Classical Commentary

Yin-yang and the five phases started as two separate systems. Yin-yang ran with the Yi and the Yin-Yang school; the five phases first appear in the Shangshu, 'Hongfan.' Zou Yan pulled them together in the Warring States. In the Han, Dong Zhongshu, Meng Xi, and Jing Fang wired the five phases into the I Ching: gua-qi, najia, the six relations, generation and control. Only then did six-yao divination have a basis. How the merge happened step by step, and how it later shaped medicine and the technical arts — in one pass.

The Hetu and Luoshu are the source diagrams of Chinese Yi numerology. The Xici Shang Commentary says, 'The Yellow River gave forth the diagram; the Luo River gave forth the writing; the sage took them as a model.' The Hetu pairs generating and completing numbers with the five phases; the Luoshu sets nine palaces to the Later Heaven trigrams. Where the two diagrams come from, how their numbers are laid out, how they match the trigrams and five phases, and how to use them today — all in one pass.

The Xugua Commentary explains the 64-hexagram order by meaning, but some of its links feel forced. The order has three deeper rules: pairs by inversion or reversal, the cycle of yin and yang waxing and waning, and the symmetric head and tail of the two books. These three lay out the skeleton of the received sequence better than the Xugua Commentary alone.

Jing Fang's Eight Palaces sequence splits the 64 hexagrams into eight palaces led by the eight pure trigrams Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui. Each palace holds eight hexagrams derived one line change at a time. World and Response lines fix host and guest; Wandering Soul and Returning Soul mark the state. This order is the foundation of Six Yao Najia divination. How the palaces are arranged, how World and Response are set, and what Wandering Soul and Returning Soul mean — all in one pass.

The received I Ching divides its 64 hexagrams into two books: Shang Jing with 30 hexagrams, Xia Jing with 34. Shang Jing runs from Qian and Kun to Kan and Li and speaks of Heaven's way. Xia Jing runs from Xian and Heng to Jiji and Weiji and speaks of human affairs. Why two books? Why 30 and 34? The numbers have rules behind them — pair by inversion or reversal, arrange two by two, mirror the head and tail. One guide explains it all.

The Image-Number school and the Meaning-Principle school are the two main lines of two thousand years of Yi learning. The Image-Number school stresses hexagram images, numbers, and omens, with figures like Meng Xi, Jing Fang, Yu Fan, and Shao Yong. The Meaning-Principle school stresses philosophy, human affairs, and morality, with figures like Wang Bi and Cheng Yi. How the two schools divide, what approach each takes, and how to draw on them today — all in one pass.

"Yi yi ming er han san yi" is Zheng Xuan's famous line from the Eastern Han: jianyi, bianyi, buyi. Jianyi is the form — the fewest symbols holding the most content. Bianyi is the content — nothing stands still. Buyi is the floor — something holds steady inside the change. The three are not three definitions side by side. They are three faces of one Yi. Where they come from, what each says, and how to use them when reading a hexagram — in one pass.

Cuogua and zonggua are the two most basic relations among the 64 hexagrams. Cuogua reverses every line's yin and yang — it shows the opposite face of the same situation. Zonggua turns the whole hexagram upside down — it shows another angle on the same thing. Kong Yingda already saw it: the 64 hexagrams pair up, either inverted or reversed. Twenty-eight pairs are zonggua; four pairs of the eight pure trigrams can only pair by cuogua. Grasp this structure, and when your reading jams, checking a hexagram's cuogua and zonggua reconnects your thinking. This article gives the textual basis and the steps.

Line-position rules are the basic skill for reading the line statements of the I Ching. The fortune of a hexagram's six lines is not decided by the line text alone — position decides it too. Fitting or missing the place asks whether yin and yang sit on the right odd or even spot. Centrality looks at the advantage of the second and fifth lines. Responding looks at the paired echo between lines 1 and 4, 2 and 5, 3 and 6. Neighboring looks at how close two adjacent lines are. Support and override look at the flow or friction between the line above and the line below. Stack these six rules and the situation of any line becomes clear. This article gives the full judging steps and the textual basis, so you can place any line of any hexagram.

Drawing images from hexagrams is the step where the I Ching moves from symbols to the ten thousand things. A hexagram figure is only two kinds of line — yin and yang. How do you read water and fire, thunder and wind, rulers and fathers, horses and oxen from it? The method has layers: first the eight trigrams' basic images, then the classes of images the Shuogua gives, then the combined image of the upper and lower trigrams (water over fire, fire over water), then the image of the trigram's virtue (vigor, yielding, movement, entering, entrapment, brightness, stopping, joy), and last the image from line position. The textual basis is the Xici: looking up to observe and down to examine, nearby taking from the body and far off from things. This article gives the full steps and examples.

The Daxiang is the 'Xiang yue' line after each hexagram statement. It ignores good fortune and misfortune. It does one thing: derive from the hexagram image what the superior person should do. Qian's Daxiang: 'Heaven moves with strength — the superior person strengthens himself without ceasing.' Heaven keeps turning. The superior person follows the way of Heaven — keeps moving forward. Kun's Daxiang: 'Earth's posture is receptive — the superior person carries all things with vast virtue.' The earth bears everything. The superior person learns to hold space like the earth. 20 representative Daxiang passages selected — Zhun, Meng, Xu, Song, Shi, Bi, Xiao Xu, Lu, Tai, Pi, Tong Ren, Da You, Qian, Yu, Sui, Gu, Lin, Guan — each one a direct translation from hexagram image to action.

The Xiaoxiang is the 'Xiang yue' passage after each individual line. It explains why this line is auspicious or inauspicious. Line position analysis: the first line is the beginning, the top line is the end, line 2 is the ground level, line 5 is the ruler's position. Inter-line relationships: the four relationships of receiving, mounting, neighboring, and responding determine how lines interact. Correct position judgment: a yang line in a yang position is correct, a yin line in a yin position is correct. Selected: full Xiaoxiang analysis of all six Qian lines — from 'hidden dragon, do not act' to 'arrogant dragon has regrets.' Full Xiaoxiang analysis of all six Kun lines — from 'tread on frost, solid ice is near' to 'dragons fight in the wild.' Plus selected classic line Xiaoxiang interpretations. Core value for beginners — when you do not understand the line text, read the Xiaoxiang and you can roughly judge fortune.

Tuan Zhuan is the dedicated commentary on hexagram statements. Every hexagram in the first 30 gets its own Tuan passage. Qian Tuan: 'Great is Qian the origin — the ten thousand things draw their beginning from it.' Kun Tuan: 'Perfect is Kun the origin — the ten thousand things draw their birth from it.' Zhun Tuan: 'Movement within danger.' Tai Tuan: 'Heaven and Earth join — the ten thousand things flow.' Pi Tuan: 'Heaven and Earth do not join — the ten thousand things are blocked.' The Tuan method: hexagram image → hexagram virtue → hexagram statement → fortune judgment. Master this and you can derive any hexagram statement yourself.

Tuan Zhuan Xia interprets the hexagram statements of the last 34 hexagrams, from Xian to Weiji. Xian Tuan: The soft above and the firm below, the two forces resonate and come together, revealing the essence of attraction. Heng Tuan: The way of Heaven and Earth endures without ceasing, the philosophy of lasting. Ge Tuan: Heaven and Earth transform, the four seasons are completed, the law of revolution. The contrast between Jiji and Weiji: after success comes danger; incompletion is just the beginning. The last 34 hexagrams focus on human life. Read them and every phase finds its answer.

Wenyan is the most unusual chapter in the Ten Wings — it only interprets Qian and Kun, the two hexagrams that form the door to the entire I Ching. Master these two, and the remaining 62 tr-grams fall into place. Qian line 9.3 'the superior person works tirelessly all day and stays vigilant at night — no error,' Kun line 'Kun reaches ultimate softness yet moves with firmness' — every passage includes the original text, plain translation, and deep analysis. Read why Wenyan was written for only two hexagrams.

Shuogua (Explaining the Trigrams) is the most practical chapter in the I Ching system. It systematically explains why Qian is Heaven, the ruler, the father, and the horse; why Kun is Earth, the mother, and the ox; why Zhen is Thunder, the dragon, and the eldest son. 'Heaven and Earth are fixed in position; mountain and marsh exchange breath; thunder and wind press against each other; water and fire do not attack each other' — this is the foundational framework of trigram relationships. The animal and body-part correspondences for all eight trigrams — the source of Plum Blossom Divination's classification of things. Original text, plain English translation, and deep analysis.

Xici Shang (Great Commentary Part 1) is the most systematic philosophical explanation of the I Ching, attributed to Confucius and his disciples. From Heaven above and Earth below to 'one yin one yang is the Dao,' from Taiji generating the Two Modes to the distinction between Dao above-form and tools below-form — each passage includes the original text, plain English translation, and deep analysis. See why the Xici Commentary is the key to the entire I Ching.

Xici Xia (Great Commentary Part 2) covers three things: how Fuxi observed Heaven, Earth, and all creatures to abstract the eight trigrams; the philosophy of 'when blocked, change — change leads to passage — passage leads to endurance'; and the line position theory of lines 2 and 4. Plus the thirteen hexagrams for making tools by observing images — nets from Li, plows from Yi, markets from Shi He. How ancient sages made real objects based on hexagram images. Original text, plain English translation, and deep analysis.

Xugua (Sequence of the Hexagrams) explains the order of the 64 hexagrams from Qian and Kun to Jiji and Weiji. Adjacent hexagrams relate in only two ways: mutual rotation (flip the hexagram upside down to get the next one) or mutual transformation (all six lines switch yin to yang and vice versa). Each hexagram's position in the sequence is not random — it forms a complete model of cosmic evolution and human development. Understand Xugua and you understand the grand structure of the entire I Ching.

Zagua (Miscellaneous Hexagrams) distills each of the 64 hexagrams into a single word or two. Qian — hard. Kun — soft. Bi — joy. Shi — sorrow. Zhen — rising. Gen — stopping. Sun and Yi — the beginning of flourishing and decline. Why is Zagua's arrangement different from the received text? For beginners it is the fastest entry point — no need to memorize hexagram statements. Remember one word and you capture the essence of an entire hexagram. Original text, plain English translation, and deep analysis.