Bagua

For other uses, such as the Peruvian province or town, see Bagua (disambiguation).

The Bagua (Chinese: 八卦; pinyin: bā guà; Wade–Giles: pa kua; lit. 'eight symbols') are eight diagrams used in Taoist cosmology to represent a range of interrelated concepts. Each consists of three lines, each either "broken" or "unbroken," representing a yin line or a yang line, respectively. Due to their tripartite structure, they are often referred to as "trigrams" in English.

The trigrams are related to Taiji philosophy and the Wu Xing. The ancient Chinese classic I Ching consists of the 64 pairs of trigrams (called "hexagrams") and commentary on them. The interrelationships among the trigrams are represented in two arrangements, the Primordial (先天八卦), "Earlier Heaven" or "Fuxi" bagua (伏羲八卦), and the Manifested (後天八卦), "Later Heaven," or "King Wen" bagua. The trigrams have correspondances in astronomy, astrology, geography, geomancy, anatomy, the family, and elsewhere.

The eight trigrams are: Qian 天, "Heaven;" Xun 風, "Wind;" Kan 水, "Water;" Gen 山, "Mountain;" Kun 地, "Earth," Zhen 雷 "Thunder," Li火, "Fire;" and Dui 泽, "Lake."

Relation to other Principles

The eight trigrams of the bagua (King Wen "Later Heaven" order).

There are two possible sources of bagua: The first is from traditional Yin and Yang philosophy. The interrelationships of this philosophy were described by Fuxi in the following way:

無極生有極, 有極是太極,
太極生兩儀, 即陰陽;
兩儀生四象: 即少陰、太陰、少陽、太陽,
四象演八卦， 八八六十四卦
The Limitless (Wuji) produces the delimited, and this is the Absolute (Taiji)
The Taiji produces two forms, named yin and yang
The two forms produce four phenomena, named lesser yang, great yang (taiyang also means the Sun), lesser yin, great yin (taiyin also means the Moon).
The four phenomena act on the eight trigrams (ba gua), eight eights are sixty-four hexagrams.

Another philosophical description of the source is the following, attributed to King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty: "When the world began, there was heaven and earth. Heaven mated with the earth and gave birth to everything in the world. Heaven is Qian-gua, and the Earth is Kun-gua. The remaining six gua are their sons and daughters".

The trigrams are related to the five elements of Wu Xing. The Water and Fire trigrams correspond directly with the Water and Fire elements. The element of Earth corresponds with both the trigrams of Earth and Mountain. The element of Wood corresponds with the trigrams of Wind (as a gentle but inexorable force that can erode and penetrate stone) and Thunder. The element of Metal corresponds with the trigrams of Sky and Lake.

Further information: I Ching § Trigrams

Pre-King Wen "Earlier Heaven" order

卦名 Name	自然 Nature	Season	性情 Personality	家族 Family	方位 Direction	意義 Meaning
乾Qian	天 Heaven	Summer	Creative	父 Father	南 South	Expansive energy, the sky.
巽Xun	風 Wind	Summer	Gentle	長女 Eldest Daughter	西南 Southwest	Gentle penetration, flexibility.
坎Kan	水 Water	Autumn	Abysmal	中男 Middle Son	西 West	Danger, rapid rivers, the abyss, the moon.
艮Gen	山 Mountain	Autumn	Still	少男 Youngest Son	西北 Northwest	Stillness, immovability.
坤Kun	地 Earth	Winter	Receptive	母 Mother	北 North	Receptive energy, that which yields.
震Zhen	雷 Thunder	Winter	Arousing	長男 Eldest Son	東北 Northeast	Excitation, revolution, division.
離Li	火 Fire	Spring	Clinging	中女 Middle Daughter	東 East	Rapid movement, radiance, the sun.
兌Dui	泽 Lake	Spring	Joyous	少女 Youngest Daughter	東南 Southeast	Joy, satisfaction, stagnation.

King Wen "Later Heaven"

Bagua with name and nature (King Wen "Later Heaven" order)

卦名 Name	自然 Nature	Season	性情 Personality	家族 Family	方位 Direction	意義 Meaning
離Li	火 Fire*	Summer	Clinging	中女 Middle Daughter	南 South	Rapid movement, radiance, the sun.
坤Kun	地 Earth*	Summer	Receptive	母 Mother	西南 Southwest	Receptive energy, that which yields.
兌Dui	泽 Lake	Autumn	Joyous	少女 Youngest Daughter	西 West	Joy, satisfaction, stagnation.
乾Qian	天 Heaven	Autumn	Creative	父 Father	西北 Northwest	Expansive energy, the sky.
坎Kan	水 Water*	Winter	Abysmal	中男 Middle Son	北 North	Danger, rapid rivers, the abyss, the moon.
艮Gen	山 Mountain	Winter	Still	少男 Youngest Son	東北 Northeast	Stillness, immovability.
震Zhen	雷 Thunder	Spring	Arousing	長男 Eldest Son	東 East	Excitation, revolution, division.
巽Xun	風 Wind	Spring	Gentle	長女 Eldest Daughter	東南 Southeast	Gentle penetration, flexibility.

Bagua used in Feng Shui

Bagua sign placed in a park outside of Nanning, Guangxi province in China

The Bagua is an essential tool in the majority of Feng Shui schools. The Bagua used in Feng shui can appear in two different versions: the Earlier Heaven Bagua, used for burial sites and the Later Heaven Bagua, used for the residences.

Xiantian Bagua or Earlier Heaven Bagua

In Xiantian Bagua, also known as Fu Xi (2852 - 2737 BCE) Bagua, the Heaven is in the higher part and the Earth is in the lower part. The trigram Qian (Heaven) is at the top, in the South (in the past, the South was located at the top in Chinese maps), and Kun (Earth) at the bottom, in the North. Li (Fire) and Kan (Water) on the left and on the right-hand side form a pair. Zhen (Thunder) and Xun (Wind) form another pair, while being one opposite the other. Gen (Mountain) and Dui (Lake) form another pair, while being one opposite the other, in balance and harmony. The adjustment of the trigrams is symmetrical by forming exact contrary pairs. They symbolize the opposite forces of Yin and Yang and represent an ideal state, when everything is in balance.

Houtian Bagua or Later Heaven Bagua

The sequence of the trigrams in Houtian Bagua, also known as the Bagua of King Wen (1099 - 1055 BCE), describes the patterns of the environmental changes. Kan is placed downwards and Li at the top, Zhen in the East and Dui in the West. Contrary to the Earlier Heaven Bagua, this one is a dynamic Bagua where energies and the aspects of each trigram flow towards the following. It is the sequence used by the Luo Pan compass which is used in Feng Shui to analyze the movement of the Qi that affects us.

Bagua of the eight aspirations – also called Bagua Map

Feng Shui was made very popular in Occident thanks to the Bagua of the eight aspirations. Each trigram corresponds to an aspect of life which, in its turn, corresponds to one of the cardinal directions. Applying Feng Shui using the Bagua of the eight aspirations made it possible to simplify Feng Shui and to bring it to the reach of everyone. The Masters of Traditional Feng Shui call it Neo Feng Shui or Mc Feng Shui, for its simplicity, because it does not take into account the forms of the landscape or the temporal influence or the annual cycles. The Bagua of the eight aspirations is divided into two branches: the first, which uses the compass and cardinal directions, and the second, which uses the Bagua by using the main door. It is clear that, without taking into account the cardinal directions, the second is an even more simplified manner without any sense.

Bagua map

A bagua map is a tool used in modern forms of Feng shui to map a room or location and see how the different sections correspond to different aspects in one's life. These sections are believed to relate to every area or aspect of our lives and are divided into such categories as: fame, relationships/marriage, children/creativity, helpful people/travel, career, inner knowledge, family/ancestors/health, and wealth/blessings.

In this system, the map is intended to be used over the land, one's home, office or desk to find areas lacking good chi, and to show where there are negative or missing spaces and what may need rectifying or enhancing in life or the environment.

For example, if the Bagua grid is placed over the entire house plan and it shows the toilet, bathroom, laundry, or kitchen in the wealth/blessings area it would be considered that the money coming into that particular environment would disappear very fast, as if to be 'going down the drain.' Malaysia I Ching Net

In Popular Culture

The Unicode character set has characters for each of the eight trigrams at codepoints U+2630 to U+2637: ☰☱☲☳☴☵☶☷

In the cartoon Jackie Chan Adventures, the trigrams are each written on a face of the Pan Ku Box, though Lake is reassigned to mean Moon.

The creators of the television series Lost incorporated the bagua symbol into the logos for the DHARMA Initiative stations found around the island.

In the anime/manga Naruto, the clan known as the Hyuga clan uses combat based on the Eight Trigrams, with their main attack called the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, involving a series of heavy strikes into pressure points on the opponent's body, or as a means of fast weaker attacks against many opponents.

In the anime Cowboy Bebop, episode titled Boogie Woogie Feng Shui, the device that Maefa uses with the Sunstone contains trigrams from the Bagua, shaped in a Octagon that has a gyroscopic outer and inner ring. The device was used as a MacGuffin of sorts to get Maefa and Jet Black out of trouble. This would be in contrast to the Sunstone, which functions more as a Plot coupon: it not only powered the device, but was destroyed with a single shot from Spike's Swordfish II and opened a rift in hyperspace to provide a resolution to the story.

In the anime/manga Outlaw Star, there is a form of energy called Tao Magic which is employed extensively by the Kei Pirates. There is a somewhat obscure bagua reference near the end of the series when the Kei Pirate Hazanko constructs a method to force the Galactic Leyline open. When the method is completed, a giant bagua-like shape appears in space with the Leyline as the center just before the way inside is opened.

In the Nickelodeon television show Avatar: The Last Airbender, air bending is based on baguazhang (sometimes called "Bagua" for short). The forms used in the show for airbending are similar or identical to baguazhang techniques. All four bending styles are based on four ancient forms of Chinese martial arts. Firebending is based on Northern Shaolin Kung Fu; Waterbending is based on taijiquan; and Earthbending is based on Hung Gar.

The 8 Diagrams, an album released by The Wu-Tang Clan in 2007, features an adaptation of the Bagua map on its cover. The title of the album itself is a reference to the eight trigrams that are found around the outside of the map.

See also

• Taiji / Taeguk
• Flag of South Korea: the Taeguk Flag
• Flag of South Vietnam: 3 trigrams, representing "south"
• Baguazhang: a martial art based on principles derived from bagua
• Taijiquan another martial art partially based on bagua

External links

• Bagua - Animated

• About the bagua
• Kheper.net on the trigrams
• Chart with trigrams & bagua
• Bagua images from Google
• Early And Later Heaven Arrangements
• Malaysia I Ching Net
• The Feng Shui Concept