I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi 增删卜易) Wild Crane Elder / Yehe Elder

Description

Written by: The Wild Crane Elder (Yehe Elder)
Compiled by: Wenhui Li (styled Jue Zi, circa 1690 CE)
Translated by: Xuan Wanyan

“I Ching Divination – Complete and Restored (Zengshan Buyi)” is part of the I Ching Stream project, which offers professional English editions of classical Six Lines divination texts for serious practitioners and students around the world.

---

About the Book

First compiled around 1690 from the experiential manuscript of Yehe Elder and organised by the early Qing scholar Wenhui Li (styled Jue Zi), Zengshan Buyi is a foundational classic of Six Lines divination, also known as the Six Hexagrams method, Six Lines, Wen Wang Gua, or the Na Jia method.

Long regarded as essential reading for advanced I Ching students, this work shows in detail how traditional diviners moved from a cast hexagram to a concrete judgment. Whether you use coins, yarrow stalks, an I Ching online or virtual casting tool, or a printed hexagram chart or hexagram lookup table, this book gives you the traditional logic needed to interpret the result.

This English edition features:

• 465 case studies (conservatively noted as “460+” on the cover), arranged by hexagram groups so you can easily cross reference with any I Ching table, chart, or lookup system

• The Golden Strategy (or “Golden Yarrow-Stalk Method”), a core reference text that is repeatedly cited in later Six Lines and Wen Wang Gua manuals

• A practical and systematic framework for divination that balances core principles with extensive examples

• A detailed explanation of the steps of Six Hexagrams analysis, showing the full reasoning from the first casting steps to the final answer

• Applications across love, marriage, career, wealth, health, lawsuits, missing people, travel, and more

This work can serve both as:

• A must-read introductory textbook that helps beginners solidify their understanding through structured cases and clear Six Hexagram steps

• A long term desk reference for seasoned practitioners, who will continue to find new patterns and insights with each rereading

Unlike symbolic-image heavy I Ching introductions, this classic emphasizes method and application. It pairs well with more image-focused study. For readers who want to go further into symbolic approaches and related classics, we recommend:

• Fire Pearl Forest – I Ching (Six Lines) Divination Classical Text

• Undersea Eye – The Core Principles of I Ching (Six Lines) Divination

• Collected Insights on I Ching Divination (Yi Donglin), including Donglin Secret Manual, Guo Shi Donglin, and Zhouyi Donglin

• Studies on Ancient I Ching Divination Cases

Together, these books can support an advanced I Ching course or private study path, and they can be treated as a reference set rather than casual reading.

---

About This English Edition

This English edition, possibly the first complete translation of “Zengshan Buyi”, was prepared by Xuan Wanyan, a Columbia University graduate from a family steeped in the I Ching tradition. It is intended to make a once esoteric Six Lines (Liu Yao, Wen Wang Gua) Na Jia system accessible to non-Chinese readers while preserving its original depth and technical precision, including its built in calendrical timing.

Key features of this translation:

• Translated directly from classical Chinese and checked against multiple traditional editions.

• No chapters or cases are summarised or omitted, and all 465 case studies are preserved and numbered in one to one correspondence with the original.

• Technical terms are translated consistently across Zengshan Buyi and other I Ching Stream volumes, so students can move smoothly between books and build a unified vocabulary for Six Lines and the Na Jia Method.

• Clearly marked [Annotation from the Translator] notes explain key technical terms, basic concepts, Chinese idioms, and historical or cultural references that might otherwise be opaque to non-Chinese readers.

• A large set of simple diagrams and tables illustrates line structure, Six Relationships, Five Elements interactions, Na Jia and Five Elements timing charts, and visual mnemonics for the Twelve Life Stages, helping readers see why a line is strong, weak, or in the tomb at a given time.

• The English is kept clear and readable for non-native speakers, without sacrificing the internal logic of the method.

• The text is designed as a working manual, suitable to keep open next to an I Ching chart, lookup table, or online I Ching tool while you practise.

The complete set (Volumes 1 to 4) contains approximately 204,000 words, comparable in depth to a full technical manual rather than a short spiritual booklet.

---

Notes

• [1] The cover uses “460+” as a rounded figure. This edition contains 465 case studies, numbered by hexagram groups, in a one-to-one correspondence with the in-book numbering [1]–[465].

• ✅ Digital products are non-refundable. Please review the description and sample pages before purchase.

• ✅ Case counts, page numbers, and chapter structure are approximate and may vary by edition and format.

• ✅ All rights reserved. Content is provided for educational and research purposes only and does not replace professional medical, legal, financial, or psychological advice.