Xin Metal in the Di Tian Sui: "Soft and Yielding," Line by Line
Xin Metal (辛) is yin Metal, usually pictured as jewels and ornaments: fine, warm-toned metal. The Di Tian Sui gives it eight four-character lines: 辛金軟弱，溫潤而清，畏土之疊，樂水之盈，能扶社稷，能救生靈，熱則喜母，寒則喜丁。 This page takes the verse apart line by line and tests the lines that set out checkable conditions against real charts. For Xin Metal as you, your personality, career and relationships, see Xin Metal Day Master.
The verse, line by line
| Original | In English | Plain reading |
|---|---|---|
| 辛金軟弱，溫潤而清 | Xin Metal is soft and yielding, warm, smooth and clear. | Xin Metal is jewels and ornaments, yin Metal: soft, warm, smooth and clear. |
| 畏土之疊，樂水之盈 | It dreads Earth piled high and delights in brimming Water. | It fears too much Earth burying it, and likes plenty of Water washing it so it shines brighter. |
| 能扶社稷，能救生靈 | It can uphold the state and rescue living beings. | Xin Metal can combine with Bing Fire. The classical commentary holds that it tames the fierce Bing Fire and so protects the other elements, which is why it is said to uphold the state and rescue living beings. |
| 熱則喜母，寒則喜丁 | In heat it welcomes its mother; in cold it welcomes Ding. | Born in the hot season, it likes Earth (the mother that produces Xin Metal) to drain the Fire and protect the Metal; born in the cold season, it likes Ding Fire to warm it. |
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 Xin Metal as the day stem. Here is how they fall:
| Line | Condition checked | Share of charts |
|---|---|---|
| 畏土之疊 (It dreads Earth piled high) | Earth runs heavy | 32.4% |
| 樂水之盈 (delights in brimming Water) | Water shows on a stem | 46.7% have Water on a stem; 8.0% have no Water at all |
| 熱則喜母 (In heat it welcomes its mother) | Born in summer: does Wu or Ji show on a stem? | Summer-born: 25.7%; Wu or Ji on a stem: 13.6% |
| 寒則喜丁 (in cold it welcomes Ding) | Born in winter: does Ding show on a stem? | Winter-born: 24.4%; Ding on a stem 7.4%, no Ding at all 7.6% |
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.
Xin Metal meets the other nine stems
| Meets | Element | Relationship | Combine / clash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jia Wood | Wood | I control it | — |
| Yi Wood | Wood | I control it | Clash |
| Bing Fire | Fire | It controls me | Combine (transforming to Water) |
| Ding Fire | Fire | It controls me | — |
| Wu Earth | Earth | It produces me | — |
| Ji Earth | Earth | It produces me | — |
| Geng Metal | Metal | Same element, opposite polarity | — |
| Ren Water | Water | I produce it | — |
| Gui Water | Water | I produce it | — |
"I" in the table means Xin Metal. For the full rules on stem combinations and clashes, see the Ten Heavenly Stems and stem and branch relations. When Xin Metal is the day stem, these relationships become the Ten Gods; see the Ten Gods.
Xin Metal on the year, month or hour stem
When Xin Metal is not on the day pillar, it speaks about the area of life its position stands for: on the year stem, the jewel quality in your family and early surroundings; on the month stem, the jewel 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 Xin Metal needs in each birth month
The Di Tian Sui describes Xin Metal's general nature. The Qiong Tong Bao Jian goes further and sets out, month by month, what Xin Metal takes for climate adjustment in each of the twelve months; see Xin Metal 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 Xin Metal 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.
Xin Metal (Heavenly Stem) FAQ
What is the Di Tian Sui verse on Xin Metal?
辛金軟弱，溫潤而清，畏土之疊，樂水之盈，能扶社稷，能救生靈，熱則喜母，寒則喜丁。 In English: "Xin Metal is soft and yielding, warm, smooth and clear. It dreads Earth piled high and delights in brimming Water. It can uphold the state and rescue living beings. In heat it welcomes its mother; in cold it welcomes Ding." Eight lines in all.
What does "Xin Metal is soft and yielding, warm, smooth and clear" mean?
Xin Metal is jewels and ornaments, yin Metal: soft, warm, smooth and clear.
What does "It dreads Earth piled high and delights in brimming Water" mean?
It fears too much Earth burying it, and likes plenty of Water washing it so it shines brighter.
What is the imagery of Xin Metal?
Xin Metal is yin Metal, usually pictured as jewels and ornaments: fine, warm-toned metal. The other Metal stem is Geng Metal; with the opposite polarity, it behaves quite differently.