Probably before 3083 B.C., before the Yellow King reigned in 2697 B.C.,
there was a wise person named
Fu Xi who saw a wild horse with a weird
diagram on its back that jumped out from the River. The diagram implied 5 and 10 in the center, 3
and 8 on the left, 4 and 9 on the right; 2 and 7 on the top, and 1 and 6
on the bottom.
The wild horse was called Dragon Horse. The diagram on the horseback was called River Diagram.
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The legendary Fu Xi found the numbers in the diagram have a connection with the
stars in the evening. Every year,
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Because the Four directions have a relationship with the Five Elements, Chinese named Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Mar and Saturn as Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth stars.
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1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are Yang (odd) numbers. 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 are called Yin (even) numbers. 5 is the center number.
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1, 2, 3 and 4 are in the inner circle. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are
the outer numbers.
The inner numbers plus center number 5 are equal to the outer numbers. Therefore 1, 2, 3 and 4 are called Heavenly Original Numbers; 6, 7, 8 and 9 are called Earthly Developed Numbers. |
The sum from 1 to 10 is 55, which is called Heavenly Number. 5 is the center number of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 yang numbers. Also, 5 connects with many arithmetic calculations, 5 becomes the secret index of Heaven from the hint of the River Diagram. That's why the day system in the Chinese calendar used a cycle of 5 before.
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After applying the Five Elements on the River Diagram, we
find the Five Elements Producing Relationship shows in a clockwise direction.
That's why the Number Relationships are applied on the Chinese Five Elements astrology by Five Element scholars later. |
I Ching Pa Kua (Eight Trigrams)
The
River Diagram derived the Pre-Heaven Pa Kua.
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Fu Xi thought that ![]() ![]() ![]() We call this symbol Trigram. |
6 stands for most Yin. Also, 6 is the center number of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 yin numbers. Therefore 6 becomes an index of Earth.
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Base on the knowledge of astronomy and the River Diagram, Fu Xi created a diagram of Eight Trigrams, which is called the Pre-Heaven Pa Kua. |
Old Yang and Old Yin
The Yang and
Yin
combination makes four phenomena. The strongest Yang is 9, Old Yang. The weakest Yin is 6,
Old Yin.
Four Phenomenon | Index Number | Completion Number - Make to 10 | Yin/Yang Name |
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1 | 9 | Old Yang |
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2 | 8 | Young Yin |
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3 | 7 | Young Yang |
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4 | 6 | Old Yin |
Lo Shu, Turtleback Diagram and Post-Heaven Pa Kua
The Origin of the Chinese Yin Yang Symbol
River Horse Diagram, Pre-Heavenly Pa-Kua