《皇極經世》Vol. 9

This passage from the Classic of the Supreme Ultimate’s Ordering of the World lists the sexagenary cycle and marks positions in time through levels such as “cycle-day,” “cycle-month,” “cycle-star,” and “cycle-hour.” “The second thousand, one hundred and eighty-fifth cycle-hour, Zi”; “the second thousand, one hundred and eighty-sixth cycle-hour, Chou”; and “the second thousand, one hundred and eighty-seventh cycle-hour, Yin” indicate three consecutive positions in the sequence of “cycle-hours.”

From “Jiazi, ten” to “Guisi, twenty-three,” the text gives the sequence of sexagenary combinations and their corresponding numbers within the “cycle-hour, Zi” section. Beside “Xinwei” appears the note “Shang Wojia,” referring to Wojia of the Shang dynasty; the sexagenary combinations that follow continue in order. The next section is “cycle-hour, Chou.” Its numbers increase in sequence from “Jiawu, twenty-four” to “Yisi, ten.” Beside “Bingshen” appears the note “Shang Zuding,” referring to Zuding of the Shang dynasty. The sexagenary combinations that follow are likewise listed in order, continuing through “Guihai.”

The next section is “cycle-hour, Yin,” which lists the sequence of sexagenary combinations from “Jiazi” to “Bingxu.” This section does not give numbers or Shang ruler names alongside each entry.

“Jiazi,” “Yichou,” and similar terms are combinations of the heavenly stems and earthly branches, traditionally used to mark years, days, and other units of time in sequence. “Shang Wojia” and “Shang Zuding” are names of Shang dynasty rulers associated with the corresponding positions in the text.

This passage arranges the years of the Shang dynasty by the sexagenary cycle and marks the corresponding years with the names of Shang kings. A year marked with a king’s name may be taken as the starting point of that king’s reign; the numbers that follow indicate the regnal years thereafter. Phrases such as “the 2,188th year of the Mao cycle” are chronological markers used in Huangji Jingshi.

• Dinghai, Wuzi, Jichou, Gengyin, Xinmao, Renchen, Guisi: the year Guisi is marked “Shang Yang Jia” (Shang king Yang Jia).
• Jiawu 2, Yimao 3, Bingshen 4, Dingyou 5, Wuxu 6, Jihai 7: these are the second through seventh years of Yang Jia’s reign, respectively. The year Gengzi is marked “Shang Pan Geng” (Shang king Pan Geng).
• Xinchou 2, Renyin 3, Guimao 4, Jiachen 5, Yisi 6, Bingwu 7, Dingwei 8, Wushen 9, Jiyou 10, Gengxu 11, Xinhai 12, Renzi 13, Guichou 14, Jiayin 15, Yimao 16, Bingchen 17, Dingsi 18, Wuwu 19, Jiwei 20, Gengshen 21, Xinyou 22, Renxu 23, Guihai 24: these are the second through twenty-fourth years of Pan Geng’s reign.
• After “the 2,189th year of the Chen cycle,” Jiazi 25, Yichou 26, Bingyin 27, and Dingmao 28 still belong to Pan Geng’s reign.
• The year Wuchen is marked “Shang Xiao Xin” (Shang king Xiao Xin). Jisi 2, Gengwu 3, Xinwei 4, Renshen 5, Guiyou 6, Jiaxu 7, Yihai 8, Bingzi 9, Dingchou 10, Wuyin 11, Jimao 12, Gengchen 13, Xinsi 14, Renwu 15, Guiwei 16, Jiashen 17, Yiyou 18, Bingxu 19, Dinghai 20, and Wuzi 21 belong to Xiao Xin’s reign.
• The year Jichou is marked “Shang Xiao Yi” (Shang king Xiao Yi). Gengyin 2, Xinmao 3, Renchen 4, and Guisi 5 are the second through fifth years of Xiao Yi’s reign.
• After “the 2,190th year of the Si cycle,” Jiawu 6, Yiwei 7, Bingshen 8, Dingyou 9, Wuxu 10, Jihai 11, Gengzi 12, Xinchou 13, Renyin 14, Guimao 15, Jiachen 16, Yisi 17, Bingwu 18, Dingwei 19, and Wushen 20 still belong to Xiao Yi’s reign.

The ji-you year was the twenty-first year, the geng-xu year the twenty-second, the xin-hai year the twenty-third, the ren-zi year the twenty-fourth, the gui-chou year the twenty-fifth, the jia-yin year the twenty-sixth, the yi-mao year the twenty-seventh, and the bing-chen year the twenty-eighth. In the ding-si year, King Wu Ding of the Shang dynasty took the throne. The wu-wu year was his second year, the ji-wei year his third, the geng-shen year his fourth, the xin-you year his fifth, the ren-xu year his sixth, and the gui-hai year his seventh.

“Jingchen’s wu position, 2,191” means that the wu position in the Jingchen chronological sequence has the number 2,191.

The jia-zi year was the eighth year, the yi-chou year the ninth, the bing-yin year the tenth, the ding-mao year the eleventh, the wu-chen year the twelfth, the ji-si year the thirteenth, the geng-wu year the fourteenth, the xin-wei year the fifteenth, the ren-shen year the sixteenth, the gui-you year the seventeenth, the jia-xu year the eighteenth, the yi-hai year the nineteenth, the bing-zi year the twentieth, the ding-chou year the twenty-first, the wu-yin year the twenty-second, the ji-mao year the twenty-third, the geng-chen year the twenty-fourth, the xin-si year the twenty-fifth, the ren-wu year the twenty-sixth, the gui-wei year the twenty-seventh, the jia-shen year the twenty-eighth, the yi-you year the twenty-ninth, the bing-xu year the thirtieth, the ding-hai year the thirty-first, the wu-zi year the thirty-second, the ji-chou year the thirty-third, the geng-yin year the thirty-fourth, the xin-mao year the thirty-fifth, the ren-chen year the thirty-sixth, and the gui-si year the thirty-seventh.

“Jingchen’s wei position, 2,192” means that the wei position in the Jingchen chronological sequence has the number 2,192.

The jia-wu year was the thirty-eighth year, the yi-wei year the thirty-ninth, the bing-shen year the fortieth, the ding-you year the forty-first, the wu-xu year the forty-second, the ji-hai year the forty-third, the geng-zi year the forty-fourth, the xin-chou year the forty-fifth, the ren-yin year the forty-sixth, the gui-mao year the forty-seventh, the jia-chen year the forty-eighth, the yi-si year the forty-ninth, and the bing-wu year the fiftieth. In the ding-wei year, King Zu Geng of the Shang dynasty took the throne. The wu-shen year was his second year, the ji-you year his third, the geng-xu year his fourth, the xin-hai year his fifth, the ren-zi year his sixth, and the gui-chou year his seventh.

Here, “jia-zi,” “yi-chou,” and similar terms are year names formed from the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches; “twenty-first,” “twenty-second,” and similar expressions indicate the regnal year.

This passage from the Huangji Jingshi records years in the order of the sexagenary cycle and gives the names of Shang rulers for selected years. The cycle combines the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to form a sixty-year system of dating. “Through the Branch of Chen: Shen,” “Through the Branch of Chen: You,” and “Through the Branch of Chen: Xu” are markers dividing the book’s chronology into segments; the numbers that follow indicate the order of years within each segment.

“Guihai, Shang Ancestor Jia” indicates that the year Guihai corresponds to the reign of Shang Ancestor Jia. The passage then lists Jiazi as year two, Yichou as year three, and continues in sequence through Guisi as year thirty-one, recording the following years and their ordinal numbers.

“Through the Branch of Chen: You, two thousand one hundred ninety-four” marks the start of the next chronological segment. Jiawu is year thirty-two and Yiwei is year thirty-three. The year Bingshen is marked “Shang Linxin,” after which the years continue in sexagenary order. Renyin is marked “Shang Gengding”; the sequence continues until Guihai, which is marked “Shang Wuyi.”

“Through the Branch of Chen: Xu, two thousand one hundred ninety-five” marks the start of another segment. Jiazi is year two, Yichou year three, and Bingyin year four. The year Dingmao is marked “Shang Taiding.” The sequence then continues: Jisi is recorded as year three, Gengwu is marked “Shang Diyi,” and the list runs through Renwu as year thirteen.

“Shang Ancestor Jia,” “Shang Linxin,” “Shang Gengding,” “Shang Wuyi,” “Shang Taiding,” and “Shang Diyi” are titles of Shang rulers. This passage mainly takes the form of a chronological table, matching sexagenary years and segment numbers with the names of Shang rulers.

The Guiwei year is year fourteen, the Jiashen year year fifteen, the Yiyou year year sixteen, the Bingxu year year seventeen, the Dinghai year year eighteen, the Wuzi year year nineteen, the Jichou year year twenty, the Gengyin year year twenty-one, the Xinmao year year twenty-two, the Renchen year year twenty-three, and the Guisi year year twenty-four.

“Through the Hai position at the Chen level: 2,196” means that, in this system of reckoning years by means of the sun, moon, stars, and celestial markers, the Hai position at the Chen level is assigned the ordinal number 2,196.

The Jiawu year is year twenty-five, the Yiwei year year twenty-six, the Bingshen year year twenty-seven, the Dingyou year year twenty-eight, the Wuxu year year twenty-nine, the Jihai year year thirty, the Gengzi year year thirty-one, the Xinchou year year thirty-two, the Renyin year year thirty-three, the Guimao year year thirty-four, the Jiachen year year thirty-five, the Yisi year year thirty-six, and the Bingwu year year thirty-seven. In the Dingwei year, King Shou of Shang, known as King Zhou of Shang, was on the throne; this year is marked “Xin.” The Wushen year is marked two, the Jiyou year three, the Gengxu year four, the Xinhai year five, the Renzi year six, the Guichou year seven, the Jiayin year eight, the Yimao year nine, the Bingchen year ten, the Dingsi year eleven, the Wuwu year twelve, the Jiwei year thirteen, the Gengshen year fourteen, the Xinyou year fifteen, and the Renxu year sixteen. In the Guihai year, King Wen of Zhou received the Mandate and became the Earl of the West, the leader of the western lords.

The text now enters volume three of Huangji Jingshi, “Six: Tracing the Cycles through the Assemblies” and “Observing Things, Chapter Eighteen.” “Assembly, cycle, generation, and year” are the hierarchical terms Shao Yong used to trace historical cycles.

In this system, “through the Jia position at the day level” is the first; “through the Wu position at the month level” is the seventh; “through the Ding position at the star level” is the 184th; and “through the Zi position at the celestial marker level” is the 2,197th.

The Jiazi year is marked eighteen, the Yichou year nineteen, the Bingyin year twenty, the Dingmao year twenty-one, and the Wuchen year twenty-two. The Jisi year is twenty-three; in this year King Wen of Zhou died and King Wu succeeded him. The Gengwu year is twenty-four, the Xinwei year twenty-five, the Renshen year twenty-six, the Guiyou year twenty-seven, the Jiaxu year twenty-eight, the Yihai year twenty-nine, the Bingzi year thirty, the Dingchou year thirty-one, and the Wuyin year thirty-two. In the Jimao year, King Wu of Zhou was on the throne. The Gengchen year is marked two, the Xinsi year three, the Renwu year four, the Guiwei year five, the Jiashen year six, and the Yiyou year seven. In the Bingxu year, King Cheng of Zhou succeeded to the throne. The Dinghai year is marked two, the Wuzi year three, and the Jichou year four.

This passage is a chronological table from The Classic of the Supreme Ultimate (Huangji jingshi). It arranges the years mainly by the cyclical sequence of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and gives the names of Zhou dynasty rulers next to certain years. “Jingchen” is a term the book uses to organize dates; “Chou,” “Yin,” and “Mao” are the names of its divisions. The numbers after each Stem-Branch pair indicate the year’s position within that division.

After “Jingchen, Chou, 2,198,” the years are listed in sequence from Jiawu, year nine, and Yiwei, year ten, through Guihai, with “King Kang of Zhou” (a Zhou ruler) marked there. Next comes “Jingchen, Yin, 2,199,” which begins with Jiazi, year two, and continues until “King Zhao of Zhou” is marked at Jichou. The table then enters “Jingchen, Mao, 2,200,” continuing the year sequence from Jiawu, year six. This division ends with Dingwei, year nineteen.

The year Wushen is the twentieth year, and the year Jiyou is the twenty-first. The years then proceed in the order of the sexagenary cycle, until the year Guihai, the thirty-fifth year.

This passage enters the 2,201st year of “Jingchen zhi Chen.” Counting then begins from the year Jiazi: Jiazi is the thirty-sixth year, Yichou the thirty-seventh, and so on. The year Gengchen is marked as the reign of King Mu of Zhou. After that, the count continues in the order of the sexagenary cycle: Gengchen is the first year, Xinsi the second, Renwu the third, continuing through Guisi, the fourteenth year.

Next comes the 2,202nd year of “Jingchen zhi Si.” Jiawu is the fifteenth year, Yiwei the sixteenth, and the count continues upward in sequence until Jiwei, the fortieth year, and Gengshen, the forty-first.

“Jingchen zhi Chen” and “Jingchen zhi Si” are calendrical terms in the Huangji Jingshi system of reckoning years. The numbers indicate ordinal years within that system, while the sexagenary cycle marks the individual years. The original text uses “King Mu of Zhou” to identify the corresponding historical point in the chronology.

This passage from the Huangji Jingshi (Classic of Supreme World Ordering) arranges dates according to the sexagenary cycle, a sixty-year cycle formed by combining the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and marks the years in which Zhou dynasty kings reigned.

“Through the Chen period, Wu, 2,203,” “Through the Chen period, Wei, 2,204,” and “Through the Chen period, Shen, 2,205” are chronological markers within the book’s system. They indicate the numbers assigned to the corresponding sequences of time or stages.

Beginning with the forty-fifth year of the Jiazi cycle, the text lists the sexagenary years in order. The Yihai year is marked as the reign of King Gong of Zhou; the following Bingzi year is his second year in power, and the sequence continues through Bingxu, his twelfth year. Next, the Dinghai year is marked as the reign of King Yi of Zhou, followed by Wuzi as his second year, with the years listed in sequence thereafter. The Renzi year is then marked as the reign of King Xiao of Zhou, followed by Guichou as his second year and the subsequent years in order. Finally, the Dingmao year is marked as the reign of King Yi of Zhou, followed by Wuchen as his second year and the years listed in sequence after that.

In other words, this passage mainly links the dates of Kings Gong, Yi, Xiao, and Yi of Zhou through the sexagenary cycle, while noting the order of each king’s regnal years.

This passage arranges the years according to the sexagenary cycle, using combinations of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to mark each year, and gives the name of the reigning Zhou king for the relevant years.

The year Xinsi is listed as year fifteen, and Renwu as year sixteen. Guiwei is the first year of King Li of Zhou’s reign. The following year, Jiashen, is his second; Yiyou is his third, and so on.

From Jiashen through Guihai, the passage lists each year’s stem-branch designation and ordinal year in sequence. Guihai is year forty-one. The phrase “two thousand two hundred and six from the cyclical Chen to You” is a chronological figure this book uses to mark the year’s position.

Next, Jiazi is listed as year forty-two, and the count continues in the order of the sexagenary cycle. Guiyou is year fifty-one. Jiaxu is the first year of King Xuan of Zhou’s reign; Yihai is his second, Bingzi his third, and so on.

By Guisi, King Xuan is in his twentieth year. Thereafter, Jiawu is year twenty-one, Yiwei year twenty-two, and Bingshen year twenty-three. Here, “two thousand two hundred and eight from the cyclical Chen to Hai” is likewise a chronological figure the book uses to mark the year’s position.

Dingyou, the twenty-fourth year.

Wuxu, the twenty-fifth year.

Jihai, the twenty-sixth year.

Gengzi, the twenty-seventh year.

Xinchou, the twenty-eighth year.

Renyin, the twenty-ninth year.

Guimao, the thirtieth year.

Jiachen, the thirty-first year.

Yisi, the thirty-second year.

Bingwu, the thirty-third year.

Dingwei, the thirty-fourth year.

Wushen, the thirty-fifth year.

Jiyou, the thirty-sixth year.

Gengxu, the thirty-seventh year.

Xinhai, the thirty-eighth year.

Renzi, the thirty-ninth year.

Guichou, the fortieth year.

Jiayin, the forty-first year.

Yimao, the forty-second year.

Bingchen, the forty-third year.

Dingsi, the forty-fourth year.

Wuwu, the forty-fifth year.

Jiwei, the forty-sixth year.

Gengshen, King You of Zhou ascended the throne.

Xinyou, the second year of his reign.

Renxu, the third year of his reign.

Guihai, the fourth year of his reign.

This passage comes from the second part of Volume Three of the Huangji Jingshi. It records the years using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, listing them in sequence. At the year Gengshen, it notes the accession of King You of Zhou; the following years, Xinyou, Renxu, and Guihai, are respectively the second, third, and fourth years of his reign.