Wen Wang Gua Terminology and Line-Role Rules
Last updated 10/7/2026
Use this page to retrieve a label and its bounded working definition. Copy the term you need, check the rule, and return to the active lesson.
English is the teaching interface. Pinyin and Chinese characters are lookup labels, not evidence and not decoration.
Chart construction
| English working label | Pinyin / notation | Bounded definition |
|---|---|---|
| Wen Wang Gua | 文王卦 | The dated six-line analysis method taught in this course |
| Six Lines | Liu Yao / 六爻 | A common name used for the same course subject |
| Primary chart | ben gua / 本卦 | The six-line chart before the recorded moving lines flip |
| Changed chart | bian gua / 变卦 | The complete six-line chart produced after those flips |
| Moving line | dong yao / 動爻 | A primary-chart line marked as changing |
| Static line | jing yao / 靜爻 | A primary-chart line not marked as changing |
| Transformed line | bian yao / 变爻 | The changed-chart assignment associated with a moving primary line |
| Palace | gong / 宮 | One of eight hexagram families used to supply the chart’s reference element |
| Na Jia | 納甲 | The fixed stem-and-branch assignment used for the six lines |
| World | Shi / 世 | A configured reference position in the chart; interpretation depends on the question and lineage rule |
| Response | Ying / 應 | The position paired with World; it is a structural marker before it is interpreted |
| Target line | Yong Shen / 用神 | The line selected to represent the exact subject being analyzed |
The primary and changed figures are complete six-line structures. A static row may therefore carry a different Na Jia branch in the changed column even though that primary line did not move. In this course, transformed Six-Relative roles still use the primary chart’s palace element.
Derive the five line roles
The traditional heading is Six Relatives (Liu Qin, 六親), while the calculation yields five recurring role labels. Derive the label from the relationship between the line’s Five-Phase element and the palace element.
| Element relationship | English label | Source notation |
|---|---|---|
| Line element equals palace element | Sibling | 兄弟 |
| Line element generates palace element | Parent | 父母 |
| Palace element generates line element | Child | 子孫 |
| Line element controls palace element | Officer / Ghost | 官鬼 |
| Palace element controls line element | Wealth | 妻財 |
These are chart-routing categories, not literal people, objects, or outcomes. The question and an attributed selection rule determine whether a role is relevant.
Reproduction rule
For a Wood palace:
- Wood line → Sibling;
- Water line → Parent, because Water generates Wood;
- Fire line → Child, because Wood generates Fire;
- Metal line → Officer/Ghost, because Metal controls Wood;
- Earth line → Wealth, because Wood controls Earth.
Do not memorize application glosses before you can reproduce that element comparison.
Source position and course convention
The complete table and Wood-palace example above define the UAYA convention used throughout the course. Always compare from the palace element toward the line element; reversing that direction reverses the two control categories. The derivation is a reproducible chart-construction rule, not evidence of doctrine or efficacy.
Calendar labels
| English working label | Pinyin / notation | Bounded definition |
|---|---|---|
| Heavenly Stem | tian gan / 天干 | One of ten calendar stems used in a stem-branch date |
| Earthly Branch | di zhi / 地支 | One of twelve branches used for dates and line assignments |
| Stem-branch pair | ganzhi / 干支 | A paired calendar label |
| Month branch | yue jian / 月建 | The branch recorded for the month in the chart |
| Day branch | ri chen / 日辰 | The branch recorded for the day in the chart |
| Ten-day cycle | xun / 旬 | The cycle used to derive the chart’s void pair |
| Void | xun kong / 旬空 | A temporary chart state attached to the two omitted branches in the current ten-day cycle |
| Five Phases | wu xing / 五行 | Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water as relationship categories |
Use the shared Ganzhi reference for stem and branch lookup and the Five Phases reference for generation and control cycles.
Interaction labels
| English label | Notation | What the label says—and does not say |
|---|---|---|
| Generate | 生 | One Five-Phase category produces the next in the course cycle; not physical causation |
| Control | 克 | One category restrains another in the course cycle; not moral judgment or certain harm |
| Combination | 合 | A branch relation whose effect depends on the stated course rule and chart context |
| Clash | 冲 | A branch opposition; it is not automatically favorable or unfavorable |
| Harm | 害 | A branch relation retained for later, lower-priority analysis |
| Punishment | 刑 | A named branch relation; the label is not a real-world conclusion |
| Hidden line | Fu Shen / 伏神 | A line assignment supplied by the palace chart but not visible in the primary six rows |
| Void exit / fill | 出空 / 填空 | Timing-state labels; they do not establish that an event occurs |
Case and evidence labels
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Documented textual case | A traceable source record with a locator; its outcome remains what the text reports |
| Recorded contemporary case | A real reading with provenance and consent appropriate for publication |
| Reconstructed teaching case | A disclosed adaptation from a source or record |
| Invented illustration | A mechanics example with no claimed real-world outcome |
| Learner exercise | Inputs or a chart used to produce an inspectable artifact, not a confirming result |
If a case lacks provenance, do not call it documented. If an outcome was invented, do not present it.
Retrieval check
Before leaving, write the term, the exact chart relation or definition, and one thing it does not establish. Then return to the lesson that sent you here or to the course reference directory.