Oriental Health Aesthetics: The Time of Professor Qiu Zhenglun’s Explanation of the Book of Changes(17）

This is the Prenatal Bagua Diagram, with the Taiji symbol at the center. The yin-yang fish represents the Taiji symbol. As we know, Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth) generate the six offspring: Qian symbolizes heaven, and Kun symbolizes earth. What are the six? Today we’ve discussed that this is Zhen Gua (Thunder Trigram), which represents the eldest son among male offspring. So, what animal does Zhen represent? We won’t digress too much here. Heaven corresponds to Qian, where the representative animal is the horse—thus heaven is symbolized by the horse, while Kun is symbolized by the ox.

In nature, Zhen represents thunder; among animals, it symbolizes the dragon.

Kan (Water Trigram) represents water in nature and the pig among animals.

Gen (Mountain Trigram) represents mountains in nature and the dog among animals.

Xun (Wind Trigram) represents wind in nature and the chicken among animals.

Li (Fire Trigram) represents fire in nature and the pheasant (a type of bird) among animals.

Dui (Lake Trigram), also called the Marsh Trigram, represents marshland in nature.

Now, let’s examine how these associations originate. Note that all trigrams are interpreted from the bottom upward. In Zhen Gua, the solid line at the bottom represents a yang yao (line). Why is Zhen considered a yang trigram? Because it contains only one yang line. Solid lines signify yang yao, while broken lines signify yin yao. Observe: Qian Gua (Heaven Trigram) has three solid lines, while Xun Gua has a broken line at the bottom—this broken line is a yin yao positioned at the first place.

All solid (yang) lines are designated by the number 9, and all broken (yin) lines by 6. For example:

– The bottommost line is called “Initial Nine” (初九 chū jiǔ ) if yang.

– The second line is “Nine in Second” (九二 jiǔ èr ).

– Progressing upward: “Nine in Third” (九三), “Nine in Fourth” (九四), “Nine in Fifth” (九五). You may recognize “the dragon soars in the sky” (飞龙在天 fēi lóng zài tiān)—this refers to the supreme position of “Nine in Fifth” (九五之尊 jiǔ wǔ zhī zūn).

– The topmost solid line is called “Top Nine” (上九 shàng jiǔ ).

The same applies to yin lines: “Initial Six” (初六), “Six in Second” (六二), “Six in Third” (六三), “Six in Fourth” (六四), “Six in Fifth” (六五), and “Top Six” (上六). This establishes the fundamental sequence—just form a basic impression of this structure.

The white half of the yin-yang fish represents yang energy, while the black half embodies yin energy. Observe their mutual embrace—notice how yang contains yin and yin contains yang? The “eyes” of the fish are opposites yet interdependent. This complementary duality is the core concept. (The painter Fu Baoshi’s name 抱石 Bàoshí literally means “embracing stone,” echoing this philosophy of interdependence.)