Qian and Dui: Compare the Two Metal Palace Families
Last updated 10/7/2026
Qian and Dui are two different palace families with one shared coordinate: both carry Metal in the received Eight Palaces classification used in this course. Your task is to compare their structures without turning that shared element into a personality, life domain, or sequence story.
Prerequisite: complete the construction lesson and number lines from the bottom upward. Your output is a two-family worksheet containing both sequences, the common line-change sets, and a checked Dui derivation.
The Governing Rule
Every palace uses the same eight structural positions:
- the doubled-trigram palace head;
- five cumulative changes through lines 1–5;
- Wandering Soul, where line 4 is restored from the fifth-generation form;
- Returning Soul, where the lower trigram is restored to the head.
The starting head changes from family to family. The operation does not.
| Coordinate | Qian family | Dui family |
|---|---|---|
| Palace head | Hexagram 1, Qian 乾, ☰ over ☰ | Hexagram 58, Dui 兌, ☱ over ☱ |
| Palace element | Metal | Metal |
| Family size | 8 | 8 |
| Position rule | common eight-position construction | common eight-position construction |
Metal is therefore a classification value attached to both families. It does not make the two sequences interchangeable.
Source boundary: the received Jing Shi Yi Zhuan catalogue records Qian's run in juan shang, scan images 6–18, and Dui's in juan zhong, images 94–105; each head entry assigns Metal. The two complete sequences below provide the reader-facing membership check. The source does not turn “Metal” into a fixed personal or real-world meaning.
Compare the Verified Sequences
Changed lines are measured against each family’s own head. The line sets are read bottom-up.
| Position | Changed lines from head | Qian family | Dui family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palace head | none | 1 Qian 乾 | 58 Dui 兌 |
| 1st generation | 1 | 44 Gou 姤 | 47 Kun 困 |
| 2nd generation | 1, 2 | 33 Dun 遯 | 45 Cui 萃 |
| 3rd generation | 1, 2, 3 | 12 Pi 否 | 31 Xian 咸 |
| 4th generation | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 20 Guan 觀 | 39 Jian 蹇 |
| 5th generation | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | 23 Bo 剝 | 15 Qian 謙 |
| Wandering Soul 遊魂 | 1, 2, 3, 5 | 35 Jin 晉 | 62 Xiao Guo 小過 |
| Returning Soul 歸魂 | 5 | 14 Da You 大有 | 54 Gui Mei 歸妹 |
Two facts are visible:
- each column starts from a different doubled trigram;
- the same position uses the same changed-line set in both columns.
The hexagram names belong to the individual members. They are not eight chapter titles in a palace-wide plot.
The complete records are:
- Qian:
1, 44, 33, 12, 20, 23, 35, 14. - Dui:
58, 47, 45, 31, 39, 15, 62, 54.
Worked Comparison: Dui at Two Positions
Example type: exercise. It checks construction only and reports no real-world result.
Start with Dui doubled, Hexagram 58.
First generation
- Keep lines 2–6 as they appear in the Dui head.
- Change line 1.
- The result is Hexagram 47, Kun 困.
Record: Dui head 58 → change [1] → 47.
Returning Soul
Returning Soul differs from the head only at line 5.
- Start again from Hexagram 58.
- Change line 5 and leave lines 1–4 and 6 unchanged.
- The result is Hexagram 54, Gui Mei 歸妹.
Record: Dui head 58 → change [5] → 54.
Compare those records with Qian: [1] produces 44, while [5] produces 14. The operation matches; the results differ because the starting head differs.
A Small Source-Layer Check
The received Shuo Gua gives Qian and Dui their own trigram associations. Chapter 5 places Qian in the northwest and Dui in the west; chapter 7 distinguishes Qian’s and Dui’s basic attributes. Those are trigram-text statements.
Keep the layers separate:
| Statement | Source layer | Use here |
|---|---|---|
| Qian and Dui carry Metal in this palace record | received palace catalogue and deterministic record | compare the family classification |
| Qian and Dui have distinct Shuo Gua images | received trigram text | orient the two heads |
| Every member expresses one fixed Metal theme | unsupported extension | do not add it |
Recognition Drill
Without looking back at the full table, complete these records:
- Dui + changed lines
[1,2,3]= ______. - Qian + changed lines
[1,2,3,5]= ______. - Dui + changed line
[5]= ______. - Which coordinate is shared by the two families: head trigram, member names, or palace element?
Answer key:
- Hexagram 31, Xian.
- Hexagram 35, Jin, the Qian Wandering Soul member.
- Hexagram 54, Gui Mei, the Dui Returning Soul member.
- Palace element. Their heads and member lists remain distinct.
If your answer depends on a personal story rather than a line set, return to the diagram. This lesson verifies classification, not a forecast or character profile.
Next, use the same comparison discipline with two Wood-classified heads. Continue to the Zhen and Xun families.