The 81 numbers table (數理)
When the name builder scores a Chinese name, it adds up the stroke counts of the surname and the given name, as counted in the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典), into the Five Grids (五格). Each grid number is looked up in a table of 81 numbers, and the table says one thing about each number: auspicious or not. This page prints that table exactly as the engine holds it.
35 of the 81 numbers are marked auspicious (吉) and 46 are not. The verdicts follow a modern naming-school convention. The engine cites no classical text for them, and neither does this page.
The table
Find a grid number in the first column. The second column is the element of its last digit, which is what the Three Talents (三才) score reads. The third column is the verdict the name builder uses.
| Number | Element of the last digit | Verdict in the name builder |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 木 Wood | 吉 auspicious |
| 2 | 木 | 凶/平 not auspicious |
| 3 | 火 Fire | 吉 |
| 4 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 5 | 土 Earth | 吉 |
| 6 | 土 | 吉 |
| 7 | 金 | 吉 |
| 8 | 金 | 吉 |
| 9 | 水 Water | 凶/平 |
| 10 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 11 | 木 | 吉 |
| 12 | 木 | 凶/平 |
| 13 | 火 | 吉 |
| 14 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 15 | 土 | 吉 |
| 16 | 土 | 吉 |
| 17 | 金 | 吉 |
| 18 | 金 | 吉 |
| 19 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 20 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 21 | 木 | 吉 |
| 22 | 木 | 凶/平 |
| 23 | 火 | 吉 |
| 24 | 火 | 吉 |
| 25 | 土 | 吉 |
| 26 | 土 | 凶/平 |
| 27 | 金 | 凶/平 |
| 28 | 金 | 凶/平 |
| 29 | 水 | 吉 |
| 30 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 31 | 木 | 吉 |
| 32 | 木 | 吉 |
| 33 | 火 | 吉 |
| 34 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 35 | 土 | 吉 |
| 36 | 土 | 凶/平 |
| 37 | 金 | 吉 |
| 38 | 金 | 凶/平 |
| 39 | 水 | 吉 |
| 40 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 41 | 木 | 吉 |
| 42 | 木 | 凶/平 |
| 43 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 44 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 45 | 土 | 吉 |
| 46 | 土 | 凶/平 |
| 47 | 金 | 吉 |
| 48 | 金 | 吉 |
| 49 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 50 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 51 | 木 | 凶/平 |
| 52 | 木 | 吉 |
| 53 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 54 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 55 | 土 | 凶/平 |
| 56 | 土 | 凶/平 |
| 57 | 金 | 吉 |
| 58 | 金 | 凶/平 |
| 59 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 60 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 61 | 木 | 吉 |
| 62 | 木 | 凶/平 |
| 63 | 火 | 吉 |
| 64 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 65 | 土 | 吉 |
| 66 | 土 | 凶/平 |
| 67 | 金 | 吉 |
| 68 | 金 | 吉 |
| 69 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 70 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 71 | 木 | 凶/平 |
| 72 | 木 | 凶/平 |
| 73 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 74 | 火 | 凶/平 |
| 75 | 土 | 凶/平 |
| 76 | 土 | 凶/平 |
| 77 | 金 | 凶/平 |
| 78 | 金 | 凶/平 |
| 79 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 80 | 水 | 凶/平 |
| 81 | 木 | 吉 |
Key to the verdicts
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 吉 | Auspicious |
| 凶/平 | Not auspicious. The engine does not separate adverse from neutral. |
Key to the elements
| Last digit of the number | Element |
|---|---|
| 1 or 2 | 木 Wood |
| 3 or 4 | 火 Fire |
| 5 or 6 | 土 Earth |
| 7 or 8 | 金 |
| 9 or 0 | 水 Water |
How a name uses the table
The builder takes the Kangxi stroke count of each character and forms the five grids. The table below shows how each grid is formed for a one-character surname and a two-character given name, and how many of the 25 points the Five Grids carry each grid is worth. A grid scores its points when its number is auspicious and nothing otherwise.
| Grid | How it is formed | Points, two-character given name | Points, one-character given name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 天格 Heaven grid | The surname strokes plus 1 | Not scored | Not scored |
| 人格 Person grid | The surname strokes plus the first given-name character | 8 | 15 |
| 地格 Earth grid | The two given-name characters added together | 7 | 10 |
| 外格 Outer grid | The second given-name character plus 1 | 3 | Not scored |
| 總格 Total grid | All three characters added together | 7 | Not scored |
Two invented names show the whole path. Each grid is shown with its number and its verdict.
| Name | Kangxi strokes (surname + given) | 天格 Heaven grid | 人格 Person grid | 地格 Earth grid | 外格 Outer grid | 總格 Total grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 王大明 | 4 + 3 + 8 | 5 吉 | 7 吉 | 11 吉 | 9 凶/平 | 15 吉 |
| 李小华 | 7 + 3 + 14 | 8 吉 | 10 凶/平 | 17 吉 | 15 吉 | 24 吉 |
李小华 is counted as 李小華, because the Kangxi count is on the traditional form: 华 is counted as 華, 14 strokes.
How the page stays true to the engine
Every row is produced by calling the engine function that the name builder calls for the same number, and a test regenerates the page from the engine.
The test fails if a single cell differs, so a change to the engine's verdicts cannot reach the page unnoticed.
What this table is not
- Not a classical table. The auspicious set is a modern naming-school convention. The method page records it as a two-state scale, auspicious or not, until a cited finer table is adopted.
- Not a finer reading. Some schools add a middle band, or attach a poem and a fortune to each number. The name builder uses neither, and this page does not publish them.
- Not a verdict on a person. It judges a number. Five Grids carry 31.25 of the 100 points in a name score, and the other parts are described in the guide to how names are scored, not here.
- Not tested against outcomes. Nothing links a verdict here to anything that happens to a person. The only check is that this page shows the list the engine uses.
- Not open-ended. The table stops at 81. For a larger grid number, the engine subtracts 81 until the result is between 1 and 81.