《第一章 你好呀，我的出生时间密码》/ Chapter 1: Hello, My Birth Time Password

你有没有过吹生日蜡烛的时候，许愿要当一个能破解所有秘密的超厉害小侦探呀？今天呀，我们就一起戴上侦探帽，拿起时间放大镜，来破解藏在每个人出生时间里的专属密码——这就是咱们中国老祖宗传下来的、超级有意思的「八字」啦！

> Did you ever make a wish to be a super detective who can solve all secrets when you blow out your birthday candles? Today, let's put on our detective hats and pick up our time magnifying glasses together to crack the unique code hidden in everyone's birth time — this is the super interesting 「Bazi (Eight Characters)」 passed down from our Chinese ancestors!

插画提示 1（纸书/电子版通用）

> 📖 纸书：页面左上角画戴棕红色侦探帽的小男孩，举着放大镜看一张印着“2024年5月20日 8:00”的卡通生日卡片，卡片周围飘着四个写着“年/月/日/时”的小旗子，右下角对话框写着“我是时间小侦探！”。 > 📱 电子版：点击小侦探会触发10秒动画，他挥着手说“你好呀，未来的小侦探！”，点击生日卡片可以弹出“时间四要素”的互动小卡片。

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1.1 八字到底是什么？不是魔法，是时间身份证呀！

很多人第一次听到“八字”，都会眼睛亮晶晶地问：“是不是会预知未来的魔法水晶球？能不能算出我以后能不能当奥特曼？”哈哈，当然不是啦！八字呀，根本不是什么神秘魔法，它只是咱们中国古人用了好几千年的「时间记录小本本」，就像你书包里的学生证、家里的户口本一样，是每个人专属的「出生时间身份证」哦。

> Many people light up their eyes when they hear "Bazi" for the first time and ask: "Is it a magic crystal ball that can predict the future? Can it calculate whether I can become Ultraman in the future?" Haha, of course not! Bazi is not any mysterious magic at all. It is just a "little time record book" that our Chinese ancestors have used for thousands of years, just like the student ID in your schoolbag or the household register at home. It is everyone's exclusive "birth time ID card"!

你有没有发现呀，咱们平时说一个人的生日，都会说“某年某月某日某时”，比如“我们班小明是2024年5月20日早上8点出生的”，刚好是四个时间部分，对不对？八字的“四柱”，就是把这四个时间部分，分别用中国传统的“天干”和“地支”来当代号，就像给时间的每个部分起了个专属的小昵称，这样记录起来更方便，也更整齐哦。

> Did you notice that when we say someone's birthday, we always say "year, month, day, hour", for example "Xiao Ming in our class was born at 8 a.m. on May 20, 2024"? That's exactly four parts of time, right? The "Four Pillars" of Bazi are just using the traditional Chinese "Heavenly Stems" and "Earthly Branches" as nicknames for these four parts of time, just like giving each part of time a special little nickname, so it is more convenient and neat to record.

举个超级简单的例子吧：如果你今年8岁，是2024年龙年出生的，那你的“年柱”就是「甲辰」——前面的“甲”是天干，后面的“辰”是地支，两个拼在一起，就是2024年的专属时间代号啦！“辰”对应的生肖是龙，所以2024年也叫甲辰龙年，是不是一下子就和你知道的生肖对上啦？

> Let's take a super simple example: if you are 8 years old this year and were born in the Year of the Dragon 2024, then your "Year Pillar" is 「Jia Chen」 — the front "Jia" is the Heavenly Stem, and the back "Chen" is the Earthly Branch. Putting them together is the exclusive time code for 2024! "Chen" corresponds to the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, so 2024 is also called the Year of Jia Chen Dragon. Isn't it easy to connect with the zodiac you already know?

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小知识侧边栏（电子版可点击展开，纸书用小边框标注）

> 🌟 八字的“八”字是怎么来的？ > 因为每一“柱”都有两个字（一个天干+一个地支），四柱加起来刚好是8个字，所以大家就叫它“八字”啦，它还有另一个名字叫“四柱”，说的都是同一个东西哦~ > 🌟 How did the "Eight" in Eight Characters come from? > Because each "Pillar" has two characters (one Heavenly Stem + one Earthly Branch), and the four pillars add up to exactly 8 characters, so everyone calls it "Bazi (Eight Characters)". It has another name called "Four Pillars", and both refer to the same thing.

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1.2 四柱小台阶：一步步走，就能拿到完整出生时间

刚才我们说八字有“四柱”，就像四个挨在一起的小台阶，咱们从第一个开始走，就能一步步拿到你完整的出生时间啦！

1.2.1 第一个台阶：年柱——告诉你哪一年出生

年柱就是记录你出生年份的，刚才说的2024年甲辰年，就是年柱。古人用天干地支来记年份，每60年就会循环一次，比如2024年是甲辰年，上一个甲辰年是1964年，再上一个就是1904年啦，是不是很像一个转圈圈的时间圆圈？

> The first step: Year Pillar — tells you which year you were born. > The Year Pillar records the year you were born. The 2024 Year of Jia Chen we mentioned earlier is the Year Pillar. Ancient people used Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to record years, and they cycle every 60 years. For example, 2024 is the Year of Jia Chen, the previous Jia Chen was 1964, and the one before that was 1904. Isn't it like a spinning circle of time?

近10年干支对照小表（纸书印在页边，电子版可点击查看完整对照表）

| 公历年份 | 干支年份 | 生肖 | 英文对照 | |----------|----------|-------|------------------------------| | 2015 | 乙未 | 羊 | Year of Yi Wei (Goat) | | 2016 | 丙申 | 猴 | Year of Bing Shen (Monkey) | | 2017 | 丁酉 | 鸡 | Year of Ding You (Rooster) | | 2018 | 戊戌 | 狗 | Year of Wu Xu (Dog) | | 2019 | 己亥 | 猪 | Year of Ji Hai (Pig) | | 2020 | 庚子 | 鼠 | Year of Geng Zi (Rat) | | 2021 | 辛丑 | 牛 | Year of Xin Chou (Ox) | | 2022 | 壬寅 | 虎 | Year of Ren Yin (Tiger) | | 2023 | 癸卯 | 兔 | Year of Gui Mao (Rabbit) | | 2024 | 甲辰 | 龙 | Year of Jia Chen (Dragon) | | 2025 | 乙巳 | 蛇 | Year of Yi Si (Snake) |

你可以找一找你的出生年份，看看你是什么年出生的，对应什么小生肖呀？比如你是2023年出生的，就是兔宝宝，2022年就是虎宝宝，是不是很简单？

> You can find your birth year and see what year and what little zodiac animal you are. For example, if you were born in 2023, you are a baby rabbit; if you were born in 2022, you are a baby tiger. Isn't it very simple?

1.2.2 第二个台阶：月柱——告诉你哪一月出生

月柱就是记录你出生月份的，古人把一年分成12个月，每个月都对应了一个固定的地支，就像每个月都有一个专属的“月份小名”哦。这里的月份不是我们平时说的农历正月、二月，是根据“节气”来分的，比如立春到惊蛰之间是“寅月”，惊蛰到清明之间是“卯月”，你不用记具体的节气时间哦，只要记住月份和地支的对应关系就好啦！

> The second step: Month Pillar — tells you which month you were born. > The Month Pillar records the month you were born. Ancient people divided the year into 12 months, and each month corresponds to a fixed Earthly Branch, just like each month has an exclusive "month nickname". The month here is not the Lunar January or February we usually talk about, but it is divided according to the "24 solar terms". For example, the time between the Start of Spring and the Awakening of Insects is "Yin Month", and the time between the Awakening of Insects and the Pure Brightness is "Mao Month". You don't need to remember the specific time of the solar terms, just remember the corresponding relationship between the month and the Earthly Branch.

而且呀，月柱的地支刚好对应12生肖，和你出生年份的地支是一样的，比如你出生在寅月，就是虎月，卯月就是兔月，辰月就是龙月，是不是和你记生肖的方法一样呀？比如5月20日出生的小朋友，一般是在“巳月”，也就是蛇月哦，是不是很好记？

> Moreover, the Earthly Branch of the Month Pillar corresponds to the 12 zodiac animals, which is the same as the Earthly Branch of your birth year. For example, if you are born in Yin Month, it is the Month of the Tiger; if you are born in Mao Month, it is the Month of the Rabbit; if you are born in Chen Month, it is the Month of the Dragon. Isn't it the same as the way you remember the zodiac? For example, children born on May 20 are generally in "Si Month", which is the Month of the Snake. Isn't it easy to remember?

月份和生肖对应小口诀（可配儿歌音频，电子版点击可播放）

> 正月虎月立春到，二月兔月惊蛰吵， > 三月龙月清明到，四月蛇月立夏闹， > 五月马月小满到，六月羊月芒种笑， > 七月猴月小暑到，八月鸡月立秋跳， > 九月狗月白露到，十月猪月寒来到， > 十一月鼠月大雪到，十二月牛月小寒跑。 > English rhyme for months and zodiacs: > January is Tiger Month, Spring starts to play, > February is Rabbit Month, insects wake to sway, > March is Dragon Month, clear and bright is here, > April is Snake Month, summer brings warm cheer, > May is Horse Month, grain full and bright, > June is Goat Month, grain in ear takes flight, > July is Monkey Month, minor heat arrives, > August is Rooster Month, autumn start thrives, > September is Dog Month, white dew falls slow, > October is Pig Month, cold air starts to blow, > November is Rat Month, heavy snow comes down, > December is Ox Month, minor cold comes around.

1.2.3 第三个台阶：日柱——告诉你具体出生日期

日柱就是记录你出生那天的日期啦，比如你5月20日出生，那这一天的干支就是你的日柱，比如刚才说的5月20日的日柱是「甲戌」，前面的“甲”是日干，后面的“戌”是日支，戌对应的生肖是狗，所以5月20日也是狗日哦。

> The third step: Day Pillar — tells you the exact date you were born. > The Day Pillar records the date you were born. For example, if you were born on May 20, then the Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch of that day is your Day Pillar. For example, the Day Pillar of May 20 we mentioned earlier is 「Jia Xu」. The front "Jia" is the Day Stem, and the back "Xu" is the Day Branch. "Xu" corresponds to the Dog in the Chinese zodiac, so May 20 is also the Day of the Dog.

这里有个超级有趣的小秘密哦：你出生的那一天，日支对应的生肖，和你本命的生肖（就是年支的生肖）是什么关系，古人会叫“日支合生肖”或者“日支冲生肖”，不过你不用记这些复杂的名词哦，只要知道日柱就是你出生的那天的专属时间代号就好啦！

> There is a super interesting little secret here: what is the relationship between the zodiac animal corresponding to th