Using the Tong Sheng: A Practical Guide to the Chinese Almanac

What Is the Tong Sheng?

The Tong Sheng (通勝), also written as Tung Shu, is the Chinese almanac — a detailed calendar that has been compiled annually for thousands of years. It is used to identify auspicious and inauspicious days for important activities, including weddings, business openings, moving house, signing contracts, funerals, haircuts, medical procedures, and more.

In Singapore, Tong Sheng is widely consulted for major life events, particularly weddings and the selection of an auspicious ROM date. Many families also use it to find good days to commence renovation works or to start a new business.

How the Tong Sheng Works

Each day in the Tong Sheng is annotated with information derived from the Chinese calendar system. The key elements are:

• The Day Officers (建除十二神) — a cycle of twelve day types including Establish, Remove, Full, Balance, Stable, Initiate, Destroy, Danger, Success, Receive, Open, and Close. Each type is favourable for different activities.
• The 28 Lunar Mansions (二十八宿) — constellations associated with different qualities for each day.
• Clash and Harm days — days that clash with specific animal zodiac signs or carry particular cautions.
• Yearly and Monthly Sha (煞) — inauspicious directions to avoid during that period.

Reading a Tong Sheng Entry

A typical daily entry will list the activities favoured (宜, yí) and those to avoid (忌, jì). For example, a day marked as favourable for marriage and unfavourable for construction works is telling you that the Qi configuration of that day supports union but not ground-breaking.

However, it is important to understand that the Tong Sheng provides general guidance for the population as a whole. A more precise selection — especially for important events like weddings — involves cross-referencing the chosen date against the BaZi charts of the people involved to ensure there are no personal clashes.

Learning to Use the Tong Sheng

Master Yi Xin teaches a dedicated Tong Sheng course in Singapore covering how to read and apply the almanac accurately. It is a practical four-session course suitable for beginners and for those who already have a foundation in BaZi. View the Tong Sheng course details.