Birth Time Verification
Li Shizhen’s birthday follows public historical sources: 1518-07-03, corresponding to the twenty-sixth day of the fifth lunar month in the thirteenth year of the Zhengde reign. The local record had treated the lunar date as a Gregorian date, so this reading recalculates the chart with the corrected Gregorian date. There is no direct hour record; this page marks the hour as candidate hour, and the local record keeps candidates across the twelve Chinese hours. Among the candidate hours, Zi and Hai bring too much Water and push the chart toward pure scholarship. Wu and Wei make Fire and Earth too heavy and can press down on Jia Wood. The Chen hour gives Wu Yin, Ji Wei, Jia Zi, Wu Chen. Jia Wood sits on Zi Water, has a root in Yin, and faces heavy Earth through Wei in the month and Chen in the hour. The Direct Wealth pattern is therefore clear. Here Wealth Earth points to concrete medicines, land, physical substances, collecting and verification. The Chen hour is used because it explains the central method of Li Shizhen’s life: beyond reading books, he had to identify substances, travel, record and correct.
Core Analysis
Read with the Chen hour, Li Shizhen’s BaZi is Wu Yin, Ji Wei, Jia Zi, Wu Chen. Jia Wood sits on Zi Water, and Yin in the year gives it a root. Wei in the month and Chen in the hour make Earth heavy. The local calculation reads this as a Direct Wealth pattern with a balanced day master. Metal, Water and Fire are helpful; more Earth is not. This chart has the feel of pharmacology. Jia Wood is the growth of plants; Zi Water is memory and scholarship; the heavy Wei and Chen Earth are medicinal materials, soil, minerals and real physical properties. Heavy Wealth Earth means his learning had to land on concrete materials. One herb, one place of origin, one inherited claim: each had to be checked. After 1557 he entered the Gui Hai Direct Resource luck cycle. Water Resource was strong, and long-term reading, collecting and revision entered a decisive stage. After 1577, the Yi Chou cycle brought Rob Wealth together with Direct Wealth: many materials gathered, but so did the pressure of organizing them. He died in 1593, during the Bing Yin luck cycle and Gui Si year. Yin Wood echoed the year branch, while Si Fire clashed with the Zi Water of the day branch. At an advanced age, this Water-Fire disturbance is read in traditional life-limit analysis as pressure on vital blood and kidney Water.
Traits
Patient Identification
Heavy Wealth Earth suits long-term checking of medicines and places of origin.
Plant Root
Jia Wood has a root in Yin, which fits the study of herbs and plants.
Textual Memory
The day sits on Zi Water, supporting memory, organization and collation.
Labor of Body and Mind
With heavy Earth, long travel and writing can consume the body.
Timeline
Each year shows the event, luck pillar, annual pillar, relations, and interpretation for direct comparison.
Passed the scholar examination as a teenager
Li Shizhen passed the xiucai examination when young and early on still followed the Confucian examination path.
In the Geng Shen cycle, Metal Killings were favorable, representing examination rules and early pressure for reputation. In 1532, Ren Water as Indirect Resource appeared, and Chen Earth echoed the hour branch. Study and exams both had support. Early recognition fits Metal and Water being activated as favorable forces.
Left the exam path and turned toward medicine
After difficulties in the civil examinations, Li Shizhen gradually shifted his focus toward medical practice and materia medica research.
In the Ren Xu cycle, Resource and Wealth arrived together. In 1552, Zi Water echoed the day branch and Resource was strong, favoring a move from exams into real learning. Wealth Earth remained present, showing that this learning had to return to medicinal evidence.
Draft of Compendium of Materia Medica completed
After long collection, comparison and revision, the Compendium of Materia Medica was largely drafted.
In the Yi Chou cycle, Yi Wood as Rob Wealth represents large amounts of similar material gathering, while Chou Earth as Wealth represents physical classification. In 1578, Wu Earth as Indirect Wealth appeared and Yin Wood echoed the year branch. Plant materials and evidence-based sorting were both in place. The manuscript is the result of Wealth Earth gathering knowledge into a book.
Prepared Compendium of Materia Medica for printing
In his later years, Li Shizhen pushed the Compendium of Materia Medica toward printing, although its wider circulation came after his death.
In the Bing Yin cycle, Eating God governs writing and expression, and Yin Wood echoes the year branch, stirring the root of materia medica again. In 1590, Geng Metal as Seven Killings was favorable, able to cut through older claims and also point to printing rules and external confirmation.
Died in Qizhou
Li Shizhen died in 1593.
In the Bing Yin cycle, Eating God appeared, so even at an advanced age he still had writing energy. In 1593, Gui Water as Direct Resource appeared, while Si Fire disturbed the Zi Water mechanism of the natal chart. For a Jia Wood day master, Water and Fire pressing each other suggests unrest between kidney Water and heart Fire. Traditional life-limit reading would see late-life imbalance of vital blood and Water-Fire.
FAQ
Why was Li Shizhen’s birthday changed to 1518-07-03?
Public sources say he was born on the twenty-sixth day of the fifth lunar month in the thirteenth Zhengde year, which corresponds to July 3, 1518 in the Gregorian calendar. The local record had treated the lunar date as May 26 Gregorian, so this reading corrects it.
Why does this Li Shizhen BaZi reading use the Chen hour?
There is no direct hour record. This page compares twelve hour candidates, and Wu Chen strengthens evidence-oriented Wealth Earth, best explaining materia medica identification, collecting and correction.
What is the core pattern in Li Shizhen’s BaZi?
With the Chen hour, it is read as a Direct Wealth pattern. Here Wealth Earth refers to concrete properties, medicines, origins and evidence-based materials.
How is his death in 1593 read here?
He was in the Bing Yin luck cycle and the Gui Si year. Si Fire disturbed the Zi Water of the day branch. At an advanced age, Water and Fire pressing each other is read as pressure on vital blood and kidney Water.
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