Chapter 01: What Is Meihua Yishu?

1. Understand what Meihua Yishu is and why it belongs to the image-number divination methods rooted in the I Ching.
2. Understand the difference between Meihua Yishu and BaZi: BaZi leans toward long-term destiny structure, while Meihua Yishu focuses on a current, specific question.
3. Understand why Meihua Yishu places strong emphasis on images and numbers.
4. Understand how Meihua Yishu judges a question through casting, the original hexagram, mutual hexagram, changed hexagram, Body and Function, and five-element generating and controlling relationships.
5. Understand what kinds of questions are suitable for Meihua Yishu, and what kinds of issues should not be handled through it.
6. Understand the meaning of external signs in Meihua Yishu.
7. Learn how to present Meihua Yishu to international users as an I Ching-based decision insight system, not as low-grade fortune-telling.

Meihua Yishu can be written in English as:

Meihua Yishu / Plum Blossom Divination / Plum Blossom Numerology.

In practical terms, it is a method of inquiry based on I Ching hexagram images, image-number thinking, Body and Function, and change.

Meihua Yishu is not BaZi. BaZi mainly analyzes a person's long-term destiny structure through the year, month, day, and hour of birth. Meihua Yishu is more suitable for judging a specific question, a present situation, or an event that is currently unfolding.

For example: Should I accept this cooperation now? What is the current trend of this project? Does the other party genuinely want to move forward? Is there an opportunity in this negotiation? Should I change direction? In this matter, is the better mode to advance, retreat, hold, or transform?

Questions of this type are more suitable for Meihua Yishu.

The core features of Meihua Yishu are: 1. it is based on hexagram images; 2. numbers can be one entry point for casting; 3. Body and Function are used to judge the subject and object; 4. five-element generation and control are used to judge relational strength; 5. the original, mutual, and changed hexagrams are used to observe development; 6. external signs help interpret real-world signals; 7. it emphasizes the timing and context of the present question.

The relationship between Meihua Yishu and the I Ching is direct.

It uses the Eight Trigrams, the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, yin-yang, the Five Elements, moving lines, changed hexagrams, hexagram images, Body and Function, and generating and controlling relationships. All of these belong to the foundational content of I Ching studies.

If Course 1, I Ching Foundations, explains the basic philosophy of the Zhouyi, then Meihua Yishu applies those foundations to concrete questions.

One way to understand it is this: the I Ching provides the symbolic system and philosophy of change; Meihua Yishu uses that system to analyze the question at hand.

The I Ching emphasizes image, number, principle, divination, change, timing, and position. Meihua Yishu especially emphasizes image and number.

Image means understanding a question through hexagram images, natural images, and human-situation images. Number means establishing a hexagram structure through numbers, time, direction, quantity, and related measurable cues.

The name Meihua Yishu is traditionally associated with Shao Yong, also known as Shao Kangjie, and the term Meihua is often linked with the story of observing plum blossoms for divination.

For international users, however, it is not necessary to begin with too much historical legend. It is more important to explain the method's function and working logic.

A clear expression would be: Meihua Yishu is a traditional I Ching-based method that uses images, numbers, timing, and changing hexagrams to interpret specific questions and real-life situations.

In Chinese understanding, Meihua Yishu is a traditional I Ching-based inquiry method. It analyzes concrete questions and real situations through images, numbers, time, and changes in hexagram structure.

Many users ask: if I already have a BaZi chart, why would I still need Meihua Yishu?

BaZi and Meihua Yishu answer different kinds of questions. BaZi is more like a life-structure map. Meihua Yishu is more like a situation map for a current question.

For example, the question 'Am I suited to entrepreneurship?' leans toward long-term direction and can first be considered through BaZi. The question 'Should I accept this cooperation now?' is a concrete event and is more suitable for Meihua Yishu or Liu Yao.

The question 'What is my career direction over the next ten years?' is suitable for BaZi luck-cycle analysis. The question 'Will this client sign this time?' is more suitable for Meihua Yishu or Liu Yao.

Therefore, the two systems do not replace each other. They complement each other.

Simply put: BaZi reads long-term structure; Meihua reads the current question.

1. What is image? Image means symbol, picture, condition, and form. In I Ching studies, image is a symbolic way to understand reality.

For example: Qian (Heaven: strength, leadership, initiative, authority), Kun (Earth: carrying, receptivity, stability, inclusion), Zhen (Thunder: activation, shock, beginning, change), Xun (Wind: penetration, communication, spreading, entering), Kan (Water: risk, falling in, flow, wisdom), Li (Fire: visibility, brightness, expression, dependence), Gen (Mountain: stopping, boundary, obstruction, stability), Dui (Lake: joy, exchange, speech, transaction).

Of course, one cannot draw a conclusion from a single image alone. It must be combined with Body and Function, generation and control, the original hexagram, mutual hexagram, changed hexagram, and the question itself.

1. What is number? Number refers to numerical value, quantity, time, sequence, direction, and other structures that can be transformed into hexagram images.

Number is not used for playing a numerical game. Its meaning lies in transforming the time and phenomena of the present question into a hexagram structure.

The time of the question, a number that appears, a sound that is heard, or an external sign that occurs may all become a basis for casting.

Meihua Yishu usually involves several core concepts: original hexagram, mutual hexagram, changed hexagram, moving line, Body trigram, Function trigram, five-element generation and control, and external signs.

The original hexagram represents the basic state of the current question: what situation it is in now, and what the foundational structure of the subject and object looks like.

The mutual hexagram represents the internal process, middle state, and hidden structure of the matter.

The changed hexagram is produced by the movement of the moving line. It shows the direction of development, later trend, and state after change.

The moving line is the position where change occurs. It indicates which layer is being triggered and where the turning point begins.

Body and Function are central. Body usually represents the subject and oneself, while Function usually represents the object and external action.

The five-element relationship between Body and Function can judge the subject-object relation: Function generates Body, Body generates Function, Function controls Body, Body controls Function, or Body and Function share the same qi.

It is suitable for concrete questions and present situations:

Career decisions: Should I accept this job opportunity? Is now a suitable time to change direction?

Business cooperation: Can this negotiation move forward? Does the client have a real intention?

Relationship questions: What is the other person's current attitude? Is it suitable to communicate proactively?

Financial and opportunity questions: Does this project have a profit opportunity? Is this investment currently high-risk?

Timing judgment: Is now suitable for action? Should I advance, retreat, hold, or wait?

Meihua Yishu should not replace medical diagnosis, legal advice, financial investment advice, psychotherapy, emergency safety judgment, real-world investigation, scientific experiment, personal responsibility, or action.

It is also not suitable to ask the same question repeatedly. If there is no new change in the situation, repeatedly casting for the same issue lowers the reference value and leads to interpretive confusion.

A good question usually has three qualities:

Specific: do not ask broadly, 'Will my life be good?' Instead, ask, 'Should I accept this cooperation now?'

Present: the question should center on something happening now, being considered now, or about to be decided.

Actionable: after asking, the answer should be able to translate into actions such as advancing, waiting, adjusting, or communicating.

External signs are relevant phenomena that appear during the inquiry or when the issue occurs, such as suddenly hearing a sentence, a phone ringing unexpectedly, a shift in the weather, or a number appearing repeatedly.

External signs should not be forced into an interpretation. The key is whether they clearly echo the question at hand.

External signs do not replace the hexagram. They are auxiliary observations, not the only basis.

1. Meihua Yishu is an image-number inquiry method rooted in the I Ching.
2. Meihua Yishu is suitable for present, specific questions, while BaZi is more suitable for long-term destiny structure.
3. Meihua Yishu emphasizes image, number, hexagram, line, Body and Function, and change.
4. The original hexagram shows the current state, the mutual hexagram shows the internal process, and the changed hexagram shows the development trend.
5. Body and Function are the core for judging the relationship between the subject and the object.
6. Five-element generation and control help judge whether Body and Function support, consume, control, or share the same qi.
7. External signs are real-world signals at the moment of inquiry and can assist hexagram judgment.
8. The method is suitable for concrete questions about career, cooperation, relationships, financial opportunities, and timing.

1. What is the difference between Meihua Yishu and BaZi? BaZi reads long-term structure; Meihua reads the current question.
2. Is Meihua Yishu the same as an I Ching Reading? Meihua is one I Ching-based reading method, but I Ching Reading can follow other paths as well.
3. What is Meihua Yishu suitable for? It is suitable for questions that are concrete, current, and actionable.
4. Can I ask the same question repeatedly? It is not recommended, because it weakens seriousness and creates interpretive confusion.
5. Are external signs superstition? They can be used as optional context, not as a mandatory basis.
6. Can Meihua Yishu guarantee a result? No. It provides structural insight and action suggestions, not absolute guarantees.

The glossary for this chapter is provided below.

1. What is Meihua Yishu?
2. What is the relationship between Meihua Yishu and the I Ching?
3. How is Meihua Yishu different from BaZi?
4. What is image-number thinking?
5. What do the original hexagram, mutual hexagram, and changed hexagram represent?
6. What are the Body trigram and Function trigram?
7. How does the five-element relationship between Body and Function affect judgment?
8. What kinds of questions are suitable for Meihua Yishu?
9. What kinds of questions are not suitable for Meihua Yishu?
10. What is an external sign?

Next chapter: Chapter 02: Casting a Hexagram.

The next chapter will systematically explain how casting works in Meihua Yishu:

1. what casting a hexagram means;
2. how time-based casting should be understood;
3. how number-based casting should be understood;
4. what external-sign casting means;
5. whether random casting can be used;
6. why the question must be clear when casting;
7. why repeatedly asking the same question is not recommended;

After the next chapter, readers will understand that casting is not randomly generating a hexagram. It is the process of transforming the time, number, and situation of the present question into an analyzable hexagram structure.