Fu Yin and Fan Yin — Repeated and Reversed Pillars

Repetition and reversal (伏吟 · 反吟) describe two ways an incoming stem-branch pair can stand to a pair already in the chart. Repetition is exact recurrence — the incoming pillar is identical to one already present. Reversal is the opposite case, where both the stem and the branch of the incoming pair clash with those of an existing pillar. Neither names a fixed set of pairs: both are comparisons, so what counts depends on the chart being compared against.

For that reason this site publishes no lookup table for them. The comparison is made pillar by pillar during the reading. Where only the stem or only the branch matches, the effect is treated as weaker than a full match; where only the branches clash, that is an ordinary six clash and is not read as a reversal.

⚠️ On provenance this entry is deliberately thin. The full Ziping Zhenquan held on file contains no chapter on either term, and where it enumerates branch relations it names punishment, clash, trinity and harmony. The two names circulate through oral formulae.

Worked example. In the example chart below the year and day pillars are both 甲寅, so the repetition is present in the natal chart itself, with no incoming pillar needed.

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