8 Trigrams

The solid line represents yang, the creative principle. The open line represents yin, the receptive principle. These principles are also represented in a common circular symbol (☯), known as taijitu (太極圖/太极图), but more commonly known in the west as the yin-yang (陰陽/阴阳) diagram, expressing the idea of complementarity of changes: when Yang is at top, Yin is increasing, and vice versa.

In the following lists, the trigrams and hexagrams are represented using a common textual convention, horizontally from left-to-right, using '|' for yang and '¦' for yin, rather than the traditional bottom-to-top. In a more modern usage, the numbers 0 and 1 can also be used to represent yin and yang, being read left-to-right. There are eight possible trigrams (八卦 bāguà):

 

Trigram

Figure

Binary Value

Name

Image in Nature

Direction

Family Relationship

Body Part

Attribute

State

Animal

1

☰

111

乾
qián

heaven, sky
天

northwest

father

head

strong

creative

馬
horse

2

☱

110

兌
duì

lake
澤

west

third daughter

mouth

pleasure

tranquil (complete devotion)

羊
sheep, goat

3

☲

101

離
lí

fire
火

south

second daughter

eye

light-giving, dependence

clinging, clarity, adaptable

雉
pheasant

4

☳

100

震
zhèn

thunder
雷

east

first son

foot

inciting movement

initiative

龍
dragon

5

☴

011

巽
xùn

wind
風

southeast

first daughter

thigh

penetrating

gentle entrance

雞
fowl

6

☵

010

坎
kǎn

water
水

north

second son

ear

dangerous

in-motion

豕
pig

7

☶

001

艮
gèn

mountain
山

northeast

third son

hand

resting, stand-still

completion

狗
wolf, dog

8

☷

000

坤
kūn

earth
地

southwest

mother

belly

devoted, yielding

receptive

牛
cow

Words List
Yijing 易经 The I Ching
Zhou Yi 周易 The Changes of Zhou
Fu Xi 伏羲 Mythical sovereign of ancient China
Di Xin 帝辛 The last emperor of the Shang Dynasty
Zhou Xin Other name of last emperor or the Shang (King Zhou)
Zhou Wenwang 周文王 King Wen, advanced the cause of the I Ching
Zhou Wuwang 周武王 Defeater of the Shang and founder of the Zhou
Zhou Gong 周公 Brother of King Wu, gave us the line statements of the I Ching
Zhi Sheng 至圣 The Great Sage, Confucius
Ji Chang 姬昌 King Wen’s name
Ji Fa 姬发 King Wu’s name
Ji Dan 姬旦 Name of the Duke of Zhou
Laozi 老子 Lao Tzu
bagua 八卦 The Eight Trigrams
liushisi gua 六十四卦 The 64 Hexagrams
Qin Shihuang 秦始皇 First emperor of China
Daodejing 道德经 The book of the Dao
Qian 乾 The first trigram – menas heaven and sky
Li 离 Another trigram, means fire
Yin 阴 The female aspect of Yin and Yang
Yang 阳 The male aspect of Yin and Yang
Lun Yu 论语 The Analects of Confucius
Shi Yi 十翼 The Ten Wings written by Confucius
Yi Zhuan 易传 TheCommentaries of Yi (Change)
Mawangdui 马王堆 Ancient Han Dynasty tomb discovered in Changsha, Hunan
Luo Zhenyu 罗振玉 Discovered what the dragon bones were and where they came from
Kangxi 康熙 Qing emperor
Yongzheng 雍正 Qing emperor
Qianlong 乾隆 Qing emperor
gua ci 卦辞 The Explanation of the Hexagrams
yao ci 爻辞 The Explanation of the Hexagram lines