I Ching: Shuo Gua Zhuan

The Three Forms of I Ching

1. Lian Shan Xia Dynasty
☶ Led by [Gen] (Mountain). Reflects tribal reverence for mountains.

2. Gui Zang Shang Dynasty
☷ Led by [Kun] (Earth). Symbolizes all things returning to the earth.

3. Zhou Yi Zhou Dynasty
☰ Led by [Qian] (Heaven). The only completely surviving text today.

From Theocracy to Humanism: An Anthropological Perspective on the Evolution of the I Ching

Why were there three historical evolutions: 'Lianshan', 'Guicang', and 'Zhouyi'? This is actually a microcosm of human societal and anthropological development. During the Xia Dynasty, early humans relied mainly on hunting and gathering, holding deep awe for towering mountains, hence prioritizing the 'Gen Hexagram' (representing mountains). By the Shang Dynasty, agriculture matured and matriarchal influence remained; all life depended on the earth, so the 'Kun Hexagram' (representing earth) was revered. It wasn't until the Zhou Dynasty, with the establishment of a patriarchal society and the awakening of humanism and the feudal system, that the ancients began to 'revere Heaven and follow ancestors', thus prioritizing the 'Qian Hexagram' (representing Heaven). This is not just a succession of divination books, but a massive leap in human civilizational cognition.

Origin and Evolution

Legend says King Wen wrote the Hexagram judgments, and the Duke of Zhou wrote the line statements. Later, Confucian scholars wrote the "Ten Wings" (including Shuo Gua) to explain the profound texts.

Western Han Dynasty

Jiao's Yilin: Pioneered merging Heavenly Stems/Earthly Branches with the I Ching.
Jing Fang: Created the Eight Palaces system, integrating Stems/Branches (Na Jia) into the 64 hexagrams.

Tang & Song Dynasties

Li Xu Zhong: Predicted destiny using Year, Month, and Day pillars.
Xu Zi Ping: Added the "Hour Pillar," finalizing the modern "Four Pillars of Destiny" (Bazi) system.
Taiji & Early Heaven: Shao Yong popularized the "Early Heaven Ba Gua" sequence.

Structure: Heaven, Earth, and Humanity

A Hexagram is built from bottom to top, divided into the "Three Realms":
• Lines 6 & 5 (Heaven): Yin and Yang
• Lines 4 & 3 (Humanity): Benevolence and Righteousness
• Lines 2 & 1 (Earth): Hardness and Softness

📖 Expand: The Sages' Creation (Original & Meaning)

昔者聖人之作易也，幽贊於神明而生蓍，參天兩地而倚數，觀變於陰陽而立卦，發揮於剛柔而生爻。和順於道德而理於義，窮理盡性以至於命。

昔者聖人之作易也，將以順性命之理，是以立天之道曰陰與陽，立地之道曰柔與剛，立人之道曰仁與義，兼三才而兩之，故易六畫而成卦。分陰分陽，迭用柔剛，故易六位而成章。

[The Core Philosophy] The ancient sages created the I Ching to map the laws of nature. By observing the shifts of Yin and Yang, they formed the "Trigrams"; through the interplay of hard and soft, they derived the "Lines."

Early vs. Later Heaven Ba Gua

Early Heaven Ba Gua

Represents the primordial universe—a state of absolute, opposing balance. It lacks a time sequence and focuses purely on "spatial symmetry." (Note: Traditional Chinese maps place South at the top).

📖 Expand: Early Heaven Positions (Original & Meaning)

天地定位，山澤通氣，雷風相薄，水火不相射，八卦相錯。數往者順，知來者逆，是故易逆數也。

雷以動之，風以散之，雨以潤之，日以烜之，艮以止之，兌以說之，乾以君之，坤以藏之。

[The Core Philosophy] Heaven and Earth determine the vertical axis; Mountain and Lake share their breath; Thunder and Wind arouse each other; Water and Fire balance without destroying one another.

Later Heaven Ba Gua

Contains a definitive directional and temporal sequence, representing the life, flow, and death of all things on Earth. This is the absolute foundation for modern Feng Shui and Bazi.

📖 Expand: Later Heaven Sequence (Original & Meaning)

帝出乎震，齊乎巽，相見乎離，致役乎坤，說言乎兌，戰乎乾，勞乎坎，成言乎艮。

萬物出乎震，震，東方也。齊乎巽，巽，東南也。齊也者，言萬物之絜齊也。離也者，明也。萬物皆相見，南方之卦也。聖人南面而聽天下，嚮明而治，蓋取諸此也。坤也者，地也。萬物皆致養焉，故曰致役乎坤。兌，正秋也，萬物之所說也，故曰說言乎兌。戰乎乾，乾，西北之卦也，言陰陽相薄也。坎者，水也，正北方之卦也，勞卦也，萬物之所歸也，故曰勞乎坎。艮，東北之卦也，萬物之所成終而所成始也，故曰成言乎艮。

[The Core Philosophy] All creations awaken in the East (Zhen), grow neatly in the Southeast (Xun), meet the light in the South (Li), and finally complete their cycle and incubate new beginnings in the Northeast (Gen).

Trigram Archetypes & The Five Elements

Core Rule: Yang trigrams contain more Yin lines; Yin trigrams contain more Yang lines.

Category	Yang Trigrams (陽卦)				Yin Trigrams (陰卦)
Category	乾 ☰	震 ☳	坎 ☵	艮 ☶	坤 ☷	巽 ☴	離 ☲	兌 ☱
Element	Metal	Wood	Water	Earth	Earth	Wood	Fire	Metal
Nature	Strong	Moving	Sinking	Stopping	Yielding	Penetrating	Clinging	Joyful
Family	Father	Eldest Son	Middle Son	Young Son	Mother	Eldest Dtr	Middle Dtr	Young Dtr
Body	Head	Feet	Ears	Hands	Belly	Thighs	Eyes	Mouth
Animal	Horse	Dragon	Pig	Dog	Ox	Chicken	Pheasant	Sheep

Cross-Disciplinary Feature: The I Ching and Modern Computer Science's Binary System

When studying the Bagua matrix above, readers with a science background will notice a striking overlap between this system and modern computer science. In fact, the I Ching is the earliest 'Binary System' in human history. If we view the Yin line as 0 and the Yang line as 1, the Bagua consisting of three lines perfectly corresponds to a 3-bit system in computer science (2³ = 8 states); while the 64 Hexagrams are 6-bit (2⁶ = 64 states). Leibniz, the famous 17th-century mathematician and inventor of calculus and the binary system, was incredibly astounded upon seeing the 64 Hexagram diagram of the I Ching, marveling that the ancient Easterners had established this rigorous algebraic system over two millennia ago.

Practical Bridge: The 'Medical-Yi Homology' of Bagua and BaZi

You might ask: 'This is a BaZi destiny system, so why are we dedicating space to studying the I Ching's Bagua?' Because the Bagua is the underlying code for all Eastern occult sciences and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In practical BaZi applications, we often perform matrix mapping between the Heavenly Stems/Earthly Branches and the 'body parts' in the table above. For example, the 'Qian Hexagram' and 'Dui Hexagram' in the Bagua belong to Metal; Qian represents the head, and Dui represents the lungs and respiratory tract. If the 'Geng and Xin' (representing Metal) in your BaZi chart are severely clashed or drained (e.g., strong Fire melting Metal), it becomes highly likely to predict diseases of the cranial nerves or respiratory system. This logic of combining Yi (I Ching principles) with pathology is called 'Medical-Yi Homology' in TCM. By understanding this table, you obtain the universal API to unlock the codes of the human body and destiny.