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February 14, 2016

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Home » Sunday » Now and Then

The I Ching gua and solar terms

Source: Shanghai Daily | February 14, 2016, Sunday | Print Edition

IN the last two issues, we introduced the I Ching gua as a system of symbols and talked about how our ancestor along the Yellow River applied it in farming. In ancient times, our ancestors were faced with the big challenge of deciding when plant seeds, plough, harvest, and store their crops. Observing the change of the sun and recording its movement as well as the sunlight’s intensity helped in their decision-making process.

In hindsight, the sundial (Picture 1) was a ‘high-tech’ method in ancient times. It indicated the intensity of sunshine as well as the position of the sun through the line of shadow cast on the device surface. The hexagram of an I Ching gua is actually an abstract reflection of the shadow on the sundial. The yin yao represents the shadow. The hexagram, a symbol combining yin and/or yang yao, represents Yangdu. It shows the intensity change of sunshine in a solar year. The 24 solar terms can be matched by 64 gua. In the previous issues, we have introduced the macro circulation of the I Ching system and how it was adopted by farmers.

It is important to remember the dates of the spring and autumn equinox and summer and winter solstice. Kun Gua is matched with winter solstice when the Yangdu is the weakest of the year as the sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn. Qian Gua is matched with summer solstice as the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer when the northern hemisphere enjoys the strongest sunshine during the year. Tai Gua and Pi Gua are matched with spring and autumn equinox when the sun is crossing the equator twice. Both gua mark the moment of the year when day and night are equal in length. Both solar terms have equal day and night length.

So, for a year of 360 days (the lunar calendar that is deeply rooted in Chinese tradition), each of the 24 solar terms lasts 15 days. As two solstice and two equidox are matched by Kun, Qian, Tai and Pi, each of the remaining 20 solar terms is matched by 3 gua; each gua represents one third of a solar term, i.e., 5 days on average. The four seasons, with 6 solar terms and 16 gua each, are thus arranged as in Picture 2.

The rest 60 gua are matched with the remaining 20 solar terms, which means every solar term has three matching gua. There are four solar terms showing the start of four seasons. “Start of Spring” is matched with Zhen Gua , Xie Gua and Xiaoguo Gua . “Start of Summer” is matched with Dazhuang Gua , Xu Gua and Dachu Gua . “Start of Autumn” is matched with Xun Gua , Jiaren Gua and Zhongfu Gua . “Start of Winter” is matched with Guan Gua , Jin Gua and Cui Gua .

The 12 Xiaoxi (Informative) Gua is colored in blue and orange in the Picture 2 as well. We mentioned that the Xiaoxi Gua is a set of “milestones” marking the change of intensity of sunshine in previous issues. The orange-colored boxes are yang Xiaoxi Gua, representing the sun moving to the north from the southern hemisphere. The intensity of sunshine, Yangdu, is growing, which means yang is on the rise while yin is on the decline. In opposite, the blue-colored boxes are yin Xiaoxi Gua, representing the sun leaving the north hemisphere to the south when Yangdu is weakening and Yindu is growing.

In Picture 2, Tai Gua, Qian Gua, Pi Gua and Kun Gua are positioned in the first place of each line. That’s why each season actually spans two rows. As shown in the picture, these four gua are located in the middle of each season. Such an arrangement will help us to better understand the diamond diagram of the macro circulation of the I Ching Gua we introduced in last issue.

The 64 gua in the square diagram (Picture 3) are highlighted in different colors according to the season they represent. The number behind the hexagram indicates the intensity of yang, or Yangdu. Number 0,1,2,3 along both coordinate axes show the number of yao in each Bagua. Yang gua Thunder, Water and Mountain have only one yang yao. The Yangdu is increasing from Thunder to Mountain, which indicates as 1a-1b-1c. Then pure yang gua Sky has three yang yao, showing Yangdu reaches the peak. Yin gua Wind, Fire and Valley have one yin yao each as the Yindu grows accordingly. Alternatively, we can view this as the Yangdu is declining. Each of the above three gua has two yang yao. The Yindu is increasing, indicating as 2a-2b-2c, until the pure yin gua Earth. Picture 4 replaces the gua and hexagrams with the name of matched solar terms.

Picture 5 is the result when we arrange the 64 gua based on their Yangdu (or Yindu) in a square diagram. The picture marks the four cardinal directions of north, east, south, and west. If we rotate the picture 90 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction, it is the diamond diagram we introduced in last issue. These pictures conceal many interesting relations and secrets for us to reveal and analyze.

Now and Then


 

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