The Return of the Condor Heroes Appendix

The Book of Changes, yin-yang, and numerology

Most Chinese scholars believe that the Book of Changes¹ was completed in the late Shang² to early Zhou³ period. As one of the earliest texts, its original purpose was divination to guide behavior. The ancients were superstitious and anxious about their lack of understanding of nature, fate, war outcomes, marriage, building houses and other major events, so they consulted the hexagrams for decisions.

Ancient philosophers derived the basic principles of the Book of Changes from their observations of patterns and life experiences. Their teachings emphasized that everything exists in constant flux. Nothing remains fixed or unchanging. Extremes inevitably reverse themselves. Therefore, one should avoid going to extremes in any endeavor.

Even from a modern philosophical perspective, these principles remain quite reasonable. It is generally accepted that the Zhou Yi⁴ took shape in the early Western Zhou period.⁵ While traditionally attributed to King Wen of Zhou,⁶ this may not be factual, though it’s possible he compiled and edited existing traditional materials.

The Book of Changes uses eight trigrams for representation. A single line (–) represents yang, while a broken line (– –) represents yin. (Modern Western science expresses this same concept using 1 for yang and 0 for yin.) The fundamental concept of the Book of Changes is yin-yang,⁷ which originated in Daoist thought before being adopted by Confucians.

Confucius greatly admired the Book of Changes. His words in the Analects⁸ reveal his regret at not studying it more thoroughly: “If I had more years to spare, I would devote fifty to studying the Book of Changes, and then I might avoid major errors.”

After the hexagram texts, there are ten commentaries explaining the texts and lines, known as the Ten Wings.⁹ While Confucians traditionally attribute these to Confucius, Song dynasty¹⁰ scholar Ouyang Xiu¹¹ expressed doubt about this. Modern scholars like Feng Youlan,¹² Qian Mu,¹³ Li Jingchi,¹⁴ Dai Junren,¹⁵ and Chen Guying¹⁶ have provided substantial evidence that these were not written by Confucius but were likely added by scholars in the later Warring States period.¹⁷

The Analects, the most important Confucian classic, rarely mentions yin-yang, and Confucius himself barely discussed the concept.

Yin and yang are among the earliest concepts in Chinese thought. They originally referred to the sides of things in relation to the sun—facing the sun was yang, away from the sun was yin. Many Chinese place names include the words yin and yang. People called locations yang when they were near mountains or rivers facing the sun (north of water, south of mountains), and named them yin when they faced away from the sun (south of water, north of mountains). During the Western Zhou period, the Grand Historian Boyang Fu¹⁸ explained earthquakes as the result of yin and yang forces clashing due to their inability to harmonise.

In Dream of the Red Chamber¹⁹, Shi Xiangyun explains the concept of yin-yang to her maid Cuilu²⁰ in a clear and engaging way. It’s generally accepted that everything in the universe has yin and yang aspects—electricity has negative and positive charges, humans are divided into female (yin) and male (yang).

The sun represents supreme yang, the moon supreme yin. Laozi²¹ said, “All things carry yin while embracing yang, and their blending is the vital breath which creates harmony.”

Zhuangzi²² went further, considering the two vital forces of yin and yang as the direct source of humans and all things. In Sir Square Field²³, he wrote: “Supreme yin is stern and severe, supreme yang is bright and glorious. The stern comes from heaven, the glorious issues from earth; the two interact and create harmony, from which all things are born.”

The original Book of Changes emphasised yin-yang philosophy. However, the transmitted versions contain fewer discussions of yin-yang interactions. This may be because the current versions were altered by Confucian disciples who favoured yang over yin.

The silk manuscript version of the Book of Changes discovered in the Mawangdui Han tomb²⁴ predates the transmitted versions. This earlier text contains richer and more detailed discussions of yin-yang patterns.

Li Xueqin’s²⁵ offers insight in his work Tracing the Origins of the Zhouyi and Its Commentaries.⁴ He writes: “The hexagrams, formed by yin and yang lines, inherently contain yin-yang philosophical principles. The Commentary thus states: ‘One yin and one yang is called the Way.’ Yet the hexagram sequence in transmitted versions shows little discernible yin-yang pattern. In representing yin-yang patterns, the silk manuscript version is clearly superior to the transmitted version.”

The Book of Changes contains eight trigrams (guas),²⁶ using a single line to represent yang and a broken line for yin. As ancient writing and printing techniques were not as advanced as today’s, the stacked trigrams could sometimes be unclear when written or printed.

Using numbers to represent them reduced confusion and made referencing easier. Each hexagram²⁷ consists of two trigrams stacked together. The individual lines, called yao,²⁸ are counted from bottom to top. For example, the Tai hexagram²⁹ has Qian³⁰ below and Kun³¹ above.

When written with numbers, yang is represented by nine and yin by six. The first line is called the initial, the second the second, and the sixth the top. Thus the Tai hexagram would be written as: Initial nine, nine in the second place, nine in the third place, six in the fourth place, six in the fifth place, top six.

The Tongren hexagram³² has Li below and Qian above, written as: Initial nine, six in the second place, nine in the third place, nine in the fourth place, nine in the fifth place, top nine.

The use of numbers to represent symbols only appeared in writing during the later Warring States period in the Ten Wings. In my personal conjecture, nine for yang and six for yin were chosen because paper and ink had not yet been invented. Warring States scholars carved trigrams on bamboo or wooden strips with knives when writing books. The two types of symbols were easily confused in this medium. Using the words “nine” and “six” made it much easier and less ambiguous in written text.

Some believe yang must always equal nine and yin must always equal six. This confuses two different concepts. It resembles claiming electrical calculations can only use addition (1) and subtraction (0) because positive charge equals 1 and negative charge equals 0. Such logic ignores multiplication (×) and division (÷) simply because × and ÷ do not represent electrical charges.

Our traditional Chinese ancestors showed more flexibility in their thinking. Their New Year’s greetings often mentioned “three yangs bring prosperity”,³³ not “nine yangs bring prosperity”. In traditional Chinese medicine, the head is considered the meeting point of the three yang meridians of the hand and three yang meridians of the foot, so it’s called the “meeting place of the six yangs”³⁴ or “chief of the six yangs”, not “chief of the nine yangs”. Six Yang Qi-righting Pills³⁵ is a widely used Chinese medicine—we don’t need to be renamed “Nine Yang Qi-righting Pills”.

It seems unreasonable to use later Warring States period interpretations to constrain the Book of Changes from the Yin-Zhou or Western Zhou periods. Consider an analogous situation: it would be absurd to criticise Dream of the Red Chamber for not using Rifampicin and Isoniazid to treat Lin Daiyu’s³⁶ tuberculosis. One might as well ask, ‘What use was the bird’s nest soup that Xue Baochai³⁷ sent her?’”

Or when Second Sister You³⁸ swallowed raw gold in despair and died painfully, modern readers might criticise: “You Erjie lacked common sense—why didn’t she overdose on sleeping pills instead to reduce the suffering?”

Daoist philosophy has always regarded yin and yang as equally important. In the Taiji symbol taijitu³⁹, the twin fish symbols are symmetrical. As yang waxes, yin wanes; as yin waxes, yang wanes. When yin and yang achieve perfect balance, extremes reverse themselves.

As yin gradually increases, it develops from lesser yin to greater yin. When yin reaches its extreme, it begins to decline, giving way to lesser yang, bright yang, and finally greater yang, in a cyclical process of transformation.

The emphasis on yang’s strength while diminishing yin’s importance comes from certain Confucian schools (some believe possibly followers of Zizhang⁴⁰). Dong Zhongshu⁴¹ further applied yin-yang theory to human affairs, elevating yang and diminishing yin to justify the superiority of ruler over minister, father over son, and husband over wife.

In his Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals⁴², he wrote: “The righteousness of ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife all derive from the way of yin and yang. The ruler is yang, the minister yin. The father is yang, the son yin. The husband is yang, the wife yin.”

Confucians emphasised three fundamental relationships: ruler guides minister, father guides son, and husband guides wife. To maintain the structure of ritual teachings in clan-based society, Confucians developed convenient interpretations of yin-yang theory.

Dong Zhongshu’s teachings became prominent in the Western Han, and the use of nine for yang and six for yin in the Ten Wings came to be used to show yang’s superiority over yin, though the Ten Wings itself may not have considered nine more important than six.

Among the world’s cultures, numbers generally have no special significance. The Western beliefs about numbers—seven being lucky, thirteen unlucky, and 666 representing evil—are all later superstitions.

Chinese and Japanese dislike of four due to its similarity in sound to “death” is also not an ancient custom. Contemporary Cantonese people like eight because it sounds like “prosper”, and recently Shanghai people consider four lucky because in musical notation it represents “fa” in do-re-mi-fa, a homonym for prosperity and wealth.

Ancient diviners first used turtle shells and ox bones as their tools. However, the difficulty of using oracle bones⁴³ led them to adopt the simpler method of yarrow stalks.⁴⁴ Yarrow stalks were typically counted in groups of five and ten, giving these numbers special significance in numerology.

The Great Commentary⁴⁵ in Ten Wings states: “Heaven is one, Earth is two, Heaven is three, Earth is four, Heaven is five, Earth is six, Heaven is seven, Earth is eight, Heaven is nine, Earth is ten.”

The Qian Zao Du⁴⁶ states: “Yang moves forward, yin moves backward. Thus yang takes seven and yin takes eight as its symbol. One yin and one yang together make fifteen, this is called the Way… The five tones and six pitch-pipes make seven changes, arising from this. Thus the great derivation number is fifty, by which transformations occur and spirits move.”

During the Song dynasty, Liu Mu⁴⁷ developed the River Chart,⁴⁸ and Zhu Xi⁴⁹ created the Luo Writing,⁵⁰ both consisting of elaborate numerical arrangements. Feng Youlan notes in his History of Chinese Philosophy: “What is called the study of images and numbers may at first appear to be a mass of superstition, but its intention was to provide a systematic explanation of the universe and all aspects within it.”

These numerical theories gradually expanded to influence many aspects of life: calendars, directions, celestial bodies, seasons, and the wuxing.[^wuuxing] People applied them to the Five Tones,⁵¹ political fortunes, military strategy, birth dates, marriage compatibility, and feng shui.⁵²

The ancients were not as precise about numbers as people are today. The Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals⁵³ states: “Heaven has nine fields, Earth has nine provinces, the land has nine mountains, mountains have nine passes, marshes have nine wetlands, winds have eight grades, waters have six rivers.”

While the nine provinces were real, it does not specify what the nine fields of heaven were—this approaches the theories of the yin-yang and wuxing schools.

My friend Ye Hongsheng⁵⁴ from Taiwan wrote a book called On Swordsmanship⁵⁵ where he firmly asserts that the name Nine Yin Manual is incorrect based on the Ten Wings’s statement that yang is nine and yin is six, arguing it should be called the Six Yin Manual. He claims “the strange term ‘Nine Yin’ does not exist in Daoism (nor in Buddhism).”

However, when Huang Shang⁵⁶ wrote the Nine Yin Manual, it was entirely fictional, and since he only studied Daoist texts and paid no attention to the Confucian-revered Book of Changes, much less the Ten Wings (which was likely written by later Warring States Confucian disciples), he could very well ignore them entirely.

Even if the Ten Wings contains excellent content, Mr Huang was free to follow his own path. If he insisted on writing the Nine Yin Manual, there was little anyone could do about it. (Could you defeat him in combat?)

My friend Yang Xing’an⁵⁷ noted in discussing my work, Moon Cloud⁵⁸: “Taiwan’s Ye Hongsheng says in his book On Swordsmanship that ‘yang lines use nine for old (supreme yang), yin lines use six for old (supreme yin)’ and argues there can be no ‘Nine Yin’.”

However, our friend Yan Xiaoxing⁵⁹ found the term “Emperor’s Nine Yin Classic”⁶⁰ in Daoist texts. The term “Nine Yin” first appears in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.⁶¹ In the Three Kingdoms period,⁶² Ge Xuan’s⁶³ preface to the Dao De Jing contains the phrase “disasters eliminate the Nine Yin, blessings arise in the ten directions.”

The Ten Wings represents learning from both Confucian and yin-yang schools. Since it considers yang superior to yin, it uses nine for yang and six for yin. By the Western Han dynasty⁶⁴ Confucians greatly emphasised yang over yin to promote reverence for the ruler, father, and husband, driven by political and ideological needs rather than philosophical substance.

The Nine Yin Manual represents Daoist martial arts, advocating that softness overcomes hardness and yin prevails over yang, hence the name “Nine Yin”. The Eighteen Palms of the Dragon-Subduing particularly emphasises the Qian trigram,³⁰ making it a yang-focused martial art, distinctly different from the Nine Yin Manual.

While my friend Ye Hongsheng’s research into modern martial arts fiction is profound, taking the imaginative elements of my novels too seriously (the Nine Yin Manual discusses martial arts and has nothing to do with yin-yang trigrams or old yin and yang numerology) perhaps approaches Venerable Jueyuan’s⁶⁵ demeanour. Such academic rigour is admirable, but my casual imaginings are not scholarship. I’m grateful to Yang Xing’an and Yan Xiaoxing for diligently researching Daoist texts for this minor question.

In fact, Confucians, Daoists, and yin-yang theorists were all pre-Qin philosophers. The Ten Wings mixed Confucian, Daoist, and yin-yang schools’ various theories. The yin-yang school flourished in eastern Qi and was fond of extravagant absurdities, with pre-Qin scholars dismissing their sayings as “wild tales from eastern Qi”.⁶⁶

They were not necessarily authoritative for all learning. However, yin-yang school numerological theories greatly influenced later Confucians.

Han dynasty Confucian scholarship primarily interpreted classics through yin-yang theories. Wang Mang⁶⁷ was fond of prophecies, and Emperor Guangwu⁶⁸ believed in apocryphal texts, both for political and propaganda purposes aimed at claiming “Heaven’s mandate is with me”.

Later, when the Old Text School⁶⁹ of classical studies rose to prominence, they opposed apocryphal texts and yin-yang theories, but even great scholars like Yang Xiong⁷⁰ could not completely escape numerological thinking.

Yang Xiong wrote the Book of Supreme Mystery,⁷¹ where the basic principle is “one mystery” divided into three to become “three directions”, each divided into three to become “nine provinces”, each further divided into three to become “twenty-seven sections”, and finally each divided into three to become “eighty-one families”.

He concluded: “Directions, provinces, sections, and families are formed by three positions. Speaking of nine times nine, this creates numbers, assists the supreme principles, and thus establishes names. The eighty-one heads all determine the affairs of the year.”

The Book of Supreme Mystery’s numerology states: “One and six share ancestry; two and seven share brightness; three and eight become friends; four and nine share the way; five and five guard each other.”

These numerical games sound very mysterious and align with the ways of magicians and immortals, but nobody can explain what they really mean. As Feng Youlan said, it’s “a mass of superstition.”

In reality, if we read the Book of Changes and its commentaries as a philosophy of life and view of the universe, we can find many profound and beneficial ideas. The Ten Wings, having absorbed much from Laozi, Zhuangzi, and the Jixia Academy’s⁷² Daoist thought, expresses philosophically rich ideas about life, human affairs, and the development of things that are worth considering.

For example, the Book of Changes emphasises the conflict between yin and yang as opposing forces, similar to dialectics. Like dialectics, it shows how these opposing forces constantly develop, contradict, intensify, wax and wane, and transform.

While dialectics sees one force overwhelming another resulting in “negation” and then “negation of negation”, the Book of Changes views the waxing and waning of yin and yang as partial changes—when one force strengthens, the opposing force correspondingly weakens but isn’t completely eliminated, following a developmental process.

In some Book of Changes hexagrams, yang lines outnumber yin lines, and at extreme yang there are no yin lines at all. When yang reaches its peak, it can suddenly transform to reveal yin. Sayings like “the arrogant dragon will have cause for regret”⁷³ and “treading on frost, solid ice will come”⁷⁴ emphasise that “extremes reverse themselves” and “opposing forces arrive imperceptibly”, suggesting a transition from quantitative to qualitative change.

The Book of Changes and Ten Wings* emphasise constant change. One meaning of the character ‘Yi’ (易) itself in the title Book of Changes is “change”.

The Feng hexagram⁷⁵ states: “The sun at noon will decline, the full moon will wane, heaven and earth wax and wane and have their seasons, how much more true for humans and spirits!”

The Sun hexagram⁷⁶ says: “Decreasing the strong and increasing the weak has its time; decrease and increase, fullness and emptiness move with time.”

The Fu hexagram⁷⁷ states: “Return brings success. Going and coming without illness, friends come without blame. ‘Returning on the seventh day’ shows the way of heaven. ‘Beneficial to have somewhere to go’ shows the growth of the strong. In return, can we not see heaven’s heart?”

The Book of Changes sees “going must lead to returning, in an endless cycle” as heaven’s primary law. Human affairs, it teaches, follow this same pattern. The Ten Wings develops some of Laozi’s ideas about “the soft and weak overcoming the hard and strong”. However, it fundamentally reveres yang while diminishing yin.

The Book of Changes and Ten Wings teach humility and warn against self-satisfaction and greed, which is why the Qian hexagram⁷⁸ and Sun hexagram⁷⁶ are considered favourable. Those who interpret the Book of Changes often say that the worst hexagram, Pi,⁷⁹ is better than the best hexagram, Tai.²⁹ This is because after reaching rock bottom, things can only improve, while after reaching the peak, things can only decline—hence the sayings “after extreme misfortune comes good fortune” and “after extreme fortune comes misfortune”.

Daoists speak of “Yang Nine” and “Yin Nine”,⁸⁰ both referring to great disasters—“Yang Nine” means nine years of drought, “Yin Nine” means nine years of floods, averaging one major disaster every eighty years.

Cao Zhi’s⁸¹ Elegy for Wang Zhongxuan states: “Alas, encountering Yang Nine, the scorching light obscures”, mourning his death. Qian Qianyi’s³⁰ poem “Ciguang Temple”⁸² laments: “Thirty years of upheaval approach Yang Nine.”

In my novels, the Nine Yang Manual and Nine Yin Manual reverse these meanings, suggesting that the martial arts themselves contain great potential for disaster and must be used with caution.

The terms “Nine Yin” and “Nine Yang” definitely exist in classical Chinese texts, contrary to Ye’s claim that “Nine Yin is not valid.” His argument that “Nine Yin is not valid” only means the Ten Wings does not use this term.

While Huang Shang studied Daoist texts, his work did not need to follow Confucian classics like the Book of Changes. Even if he valued the Book of Changes, he did not necessarily need to respect the Ten Wings written by later Warring States Confucian disciples.

Even more, he did not need to respect Western Han dynasty Dong Zhongshu’s emphasis on the Ten Wings’s elevation of yang over yin for supporting ruler authority and strengthening the Three Fundamental Bonds.⁸³ Wang Mang and Emperor Guangwu’s use of prophecies and apocryphal texts was political propaganda claiming “Heaven’s mandate is with me.” Daoist martial arts texts could completely disregard this.

In classical Chinese texts, “Nine Yin” represents extreme yin energy. This concept appears in Ge Xiangong’s⁸⁴ preface to the Dao De Jing, which states: “Disasters exhaust the Nine Yin, blessings arise in the ten directions”. This passage suggests that extreme yin brings disaster.

It also refers to the extreme northern realm of darkness; Liu Zongyuan⁸⁵ wrote in Heaven’s Response⁸⁶: “Far north at its head, extreme darkness of the Nine Yin.”

Zhan Ruoshui⁸⁷ wrote in Crossing the South Rhapsody:⁸⁸ “Illuminating Nine Yin at the Red Water, seeing Feng Yi’s hidden palace.” Feng Yi was a water god dwelling in the extreme north.

“Nine Yang” refers to the sun or sunrise. The Book of Later Han⁸⁹ records in Volume 49, ‘Biography of Zhongchang Tong’: “Dew should be the meal, Nine Yang replace the torch.”

The ‘Far-off Journey’⁹⁰ in the Songs of Chu⁹¹ states: “Morning washing hair in the soup valley, evening drying body in Nine Yang.”

Ji Kang⁹² wrote in Rhapsody on the Qin:⁹³ “Taking in the evening view at Yu Spring, drying at Nine Yang.”

In The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, the Nine Yin Manual strongly emphasises softness and yin energy, following Laozi’s Daoist philosophy. By contrast, the Nine Yang Manual focuses on harmonising yin and yang. This latter manual serves to correct the Daoist bias toward yin.

In wuxia novels, factions, schools, character names, techniques, and skills are all author inventions. One may criticise them for being inelegant, unconventional, or illogical. However, it is inappropriate to use Qing dynasty⁹⁴ standards to criticise Tang dynasty⁹⁵ works.

Names like Bixie Swordplay,⁹⁶ Sunflower Manual,⁹⁷ Nine Swords of Dugu,⁹⁸ Eighteen Palms of Dragon-subduing,⁹⁹ Lingbo Footwork,¹⁰⁰ Nine Yin Manual, Nine Yang Manual and so on are all Jin Yong’s imaginative creations, like the Chong-Ling Swordplay¹⁰¹ created by Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan.

If the Six Immortals of the Peach Valley¹⁰² announced they had created the Six Divine Skills of the Peach Valley, only Jin Yong could stop their announcement. Others would have no way to criticise their Six Divine Skills as inappropriate and argue for Seven Divine Skills” instead. If you could win an argument with these six gentlemen and get them to abandon their original idea for your suggestion, you would qualify to become the Seventh Immortals of the Peach Valley.

The names Nine Yin Manual and Nine Yang Manual were created by Mr Huang Shang and another unnamed master based on Daoist texts. They have nothing to do with Confucianism or the the Confucian-revered Book of Changes. They also bear no relation to the Ten Wings, which scholars believe was written in the late Warring States or Qin-Han periods. The Ten Wings first created the nine-yang-six-yin theory, but Huang Shang and the unnamed master completely ignored it.

Just as Laozi’s philosophy contains elements of primitive dialectics, how could we use later Hegel,¹⁰³ Engels,¹⁰⁴ and Marx’s¹⁰⁵ dialectics to criticise Laozi? Laozi said “Know the white, keep to the black”[^laoziquote]—this “black” is not Hegel; when Gongsun Long¹⁰⁶ said “a white horse is not a horse”, this “horse” is not Marx.

Young readers wanting to study the Book of Changes should consult works by scholars such as Zhu Bokun, Gao Heng, Zhang Dainian, and Qian Mu. The writings of Hou Wailu,¹⁰⁷ Ren Jiyu,¹⁰⁸ Li Jingchi,¹⁴ Feng Youlan,¹² Li Xueqin,²⁵ and Chen Guying¹⁰⁹ also offer valuable insights.

The “Nine Yin”, “One Yang” and similar terms in my novels belong to playful writing with no real practical meaning—they shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

Footnotes

1. 易经 – Yìjīng. An ancient Chinese divination text used for philosophical guidance and fortune-telling, One of the Five Classics, also known as Yijing or I Ching. See Wikipedia. ↩

2. 商 – Shāng. The second dynasty of ancient China, lasting from 1600 to 1046 BC. See Wikipedia. ↩

3. 周 – Zhōu. The third dynasty of ancient China, lasting from 1046 to 256 BC. See Wikipedia. ↩

4. 周易 – Zhōuyì. The original Zhou dynasty divination text, which formed the core of what later became the Book of Changes. Zhou refers to the dynasty, and yi means changes. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

5. 西周 – Xīzhōu. The first period of the Western Zhou dynasty, lasting from 1046 to 771 BC. See Wikipedia. ↩

6. 周文王 – Zhōu Wén Wáng. The founder of the Zhou dynasty who is traditionally credited with creating the Book of Changes’s hexagram texts. See Wikipedia. ↩

7. 阴阳 – Yīnyáng. Literally dark and light. The concept of complementary forces in Chinese philosophy, representing the duality present in all aspects of the universe. ↩

8. 论语 – Lún Yǔ. Literally Selected Sayings, a collection of sayings and dialogues attributed to Confucius and his disciples. One of the Four Books. See Wikipedia. ↩

9. 易传 – Yìzhuàn. Literally commentary on Yi(jing) or the (Book of) Changes, also known as the Ten Wings (十翼 – Shí Yì) as it comprises ten commentaries, traditionally attributed to Confucius. See Wikipedia. ↩

10. 宋 – Sòng. The Song dynasty, lasting from 960 to 1279 AD. See Wikipedia. ↩

11. 欧阳修 – Ōuyáng Xiū. A Song dynasty scholar and politician known for his contributions to the study of the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

12. 冯友兰 – Féng Yǒulán. A prominent Chinese philosopher and historian. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

13. 钱穆 – Qián Mù. A prominent Chinese historian and philosopher. See Wikipedia. ↩

14. 李镜池 – Lǐ Jìngchí. A renowned Chinese scholar of the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

15. 戴君仁 – Dài Jūnrén. A prominent Chinese scholar of the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

16. 陈冠英 – Chén Guānyīng. A contemporary scholar of the Book of Changes.. ↩

17. 战国 – Zhànguó. The Warring States period, lasting from 475 to 221 BC. See Wikipedia. ↩

18. 伯阳父 – Bó Yáng Fǔ. The Grand Historian of the Western Zhou dynasty who provided early explanations of natural phenomena using yin-yang theory. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

19. 红楼梦 – Hóng Lóu Mèng. Dream of the Red Chamber, one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels. See Wikipedia. ↩

20. 翠缕 – Cuìlǚ. ↩

21. 老子 – Lǎozǐ. Honorific name of the founder of Daoism and author of the Dao De Jing. Zi the highest title for an intellectual, especially philosopher, in ancient China. See Wikipedia. ↩

22. 庄子 zhuāng zi. Honorific name of Zhuang Zhou, an influential philosopher during the Warring States period. Zi the highest title for an intellectual, especially philosopher, in ancient China. See Wikipedia. ↩

23. 田子方 – Tián Zǐ Fāng. Chapter 21 of the Zhuangzi (庄子), a foundational Daoist text named after its author Zhuangzi. See Wikipedia. ↩

24. 马王堆 – Mǎwángduī. Literally King Ma’s mound. An archaeological site featuring Han dynasty tombs where important early Chinese manuscripts were discovered. See Wikipedia. ↩

25. 李学勤 – Lǐ Xuéqín. A prominent Chinese historian and palaeographer known for his work on ancient Chinese texts. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

26. 八卦 – Bāguà. The eight trigrams in the Book of Changes. Each trigram composed of three lines. See Wikipedia. ↩

27. 卦 – Guà. A hexagram in the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

28. 爻 – Yáo. The individual lines making up trigrams and hexagrams in the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

29. 泰 – Tài. The Peace hexagram, number 11 in the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

30. 乾 – Qián. The Heaven hexagram, number 1 in the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩² ↩³

31. 坤 – Kūn. The Earth hexagram, number 2 in the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

32. 同人 – Tóngrén. The Concording People hexagram, number 13 in the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

33. 三阳开泰 – Sānyáng kāitài. Literally three yang bringing peace. A traditional New Year greeting expressing wishes for prosperity. ↩

34. 六阳会首 – Liùyáng huìshǒu. Literally six yang meeting at the head. A traditional Chinese medical term referring to the head as the meeting point of the six yang meridians. ↩

35. 六阳正气丸 – Liùyáng zhèngqì wán. Literally six yang qi-righting pill. A traditional Chinese medicine compound used to treat conditions believed to be caused by excessive yin energy or qi deficiency. ↩

36. 林黛玉 – Lín Dàiyù. A major character in Dream of the Red Chamber. See Wikipedia. ↩

37. 薛宝钗 – Xuē Bǎochāi. Another major character in Dream of the Red Chamber. See Wikipedia. ↩

38. 尤二姐 – Yóu Èrjiě. A tragic character in Dream of the Red Chamber who commits suicide. ↩

39. 太极图 – Tàijí tú. The circular symbol representing the concept of yin and yang in perfect balance. See Wikipedia. ↩

40. 子张 – Zǐzhāng. Courtesy name of a prominent disciple of Confucious Zhuansun Shi. See Wikipedia. ↩

41. 董仲舒 – Dǒng Zhōngshū. A Han dynasty philosopher who promoted Confucianism as the official ideology of the imperial state. See Wikipedia. ↩

42. 春秋繁露 – Chūnqiū Fánlù. A commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals attributed to Dong Zhongshu. See Wikipedia. ↩

43. 甲骨卜卦 – Jiǎgǔ bǔguà. Literally oracle bone divination. The earliest known form of Chinese divination using turtle shells or ox bones. See Wikipedia. ↩

44. 蓍草 – Shīcǎo. Yarrow stalks were used in a complex mathematical process to generate hexagrams for Book of Changes divination. See Wikipedia. ↩

45. 系辭 – Xìcí. One of the ten commentaries on the Book of Changes in Ten Wings. See Wikipedia. ↩

46. 乾凿度 – Qián Záo Dù. An ancient Chinese text discussing Book of Changes numerology. See Baidu Baike (Chinese). ↩

47. 刘牧 – Liú Mù. A Song dynasty scholar who developed numerological interpretations of the Book of Changes. ↩

48. 河图 – Hé Tú. Literally the river chart. A numerological arrangement pattern developed by Liu Mu. ↩

49. 朱熹 – Zhū Xī. A prominent Neo-Confucian philosopher of the Song dynasty. See Wikipedia. ↩

50. 洛书 – Luò Shū. Literally the Luo writing. A numerological arrangement pattern developed by Zhu Xi. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

51. 五音 – Wǔyīn. The Five Tones of traditional Chinese music: gong, shang, jiao, zhi, and yu. See Wikipedia. ↩

52. 风水 – Fēngshuǐ. Literally wind and water. Sometimes translated as Chinese geomancy, a traditional Chinese practise of arranging buildings and objects to harmonise with natural forces. See Wikipedia. ↩

53. 吕氏春秋 – Lǚshì Chūnqiū. Literally Master Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals. An encyclopedic Chinese classic from the late Warring States period compiled under the patronage of Qin Chancellor Lü Buwei. See Wikipedia. ↩

54. 叶洪生 – Yè Hóngshēng. A Taiwanese scholar and martial arts fiction critic. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

55. 论剑 – Lùn Jiàn. Literally discussing sword. A scholarly work analysing martial arts fiction by Ye Hongsheng. See Douban (Chinese). ↩

56. 黄裳 – Huáng Sháng. A character from Legend of the Condor Heroes. ↩

57. 杨兴安 – Yáng Xīng’ān. A contemporary scholar of Chinese literature. ↩

58. 月云 – Yuèyún. Literally the moon and clouds. An autobiography by Jin Yong. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

59. 严晓星 – Yán Xiǎoxīng. An author and editor. See Baidu Baike (Chinese). ↩

60. 帝君九阴经 – Dìjūn Jiǔyīn Jīng. Literally Emperor’s nine yin classic. ↩

61. 山海经 – Shānhǎi Jīng. Literally the classic of mountains and seas. A Chinese classic text of geography and mythology. See Wikipedia. ↩

62. 三国 – Sānguó. The Three Kingdoms period from 220 to 280 CE. See Wikipedia. ↩

63. 葛玄 – Gě Xuán. A prominent Daoist master of the Three Kingdoms period. See Wikipedia. ↩

64. 西汉 – Xīhàn. The first period of the Han dynasty from 202 BCE to 9 AD. See Wikipedia. ↩

65. 觉远 – Jiàoyuǎn. A Shaolin monk who appears in the Secrets of Shaolin Boxing and Shaolin Zongfa who is said to have a great influence in the development of the Shaolin School. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

66. 齐东野语 – Qídōng yěyǔ. Literally eastern Qi wild tales. A Chinese idiom that means words with no basis. The idiom comes from the story of Mengzi looking down on peasants because of their groundless claims. ↩

67. 王莽 – Wáng Mǎng. A Han dynasty official who briefly usurped the throne from 9 to 23 CE. See Wikipedia. ↩

68. 光武帝 – Guāngwǔ Dì. The first emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

69. 古文经学 – Gǔwén jīngxué. A school of classical studies that based interpretations on pre-Qin versions of texts. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

70. 扬雄 – Yáng Xióng. A Han dynasty scholar and poet. See Wikipedia. ↩

71. 太玄经 – Tàixuán Jīng. Literally supreme mystery book. It is a divination guide Yang Xiong modelled after the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

72. 稷下学宫 – Jìxià xuégōng. The Jixia Academy, an influential centre of learning in the state of Qi during the Warring States period. See Wikipedia. ↩

73. 亢龙有悔 – Kàng lóng yǒu huǐ. From the Book of Changes, warning against excessive pride or reaching extremes. ↩

74. 履霜坚冰至 – Lǚ shuāng jiānbīng zhì. From the Book of Changes, warning that small dangers presage larger ones. ↩

75. 丰 – Fēng. The Abundance hexagram, number 55 from the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

76. 损 – Sǔn. The Diminishing hexagram, number 41 from the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

77. 复 – Fù. The Returning hexagram, number 24 from the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

78. 谦 – Qiān. The Humbling hexagram, number 15 from the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

79. 否 – Pǐ. The Obstruction hexagram, number 12 from the Book of Changes. See Wikipedia. ↩

80. 阳九 (yáng jiǔ) and 阴九 (yīn jiǔ) referred to major natural disasters in Chinese tradition. Usually as 阳九之厄 (yáng jiǔ zhī è) and 阴九之厄 (yīn jiǔ zhī è), literally disaster of nine yang and disaster of nine yin. ↩

81. 曹植 – Cáo Zhí. Son of Cao Cao, Prince of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, and an accomplished poet. See Wikipedia. ↩

82. 辞光寺 – Cíguāng sì. Literally the Temple of Radiant Light. A temple in the Secrets of Shaolin Boxing and Shaolin Zongfa. ↩

83. 三纲 – Sān gāng. The Three Fundamental Bonds in Confucianism: ruler-minister, father-son, and husband-wife relationships. See Wikipedia. ↩

84. 葛仙公 – Gě Xiāngōng. Literally immortal lord Ge. Another name for the Daoist master Ge Xuan. See Wikipedia. ↩

85. 柳宗元 – Liǔ Zōngyuán. A Tang dynasty writer and philosopher. See Wikipedia. ↩

86. 天对 – Tiānduì. Literally the heavenly response. A poem by Liu Zongyuan. See Baidu Baike (Chinese). ↩

87. 湛若水 – Zhàn Ruòshuǐ. A Ming dynasty Neo-Confucian philosopher. See Wikipedia. ↩

88. 交南赋 – Jiāo nán fù. Literally the southern bank of the Jiao River. A poem by Zhan Ruoshui. ↩

89. 后汉书·仲长统传 – Hòuhàn shū · Zhòngcháng tǒng chuán. A book by Fan Yong that covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, one of the Twenty-Four Histories. See Wikipedia and Wikisource (Chinese). ↩

90. 远游 – Yuǎnyóu. Literally the far-off journey. A poem by Qu Yuan anthologised in the Songs of Chu. See Wikipedia. ↩

91. 楚辞 – Chǔ cí. A collection of poems by Qu Yuan from the Warring States period. See Wikipedia. ↩

92. 稽康 – Jī Kāng. A Wei dynasty poet and philosopher form the Three Kingdoms period, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. See Wikipedia. ↩

93. 琴赋 – Qín fù. Literally the lute’s song. A poem by Ji Kang. See Baidu Baike (Chinese) and Wikisource (Chinese). ↩

94. 清 – Qīng. A dynasty ruled by the Manchu people from 1644 to 1912. See Wikipedia. ↩

95. 唐 – Táng. A dynasty ruled by the Han Chinese under the House of Li from 618 to 907 AD. See Wikipedia. ↩

96. 辟邪剑法 – Bìxié jiàn fǎ. Literally evil-warding sword technique. A martial arts technique in Laughing in the Wind. ↩

97. 葵花宝典 – Kuíhuā bǎodiǎn. Literally the sunflower treasure manual. A martial arts technique in Laughing in the Wind. ↩

98. 独孤九剑 – Dúgū jiǔjiàn. Literally Dugu’s nine swords. A martial arts technique in Laughing in the Wind. ↩

99. 降龙十八掌 – Xiánglóng shíbā zhǎng. Literally the eighteen palms of dragon subduing. A martial arts technique in Demi-gods and Semi-devils. ↩

100. 凌波微步 – Língbō wēibù. Literally the gentle steps treading on water. A martial arts technique in Demi-gods and Semi-devils. ↩

101. 冲灵剑法 – Chōnglíng jiànfǎ. Literally Chong and Ling’s swordplay. A martial arts technique in Laughing in the Wind. ↩

102. 桃谷六仙 – Táogǔ liù xiān. Literally the six immortals of the peach valley. Six characters in Laughing in the Wind. ↩

103. George Hegel, a German philosopher of German Idealism. See Wikipedia. ↩

104. Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher and revolutionary. See Wikipedia. ↩

105. Karl Marx, a German philosopher and revolutionary. See Wikipedia. ↩

106. 公孙龙 – Gōngsūn Lóng. A pre-Qin logician known for his paradoxes. See Wikipedia. ↩

107. 侯外庐 – Hòu Wàilǔ. A historian. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩

108. 任继愈 – Rèn Jìyù. A historian. See Wikipedia. ↩

109. 陈鼓应 – Chén Gǔyīng. A historian. See Wikipedia (Chinese). ↩