Si Hua table schools
The “Si Hua” of Zi Wei Dou Shu (Hua Lu / Hua Quan / Hua Ke / Hua Ji) is the core of a chart's dynamic reading. Each of the ten Heavenly Stems has its own Si Hua; the two mainstream classics (Quanji and Quanshu) disagree on only 2 stems (Geng/Ren), and there is also the independent month-stem method.
1. Disputed stems comparison (per the two classics)
| Stem | Quanji edition (our default) | Quanshu edition (San He) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 庚 | 太阳禄 / 武曲权 / 太阴科 / 天同忌 | 太阳禄 / 武曲权 / 天同科 / 太阴忌 | Ke and Ji swapped |
| 壬 | 天梁禄 / 紫微权 / 左辅科 / 武曲忌 | 天梁禄 / 紫微权 / 天府科 / 武曲忌 | Different Ke |
| 戊 | 贪狼禄 / 太阴权 / 右弼科 / 天机忌 | 贪狼禄 / 太阴权 / 右弼科 / 天机忌 | Both books agree (a few versions give Taiyang Ke) |
The other 7 stems (Jia/Yi/Bing/Ding/Ji/Xin/Gui) agree in both books. Reference: the two-book comparison of the “Formula for Placing Lu-Quan-Ke-Ji” from Zi Wei Dou Shu Quanshu as cited on Wikipedia.
2. The month-stem Si Hua method (Kwok Man-Ho system)
Most Zi Wei charting software takes the Si Hua from the year stem — looking up the table by the Heavenly Stem of the birth year.
The Kwok Man-Ho school advocates taking the Si Hua from the month stem — looking up the table by the Heavenly Stem of the birth month (derived from the year stem via the “Five Tigers” rule). The rationale: Si Hua reflects how “seasonal qi” transforms the stars, and the month is a closer “qi slice” of one's birth moment than the year.
The difference between the month-stem and year-stem methods on a given birth date essentially comes from the year and month stems possibly differing — people born in the same year but different months share the same Si Hua under the year method, but may differ under the month method.
Kwok Man-Ho is a Hong Kong Zi Wei Dou Shu researcher, author of over forty English books on Chinese destiny analysis. Month-stem charting is supported on this site (Pro feature).
3. School support on FateZiwei
- Quanji edition(default): the mainstream software convention, consistent with Zi Wei Dou Shu Quanji (Ren = Zuofu Ke, Wu = Youbi Ke)
- Quanshu edition / San He(Pro): Si Hua table switch — the 2 disputed stems Geng (Ke/Ji swapped) and Ren (Tianfu Ke) follow the classical text
- Zhongzhou school(Pro): charting algorithm switch — affects Ming Zhu, Jiekong, Suipo and other auxiliary stars
- Month-stem Si Hua method(Pro): look up the Si Hua table by the month stem; switch and compare right at the top of the chart
Switch schools right at the top of the chart result page — no need to re-enter birth data.
4. Classical sources
- · Zi Wei Dou Shu Quanji — the source of the default Si Hua table (Geng = Taiyin Ke & Tiantong Ji; Ren = Zuofu Ke; Wu = Youbi Ke)
- · Zi Wei Dou Shu Quanshu — the source of the optional Si Hua table (Geng = Tiantong Ke & Taiyin Ji; Ren = Tianfu Ke; Wu = Youbi Ke)