STUDY / OBJECTIVE
Recognize eight three-line structures in a fixed orientation, separating figure from placement.
PrerequisitesYin-yang and relations
Key termsEight TrigramsLineEarlier- and Later-Heaven Trigram Arrangements
01 / STUDY
Three lines, eight combinations
Each line has two forms, giving two cubed, or eight, three-line combinations. Identify the bottom line first, then the middle and top. This course uses one for yang and zero for yin, writing strings bottom to top. That is a modern recording convention, not a claim about ancient binary notation.
02 / STUDY
Match names to structures
With bottom-to-top strings: Qian is 111, Kun 000, Zhen 100, Xun 011, Kan 010, Li 101, Gen 001 and Dui 110. Check each line before naming the figure. Reversing the string changes some structures; direction is substantive, not merely typographic.
000100010110001101011111Read each string bottom to top: 1 is yang, 0 is yin.
03 / STUDY
Structure and directional assignment
The same eight figures can appear in different orders or directional layouts. Moving a figure need not alter its lines. Compare arrangements by recording orientation, figure names and source for each position before interpreting differences. Keep traditional attributions separate from dates of surviving diagrams.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Distinguishing Kan from Li
Both teaching figures are recorded bottom, middle, then top.
The first is yin, yang, yin: 010, identified as Kan.
The second is yang, yin, yang: 101, identified as Li.
Record the line structures and names without relying on color, page position or background imagery.
The structural record makes identification independently checkable; images such as water and fire form an additional assignment layer.
PRACTICE / REFLECTION
Exercises and answers
01Which trigram has yang below, then two yin lines?
Read the explanation
Bottom-to-top this is 100, Zhen. Reading it in reverse as 001 would incorrectly identify Gen.
02Does moving Qian to another direction change its line structure?
Read the explanation
Moving it alone does not: its three yang lines remain 111. Record the new placement separately from any structural operation.
A distinction to retain
Teaching notation in zeros and ones does not establish historical use of modern binary arithmetic; those are separate claims.
Unit output
Eight trigram cards with names, bottom-to-top strings and an orientation key.
REFERENCES
Reading references
Summer 2021 archive · Appendices 1 and 2
Used to check figures and names; binary notation on this site is a teaching device for structure.Tsinghua republication · originally China Culture Daily, 14 January 2014
An edited talk by the manuscript editor; detailed readings require the published edition.References reviewed: 2026-10-24. Examples, record templates and explanations are editorial teaching material. Fictional inputs are not historical events or efficacy evidence. Citations imply no affiliation.
Personal study record; not a grade, assessment or credential.
Connected study paths
Yijing: from figures to textsEditorial study material · 2026-10-24