The chart reproduced below comes from the Yiwai biezhuan (The Separate Transmission of the Book of Changes), written by Yu Yan in 1284. This work contains several cosmological charts, followed by passages drawn from the Book of Changes and commented by means of quotations from the Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three), the most important text in Taoist alchemy, and other works.
Charts like this one are used to show the correspondences between different ways of marking space and time, such as the four directions, the twelve “primary hexagrams” (bigua) (or "sovereign hexagrams", each of which is associated with one month), the thirty days of the moon cycle, the twenty-eight stellar mansions, and so forth. They are used in different ways by different disciplines — e.g., for astronomical calculation or divination. In alchemy, the correspondences shown by these charts are mainly used to establish the “fire phases” (huohou), i.e., the cycles of firing in External Alchemy (Waidan) and the cycles of the circulation of the primary components of the cosmos and the human being in Internal Alchemy (Neidan).
In the innermost circle are shown the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, whose apparent circular motion around its own axis determines the segments of space and the cycles of time.
From the inner to outer rings, the chart shows:
- The names of the four emblematic animals (White Tiger, Red Bird, Green Dragon, and Dark Warrior)
- The names of the four seasons
- Six of the eight trigrams
- The twelve earthly branches (dizhi)
- The twelve “sovereign hexagrams” (bigua)
- The twenty-four periods of the year, each lasting 15 days
- The thirty days of the lunar month
- Sixty of the sixty-four hexagrams
- The twenty-eight "mansions"A series of twenty-eight constellations placed on the apparent path of the Sun along the ecliptic. (xiu)
The chart only shows six of the eight trigrams and sixty of the sixty-four hexagrams. The remaining two trigrams and four hexagrams are:
- Qian, i.e., Pure Yang [a hexagram ䷀]
- Kun, i.e., Pure Yin [a hexagram ䷁]
- Kan, i.e., Yang within Yin [both a trigram ☵ and a hexagram ䷜]
- Li, i.e., Yin within Yang [both a trigram ☲ and a hexagram ䷝]
Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth) represent the male and female principles that generate the cosmos and support its existence. Kan and Li (the Moon and the Sun) harbor those principles after the cosmos is generated. These four trigrams and hexagrams are at the center of time and space, and therefore do not enter the cycles of time.
The twelve “sovereign hexagrams” in the fifth ring represent the cyclical rise and decline of Yin and Yang. This movement, often referred to as “ebb and flow” (xiaoxi), is apparent if the hexagrams are shown in the following way:
There are several charts similar to the one established by Yu Yan. The earliest known one was drawn by Peng Xiao in 947 as part of his commentary to the Cantong qi.
Taoist Internal Alchemy: An Anthology of Neidan Texts
This anthology presents translations of sixteen important works from the Taoist tradition of Neidan. The selections represent the major Neidan branches and lineages and are arranged chronologically, providing an overview not only of Neidan itself, but also of its historical development.
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