The study of Ganji and Yinyangwuxing(陰陽五行) plays a significant role in studying the Oriental Future Forecast studies(未來豫測學). This is because wuxing, literally meaning five elements(五行), accounts for the phenomena on all creatures' movements in the universe.
Ganji(干支), consisting of sibgan(十干) and sibleeji(十二支), explains the process of all being's budding out from the earth, maturing, thriving and making new generations. When it comes to the usage of it, ganji has used in marking the circulation degree of time and space.
The nature and life are governed by one common element of yinyang even though the twos are seen as two totally different entities. Thus it is argued that the law of yinyang affects fortune or misfortune (吉凶禍福) and rise or fall(興亡盛衰) in one's life. If we have awareness of the yinyang principle, we would be able to understand those events that happen every time between human beings. Furthermore the yinyang principle gives us some hints to predict how the ups and downs are going to be drawn in one's life.
The yinyang principle supports a proposition that the essence of all existences in the universe is constructed by five elements; Mok(木, wood), Hwa(火, fire), Tow(土, earth), Geum(金, metal) and Sue(水, water). Human beings and non human beings in the universe are merely a part of the world governed by the five elements. Accordingly, it is addressed that ups and downs and fortune and misfortune of life holistically depend on the principle of the movement of theses five elements. yinyang theory and wuxing theory both illustrate how nature and life thrive and perish and how fortune and misfortune circulate to come to our lives. In terms of this thought, the future forecast studies is regarded as the one that contributes to the well-being of our lives.
Ganji is formed by ten chungans(天干) and twelve jijis(地支). The idea of yinyang and wuxing, sometimes simply called yinyangwuxing, has historically been regarded as an original philosophy from the Eastern culture. Ganji and yinyang wuxing which had been respectively created in the different backgrounds were eventually combined as one through out the age of civil wars(春秋戰國時代) and Han age(漢代). Since then, it has been applied to entire Oriental Studies such as Oriental medicine(韓醫學), myungri philosophy(命理學), the Book of changes(周易學) or geomantic-studies(風水地理學). Particularly, it has provided lots of contributions to the studying of the Future Forecast.
The study of myungri deals with how to predict one’s destiny is with some clues such as time, day, month or year when he/she was born. The study of myungri involves two important concepts; Saju(四柱), which is an equivalent of four pillars, and palja(八字). Each of the four pillars, namely the pillar of year, the pillar of month, the pillar of day and the pillar of time, individually signifies the year, month, day and time represented through Ganji. And the number of letters is called palja(八字). In the study of myungri we analyze one's saju-palja corresponding to the one of the principles, sangukjehwa(生剋除禍), in yinyangwuxing and predict his or her fortune and misfortune and destiny.
The geomantic studies is a theory that it is implemented when you decide the place to bury your ancestors or to build a house. It connects the configurations of ground and directions to fortune and misfortune in one’s life. In the study of geomantic, the wuxing has 24 different directions; 10 directions of Chungan and 12 directions of JiJi. The directions of chungan includes ten factors: Gap(甲), Eul(乙), Byung(丙), Jeong(丁), Mue(戊), Gi(己), Gyung(庚), Shin(辛), Im(壬) and Gye(癸). But Mu(戊) and Gi(己) were excludedfrom them and 4 factors, Gun(乾), Gon(坤), Gan(艮), Son(巽) were added from eight divinations. So the number of chungan is 12 and the total is 24.
Yukim theory(六壬學) shares the core with yinyangwuxing. The heaven means lightness(陽) and the earth means darkness(陰). The stream of time in the heaven is called Wouljang(月將). When it is combined with the present time, it is classified to the darkness(陰) and lightness(陽). The unity of WoulJang and the present time are defined as what is called Sagwa(四課), which means Sasang(四象) such as Taeyang, Taeum, Soyang or Soeum. Also Sasang creates Samjeon(三傳), which signifies the three basics: the heaven, the earth, human. On the other hand, samjeon represents the movements of the universe the beginning, the middleand the end.
In the theory of Woongi(運氣), the term, Owewoon(五運), means Mok(木), Hwa(火), Tou(土), Geum(金) and Sue(水). Yukgi(六氣) means Pwung(風), Hwa(火), Seo(暑), Seub(濕), Row(燥) and Han(寒). Owewoon(五運) is the movements of the heaven crossing the 5parts that a year is divided into. It includes spring, summer, late summer, fall and winter and has characteristic of the wuxing in Mok(木), Hwa(火), Tou(土), Gum(金) and Sue(水). Yookgi(六氣), a type of energy inspired from the earth, describes the changes of 6weathers. Each weather is signified by the wuxing of Mok(木), Goonhwa(君火), Sanghwa(相火), Tou(土), Guem(金) and Sue(水).
The science of divination of Gyungbang(京房) has a reputation on its unique way to address fortune-telling. Many principals of account the divination(占算) were created based on the Book of Changes. Furthermore, it was combined with yinyang wuxing theory in the area of the way how to interpret Jumsan(占算). And eventually a distinctive system of the science of divination was constructed. When Gyungbang(京房) arranges trigrams(卦) in order, they are classified into Gun(乾) and Gon(坤). The Gun trigram represents the heaven or fathers and the Gon trigram does the earth or mothers. The Gun trigram has three sons; the first son is called Jin trigram(震卦), second one Gam trigram(坎卦) and the last Gan trigram(艮卦). Thus the number of men including father is four. The Gon trigram has three daughters; the first daughter is called Son trigram(巽卦), the second Ri trigram(離卦) and the last Tae trigram(兌卦). Thus the total number of women is four, too. When the five elements(wuxing) are added to the 8 trigrams, 8 Fence trigrams (宮卦) are formed, each of which governs 8 trigrams. Therefore the sum of trigrams is 64.
Napgab wuxing(納甲五行) is the way how to connect each Hyo(爻) in each trigram to the five elements(wuxing). It is called Napgab when you attach Chungan to the Hyo and it is called Napji when you attach Jiji to it.
In the texts of the Book of Changes, it is the sections of Sanpunggotrigram(山風蠱卦) and Jungpunggo trigram(中風蠱卦) that explain and summarize the principal of Ganji.
According to what we have examined in this research, it is concluded that the study of Future Forecast is constructed by Ganji and yinyang wuxing.