Bagua

For other uses, see Bagua (disambiguation).

Bagua diagram from Zhao Huiqian's (趙撝謙) Liushu benyi (六書本義, 1370s).

Bagua
Chinese name
Chinese	八卦
Literal meaning	Eight symbols
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bāguà Wade–Giles Pa1 kua4 Hakka Romanization Pat-koa Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Ba3 gwaa3 Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Báik-guá
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Bát quái
Hán-Nôm	八卦
Korean name
Hangul	팔괘
Hanja	八卦
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Palgwae McCune–Reischauer P'al-kwae
Japanese name
Kanji	八卦
Hiragana	はっけ
Transcriptions Romanization Hakke

The Bagua or Pa Kua or Palgoae (in Korean) are eight symbols used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts. Each consists of three lines, each line either "broken" or "unbroken", respectively representing yin or yang, 0 or 1 forming binary numbers 000-111 (0 to 7). Due to their tripartite structure, they are often referred to as Eight Trigrams in English.

The trigrams are related to Taiji or Taegeuk (in Korean) philosophy, Taijiquan and the Wu Xing, or "five elements". The relationships between the trigrams are represented in two arrangements, the Primordial (先天八卦), "Earlier Heaven" or "Fu Xi" bagua (伏羲八卦), and the Manifested (後天八卦), "Later Heaven," or "King Wen" bagua. The trigrams have correspondences in astronomy, astrology, geography, geomancy, anatomy, the family, and elsewhere.

The ancient Chinese classic, I Ching (Pinyin: Yi Jing), consists of the 64 pairwise permutations of trigrams, referred to as "hexagrams", along with commentary on each one.

Trigrams

八卦 Bāguà—The eight trigrams (Top bar is least significant binary digit)

Trigram lines	乾 Qián ☰ 000	兌 Duì ☱ 001	離 Lí ☲ 010	震 Zhèn ☳ 011	巽 Xùn ☴ 100	坎 Kǎn ☵ 101	艮 Gèn ☶ 110	坤 Kūn ☷ 111
Nature	Heaven/Firmament 天 Tiān	Lake/Marsh 澤 Zé	Heart of Fire 火 Huǒ	Thunder 雷 Léi	Wind 風 Fēng	Water 水 Shuǐ	Mountain 山 Shān	Ground 地 Dì
Element and planet	Metallic / Neptune	Metallic / Venus	Fiery / Mars	Wooden / Jupiter	Wooden / Pluto	Watery / Mercury	Earthy / Uranus	Earthy / Saturn
Ba Xian	Han Xiang Zi	Zhongli Quan	Lü Dongbin	Cao Guojiu	He Xiangu	Li Tieguai	Zhang Guolao	Lan Caihe
Personality	Philosophy	Holy Merrymaker	Sovereignty	Emperor (General)	Tao Yin (Wise)	Pilgrim	Warrior Hero	Feeling
Artifact	Flute	Hand fan	Sword	Castanet	Lotus	Calabash	Drum	Basket flower
Eight meridians	Du Mai	Yin Wei Mai	Chong Mai	Yang Wei Mai	Yin Qiao Mai	Dai Mai	Yang Qiao Mai	Ren Mai
Chinese Dragon	Tianlong	Panlong, Feilong	Zhulong	Shenlong	Qinglong	Jiaolong, Dilong	Fuzanglong	Chilong
Starting acupuncture point	Hou Xi	Nei Guan	Gong Sun	Wai Guan	Zhao Hai	Zu Lin Qi	Shen Men	Lie Que
Acupuncture Channel	Xiao Chang	Xin Bao	Pi	San Jiao	Shen	Dan	Pang Guang	Fei
Chinese Zodiac Greek God Equivalent	Sheep Apollo	Dog Aphrodite	Snake Demeter	Cat (pig) Hermes	Bird Athena	Rat Dionysus	Monkey Ares	Tiger Hera
Zang-fu	Hand	Tai Yin	Jue Yin	Yang Ming	Shao Yin	Shao Yang	Tai Yang	Foot
Baduanjin	兩手托天理三焦	左右開弓似射雕	調理脾胃順單舉	攢拳怒目增氣力	兩手攀足固腎腰	搖頭擺尾去心火	五勞七傷向後瞧	背後七顛百病消
Chakra	Sahasrara	Ajna	Anahata	Vishuddha	Svadhishthana	Manipura	Muladhara	Bindu
Axis Points	Qianding	Yindang/Qiangjian	Danzhong/Shendao	Tiantu/Yamen	Shenque/Mingmen	Zhongwan/Jinsuo	Shimen/Yaoyangquan	Huiyin
Mid-body acupuncture point	百會	強間	膻中, 神道	大椎 廉泉	神闕, 命門	脊中, 中脘	腰陽關, 氣海	華蓋, 會陰
Action	Think, Sound (to)	See	Love	Say	Feel	Do / Have (Power)	Be	Exist
Bushido	Correct (Saint)	Respect	Compassion	Integrity	Loyal	Honor	Heroic Courage	Self Control
Greek Titan Equivalent	Uranus (Father Sky)	Hemera (Day)	Ether (Fire)	Chaos (Storm, Chaotic)	Nyx (Tree)	Pontus (Sea)	Ourea (Mountain)	Gaia (Mother Earth)
Human body	Spirit	Nervous System	Circulatory System	Immune System	Reproductive System	Skeletal System	Excretory System	Muscle System
Virtue and Sin	Faith - Heresy	Abnegation - Envy	Chastity - Lust	Humble - Vanity	Dedication - Lazy	Temperance - Greedy	Patience - Wrath	Charity - Materialist
24 Hours	12	9	6	3	15	18	21	0
360 degrees	180	135	90	45	225	270	315	0
Energy	Solar	Wind	Thermal	Electric	Organic	Hydric	Fossil	Gravitational
Nature Event	Star Blows (Magnectic Fields) Meteor Comet	Hurricane	Forest Fires	Lightning Storm	Disease Plague	Tsunami Flood	Volcanic Eruption	Earth Quake
Trigram Lines Image	Full, All (Force)	Bucket (Washer, Purifying)	Sphere (Cyclic)	Cup (Drinker, Taster)	Bridge (Helper)	Target (Dangerous)	Gate, Door (Guardian, Keeper, Key)	Empty, Nothing (Darkness)
Arctic Season (Antarctic Opposite)	Summer Solstice 21 June	7 May	Spring Equinox 21 March	7 February (Azure Dragon)	7 August (Vermilion Bird)	Fall Equinox 21 September	7 October	Winter Soltice 21 December (White Tiger)
Feng Shui Number (King Wen/Fu Xi) 5 Center	6/9	7/4	9/3	3/2	4/8	1/7	2/6	8/1
Human Body	Head	Arm/Shoulder	Breasts/Thorax	Forearm/Hand	Thigh/Glutes	Abdomen	Knee/Foot	Womb
Bone	Skull	Humerus	Rib Cage	Radius/Ulna	Femur	Spinal Cord	Tibia/Fibula	Pelvis
Endocrine glands	Pineal	Pituitary	Thymus	Thyroid	Ovary	Pancreas	Testis	Adrenal

Relation to other principles

Derivation of the bagua

There are two possible sources of bagua. The first is from traditional Yin and Yang philosophy. This is explained 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

Wújí shēng yǒu jí, yǒu jí shì tàijí Tàijí shēng liǎngyí, jí yīnyáng Liǎngyí shēng sìxiàng: jí shǎo yīn, tàiyīn, shǎo yáng, tàiyang Sìxiàng yǎn bāguà bābāliù shísì guà

The Limitless (無極; wuji) produces the delimited (有極; youji), and this demarcation is equivalent to the Absolute (太極; taiji). The Taiji (the two opposing forces in embryonic form) produces two forms, named yin-yang (陰陽) which are called Liangyi (the manifested opposing forces). These two forms produce four phenomena: named lesser yin (少陰, shaoyin), greater yin (太陰; taiyin, which also refers to the Moon), lesser yang (陽, shaoyang), and greater yang (太陽; taiyang, which also refers to the Sun). The four phenomena (四象; Sìxiàng) act on the eight trigrams (八卦; Bagua). Eight 'eights' results in sixty-four hexagrams.

Another possible source of bagua is the following, attributed to King Wen of 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 guas are their sons and daughters".

The trigrams are related to the five elements of Wu Xing, used by Feng Shui practitioners and in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Those five elements are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. The Water (Kan) and Fire (Li) trigrams correspond directly with the Water and Fire elements. The element of Earth corresponds with both the trigrams of Earth (Kun) and Mountain (Gen). The element of Wood corresponds with the trigrams of Wind (Xun) (as a gentle but inexorable force that can erode and penetrate stone) and Thunder (Zhen). The element of Metal corresponds with the trigrams of Heaven (Qian) and Lake (Dui).

There are eight possible combinations to render the various trigrams (八卦 bāguà):

	Trigram figure	Possible binary value	Name	Translation: Wilhelm	Image in nature (pp.l-li)	Direction (p. 269)	Family relationship (p. 274)	Body part (p. 274)	Attribute (p. 273)	Stage/ state (pp.l-li)	Animal (p. 273)
1	☰	111	乾 qián	the Creative, (natural) force	heaven, sky 天	northwest	father	head	strong, persisting	creative	馬 horse
2	☱	110	兌 duì	the Joyous, open (reflection)	lake, marsh 澤	west	third daughter	mouth	pleasure	tranquil (complete devotion)	羊 sheep, goat
3	☲	101	離 lí	the Clinging, radiance	fire, glow 火	south	second daughter	eye	light-giving, humane "dependence"	clinging, clarity, adaptable	雉 pheasant
4	☳	100	震 zhèn	the Arousing, shake	thunder 雷	east	first son	foot	inciting movement	initiative	龍 dragon
5	☴	011	巽 xùn	the Gentle, ground	wind 風	southeast	first daughter	thigh	penetrating	gentle entrance	雞 fowl
6	☵	010	坎 kǎn	the Abysmal, gorge	water 水	north	second son	ear	dangerous	in-motion	豕 pig
7	☶	001	艮 gèn	Keeping Still, bound	mountain 山	northeast	third son	hand	resting, stand-still	completion	狗 wolf, dog
8	☷	000	坤 kūn	the Receptive, field	earth 地	southwest	mother (consort)	belly	devoted, yielding	receptive	牛 cow

Hexagram lookup table

Upper → Lower ↓	乾 Qián Heaven	坤 Kūn Earth	震 Zhèn Thunder	坎 Kǎn Water	艮 Gèn Mountain	巽 Xùn Wind	離 Lí Flame	兌 Duì Lake
乾 Qián Heaven	01 Force	11 Pervading	34 Great Invigorating	05 Attending	26 Great Accumulating	09 Small Harvest	14 Great Possessing	43 Displacement
坤 Kūn Earth	12 Obstruction	02 Field	16 Providing-For	08 Grouping	23 Stripping	20 Viewing	35 Prospering	45 Clustering
震 Zhèn Thunder	25 Innocence	24 Returning	51 Shake	03 Sprouting	27 Swallowing	42 Augmenting	21 Gnawing Bite	17 Following
坎 Kǎn Water	06 Arguing	07 Leading	40 Deliverance	29 Gorge	04 Enveloping	59 Dispersing	64 Before Completion	47 Confining
艮 Gèn Mountain	33 Retiring	15 Humbling	62 Small Exceeding	39 Limping	52 Bound	53 Infiltrating	56 Sojourning	31 Conjoining
巽 Xùn Wind	44 Coupling	46 Ascending	32 Persevering	48 Welling	18 Correcting	57 Ground	50 Holding	28 Great Exceeding
離 Lí Flame	13 Concording People	36 Intelligence Hidden	55 Abounding	63 Already Fording	22 Adorning	37 Dwelling People	30 Radiance	49 Skinning
兌 Duì Lake	10 Treading	19 Nearing	54 Converting the Maiden	60 Articulating	41 Diminishing	61 Inner Truth	38 Polarising	58 Open

Fu Xi "Earlier Heaven"

Fuxi "Earlier Heaven" bagua arrangement

卦名 Name	自然 Nature	季节 Season	性情 Personality	家族 Family	方位 Direction	意義 Meaning
乾 Qián	天 Sky (Heaven)	Summer	Creative	父 Father	南 South	健 Expansive energy, the sky. For further information, see tiān.
巽 Xùn	風 Wind	Summer	Gentle	長女 Eldest Daughter	西南 Southwest	入 Gentle penetration, flexibility.
坎 Kǎn	水 Water	Autumn	Abysmal	中男 Middle Son	西 West	陷 Danger, rapid rivers, the abyss, the moon.
艮 Gèn	山 Mountain	Autumn	Still	少男 Youngest Son	西北 Northwest	止 Stillness, immovability.
坤 Kūn	地 Earth	Winter	Receptive	母 Mother	北 North	順 Receptive energy, that which yields. For further information, see dì.
震 Zhèn	雷 Thunder	Winter	Arousing	長男 Eldest Son	東北 Northeast	動 Excitation, revolution, division.
離 Lí	火 Fire	Spring	Clinging	中女 Middle Daughter	東 East	麗 Rapid movement, radiance, the sun.
兌Duì	澤 Lake	Spring	Joyous	少女 Youngest Daughter	東南 Southeast	悅 Joy, satisfaction, stagnation.

This is also known as the "binary sequence" or Shao Yong sequence. A binary interpretation of each hexagram is made by interpreting yin as "0" and yang as "1", and reading the leading "digit" from the inside of the diagram, so the hexagram kūn is interpreted as 0, and gèn as 1. The hexagrams are in binary order when read up from the bottom around on the right, then up again on the left to the top.

King Wen "Later Heaven"

King Wen "Later Heaven" bagua arrangement

卦名 Name	自然 Nature	季节 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	麗 Pulsing motion, radiance, the luminaries.
坤 Kun	地 Earth	Summer	Receptive	母 Mother	西南 Southwest	順 Receptive energy, that which yields.
兌 Dui	澤 Lake	Autumn	Joyous	少女 Youngest Daughter	西 West	悅 Joy, satisfaction, stagnation.
乾 Qian	天 Heaven	Autumn	Creative	父 Father	西北 Northwest	健 Expansive energy, the sky.
坎 Kan	水 Water	Winter	Abysmal	中男 Middle Son	北 North	陷 Danger, rapid rivers, the abyss, the moon.
艮 Gen	山 Mountain	Winter	Still	少男 Youngest Son	東北 Northeast	止 Stillness, immovability.
震 Zhen	雷 Thunder	Spring	Arousing	長男 Eldest Son	東 East	動 Excitation, revolution, division.
巽 Xun	風 Wind	Spring	Gentle	長女 Eldest Daughter	東南 Southeast	入 Gentle penetration, flexibility.

Yellow River Map

卦名 Name	節氣 Solar Term	屬性 Elements	器官 Organs	方位 Direction	顏色 Color	味道 Taste	星相 Constellation	體液 Body Fluid	二進制 Binary	情志 Mood
巽	Winter Solstice 冬至	陽火(Fire)	腎 Kidneys	北 North	丹 Red	鹹 Salty	虛(Emptiness/Aquarius)	血 Plasma	011	恐 Fear
坎	Start of Winter 立冬	陰火(Fire)	腸 Intestines	西北 North West	洋紅 Magenta	鹹 Salty	斗(Dipper/Sagittarius)	血 Plasma	010	恐 Fear
兌	Autumn Equinox 秋分	陰水(Water)	肝 Liver	西 West	藍 Blue	苦 Bitter	房(Room/Scorpio)	津 Liquid	110	憂 Sullen
乾	Start of Autumn 立秋	陽水(Water)	膽 Gallbladder	西南 South West	黑 Black	苦 Bitter	角(Horn/Virgo)	津 Liquid	111	憂 Sullen
震	Summer Solstice 夏至	陰木(Wood)	肺 Lungs	南 South	青 Cyan	辛 Spicy	星(Star/Leo)	氣 Air	100	喜 Joy
離	Start of Summer 立夏	陽木(Wood)	心 Heart	東南 South East	綠 Green	辛 Spicy	井(Well/Gemini)	氣 Air	101	喜 Joy
艮	Spring Equinox 春分	陽金(Metal)	脾 Spleen	東 East	黃 Yellow	酸 Sour	昴(Hairy Head/Taurus)	精 Essence	001	怒 Anger
坤	Start of Spring 立春	陰金(Metal)	胃 Stomach	東北 North East	白 White	酸 Sour	奎(Legs/Pisces)	精 Essence	000	怒 Anger

Cycles of elements in this chart: 生 (Generative/Counter-clockwise), 剋 (Destructive/Clockwise)

火生水, 水生木, 木生金, 金生火
火剋金, 金剋木, 木剋水, 水剋火

Fire brings water, water feeds wood, wood brings metal, metal brings fire

Fire melts metal, metal chops wood, wood drains water, water quenches fire

Nine Halls Diagram

卦名 Name	節氣 Solar Term	屬性 Elements	家族 Family	方位 Direction	顏色 Color	脈搏 Pulse	二進制 Binary	四馬與治療法 Four horses & Therapy
乾	Winter Solstice 冬至	太陽陽水(Water)	父 Father	北 North	黑 Black	沉 Deep	111	11太陽 ,寒者熱之00
兌	Start of Winter 立冬	太陽陰水(Water)	長女 Eldest Daughter	西北 North West	藍 Blue	沉 Deep	110	11太陽, 寒者熱之00
離	Autumn Equinox 秋分	少陽陽木(Wood)	中男Middle Son	西 West	綠 Green	細 Small	101	10少陽, 涼者溫之01
震	Start of Autumn 立秋	少陽陰木(Wood)	少女 Youngest Daughter	西南 South West	青 Cyan	細 Small	100	10少陽, 涼者溫之01
坤	Summer Solstice 夏至	太陰陰金(Metal)	母 Mother	南 South	白 White	浮 Float	000	00太陰, 熱者寒之11
艮	Start of Summer 立夏	太陰陽金(Metal)	長男 Eldest Son	東南 South East	黃 Yellow	浮 Float	001	00太陰, 熱者寒之11
坎	Spring Equinox 春分	少陰陰火(Fire)	中女 Middle Daughter	東 East	洋紅 Magenta	大 Big	010	01少陰, 溫者涼之10
巽	Start of Spring 立春	少陰陽火(Fire)	少男 Youngest Son	東北 North East	丹 Red	大 Big	011	01少陰, 溫者涼之10

Cycles of elements in this chart: 生(Generative/Counter-clockwise),剋(Destructive/Clockwise)

水生木,木生金,金生火,火生水
水剋火,火剋金,金剋木,木剋水

Water feeds wood, wood brings metal, metal brings fire, fire brings water

Water quenches fire, fire melts metal, metal chops wood, wood drains water

Bagua used in Feng Shui

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

In Xiantian Bagua, also known as Fu Xi Bagua or Earlier Heaven Bagua, the Heaven is in the higher part and the Earth is in the lower part. The trigram Qian (Heaven) is at the top, the trigram Kun (Earth) is at the bottom (in the past, the South was located at the top in Chinese maps). The trigram Li (Fire) is located on the left and opposite to it is the trigram Kan (Water). Zhen (Thunder) and Xun (Wind) form another pair, while being one opposite the other, the first on the bottom left next to Li while the second is next to Qian on the top right of the Bagua. Gen (Mountain) and Dui (Lake) form the last pair, one opposite the other, both 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

The sequence of the trigrams in Houtian Bagua, also known as the Bagua of King Wen or Later Heaven Bagua, 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 allegedly affects us.

Western Bagua

Feng shui was made very popular in the 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 (or Bagua map for short) made it possible to simplify feng shui and to bring it within the reach of everyone. Western Bagua focuses more heavily on the power of intention than the traditional forms of feng shui.

Masters of traditional feng shui disregard this approach, 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, not taking into account the cardinal directions, the second is even more simplified.

Bagua map

A bagua map is a tool used in Western 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 life 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 that 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.'

A Tibetan "Mystic Tablet" containing the Eight Trigrams on top of a large tortoise (presumably, alluding to the animal that presented them to Fu Xi), along with the 12 signs of Chinese zodiac, and a smaller tortoise carrying the Lo Shu Square on its shell

In Unicode

The bagua symbols are in the Miscellaneous Symbols block of Unicode:

Miscellaneous Symbols Unicode block

Official Name	Glyph	Unicode #	HTML
Trigram for Heaven	☰	U+2630	☰
Trigram for Lake	☱	U+2631	☱
Trigram for Fire	☲	U+2632	☲
Trigram for Thunder	☳	U+2633	☳
Trigram for Wind	☴	U+2634	☴
Trigram for Water	☵	U+2635	☵
Trigram for Mountain	☶	U+2636	☶
Trigram for Earth	☷	U+2637	☷

See also

• Flag of South Korea: the Taegeuk flag.
• Singapore dollar: the one dollar coin is shaped like a bagua.
• Flag of South Vietnam: a trigram representing "south".
• Baguazhang: a martial art based on principles derived from bagua.
• Taijiquan: the Taoist martial art that uses bagua principles.
• Tian gan and Di zhi: the archaic calendar system of East Asia.
• Tekes County, a planned community with a shape of a bagua.
• Ba Xian
• Ba Mai (奇經八脈; qí jīng bā mài)
• Ba Duan Jin