Day Pillar – 1901, 1902, 1903?

Hi there,
If the year is 1901, 1902, 1903 do we assume (0) zero for year divided by 4?
Many thanks!

Thank you for your question! The Day Pillar calculation is the most confusing one of the lot 🙂

The short answer: Yes!

The long answer: For those just stopping by, here is the Day Pillar formula (from pages 62 & 66 of the print version):

DP Formula: DP=R of [(*Yx5)+(*Y/4)+9+*D+BM + I] / 60

DP = Day Pillar
R = Remainder
*Y = last two digits of the birth year (if born 1900–1999)
*Y = last two digits of the birth year + 100 (if born 2000–present)
**Y = Y – 1 when the person is born in January or February *D = day of birth (for clinical accuracy, I recommend using the “early Zi 子 method”; see Sample Exercise 9)
BM = number of big months passed (see Day Pillar and Gregorian Calendar table)
I = 30 if the month is “even” and I = 0 if the month is “odd” (see Using the Gregorian Calendar in Day Pillar Calculations)

Without having the day or month, I won’t be able to plug in all the numbers needed to get the final answer, but I don’t need that information to address your question. I think it will help to see the numbers plugged in – I’ll randomly use 1902 for the example.

DP = R of [(2X5) + (2/4) + 9 + D + BM + I]/60

So what do we do with the “2/4” part of the equation, the number that is not a whole number? For any number less than one in this equation, use 0.

DP = R of [10 + 0 + 9 + D + BM + I]/60

I hope this helps!