十二運星은 淮南子 ｢천문훈｣에서 地支 三合의 초기 형태로 보이기 시작하여 白虎通義 의 ‘王相休囚死’ 이론을 거쳐 五行大義에 이르러 오늘날과 유사한 내용으로 정리가 되었다. 五行大義는 ｢論生死所｣에서 地支의 五行이 죽고 사는 장소를 말하는데, 土의 生 死所를 季夏說과 四季說 두 가지로 나누어 기술하고, 사계설을 다시 辰戌丑未의 四土別로 다르게 설명한 것이 특징이다. 旺相休囚死 이론은 인생의 旺衰를 계절적 변화에 빗대어 다 섯 단계로 압축한 것인데, 淮南子 ｢천문훈｣에서는 地支‧三合을 生壯死의 3단계로 표현했 고, ｢지형훈｣에서는 五行의 왕상휴수사를 ‘壯生老囚死’의 5단계로 설명했다. 이후 白虎 通義에서 최초로 ‘王相休囚死’라는 명칭을 사용하여 현재와 비슷한 형태가 되었다. 五 行大義는 ｢論四時休王｣에서 五行과 干支의 休王을 季夏를 포함한 다섯 계절로 비유하고, 八卦의 休王을 8개의 절기에 빗대어 표현함으로써 왕상휴수사의 이치를 설명하고자 했다. 오행대의에서 정리된 두 이론은 후대의 여러 명리서에 적용되어, 오늘날 사람의 운명과 육친 관계를 파악하는데 중요한 요소로 작용하고 있다.

The concept of the Twelve Life Stage Stars (十二運星) first began to appear in the Tianwenxun (Heavenly Patterns Chapter, 天文訓) of the Huainanzi (淮南子), where it was expressed as an early form of the Earthly Branches’ Three Combinations (地支三合). It later developed through the Baihu Tongyi (白虎通義) and was eventually systematized into a form similar to its modern version in the Wuxing Dayi (五行大義). In the section “On Places of Life and Death” (論生死所) in the Wuxing Dayi, the text describes the places where the Five Elements (五行) within the Earthly Branches live and die. In particular, the element Earth (土) is discussed using two different interpretations: the Season of Late Summer theory (季夏說) and the Four Seasons theory (四季說). The latter is further elaborated by distinguishing the four Earth Branches—Chen (辰), Xu (戌), Chou (丑), and Wei (未)—each as representing a different form of Earth. The theory of Wang-Xiang-Xiu-Qiu-Si (旺相休囚死), which represents the rise and decline of a person’s life in five stages, draws an analogy to seasonal changes. In the Tianwenxun of the Huainanzi, the Three Combinations of the Earthly Branches are represented as a three-stage process: birth, flourishing, and death (生壯死). In the Dixingxun (地形訓), the Five Elements undergo a five-stage process described as flourishing, birth, aging, confinement, and death (壯生老囚死). The term Wang-Xiang-Xiu-Qiu-Si was formally introduced for the first time in the Baihu Tongyi, marking the beginning of its standardized usage. In the section “On the Rest and Prosperity of the Four Seasons” (論四時休王) in the Wuxing Dayi, the stages of rest and prosperity for the Five Elements and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (干 支) are compared to five seasons, including the season of Late Summer. The text further explains these stages by associating the rest and prosperity of the Eight Trigrams (八卦) with eight solar periods, thereby offering a deeper philosophical explanation of the Wang-Xiang-Xiu-Qiu-Si theory. The two theories as structured in the Wuxing Dayi were subsequently applied in various fortune-telling and metaphysical texts of later generations and have become important elements in analyzing human destiny in contemporary mingli (fate calculation) practices.

국문 초록
Ⅰ. 서론
Ⅱ. 십이운성의 전개 과정
Ⅲ. 오행대의의 십이운성
Ⅳ. 오행대의의 왕상휴수사
Ⅴ. 결론
<참고문헌>

• 안소윤(성균관대학교 유학동양한국철학과 박사과정) | SoYoon Ahn (Ph.D. Candidate in Confucian and Eastern Korean Philosophy, Sungkyunkwan University)