I Ching

Wikibooks - I Ching Project

I Ching (pronounced as Yi-Ching) is an ancient Chinese book that has been used for divination. The I Ching is also known as the Zhou I (pronounced as Zhou-Yi).

Location Table

There are 64 hexagrams used in I Ching. Each hexagram is comprised of an upper trigram (as shown in the top row), and a lower trigram (as shown in the first column) of the table below:

Trigrams: Upper → plus Lower ↓	☰ 乾 Qián Heaven (天)	☳ 震 Zhèn Thunder (雷)	☵ 坎 Kǎn Water (水)	☶ 艮 Gèn Mountain (山)	☷ 坤 Kūn Earth (地)	☴ 巽 Xùn Wind (风)	☲ 離 Lí Flame (火)	☱ 兌 Duì Lake (泽)
☰ 乾 Qián Heaven (天)	01 ䷀ (乾 qián) Initiating	34 ䷡ (大壯 dà zhuàng) Great Strength	05 ䷄ (需 xū) Needing	26 ䷙ (大畜 dà chù) Great Accumulation	11 ䷊ (泰 tài) Advance	09 ䷈ (小畜 xiǎo chù) Little Accumulation	14 ䷍ (大有 dà yǒu) Great Harvest	43 ䷪ (夬 guài) Eliminating
☳ 震 Zhèn Thunder (雷)	25 ䷘ (無妄 wú wàng) Without Falsehood	51 ䷲ (震 zhèn) Taking Action	03 ䷂ (屯 zhūn) Beginning	27 ䷚ (頤 yí) Nourishing	24 ䷗ (復 fù) Turning Back	42 ䷩ (益 yì) Increasing	21 ䷔ (噬嗑 shì kè) Eradicating	17 ䷐ (隨 suí) Following
☵ 坎 Kǎn Water (水)	06 ䷅ (訟 sòng) Contention	40 ䷧ (解 xiè) Relief	29 ䷜ (坎 kǎn) Darkness	04 ䷃ (蒙 méng) Childhood	07 ䷆ (師 shī) Multitude	59 ䷺ (渙 huàn) Dispersing	64 ䷿ (未濟 wèi jì) Not Yet Fulfilled	47 ䷮ (困 kùn) Exhausting
☶ 艮 Gèn Mountain (山)	33 ䷠ (遯 dùn) Retreat	62 ䷽ (小過 xiǎo guò) Little Exceeding	39 ䷦ (蹇 jiǎn) Hardship	52 ䷳ (艮 gèn) Keeping Still	15 ䷎ (謙 qiān) Humbleness	53 ䷴ (漸 jiàn) Developing Gradually	56 ䷷ (旅 lǚ) Travelling	31 ䷞ (咸 xián) Mutual Influence
☷ 坤 Kūn Earth (地)	12 ䷋ (否 pǐ) Hindrance	16 ䷏ (豫 yù) Delight	08 ䷇ (比 bǐ) Union	23 ䷖ (剝 bō) Falling Away	02 ䷁ (坤 kūn) Responding	20 ䷓ (觀 guān) Watching	35 ䷢ (晉 jìn) Proceeding Forward	45 ䷬ (萃 cuì) Bringing Together
☴ 巽 Xùn Wind (风)	44 ䷫ (姤 gòu) Encountering	32 ䷟ (恆 héng) Long Lasting	48 ䷯ (井 jǐng) Replenishing	18 ䷑ (蠱 gǔ) Remedying	46 ䷭ (升 shēng) Growing Upward	57 ䷸ (巽 xùn) Proceeding Humbly	50 ䷱ (鼎 dǐng) Establishing The New	28 ䷛ (大過 dà guò) Great Exceeding
☲ 離 Lí Flame (火)	13 ䷌ (同人 tóng rén) Seeking Harmony	55 ䷶ (豐 fēng) Abundance	63 ䷾ (既濟 jì jì) Already Fulfilled	22 ䷕ (賁 bì) Adorning	36 ䷣ (明夷 míng yí)	37 ䷤ (家人 jiā rén) Household	30 ䷝ (離 lí) Brightness	49 ䷰ (革 gé) Abolishing The Old
☱ 兌 Duì Lake (泽)	10 ䷉ (履 lǚ) Fulfillment	54 ䷵ (歸妹 guī mèi) Marrying Maiden	60 ䷻ (節 jié) Restricting	41 ䷨ (損 sǔn) Decreasing	19 ䷒ (臨 lín) Approaching	61 ䷼ (中孚 zhōng fú) Innermost Sincerity	38 ䷥ (睽 kuí) Diversity	58 ䷹ (兌 duì) Joyful

The 8 Trigrams

Each hexagram is made up of two parts, namely an upper trigram and a lower trigram, which are also known as the outer gua and the inner gua respectively. Each trigram is made up of 3 lines, and each line can either be a Yin line or a Yang line. A Yin line is a broken line and a Yang line is an unbroken line. For example, Qian (Heaven) is represented by 3 Yang lines, and Kun (Earth) is represented by 3 Yin lines. The lines are read from bottom to top, and the bottom line is called line 1. For example, line 1 of Zhen (Thunder) is a Yang line, and lines 2 and 3 of Zhen are Yin lines. The order of the lines is important when a hexagram is cast (written down) or read/interpreted. The order is also used when determining the moving line(s).

In order, the eight trigrams are:

Number	Trigram	Traditional Chinese	Simplified Chinese
1	☰	(乾) Qián (Heaven)	(乾) Qián (Heaven)
2	☷	(坤) Kūn (Earth)	(坤) Kūn (Earth)
3	☳	(震) Zhèn (Thunder)	(震) Zhèn (Thunder)
4	☵	(坎) Kǎn (Water)	(坎) Kǎn (Water)
5	☶	(艮) Gèn (Mountain)	(艮) Gèn (Mountain)
6	☴	(巽) Xù (Wind)	(巽) Xùn (Wind)
7	☲	(離) Lí (Flame or Fire)	(离) Lí (Flame or Fire)
8	☱	(兌) Duì (Lake or Marsh)	(兑) Duì (Lake or Marsh)

Since 1703 when Leibniz related yin and yang to zero and one, binary numbers have been considered in connection with the I Ching. Each trigram can be read as an octal number with the top line corresponding to four when yang, the middle line to two when yang, and the bottom line as one when yang. The sum of the yang lines is then between 1 and 7, with zero corresponding to ☷. The use of octal numbers and yin-yang complementation is described in the chapter Octal Bagua.

Circular Arrangement (Early Heaven)

For the purpose of divination, the 8 trigrams may be arranged in a circle, and ordered as follows:

Anti-clockwise Direction

☰ (乾) Qián (Heaven) pointing South, at the top of the circle
☱ (兌) Duì (Lake or Marsh), pointing South-East
☲ (離) Lí (Flame or Fire) pointing East, on the left-hand-side of the circle
☳ (震) Zhèn (Thunder), pointing North-East

Clockwise Direction

☴ (巽) Xùn (Wind), pointing South-West
☵ (坎) Kǎn (Water) pointing West, at the right-hand-side of the circle
☶ (艮) Gèn (Mountain), pointing North-West
☷ (坤) Kūn (Earth) pointing North, at the bottom of the circle

Early Heaven Arrangement of the eight trigrams (Ba Gua)
Dui ☱ 2	Qian ☰ 1	Xun ☴ 5
Li ☲ 3		Kan ☵ 6
Zhen ☳ 4	Kun ☷ 8	Gen ☶ 7

The Moving Line

Whilst a Gua gives an initial understanding of the present situation, the Moving Line is used to obtain a deeper understanding of the present situation, by understanding the current stage that a person is at in a given situation, as well as a future potential situation. When the Moving Line is converted to its counterpart (that is, a Yin line is converted to a Yang line, or a Yang line is converted to a Yin line), a new Gua, the approached Gua, emerges. A line in a Gua is also known as a "Yao" in Chinese.

The Moving Line

The 64 Hexagrams (Gua)

The 64 Hexagrams

Twelve of the sixty-four hexagrams correspond to months of the year according to light in the northern hemisphere. The winter solstice is marked by all yin lines in hexagram 2. The summer solstice is marked by all yang lines in hexagram 1. As the light returns in winter and spring, yang lines enter from below: hexagrams 24, 19, 11, 34, and 43. As the light fades in summer and fall, yin lines enter the hexagram from below: 44, 33, 12, 20, and 23. Note the adjacent hexagrams across the line of symmetry between the solstices.

Host Of The Hexagrams

Core Hexagrams

Interpretation

Explanation Of Hexagrams And Lines

Explanation Of I Ching Hexagrams And Lines

Casting Hexagrams

There are many ways to cast an I Ching hexagram. The ancient yarrow stalk method will take about half an hour to obtain a hexagram. The modified method, as described by Alfred Huang in "The Complete I Ching", takes about five minutes and is much more convenient.

Translations of the I Ching

I Ching: The Book of Changes. Translated by James Legge. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899.

The I Ching or Book of Changes. Translated by Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes, with a foreword by C.G. Jung. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1950.

Xuan Kong Da Gua

The I Ching hexagrams have been used in other areas of Chinese culture, including Feng Shui, such as Xuan Kong Da Gua (玄空大卦).