Four Pillars of Destiny

Korean: 사주; Hanja: 四柱; RR: Saju; MR: Saju

The Four Pillars of Destiny (Chinese: 四柱命理; pinyin: sìzhù mìnglǐ), also known as BaZi (Chinese: 八字; pinyin: bāzì; lit. 'eight characters'), is a Chinese astrological and calendrical system used to analyse an individual's destiny or life path based on the person's date and time of birth. The system derives its name from its core structure: four "pillars", each consisting of a pair of characters — one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch — corresponding to the year, month, day, and hour of birth. Since each pillar contains two characters, the four pillars together yield eight characters, hence the alternative name BaZi ("eight characters").

The Four Pillars system is one of the principal methods within the broader tradition of Chinese destiny calculation (命理學, mìnglǐxué) and is closely related to other Chinese metaphysical systems including feng shui, Qimen Dunjia, Zi Wei Dou Shu, and Chinese astrology. The system remains widely practised in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and among Chinese diaspora communities. Regional variants are practised in Korea (where it is known as Saju, 사주) and Japan (where it is known as Shichū Suimei, 四柱推命).