Traditional Divination6 min read
Mei Hua Yi Shu: Numbers and Time Can Cast Too
Shao Yong’s imagery school—quick questions, body vs function
Tradition credits Northern Song scholar Shao Yong with “observing things for images”—anything can become a hexagram. Compared with Liu Yao, casting is lighter and faster, but reading images takes practice.
Body–function relations
- Function generates body: help from outside.
- Body generates function: effort pays but drains.
- Body overcomes function: you can steer.
- Function overcomes body: pressure—wait or defend.
Key takeaways
- Body is the querent or subject; function is the matter. Function generating body is favorable; function overcoming body is harder.
- Two numbers (e.g. 3 and 7) or clock time can cast—imagery matters, not rote formulas.
- The same hexagram reads differently for job vs relationship questions.
Sources & references
Key points are summarized from the works and public references below, reflecting mainstream feng shui, fate-chart, and divination teachings for beginners—not personal invention. Apply ideas with judgment.
- ReferencePlum Blossom I Ching (Wikipedia)
Shao Yong school
- ReferenceShao Yong (Wikipedia)
Song scholar linked to Mei Hua Yi
- ReferenceI Ching / Zhou Yi (Wikipedia)
Root classic for divination