heavenly stems; traditional ordering symbols
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
the ten Heavenly Stems (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui), traditionally used as ordinal symbols in the Chinese sexagenary cycle
A fundamental component of the traditional Chinese calendar and timekeeping system, often used in conjunction with the Earthly Branches (地支) to form the sexagenary cycle (干支). Also associated with the Five Elements (五行) in Chinese philosophy.
Zhōng中
guó国
gǔ古
dài代
yòng用
tiān天
gān干
dì地
zhī支
lái来
jì纪
nián年
。
Ancient China used the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to mark years.
Jiǎ甲
shì是
tiān天
gān干
de的
dì第
yī一
wèi位
。
Jia is the first of the Heavenly Stems.
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Zài在
wǔ五
xíng行
xué学
shuō说
zhōng中
，
tiān天
gān干
yǔ与
jīn金
mù木
shuǐ水
huǒ火
tǔ土
xiāng相
duì对
yìng应
。
In the Five Elements theory, the Heavenly Stems correspond to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.