Commentary: This part of the Meihua Yishu briefly discusses what each trigram can represent, and also gives examples of divination, showing how a divination scenario might play out.
Method of Material Object Divination (Posterior Heaven Method of Generating Hexagrams)
Posterior Heaven Method: Use the object as the upper trigram, the direction as the lower trigram, and combine the numbers of the object trigram and direction trigram with the time number to determine the changing line.
Commentary: Use the method in the previous page to combine to learn how to combine the numbers.
Classifications of the Eight Trigrams and Myriad Things (All for Upper Trigram)
Qian: Heaven, father, elderly man, officials and nobility, head, bones, horse, gold and treasures, pearls and jade, fruits, round objects, crown, mirror, hard objects, bright red color, cold water.
Kun: Earth, mother, elderly woman, soil, ox, gold, cloth and silk, documents, carriages, square objects, handles, yellow color, pottery, abdomen, skirts, black color, millet and grain, books, rice, cereals.
Zhen: Thunder, eldest son, feet, hair, dragon, insects, hooves, bamboo, reeds, horse neighing, white-legged horses, white forehead, crops, musical instruments, plants and trees, blue-green colors, trees, fruit pits, firewood, snakes.
Xun: Wind, eldest daughter, monks and nuns, chickens, thighs, birds, grasses, mortar, fragrance, odors, rope, eyes, feathers, sails, fans, branches and leaves, Daoist arts and craftsmen, straight objects, skillfully crafted tools.
Kan: Water, rain, snow, laborers, pigs, middle son, ditches and channels, bows and wheels, ears, blood, moon, thieves, laws and standards, beams, thorny thickets, foxes, thistles, shackles, aquatic creatures, fish, salt, wine, preserved meats, objects with pits/cores, black color.
Li: Fire, pheasants, sun, eyes, lightning, rainbows, middle daughter, armor, weapons, documents, dead wood, furnaces, beasts, turtles, crabs, clams, all shelled creatures, red and purple colors, patterned people, dried objects.
Gen: Mountain, earth, youngest son, boy, dog, fingers, paths, gates, fruits, melons, gatekeepers, rats, tigers, foxes, black-beaked creatures, wood-grown things, vine-grown things, claws, nose, yellow color.
Dui: Marsh, youngest daughter, shamans, tongue, concubine, lungs, sheep, damaged objects, objects with mouths/openings, metal objects, defective items, servants, maids.
Commentary: For ease of reference, Qian is ☰, Kun is ☷, Zhen is ☳, Xun is ☴, Kan is ☵, Li is ☲, Gen is ☶, and Dui is ☱. If you want a more comprehensive list of what each trigram can refer to, check out the next page.
Eight Trigrams Directional Chart
Li is south, Kan is north, Zhen is east, Dui is west, with humans positioned in the center.
The Plum Blossom Divination
On the 17th day of the 12th month in the year of Chen, at the hour of Shen, Master Kang Jie happened to observe plum blossoms and saw two magpies fighting over a branch and falling to the ground. The master said: “Without movement there is no divination; without incident there is no divination. Now two magpies fight over a branch and fall to the ground—this is strange.” He therefore divined: Chen year equals 5, 12th month equals 12, 17th day equals 17, totaling 34. Dividing by 4×8=32, with a remainder of 2, this belongs to Dui, which is the upper trigram. Adding Shen hour’s 9, the total becomes 43. Dividing by 5×8=40, with a remainder of 3, this is Li, which is the lower trigram. The total of 43 divided by 6: 6×7=42, with a remainder of 1, indicates the changing line. This gives Marsh-Fire Revolution hexagram. The first line changes to Xian (咸), with nuclear trigrams of Qian and Xun visible.
The interpretation: “According to this hexagram, tomorrow evening there will be a young woman picking flowers. The gardener, unaware, will chase her. The woman will be startled and fall, injuring her thigh. Dui metal is the body, and Li fire overcomes it. Within the mutual trigrams, Xun wood again generates Li fire, making the force of the hexagrams that overcome the body vigorous. Dui represents a young woman, thus we know a woman will be injured. Within the mutual trigrams, Xun wood encounters Qian metal and Dui metal overcoming it, so Xun wood is injured. Since Xun represents the thigh, there will be an injury to the thigh. Fortunately, it changes to Gen earth, which generates Dui metal, so we know the woman will only be injured but not face mortal danger.” (Example of year-month-day-hour divination)
Commentary: Master Kang Jie (康節) refers to Shao Yong, the purported author of this text. Chen is the fifth in the order of earthly branches. Shen is ninth in the order of earthly branches. The nuclear hexagram is obtained by taking the second, third, and fourth lines of the hexagram (which makes the lower trigram), and the third, fourth, and fifth lines of the hexagram (which makes the upper trigram). Remember that the order of the hexagrams are counted bottom-up.
The Peony Divination
On the 16th day of the 3rd month in the year of Si, at the hour of Mao, the master went with guests to Mr. Sima’s home to view peonies. The flowers were blooming magnificently. A guest said: “The flowers bloom so splendidly—does this also have a number?” The master said: “Everything has a number. Moreover, because you asked, we can divine it.” He therefore divined: Si year equals 6, 3rd month equals 3, 16th day equals 16, totaling 25. Dividing by 3×8=24, the remainder is 1, which corresponds to Qian, which is the upper trigram. Mao hour equals 4, which gives a total of 29. Again dividing by 3×8=24, the remainder 5 is Xun, which is the lower trigram, giving the Heaven-Wind Encounter hexagram. Taking the total 29 and dividing by 6 (4×6=24) gives the 5th line as changing, transforming it to the Ding hexagram, with nuclear trigrams showing double Qian. He then said to the guests: “Strange indeed! Tomorrow at noon, these flowers will be trampled and destroyed by horses.” The guests were shocked and in disbelief. The next day at noon, a noble official came to view the peonies. Two horses bit each other and galloped through the flowers, completely trampling and destroying them all.
The interpretation: “Xun wood is the body, Qian metal overcomes it. The mutual trigrams also show double Qian—the hexagrams overcoming the body are many. There is no life-generating force in the hexagram, so we knew the peonies would surely be trampled and destroyed. As for horses: Qian represents horses. As for noon: it is the image of Li brightness, thus we knew this.”
Neighbor Knocking at Night to Borrow Something
On a winter evening at You hour, the master was warming himself by the fire when someone knocked at the door. Initially, there was one knock which then stopped, and then it continued with five more knocks, with the someone saying he wanted to borrow something. The master told him not to speak and had his son divine what was being borrowed. Using one sound as Qian for the upper trigram, five sounds as Xun for the lower trigram, and adding 1 (Qian) plus 5 (Xun) equals 6, plus the number of You hour gives 16 total. Dividing by 6 (2×6=12) gives the Heaven-Wind Encounter hexagram. The 4th line changes it to the Xun hexagram, with nuclear trigrams showing double Qian. In the hexagrams, there are three Qian metals and two Xun woods—this is a metal and wood object. Also, since Qian metal is short and Xun wood is long, it is an axe being borrowed.
The son divined: “Short metal and long wood is a tool—what is being borrowed is a hoe.” The master said: “No, it must be an axe.” Upon asking, it was indeed an axe being borrowed. His son asked why. The master said: “When generating numbers, one must also understand principle. Judging by the hexagram, it could be an axe or a hoe. But judging by principle, what use is a hoe in the evening? It must be an axe, as an axe is urgently needed for splitting firewood. Calculating numbers while also understanding principle is essential for divination. Calculating numbers without understanding principle will not succeed. Students of numerology should remember this!” (Example of sound divination)
How Will Today Go?
A guest asked: “How will today go?” He divined using these six characters. Taking the three characters “今日動” (today move) as the upper trigram: “今” (level tone) = 1, “日” (entering tone) = 4, “動” (departing tone) = 3, totaling 8, giving Kun as the upper trigram. Taking “靜如何” (still how) as the lower trigram: “靜” (departing tone) = 3, “如” (level tone) = 1, “何” (level tone) = 1, totaling 5, giving Xun as the lower trigram. Adding 8 and 5 equals 13. Dividing by 2×6=12, with a remainder of 1, gives the Earth-Wind Ascension hexagram. The first line changes, transforming it to the Tai hexagram, with nuclear trigrams Zhen and Dui visible. He told the guest: “Today someone will invite you. There won’t be many guests, the wine won’t make you drunk, and the food will only be millet and chicken.” By evening, it was exactly as predicted.
The interpretation: “Ascension has the meaning of ascending stairs. The mutual trigrams Zhen and Dui represent the division of east and west seating. In the hexagram, Dui is the mouth and Kun is the belly—this concerns eating and drinking, so we knew someone would invite you. Few guests because Kun earth stands alone with no similar trigram energy. Wine won’t intoxicate because there is no Kan in the hexagram. Only millet and chicken because Kun represents millet and grain. Since the hexagram has no mutual generation, we knew the wine would be limited and food not abundant.” (Example of phonetic divination)
Commentary: The tones in the above passage do not indicate with modern Mandarin. If you are interested in tones of earlier versions of Chinese, please feel free to check Wikipedia for a more in-depth discussion.
Xi Lin Temple Plaque Divination
The master happened to see the plaque at Xi Lin Temple where the character “林” was missing its two hooks. He divined: Using “西” (7 strokes) as Gen for the upper trigram, “林” (8 strokes) as Kun for the lower trigram. The upper 7 strokes plus lower 8 strokes equal 15 strokes. Dividing by 2×6=12, with a remainder of 3, this gives the Mountain-Earth Stripping hexagram. The 3rd line changes, transforming to Gen, with mutual trigrams showing double Kun.
The interpretation: “A temple is where the pure yang resides. Now the hexagram shows double yin lines with the image of multiple yin stripping yang. From this, the temple will have trouble from yin people (women).” Upon inquiry, this was confirmed. He then told the temple monk: “Why not add the two hooks to ‘林’? Then naturally there will be no trouble from yin people.” The monk believed him and immediately added the two hooks to ‘林’, and the temple indeed had no problems.
Furthermore, when a pure yang person dwells in a place that receives a pure yin hexagram, it is inauspicious. Also having the meaning of multiple yin stripping yang, there is trouble from yin people. If the two hooks are added to “林”, it becomes 10 strokes. Dividing by 8 leads to a remainder of 2, giving the Dui hexagram. Combined with Gen above, this becomes the Mountain-Marsh Decrease hexagram. The 5th line changes, moving to the Zhong Fu hexagram, with nuclear trigrams Kun and Zhen visible. Decrease leads to increase, with mutual trigrams all generating the body—an auspicious hexagram that brings peace.
The above all first obtain numbers, then use numbers to generate hexagrams—this is called the “Prior Heaven numbers.” (Example of character stroke divination)
Old Man with Worried Expression
On the day of Ji-Chou at Mao hour, while traveling on the road, an old man was seen going toward the Xun direction with a worried expression. When asked why he was worried, he said nothing was wrong. Finding this strange, a divination was performed: The old man belongs to Qian as the upper trigram, Xun direction as the lower trigram, giving the Heaven-Wind Encounter hexagram. Using Qian (1) plus Xun (5) numbers, adding Mao hour (4), totals 10. Dividing by 6, with a remainder of 4 as the changing line—Heaven-Wind Encounter, line 9-4. The Yijing says: “No fish in the bags, misfortune comes.” The text is inauspicious. Judging by the hexagram: Xun wood is the body, Qian metal overcomes it. The nuclear trigrams also show double Qian, all overcoming the body with no generating energy. Moreover, since this occurred while traveling, the response would be swift. Therefore, taking half of the hexagram number, he told the old man: “Within 5 days, be cautious in your movements, as there may be serious disaster.” Indeed, on the 5th day, this old man attended a celebratory feast and died from choking on a fish bone.
Also, in all divination, the timing of the response depends on one’s own movement and stillness to determine the speed of events. When moving, the response is swift—take half of the complete hexagram number. When sitting, the response is slow—double the complete hexagram number. When standing, half slow and half fast—just use the complete hexagram number. However, this requires flexibility. For example, in the peony and plum blossom divinations, both flowers’ events occurred within days—not because of the long hexagram numbers.
(Example of Posterior Heaven divination)
Commentary: Line 9-4 refers to the fourth line of the hexagram. The 9 portion means that the line is a yang line. Conversely, 6 denotes the line is a yin line.
Young Man with Joyful Expression
On the day of Ren-Shen at Wu hour, a young man came from the Li direction with joy on his face. When asked what happiness he had, he said none. A divination was performed: The young man belongs to Gen as the upper trigram, Li as the lower trigram, giving the Mountain-Fire Adornment hexagram. Using Gen 7 plus Li 3 plus Wu hour 7, totals 17. Dividing by 12, remainder 5 is the changing line. Bi hexagram, line 6-5 says: “Adorning the garden and hill with bundles of silk, stingy, but ultimately auspicious.” The Yijing text is already auspicious. The hexagram changes from Bi to Family, with nuclear trigrams Zhen and Kan visible. Li is the body, with mutual and changing trigrams all generating it.
The interpretation: “Within 17 days you will certainly have the joy of betrothal gifts.” At the appointed time, indeed an engagement was arranged.
Commentary: Commentary: Line 6-5 refers to the fifth line of the hexagram. The 6 portion means that the line is a yin line.
Ox Crying Mournfully
On the day of Gui-Mao at Wu hour, an ox cried from the Kan direction with an extremely mournful sound. A divination was performed: Ox belongs to Kun as the upper trigram, Kan direction as the lower trigram. Kan 6 plus Kun 8, adding Wu hour 7, totaling 21. Dividing by 3×6=18, the 3rd line changes, giving the Earth-Water Army hexagram, line 3. The Yijing says: “The army perhaps carries corpses, misfortune.” The hexagram changes from Army to Ascension, with nuclear trigrams Kun and Zhen. Kun is the body, with nuclear and changing trigrams all overcoming it, with no generating energy.
The interpretation: “This ox will certainly be slaughtered within 21 days.” After 20 days, someone indeed bought this ox and slaughtered it to feed a crowd. All were amazed.
Chicken Crying Mournfully
On the day of Jia-Shen at Mao hour, a chicken cried from the Qian direction with an extremely sorrowful sound. A divination was performed: Chicken belongs to Xun as the upper trigram, Qian direction as the lower trigram, giving the Wind-Heaven Small Accumulation hexagram. Using Xun 5 plus Qian 1 equals 6, adding Mao hour 4, totals 10. Dividing by 6, remainder 4, the line changes to Qian—Small Accumulation, line 6-4. The Yijing says: “Having confidence, blood departs, fear emerges, no blame.” This points to the meaning of slaughtering the chicken. The hexagram changes from Small Accumulation to Qian, with mutual trigrams Li and Dui visible. Qian metal is the body, Li fire overcomes it. Within the hexagram, Xun wood and Li fire suggest cooking.
The interpretation: “This chicken will be cooked in 10 days.” Indeed, on the 10th day a guest arrived and the chicken was cooked, which served as verification.
Dead Branch Falling to Ground
On the day of Wu-Zi at Chen hour, while traveling mid-journey, there was a lush tree. Without wind, a dead branch fell by itself to the ground in the Dui direction. A divination was performed: Dead wood is Li as the upper trigram, Dui direction as the lower trigram, giving the Fire-Marsh Opposition hexagram. Using Dui 2 plus Li 3, adding Chen hour 5, totals 10. Subtracting 6, remainder 4 changes from the Mountain-Marsh Decrease hexagram to the Opposition hexagram, line 9-4. The Yijing says: “Isolated in opposition, meeting a prime man.” The hexagram changes from Fire-Marsh Opposition to Decrease, with mutual trigrams Kan and Li visible. Dui metal is the body, Li fire overcomes it. Moreover, the names Opposition and Decrease both have meanings of damage and injury.
The interpretation: “This tree will be cut down in 10 days.” Indeed, on the 10th day, the tree was felled to build a pavilion, and the carpenter happened to be named “Yuan Fu” (prime man).
The above divination examples all first obtain the hexagram, then use the hexagram to generate numbers—this is called “Posterior Heaven numbers.”
Comementary: The characters of prime man in the Yijing are 元夫. The passage also says the name of the carpenter who cut down the tree is 元夫. Plum Blossom Numerology was also said to have predicted the name of Ito Hirobumi’s assassin, but that is a story for another time.
Wind Awareness and Bird Divination
Wind awareness and bird divination means: seeing wind and becoming aware, seeing birds and divining. However, it is not only wind and birds that can be divined, but all phenomena can be divined—this is called “wind awareness bird divination.” In numerology, all of this is collectively called “Plum Blossom Numerology.”
Wind Awareness Divination
Wind awareness divination means becoming aware upon seeing wind. When one sees wind rising and wishes to divine, determine which direction the wind comes from to generate the hexagram. One must also examine the season, observe the color, and assess the sound and force before determining auspiciousness or inauspiciousness. Wind from the south is Family—the south belongs to Li fire, giving Wind-Fire Family hexagram. Wind from the east is Benefit hexagram, and so on. Examining the season: spring wind is harmonious and generates growth; summer wind nurtures and nourishes; autumn wind is severe and kills; winter wind is bitter and harsh. Observing color: when carrying dust, smoke, or clouds, one can see its color—yellow indicates auspicious energy; green is half inauspicious, half auspicious; white indicates weapons and violence; black and dark is inauspicious; red indicates disaster; red-purple is auspicious. Distinguishing sound and force: wind sounding like charging horses indicates fighting and conflict; like ocean waves indicates alarm and danger; like mournful sobbing indicates worry and anxiety; like music indicates joyful events; like shouting indicates commotion; like fierce flames indicates fire alarm. Wind coming smoothly and departing gently is an omen of good fortune.
Bird Divination
Bird divination means seeing birds and divining. When seeing a flock of birds, count their number, observe their direction, listen to their sounds, distinguish their feather colors—all can generate numbers. One must also examine their symbolic meaning, observe their calls, and determine auspiciousness or inauspiciousness. Seeing birds and divining by counting: one bird belongs to Qian, two birds belong to Dui, three birds belong to Li. Observing direction: using the Li south, Kan north numbers. Listening to sounds: one call belongs to Qian, two calls belong to Dui, three calls belong to Li—all can generate hexagrams. Listening to sounds: if the calling is noisy and clamorous, it indicates quarrels; if the calling is mournful and sobbing, it indicates sadness; if the calling is clear and bright, it indicates good fortune. This is taking sounds to determine auspiciousness or inauspiciousness. Examining symbolic meaning: crows report disaster, magpies report joy, phoenixes and cranes are auspicious, eagles and pengs are ominous.
Commentary: The Peng is a type of bird in Chinese mythology. In the Zhuangzi, it is said that Kun, a type of fish, transforms into the Peng.
Listening to Sounds Divination
Sounds divination means: in a quiet room where nothing is seen, generating hexagrams from what is heard by the ear—either counting the number, verifying the direction, or distinguishing the sound of objects and determining what they belong to—all can generate hexagrams. Observe sadness or joy to assist in determining fortune or misfortune. Counting numbers: one sound belongs to Qian, two sounds belong to Dui. Verifying direction: Li south, Kan north, and so on. For human speech and animal cries—sounds from the mouth belong to Dui. Still objects being struck belong to Zhen—drum beating, hammering, board and wood sounds. Metal sounds belong to Qian—bells, chimes, gongs, and bells. Fire sounds belong to Li—roaring flames, firecrackers. Earth sounds belong to Kun—pounding foundations, ramming walls, landslides, mountain collapses. This is distinguishing object sounds and determining what they belong to. Observing sadness or joy to assist fortune/misfortune determination: hearing people’s laughter and auspicious words or joyful laughter indicates happiness; hearing people’s crying sounds, resentful sounds, sorrowful words, cursing, poverty sighs—inauspicious.
Form and Object Divination
Form and object divination: seeing the shape of objects can generate hexagrams. Round objects belong to Qian, hard objects belong to Dui, square objects belong to Kun, soft objects belong to Xun, upward-facing objects belong to Zhen, downward-facing objects belong to Gen, long objects belong to Xun, hard inside soft outside belongs to Kan, soft inside hard outside belongs to Li, dried and withered objects belong to Li, patterned objects also belong to Li, objects in blocking positions or broken objects belong to Dui.
Color Verification Divination
In color divination: green belongs to Zhen, red-purple-crimson belongs to Li, yellow belongs to Kun, white belongs to Dui, black belongs to Kan.
Overall Commentary: As you can see, the types of things that can be used to divine are simply endless. Intuition is probably the most important factor.