Da Liu Ren month general and how the plate turns

What is the Da Liu Ren month general?

The month general is the palace the sun is passing through. The classic Da Liu Ren Zhinan puts it in one line, 月将即日宿太阳也: the month general is where the sun lodges. Each time the sun crosses a middle solar term it moves into the next palace, and the month general moves with it to the next branch.

month general月将, yue jiang

Also called: monthly general

The branch placed on the hour of the question when a chart is cast. It changes at each middle solar term, twelve times a year, and each one has a name: 辰 is Tian Gang.

hour of the question占时, zhan shi

The two-hour period, named by an earthly branch, in which the question is cast.

earth plate地盘

The twelve branches in fixed seats around the board.

heaven plate天盘

The same twelve branches, turned by the month general so that one sits over each earth seat.

month branch月建

The branch of the calendar month, which changes at the start-of-month solar terms. From Cold Dew to the Start of Winter it is 戌. It is not the month general.

The month general depends on the date only. A chart cast at seven in the morning and one cast at ten at night on the same day share it; only the hour changes.

How is the month general chosen? The twelve solar terms

Find the last middle solar term on or before the day of the question, then read the table. The old texts count by lunar month, for example "in the eighth month, after the Autumn Equinox, the sun enters the 辰 palace: this is the general Tian Gang". In the Gregorian calendar each term moves by a day or so from year to year.

Read down the month general column and the branches run backwards: 亥, 戌, 酉, 申. Each middle solar term moves the general back one place, so a year walks through all twelve.

When does the month general change on the day of a solar term?

The old texts only say "after Frost Descent". The strict reading changes the general at the moment the term arrives: in 2026 Frost Descent arrives on the afternoon of 23 October, China time, so a chart cast before that moment still uses 辰 and one cast after it uses 卯.

A shortcut used in some tables ties the month general to the month branch and changes it at the start-of-month term instead, so 卯 begins at Cold Dew on 8 October. For the half month between the two terms, that chart is one branch away from a chart that follows the middle solar term.

The same rule holds at the other terms: the general turns to 辰 at 00:00 on 23 September and to 寅 at 00:00 on 22 November. If a chart cast on the day of a term differs from another site, compare the month general first.

How does the heaven plate turn onto the hour?

1. Find the hour of the question

   Each branch covers two hours: 23:00 to 01:00 is 子, 01:00 to 03:00 is 丑, and so on. 10:30 falls between 09:00 and 11:00, the 巳 hour.

2. Put the month general on that seat

   The earth plate stays where it is. Place the month general 辰 over the earth seat 巳.

3. Let the rest follow in order

   The heaven plate carries on in branch order: 巳 over 午, 午 over 未, 未 over 申, all the way round the twelve seats.

The Zhinan gives its own example: with the 亥 general on the 午 hour, 子 sits on 未, and the rest follow in order.

However many places the month general is from the hour, every heaven branch is that many places from the seat below it. 辰 is one place before 巳, so every seat carries the branch one place behind it.

The free calculator reads the hour from the clock time you enter. It does not convert time zones or shift to true solar time by longitude. Schools that use true solar time can land on a different hour near the edge of a period.

Worked example: 21 October 2026, 10:30 in Tokyo

The four lessons and transmissions are all read off the turned plate. This moment gives the four lessons 辰/戊, 卯/辰, 卯/辰 and 寅/卯, and the Zei Ke method takes 卯, 寅 and 丑 as the transmissions, a Yuan Shou chart. How those are built is in Da Liu Ren four lessons and three transmissions.

If the month general is one place off, every lesson is off too, so check it first.

What if the month general matches the hour?

When the month general lands on the hour of its own name, the heaven plate sits exactly over the earth plate and does not move: this is Fu Yin. When the general and the hour clash, every heaven branch faces its opposite seat: this is Fan Yin. On the example day the general is 辰:

• Cast between 07:00 and 08:59 and the hour is 辰, the same as the general: the free result records Fu Yin.
• Cast between 19:00 and 20:59 and the hour is 戌, which clashes with 辰: the free result records Fan Yin.
• The other ten hours give an ordinary plate.

How to recognise and read those two charts is in Da Liu Ren lesson patterns.

Where do you see the month general on your own chart?

Open the free Da Liu Ren calculator, enter the moment and choose "Chart only" if you have no question yet. The notes under the result include a line labelled "Monthly general", which is the month general, with the branch and its name, such as "辰 天罡". If it differs from another chart, check:

• Which middle solar term came last before the day you cast?
• Is it the day of a term? The free calculator changes the general from midnight.
• Was the hour taken from the clock time you entered?
• Does the month general sit exactly on the seat of the hour?

The chart is free; AI questions have separate limits. To read a whole chart from top to bottom, see how to read a Da Liu Ren chart; the rest of the series is in the Da Liu Ren guide.