What Are the Eight Specials (八專) in BaZi?
See the eight day pillars listed in San Ming Tong Hui, distinguish Eight Specials from Eight-Special Lu Prosperity and Japanese Hassen, and avoid gendered predictions.
Overview
San Ming Tong Hui, volume three, lists eight Eight Specials days: Jia-Yin, Yi-Mao, Ji-Wei, Ding-Wei, Geng-Shen, Xin-You, Wu-Xu, and Gui-Chou. Other passages discuss a narrower Eight-Special Lu-Prosperity layer and variant additions, so OpenFate preserves the source distinctions and does not treat the label as a character or relationship verdict.
At a glance
- Primary list
- Eight complete day pillars
- First four
- 甲寅 · 乙卯 · 己未 · 丁未
- Last four
- 庚申 · 辛酉 · 戊戌 · 癸丑
- Related layer
- 八專祿旺 has a narrower core discussion
- Japanese homonym
- 暦注の八専 is a different calendar period
- OpenFate engine
- Not currently calculated
The eight day pillars in the classical list
Volume three of San Ming Tong Hui names 甲寅 Jia-Yin, 乙卯 Yi-Mao, 己未 Ji-Wei, 丁未 Ding-Wei, 庚申 Geng-Shen, 辛酉 Xin-You, 戊戌 Wu-Xu, and 癸丑 Gui-Chou as the Eight Specials. The lookup is based on the complete day pillar, not on any one stem or branch appearing elsewhere in the chart.
For example, a Geng stem somewhere in the chart does not establish the category; the day pillar itself must be 庚申. OpenFate records this exact list as the primary definition because it has a direct located source.
- Check the day pillar as one stem-branch unit.
- Do not count matching characters in other pillars.
Why Eight-Special lists can disagree
Volume six discusses 八專祿旺, or Eight-Special Lu Prosperity, and singles out 甲寅, 乙卯, 庚申, and 辛酉 as the core self-lu-prosperity days. The same passage preserves additions and exclusions attributed to other views before returning to a distinct eight-day discussion.
These layers should not be flattened into one universal table. A responsible page identifies whether it is using the volume-three Eight Specials list, the narrower Lu-Prosperity subset, or another transmitted variant.
- Eight Specials and Eight-Special Lu Prosperity are related, not identical.
- Name the source and list version beside every calculation.
Do not confuse BaZi 八專 with Japanese Hassen
Japanese calendar tradition also uses the written term 八専, read hassen, for a calendrical period within the sexagenary cycle. The National Diet Library describes that selection-day context, which is not the same object as the eight day pillars listed in the Chinese Bazi source.
The shared characters create a genuine search and translation ambiguity. Japanese readers should identify the source system before using a table; translating both concepts as “Eight Specials” without qualification loses the distinction.
- Chinese Bazi 八專 and Japanese calendar 八専 need separate definitions.
- Localize the name without merging the calculation systems.
Remove gendered and sexualized verdicts
The classical passage attaches moralized claims about spouses and sexuality to this day category. Those claims reflect historical social language; a day pillar cannot establish fidelity, sexual behavior, consent, gender character, or relationship outcome.
OpenFate does not currently calculate Eight Specials in the Bazi engine. If the term is studied, read the entire chart and keep the result descriptive, never as evidence for accusation, discrimination, partner screening, or a high-stakes decision.
- Do not turn historical stereotypes into facts about a person.
- Never use the label to judge consent, fidelity, or relationship safety.
Sources and editorial basis
- 《三命通會》 (Sanming Tonghui)卷三「八專」八日名單；卷六「八專祿旺」四日核心與增刪異說A historical compilation covering stems and branches, Ten Gods, Nayin, Shen Sha, and multiple classical pattern systems.
- 国立国会図書館「日本の暦・吉凶を表す言葉」日本曆注八専：與中國命理八專日柱分類分流The National Diet Library’s guide to Japanese calendar annotations, used to distinguish the Japanese calendrical Hassen period from the Chinese Bazi Eight Specials day list.
- OpenFate Editorial Methodology古代性別與性行為刻板敘述不得轉譯為現代個人事實OpenFate separates deterministic chart calculation, traditional interpretation, and modern editorial explanation.