What is Liu Yao?
Liu Yao is a method of interpreting the I Ching based on the six lines of a doubled hexagram, in which each line is given an extra layer of information including Stem-Branch, Five Elements, Six Relatives and Six Spirits, and these layers are then examined for generation and restraint among themselves and against the day and month of casting. In other words, Liu Yao does not stop at reading the hexagram text and line texts; it turns the six lines into six calculable data cells.
It is worth separating two meanings of the term. In the narrow, classical sense, liu yao simply means the six lines of a doubled hexagram, that is, the six lines that make up the hexagram. In the broad, common sense used by I Ching researchers today, Liu Yao is the short name of a predictive method, usually called in full Bu Yi or Liu Yao Prediction, tied to a tradition many texts credit to Jing Fang (77 to 37 BCE) of the Han dynasty, with later generations adding to it.
The core point that sets Liu Yao apart: it does not only ask what the hexagram says, but asks what is winning, what is losing, and what is moving in this situation.
Origin and place of Liu Yao in the flow of the I Ching
The I Ching began with a system of yin and yang line symbols, from which three lines were stacked into the eight trigrams and two trigrams were doubled into the 64 hexagrams, each hexagram having six lines. Mathematically there are only two to the third, eight, combinations of three lines, and eight squared, 64, combinations when two trigrams are doubled, so the system is closed and consistent.
For many centuries, using the I Ching to ask about fortune was tied to yarrow stalks or coins, then reading the hexagram text and line texts. In the Han era, Jing Fang introduced a new structural layer: assigning the Stems to each line, giving it a Five Element phase, setting Six Relatives relations among lines, and adding the Six Spirits. From then on, later I Ching scholars revised the method, added rules, and it became one of the most tightly structured predictive systems in the Eastern tradition.
Alongside it, another branch is Mei Hua Yi Shu, tied to a tradition attributed to Shao Yong (1011 to 1077) of the Song dynasty. This branch does not assign Stem-Branch to lines or use the Six Relatives, but takes the body hexagram and function hexagram as its main axis, combined with external omens.
In Vietnam, both branches are known, but their popularity varies by setting. In classical I Ching books that have been translated and annotated, the hexagram text and line texts remain the common foundation for all branches.
How Liu Yao works: what are the six lines loaded with?
Lines and order
Each doubled hexagram has six lines, read from bottom to top, line one at the bottom to line six at the top. This order reflects development from inner mind to outer circumstance, from root to tip. A yin line is a broken stroke, a yang line is a solid stroke.
When casting, each line receives a number. In the traditional yarrow stalk method, the result falls into four values: 6 is a moving yin line (old yin), 7 is a static yang line (young yang), 8 is a static yin line (young yin), 9 is a moving yang line (old yang). A moving line changes into its opposite line, producing a second hexagram called the changed hexagram.
Stem assignment and Five Elements
Each line is given a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch according to a fixed Stem assignment table for each hexagram. From the Earthly Branch, the line's Five Element phase is derived. This step turns a yin-yang symbol into an entity with a concrete Five Element quality, for example a line belonging to Metal, Wood or Water.
Six Relatives
Taking the Five Element phase of the hexagram as the frame of reference, each line is assigned one of the six Six Relatives relations:
| Six Relatives | Relation to the hexagram line | Common meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Parent | generates the hexagram | parents, contracts, documents, house, protection |
| Sibling | same phase as the hexagram | siblings, friends, rivals, sharing or competition |
| Offspring | generated by the hexagram | children, fortune, medicine, removal of misfortune |
| Wealth | restrained by the hexagram | money, assets, wife, material resources |
| Officer-Ghost | restrains the hexagram | career, position, illness, pressure, obstructive party |
| Self and Other | two special position lines | Self is the asking subject, Other is the object asked about |
This table is the backbone of Liu Yao. When asking about work, the reader looks at Officer-Ghost. When asking about money, look at Wealth. When asking about papers and contracts, look at Parent. When asking about health, look at Officer-Ghost together with Offspring and Self.
Six Spirits
The six lines are also assigned the Six Spirits according to the casting day: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Hooked Earth, Coiling Snake, White Tiger, Dark Warrior. The Six Spirits do not decide fortune or misfortune; they add nuance: Azure Dragon tends to joy and luck; Vermilion Bird to speech and disputes; Hooked Earth to slowness and stagnation; Coiling Snake to worry and tangled matters; White Tiger to force, pain and decisiveness; Dark Warrior to obscurity and concealment.
Day, month and strength
The day and month of casting are called Sun and Moon, acting as the two largest weights. A line can be generated by the Sun and Moon, restrained by them, clashed, combined, strengthened or weakened. The final judgment is the combined result of the line's Five Element phase, Six Relatives, Six Spirits, moving or static state, and pressure from the Sun and Moon.
Because there are so many layers, Liu Yao allows much narrower and more specific questions than reading the hexagram text alone.
Why can Liu Yao answer questions that Mei Hua cannot?
Questions Mei Hua is strong at
Mei Hua Yi Shu takes the body hexagram and function hexagram as its axis. The body hexagram represents the subject, the function hexagram represents the matter or object. Generation and restraint between body and function indicate the trend: function generating body is favorable, function restraining body is adverse, body restraining function means one can take initiative but must spend effort, body generating function means loss. Combined with external omens such as timing, direction, passersby and sounds, the reader can judge trend and timing.
Mei Hua's strength is speed, flexibility, no need for tools, and it suits questions like which direction will this matter go, when will it shift, should one advance or retreat.
Questions Mei Hua is weak at
Mei Hua is weak at questions requiring concrete identification and quantification. For example: of two people involved in one matter, who decides; where is this sum of money, when will it arrive, how much will arrive; among the obstructive factors, which is the main one; at what stage does a third party intervene. With a structure of only body and function, Mei Hua struggles to separate subjects and to assign weight to each factor.
Why Liu Yao can do it
Liu Yao handles those questions because it already has slots to place answers in:
- There is the Self line to locate the asking subject, the Other line to locate the object asked about.
- There are Six Relatives to classify matters by nature: money under Wealth, papers under Parent, career under Officer-Ghost, fortune and medicine under Offspring.
- There are Six Spirits to add psychological nuance and circumstance: disputes, delay, concealment, decisiveness.
- There are Sun and Moon to set strong or weak weight, from which timing and degree are inferred.
- There are moving lines and the changed hexagram to describe developments by stage.
In short: Mei Hua answers which trend, Liu Yao answers what, who, when and how much.
Examples of how to phrase questions for the two methods
To see the difference clearly, one can compare the same situation with two different ways of asking:
| Situation | Question suited to Mei Hua | Question suited to Liu Yao |
|---|---|---|
| Job application | Is this opportunity favorable, when is there news? | Will this position take me, who decides, is the salary as agreed? |
| Buying or selling a house | Will this deal succeed? | Is the seller sincere, are the papers problematic, in how many installments does the money come? |
| Health | Is this illness severe or mild, will it pass? | Where is the main symptom, does this medicine suit, when will it ease? |
| Litigation | Will this drag on or end quickly? | Which side has the advantage, which evidence is key, can it be settled? |
This table also shows something important: the two methods do not exclude each other. Experienced readers often use Mei Hua to grasp the broad trend, then use Liu Yao to dig into detail when needed.
Points where schools disagree
It must be said clearly: researchers and practitioners do not agree on many points, and this article only presents a description of viewpoints, without asserting which is correct.
- On the origin of yin and yang lines, there are several hypotheses: the reproductive-organ theory tied to Guo Moruo, the yarrow-stalk number theory, the oracle-bone numeral theory tied to Zhang Zhenglang, and a suggestion from Dong Son bronze drum patterns. No theory has been absolutely proven.
- On casting method, yarrow stalks and three coins give markedly different probabilities. Yarrow stalks give probabilities for moving yin, static yang, static yin and moving yang of 1 in 16, 7 in 16, 5 in 16 and 3 in 16 respectively. Three coins give 2 in 16, 6 in 16, 6 in 16 and 2 in 16. Some hold that only yarrow stalks are traditional, others hold that coins are convenient and still usable. Some variants such as the two-coin or improved three-coin methods are designed to reproduce the yarrow stalk probabilities.
- On the weight among information layers in Liu Yao, each school emphasizes a different aspect: some stress Sun and Moon, some stress moving lines, some stress the Six Spirits. There is no common standard accepted by all.
- On scope of application, some hold that Liu Yao should only be used for concrete, short-term, verifiable matters; others hold that it can be used for large matters too. This is more a difference of philosophy than of technique.
Learners should know which convention they follow, and should state that convention when presenting results, rather than presenting it as if there were only one correct way.
Conclusion
Liu Yao is a richly structured method of interpreting the I Ching: six lines, Stem-Branch assignment, Five Elements, Six Relatives, Six Spirits, checked against Sun and Moon and moving or static state. That structure is what lets it answer identifying and quantifying questions that Mei Hua Yi Shu, with its body and function axis, struggles to answer. In return, Mei Hua is faster, more flexible, and suits questions about trend.
Both are reference tools, not guarantees of the future. They should not be used to replace practical decisions in finance, health, legal or other important matters.
