Bing Fire in the Di Tian Sui: "Fierce and Blazing," Line by Line
Bing Fire (丙) is yang Fire, usually pictured as the sun, fire that shines on everything. The Di Tian Sui gives it nine four-character lines: 丙火猛烈，欺霜侮雪，能煅庚金，逢辛反怯，土眾成慈，水猖顯節，虎馬犬鄉，甲木若來，必當焚滅。 This page takes the verse apart line by line and tests the lines that set out checkable conditions against real charts. For Bing Fire as you, your personality, career and relationships, see Bing Fire Day Master.
The verse, line by line
| Original | In English | Plain reading |
|---|---|---|
| 丙火猛烈，欺霜侮雪 | Bing Fire is fierce and blazing; it scorns frost and mocks snow. | Bing Fire is the sun, the most yang of the yang and the fiercest of all. Frost and snow mean nothing to it. |
| 能煅庚金，逢辛反怯 | It can forge Geng Metal, yet meeting Xin it turns timid. | It can forge hard Geng Metal; but meeting soft Xin Metal, it is held in a combination instead (Bing and Xin combine) and looks timid. |
| 土眾成慈，水猖顯節 | Among much Earth it grows kind; against raging Water it shows its mettle. | Among plenty of Earth, Bing Fire produces Earth, is drained by it, and turns gentle. When Water runs wild, Bing Fire does not give way, and its integrity shows all the more. |
| 虎馬犬鄉，甲木若來，必當焚滅 | In the land of Tiger, Horse and Dog, should Jia Wood arrive, all is bound to burn away. | When the branches Yin, Wu and Xu (Tiger, Horse, Dog) form a Fire frame, the Fire is already at its height; add Jia Wood as more fuel and it burns out of control. The common edition gives these lines as 虎馬犬鄉，甲來成滅 ("in the land of Tiger, Horse and Dog, Jia comes and all is destroyed"), with the same meaning. |
Text follows the Di Tian Sui Chan Wei (滴天髓闡微), the edition with Ren Tieqiao's commentary. Commentators over the centuries have read some lines differently; we follow the more widely accepted reading.
How often the verse's conditions show up in real charts
Some lines set out conditions that can be checked on a chart: the season, whether a certain stem appears, whether an element runs heavy. Of the 16,802 charts our engine cast, about 1,680 have Bing Fire as the day stem. Here is how they fall:
| Line | Condition checked | Share of charts |
|---|---|---|
| 能煅庚金 (It can forge Geng Metal) | Geng in the chart | 66.1% |
| 逢辛反怯 (meeting Xin it turns timid) | Xin on a stem (Bing–Xin combine) | 25.5% |
| 土眾成慈 (Among much Earth it grows kind) | Earth runs heavy | 31.4% |
| 水猖顯節 (against raging Water it shows its mettle) | Water runs heavy | 10.7% |
| 虎馬犬鄉 (In the land of Tiger, Horse and Dog) | Two or more of Yin, Wu, Xu in the branches, with Jia on a stem | 10.0% |
How we counted: our engine cast one chart for every day from 1960 to 2005, with the birth hour drawn at random from a fixed seed, 16,802 charts in all, about 1,680 for each day stem. Each percentage uses that day stem's charts as the base. This describes how chart structures are distributed; it says nothing about anyone's luck.
Bing Fire meets the other nine stems
| Meets | Element | Relationship | Combine / clash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jia Wood | Wood | It produces me | — |
| Yi Wood | Wood | It produces me | — |
| Ding Fire | Fire | Same element, opposite polarity | — |
| Wu Earth | Earth | I produce it | — |
| Ji Earth | Earth | I produce it | — |
| Geng Metal | Metal | I control it | — |
| Xin Metal | Metal | I control it | Combine (transforming to Water) |
| Ren Water | Water | It controls me | Clash |
| Gui Water | Water | It controls me | — |
"I" in the table means Bing Fire. For the full rules on stem combinations and clashes, see the Ten Heavenly Stems and stem and branch relations. When Bing Fire is the day stem, these relationships become the Ten Gods; see the Ten Gods.
Bing Fire on the year, month or hour stem
When Bing Fire is not on the day pillar, it speaks about the area of life its position stands for: on the year stem, the sun quality in your family and early surroundings; on the month stem, the sun quality on your stage at work; on the hour stem, later life and long-term plans. Whether it helps or pressures you depends on how it relates to your day stem (the table above) and on your favorable elements.
What Bing Fire needs in each birth month
The Di Tian Sui describes Bing Fire's general nature. The Qiong Tong Bao Jian goes further and sets out, month by month, what Bing Fire takes for climate adjustment in each of the twelve months; see Bing Fire climate by month.
Your day stem in the Di Tian Sui: the verse's conditions, checked one by one
Enter your date of birth (the hour is optional). You will see your day stem's verse, whether each line that sets out a checkable condition holds in your chart, and whether your year, month and hour stems produce, control or combine with your day stem. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Uses your Gregorian birth date, with the day changing at 11 p.m. "On a stem" means it appears on the year, month or hour stem; "hidden in the branches" means it appears among the hidden stems of the branches.
A straight word: an old verse is a point of view, not a verdict
The Di Tian Sui is one of the most respected classical texts on BaZi from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and its section on the ten stems sums up each stem's nature and needs in four-character lines. Its strength is its brevity, and so is its weakness: commentators over the centuries have read the same line in different ways. We test the lines that set out checkable conditions against real charts and present the rest as written, without stretching them into predictions of good or bad fortune. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Does your chart have what Bing Fire needs?
Enter your birth date to check your day stem's verse conditions one by one on your chart, and see whether your year, month and hour stems produce, control or combine with it.
Bing Fire (Heavenly Stem) FAQ
What is the Di Tian Sui verse on Bing Fire?
丙火猛烈，欺霜侮雪，能煅庚金，逢辛反怯，土眾成慈，水猖顯節，虎馬犬鄉，甲木若來，必當焚滅。 In English: "Bing Fire is fierce and blazing; it scorns frost and mocks snow. It can forge Geng Metal, yet meeting Xin it turns timid. Among much Earth it grows kind; against raging Water it shows its mettle. In the land of Tiger, Horse and Dog, should Jia Wood arrive, all is bound to burn away." Nine lines in all. The common edition gives the last lines as 甲來成滅 ("Jia comes and all is destroyed").
What does "Bing Fire is fierce and blazing; it scorns frost and mocks snow" mean?
Bing Fire is the sun, the most yang of the yang and the fiercest of all. Frost and snow mean nothing to it.
What does "It can forge Geng Metal, yet meeting Xin it turns timid" mean?
It can forge hard Geng Metal; but meeting soft Xin Metal, it is held in a combination instead (Bing and Xin combine) and looks timid.
What is the imagery of Bing Fire?
Bing Fire is yang Fire, usually pictured as the sun, fire that shines on everything. The other Fire stem is Ding Fire; with the opposite polarity, it behaves quite differently.