The 30 Nayin, in English
三十纳音 · 英文译名总表
Nayin (纳音, “received tone”) maps the sixty stem-branch pairs to thirty poetic images — Gold in the Sea, Thunderbolt Fire, Willow Wood — two pillars per image. Each image carries one of the Five Elements and gives a pillar its texture.
How does nayin work?
Take the sixty stem-branch pairs in order and group each two neighbours together: Jiǎzǐ (甲子) and Yǐchǒu (乙丑) share the first nayin, Gold in the Sea (海中金); Bǐngyín (丙寅) and Dīngmǎo (丁卯) share Fire in the Furnace (炉中火); and so on through all thirty. The last character of each Chinese name states its element — 海中金is a Metal nayin. The name itself comes from an old system that matched pillars to musical tones, which is why 纳音 literally means “received tone.”
What are the thirty nayin? The full table
The pairings below are computed from the same tables that power the Auspice calculator (the lunar-typescript library), and the English names are the fixed translations used across the product.
| Nayin | Pinyin | English name | Element | Pillars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 海中金 | hǎi zhōng jīn | Gold in the Sea | Metal | 甲子 jiǎzǐ · 乙丑 yǐchǒu |
| 炉中火 | lú zhōng huǒ | Fire in the Furnace | Fire | 丙寅 bǐngyín · 丁卯 dīngmǎo |
| 大林木 | dà lín mù | Great Forest Wood | Wood | 戊辰 wùchén · 己巳 jǐsì |
| 路旁土 | lù páng tǔ | Roadside Earth | Earth | 庚午 gēngwǔ · 辛未 xīnwèi |
| 剑锋金 | jiàn fēng jīn | Sword-Edge Metal | Metal | 壬申 rénshēn · 癸酉 guǐyǒu |
| 山头火 | shān tóu huǒ | Hilltop Fire | Fire | 甲戌 jiǎxū · 乙亥 yǐhài |
| 涧下水 | jiàn xià shuǐ | Water in the Ravine | Water | 丙子 bǐngzǐ · 丁丑 dīngchǒu |
| 城头土 | chéng tóu tǔ | City Wall Earth | Earth | 戊寅 wùyín · 己卯 jǐmǎo |
| 白蜡金 | bái là jīn | White Wax Metal | Metal | 庚辰 gēngchén · 辛巳 xīnsì |
| 杨柳木 | yáng liǔ mù | Willow Wood | Wood | 壬午 rénwǔ · 癸未 guǐwèi |
| 泉中水 | quán zhōng shuǐ | Water in the Spring | Water | 甲申 jiǎshēn · 乙酉 yǐyǒu |
| 屋上土 | wū shàng tǔ | Rooftop Earth | Earth | 丙戌 bǐngxū · 丁亥 dīnghài |
| 霹雳火 | pī lì huǒ | Thunderbolt Fire | Fire | 戊子 wùzǐ · 己丑 jǐchǒu |
| 松柏木 | sōng bǎi mù | Pine and Cypress Wood | Wood | 庚寅 gēngyín · 辛卯 xīnmǎo |
| 长流水 | cháng liú shuǐ | Long-Flowing Water | Water | 壬辰 rénchén · 癸巳 guǐsì |
| 沙中金 | shā zhōng jīn | Gold in the Sand | Metal | 甲午 jiǎwǔ · 乙未 yǐwèi |
| 山下火 | shān xià huǒ | Fire at the Foothill | Fire | 丙申 bǐngshēn · 丁酉 dīngyǒu |
| 平地木 | píng dì mù | Wood on Level Ground | Wood | 戊戌 wùxū · 己亥 jǐhài |
| 壁上土 | bì shàng tǔ | Earth on the Wall | Earth | 庚子 gēngzǐ · 辛丑 xīnchǒu |
| 金箔金 | jīn bó jīn | Gold Foil Metal | Metal | 壬寅 rényín · 癸卯 guǐmǎo |
| 覆灯火 | fù dēng huǒ | Sheltered Lamp Fire | Fire | 甲辰 jiǎchén · 乙巳 yǐsì |
| 天河水 | tiān hé shuǐ | Water of the Milky Way | Water | 丙午 bǐngwǔ · 丁未 dīngwèi |
| 大驿土 | dà yì tǔ | Post-Road Earth | Earth | 戊申 wùshēn · 己酉 jǐyǒu |
| 钗钏金 | chāi chuàn jīn | Hairpin Metal | Metal | 庚戌 gēngxū · 辛亥 xīnhài |
| 桑柘木 | sāng zhè mù | Mulberry Wood | Wood | 壬子 rénzǐ · 癸丑 guǐchǒu |
| 大溪水 | dà xī shuǐ | Water of the Great Stream | Water | 甲寅 jiǎyín · 乙卯 yǐmǎo |
| 沙中土 | shā zhōng tǔ | Earth in the Sand | Earth | 丙辰 bǐngchén · 丁巳 dīngsì |
| 天上火 | tiān shàng huǒ | Fire in the Sky | Fire | 戊午 wùwǔ · 己未 jǐwèi |
| 石榴木 | shí liú mù | Pomegranate Wood | Wood | 庚申 gēngshēn · 辛酉 xīnyǒu |
| 大海水 | dà hǎi shuǐ | Water of the Great Sea | Water | 壬戌 rénxū · 癸亥 guǐhài |
Why translate the image instead of the element?
Roadside Earth (路旁土) is not a category of soil — it is a picture: the trodden ground beside a road that every journey rests on. Most English texts either transliterate the names (lùpángtǔ) or flatten them to the bare element (“Earth”), and the picture is lost. This table translates the picture. Where the image needed a choice, we chose what it shows, not what it is made of — 天河水 is Water of the Milky Way, not “sky river water.”
What does each image mean?
Gold in the Sea 海中金 · 甲子 乙丑
Gold that has not yet been mined — real value, still submerged. The image is of worth that exists before anyone can see it, waiting to be brought to the surface.
Fire in the Furnace 炉中火 · 丙寅 丁卯
A fire with a hearth to hold it and fuel to feed it — heat with a purpose. This is the fire that refines things, not wildfire.
Great Forest Wood 大林木 · 戊辰 己巳
Not one tree but a standing forest — growth at the scale of an ecosystem, large enough to shelter what lives beneath it.
Roadside Earth 路旁土 · 庚午 辛未
The earth beside the road: everyone passes over it, few notice it, yet every journey rests on it. Endurance without ceremony.
Sword-Edge Metal 剑锋金 · 壬申 癸酉
Metal already forged and ground to an edge — the most finished of the nayin metals. Sharpness this complete needs a sheath as much as a whetstone.
Hilltop Fire 山头火 · 甲戌 乙亥
A fire set on the hilltop, visible for miles — a beacon. Conspicuous by nature, and because it burns in the wind, it spends fuel faster than a sheltered flame.
Water in the Ravine 涧下水 · 丙子 丁丑
The stream at the bottom of the ravine: it keeps low, hugs the rock, and says little — but given years, it rounds stone.
City Wall Earth 城头土 · 戊寅 己卯
Earth rammed into a city wall — soil given structure and a duty. It stands upright and holds a boundary.
White Wax Metal 白蜡金 · 庚辰 辛巳
Metal pale and soft as candle wax — it will not survive heavy hammering. It takes its shape through patient, fine work.
Willow Wood 杨柳木 · 壬午 癸未
The willow bends in any wind and does not break. Its softness is its structural strength — and its grace.
Water in the Spring 泉中水 · 甲申 乙酉
Water rising from its own spring: not a large flow, but a live and inexhaustible one. It renews itself.
Rooftop Earth 屋上土 · 丙戌 丁亥
Earth raised onto the roof as tile — soil that has taken a finished form and a household duty: keeping the weather out.
Thunderbolt Fire 霹雳火 · 戊子 己丑
Fire that arrives as lightning — out of storm clouds, sudden and total. It changes the whole sky in an instant, then is gone.
Pine and Cypress Wood 松柏木 · 庚寅 辛卯
Pine and cypress hold their green through winter — uprightness that does not depend on the season.
Long-Flowing Water 长流水 · 壬辰 癸巳
A river measured not by its rush but by its reach. It does not stop, so it arrives.
Gold in the Sand 沙中金 · 甲午 乙未
Gold scattered through sand: it must be panned to be seen. The worth is real, but someone has to sift for it.
Fire at the Foothill 山下火 · 丙申 丁酉
The fire at the foot of the hill — village fires at dusk. Not high, not far-reaching, but warm and close to where people live.
Wood on Level Ground 平地木 · 戊戌 己亥
A tree on open ground, with no mountainside to lean on. It roots entirely on its own — and so it grows wide.
Earth on the Wall 壁上土 · 庚子 辛丑
Earth as plaster on a wall: a thin layer, but the room's face and its windbreak both depend on it.
Gold Foil Metal 金箔金 · 壬寅 癸卯
Gold beaten thin enough to glow — foil. Little weight, wide reach: a gram of it can gild a statue's whole face.
Sheltered Lamp Fire 覆灯火 · 甲辰 乙巳
A lamp flame with a shade around it: protected, therefore steady. It lights the room it is in, and the people in it.
Water of the Milky Way 天河水 · 丙午 丁未
The river in the sky — when it descends, it is rain, and rain does not choose whose field it waters.
Post-Road Earth 大驿土 · 戊申 己酉
The earth of the great post road: it connects capitals, carries news, goods, and travelers. Ground that bears weight and sees the world.
Hairpin Metal 钗钏金 · 庚戌 辛亥
Metal worked into hairpins and bracelets — ornament worn against the skin. Its value is finely made and intimate, not massive.
Mulberry Wood 桑柘木 · 壬子 癸丑
The mulberry feeds the silkworm. It spins no silk itself — yet all silk begins with it.
Water of the Great Stream 大溪水 · 甲寅 乙卯
The great stream just out of the mountains: quick, alive, sure of its direction, gathering tributaries as it goes.
Earth in the Sand 沙中土 · 丙辰 丁巳
Sandy earth will not clump in the hand: it holds no water and clings to nothing. Loose — and therefore breathable.
Fire in the Sky 天上火 · 戊午 己未
The fire in the sky is the sun. It burns for no one in particular, which is why it can shine on everyone.
Pomegranate Wood 石榴木 · 庚申 辛酉
The pomegranate is a modest tree with an extravagant fruit — hundreds of seeds in one rind. Vitality by density, not by size.
Water of the Great Sea 大海水 · 壬戌 癸亥
The sea, where the sixty-pillar cycle ends: it receives every river without overflowing. The deepest water — and the start of the next cycle.
How is nayin used in a BaZi chart?
Nayin is a supplementary layer. The main reading of a BaZi chart works directly with the stems, branches, and their Five Elements; nayin adds an image on top. Folk usage often names a person by the year pillar’s nayin (“born a Gold-in-the-Sea life”), while the Auspice chart card shows the day pillar’s nayin as the texture behind your day master. Treat it as imagery for reflection, not prediction.
For the system these images sit inside, read what BaZi is and the Five Elements. Or cast your chartand see your own pillars’ nayin — free, no account. Auspice is for reflection, not prediction.