At a glance
- Later Heaven north
- Kan
- Orientation
- Check south-up or north-up
Definition and terminology
Earlier Heaven is traditionally associated with Fuxi and Shao Yong, Later Heaven with King Wen. These associations do not establish that surviving circular diagrams were drawn in those figures’ periods. Shuogua passages supplied interpretive resources; the history of fully developed diagrams remains a separate subject of textual and visual study.
Structure and rules
Common Earlier Heaven pairs are Qian/Kun, Zhen/Xun, Kan/Li and Gen/Dui. Later Heaven assigns Zhen east, Xun southeast, Li south, Kun southwest, Dui west, Qian northwest, Kan north and Gen northeast. Traditional diagrams may put south at the top, so orientation and numbering conventions must be checked before reading.
Worked reading
On a Later Heaven chart labeled south-up, Li appears above and Kan below. Rotating it north-up reverses their paper positions without altering their directions. To locate east, find Zhen using the labels. This illustrates diagram orientation, not evidence that a geographic direction carries a measurable favorable or harmful force.
Context and limits
Different systems assign different roles: Plum Blossom methods often use Earlier Heaven numbers, while Qimen commonly uses a Later Heaven palace framework. Shared trigram names do not license mixing number orders. Opposition versus circulation is a traditional explanatory contrast; historical or scientific claims require evidence beyond the diagram itself.
References & further reading
Historical sources document ideas and rules of their time, not empirical proof of predictive accuracy. Source notes identify the nature and scope of each reference.
- 《易传·说卦》Primary / tradition source
Public-domain commentary documenting traditional trigram associations and directions.
- 《梅花易数》卷一Primary / tradition source
Public-domain received manual for trigram and line remainders; attribution to Shao Yong is not treated as established authorship.
- 《遁甲演义》（四库全书本）Primary / tradition source
Public-domain Qimen source; editorial account distinguishes legends from documentation and describes palaces, stems, doors and stars.