Today's Horoscope

Ba Zi Four Pillars Chart

Ba Zi, the Four Pillars of Destiny (八字), maps your birth year, month, day, and hour into four stem-and-branch pairs. Together they form a classical Chinese natal sketch distinct from the twelve-year Sheng Xiao animal alone.

Enter your birth date, exact local time, and birth city so the hour pillar and solar-term month boundaries land correctly. Optional gender unlocks the traditional Da Yun luck-pillar counting direction. We send those details to generate the chart and do not keep a birth-chart account.

Four Pillars · 八字

Build your Ba Zi chart

Date, exact time, and city are all required. Optional gender adds the classical Da Yun counting direction.

Birth city · required

Pick your birth city when you can. If it is missing, search your state or province for an approximate capital.

Gender · optional

Add valid birthdate, birth time, birth city (for time zone) to generate your Four Pillars chart.

What the four pillars represent

Each pillar combines a Heavenly Stem (十干) and Earthly Branch (十二支). The year pillar reflects generational tone; the month pillar seasonal climate; the day pillar your Day Master (日主); the hour pillar inner timing and later-life emphasis.

  • Year pillar, ancestry and outer-world backdrop
  • Month pillar, career climate and growing environment
  • Day pillar, core self (Day Master stem)
  • Hour pillar, private self, children, legacy tone

What you need for a useful chart

Ba Zi is time-sensitive. The hour pillar shifts every two hours (时辰). Month pillars follow solar terms (节), not the Gregorian calendar alone. A birth city supplies the correct time zone for local clock time.

  • Birth date, required
  • Birth time, required (hh:mm AM/PM)
  • Birth city, required for time zone
  • Gender, optional (Da Yun direction only)

How this differs from our Chinese zodiac tools

Our Chinese Sign Calculator uses the twelve-year Sheng Xiao animal with Lunar New Year date tables. This Ba Zi page is a separate Four Pillars engine: year pillars turn at Start of Spring (~Feb 4), month pillars follow solar terms, with stems, branches, Day Master, and a simplified five-element count.

Frequently asked questions

Is this Ba Zi chart free?

Yes. The chart is free and needs no account. Birth details are sent to generate the chart and are not stored as an account.

Can I share my Ba Zi result?

After a result appears, you can copy a shareable link. That link puts the birth details you entered in the page address. Anyone who opens it can see them and rerun the same calculator. Only send it to people who may see that information. Opening a shared link does not save the profile on that device unless the visitor edits the form. Details are in the Privacy Policy and Terms.

Why do I need birth time and city?

The hour pillar depends on local birth time. City picks the correct time zone so 2:22 AM where you were born is not mistaken for another zone.

Is Ba Zi the same as Chinese zodiac?

Related but not identical. Chinese zodiac usually means the year animal. Ba Zi uses four pillar pairs (year, month, day, hour) built from the ten stems and twelve branches.

How accurate is this calculator?

It uses approximate solar-term dates and client-side math, fine for exploration, not identical to a professional calendar server or master practitioner.

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