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Chapter 1 of 1
壬学锁记
In the Tang dynasty's official statutes, Qimen (Strange Gates), Leigong (Thunder Duke), and Liuren (Six Ren) were listed together as the Three Modes (Sanshi). Leigong refers to Taiyi (Grand Unity)—the so-called "Taiyi Leigong Mode." The Tang dynasty prohibited the transmission of Qimen and Leigong, but Liuren alone was not banned because it was convenient for civilian use and not involved in military affairs. As a result, Liuren developed numerous branches of transmission, yet those who truly mastered it became increasingly rare.
My uncle inherited the teachings of our clan ancestor Weitang, studied for many years, and his divinations repeatedly hit the mark. I recall during the Gengshen Rebellion, when our hometown was reduced to ruins, my uncle had foreseen it early and sent letters warning relatives and friends, saying "there will be misfortune in the eighth month." The recipients were half-convinced and half-doubtful, yet when the time came, it indeed came to pass. Thereafter, everyone marveled at his insight with admiration. Because our clan great-grandfather Weitang had personally transcribed numerous secret manuals—having already published The Great Liuren One-Character Secret · Jade Interlocking Rings—now two more works were being published: The Complete Compendium of Bi Fa and Notes on Ren Studies. Among these, the Notes volume is especially essential for illuminating later students. Just as the printing was completed, the complete volumes were shown to me, and I was asked to append a few words at the end. I, Kui, am not well-versed in the mathematical arts—how dare I speak rashly? I therefore cite one instance of verification from what I have personally heard in the past, to attest to fellow practitioners. This also shows that although the arts branch into different paths, one's methods must adhere to the orthodox route. In this way, technique itself advances into the Way.
Fifth day after the Beginning of Summer, in the year Xinsi of Guangxu reign (1881) — Nephew Kui respectfully postscript.
Notes on Liuren (Six Ren)
My natural aptitude is dull and I am prone to forgetfulness. Whatever I have seen or heard, and whatever has been tested repeatedly with success, I jot down casually. I cannot organize it into categories—this serves merely as a mnemonic bead kept at my breast.
Liuren's origin is unknown. The Yunji Qiqian (Seven Lots from the Bookbag of the Clouds) records: on the Renzi day of the seventh month, twenty-ninth day, of the third year of Shanghuang, the Grand Perfected August Personage descended to teach the Yellow Emperor the Liuren Mode charts, the Three Primes of Six Jia, and the methods of Dunjia mode creation—methods that awed the world and were passed down to descendants. Huang Lizhou, in his General Discussion in Yixue Zhianshu, holds that Lingzhou Jiuzhou's discourse on the seven tones in the Guoyu (Discourses of the States) is precisely the method of Liuren. Ma Duanlin's Wenxian Tongkao (Comprehensive Examination of Literature) holds that Liuren originated in the Qin dynasty. Zhang Hong's Shuoyue, citing the Hanshu · Lülizhi commentary saying "Da Rao created the sexagenary cycle, observing the Dipper's Handle establishment, probing the essence of the Five Phases," holds that Liuren should have begun with Da Rao and been completed by Lishou. Master Jiao Litang alone held that the "Zhougong Kunmen," "Confucius's Three Incapabilities," and "Xilaochengzi's Four Dimensions" mentioned in Xu Yue's Shushu Jiyi correspond to Liuren's Heaven and Earth plates—for the most part, these are all speculative claims. However, when reading the various divinations of Wu Zixu and Shaobo in the Wu Yue Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn of Wu and Yue) and the Yue Jue Shu (Book of the Absolute of Yue), they are no different from today's Liuren—so its origins are indeed ancient. Wu and Yue themselves are already remote. Observing the Chunqiu Zhuan (Zuo Commentary), Zuo Qiuming was fond of speaking on divination—why did he not mention Liuren? If so, what the Wu Yue Chunqiu and Yue Jue Shu record may also be difficult to accept as authentic. The authors of these two works are Zhao Yu and Yuan Kang, both of the Later Han dynasty—this shows that Liuren only began to exist in the Later Han. I now see in the Tiangong Renxue book verse texts titled Duanmu Fuzi's Twelve-Character Classic and Zhuansun Fuzi's Twenty-Seven-Character Classic. Could it be that because Zigong "guessed right in every estimation" and Zizhang was talented and broadly accomplished, with his question about knowing ten generations ahead, these two chapters were created as attributions? How sparse are their few words, with nothing extraordinary about them at all.
Taiyi, Qimen, and Liuren were anciently called the Three Modes. My view is that Liuren appeared first, Qimen next, and Taiyi last. How can this be demonstrated? Observe that Liuren purely uses the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, spirits, and generals in its calculations—it does not employ the Nine Stars, Eight Gates, Wenqu, or Jidu—therefore we know it came first. Qimen's Three Heavenly Gates, Four Earthly Doors, and Heavenly Horse Party incorporate methods from Liuren. Taiyi's Nine Stars, Eight Gates, Five Talismans, and the like adopt methods from both Qimen and Liuren—therefore we know both works came after Liuren. Although among the Three Modes Taiyi is honored as supreme, its accumulated calculations extend to ten million years and beyond—utterly vague and unverifiable. Moreover, the cyclical movements of Heaven and the length of a dynasty's mandate—who dares to presume such knowledge? It is certainly not as practical for daily use and free from prohibition as Liuren.
The origin of the name "Liuren" has divergent explanations. Some say water is born from One and completed in Six, hence the name "Liuren"—this is the Song dynasty view. Some say the Zhouyi (Book of Changes) begins with the Qian hexagram; the inner trigram of Qian employs Najia, hence Qimen is called "Dunjia" (Escaping Jia); the outer trigram employs Liuren (Six Ren), hence the name—this is Zhu Mi's view. Some say Heaven's One gives birth to water, Heaven's Five gives birth to earth; combined they form Six. The character ren (壬) has an upper stroke resembling water flowing eastward, a doubled lower stroke resembling the thick earth bearing all, and a long middle stroke which, vertically, represents Heaven and Earth, and horizontally, the cosmos. Thus Six Ren operates in concert with Heaven, Earth, and the universe, supplemented by the generative work of water and earth, possessing the utmost virtue of thick sustenance—hence the name "Liuren." This is from the Weiwu Shu. Some say Qian is Heaven, belonging to Metal; Ren bears Heaven and belongs to Water; Ren receives the qi of Heaven and thereby reveals Heaven's secrets—hence "Liuren." This is Zhang Jiangcun's view. As for the Liuren Chantan, it claims that within each ten-day stem cycle, a Ren general presides over affairs; when arranging the Heaven and Earth plates, one should silently pray: "O Ren spirit-general of this cycle, protect me," and the judgment will naturally respond. If on the day of that Ren spirit one pays reverence, the Ren spirit will silently assist, and with each judgment there will be efficacious response. This makes Liuren into a kind of deity.
The Jinzhi Zhanlun states: "Within each cycle, the Rens each have their own domain. In the cycle beginning with Jiazi, Ren is at Shen. On a Bingyin day, Shen is the wealth-star—one need not seek wealth and still obtain unexpected gain; on a Yichou day, Shen is the officer-star—one need not seek office and still gain fame, otherwise there will be disputes and legal troubles." This view takes Ren as the most important spirit and hence names the system "Liuren." All these theories are diverse, and I cannot determine which is correct, so I collect them here and defer to the wiser judgments of others.
The Jingyou Shending Jing says: The Ren Mode uses catalpa wood for the Heaven Plate and date wood for the Earth Plate, facing east in the morning and west in the evening. Dong Yue's poem reads: "Vervain staff divination charts—with patterns engraved on catalpa—the heavenly luminary of the Red-cassia Mode shall move Ren." The ancients carved catalpa wood into the Heaven Plate and date wood into the Earth Plate, rotating them toward the sun to observe the combination of upper and lower, generating the Four Lessons and Three Transmissions.
The Monthly General is precisely the Sun. Adding the Sun to the correct hour and distributing the twelve palaces sequentially, the result aligns with the corresponding positions of the stars in the heavens—thus the stirring of yin and yang penetrates all phenomena, and Heaven and humanity respond to each other. In the Tang dynasty, Wang Yuanzhi quoted his master Tao Hongjing's words: "The essence of Liuren's subtleties is, first among all, the Monthly General. The Sun in Heaven changes palace with each month; its light illuminates all directions universally—therefore all matters are rendered visible. With the Monthly General correct, then all things in divination cannot be wrong." This statement is the clearest of all. The Song master Shao Yanhe, discussing successive guests, said: "In the ancient method of successive guests—devised because several people might come for divination simultaneously—rule used the cases of 'fifth before and third after' and 'changing the general without changing the hour.' Every test of this method failed. Because illuminating fortune and misfortune relies entirely on the Sun's radiance, the orthodox general with the orthodox hour is paramount; second-best is changing the hour but not the general. Otherwise, without changing either the general or the hour, one only relies on each person's year and destiny as the primary focus—the lessons may be identical but their underlying principles differ. Guided in judgment, one errs not one time in ten." This too is clear evidence that the Monthly General is the Sun. Yet the Yinhe Zhao says "mistaking the Sun's apparition for the Monthly General," and Zhang Songyuan's annotation, misled by the vulgar method of "transcending and receiving qi" in Qimen from vulgar editions, determines the Monthly General after node-passage according to Hetu generated numbers—which is entirely without justification.
The method of transiting the Monthly General occasionally differs among ancient texts, but always falls after the medium-term solar term (zhongqi), ranging variously by one, two, three, or five days. This is because most people employ the constant qi office, whereby the year's twenty-four solar terms are evenly distributed, whereas the Sun's progress has cycles of acceleration and retardation—and it does not necessarily pass the celestial palace marking to exact term-time of the zhongqi moment, which in turn is fixed to a particular session house (xiu) and degree. Hence there can be a difference of one, two, three, or five days. Nowadays the official almanacs use setting-fixed qi (dingqi) as their basis—therefore the Sun passes over its semi-siderial house-palace precisely at the moment of the zhongqi time and the Monthly General is switched then. This perfectly accords with Heaven's subtlety. Zhang Songyuan's annotation of the Yinhe Zhao, maintaining that the Monthly General is not the Sun, naturally gave rise to another method for transiting it; and when Chen Gengshan wrote the Sancai Fami, he misread the phrase "completeing the year by suffixing the epoch," to mean that in the first month the Sun's aspect-lodge-becomes the Xu-based symbol-divergent arrangement — which is even more laughable.
"When the Monthly General is correct, then all things cannot be wrong." This is impeccable maxim. And yet in Zhixnan's Case Practice, there were cases where an erroneous Monthly General was used and yet matters of great consequence still verified correctly. Why was that? Because the error arose unconsciously; the mechanism hence followed suit, and thus could correspond and "match." But if one deliberately flaunts novelty in aiming at difference, probably it would not work out that way.
There are two Yinhe Zhao. One does not treat of hidden-stem (dungan) techniques; its author is unknown—a composite drawn from many sources, in six volumes whose weakness is the haphazard selection and multiple extra plagiarisms. The other applies "hidden-stems" (life cycles with a cyclic), possessing just sixteen seven-character regulation-lines interlaced equally with quartets—yet attributed to Yao Guangxiao. In Ningbo, Zhang Songyuan offered a comprehensive annotation, whose Self-Prefaceal statement runs: "Elder master Yao obtained this work and stored it in the imperial repositories just as under Zhengtong Court the dust abounded — on one of the occurrence dates entering tomb storms, Master Sun Nanyuo from of Chendu city (he attended inner city guarded by red platforms-and war scuttos) fereted from serving city-double, producing an annotate-murder project attached on extra received instructional insights brought when during him going…, he 'seeked with utter persistence'. Only upon had entered by the road were finesse-definitive verses conferred." But one said: from the soil-moude "Mu-Bian" revolt under Zhengtong about sixty to eighty dates toward Chen-forefather region of Anqing spanning about 180-plus reigns-count-years, let alone whether Nuzhu-Kox could have reached such an improbable longevity–the disciple "Quiltingly attending" ends by making his professor proud-real pursuit perhaps impossible: its reliance on using cycle-times “dungan” although initial referral arrives from variants *kendakouZhong[stems-bowing?] TzuHuber-school “Yellow'straits [Zhong-Tg?]-ku? nonetheless expanded additionally in divine-spirit expansion-divisions, assigning “Heavenical,” “Bald-ling,” and indeed to “Third-title; hence branches-gem-spring extra-born:
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The Bi Fa (Complete Methods) is the most orthodox of texts, yet it should also be read with flexible and adaptable methods, and one must not be overly rigid. I recall on the tenth day of the first month in the fifty-seventh year [of the cycle], my clansman Mr. Yuan Zheng consulted on lifelong wealth and fortune. At that time, spring had not yet begun and the month was still under the Chou (Ox) branch. On a Gengchen day with the Zi (Rat) general and Wei (Goat) hour, the Chou tomb combined with the monthly general rested on the Day Stem. The Earth element was too firmly rooted, and I feared it could not be dislodged by the Wei in the middle transmission. Moreover, Yin (Tiger) was the native's zodiac sign yet fell into a place of emptiness and subjugation—weak and listless. The final transmission, Zi water with Teng She (Flying Serpent), further drained the Day Stem. How could this be judged under the pattern of "Great Gain in Seeking Wealth"? Indeed, the outcome was thwarted and stagnant. Again, in the third month of the fourteenth year of Jiaqing, on a Gengchen day with the You (Rooster) general and Chen (Dragon) hour, Su Yunwen, born under Yichou, consulted on where he might seek employment and what profit might come. He received the "Great Gain in Seeking Wealth" pattern. I observed the Heavenly Net enveloping the self, with the Tiger and Ghost onthe zodiac sign—this was an extremely inauspicious omen. Moreover, the Yin horse fell into emptiness, indicating not only difficulty in movement but also the need to guard against disaster and illness. Indeed, he did not go to the riverside shop, and in the first month of the following year, he died suddenly. Also, on the eighteenth day of the first month in the nineteenth year [of Jiaqing], Mr. Wang Yingbi, born under Bingshen, consulted on the year's fortune. For this divination, I likewise did not judge by wealth or fortune. On the Branch (house) and on the yearly progression appeared You as the Day Blade and Disease Charm, with which Gou Chen (Flying Serpent) was entangled throughout, signifying that old affairs would be tangled and unresolved; empty wealth meant that money would not accumulate, and one could hardly expect satisfaction. The outcome confirmed this. In the second month, a severe external ailment endangered him—because the Chou tomb carried the Blood Match and Blood Avoidance, the hidden spirit was the Tiger and Ghost, and the Branch held the Disease Charm. In consulting on the yearly fortune, the yearly progression is paramount, and its bearing the Disease Charm was the very reason. I had not discerned this beforehand. That he escaped death and recovered was by virtue of the Wei's chong of the Chou tomb. Since he saw Peer (Fracture) on the yearly progression, wealth and fortune were certainly not suited.
Nowadays, people distinguish between whether the birthday has passed or not, a method derived from Master Shao. However, in his case records, only three divinations follow this pattern; the rest do not.
The twelve positions from Long Life to Fetal Nurture should be based on the Five Elements' individual longevities and spread accordingly as a measure of natural sequence. Some today also differentiate the Ten Stems into yin and yang, distributing them forward or backward. This arises because the transmitted texts are of dubious authorship and there is no point of compromise. Likewise, when concerning the Daily Salary (authority) as indistinguishable from the Proclamation/Approach, it inevitably leads to separating yin-yang and forward-backward distribution—so that the Daily Salary is Praised Method. Keep in mind that Dao Declared Grace Gate and Daily Salary are inherently unrelated. Hence, the Bi Fa quote "May-born Status, Wisdom Doctrine" meansthat when one's Day vitality equals one's Day salary, only with the Yin Stem family is this read generously and logically. For instance, the Yi day has Salary in Mao and Long Life of Yi wood in Hai, abt vibrant at Mao; Ding has Salary in Wu, Long Life of Ding fire in Yin, booming at Wu; the Xin day has Salary in You, New Metal Long Life in Si, awake at You; the Kuei day, remuneration is in Zi, sub aqua Long Life in Shen, ecstatic in Zi. This synchronicity cannot apply to Ji day, so commentary says: "Ji You, Ji Hai, and Ji Si days—though the Shang spirit, Sheng morning/symbol noon qi is not Ji's exuberant god, still it may be used." I have also tested against prognostication: for a Xin day, when the Shang is Mao, and Wei arrives to clash —an index which injard, there’s no healing omens—the ailment is incurable fundamentally because of the Day-tomb event. If the Long Life of Xin were (misleadingly) the female son, the issue was that the serpent-god as you generate such disorder is utterly disruptive—if that is the daemonic in governance best judge likewise not strong, affliction rises too eerily.
For Ji days whose Shang horoscope is You, consultations show losses decoitation and libidinious cravings because of the constant failure-gramental deflections being at the superinduced stage, these acme were neither so dreadful, with general — may crossmores— misfire due day *eth and st.
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The way of choosing and avoiding, nothing is more wonderful than the general discussion in the Guanzi Shenshu. Its first chapter says: "The stems and branches transmit the lesson as a general guide; first examine whether the life is without harm. Where one's career and life journey pass through, survival and peril, hidden and manifest, are not clearly detailed." The second chapter says: "When the stem's fortune gains its place, seek to maintain and add to it; if there is slight harm, seek with the branch. When the water nymph reaches a good side, then stop; if there is some doubt, one must not halt." The third chapter says: "Whether wealth, comparison, or life-giving, one must carefully seek what is without harm. Only when one gains a stable position should one stop; do not let decline and ruin leave nothing." The fourth chapter says: "First make the stem the cause, then combine the use deity accordingly. If the beginning does not transmit through the lesson, one must look to the day, then one knows what deity this matter obtains." With these four chapters in mind, one takes the daily fortune, daily wealth, comparison, and longevity as auspicious, and must choose those without harm and move toward them.
Mr. Wu Jiayun regarded Shao Gong's "Bingxu day, Zi general, Wei hour, for a Yiwei person divining their lifelong lesson" as the most accomplished work in the whole collection; upon careful study, one sees its subtlety, for it adopts a flexible method of judgment, not merely focusing on the generating and controlling relationships.
Mr. Cheng of Xiuning was proficient in Liuren. When someone sought to learn from him, Jiugui said: "This requires full spirit." I once cleared my mind and stilled my thoughts, and with the innate spirituality obtained the wonder of nature; what I spoke never failed even once in a hundred attempts. When the mind is preoccupied and one forces a reading for others, even with mathematical poetry and books, it ultimately will not be verified.
My clan uncle, Mr. Yinyuan, named Tinghe, courtesy name Yongxiu, was skilled in Liuren. Once he shared a boat with several friends to go to the provincial examination, and together they cast a lesson to see which of them would pass. The auspicious deities and generals all fell upon his own year and life branches. The gentleman said joyfully: "Only I will obtain the jieyuan; you gentlemen have no hope." All his friends mocked him. When the list was posted, he was indeed placed first on the secondary list. There must be some profound subtlety here that the gentleman had not explored.
The gentleman once divined a burial site for his parents and said: "It can produce one bang (passing list)." Later, in the Xinmao year, his nephew, Mr. Zhongsheng, indeed placed nineteenth among those who passed the provincial examination.
I never had the chance to meet Mr. Yinyuan. I once heard that he taught at Baojia Dan. One day, his host joked: "Sir, do you know what this noon's dishes are?" The gentleman divined and said: "It must be wind-dried chicken. But you must not return home; if you do, it will not be verified." After a short while, the host found an excuse to go elsewhere but actually went home to check—it was indeed wind-dried chicken. He ordered it changed to stewed fish and then returned to the school. At noon, when the servant brought the stewed fish, the host laughed and said: "Sir, your lesson is also not verified?" The gentleman said: "There is paper under the inkstone; please read it." It read "wind-dried chicken becomes fish," and both host and guest laughed heartily. What a pity the gentleman did not preserve the record. I once asked Mr. Zhongsheng how he knew the wind-dried chicken would become fish. He said: "In past years, I heard my uncle say, 'Because the lesson contained the Ding horse, one knew it would move and therefore change.'"
The Bifa discusses the Ding deity, but only for metal days or when the tiger carries Ding. The Guanzi Shenshu, however, draws analogies and expands broadly, making the method complete. Yet the Ding deity is nothing more than a weight within the hexagram lines; its auspiciousness or inauspiciousness still lies in the deities and generals. This must be understood.
The transformations of Liuren cannot be fixed in form. Even when no Ding deity enters the lesson, its transformations cannot be determined by a single method. Books such as the Moijing Yao, Jingyun, and Qianzhi are clear and fluent and suitable for beginners, but they are slightly too rigid and too casual in writing—they are not books of verified experience. Many lesson names have inexplicable meanings. For example, four upper [elements] overcoming the lower is called Wulu (no fortune), which is correct. But four lower [elements] stealing from above is called Juesi (cutting off descendants)—what is the intended meaning? The Ding'e says: "Lower overcoming upper is called Juesi, because the upper does not tolerate the lower; four lower stealing from above is called Wulu, because being in the lower position one dares not offend the upper, and the upper must seize one's fortune." This explanation is slightly strained. Guan Yingzhen says: "These two lessons must be discussed interchangeably. In sum, one offends the upper and the other oppresses the lower—both are unfavorable." The Moijing Yao and Qianzhi shu, however, use them in divination for male or female children among the six jia and do not speak of their inauspiciousness—why is that? The Xinjing's song on divining male and female says: "When the use deity overcomes the lower, a male is born." Fan Li played three watches for the Yue ruler. The original annotation cites the Yuefujing: "On the Xinsi day of the fourth month, King Yue summoned Fan Li at the Shen general, Zi hour, to divine whether Lady Zheng would give birth. Li said, 'Shang Sheng Guang overcoming the lower must produce a male.'" The Xiuzhongjin makes it the Xinsi day of the fourth month, Shen general, Zi hour, with Si fire overcoming You metal. The Tonggui makes it the Dingchou day with Shen general, Zi hour, Si fire overcoming You metal. The Yuding Liuren Zhizhi follows this. However, when I checked the Yuejue shu and Wuyue Chunqiu, there is no such divination. I have never seen the so-called Yuefujing, and the Xiuzhongjin contains errors. Yet the Moijing Yao and other books say the Xinjing has this song but change it to "four upper overcoming and four lower stealing from above," claiming it more accurate, without initially considering its calamity.
In the method of divining male or female among the six jia, previous masters all took Quzhi (wood) and Yanshang (fire) as male, and Congge (metal) and Runxia (water) as female. In my own testing, only Quzhi as male and Congge as female are certain; Yanshang and Runxia are not so. I suspect previous masters took wood as east and fire as south—east and south being yang directions, producing males; metal as west and water as north—west and north being yin directions, producing females. They failed to recognize that Shenzi Chen, Yinwu Xu, Siyou Chou, and Haiwei Mao are bureaus (ju), not directions (fang). Within the tripartite combinations, the middle branch governs. Zi belongs to Kan and is male; Wu belongs to Li and is female—perhaps this is why Yanshang and Runxia do not hold. In past years, the merchant Wang Jie'an divined about his concubine's pregnancy and obtained Yanshang; I judged a male birth but a female came forth. My cousin Xia had his concubine's pregnancy divined and obtained Runxia; I had already understood this principle and judged a male rather than female. Indeed, this year he got a son.
In divining losses, one must observe the internal kind deities, hence there are times when the upper deity and general on the branch reveal the lost object. But this I have not tested and dare not speak of recklessly. Ancient methods also take the initial transmission as the person who stole. This is sometimes verified, yet it cannot be wholly followed. In past years, a gold ornament was lost in the Wang household. The lesson produced the Heavenly Queen on Si sending forth and controlling You metal—this showed a woman had stolen it. Because the year and life branches had various controlling elements over Si fire, I judged recovery. Again, at the Bao household, a jade monkey was lost. The lesson was Bingwu day with Wu in the stem, and the three transmissions were Shen, You, Xu. I said: "The branch is added to the stem—it has already left the house. The first transmission, Shen, is the monkey; the second, You, is the jade—clearly these images appear—and they enter the final transmission of the fire tomb, Xu. Xu is a servant with Feathered Serpent—there is no doubt a servant stole it. There is no need to designate the first transmission as the thief. As for You being the Taiyang and approaching above Shen metal, and the stem's Wu controlling the kind deity, it must certainly be recovered." Both lessons were verified. But the jade monkey from Huizhou was recovered the following year from a shop in Hankou. I do not know why. The lesson for the lost jade monkey was on the twenty-first day of the third month, Yi Chou year, at You general and Shen hour.
The Zhinnan Zhanyan is quite worth imitating, though one lesson on feng shui from the Yiyou day may be questioned. There is also a lesson on official litigation with a day-branch error. I think that divining feng shui is largely similar to divining for a residence: one knows the general outline from the lesson name; one takes the branch as the place, examines the upper deity compared to the day stem for generating, controlling, clashing, and combining to know auspiciousness and inauspiciousness. Through the three transmissions' deities and generals, one knows the speed of replacement. Through strength or weakness, one determines descendants and wealth, and through descendants, wealth, and official fortune combined, one knows the nature of whom it sends forth, and by examining where ghostly killings settle, one knows which fate among stems and branches is unfavorable. If one can truly do this, it is sufficient. If one insists on fixing the specific mountain ridge, the dragon source, the green dragon and white tiger by name, the mountain orientation, the bright hall, the water method—this merely captivates the ear, but is at bottom guesswork. One must know that mountains and rivers have no fixed shapes, and kind deities have disciplined principles of generation and control—they will not always match stroke for stroke. The Yuzao Jinying is detailed, but one should adopt it selectively (later text omitted).
For the Black Tortoise, I often also respond with Liùhé (the Six Harmonies). This is because Liùhé is the image of harmony and meeting. In past years there was a treatise on testing travelers, all gathered from the Four Books, now lost. Though in divining for messages the Red Bird is primary, yet Sheng Guang, the Letter God*,* and the Heavenly Rooster may all be referenced. If Red Bird appears above, news comes quickly; if it appears above the stem instead, it is slower. Wherever Red Bird enters the transmissions with an Ding horse, news will arrive by the period of the Red Bird's triple combination.
In divining illness, one must also consider kind deities. If the kind deity does not appear, then one may judge by ordinary methods. In past years, when I divined for someone concerning his mother's illness, I saw the officer ghost vigorous and without control and judged unfavorable; yet after one month she fully recovered. Looking back into the lesson: the three transmissions' officer ghost generated the parents seated on the inquirer's year and life branches. Then I remembered the Bifa Fu says: "When parents are in the void, a divination for parents' illness must result in death; when divining a child's illness, there is no fear." This shows that in divining illness one must look at kind deities—the Bifa Fu already said as much.
Rao Gong Liangcai regarded the Xinjing as his secret book; Wu Gong Jiayun regarded the Weiwu and Guanzi Shenshu as his secret books. The two frequently disagreed in discussions of Liuren. Yet one who thoroughly understands the Xinjing has more verified readings. In Wu Gong's readings, all I saw was this: on the twelfth day of the eighth month, Jiazi year, Bingzi day, he divined how many from She County would pass the provincial examination and obtained Fuyin lesson. Wu Gong said: "The middle will see five men!" I and Rao Gong could not fathom the reasoning behind the lesson; we pressed Wu Gong, but he laughed loudly and would not speak. When the list fell, it came about exactly as he said.
In that examination, Mr. Jiang Mingjiu of the famous Jiu genre placed twentieth. Earlier, on the Jiazi day of the sixth month, at Wei general and Chen hour, my brother Jiang Xiangkun asked me to divine for his provincial examination and I said he definitely would pass. Rao Gong and I found the Blue Dragon internal conflict and Red Bird void, and neither of us dared to confirm. Yet when the list was posted, Rao Gong came to ask me: "This was a careless judgment. The Blue Dragon is the officer star in prime energy; the Red Bird…" (the remaining nineteen characters are missing) placed on year and life branches, with the final seeing the Sun—the curtain noble was not to be treated as a grave. I then greatly admired Rao Gong's love of learning—what arises from failure tends to advance.
The Zhan Guan lesson, various texts only say it is favorable for concealment, escape, travel, prayer, compounding medicines, and writing talismans—but they fail to note it is also favorable for military campaigns. The history of the Five Dynasties in He Huan's biography says: He Huan served the Governor of Yunzhou, Zhu Xuan, as commander of the capital guard. When the Later Liang Emperor Taizu attacked Zhu Jin at Yanzhou, he first sent Huan, along with He Huaige, Liu Cun, and others with ten thousand soldiers to attack Yanzhou. Huan hurried toward the Guest Hall Lodge to sever the Liang army's grain route. Taizu scouted to Zhongzhou, captured a surrendered soldier and learned that Huan's army was rushing to the Guest Hall Lodge. Divining by Liuren, he obtained Zhang Guan and deemed it auspicious. So he selected elite cavalry and galloped a hundred li, intending to reach the lodge before the enemy. Missing the road at night, the Liang soldiers encountered Huan east of Juye and attacked, and Huan's army was utterly routed. The Liang cavalry pressed closer; Huan saw nowhere to run, climbed a tomb and shouted: "I am He Huan—do not kill me!" Taizu swung his horse forward and captured him.
The Duzu lesson (single foot) is very inauspicious. Shao Gong once divined a trade for someone and obtained Duzu with the ruling that river travel would be unfavorable but land travel good; river travel would bring double profit. This I have never tested and dare not treat as certain. In past days within our village, a man used private funds for a communal matter. He came to me to ask whether the authorities would reimburse him. I obtained Duzu lesson. I said: "Layers and layers of deprivation, plus that single 'one' character—it means you alone will spend the funds; the authorities will not acknowledge the reimbursement." Also, in the Xinwei year, Mr. Zhang Xudong of Liu'an divined his deputizing for the Liuhuo shipping firm, obtaining Duzu lesson. I said: "A single foot is hard to walk; layers of defeat—it will be in all ways unsatisfactory. The branch, being the shop's stand, has already mounted Depair as an abandoned dealership; with all three transmissions in defeat, nothing can be salvaged." Both lessons proved true.
The Duzu lesson indicates harm to children. One such case: someone divined in the third month of the Gengshen year over the collapse of a gate tower, having received ‘Here, text is missing more than ten characters.’ ... The house involved five persons fell ill. It happened to be the day of Li Xia's alternation; layer upon layer of Death Vapor coupled with Six Harmonies made the danger extreme.
As for the Two Tribulations lesson, numerous books describe extremely intense inauspiciousness. I used it for somebody consulting advancement but have not seen any great catastrophe. On reflection, the day-star (太阳) everyone can understand, but the month-star (月宿) references the moon, whose actual orbital segment movements are hard to track. An old method claiming the moon starts in the Shi chamber at the new moon in month one, enters the Kui chamber in month two, etc., leads to cumulative errors where the actual celestial path doesn't match the so-called "month-hosts." Since multiple books repeatedly pass on wrong data from earlier errors. They cite such results as ominous—yet because years of old reading sustained these false divisions and prognoses, rather than true verifications. Worth not much.
Accordingly, the appropriate approach is to use the qizheng almanac and calendar, and only allow yourself a Two Tribulations conclusion. Too hasty an alignment certainly produces a flawed judgment. The current jCalendar produces five planetary days and m periods that '...: specific heavenly positions over each branch — real 12 stations.,
While later and numerous authors added to old works and textbooks onto knowledge transmitted along generations with errors added so knowing truth takes care.
For the Tiankou trigram: regarding the “月份 in the mansion’ area” you otherwise many write month positions referencing segment readings plainly copied from wrong texts or aligning the actual record of astronomy. So before final hasty speaking, resort always to precise universal mapping rendered by correct independent charts — must systematically anchor each instruction made claims rarely thus contradict earlier stars positions.
And using *The Qinzheng fashion also gives date times calculated values of the moon’s place in avoidance, something used correctly if checking '上不 said' old errors ancient authors grew upon accounts in more practical zodiac mansions likewise (year … no degree settings expressed.)
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Similarly in the twelfth month of Gengshen yule in Yizhen, relative to his brother: an eldest obtains official rank vacancy. But …
We recall in particular reply: Through predicting when reincarnations.. the serious direct clues that kill — cannot regard success in subsequent seasons despite unknown causes — precisely deaths that proved premature unless chosen roads to visit might eliminate bad luck by honoring one's avoidance now. Likely returns home we respond only unforeseen endings relate to true message results.
A particular record sends shock. News correspondence suddenly severe; wush was seen personally and fright visible — direct earlier signals had appeared but warning did not save, ending our answers at "'Odd conditions unlike pattern."
Then likewise spirits respond from changing state: Even though user asked one thing outright, that either ask perhaps toward one question were recorded divine point in first occurrence due because unseen clear: Then earlier when only intends to cause be ordinary; reason can respond re future unknown through simultaneous by as various projected response (predict experience). Inside combined predicted result caused realizable meaning behind unknowns (approached various ancient forecast multiple alternatives). Sometimes thinking everything person seeks holding multiple life aspects besides, same spiritual announces those within beginning scope without demand; indeed master Wei fully claims most unknow results every subject ever — personal later segments openly in actual transcript results even other potential broader inquiry can consult…
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Historical even some verification of interpreting rather simpler much sudden answers bring is using not giving wanted — from circumstances we serve can perhaps become useful then many times others expect about earlier while message based fact alone brings correct caution cases whatever appears rule generally ought remain.
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I give other circumstances examples then return narration plus careful solution returns precisely unusual line.
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...
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Luo Riting was a man of profound learning, knowledgeable in medicine and skilled in Liu Ren divination. Whenever he encountered difficult and doubtful illnesses, he would invariably use Liu Ren to decide the matter, and the people of Huizhou called him "Half Immortal." My hometown was only about twenty li from his residence, yet regrettably I never had the opportunity to study under him—this remains a matter of regret.
My sister's father-in-law, Mr. Wang Youzhan, contracted a strange illness in his youth. In his ears he would hear voices saying, "Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin both hegemonized the feudal lords," and before his eyes a character "霸" (hegemon) would appear—small at first, then growing larger, until it filled the heavens and covered the earth, whereupon he would faint. He would not wake until the next day. Even the blink of an eye would bring the vision. This occurred three to five times a month. All the physicians were baffled by this strange disease, so they summoned Mr. Riting to diagnose him. After taking his pulse and casting a divination, Mr. Riting said: "This is a case of strange phlegm causing the affliction! No medication is needed—drink one hundred catties of sorghum wine and he will recover." Following his advice, the patient drank the wine, and before reaching a hundred days he was already cured, so he stopped drinking. One day he encountered Mr. Riting elsewhere and told him that he had recovered without drinking the full hundred catties. Mr. Riting said: "Though your illness is cured, having not consumed the full prescribed amount, the root cause has not been entirely eliminated. In your old age, you will perish from throat phlegm." Indeed, at the age of seventy-eight, he died exactly as predicted. Such was the precision of his pulse diagnosis and mathematical divination.
Five li from Chengkan County lies a place called Yanggan, where there lived a Mr. Wang Mufu, whose skill in Liu Ren was especially refined. The gentleman's given name was Qian, his courtesy name Shixiao, and he also went by the style Zhongdao Daoren. He long resided in Weiyang, where the shoes of those seeking divination often filled the space outside his door. He authored A Brief Record of Liu Ren Divination Cases in two volumes, and his method of interpretation placed special emphasis on image-taking, sharing the same views as Mr. Wu Jiayun. As for his method of determining the Noble (Gui Ren)—on the day of Ren, he exclusively used Mao for day divination and Si for night divination; for other days he followed the same method as other texts. In discussing the Annual Star (Xing Nian), he sometimes adopted methods that took the god above the god on the Annual Star—a practice puzzling to many. For example, for a person of sixty years of age whose Annual Star is at Chou, and who sees Si upon Chou, he would not judge fortune or misfortune by Si, but rather by You above Si.
The Salt Transport Commissioner, Mr. Lu Yayu (Jian), also understood Liu Ren and once requested Mr. Mufu to divine about his prospects of promotion. Divining at the hour of Chen with the General of Month being Chou, he obtained the day Dingmao, the Sanjiao ke (Three Intersections Lesson), with the three transmissions being You, Zi, Mao. Lord Lu assumed that since the three transmissions generated each other in sequence, a recommendation leading to promotion was certain. Master Wang said: "The one who generates me is the Closed Mouth (Bi Kou)—he cannot openly recommend you. Moreover, your Year and Life both reside at Wei, mounting the Chen Tu Wu Wang (Void and Emptiness)—they cannot take concrete effect. How can promotion follow? The three transmissions represent the general picture, but the Year and Life speak directly to one's own situation." As it turned out, there was no promotion. When he cast divinations in the ninth month of the year Bingzi, he did not retire from office until the winter of Renwu. His approach of consulting the Year and Life, found void and insubstantial yet revealing, opened a new method—and I have tested it with success. The principle that "Closed Mouth cannot openly recommend" is also something not fully treated in the Bifa.
My young relative Hui Cang was fond of Liu Ren and would often lend me various books. Even after he became an inspector at Gudi Post, Shandong, he still sent me several essays by Master Mufu on Liu Ren. I have now recovered them from my trunk and record them in full below, so that they may not be lost.
Master Mufu said: "Where mutual generation and union show feeling, one must search out their root. Where punishment and control show no feeling, one must investigate their foundation. Only then can wealth, rank, poverty, and adversity be spoken of according to the numbers. The Heavenly seasons are movement—fortune, misfortune, regret, and remorse all arise from movement. The hour is the movement of a single thought. Before the movement begins, Yin is contained within Yang; after movement, Yin and Yang separate. Before the movement of a single thought, with Yin and Yang yet undivided, how can fortune or misfortune be discerned? Once the thought has moved, it becomes the vanguard—it is then possible to infer and measure. The movement of a single thought—how it must be guarded! There are five methods of divination: first, sincerity of intent—without it, the spirit becomes disordered; second, stillness of mind—without it, the subtle realm resists communion; third, contemplation of principle—without it, one sees only a corner; fourth, determination of direction—without it, one's judgments become mere repetitions; fifth, development of meaning—without it, one treats numbers like the glue of the zither with frozen pegs."
"Though good or ill fortune in numbers depends on the direction of the thing divined, the changes within the numbers rest entirely on the refinement or coarseness of the diviner. The spirits announce through the ebb and flow of the five qi; the six meanings illumine stem and branch—yet still no divination has been made. How the spirits' announcements move and act—the authority resides in the diviner himself. If the spirit announces good fortune but the diviner reads it as ill, or if the spirits announce ill but the diviner judges it good, this is what is called 'a mind without stillness, misleading people no little.' The principles of the sages extend beyond any single corner, yet the careless mind of the student suffices only for dichotomy. Thus the numinous operations bind upon the viscous, hidden wonders converge in cryptic union—this again is not the fault of the diviner, but of the student who play the zither with glued pegs. Therefore the former sages, before divining, observed movement, and at the places where people sat or stood they examined the directions. Only then did they penetrate the exact hour, itemize the events, unite stem-branch with triads, annual life stars—illuminating the eight directions with crystalline clarity, leaving no trace of obstruction or regret. If a student can use his faculty in this manner, then divination is perfected. Written by Wang Qian, known as Mufu, in the intercalary seventh month of Wuchen year."
Master Mufu also discussed travelers, saying: "To know when a traveler will arrive, look to the Horse when it is in a Ghost position—this reveals the sign. For Ghosts signify affliction." He also explicated the Zhonghuang Jing in a case that occurred in the eleventh month, on that was the jiawu day, when noon-hour divination concerned whether an absent person of forty-two would return, lit on you atop gan with gouchen . The Three Passsages were you . He noted its complicated with methods of persuading differently from alternatives that stress how Li Jin Shen (the rat) of which contains in sun controls the sel, self" …
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Six: Divine Mechanisms Manifest in Movement. Master Wu Jiayun placed great emphasis on the Initial Transmission and the Ding Spirit, regarding "movement" as the pivot of divinatory judgment. The proper hour represents the movement of a single thought in the human mind; the Initial Transmission marks the beginning of change in the divination chart; the Ding Spirit accelerates that change. Only when these three are combined can one grasp the mechanism of fortune and misfortune.
Seven: The Sincerity of the Proper Hour Is the Foundation of Divination. The author emphasizes that "in Liu Ren, the proper hour is of utmost importance," and that the proper hour must be reported "offhandedly"—if one hesitates even slightly, the heavenly mechanism is lost. Behind this lies a profound psychological insight: the first thought of the present moment is the purest and most capable of resonating with the rhythms of the cosmos. Master Mufu likewise listed "sincerity of intent" and "stillness of mind" as the foremost prerequisites for divination, holding that the accuracy of a reading depends on the diviner's mental state.
From Sun Worship to Astronomical Science. The concept of the Lunar General as the Sun is essentially a projection of ancient astronomical observations of the sun's movement onto the divinatory system. The sun's passage through the signs, reckoned by fixed qi (determined solar terms), corresponds precisely to the twelve divisions of the zodiac in modern astronomical calendars. This suggests that the underlying logic of Liu Ren is astronomical physics, not mysticism. The sun's changing position along the ecliptic affects seasonal transitions, day and night lengths on Earth, and in turn the rhythms of human production and daily life—this is the reasonable core of Liu Ren's "heaven-human resonance." Modern people can re-understand the deeper meaning of the "Lunar General" through the relationships among solar activity cycles, seasonal changes, and the human biological clock.
From Stem-Branch Deduction to Systems Thinking. The deductive system of the Four Lessons and Three Transmissions is essentially a multi-layered information processing model. It employs the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches as basic variables, spirits and generals as attribute labels, the Three Transmissions as a time series, and the interactions of generation, control, punishment, and combination as logical relationships, thereby constructing a complete analytical framework for the development of events. If one strips away the classical terminology, its core ideas bear striking similarity to modern system dynamics and decision tree analysis. In an era without computers, the ancients used this symbolic system to perform multi-dimensional modeling of complex events.
From "Divining One Thing, Seeing Another" to Information Integration. The author repeatedly records phenomena of "divining one thing, seeing another"—seeking results for an examination but discerning mortality among kin, divining official fortune yet learning of family calamity. In modern terms, this can be understood as an intuition-first information integration mechanism. When faced with significant decisions, the subconscious integrates a vast amount of life information in an extremely short time and delivers a comprehensive judgment. The Liu Ren chart served as a vehicle for externalizing such intuitive information, giving readable form to "inexpressible" deep judgments. Modern cognitive science calls this the combination of pattern recognition and situational prediction.
From Analogical Symbols to Semiotics. The book makes extensive use of analogical correspondences—Mao as door, Xu as dog, Shen as knife, You as blood, Wei as sacrifice, the Nobleman as deity or Buddha. This symbolic system aligns closely with the signifier-signified relationship in modern semiotics. Each symbol carries fixed cultural encoding while also yielding flexible meaning according to specific contexts. The Liu Ren divinatory process is one of decoding and re-encoding symbols within a given context. Modern people can readily adopt this mode of symbolic thinking to analyze complex problems.
From "Superstition" to Mind-Body Relationships. Cases recorded in the book—"seeing a woman in mourning garments, and being moved to illness," "visiting a flower shrine and falling into infatuation and illness"—are, from a modern perspective, closer to the domain of psychosomatic medicine. Strong moral conflicts and psychological stress can produce real physical symptoms, a fact already confirmed by modern medicine. The "ritual supplication" function performed by the Liu Ren chart at such moments was, in fact, an early form of psychotherapy, using ritualized behavior to help patients alleviate psychological pressure and achieve moral reconciliation.
Decision Support: The deductive process of the Liu Ren chart is itself a form of structured decision analysis. When modern individuals face major matters such as career choices, investment decisions, or cooperative negotiations, they can borrow from Liu Ren's "Two Pillars of Stem and Branch" thinking: the stem representing one's own conditions and resources, the branch representing the external environment and the counterpart's situation, and the Three Transmissions representing the beginning, middle, and end stages of development. This three-stage analytical method remains applicable to project management and strategic planning today.
Environmental Assessment: The book's methods for divining residences and selecting building sites share common ground with modern environmental psychology and residential environment assessment. The author's regret at "dreading the Ghost facing the Third and Fourth Lessons and thus not daring to reside there" suggests that, in environmental choice, judgments of "ominous signs" must not rely on a single indicator but should comprehensively weigh multiple factors such as surrounding environment, occupants' health, and temporal cycles.
Risk Management: The author's attitude toward ominous chart types such as the "One-Legged Chart" and the "Two-Distress Chart" is not blind submission but faithful documentation of their empirical verification. This methodology of hypothesis—action—review is precisely the scientific attitude championed by modern risk management. Modern people can employ the Liu Ren chart as a risk identification tool to systematically sort through potential risk factors before making decisions.
Mind-Body Adjustment: Multiple cases in the book show that Liu Ren divination served a role of psychological support and behavioral guidance in helping people face illness, disaster, and family disputes. Appropriate ritualized behaviors (such as supplication or open-air confession of faults) can help alleviate anxiety and re-establish psychological equilibrium. Modern people need not adopt superstitious forms, but can draw on the underlying logic of psychological adjustment.
Academic Research Methods: Upon Theseus's meticulous textual research—the collation of editions, correction of errors, and verification of sources of ancient texts—demonstrates rigorous philological methodology. His exposure of chronological contradictions in Zhang Songyuan's preface to the Yinhe Zhao, his corrections of the structural errors in the Bifa Fu, and his research into the dating of the Longshou Jing all embody an academic attitude of critical reading and tracing origins.
Between Movement and Stillness: How Do Divine Mechanisms Manifest in Movement?
Master Wu Jiayun makes "divine mechanisms manifest in movement" his core method of judgment, and Master Mufu likewise regards "the stirring of a single thought" as the foundation of divination. This line of thought touches upon a profound philosophical proposition: in the passage of time, what constitutes the most essential "present moment"? The proper hour is the instant when a thought stirs—the dividing point between past and future. At this instant, all latent possibilities have not yet unfolded into actuality, and all past accumulations are about to crystallize into a new direction. The philosophical significance of divination lies not in "foreseeing" the future, but in confirming one's own existence and choice with the clearest consciousness at this very instant.
The Tension Between Image and Principle: Can Symbols Exhaust Reality?
The debate between "observing images" and "generation-control" in the book reflects a key proposition threaded throughout Chinese philosophical history: the relationship between image (phenomenon, mental imagery) and principle (law, essence). The Zhou Yi speaks of images without speaking of generation-control, yet Liu Ren deduction cannot do without generation-control. The author's eventual synthesis—taking generation-control as the substance and virtue-combination, punishment, and clash as means to "consult the images and exhaust the changes"—essentially acknowledges an epistemological fact: no single symbolic system can exhaust all dimensions of reality. Generation-control grasps energy exchange relationships among things; virtue-combination, punishment, and clash grasp structural influence relationships—both must complement each other to approach truth. This offers modern people an important methodological insight for understanding complex systems: multiple models coexisting are superior to a single model.
Heavenly Mechanism and Human Intent: The Self-Referential Paradox in Divination.
The author notes a subtle phenomenon: when one deliberately seeks to display brilliance or uniqueness, the divination proves inaccurate; when errors occur unintentionally, "the mechanism follows immediately." This suggests a deep self-referentiality within the divinatory system: the act of divination itself changes the state of the event being divined. The more a diviner deliberately pursues accuracy, the more the natural state is distorted; the more one maintains a mindlessness of clarity, the more one resonates with the original rhythm of things. This calls to mind the observer effect in quantum mechanics—the act of measurement itself alters the measured object. Perhaps divination has never been about "reading" an independent future, but about participating in the future's coming into being.
Karmic Retribution and Chart Images: The Cosmological Basis of Moral Order.
Cases in the book—"uncle and nephew at feud, and indeed meeting terrible retribution," "Cheng Qilong giving medicine and coffins, and being granted a three-year extension of life"—closely link Liu Ren divination with the concept of karmic retribution. This certainly reflects historical limitations of its era, but it also embodies a profound philosophical intuition: the cosmos is not morally neutral. One's actions will, in some manner, affect the trajectory of one's life—a proposition that is both ethical and cosmological. The Liu Ren chart's use to "see" the operation of such moral causality is essentially an exploration of an ancient question: do virtuous and vicious deeds leave real consequences at the cosmic level?
| Concept | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Three Arts | Taiyi, Qimen, and Liu Ren are collectively called the Three Arts, the highest-level divinatory systems of ancient China. Taiyi emphasizes celestial fortune, Qimen emphasizes military strategy, and Liu Ren emphasizes human affairs |
| Four Lessons and Three Transmissions | The core framework of Liu Ren deduction. Centered on the day stem and branch, with each mounted by the celestial plate's spirits and generals to form four lessons; through the methods of conquest and usage, the beginning, middle, and final transmissions are obtained, symbolizing three stages of development |
| Lunar General | The position of the sun in the twelve signs of the zodiac. Changes monthly, demarcated by the qi midpoints. The Lunar General is the celestial time reference of the Liu Ren chart |
| Nobleman | Celestial Nobleman, foremost among the twelve celestial officers, governing auspiciousness and blessings. Divided into yang and yin noblemen, employed according to day and night |
| Chart Body and Chart Name | Each chart has specific names, such as Prostrate Lament, Returning Lament, Mao Star, Eight Specializations, One Leg, Triple Junction, Severing the Pass; the name often reveals the chart's fundamental nature |
| Analogous Spirits | Spirits, generals, or stems and branches corresponding to the matter being divined—e.g., divining loss looks to Black Tortoise, divining news looks to Vermilion Bird, divining fugitives looks to Great Yin |
| Annual Cycle and Natal Branches | The natal branches are the heavenly stem and earthly branch of one's birth year; the annual cycle is the yearly branch corresponding to one's current age. Both are channels "penetrating" the chart to directly reach the individual's destiny |
| Ding Spirit | The spirit of change within a cycle, closely related to the cycle's head. When the Ding Spirit enters the chart, it signals rapid change |
| Hidden Stems | A method distributing the cycle stems across the twelve houses using the Wuzi Cycle, forming hidden stem-branch combinations. The Zhonghuang Jing specializes in this method |
| Celestial Eye Sha | A killing spirit associated with the strange and sinister; its presence at the stems or branches indicates anomalous objects or phenomena within the household |
Astronomical-Calendrical Perspective. Contemporary scholarship on Liu Ren's Lunar General Institution focuses on the evolution from constant-qi sign-changing to fixed-qi sign-changing in Tang-Song texts. With the establishment of fixed-qi methods, the Lunar General became fully aligned with the actual ecliptic positions, definitively marking the modernization of Liu Ren's astronomical foundation. Modern astronomical software can precisely reconstruct the precise solar longitude of any historical moment, providing the objective conditions for re-examining ancient case examples.
Textual and Bibliographic Studies. Ren Xue Suo Ji itself possesses exceptionally high documentary value. The author's comparative emendations of the Guo edition of the Bifa Fu against the Daquan version, his doubts concerning the dating of the Longshou Jing, and his exposure of chronological contradictions in Zhang Songyuan's preface, provide first-hand clues for modern research into Liu Ren's textual lineage. His spirit and practice of “critical textual scholarship” predate modern academic research by nearly a century.
Cognitive Science Perspective. Some scholars have begun studying the "verification" phenomenon in Liu Ren divination from the standpoints of pattern recognition theory and decision psychology. Cases of high hit rates often involve notable social cues (such as examination and promotion divinations) with clear matched-spirit correspondences. The Liu Ren chart's embedded symbols form a highly ordered problem representation framework that helps structure the diviner's observations and deductions. These requirements compare structurally with knowledge representation designs found in modern expert systems.
Cultural Anthropology Perspective. The abundant folk materials in Ren Xue Suo Ji—associated rituals of „offerings" or "confession-supplications" amid divinations on strokes of loss, flight, haunted residences, and illness—provide enriching material for the study of folk faith-and-psyche patterns among the Qing Long River maritime heartlands. Beyond approximating individual decision behavior, the Chinese board collectively constitutes the society's mechanism of mutual engagement: amid the everyday uncertainties of loss, flight, sickness, and domestic turmoil, the Liu Ren chart provides a community accepted interpretive and behavioral framework further validated socially through practice—its reasoning displayed since consultation, reviewed through subsequent and independent appraisals.