Liu Yao: One Matter, One Question — Will This Work Out?
A friend spread three one-yuan coins on the table, cupped her hands, shook them a few times and let them fall. She counted them and drew a stroke on paper: the first line, she said. Six tosses later there were six strokes — some unbroken, some split in the middle.
What This Method Looks At
Liu Yao addresses one concrete matter: whether it can move forward now, what the other side's attitude is, roughly when a turning point may come, and where the decisive factor for success or failure lies. It asks about one thing at a time and needs no birth information, only a specific question.
The Four Steps of Casting
- Settle your mind and set the question: state the matter clearly. One question per cast — the basic rule of Liu Yao.
- Three tosses make one line: hold the three coins together, shake, and throw them onto a flat surface; read the combination of heads and tails.
- Record six lines, bottom to top: the first toss becomes the initial line, the lowest one, and you work upward to the top line from the sixth toss.
- Dress the hexagram: assign each line an earthly branch, a phase and a Six Relative (parents, siblings, descendants, spouse/wealth, officials/spirits), then fix the Self and Response lines and examine the changing lines.
The four combinations are young yang, young yin, old yang and old yin. Old yang and old yin are changing lines — the entry point of change, and the first thing to read in a hexagram.
Dressing a Hexagram
Dressing fits the stem-branch system onto the hexagram: each line receives an earthly branch and a phase, the Six Relatives are assigned by position, and the month and day markers show how strong each line is. The Self line and the Response line stand for you and for the other side; how the two relate often decides how the hexagram is read.
Origins
Under the Han dynasty, Jing Fang created the Na Jia (stem-branch pairs assigned to lines) method of casting, assigning the sixty stem-branch pairs to the six lines of the Book of Changes so that lines could take part in phase generation and control. Ming-era manuals refined it, and Liu Yao became one of the most widely used forms of I Ching divination.
The "One Matter, One Cast" Rule
Ask once about one matter. Different results from repeated casts reflect the questioner's hesitation, not a change in events. The classical phrase "three times is profanation" speaks to this: a hexagram cast with a scattered mind carries less weight.
What a Result Looks Like
You get a six-line hexagram with the Six Relatives, Self and Response lines and changing-line markers, plus a reading of the matter you asked about: key line positions and timing-related clues rather than a simple good-or-bad verdict.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I have to use old coins? Will ordinary coins do? Ordinary coins are perfectly fine. What matters is that three coins reliably give the four combinations, and that the question is clear when you cast.
Q: Can I cast twice about the same matter in one day? It is not advisable. Liu Yao's rule is one cast per matter; repeating the same question leaves the judgment without a reference point.
Q: How do I read a hexagram with too many changing lines? Many changing lines mean many variables. The usual approach is to look first at the generating and controlling relations among the changing lines, find the one or two that dominate, then bring in the month and day markers, rather than weighing every line equally.
Q: Do I need a birth time? No. Liu Yao works from the question and the moment of casting.
Where to Start
If you have a specific question, describe it in plain language and the system will suggest a method. You can specify Liu Yao, then see the hexagram, the dressed lines and a reading, and export it if you want to keep it. In the Zhanbu Mizhi process, both the hexagram and the evidence come from data, not from hand-written boilerplate.
Disclaimer: This article covers traditional culture and folk custom. It is for entertainment and self-reflection only, and does not constitute medical, psychological, investment, legal or marital decision advice. Please do not submit sensitive personal information such as ID numbers or detailed addresses. If you experience persistent insomnia, anxiety or physical discomfort, please consult a doctor or a qualified professional.
Sources
- I Ching (Zhou Yi), Wikisource: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/周易 (accessed 2026-09-17)
- Bu Shi Zheng Zong, Wikisource: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/卜筮正宗 (accessed 2026-09-17)
- Zeng Shan Bu Yi, Wikisource: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/增刪卜易 (accessed 2026-09-17)