Fairy and Demon Gods

Chapter 477 The Yin and Yang Lines, Four Symbols, Eight Trigrams, and Annual Cycle of the I Ching

"The interplay of Yin and Yang is the essence of Tao!"

"These are the two lines of Yin and Yang."

"The yin line (——), also known as the even line, is gentle and belongs to yin!"

"The yang line (—), also known as the odd line, is of a strong and yang nature!"

“The Yao represents the transformation of Yin and Yang. When the Yao moves, the Gua changes. Therefore, the Yao is the origin of the transformation of Qi.”

Kunpeng pointed to the Yin-Yang Bagua diagram.

"When three lines overlap, they form the Eight Trigrams! This symbolizes the two opposing yet unified natural attributes of Yin and Yang."

"The Qian trigram (乾三连) consists of three consecutive yang lines, symbolizing heaven."

The Kun hexagram (坤六断) consists of three broken yin lines, forming a total of six short lines, symbolizing the earth.

The hexagram Zhen Yang Yu (震仰盂) resembles an upturned bowl, with the lower yang line forming the bottom and the two upper yin lines forming the mouth, symbolizing thunder.

The Gen-Fuwan (艮覆碗) is shaped like an inverted bowl. The upper yang line represents the bottom of the bowl, and the two lower yin lines represent the body of the bowl, symbolizing a mountain.

The middle line is empty ( ), the middle line is a yin line (broken), and the upper and lower lines are yang lines, symbolizing fire.

The hexagram Kan (坎) is full in the middle, with the middle line being a continuous yang line and the lines above and below being yin lines, symbolizing water.

The top line of the hexagram Dui is missing ( ), the top line is a yin line (broken), and the two lines below it are yang lines, symbolizing a marsh.

The hexagram Xun (巽) is broken at the bottom (the bottom line is yin, indicating a break), while the top two lines are yang, symbolizing wind.

"Kan 1 (Water), Kun 2 (Earth), Zhen 3 (Wood), Xun 4 (Wood), Central Palace 5 (Earth), Qian 6 (Metal), Dui 7 (Metal), Gen 8 (Earth), Li 9 (Fire)."

"This is the formula, symbolic form, and orientation of the Eight Trigrams!"

Hmm, it seems a golden light of merit flashed through his mind? But Kunpeng had no time to pay attention to it for the moment.

Bowls and basins are important inventions and symbols of the civilized era. At this time, they have not yet been invented, and everyone is puzzled. However, by looking at the pictures and guessing, they can roughly understand what they are.

The Kunpeng also uses five colors to represent the five elements (there was no common writing system back then).

"Qian and Dui belong to metal (northwest/west), Kun and Gen belong to earth (southwest/northeast), Zhen and Xun belong to wood (east/southeast), Kan belong to water (north), and Li belong to fire (south).

"Wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal, metal generates water, and water generates wood, forming a cycle."

"The Later Heaven Bagua speaks of circulation, describing cycles and recurrences, like the flow of water, used to represent the interdependence and mutual rooting of Yin and Yang, and the mutual generation of the Five Elements. It is a law derived from the progression of the four seasons and the growth and storage of all things."

"The cycle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter for all things, with a cycle of 360 days and a few days, is governed by the eight trigrams, each lasting 45 days. The transition points are represented by the eight solar terms, which are the four cardinal and four even-numbered days. This forms the Later Heaven Bagua diagram that operates in a clockwise direction."

“Each hexagram has three lines, and three times eight, which refers to the twenty-four solar terms of a year.”

He gave a simple and easy-to-understand explanation.

The twenty-four solar terms can be divided into four categories.
The eight solar terms that represent the changing seasons are: Beginning of Spring (立春) and Spring Equinox (春分); Beginning of Summer (立夏) and Summer Solstice (夏至); Beginning of Autumn (立秋) and Autumn Equinox (秋分); Beginning of Winter (立冬) and Winter Solstice (冬至).

The five solar terms that symbolize temperature changes are: Lesser Heat, Greater Heat, End of Heat, Lesser Cold, and Greater Cold.

The seven solar terms that reflect precipitation are: Rain Water, Grain Rain, White Dew, Cold Dew, Frost's Descent, Minor Snow, and Major Snow.

The four solar terms that reflect phenological phenomena (or agricultural activities) are: Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects), Qingming (Pure Brightness), Xiaoman (Grain Buds), and Mangzhong (Grain in Ear). (After all, there were no humans or agricultural activities at this time.)
The spirits listened with rapt attention. Having lived for at least a thousand years, they could all empathize with the story and almost all understood what the Kunpeng meant by the 'solar terms'. They also had a vague concept of the cyclical 'year'!
"The so-called 'Yi Jing has Taiji, which gives rise to Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang give rise to the Four Symbols, the Four Symbols give rise to the Eight Trigrams, the Eight Trigrams determine good and bad fortune, and good and bad fortune give rise to great undertakings'."

"What are the Four Symbols? They are Lesser Yang (the initial emergence of Yang energy), Greater Yang/Older Yang (the peak of Yang energy), Lesser Yin (the gradual growth of Yin energy), Greater Yin/Older Yin (the peak of Yin energy)... that is it." "The Four Symbols are derived from the combination of Yin and Yang to form the Eight Trigrams."

“The sun corresponds to the Qian and Dui trigrams, the lesser yin corresponds to the Li and Zhen trigrams, the lesser yang corresponds to the Xun and Kan trigrams, and the greater yin corresponds to the Gen and Kun trigrams.”

"This is the generative logic of 'Taiji generates Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang generate the Four Symbols, and the Four Symbols generate the Eight Trigrams'."

"The four seasons mentioned earlier, namely spring, summer, autumn and winter, refer to the four seasons of the year."

Shaoyang symbolizes spring, belongs to the element of wood in the Five Elements, and corresponds to the east in the four directions.

The sun corresponds to summer, belongs to the element of fire in the Five Elements theory, and is associated with the south in the four directions.

Lesser Yin corresponds to autumn, belongs to the metal element in the Five Elements theory, and is associated with the west in the four directions.

The moon corresponds to winter, belongs to the water element in the Five Elements theory, and is associated with the north in the four directions.

"These four symbols, in addition to corresponding to the four directions and the four seasons, also represent birth, aging, sickness and death."

"Earth, as the central element, occupies the center of the five elements, connects the four directions, is scattered throughout the four seasons, and governs the four seasons, collectively known as the five elements."

"Earth, as the Taiji, differentiates into the four elements of 'wood, fire, metal, and water' through its yin and yang polarities. These four elements then return to the Taiji, regulating the balance of yin and yang and the cycle of the four seasons."

Kunpeng stared blankly at the southern starry sky, lost in thought, thinking of his old friend Yuanfeng, and even Xuantian...

"The four celestial symbols are: Vermilion Bird in the south, White Tiger in the west, Vermilion Bird in the east, and Qilin in the center..."

He sighed inwardly, his voice becoming low and ethereal.

The spirits were startled, then suddenly realized, and felt a sense of loss.

Having come this far, Kunpeng didn't hold back any longer. He generously offered to benefit his beloved Northern Wilderness homeland and all its inhabitants.

He pointed and gestured with the Later Heaven Bagua diagram, then explained the Nine Palaces, and also briefly touched upon his half-baked knowledge of Qimen Dunjia, the Three Wonders and Six Instruments, and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, making some improvements.

Because the human race has not yet been born, anything related to 'humans' is only touched upon, and even things like 'the Three Powers' are not mentioned at all.

Furthermore, these Kunpengs have only learned and grasped some superficial aspects.

My skills are lacking, and I'm showing some inadequacy!

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PS: This chapter cites a lot of sources, around 2000 words, and took me two hours to complete. While there seems to be a lot of information, integrating it is quite difficult and troublesome; it needs to be understandable while remaining as concise as possible. I also looked at the Later Heaven Bagua diagram while searching for information to understand and simplify it.

I'm too lazy to look at or search for the final Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, Qimen Dunjia, and the Three Wonders and Six Instruments. I don't even have the energy to copy and paste them.

However, this chapter cannot be omitted because the Book of Changes is very important. It is interconnected and closely related to the Luoshu (Later Heaven Bagua Diagram), Taiji Yin Yang, Yao Gua, Four Symbols and Five Elements, Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, Four Seasons and Eight Festivals, and so on.

Kunpeng had not been systematically connected before, so the "I Ching" was very suitable. It could not only increase knowledge and improve the system, but also be used to "accumulate merit" through this extraordinary book, even if it was only a part of it.

Of course, neither I nor Kunpeng could reach the level of the I Ching even if we devoted our entire lives to it. This is because the I Ching consists of three parts: the Lianshan, the Guicang, and the Zhouyi. The first two parts have been lost, and only the Zhouyi has been passed down to posterity. What we usually see and understand comes from the Zhouyi and so on.

Having endured countless ages, it embodies the collective wisdom of numerous ancient sages and worthies, and has been continuously explored, researched, and perfected. Naturally, even the Kunpeng in the text cannot surpass it.

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