Methods · 6 min read

Plum Blossom I Ching Time Method with a Worked Example

The Plum Blossom time method builds a hexagram from the moment of asking, using addition and remainders instead of coin tosses. Two people asking within the same two-hour period receive the same hexagram. Understanding why makes the method easier to use thoughtfully.

Where does the time method come from?

Plum Blossom Numerology, or Meihua Yishu, is a traditional approach to the I Ching associated with the Northern Song scholar Shao Yong, also known as Kangjie. The transmitted book includes a procedure using the year, month, day, and hour alongside other ways of obtaining numbers. Its plum blossom story belongs to that tradition; a story does not establish authorship or demonstrate foresight.

Shao Yong's biography in the History of Song also cautions that later people attributed statements to him after events had happened. You can study the calculation while treating such accounts critically. Start with the inputs and the arithmetic, then use the figure as a reference for reflection on a particular situation.

年月日為上卦。年月日加時總數為下卦。又以年月日時總數取爻。

Nián yuè rì wéi shàng guà. Nián yuè rì jiā shí zǒng shù wéi xià guà. Yòu yǐ nián yuè rì shí zǒng shù qǔ yáo.

Use the year, month, and day to form the upper trigram. Add the hour to their total to form the lower trigram. Use the total of year, month, day, and hour again to select the line.

Plum Blossom Numerology, volume 1, Rules for Casting by Year, Month, Day, and Hour.

Which calendar and hour conventions does this article use?

This article uses the Vietnamese lunar calendar and Vietnam civil time, UTC+7. The year number is its Earthly Branch position, from Zi (Rat) 1 through Hai (Pig) 12. It is neither the Gregorian year number nor the Heavenly Stem number. The year changes at Lunar New Year, not at Lichun, the Start of Spring solar term. A leap lunar month keeps its month number: a leap sixth month still contributes 6.

The hour also receives an Earthly Branch number from 1 to 12, one for each two-hour period. From 23:00 through 23:59, the calculation uses the following lunar day, which can also change the lunar month or year. The transmitted text does not settle every calendar boundary explicitly. These are the conventions adopted in this article, so check them before comparing results with another source.

Calculate the two trigrams and the moving line

Use the Pre-Heaven trigram numbers: Qian 1, Dui 2, Li 3, Zhen 4, Xun 5, Kan 6, Gen 7, Kun 8. Divide a trigram total by 8 and keep the remainder; a remainder of 0 counts as 8, or Kun. For the moving line, divide by 6; a remainder of 0 means line 6, the top line. There is no line zero.

Each trigram has three lines. Place the lower trigram in positions 1 to 3 and the upper trigram in positions 4 to 6, counting from the bottom. A hexagram's descriptive name usually mentions the upper image first, even though line numbering starts below. This procedure selects exactly one moving line. Reverse only that line's yin or yang to form the changed hexagram.

Worked example: 15:30 on 12 November 2026

In Vietnam time, this is the fourth day of the tenth lunar month of the Bingwu year, the Fire Horse year, during the Shen hour. The year branch Wu contributes 7, the month 10, the day 4, and the hour branch Shen 9. Do not add 2026 or the 30 minutes. Minutes locate the moment within an hour period but do not enter the sums.

Xun (Wind) above Kan (Water) gives Huan (Dispersion), hexagram 59. Line 6 is moving yang. Reversing it to yin changes upper Xun into Kan, producing Kan (Repeated Water), hexagram 29. For the nuclear hexagram, take primary lines 2, 3, 4 as the lower trigram and 3, 4, 5 as the upper. These are Zhen below Gen, giving Yi (Nourishment), hexagram 27. All three figures come from the same six lines.

Why does one two-hour period give the same hexagram?

Within the same two-hour period and effective lunar day, the year branch, month, day, and hour branch numbers stay unchanged. Questions asked in the same two-hour period give the same hexagram, including its moving line, even when the people or questions differ. The formula does not use your name, birth date, or question text. It adds no random number to make each cast look different.

In Plum Blossom practice, the moment a question arises serves as a symbolic point from which to consider change. This does not show that every situation sharing an hour will unfold alike. Context still shapes the reading: coordinating a team and learning a skill raise different practical questions, even when the calculated figure is the same.

The book discusses several households asking at the same time and describes adding surname stroke counts. This article does not apply that adjustment. Taking numbers directly is another traditional procedure. Repeatedly casting in search of a more comfortable name adds little to a focused reading.

Reading the Body (Ti) and Function (Yong) trigrams

The time method offers a way to reflect from the moment of asking without choosing numbers. Write down one issue and a time frame, then check the calculation using the steps above. The hexagram's name is a starting point for reading, not a complete answer.

With one moving line, the trigram containing it is Function (Yong); the other is Body (Ti). In the Huan example, Body (Ti) is Kan, associated with Water, and Function (Yong) is Xun, associated with Wood. Water generates Wood, so Body (Ti) generates Function (Yong). As a reflection prompt, ask where your effort is going and whether that investment fits your aims. This symbolic relationship cannot establish the outcome of a real task.

In traditional Plum Blossom practice, time-based casts are usually read through Body (Ti) and Function (Yong), alongside the nuclear and changed hexagrams and the classical text. The article on Plum Blossom Numerology and trigram relationships explains more. After reading, choose something you can check in practice, such as clarifying responsibilities before the next team meeting.

Kinh Dich Online currently casts with three coins; the Plum Blossom Body (Ti) / Function (Yong) method appears only as a supplementary cross-check in the reading.

Quick answers

Is it an error if two people receive the same hexagram?
The same two-hour period and effective lunar day supply identical inputs, so this method gives the same hexagram. The question and context inform the reading but do not enter the calculation.
At 23:30, does the calculation still use today's lunar date?
No. Under this article's convention using Vietnam time, count 23:00 to 23:59 as the following lunar day. It shares an effective day with the rest of that Zi period, through 00:59.
How are leap months and Lichun handled?
A leap lunar month retains its month number. The year branch changes at Lunar New Year; crossing Lichun alone does not change it for this calculation.

Hexagrams in this article

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