Earthly Branch · 9 of 12
Monkey申
Monkey is the ninth of the twelve Earthly Branches. It is yang Metal, west-south-west, and the double hour from 3 to 5 in the afternoon. Geng lodges on Monkey.
- 子Rat23–1
- 丑Ox1–3
- 寅Tiger3–5
- 卯Rabbit5–7
- 辰Dragon7–9
- 巳Snake9–11
- 午Horse11–13
- 未Goat13–15
- 申Monkey15–17
- 酉Rooster17–19
- 戌Dog19–21
- 亥Pig21–23
Term details
| Chinese | 申、传送 |
|---|---|
| Pinyin | shēn |
| Standard name | Monkey |
| First mention | Monkey (Shen 申) |
| Order | 9 of 12 |
| Element | Metal |
| Yin or yang | yang |
|---|---|
| Double hour | 15:00 to 17:00 |
| Direction | west-south-west |
| As Monthly General | Gemini, from Grain Full |
| Clashes with | Tiger 寅 |
| Stems lodged here | Geng 庚 |
Etymology
In oracle-bone script 申 pictures a bolt of lightning, the original form of both 電 "lightning" and 神 "spirit", lightning being taken as the appearance of a spirit. Later the character came to mean stretching, stating and applying; 伸 "to stretch" is written with it.
The Shuowen Jiezi, the Han dynasty dictionary, assigns it to the seventh month: "spirit; in the seventh month yin breath is complete, and bodies stretch out and bind themselves", and explains the hour by officials attending to business morning and evening. Its zodiac animal is the monkey.
The Old Chinese pronunciation is reconstructed as *l̥i[n] (Baxter and Sagart). Middle Chinese was syin. Its pinyin, shēn, sounds exactly like the word for spirit, which is one reason this site never writes it in pinyin.
Significations
- nature
- clever, quick, good at change and reach
- people
- couriers, postmen, lorry drivers, officials, soldiers, blacksmiths, monks, a mother
- matters
- delivery, transport, logistics, the post, journeys, news, welcoming and seeing off, reporting
- things
- roads, rails, pipes, trains, metal, weapons, needles, stone
- body
- the lungs, the respiratory system, the bronchi, the large intestine, the bones, the lower limbs, the legs, the blood vessels
- animals
- the monkey, the ape
- places
- inns, post stations, railway stations, airports, barracks, government offices, temples, toilets
- direction and time
- west-south-west, the Monkey hour, the seventh month
- weather
- the mother of water
As the Monthly General
Monkey is the Monthly General from Grain Full 小满, when the Sun enters Gemini, until the next solar term of the same kind. In the chart it is written as the Monkey general. Its classical name is 传送, which the classical texts use far less often than the name of the branch itself.
Source text
When Chuansong is on a place, it means journeys and news. Chuansong is the image of the post horse, so it governs messages and travel.
傳送加臨時行程消息。○傳送乃郵馬之象，故主信息行程。
Sources: 大六壬指南 卷一、卷二、卷三行人章与疾病章与仕宦章与武举章与天时章; 六壬直指 庚午日寅将、戊寅日申将、甲戌日辰将、甲戌日巳将、庚午日卯将; 六壬课经 六甲日、斫轮; 类神释义表 传送申