Abing

Abing, originally named Hua Yanjun, was a native of Wuxi, Jiangsu. He was a renowned modern Chinese folk musician and Daoist priest. From a young age he studied Daoist music and mastered instruments such as the erhu and pipa, gaining fame in his youth. Yet his life was filled with hardship; after losing his sight, he wandered the streets performing for a living. His compositions, including "Erquan Yingyue" (Moon Reflected on Second Spring) and "Ting Song" (Listening to the Pines), have become treasures of Chinese folk music. This article combines Abing's BaZi chart to deeply analyze his tragic fate and a life of extraordinary artistic achievement.

BaZi Chart

BaZi Analysis

Abing's Four Pillars are Gui Si, Geng Shen, Bing Xu, and Ji Hai. The Day Master Bing Fire was born in the Shen month; with the Wealth element holding the Month Command (De Ling), he was undeniably a weak Day Master (Shen Ruo). The Year Pillar's Gui Water Direct Officer (Zheng Guan) revealed itself in the heavenly stems, the Month Pillar's Geng Shen held a strong and prosperous Indirect Wealth (Pian Cai) in dual Metal, and the Hour Pillar's Ji Earth Hurting Officer (Shang Guan) sits atop Hai Water Seven Killings (Qi Sha). The entire chart saw heavy Wealth, Officer, and Killings draining and countering the Day Master. His only roots were the Si Fire in the Year Branch and the Ding Fire hidden in the Xu of the Day Branch. However, the Si combined with Shen to form Water, and the Xu Earth drained Fire, leaving his foundation unstable—portending a life of immense pressure, where both body and spirit were subjected to severe torment.

Core Analysis

The core of Abing's chart lies in the combination of the Hurting Officer and the Wealth stars. The Hour Stem Ji Earth Hurting Officer represents his extraordinary artistic talent and a channel for venting his emotions. However, with the Hurting Officer meeting Direct Officer (Shang Guan Jian Guan) (the Gui Water), and sitting atop Seven Killings, his artistic path was destined to be fraught with hardship and defiance. In his youth, he moved through Luck Pillars (Da Yun) of Eating God (Shi Shen) and Rob Wealth (Jie Cai) / Friend (Bi Jian), refining his skills and rising to sudden fame. Entering the Bing Chen Luck Pillar (1927–1936), the Annual Pillar (Liu Nian) of Wu Chen (1928) arrived simultaneously; the heavy Earth obscured Fire, and the prosperous Water countered the Day Master. This led to his loss of sight, causing his life to take a drastic turn for the worse. Nevertheless, it was precisely this extreme tribulation that stimulated the creative energy of the Hurting Officer, allowing him to compose a profoundly sorrowful and deeply moving movement like "Erquan Yingyue" amidst his destitution.

Trait Analysis

1. Artistic Spirituality: With the Hurting Officer revealed in the heavenly stems and the Eating God hidden within, the chart denotes supreme musical gifts and creativity. The Hurting Officer governs the outpouring of talent, lending his works a rich emotional depth that strikes directly at the heart.
2. Unyielding Resilience: Although the Day Master Bing Fire was weak, it retained a root, symbolizing his inner light and resilience. Facing the overwhelming suppression of Wealth, Officer, and Seven Killings, he still managed to survive by performing on the streets, holding fast to his artistic integrity. This embodies the unyielding nature of Fire.
3. Tragic Undertones: The chart shows prosperous Wealth with a weak Day Master, and the Hurting Officer sitting atop Killings, bringing endless tribulations throughout his life—most notably the disaster of blindness. This profound experience of suffering became the wellspring of his artistic creation, filling his works with a sense of desolation and strength.
4. Restless Wandering: The Month Pillar's Indirect Wealth and the Hour Branch's Seven Killings (Hai Water) carry the symbolic star (Shen Sha) image of the Post Horse, combined with the Day Master's unstable root. This foretells a life of much turbulence and change, wandering from the Daoist temple to the streets, from Wuxi to Shanghai, with a career path marked by drifting.

Life Timeline

1. 1897: His loving mother died early, leaving him orphaned in his childhood. This year, Abing was in the Ji Wei Hurting Officer Luck Pillar, and the Annual Pillar was Ding You. In BaZi, the Year Pillar Gui Si represents the mother's palace. The Annual Pillar's heavenly stem Ding Fire Rob Wealth directly clashed and countered the Year Stem Gui Water Direct Officer (representing the mother and elders); this is known as "Rob Wealth seizing Officer," a strong signal of harm to a close relative. At the same time, the Annual Branch You Metal, the chart's Month Branch Shen Metal, and Day Branch Xu Earth formed a directional frame (Hui Ju) of Metal. Metal served as his unfavorable element (Ji Shen); its energy was exceptionally strong, severely draining the vitality of the Day Master Bing Fire and exacerbating the imbalance of prosperous Wealth and a weak Day Master. The Luck Pillar's branch Wei Earth formed a punishment (Xing) with the Day Branch Xu Earth, bringing punishment into the Day Pillar (the palace of self and family) and intensifying domestic unease and turmoil. The Luck Pillar also carried the symbolic star Mourning Gate, further indicating the sorrow of mourning attire. The compounding of multiple ominous signs resulted in the pain of losing his mother at a young age.

2. 1901: He returned to the Daoist temple and began his early education. At the age of eight, Hua Yanjun was taken back by his father to the Dongxu Palace in Wuxi, where he entered a private school to study. He was formally given the school name Yanjun and addressed his father in the capacity of "master and apprentice," forever altering the trajectory of his life.

3. 1904: Enlightenment in Daoist music, setting sail on the sea of art. Around the age of eleven, under his father's guidance, Hua Yanjun began systematically studying traditional culture and musical instruments, laying the initial foundation for his future as a master of folk music.

4. 1905: Temple enlightenment, musical foundations established. When Abing was ten, he formally followed his father in the temple to systematically study folk instruments such as the erhu, pipa, sanxian, and flute, and he began participating in ritual ceremonies, establishing his profound musical foundation.

5. 1912: The handsome "Little Heavenly Master" spreads his wings in the music world. At the age of nineteen, relying on his handsome appearance and superb skills, Hua Yanjun began to make a name for himself in Wuxi's Daoist music circles. He was affectionately dubbed the "Little Heavenly Master" by the public, officially launching his career as a professional musician.

6. 1918: Taking over the Leizun Hall to continue his father's legacy. After his father Hua Qinghe passed away from illness, Abing officially succeeded him as the presiding priest of Wuxi's Leizun Hall, beginning to fully manage the temple's affairs and income. His role in life underwent a major transformation.

7. 1928: Losing his sight, his life suddenly darkened. Around the age of thirty-five, due to long-term opium smoking and contracting syphilis from prostitutes, he lost the sight in both eyes successively. From then on, he could no longer serve as a Daoist priest, and the trajectory of his life was completely and utterly changed.

8. 1929: First strains of marital harmony, marrying Dong Caidi. Abing married Dong Caidi, a woman from a farming village in Jiangyin (later research revealed that his actual live-in partner was Dong Cuidi), opening a significant chapter of companionship in his life.

9. 1933: Finding a soulmate in the cold night, pouring his heart out in "Erquan Yingyue." Abing met the widow Dong Cuidi in an opium den, and the two relied on each other to survive their hardship. This profound companionship stirred the deepest emotions within him. During this period, he began composing and performing his immortal masterpiece, "Erquan Yingyue."

10. 1938: Making a living in Shanghai, a glimmer of light appears. Because the Japanese army occupied Wuxi, Abing took refuge in Shanghai. He worked as a musician for the Kunqu opera troupe Xianni Society, playing the sanxian, and also appeared as a blind extra in the film "Seven Heavens," opening a new stage in his artistic career.