Pine and Cypress Wood
Pine and Cypress Wood — One of the thirty NaYin, matched with GengYin and XinMao — born beneath Metal yet last to wither in the cold year: a life that hardens under pressure and grows firmer in adversity.
On this page
Pine and Cypress Wood (sōng bǎi mù) pairs with the GanZhi GengYin and XinMao. Yin and Mao are Wood's own ground of vigor, yet the stems overhead are Geng and Xin, both Metal — thriving wood growing under the very element that cuts it is the singular birthright of this NaYin. Ordinary plants could not bear such treatment; only the pine and the cypress hold their footing beneath metal and frost: the heavier the frost, the greener the needles; the colder the year, the firmer the grain.
The classical imagery
On the wood of GengYin and XinMao, the San Ming Tong Hui says:
“The qi already rides the yang and gains the force of cultivation, yet it dwells beneath Metal; metal and frost are ever hard, and the wood beneath them attains its vigor, withering last in the cold of the year — the image is taken from its firmness of nature, and so it is called Pine and Cypress Wood.”
"Withering last in the cold of the year — the image is taken from its firmness of nature." The Analects observes that only when the year turns cold do we learn that pine and cypress are the last to fade, and the ancients cast that emblem of the noble character straight into the NaYin: this is not a wood raised in easy conditions — its hardness was pressed into it.
Matching GanZhi and birth years
| GanZhi | NaYin | Recent birth years | Next cycle | Zodiac |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geng Yin | Pine and Cypress Wood | 1950 · 2010 | 2070 | Tiger |
| Xin Mao | Pine and Cypress Wood | 1951 · 2011 | 2071 | Rabbit |
※ Year boundaries strictly follow LiChun (start of spring): anyone born before LiChun in early solar year belongs to the previous GanZhi year, and the NaYin changes accordingly. Table generated by the Guanyitang chart engine.
Set among the Wood NaYin, its circumstances and character could hardly differ more:
| NaYin | JiaZi pairs | Imagery in brief |
|---|---|---|
| Great Forest Wood | Wu Chen · Ji Si | A whole forest — broad and generous in bearing |
| Willow Wood | Ren Wu · Gui Wei | Soft branches and fine leaves, bending with the wind |
| Pine and Cypress Wood | Geng Yin · Xin Mao | Braving frost and cold, harder with the years |
| Plainland Wood | Wu Xu · Ji Hai | Trees of the open plain, thriving in company |
| Mulberry Wood | Ren Zi · Gui Chou | Useful the moment it sprouts, feeding others with its leaves |
| Pomegranate Wood | Geng Shen · Xin You | Wood pungent in nature, branches heavy with fruit |
Traditional reading of the temperament
In the traditional view, a Pine and Cypress Wood life bears pressure exceptionally well: circumstances others call hopeless only rouse its fighting spirit, and once it settles on a course, ten years will not move it. In character it leans upright and principled, disdainful of flattery, with few friends but utterly dependable ones — the sort whose worth, as the proverb has it, a long road reveals. Its curve of achievement runs like the pine's growth: slow at first, then — once the roots strike deep — a steady climb, gaining stature with every passing year.
The old books' warning falls on straightness: the pine may pillar the sky, but the straightest trunk is also felled first — in the give-and-take of human affairs this life would do well to keep a few degrees of bend. On men and women, the older texts call the male firm, responsible and fit to hold authority, the female fierce of will and yielding to no man — judgments steeped in their era, useful today only as leanings of temperament.
Notable figures
The birth years of these public figures correspond to Pine and Cypress Wood(every entry verified against the LiChun boundary by the Guanyitang chart engine):
| Name | Birth year | Year pillar | Field |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stevie Wonder | 1950 | Geng Yin | Musician |
| Robin Williams | 1951 | Xin Mao | Actor |
※ This table only states the factual mapping between birth year and NaYin. It implies no judgement of anyone’s destiny; year boundaries follow LiChun.
Relations with other NaYin
In folk NaYin lore, deep-rooted Pine and Cypress Wood does not fear Metal, and welcomes Water and Earth instead: with the likes of Mountain-Stream Water or Great Stream Water, the cold wood finds moisture; with City-Wall Earth and its kind, the footing holds firm. Where it meets Fire in the Furnace, the old books speak of "pine kindling the flame," meaning a fierce combined qi. Such pairing-talk reasons from imagery and is offered for what it is; the fate of the pine was never settled by a single rhyme.
FAQ
- Is a Pine and Cypress Wood life a good one?
- In the traditional view, Pine and Cypress Wood ‘withers last in the cold of the year’ and earns the highest character marks among the six Wood NaYin: it bears pressure, endures cold, and stands the test of time. The old books also note that its unbending nature can cost it smoothness in human relations. Whether that translates into fortune depends on the complete four-pillar chart.
- Am I a Pine and Cypress Wood life if I was born in 1950?
- Yes — those born in 1950 (GengYin) have Pine and Cypress Wood as the year-pillar NaYin. The year boundary follows LiChun: anyone born before LiChun on February 4, 1950 belongs to the previous year JiChou, whose NaYin is Thunderbolt Fire.
- Why does wood ‘born beneath Metal’ turn out the hardest?
- Geng and Xin are both Metal, and Metal by nature cuts Wood — for wood to survive beneath it, it must grow itself into the hardest wood there is. The San Ming Tong Hui says ‘metal and frost are ever hard, and the wood beneath them attains its vigor, withering last in the cold of the year’: the pressure did not destroy it, but completed its firmness.
References
- Wan Minying (Ming dynasty), San Ming Tong Hui, vol. 1, “On NaYin Imagery”
- Attr. Xu Ziping (Song dynasty), Yuan Hai Zi Ping, “On the NaYin of the Sixty JiaZi”
- Guanyitang chart engine · sixty-JiaZi NaYin reference data