Hexagram (I Ching)

The I Ching book consists of 64 hexagrams.[2] [3] A hexagram in this context is a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines ( 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.

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

The Chinese word for a hexagram is "guà", although that also means trigram.

Types

Hexagram numbers, in King Wen sequence

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
坤 Kūn

Earth
震 Zhèn

Thunder
坎 Kǎn

Water
艮 Gèn

Mountain
巽 Xùn

Wind
離 Lí

Flame
兌 Duì

Lake
乾 Qián

Heaven
01


Force
11


Pervading
34


Great Invigorating
05


Attending

26


Great
Accumulating

09


Small
Harvest

14


Great
Possessing
43


Displacement
坤 Kūn

Earth
12


Obstruction
02


Field
16


Providing-For
08


Grouping
23


Stripping
20


Viewing
35


Prospering
45


Clustering
震 Zhèn

Thunder
25


Innocence
24


Returning
51


Shake
03


Sprouting
27


Swallowing
42


Augmenting
21


Gnawing Bite
17


Following
坎 Kǎn

Water
06


Arguing
07


Leading
40


Deliverance
29


Gorge
04


Enveloping
59


Dispersing
64


Before Completion
47


Confining
艮 Gèn

Mountain
33


Retiring
15


Humbling
62


Small Exceeding
39


Limping
52


Bound
53


Infiltrating
56


Sojourning
31


Conjoining
巽 Xùn

Wind
44


Coupling
46


Ascending
32


Persevering
48


Welling
18


Correcting
57


Ground
50


Holding
28


Great Exceeding
離 Lí

Flame
13


Concording
People
36


Intelligence
Hidden
55


Abounding
63


Already
Fording
22


Adorning
37


Dwelling
People
30


Radiance
49


Skinning
兌 Duì

Lake
10


Treading
19


Nearing
54


Converting the Maiden
60


Articulating
41


Diminishing
61


Inner Truth
38


Polarising
58


Open

See also

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.
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