Why “Zengshanbuyi” Is The Essential Classic For Six Lines Divination

For For anyone who wants to study Six Lines Divination (Liu Yao) and Wen Wang Gua (also written Wenwanggua or Wen Wanggua), zengshanbuyi quickly becomes an unavoidable name. Among modern Na Jia and Six Lines practitioners, Zengshan Buyi is widely regarded as the first classic to read and reread. In online searches many students type the title as “zengshanbuyi” in one word.

On this page, zengshanbuyi refers to the English edition “I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi 增删卜易)”. When people look for zengshanbuyi or zengshanbuyi English edition, this is the official introduction and book page they should find.

At I Ching Stream we translate it as “I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi 增删卜易)”. In many catalogs and searches it also appears as “zengshanbuyi” written as one word. It is the core textbook for the Na Jia Method and has shaped how Six Lines and Wen Wang Gua are practiced today. You can find the English edition on the I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi) book page.

What Is zengshanbuyi?

Zeng Shan Bu Yi was compiled around 1690 by Yehe Laoren (Wild Crane Elder) and organised by Li Wenhui (styled Juezi), with later appraisal by his fellow townsman Chujiang Li Woping.” It stands on the Na Jia system that goes back to Jing Fang, where hexagrams are linked to Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and the Five Elements. For readers who want to learn more about Yehe Laoren’s life, legend, and role in Six Lines divination, please see my separate article on the Wild Crane Elder here.

Instead of focusing only on abstract philosophy, this book builds a practical Six Lines and Wen Wang Gua framework:

• It organizes Na Jia rules into clear patterns that can be used with real questions.
• It connects rules, reasoning, and outcome through hundreds of documented case studies recorded in the original text.
• It became the reference point for later Six Lines and wenwanggua manuals.

Today many modern courses and handbooks on Six Lines divination quietly rely on the structure that zengshanbuyi created.

For readers who can access the original Chinese, you can also consult the Zengshan Buyi text on Wikisource.

Honest About Both Accuracy And Failure

Many divination books only show successful cases. zengshanbuyi is known for a very different attitude.

Yehe Elder records:

• cases where the outcome matches the judgment very clearly
• cases where the result did not match the original reading
• his own reflections on where the reasoning was mistaken or incomplete

For beginners this is extremely important. It shows that:

• accuracy always has limits
• even skilled practitioners make errors
• the path to real skill is to study both success and failure, not only highlight moments

This spirit of “seeking truth rather than decoration” fits the original character of I Ching work. It treats divination as a serious craft that must be tested again and again in lived experience.

Documented Case Studies For Six Lines And Wen Wang Gua

zengshanbuyi is a case based textbook. Depending on the edition there are more than 460 divination examples recorded in the text. The I Ching Stream English edition contains 465 documented case studies, numbered by hexagram group so you can easily cross reference them.

These cases cover almost every area that students of Wen Wang Gua and Six Lines will meet:

• seeking wealth, business, and trading
• examinations and official promotion
• marriage, relationships, and family matters
• illness, surgery, and recovery
• lawsuits and disputes
• travel, visitors, and messages
• missing people and lost objects
• house selection, graves, and feng shui
• yearly fortune and mixed questions

Each case usually records:

• the question and background
• the cast hexagram and active lines
• the choice of significator line
• analysis using strength and weakness, generation and overcoming, void, clash, compatible, punishment, and transformation
• the outcome and timing as transmitted in the original text

For Six Lines and Wen Wang Gua beginners, this creates a complete learning loop. You see not only the final answer, but also how a classic Na Jia practitioner thinks from hexagram to judgment.

For a deeper symbolic and imagery focused approach that complements zengshanbuyi, you can also explore our introduction to Fire Pearl Forest – I Ching (Six Lines) Divination Classical Text.

Removing The False, Keeping The True

One of the most important contributions of zengshanbuyi is its careful criticism of earlier theories.

Yehe Elder, Li Wenhui, and Chujiang Li Woping:

• tested traditional rules about Six Relationships, body of the hexagram, and various gods and omens
• reduced or rejected systems that repeatedly failed in practice
• strengthened rules that consistently matched observed outcomes in their records

They simplified the Na Jia and Wen Wang Gua framework by:

• focusing on the host line and the significator line
• placing the Five Elements relationships at the center
• treating many complex gods and stars only as secondary supporting factors
• insisting that judgments must follow clear and coherent logic

This “remove the false, keep the true” approach makes zengshanbuyi easier for beginners and more reliable for real consultations.

A Practical View On Multiple Castings

Classical texts sometimes warn that repeating a divination on the same matter is disrespectful. zengshanbuyi offers a more practical Na Jia perspective.

Yehe Elder suggests:

• if the first casting is clear, there is no need to cast again
• if the first hexagram is unclear or difficult to judge, it is acceptable to cast again, especially when time has passed or the situation has changed

He writes that much of his own progress in Six Lines depended on casting often and tracking outcomes over many years.

For students of Wen Wang Gua and Six Lines, this encourages a healthy, experiment based approach that respects both tradition and experience.

If you are new to this method, you may find it helpful to begin with zengshanbuyi itself and the free study resources on ichingstream.com; a dedicated I Ching Divination Foundations course is planned as a future structured starting point.

Clear Categories For Real Life Questions

The book also classifies its material by topic, which is very helpful for learners:

• seeking wealth and business
• examinations and career
• opening a shop or starting a venture
• illnesses and medical questions
• marriage and matchmaking
• children and fertility
• travel and moving
• lost objects and theft
• house, graves, and feng shui
• yearly fortune and mixed topics

For each type of question, zengshanbuyi explains:

• which line serves as the significator
• how different Six Relationships map to people, roles, and events
• what typical combinations tend to signal in that category

This helps Six Lines beginners quickly connect theory with real Wen Wang Gua consultations instead of memorizing isolated rules.

The English Edition: Making Na Jia Accessible

The original Chinese Zengshan Buyi assumes knowledge of classical Chinese and traditional technical vocabulary. For non Chinese readers this can be a serious barrier.

The English edition “I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi 增删卜易)” aims to open this system to a wider audience.

It includes:

• a complete translation of the main text with 465 case studies as preserved in the original zengshanbuyi
• consistent English terminology for Six Lines (Liu Yao), Wen Wang Gua, and the Na Jia Method
• an introduction that places zengshanbuyi in the wider history of I Ching divination
• cross references to related classics such as“The Orthodox Method of I Ching Divination (Bushizhengzong),” “Fire Pearl Forest,” “Undersea Eye,” “Collected Insights on I Ching Divination (Yi Donglin)” and “Studies on Ancient I Ching Divination Cases”

The book is designed for:

• beginners, who need a clear and structured wenwanggua entry point
• intermediate students, who want a reliable Na Jia reference that links rules and examples
• advanced practitioners, who wish to verify and deepen their own methods against a classic source

How To Study zengshanbuyi Effectively

A few simple habits can help you get the most from zengshanbuyi:

1. Start with Volume One and Volume Two, especially the sections that introduce the Na Jia method and the basic rules and terminology of Six Lines and Wen Wang Gua.
2. Start with the section that matches your current questions, such as wealth, illness, or marriage.
3. Copy key cases into your own notes, explain them in your own words, then compare with the original analysis.
4. When you practice Six Lines or Wen Wang Gua, look for parallel cases in the book and use them as mirrors for your own judgment.
5. Revisit the same cases regularly; as your understanding grows, new layers will appear in the same examples.

Also Cataloged Or Searched As

To help readers and search engines connect different spellings, this work may also appear under:

• zengshanbuyi, Zengshan Buyi, Zeng Shan Bu Yi
• zengshanbuyi English, Zengshan Buyi English edition, Zeng Shan Bu Yi English translation
• Wen Wang Gua, wenwanggua, Wen Wanggua
• I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored, Six Lines Divination (Liu Yao), Na Jia Method

All of these refer to the same classical Six Lines and Wen Wang Gua manual.

For more information on the English edition of “I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi 增删卜易)”, study tools, and the English language Chinese Perpetual Calendar that supports Na Jia work, please visit ichingstream.com.nglish language Chinese Perpetual Calendar that supports Na Jia work, please visit ichingstream.com.

Academic version
A more formal, extended translator’s introduction to “I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi)” is available as a PDF on Academia.edu under the same title.