THE WENBU LIBRARY

Trigrams and hexagrams: read the structure first

Learn the eight trigrams, bottom-to-top line order and the difference between upper and lower trigrams with a simple worked example.

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THE SHORT ANSWER

A trigram is one of eight possible patterns of three yin or yang lines. Two trigrams, one below the other, form a hexagram. Count upward from the bottom, identify each three-line group, then look up the pair. Traditional images such as Water or Fire help with recognition; they do not replace the text of a particular hexagram.

  • The same two trigrams can form different hexagrams when their positions are exchanged. Ji Ji and Wei Ji make a useful first comparison.
  • Line numbers run upward, while a name such as Water over Fire gives the upper image first. Keep the two conventions separate.
  • Earlier Heaven and Later Heaven diagrams arrange trigrams differently. You can learn the line patterns before studying directions; a learning diagram is not personal guidance about where to go.
ILLUSTRATED NOTE
Heaven111
Lake110
Fire101
Thunder100
Wind011
Water010
Mountain001
Earth000
Eight three-line patterns, with their names and images

Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen and Dui each have a distinct pattern. Read each pattern from bottom to top. The table uses that same order for its binary notation: 1 is solid and 0 is broken. This is a recognition chart, not a directional arrangement.

Three lines form a trigram; six form a hexagram

Each line has a yin or yang form, so three lines have eight possible combinations: the eight trigrams. Placing one trigram above another gives eight times eight, or 64 hexagrams.

Lines one to three form the lower trigram; lines four to six form the upper trigram. Count from the bottom. The first line is at the foot of the figure and the sixth is at the top.

Learn the names and their basic images

The Shuo Gua associates the trigrams with natural images. These help you recognize a figure; they are not rules for inferring a real event from a symbol.

  • Qian 乾 ☰: Heaven; Kun 坤 ☷: Earth.
  • Zhen 震 ☳: Thunder; Xun 巽 ☴: Wind.
  • Kan 坎 ☵: Water; Li 离 ☲: Fire.
  • Gen 艮 ☶: Mountain; Dui 兑 ☱: Lake.

Trigram reference: binary notation runs bottom to top

NamePatternTraditional imageRecognition cue
Qian 乾 ☰111HeavenThree solid lines
Kun 坤 ☷000EarthThree broken lines
Zhen 震 ☳100ThunderSolid line at the bottom
Xun 巽 ☴011WindBroken line at the bottom
Kan 坎 ☵010WaterSolid line in the middle
Li 离 ☲101FireBroken line in the middle
Gen 艮 ☶001MountainSolid line at the top
Dui 兑 ☱110LakeBroken line at the top

On a small screen, scroll the table sideways.

Changing the order changes the hexagram

Water above Fire is Ji Ji 既济, number 63 in the King Wen sequence, commonly translated as After Completion. Fire above Water is Wei Ji 未济, number 64, Before Completion. The same two trigrams in different positions produce different hexagrams.

In Chinese compound descriptions, the upper trigram is usually named first: 水火既济 means Water over Fire. King Wen numbers identify a sequence, not a ranking of good and bad outcomes. Read the name, hexagram text and individual line texts as distinct parts of the material.

Check the figure before interpreting it

After a cast, identify the lower and upper trigrams, then find the changing lines. Only those lines flip to create the resulting hexagram. That second figure follows a clear transformation rule; it is not a confirmed account of the future.

Try entering 7, 8, 7, 8, 7, 8 from bottom to top. The result is Fire below Water, Ji Ji, with no changing lines. Then change only the first 7 to 9 and observe the resulting hexagram. Wenbu’s short themes are original reflection prompts; ask for a named passage and source when you want to study the classical text.

WORKED EXAMPLE

Swap the trigrams: After Completion and Before Completion

Draw Li on one piece of paper and Kan on another. Use only stable lines for this exercise: write 7 for solid and 8 for broken. The task is to inspect the arrangement, not to make a cast.

  1. Place Li below Kan. From the bottom upward, the values are 7, 8, 7, 8, 7, 8. Fire is below Water: Ji Ji 既济, number 63, commonly called After Completion.

  2. Exchange the two groups without changing the order of the three lines inside either group. The values become 8, 7, 8, 7, 8, 7: Fire over Water, Wei Ji 未济, number 64, Before Completion.

  3. Check what you actually did. You exchanged two trigrams. You did not generate any 6s or 9s through a coin toss. These are two separate samples for a construction exercise.

  4. When reading a source, distinguish the hexagram’s name, its overall text and the texts for individual positions. Ask an Agent to identify Ji Ji’s lower and upper trigrams with a source before requesting an interpretation.

“It contains Water and Fire” leaves out decisive information. Keep the sequence and both positions in your record so a person or Agent can reconstruct the exact figure.

Key terms

Trigram / jing gua 经卦
One of the eight possible three-line patterns.
Hexagram / chong gua 重卦
A six-line figure made from an upper and lower trigram; there are 64 possible pairs.
Gua xiang 卦象
The figure’s structure or its associated imagery; a reader should specify which sense is intended.

Common questions

Do 63 and 64 rank the readings or measure completion?

No. They are positions in the King Wen sequence. The names invite discussion of completion, but the numbers are neither success probabilities nor a personal progress bar. Read the actual passage and keep the question’s context in view.

Why is 100 Thunder rather than Mountain?

The first digit here represents the bottom line. Therefore 100 is solid below two broken lines. A source that writes top to bottom will reverse that notation. Include “bottom-to-top” whenever you share a bare bit string.

Does the Water trigram mean rain is coming?

The association belongs to a traditional symbolic system, not a weather observation. A specific divination method may use images in its own way, but it must supply those additional rules. This recognition table alone makes no weather inference.

Sources and their scope

《易传》· 说卦 ↗

Primary text for natural-image associations; the recognition cues and exercise are editorial teaching aids.

《周易》· 六十四卦索引 ↗

Primary-text index for the names and passages of Ji Ji and Wei Ji.

Wenbu · src/data/hexagrams.ts ↗

Documents Wenbu’s bottom-to-top bit strings, trigram indexes and King Wen lookup table.

Wenbu · hexagram construction ↗

Further reading; not validation of real-world predictions.

Traditional interpretations are not established predictions. See the source notes for context.

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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE · 2026-11-14

Three ways to copy an I Ching hexagram in the wrong order

A six-line structure worksheet: from received values to trigrams and line positions

First confirm that your record is already bottom-to-top: the first value is line one, the bottom line. If your source lists line six first, reverse the whole row before filling, then recheck both trigrams. Once the order is settled, draw six boxes and copy the values in. Boxes 1 to 3 are the lower trigram and boxes 4 to 6 the upper; match each group against the trigram chart. Write the hexagram name with the upper trigram first. Finally mark only 6 and 9 as changing, flip them to build the resulting hexagram, and leave the other four lines alone. The sheet gives you a checkable structural record; hexagram texts, line texts and any interpretation come after it.

  • Check the order before filling: the record must run bottom-to-top, or both trigrams and every line label will be inverted.
  • The first three values are the lower trigram and the last three the upper; name the upper trigram first.
  • Only 6 and 9 change; flipping them gives the resulting hexagram while the other four lines stay put.

Four steps from six values to a structure record

  1. Step 1: check the order

    Confirm the record is bottom-to-top; if the source lists line six first, reverse the whole row.

  2. Step 2: copy

    Write the six values in the confirmed order and note that box 1 is at the bottom.

  3. Step 3: group and name

    Boxes 1 to 3 are the lower trigram and boxes 4 to 6 the upper; match each group to the chart, then write the name with the upper trigram first.

  4. Step 4: mark changes

    Tick only 6 and 9, flip them to build the resulting hexagram, and leave the other four lines alone.

The flow starts with the received values: fix the order, group them into trigrams, name the hexagram, then mark the changing lines. Each step produces a checkable result; if one step fails, go back rather than moving on to text.

Confirm the order, then fill six boxes

Box 1 of the worksheet is always the bottom line. If your source lists line six first, reverse the whole row before filling and identify both trigrams again afterwards; do not carry over names worked out from the reversed order. Write the order note next to the values, for example bottom-to-top, so another reader does not have to guess.

Each value carries both a shape and a change status: 7 is stable yang, 8 is stable yin, 9 is changing yang and 6 is changing yin. Then check the row: all six boxes filled, and only the values 6, 7, 8 and 9 present. If a value is missing or written as something else, the structure cannot be checked, so return to the original record rather than filling the gap from memory.

Group the boxes, then name the hexagram upper first

Boxes 1 to 3 are the lower trigram and boxes 4 to 6 the upper. Copy each group of three separately and match it against the trigram chart: 7, 8, 7 is yang, yin, yang, which is Li; 8, 7, 8 is yin, yang, yin, which is Kan. Only after naming both groups do you combine them into one six-line figure.

Two orders must not be confused. Line numbers run upward, but a Chinese compound name usually gives the upper trigram first, so Li below Kan is written 水火既济, Water over Fire. Fill in three separate fields, lower trigram, upper trigram and hexagram name; that is easier to recheck than a single name and lets someone else recompute the same figure.

Mark the changing lines and keep a checkable record

Add a column headed changing line and tick only the 6s and 9s. Flipping them produces the resulting hexagram: a 6 turns from yin to yang, a 9 from yang to yin, and the other four lines stay as they are. That second figure follows a fixed transformation rule and can be recomputed independently, but it is not a confirmed account of the future or a prediction about a real event.

A useful record keeps six things together: the six original values, a note that the order is bottom-to-top, the lower trigram, the upper trigram, the hexagram name and the changing positions. With those, another reader or tool can reproduce the same structure. If you want to study a classical text, name the specific hexagram and line and check the source; this worksheet covers structure only and settles nothing about any passage.

Structure worksheet: six boxes and the fields they feed
Box and line positionWhat to writeBasis for the entry
Box 1 · first line (bottom)Original value and line shape7 yang, 8 yin, 9 old yang (changing, becomes yin), 6 old yin (changing, becomes yang)
Box 2 · second lineOriginal value and line shapeSame rule; copy the value unchanged
Box 3 · third lineOriginal value and line shapeCombines with boxes 1 and 2 as the lower trigram
Box 4 · fourth lineOriginal value and line shapeCombines with boxes 5 and 6 as the upper trigram
Box 5 · fifth lineOriginal value and line shapeSame rule; copy the value unchanged
Box 6 · top lineOriginal value and line shapeThe top of the page is line six, not line one
Summary fieldsLower trigram, upper trigram, name, changing positionsName the upper trigram first; changing lines are only 6 and 9

Hypothetical example: filling the sheet with 6, 8, 7, 7, 9, 8

This is a hypothetical teaching example, not a cast made for a reader and not aimed at any real question. Suppose you receive six values, already labelled bottom-to-top, as 6, 8, 7, 7, 9, 8, with the first value as line one.

  1. Copy: box 1 is 6, box 2 is 8, box 3 is 7, box 4 is 7, box 5 is 9 and box 6 is 8. Write bottom-to-top beside the row and note that box 1 is at the bottom.
  2. Group: boxes 1 to 3 are 6, 8, 7, that is yin, yin, yang, which is Xun. Boxes 4 to 6 are 7, 9, 8, that is yang, yang, yin, which is Dui.
  3. Name: Xun below is Wind and Dui above is Lake, so with the upper trigram first the name is Lake over Wind, Da Guo 大过, number 28 in the King Wen sequence.
  4. Mark changes: tick only the 6 in box 1 and the 9 in box 5. After flipping, box 1 becomes yang and box 5 becomes yin; the other four lines stay as they are.
  5. Read the resulting figure: the new lower three are yang, yin, yang, which is Li; the new upper three are yang, yin, yin, which is Zhen. Li below Zhen is Thunder over Fire, Feng 丰, number 55.
  6. Recheck: save the six values, the order note, both names and changing positions 1 and 5. Anyone applying the same rule reaches the same structural change from 28 to 55.

The observable result is that one set of six values splits steadily into Da Guo, Xun below Dui, and into Feng, Li below Zhen, after two lines flip. What those names mean in a particular tradition or a particular inquiry is a separate question that needs specific texts and context; this structure sheet cannot derive it.

Questions you may have

If a 6 or 9 appears, does that make the reading especially important?

That does not follow. A 6 or 9 only marks a line that flips when the resulting hexagram is built, under the three-coin convention. Their probabilities differ from 7 and 8, but a probability difference is not a measure of importance and says nothing about a real-world outcome.

I remember the line shapes but not the numbers. Can I still fill the sheet?

You can split the trigrams and name the original hexagram, but you cannot reliably tell which lines change, because 6 and 8 both draw as yin and 7 and 9 both draw as yang. Without the values the resulting hexagram cannot be checked, so record the entry as incomplete instead of guessing.

Does this worksheet interpret the hexagram and line texts for me?

No. It handles order, grouping, naming and changing-line marks only. Wenbu's short themes are written reflection prompts, not quotations from a classical edition; to study the classics, name the specific passage and line and check the source.

Terms in this guide

Changing line
Under the three-coin notation used here, a line valued 6 or 9; it flips when the resulting hexagram is built, while the other lines stay fixed.
Resulting hexagram (zhi gua 之卦)
The six-line figure obtained by flipping every changing line; it follows a fixed rule and can be recomputed, but it is not a confirmation of the future.
Structure worksheet
An editorial fill-in sheet for recording the six original values, bottom-to-top line positions, both trigram names, the hexagram name and the changing positions.
See the claim and source notes
  • In the three-coin method, one toss produces one line and six tosses build the figure from bottom to top; 6 and 8 begin as yin, 7 and 9 as yang, and only 6 and 9 change.

    Only 6 and 9 change.
  • Wenbu's online casting simulates three fair coins with cryptographic randomness and also accepts six physical coin values, keeping the original result.

    保留六个原始数字
  • The existing article already numbers lines upward; this worksheet is an editorial checking aid and does not quote unread classical passages.

    Count from the bottom.

Sources and review scope

Wenbu drafted and checked this article in Codex. The source list records the scope of the review.

  1. Current complete zh canonical article ↗Current public original and earlier additions; add substantial coverage without repeating or replacing them. · 2026-11-04 · Fetched text
  2. Current complete en canonical article ↗Current public original and earlier additions; add substantial coverage without repeating or replacing them. · 2026-11-04 · Fetched text
  3. Wenbu · three-coin method ↗Existing editorial and worked calculation · 2026-11-04 · Fetched text
  4. Wenbu · calculation conventions ↗First-party implementation; not evidence of predictive accuracy · 2026-11-04 · Fetched text

Enter the six values manually in Wenbu's I Ching tool

Use the hypothetical 6, 8, 7, 7, 9, 8 as a manual entry, check that the tool shows the same changing positions and the same original and resulting hexagram names as your worksheet, and only then decide whether to read the text.

Enter the six values manually in Wenbu's I Ching tool ↗

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Check which trigram changes when line three or four moves

If line three is the only moving line, only the lower trigram changes. If line four is the only mover, only the upper one changes. Number from the bottom and check the unchanged group before looking at the name. Both examples start at Hexagram 2, Kun. Moving line three gives 15, Modesty; moving line four gives 16, Readiness.

  • Put a divider between positions three and four.
  • Compare the group with no moving line first.
  • Keep the primary figure fixed to isolate what the mover changes.

Draw a line between positions three and four

  1. Write the groups

    Write 1, 2, 3 | 4, 5, 6. Label the lower and upper groups.

  2. Check the unchanged side

    Circle on the left: check the right side. Circle on the right: check the left.

  3. Check the one flip

    Make the circled line solid and identify its group again.

Number from the bottom and circle the single 6 in each example.

Check the half that should stay the same

Copy both figures in the same direction and put a divider after position three. If only line three moves, compare positions four through six first. If only line four moves, start with positions one through three.

When the unchanged group differs, check the order of the recorded numbers and whether the upper and lower labels were swapped. You can resolve this without casting again.

Keep the primary figure fixed and move the marker

Both 8 and 6 start as broken lines. Only 6 becomes solid in the relating figure. Both inputs start with six broken lines, so what differs is where the solid line falls.

At the top of the lower group it makes Gen 艮, Mountain. At the bottom of the upper group it makes Zhen 震, Thunder. Hexagram 15 is Earth over Mountain; 16 is Thunder over Earth. The names put the upper image first.

One primary figure, two relating figures
What to checkA: Only line three movesB: Only line four moves
Input, bottom to top8, 8, 6 | 8, 8, 88, 8, 8 | 6, 8, 8
Primary figure and unchanged half2, Kun; upper stays Earth2, Kun; lower stays Earth
Lower | upper after the flipMountain | Earth; 15, ModestyEarth | Thunder; 16, Readiness
Location of the new solid lineTop of the lower groupBottom of the upper group

Try it: catch the swapped labels

Mark the unchanged group on paper, then enter the two fixed inputs.

  1. For A, record the primary number, mover, and relating trigrams in lower-to-upper order. Answer: 2, 3, Mountain, Earth.
  2. Repeat for B. Answer: 2, 4, Earth, Thunder.
  3. For A, deliberately write Earth below Mountain but keep the name Modesty. The upper group now differs despite having no mover. That is how the check catches the mistake.

Check the structure before reading the text for the figure.

Questions you may have

Can I keep a group unchanged if both movers are in the other group?

Yes. If both movers are on one side, the other side keeps its line shapes and trigram name. If each side has a mover, check the two groups separately.

What if lines three and four seem to be the other way around in a picture?

Find the bottom edge and count up. Line three tops the lower group and line four starts the upper one. Reverse a list that explicitly starts from the top before comparing positions.

Terms in this guide

Trigram split
The boundary between the lower and upper groups: after position three in a bottom-to-top list.
Unchanged group
The three-line group with no movers. Its shapes stay the same in both figures.
See the claim and source notes

Sources and review scope

Wenbu drafted and checked this article in Codex. The source list records the scope of the review.

  1. Current complete zh canonical article ↗Current public original and earlier additions; add substantial coverage without repeating or replacing them. · 2026-11-12 · Fetched text
  2. Current complete en canonical article ↗Current public original and earlier additions; add substantial coverage without repeating or replacing them. · 2026-11-12 · Fetched text
  3. Wenbu · three-coin method ↗Existing editorial and worked calculation · 2026-11-12 · Read excerpt
  4. Wenbu · calculation conventions ↗First-party implementation; not evidence of predictive accuracy · 2026-11-12 · Fetched text

Check the trigrams with fixed inputs

Choose “Enter coin results.” Predict which group stays put, then enter each row to check the relating figure.

Check the trigrams with fixed inputs ↗

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Find the bottom line on the original record and copy upward. Lines one to three make the lower trigram. Lines four to six make the upper trigram. The sample 7, 8, 8 / 8, 7, 7 gives hexagram 42, Yi 益. Swap the two groups and you get 32, Heng 恒. Reverse each group in its own place and you get 31, Xian 咸. Reverse all six positions and you get 41, Sun 损.

  • Keep all six values and label their direction. Mark the break after position three.
  • Swapping the groups leaves their internal order intact. Reversing within the groups keeps each group on its original side.
  • Every row here uses only 7 and 8. The absence of changing lines lets you focus on the copying error.

From the original record to the copy

  1. Anchor line one

    Identify the bottom value on the source record and write its position.

  2. Mark the split

    Separate positions one to three from positions four to six.

  3. Identify what moved

    Check whether the groups swapped, their values flipped in place or the entire row reversed.

Use the same bottom-to-top convention for each row.

Write down where the first line starts

Draw six stacked boxes on paper and mark the bottom one line one. In a horizontal worksheet, put that 7 in the first column. Copy upward to get 7, 8, 8 / 8, 7, 7, with Thunder below and Wind above. On the result page the upper trigram appears first in the label. The numbers in the Casting record still start at the bottom.

If another copy starts 8, 7, 7 and ends 7, 8, 8, the two halves traded places. If it reads 8, 8, 7 / 7, 7, 8, the halves stayed put while the line order inside each one flipped. Compare those changes on paper before entering a second row.

Read the position changes before the hexagram numbers

Reading the whole row backwards changes both the positions of the halves and the order of the lines within them. For this example it produces 7, 7, 8 / 8, 8, 7. Each operation yields a different hexagram number here, so the table works as a quick answer key.

Other records can hide a mistake. If the first and last values in a group match, reversing that group may leave the pattern unchanged. The answer key diagnoses these four versions of one sample. With only a hexagram number and no marked original, leave the copying operation undetermined.

Four versions of one practice record
Copy operationSix values, bottom to topLower / upperWenbu hexagram
Copy in order7, 8, 8 / 8, 7, 7Thunder / Wind42 · Yi 益
Swap the halves8, 7, 7 / 7, 8, 8Wind / Thunder32 · Heng 恒
Reverse inside each half8, 8, 7 / 7, 7, 8Mountain / Lake31 · Xian 咸
Reverse the whole row7, 7, 8 / 8, 8, 7Lake / Mountain41 · Sun 损

Check each version with manual entry

Use the four rows above as practice notes. Start from the sample marked as the original.

  1. Choose Enter coin results. Start with the 7 in Line 1 (bottom), fill the remaining values and choose Read these lines.
  2. Open Casting record and compare all six values in order. The original row gives hexagram 42, Yi 益.
  3. Replace the input with each practice copy. First compare positions on paper, then check the number under Present Pattern and the upper and lower labels beside it.
  4. Write “bottom to top” beside the six values in the original. Keep the diagnostic copies as practice.

This check preserves the input you received. It helps a reader work back from a copy to the marked positions.

Questions you may have

Can I draw the figure from the top and enter it from the bottom?

Yes. Mark the direction on the drawing and start manual entry with the line marked as the bottom. Then enter the rest in order.

Why are there no changing lines in the table?

Each row reorders the same stable 7s and 8s. The primary and relating figures match in each row. The hexagram numbers differ across rows because different positions hold solid lines.

Terms in this guide

Reversal inside a group
Swap the first and third values in a trigram while keeping that group in its lower or upper position.
Whole-row reversal
Read all six values from last to first. It combines a swap of the two groups with an internal reversal of each.
See the claim and source notes

Sources and review scope

Wenbu drafted and checked this article in Codex. The source list records the scope of the review.

  1. Current complete zh canonical article ↗Current public original and earlier additions; add substantial coverage without repeating or replacing them. · 2026-11-14 · Fetched text
  2. Current complete en canonical article ↗Current public original and earlier additions; add substantial coverage without repeating or replacing them. · 2026-11-14 · Fetched text
  3. Wenbu · calculation conventions ↗First-party implementation; not evidence of predictive accuracy · 2026-11-14 · Fetched text
  4. Wenbu · three-coin method ↗Existing editorial and worked calculation · 2026-11-14 · Read excerpt
  5. Wenbu · versioned public capabilities ↗First-party current tool, convention and privacy contract; not external endorsement or predictive validation · 2026-11-14 · Fetched text

Check the four rows in the I Ching tool

Choose Enter coin results and compare each casting record with its expected hexagram.

Check the four rows in the I Ching tool ↗

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