I. Original Text:

In the Chen year, twelfth month, seventeenth day, at the hour of Shen, Master Kangjie was observing plum blossoms when he saw two sparrows fighting over a branch and falling to the ground. The Master said: "Without movement, no divination; without an event, no divination. Now two sparrows fighting and falling is strange." So he divined: Chen year counts as 5, twelfth month as 12, seventeenth day as 17, total 34. Subtract 32 (4×8), remainder 2, which is Dui, as the upper trigram. Add Shen hour 9, total 43. Subtract 40 (5×8), remainder 3, which is Li, as the lower trigram. Then total 43, divide by 6, subtract 42 (6×7), remainder 1 as the moving line. Thus the hexagram is Zehuo Ge, with the first line changing to Xian, and the mutual trigrams are Qian and Xun.

He interpreted: According to this hexagram, tomorrow evening a young woman will come to pick flowers. The gardener, unaware, will chase her. The woman will be startled and fall, injuring her thigh. The upper trigram Dui (metal) is the body, and Li (fire) overcomes it. In the mutual trigrams, Xun (wood) appears, and then Li (fire) arises again, so the energy of the overcoming trigram is strong. Dui represents a young woman, hence the woman is injured. In the mutual trigrams, Xun (wood) is overcome by Qian (metal) and Dui (metal), so Xun wood is injured. Xun represents the thigh, so there is the response of thigh injury. Fortunately, the changing line becomes Gen (earth), which generates Dui metal, so the woman is only injured and not in mortal danger.

II. Translation

Master Kangjie, on the Chen year, twelfth month, seventeenth day, at the hour of Shen, happened to observe plum blossoms and saw two sparrows fighting over a branch, both falling to the ground. The Master found it strange and said: "Ordinarily, without movement, I do not divine; without a specific event, I do not divine. Now two sparrows fighting and falling is an unusual omen, worthy of divination."

Thus he set up the hexagram:

• The year was Chen year, which counts as 5;
• Twelfth month counts as 12;
• Seventeenth day counts as 17;
• The sum is 34.

1. Upper Trigram

Divide 34 by 8 (to obtain the trigram number), remainder 2, which is Dui trigram, as the upper trigram;

2. Lower Trigram

Add Shen hour as 9, total 43;

Divide 43 by 8, remainder 3, which is Li trigram, as the lower trigram.

Combined, the hexagram is Zehuo Ge.

3. Moving Line and Changed Hexagram

Divide 43 by 6, remainder 1, so the moving line is the first line. The first line changes, resulting in the Xian hexagram (first line of Dui changes to Gen).

4. Body and Use Trigram

Since the moving line is in the first line, the body trigram is Dui, and the use trigram is Li.

5. Mutual Trigram

Mutual trigrams are Qian and Xun. The mutual trigrams are obtained by taking the upper three lines (excluding the top and bottom lines) as one trigram, and the lower three lines as another.

Thus we get:

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Interpretation:

This hexagram indicates:

• Tomorrow evening, a young woman will come to pick flowers, but the gardener, unaware, will mistake her for an intruder and chase her.
• The woman will be startled and fall, injuring her thigh.

Analysis:

• Dui trigram belongs to metal, as the body, and Dui represents a young woman.

• Li fire is the use (overcoming the body), indicating the body is injured;

• In the mutual trigrams, Xun wood appears, and Xun represents the thigh;

• Moreover, Qian metal and Dui metal both overcome Xun wood, hence the woman's thigh injury;

However, the moving line changes to Gen earth, which generates Dui metal, indicating that although there is injury, it is not serious, and there is no danger to life.

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Summary:

The woman is a young girl (Dui image), startled by a misunderstanding and falling (moving line at first), resulting in thigh (Xun image) injury (fire overcomes metal, metal overcomes wood). But why a gardener? The Qian image in the mutual trigrams suggests a male figure, often interpreted as a gardener or servant.

Fortunately, the changed hexagram brings life-giving energy, so the injury is not fatal.

Author's Reflection:

• How is the gardener identified? It can be understood through natural reasoning, as garden caretakers are often servants.
• How is the timing determined as tomorrow evening? In the "Peony Divination" case, the changed hexagram's Li fire indicates noon; here, the changed hexagram Gen corresponds to Yin and Chou hours (early morning), which seems less plausible. Alternatively, using the mutual trigram's Qian (corresponding to Hai and Xu hours) suggests the evening of the next day.

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III. Application of the Year-Month-Day-Hour Method

Through this case, we can see:

1. Using the year, month, day, and hour to quickly determine the upper and lower trigrams is simpler than the traditional coin-tossing method.

2. Combining the five elements' interactions to deduce characters, events, and degrees of fortune makes the hexagram more concrete.

3. Emphasizing external correspondences and divining on the fly reflects the essence of Plum Blossom Divination's "integration of image and number."

This method is not only applicable to natural phenomena but can also be used in sudden events, dreams, and psychic impressions. For example:

• Seeing a special scene, can we predict the future?

• Does a strange event on a certain day have deeper meaning?

• Can we analyze a sudden thought through hexagram setup?

The year-month-day-hour method makes divination not random guesswork, but a logical deduction based on numerical principles.