Bu (卜), the fifth and final of the Five Mystic Arts, is the ancient Chinese practice of divination — the art of querying the cosmos and receiving answers through structured, symbolic systems. Of all the Five Arts, Bu is perhaps the most intellectually demanding and the most widely practiced throughout Chinese history. Emperors consulted diviners before military campaigns, merchants sought oracle guidance before trading ventures, and ordinary people turned to divination at moments of crisis, marriage, illness, and important decision-making.
The character 卜 (bǔ) depicts a crack in a tortoise shell or ox bone — a reference to the earliest form of Chinese divination, scapulimancy (oracle bone divination), practiced during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE). Priests would apply heat to animal bones or turtle plastrons and interpret the resulting cracks as messages from the ancestral spirits and the supreme deity Shangdi. Over three thousand oracle bones have been excavated, providing an invaluable record of Shang-era life and belief.
From these humble, visceral origins, Chinese divination evolved into an extraordinarily sophisticated family of systems, each employing different mechanisms but all sharing a common foundation in the Yin-Yang dualism, the Five Elements cycle, the Eight Trigrams, and the philosophical framework of the I Ching. Divination in China was never mere fortune-telling; it was a disciplined intellectual and spiritual practice that required years of study, moral integrity, and a deep understanding of the cyclical nature of time and change.
The I Ching — The Supreme Oracle
The I Ching (易经), or Book of Changes, is the foundational text of Chinese divination and one of the oldest extant books in the world. Its roots reach back to the legendary emperor Fu Xi (伏羲), who is said to have observed the patterns of nature and devised the eight trigrams (八卦) as a symbolic language for representing all phenomena. The trigrams were later combined into sixty-four hexagrams by King Wen of Zhou (周文王), who composed the judgments for each hexagram during his imprisonment by the Shang king. His son, the Duke of Zhou (周公), wrote the line judgments, and Confucius (孔子) is traditionally credited with the Ten Wings (十翼), the commentaries that transformed the I Ching from a divination manual into a philosophical masterpiece.
Yarrow Stalk Method — 蓍草占法
The classical method of consulting the I Ching uses fifty yarrow stalks (蓍草, shī cǎo). This method is considered the most authentic and produces the most nuanced results, as it generates both primary and secondary (moving) lines through a complex process of counting and division. The procedure involves repeatedly dividing the stalks and counting remainders to produce each line of the hexagram — a process that takes several minutes per line and thus cultivates a meditative state conducive to receiving insight.
The mathematical process divides fifty stalks, removes one to represent the Tao, and then performs a series of counts to produce one of four possible line types: old yang (changing to yin), young yang (stable), old yin (changing to yang), or young yin (stable). When all six lines are complete, the primary hexagram is read along with any secondary hexagram produced by changing lines, giving a rich, layered answer.
Coin Method — 铜钱占法
The more accessible coin method uses three identical coins (traditionally Chinese cash coins with a square hole) tossed six times to generate a hexagram. Each toss produces one line based on the number of heads (yang) and tails (yin) that appear. Three heads produce a changing yang line, three tails a changing yin line, and mixed results produce stable lines. While faster than the yarrow stalk method, the coin method is considered slightly less precise by traditional practitioners, though it remains enormously popular and widely used.
Modern practitioners sometimes use a random number generator or even dedicated apps to cast hexagrams. Purists argue that the physical act of casting — whether with stalks or coins — is essential to the divinatory process, as it engages the body and mind in a ritual that opens a channel of communication between the conscious self and the deeper patterns of the cosmos.
Da Liu Ren — 大六壬
Da Liu Ren (大六壬, "Great Six Ren") is one of the three supreme divination systems of ancient China, alongside Qi Men Dun Jia and Tai Yi Shen Shu. It is sometimes called the "ancestor of all divination" and is considered the most complex and intellectually demanding of the three.
Da Liu Ren operates on a system of four pillars (年月日时 — year, month, day, and hour) derived from the Chinese calendar, combined with the Twelve Earthly Branches and the Twelve Generals (十二天将). The diviner constructs a complex diagram that places the four pillars in relation to the celestial stems and earthly branches, producing a detailed reading that can address questions about military strategy, political affairs, commerce, marriage, health, and virtually any aspect of human life.
The system assigns twelve "generals" or celestial spirits to different positions in the chart, each with their own attributes, strengths, weaknesses, and relationships. The interaction between these generals, the four pillars, and the earthly branches produces a narrative that the skilled diviner interprets to answer the querent's question.
Da Liu Ren's reputation for accuracy earned it a central role in imperial administration. Court diviners used it to advise on military campaigns, diplomatic negotiations, and agricultural planning. Its complexity meant that mastery required decades of dedicated study, and its secrets were closely guarded within lineages of court officials and Taoist priests.
Tai Yi Shen Shu — 太乙神数
Tai Yi Shen Shu (太乙神数, "Tai Yi Divine Numbers") is the third of the three supreme divination systems. While Qi Men Dun Jia is primarily used for military strategy and Da Liu Ren for detailed personal readings, Tai Yi Shen Shu is traditionally employed for macro-level predictions — the rise and fall of dynasties, the outcome of wars, natural disasters, and the broad movements of history.
The system is based on the movements of the Tai Yi star (太乙) through a cosmic grid of sixteen palaces, each associated with different aspects of worldly affairs. The star's position, combined with the relationships between the palaces and various counting formulas derived from the Chinese calendar, produces predictions about the fate of nations and the flow of historical events.
Tai Yi Shen Shu is the most esoteric and least widely practiced of the three supreme systems. Its calculations are extraordinarily complex, and its traditional custodians have historically been imperial astronomers and Taoist grandmasters. The system is said to have been used by the founders of the Han Dynasty to time their rebellion against the Qin, and by subsequent emperors to assess the stability of their reigns.
The Three Supreme Systems
Chinese tradition holds that Qi Men Dun Jia (奇门遁甲), Da Liu Ren (大六壬), and Tai Yi Shen Shu (太乙神数) together form the "Three Supreme Divination Arts" (三式). Legend attributes their origin to the Yellow Emperor (黄帝), who received them from celestial beings. Each system has its domain: Qi Men for military and strategic affairs, Da Liu Ren for personal and detailed matters, and Tai Yi for macro-historical predictions. Together, they are said to encompass the full range of divinatory capability.
The Ethics of Divination
Throughout Chinese history, the practice of divination has been accompanied by a rich ethical discourse. The I Ching itself warns against frivolous consultation: "If one asks trivial questions, the oracle will give trivial answers." Traditional practitioners were bound by a code of conduct that included:
- Do not divine for the same question twice. Repeated questioning is seen as disrespectful to the cosmic forces and a sign of doubt that undermines the accuracy of the reading.
- Do not divine on matters of pure curiosity. Divination should address genuine questions arising from real needs — health crises, major decisions, spiritual seeking.
- Be honest in interpreting the oracle. The diviner must deliver unfavorable readings with tact but without sugarcoating. To distort the oracle's message is a serious breach of trust.
- Use divination to cultivate wisdom, not dependency. The goal of divination is not to replace human judgment but to illuminate the hidden patterns underlying a situation so that better decisions can be made.
- Respect the mystery. Even the most skilled diviner cannot control or guarantee outcomes. Divination reveals tendencies and probabilities, not fixed certainties.
「善易者不占。」
— Confucius (孔子)"Those who truly understand the I Ching do not need to consult it."
This famous saying attributed to Confucius captures the ultimate paradox and aspiration of Bu. The highest mastery of divination leads to a state of intuitive understanding where the patterns of change are so deeply internalized that formal casting becomes unnecessary. The diviner becomes one with the flow of the Tao, perceiving directly what the oracle would reveal. In this sense, Bu is not merely a tool for foretelling the future but a path to profound understanding of the nature of reality itself.