三命通会

Background

Wan Min-ying compiled this twelve-volume work during the Wanli reign (1573-1620) of the Ming. 'San Ming' refers to the three fates: Lu (官禄), Ming (命), Shen (身); 'Tong Hui' means 'comprehensive synthesis'. The book covers Five-Element origins, Heavenly Stem / Earthly Branch combinations, Shen-Sha (auspicious / inauspicious indicators), pattern variations, and luck-cycle / annual-pillar interpretation. Its distinguishing feature is breadth — it preserves the Zi Ping mainstream while also recording Zi Wei Dou Shu, Five-Star astrology, and old Shen-Sha methods. The single most encyclopaedic work in the fate-study tradition.

Concepts this text grounds

• Shen-Sha — auspicious and cautionary indicators (天乙贵人, 桃花, 驿马…)
• The Six Relations — parents, siblings, spouse, children
• Luck cycles (大运) and annual pillars (流年)
• The three fates: Lu, Ming, Shen
• Pattern variations and exceptional cases

Selected excerpts

All excerpts below are public-domain classical Chinese. English glosses are modern reviewer-polished renderings of the historical English translations.

• 「命者天之所赋，运者人之所行。」

  Fate is what heaven endows; fortune is what one walks. The whole of a life appears only when fate and fortune meet.

  卷一 · 总论

• 「天乙贵人，三命中最吉之神也。」

  Tian-Yi Gui-Ren (Heavenly Nobility) is the most auspicious of all spirits among the Three Fates — patron of honour, source of timely help, before whom inauspicious stars retire.

  卷三 · 论天乙贵人