An unusually simple system
稱骨算命 — “weighing the bones” — is the most arithmetically simple of the classical methods, and the most poetic. Each birth year carries a weight, as does each lunar month, each day and each double-hour. The four are summed, and the total, expressed in 兩 (taels) and 錢 (mace), is matched to a verse.
The verses run from 2 兩 1 錢 to 7 兩 2 錢. They are blunt in a way modern readings rarely are: some promise office and wealth, others describe a life of effort with late reward.
What the weight does and does not mean
A heavier weight traditionally indicates a more fortunate life. But the method is far coarser than BaZi — it uses your lunar birth date, not your solar chart, and it cannot distinguish between people born in the same hour of the same day.
Read it as a folk verdict with real cultural history, not as a substitute for a full chart. It is very good at giving you a memorable, quotable line about your life. It is not good at telling you what to do next Tuesday.
Lunar conversion
The calculation requires your lunar birth date, which is where most online versions of this tool go wrong. Enter your ordinary solar birth date and the conversion is done for you against a verified table covering 1920–2039, including leap months.
Common questions
Why is my weight different on another site?
Almost always a lunar conversion error, or a site that skipped the hour weight. Check that the lunar date shown matches your known lunar birthday.
Is a light bone weight bad?
It is not a verdict on your worth. Several of the lighter verses describe self-made lives — effort early, reward later. The tradition treats a light weight as a description of the starting conditions, not the finish.
What does the paid annotation add?
The four pillar weights shown individually, the full classical verse in Chinese with a faithful English translation, and a line-by-line interpretation covering early life, career and wealth, family, and later years.