On the Origin of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches

【The Original Chinese Text】切以奸诈生，妖怪出。黄帝时有嗤尤神扰乱，当是之时，黄帝甚忧民之苦，遂战嗤尤于涿鹿之野（涿鹿，郡名）。流血百里，不能治之(时帝始制干戈刀剑之器），黄帝于是斋戒筑坛祀天，方丘礼地。天乃降十干(即：甲、乙、丙、丁、戊、己、庚、辛、壬、癸），十二支（即：子、丑、寅、卯、辰、巳、午、未、申、酉、戌、亥）。帝渊海子平4乃将十干圆布，象天形；十二支方布，象地形。始以干为天，支为地，合光仰职门放之，然后乃能治也（此十干、十二支之所出也）。自后有大挠氏，为后人忧之曰：嗟呼！黄帝乃圣人，尚不能治其恶杀，万一后世见灾被苦，将何奈乎！遂将十干、十二支分配成六十甲子云。

【意译与解说】嗤尤：姓姜，炎帝之臣，好兵乱，暴虐于天下，后为黄帝擒杀。黄帝：姓公孙，名轩辕。才智周遍，敦敏聪明，修德振兵，治五气，抚万民，度四方，在涿鹿之野擒杀嗤尤。《三命通会》说：天皇氏制定了干支，地皇氏则把日月时配对起来，人皇氏制定了君臣制度和人伦风化，并确定人与干支的关系。黄帝授与大挠河图，大挠又进一步考察五行、星宿，然后干支与五行才得以配合，纳音也自然产生了。《五行大义》也说：地支与天干是根据五行而创立的，在轩辕时由大挠氏制定。这些说法，多为传说。因五行的明文最早见于《尚书·洪范》，据说为战国时代所作。这就是说，到春秋战国时期，五行才慢慢形成，并非大挠氏所定。至于九天玄女降干支与黄帝之说则更是神话。实际上，干支、五行、阴阳等学说当是经过许多时代及许多人的归纳总结，才逐步完善起来的。

【Paraphrasing and Explanation】

Chi You: Surnamed Jiang, a minister of the Yan Emperor. He was fond of warfare and chaos, and was tyrannical to the whole world. Later, he was captured and killed by the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor: Surnamed Gongsun, with the given name Xuanyuan. He was intelligent and comprehensive, sincere, sensitive and wise. He cultivated virtue, organized the army, regulated the five vital qi, soothed the common people, and surveyed all directions. He captured and killed Chi You in the wild of Zhuolu. "Comprehensive Collection of the Three Destinies" states that the Heavenly Emperor formulated the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. The Earthly Emperor paired the sun, moon and time. The Human Emperor established the system of monarch and ministers, human relations and moral education, and determined the relationship between people and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. The Yellow Emperor bestowed the River Map to Da Nao. Da Nao further investigated the Five Elements and the celestial constellations. Then the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches were matched with the Five Elements, and the (tonal resonance of the Five Elements) was naturally generated. "The Great Significance of the Five Elements" also says that the Earthly Branches and Heavenly Stems were established based on the Five Elements, and were formulated by Da Nao during the time of Xuanyuan. These statements are mostly legends. Since the explicit records of the Five Elements were first seen in "The Book of History・Hong Fan", it is said that it was written during the Warring States period. That is to say, the theory of the Five Elements gradually took shape during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period, and was not determined by Da Nao. As for the legend that the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady bestowed the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to the Yellow Emperor, it is even more of a myth. In fact, the theories of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the Five Elements, yin and yang, etc. were gradually perfected through the induction and summarization of many eras and many people.