Hexagram (I Ching)

The hexagrams of the I Ching in a diagram belonging to the German mathematician philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz^[1]

The I Ching book consists of 64 hexagrams.^{[2] [3]} A hexagram is a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines (爻 yáo), where each line is either Yang (an unbroken, or solid line), or Yin (broken, an open line with a gap in the center). The hexagram lines are traditionally counted from the bottom up, so the lowest line is considered line one while the top line is line six. Hexagrams are formed by combining the original eight trigrams in different combinations. Each hexagram is accompanied with a description, often cryptic, akin to parables. Each line in every hexagram is also given a similar description.

Types

hexagram numbers

Classic and modern I Ching commentaries mention a number of different hexagram types:

• Eight trigrams
• Original hexagram
• Future hexagram
• Nuclear hexagram
• Reverse hexagram (is found by turning a hexagram upside down)
• Complementary hexagram (is found by changing all the lines into their opposite)
• Hexagram of Change (bian gua)
• Internal Hexagram (nei gua)
• External Hexagram (wai gua)
• Mutual Hexagram (hu gua)

Sequences

The most commonly known sequence is the King Wen sequence. A totally different sequence was found in the Mawangdui Silk Texts. The hexagrams are also found in the Binary sequence, also known as Fu Xi sequence or Shao Yong sequence.

Lookup table

Upper → Lower ↓	☰ 乾 Qián Heaven	☳ 震 Zhèn Thunder	☵ 坎 Kǎn Water	☶ 艮 Gèn Mountain	☷ 坤 Kūn Earth	☴ 巽 Xùn Wind	☲ 離 Lí Flame	☱ 兌 Duì Lake
☰ 乾 Qián Heaven	01 ䷀	34 ䷡	05 ䷄	26 ䷙	11 ䷊	09 ䷈	14 ䷍	43 ䷪
☳ 震 Zhèn Thunder	25 ䷘	51 ䷲	03 ䷂	27 ䷚	24 ䷗	42 ䷩	21 ䷔	17 ䷐
☵ 坎 Kǎn Water	06 ䷅	40 ䷧	29 ䷜	04 ䷃	07 ䷆	59 ䷺	64 ䷿	47 ䷮
☶ 艮 Gèn Mountain	33 ䷠	62 ䷽	39 ䷦	52 ䷳	15 ䷎	53 ䷴	56 ䷷	31 ䷞
☷ 坤 Kūn Earth	12 ䷋	16 ䷏	08 ䷇	23 ䷖	02 ䷁	20 ䷓	35 ䷢	45 ䷬
☴ 巽 Xùn Wind	44 ䷫	32 ䷟	48 ䷯	18 ䷑	46 ䷭	57 ䷸	50 ䷱	28 ䷛
☲ 離 Lí Flame	13 ䷌	55 ䷶	63 ䷾	22 ䷕	36 ䷣	37 ䷤	30 ䷝	49 ䷰
☱ 兌 Duì Lake	10 ䷉	54 ䷵	60 ䷻	41 ䷨	19 ䷒	61 ䷼	38 ䷥	58 ䷹

See also

• List of hexagrams of the I Ching
• Feng shui
• Tai Yi Shen Shu
• Tie Ban Shen Shu

References

1. Perkins, Franklin. Leibniz and China: A Commerce of Light. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. p 117. Print.
2. Wilhelm, Richard (1950). The I Ching or Book of Changes.
3. Legge, James (1964). I Ching: Book of Changes.