These stems in your chart
Add birth details to see the visible and hidden stems associated with this entry, or use the example in the Four Pillars explorer.
Open Four Pillars →Read the designation in its source
A table may list several stems inside a branch and identify one as main qi. The explorer follows the explicit 本氣 column in the Wise Society introductory table. It does not determine that label by sorting stem indexes or assuming every first printed character is strongest.
This matters when comparing references: two sources can list the same stems in different orders. Preserve membership, source order and explicit roles as separate facts.
Worked example: the Si branch
The cited table lists Bing, Wu and Geng within Si and designates Bing as main qi. Against a Jia Day Master these become Eating God, Indirect Wealth and Seven Killings respectively. The main-qi label belongs to Bing independently of which Day Master is used.
If the Day Master changes, the Ten Gods labels must be recalculated. Membership and the table’s main-qi designation remain attached to Si.
機緣學社 · introductory BaZi, 藏干 and 本氣 table ↗FengShuied · Ten Gods reference table ↗
Use main qi without inventing strength
The term helps distinguish the principal designation from the other stored stems in this table. It is useful when tracing a named reading procedure, but it is not a percentage, a favorable-element verdict or a complete description of a person.
Keep the pillar, season, visible stems and any separately specified interaction rules alongside the label. Root strength, transformations and timing require their own source and calculation conventions.
Word origin · etymology
Chinese běnqì 本氣, rendered here as main or principal qi.
The source uses 本氣 as a column heading beside its hidden-stem lists. The English label identifies that column; it does not establish a first coinage or a universal weighting system.
How we know · epistemology
Source-specific interpretive designation
The Wise Society teaching table names one main stem for each branch. That designation can be reproduced; how it contributes to strength or seasonal command needs a separate method.
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Connected concepts
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Terms used in this explanation
Mentioned in 4 other entries
These links connect subjects and terminology. They do not establish a shared historical origin.
Sources & provenance
Use the citations beside each section to distinguish a calculation convention, a historical teaching and an editorial example.