fish-guts | second (book II, person B etc.), ethyl group, twist |
丙 | fishtail[6] | third, bright, fire, fishtail (rare) |
丁 | nail | fourth, male adult, robust, T-shaped, to strike, a surname |
戊 | halberd | (not used) |
己 | threads on a loom[7] | self |
庚 | evening star | age (of person) |
辛 | to offend superiors[8] | bitter, piquant, toilsome |
壬 | burden[9] | to shoulder, to trust with office |
癸 | grass for libation[10] | (not used) |
Current usage
The Stems are still commonly used nowadays in East Asian counting systems similar to the way the alphabet is used in English. For example:
- Korea and Japan also use heavenly stems on legal documents in this way. In Korea, letters gap (甲) and eul (乙) are consistently used to denote the larger and the smaller contractor (respectively) in a legal contract, and are sometimes used as synonyms for such; this usage is also common in the Korean IT industry.
- Chinese mathematician Li Shanlan developed a system using the heavenly stems and terrestrial branches to represent English letters in advanced mathematics. In Li's system, the first ten letters (a-j) are represented by the heavenly stems, the next twelve letters (k-v) are represented by the terrestrial branches, and the final four letters (w-z) are represented by 物 ("matter"), 天 ("heaven"), 地 ("earth"), and 人 ("human"), respectively.[11] The radical '口' (the 'mouth' radical) may be added to the corresponding heavenly stem, terrestrial branch, or any of '物', '天', '地', and '人' to denote an upper-case letter (e.g. a=甲, A=呷, d=丁, D=叮).[12]
- Choices on multiple choice exams, surveys, etc.
- Organic chemicals (e.g. methanol: 甲醇 jiǎchún; ethanol: 乙醇 yǐchún). See Organic nomenclature in Chinese.
- Diseases (Hepatitis A: 甲型肝炎 jiǎxíng gānyán; Hepatitis B: 乙型肝炎 yǐxíng gānyán)
- Sports leagues (Serie A: 意甲 yìjiǎ)
- Vitamins (although currently, in this case, the Latin letters are usually used)
- Characters conversing in a short text (甲 speaks first, 乙 answers)
- Students' grades in Taiwan: with an additional Yōu (優 "Excellence") before the first Heavenly Stem Jiǎ. Hence, American grades A, B, C, D and F correspond to 優, 甲, 乙, 丙 and 丁 (yōu, jiǎ, yǐ, bǐng, dīng).
- In astrology and Feng Shui. The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches form the four pillars of Chinese metaphysics in Qi Men Dun Jia and Da Liu Ren.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Heavenly Stems"
- ^ Smith (2011).
- ^ David N. Keightley, "The Quest for Eternity in Ancient China: The Dead, Their Gifts, Their Names" in Ancient Mortuary Traditions of China ed. by George Kuwayama. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987, pp. 12–24.
- ^ Smith, Jonathan M. (2011). "The Di Zhi 地支 as Lunar Phases and Their Coordination with the Tian Gan 天干 as Ecliptic Asterisms in a China before Anyang". Early China. 33: 199–228. doi:10.1017/S0362502800000274. S2CID 132200641. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- ^ William McNaughton. Reading and Writing Chinese. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1979.
- ^ Wenlin Dictionary: Picture of a fish tail.
- ^ Wenlin Dictionary: 己 may have depicted thread on a loom; an ancient meaning was 'unravel threads', which was later written 紀 jì. 己 was borrowed both for the word jǐ 'self', and for the name of the sixth Heavenly Stem (天干).
- ^ Wenlin Dictionary: "The seal has 𢆉 'knock against, offend' below, and 亠 above; the scholastic commentators say: to offend (亠 = ) 上 the superiors"
- ^ Wenlin Dictionary: 壬 rén depicts "a 丨 carrying pole supported 一 in the middle part and having one object attached at each end, as always done in China" —Karlgren (1923). (See 扁担 biǎndan). Now the character 任 rèn has the meaning of carrying a burden, and the original character 壬 is used only for the ninth of the ten heavenly stems (天干).
- ^ Wenlin Dictionary: 癶 "stretch out the legs" + 天; The nicely disposed grass, on which the Ancients poured the libations offered to the Manes
- ^ [1] (pages 147 and 148)
- ^ [2] (pages 147 and 148)
Bibliography
- Allan, Sarah (1991). The shape of the turtle: myth, art, and cosmos in early China. Albany NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0459-1.
- Barnard, Noel (1986). "A new approach to the study of clan-sign inscriptions of Shang". In Kwang-chih Chang (ed.). Studies of Shang archaeology : selected papers from the International Conference on Shang Civilization. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 141–206. ISBN 978-0-300-03578-0.
- Tsien, Tsuen-hsuin; Kwang-chih Chang (1978). "T'ien kan: a key to the history of the Shang". In David Roy (ed.). Ancient China : studies in early civilization. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. pp. 13–42. ISBN 978-962-201-144-1.
- Chang Tai-Ping (1978). "The role of the t'ien-kan ti-chih terms in the naming system of the Yin". Early China. 4: 45–48. doi:10.1017/S0362502800005897. S2CID 161397647.
- Keightley, David (2000). The ancestral landscape: time, space, and community in late Shang China, ca. 1200-1045 B.C. Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, Center for Chinese Studies. ISBN 978-1-55729-070-0.
- Norman, Jerry (1985). "A note on the origins of the Chinese duodenary cycle". In Graham Thurgood (ed.). Linguistics of the Sino-Tibetan area : the state of the art : papers presented to Paul K. Benedict for his 7lst birthday. Canberra: Australian National University. pp. 85–89.
- Pulleyblank, E. G. (1995). "The ganzhi as phonograms". Early China News. 8: 29–30.
- Smith, Adam (2011). "The Chinese sexagenary cycle and the ritual origins of the calendar". In John Steele (ed.). Calendars and years II : astronomy and time in the ancient and medieval world (PDF). Oxford: Oxbow. pp. 1–37. ISBN 978-1-84217-987-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
External links
- "Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches". Hong Kong Observatory. Archived from the original on 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2018-11-04.