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Xiantianbagua

From the Taiji to the 8 trigrams

The bagua (Chinese: 八卦; literally: "eight symbols") are eight trigrams 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," representing yin or yang, respectively. Due to their tripartite structure, they are often referred to as "trigrams" in English.

The trigrams are related to taiji philosophy, taijiquan and the wu xing, or "five elements". The relationships between the trigrams are represented in two arrangements, thePrimordial (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 correspondences in astronomy, astrology, geography, geomancy, anatomy, the family, and elsewhere.

This teory is central to the Baguazhang Style, as well as key to the Taijiquan.

The ancient Chinese classic I Ching (Pinyin:Yi Jing) consists of the 64 possible pairs of trigrams (called "hexagrams") and commentary on them.

The Eight Trigrams[]

八卦 Bāguà—The eight trigrams
乾 Qián
兌 Duì
離 Lí
震 Zhèn
巽 Xùn
坎 Kǎn
艮 Gèn
坤 Kūn
Heaven/Sky Lake/Marsh Fire Thunder Wind Water Mountain Earth
天 Tiān 澤(泽) Zé 火 Huǒ 雷 Léi 風(风) Fēng 水 Shuǐ 山 Shān 地 Dì

There are two possible sources of bagua. The first is from traditional Yin and Yang philosophy. The interrelationships of this philosophy has been attributed to 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)

Bagua-name-earlier

Pre-Heaven Bagua (read from Qián/Heaven to Duí/Lake)

The Taiji produces two forms, named yin and yang The two forms produce four phenomena, named lesser yin, great yin (taiyin also means the Moon), lesser yang, great yang (taiyang also means the Sun). The four phenomena act on the eight trigrams (bagua), eight eights are sixty-four hexagrams. Another philosophical description of the source 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 gua are their sons and daughters".

Bagua-name-later

Post-Heaven Bagua (read from Lí/Fire to Xùn/Wind)

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 wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. 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 trigrams (八卦 bāguà):

Trigram Figure 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
qián
the Creative, Force heaven, sky
northwest father head strong creative
horse
2 110
duì
the Joyous, Open lake
west third daughter mouth pleasure tranquil (complete devotion)
sheep, goat
3 101
the Clinging, Radiance fire
south second daughter eye light-giving, dependence clinging, clarity, adaptable
pheasant
4 100
zhèn
the Arousing, Shake thunder
east first son foot inciting movement initiative
dragon
5 011
xùn
the Gentle, Ground wind
southeast first daughter thigh penetrating gentle entrance
fowl
6 010
kǎn
the Abysmal, Gorge water
north second son ear dangerous in-motion
pig
7 001
gèn
Keeping Still, Bound mountain
northeast third son hand resting, stand-still completion
wolf, dog
8 000
kūn
the Receptive, Field earth
southwest mother belly devoted, yielding receptive
cow

Martial Equivalents[]

Trigram Symbol Name Eastern Cosmos Five Elements T'ai Chi Ch'uan Ba Gua Zhang Xingyi Quan
Chien1

Qián/Chien
Heaven
South
Summer
White Tiger
West
Lungs
Taste

Metal

Chinese character jin metal

"P'eng"
(Ward Off)
Step Forward
Upward Palm
(Yang Zhang)
Lion Form
"Pi Quan"
(Splitting Fist)
Metal Element
Forward Step
Sun1

Xùn/Sun
Wind
East
Blue Dragon
Liver
Sight

Wood

Chinese character mu wood

"Cai"
(Pulling)
Move Back
Chopping Palm
(Pi Zhang)
Phoenix Form
"Beng Quan"
(Crushing Fist)
Wood Element
Forward Half-Step
Kan1

Kǎn
Water
West
Autumn
Black Tortoise
Kidney
Touch

Water

Chinese character shui water

"Ji"
(Press)
Face Left
Picking Palm
(Tiao Zhang)
Snake Form
"Zuan Quan"
(Drilling Fist)
Water Element
Forward Step
Ken1

Gèn/Ken
Mountain
Earth
Center
Yellow Dragon
Spleen
Smell

Earth

Chinese character tu earth

"Kao"
(Shoulder)
Scooping Palm
(Liao Zhang)
Bear Form
"Heng Quan"
(Crossing Fist)
Earth Element
Circular Zig-zag Step
Kun1

Kūn/K'un
Earth
North
Winter
Center
Yellow Dragon
Spleen
Smell

Earth

Chinese character tu earth

"Lu"
(Roll Back)
Centered
Screwing Palm
(Luo Xuan Zhang)
Unicorn Form
"Heng Quan"
(Crossing Fist)
Earth Element
Circular Zig-zag Step
Chen1

Zhèn/Chen
Thunder
East
Blue Dragon
Liver
Sight

Wood

Chinese character mu wood

"Lieh"
(Splitting)
Move Back
Embracing Palm
(Bao Zhang)
Dragon Form
"Beng Quan"
(Crushing Fist)
Wood Element
Forward Half-Step
Li1

Fire
East
Spring
South
Red Phoenix
Hearth
Sound

Fire

Chinese character huo fire

"An"
(Push)
Look Right
Upright Palm
(Shu Zhang)
Hawk Form
"Pao Quan"
(Exploding Fist)
Fire Element
Zig-zag Step
Tui1

Duì/Tui
Lake
Valley
Marsh
White Tiger
West
Lungs
Taste

Metal

Chinese character jin metal

"Shou"
(Elbow Strike)
Step Forward
Downward Palm
(Fu Zhang)
Monkey Form
"Pi Quan"
(Splitting Fist)
Metal Element
Forward Step


Thirteen postures 2


This Image represents the relation between the Traditional Pre-Heaven Bagua (Inverted) and Taichi : Each Gate and Step corelates to a Trigram, while each Element has an specific correlation with the Trigrams as well.


Bagua59

This Image represents the relation between the Traditional Pre-Heaven Bagua and Baguazhang/Pa kua chang: Each Form corelates to a Trigram.

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