Heavenly Stem · 1 of 10
Jia甲
/dʒjɑː/
Jia is the first of the ten Heavenly Stems, and the character itself means "first". It is yang Wood and belongs to the east. Jia has no cell of its own on the chart: it lodges on Tiger, so wherever the chart shows Tiger, read Jia.
- 甲JiaYang Wood
- 乙YiYin Wood
- 丙BingYang Fire
- 丁DingYin Fire
- 戊WuYang Earth
- 己JiYin Earth
- 庚GengYang Metal
- 辛XinYin Metal
- 壬RenYang Water
- 癸GuiYin Water
Term details
| Chinese | 甲 |
|---|---|
| Pinyin | jiǎ |
| Standard name | Jia |
| First mention | Jia (Yang Wood 甲) |
| Order | 1 of 10 |
| Element | Wood |
|---|---|
| Yin or yang | yang |
| Lodges on | Tiger 寅 of the Earth Plate |
| Patron by day | Ox 丑 |
| Patron by night | Goat 未 |
Etymology
In oracle-bone and bronze script the character 甲 is written as a cross, 十, or as 田. Its basic sense is usually taken as a hard shell, a tortoise shell or a suit of armour. What the early form actually depicts is disputed and has no settled answer.
The Shuowen Jiezi, the Han dynasty dictionary, glosses it as "the eldest of the east, where yang breath begins to stir; it depicts a sprout wearing its seed-case": a seed pushing up with its husk still on its head. This is why Jia belongs to the east, to spring, and to Wood. From "the first to sprout" comes the sense "first". Jia heads the ten Heavenly Stems, and in modern Chinese 甲 still means grade A, or party A in a contract.
The Old Chinese pronunciation is reconstructed as *kˤrap (Baxter and Sagart), Middle Chinese kaep, far from today's jiǎ. The Shang dynasty writing carved on tortoise shells and bones is called jiaguwen, "shell-and-bone script", after this same word.
Significations
- people
- the Decade Head, a foreman, a team leader, a chief, a deputy, the head of a family, an elder, the person in charge of a small group
- direction and time
- the east
Source text
Of the Heavenly Stems, Jia and Yi are Wood of the east, Bing and Ding Fire of the south, Wu and Ji Earth of the centre, Geng and Xin Metal of the west, Ren and Gui Water of the north. In setting up a chart, Jia lodges on Tiger, Yi on Dragon, Bing and Wu on Snake, Ding and Ji on Goat, Geng on Monkey, Xin on Dog, Ren on Pig, Gui on Ox. None lodges on Rabbit, Horse, Rooster or Rat, because a stem dares not occupy a cardinal seat; so a yang stem lodges where its salary spirit sits, and a yin stem one place ahead of its salary spirit. (Da Liu Ren Zhinan, book 1)
天干者甲乙東方木，丙丁南方火，戊己中央土，庚辛西方金，壬癸北方水。入式之法：甲課在寅，乙課在辰，丙戊課在巳，丁己課在未，庚課在申，辛課在戌，壬課在亥，癸課在丑。而不居卯午酉子者，以正位不敢當，故陽干居祿神所在，而陰干居祿神前一位也。
Sources: 大六壬指南 卷一、卷二; 六壬直指 甲戌日丑将、甲戌日午将; 六壬课经释义 六仪、闭口; 毕法赋注解 首尾相见、六仪课、闭口课