BaZi Calculation Benchmark: 12 Test Cases with Expected Results
Use these twelve cases to check any BaZi calculator, including FateSign's. Each one lists the exact input, every time correction, the expected Four Pillars, and what a different convention would produce.
How to use the benchmark
- Enter the input of a case into the calculator you want to check, with the same birthplace.
- Compare its Four Pillars with the expected result.
- If they differ, look at the "Different rule" line: it usually names the convention that calculator follows.
All cases at a glance
| Case | Input (local clock time) | Expected pillars (year month day hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Baseline | 2000-03-15 12:00 · Shanghai, China | 庚辰 己卯 壬申 丙午 |
| 2. True Solar Time changes the hour | 1995-06-10 13:30 · Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China | 乙亥 壬午 壬申 丙午 |
| 3. True Solar Time changes the day | 2001-09-20 01:30 · Kashgar, Xinjiang, China | 辛巳 丁酉 乙酉 丁亥 |
| 4. China's daylight saving (1986–1991) | 1988-07-15 07:30 · Beijing, China | 戊辰 己未 辛未 辛卯 |
| 5. Taiwan's historical daylight saving | 1979-07-15 07:30 · Taipei, Taiwan | 己未 辛未 癸未 乙卯 |
| 6. Late Zi hour (23:00–24:00) | 2010-04-15 23:30 · Shanghai, China | 庚寅 庚辰 乙未 戊子 |
| 7. Minutes before Li Chun | 2024-02-04 16:00 · Beijing, China | 癸卯 乙丑 戊戌 庚申 |
| 8. After Li Chun, before Lunar New Year | 2024-02-04 17:00 · Beijing, China | 甲辰 丙寅 戊戌 庚申 |
| 9. New York in summer time | 1990-07-04 09:30 · New York, United States | 庚午 壬午 庚午 庚辰 |
| 10. Sydney, Southern Hemisphere | 1995-01-15 09:30 · Sydney, Australia | 甲戌 丁丑 丙午 壬辰 |
| 11. Hour unknown | 1990-05-15 time unknown · Beijing, China | 庚午 辛巳 庚辰 — |
| 12. Lunar leap month | lunar 2023, leap month 2, day 10 10:00 · Beijing, China | 癸卯 乙卯 戊子 丁巳 |
Cases in detail
1. Baseline
2000-03-15 12:00 · Shanghai, China
- What it checks
- No boundary is crossed, so every correct calculator should agree.
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+08:00 · no daylight saving
- True Solar Time
- −3.2 min (121.47°)
- Time used for the chart
- 11:56
- Expected pillars
- 庚辰 己卯 壬申 丙午
2. True Solar Time changes the hour
1995-06-10 13:30 · Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
- What it checks
- Ürümqi lies about 32° west of the Beijing time meridian, so local solar time runs about two hours behind the clock.
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+08:00 · no daylight saving
- True Solar Time
- −128.9 min (87.61°)
- Time used for the chart
- 11:21
- Expected pillars
- 乙亥 壬午 壬申 丙午
- Different rule
- Without True Solar Time: hour pillar 丁未
- Different rule
- If the clock time is Xinjiang time (UTC+6): hour pillar 丁未
3. True Solar Time changes the day
2001-09-20 01:30 · Kashgar, Xinjiang, China
- What it checks
- In Kashgar a birth shortly after midnight on the clock falls on the previous solar day.
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+08:00 · no daylight saving
- True Solar Time
- −169.1 min (75.99°)
- Time used for the chart
- 2001-09-19 22:40
- Expected pillars
- 辛巳 丁酉 乙酉 丁亥
- Different rule
- Without True Solar Time: day pillar 丙戌, hour pillar 己丑
- Different rule
- If the clock time is Xinjiang time (UTC+6): day pillar 丙戌, hour pillar 戊子
4. China's daylight saving (1986–1991)
1988-07-15 07:30 · Beijing, China
- What it checks
- Clocks ran one hour ahead in summer; the hour must be taken back to standard time first.
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+09:00 · daylight saving in effect
- True Solar Time
- −20.2 min (116.41°)
- Time used for the chart
- 06:09
- Expected pillars
- 戊辰 己未 辛未 辛卯
- Different rule
- Without the daylight-saving correction: hour pillar 壬辰
5. Taiwan's historical daylight saving
1979-07-15 07:30 · Taipei, Taiwan
- What it checks
- Taiwan used summer time in several years up to 1979; the time-zone history decides it, not the place alone.
- Time zone
- Asia/Taipei · UTC+09:00 · daylight saving in effect
- True Solar Time
- +0.5 min (121.56°)
- Time used for the chart
- 06:30
- Expected pillars
- 己未 辛未 癸未 乙卯
- Different rule
- Without the daylight-saving correction: hour pillar 丙辰
6. Late Zi hour (23:00–24:00)
2010-04-15 23:30 · Shanghai, China
- What it checks
- FateSign keeps the day pillar on the calendar day and takes the hour stem from the next day.
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+08:00 · no daylight saving
- True Solar Time
- +5.5 min (121.47°)
- Time used for the chart
- 23:35
- Expected pillars
- 庚寅 庚辰 乙未 戊子
- Different rule
- If the day changes at 23:00: day pillar 丙申, hour pillar 戊子
7. Minutes before Li Chun
2024-02-04 16:00 · Beijing, China
- What it checks
- Li Chun 2024 began at 16:27 Beijing time, so 16:00 still belongs to the previous BaZi year and month.
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+08:00 · no daylight saving
- True Solar Time
- −28.7 min (116.41°)
- Time used for the chart
- 15:31
- Expected pillars
- 癸卯 乙丑 戊戌 庚申
8. After Li Chun, before Lunar New Year
2024-02-04 17:00 · Beijing, China
- What it checks
- The year pillar changes at Li Chun, not at Lunar New Year (10 February 2024).
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+08:00 · no daylight saving
- True Solar Time
- −28.7 min (116.41°)
- Time used for the chart
- 16:31
- Expected pillars
- 甲辰 丙寅 戊戌 庚申
- Different rule
- If the year changes at Lunar New Year: year pillar 癸卯
9. New York in summer time
1990-07-04 09:30 · New York, United States
- What it checks
- A birth abroad uses the local time zone and its daylight-saving history, never Beijing time.
- Time zone
- America/New_York · UTC-04:00 · daylight saving in effect
- True Solar Time
- −0.3 min (-74.01°)
- Time used for the chart
- 08:29
- Expected pillars
- 庚午 壬午 庚午 庚辰
- Different rule
- Without the daylight-saving correction: hour pillar 辛巳
10. Sydney, Southern Hemisphere
1995-01-15 09:30 · Sydney, Australia
- What it checks
- Summer time is removed and the solar-term order is kept; the month is not flipped by season.
- Time zone
- Australia/Sydney · UTC+11:00 · daylight saving in effect
- True Solar Time
- −4.2 min (151.21°)
- Time used for the chart
- 08:25
- Expected pillars
- 甲戌 丁丑 丙午 壬辰
- Different rule
- Without the daylight-saving correction: hour pillar 癸巳
- Different rule
- Schools that flip seasons in the Southern Hemisphere read the Chou month as a Wei month; FateSign does not.
11. Hour unknown
1990-05-15 time unknown · Beijing, China
- What it checks
- Only three pillars can be calculated; True Solar Time does not apply.
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+09:00 · daylight saving in effect
- True Solar Time
- not applied (hour unknown)
- Expected pillars
- 庚午 辛巳 庚辰 —
12. Lunar leap month
lunar 2023, leap month 2, day 10 10:00 · Beijing, China
- What it checks
- A lunar date in the leap 2nd month of 2023 converts to 31 March, a month after the regular 2nd month.
- Gregorian date
- 2023-03-31
- Time zone
- Asia/Shanghai · UTC+08:00 · no daylight saving
- True Solar Time
- −18.9 min (116.41°)
- Time used for the chart
- 09:41
- Expected pillars
- 癸卯 乙卯 戊子 丁巳
- Different rule
- If read as the regular 2nd month (1 March 2023): year pillar 癸卯, month pillar 甲寅, day pillar 戊午, hour pillar 丁巳
Conventions behind the expected results
- Clock time is converted with the birthplace's historical time-zone and daylight-saving rules (IANA tz data).
- Places in Xinjiang read the clock time as Beijing time, China's only legal time; true solar time still uses the local longitude.
- True Solar Time = standard time + 4 minutes per degree of longitude from the zone meridian + the equation of time.
- The year changes at the instant of Li Chun and each month at its Jie solar term, compared to the second. Checked against NASA JPL Horizons, Li Chun 2024 differs by about 2 seconds.
- 23:00–24:00 is the late Zi hour: the day pillar stays on the calendar day.
- Southern Hemisphere births keep the standard solar-term order.
How the results are verified
Every expected result was recalculated with sources independent of the FateSign engine: ICU time-zone data, the NOAA equation of time, the lunar-javascript calendar library and NASA JPL Horizons. An automated check runs all twelve cases against the production calculator every day; the date at the top is the last time they were confirmed by hand.
Download and cite
All cases are available as JSON, including the exact API request body for each one. You may reuse them under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.
Try any case in the free calculator, or enter your own birth details.