One Breath › I Ching Reading — Liu Yao Coin Divination
一炁堂 · ONE BREATH
I Ching Reading — Liu Yao Coin Divination
Ask a clear question, cast six lines with three coins (by hand or by simulation), and receive a Liu Yao interpretation grounded in four classical divination texts.
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What is Liu Yao divination?
Liu Yao (六爻, “six lines”) is the most widely practised method of I Ching divination in China today. It is built on the 64 hexagrams of the Zhou Yi (Book of Changes), but instead of reading only the text attached to a hexagram, it assigns stems, branches and elements to each of the six lines so the reading can be analysed in detail.
This system of attaching stems and branches to the lines is called Na Jia (纳甲) and is traditionally credited to Jing Fang of the Western Han dynasty. It gave Liu Yao a framework that diviners have refined for some two thousand years.
How a hexagram is cast and read
Three coins are tossed six times. Each toss produces one line, built from the bottom up, and each line is either Yin or Yang and either stable or moving. Moving lines transform into their opposite, producing a second, changed hexagram that shows how the situation develops.
The reader then locates the Self line (世爻), which stands for the person asking, and the Response line (应爻), which stands for the other party or the matter itself. Each line is given one of the Six Relatives (六亲) according to its element, and one of the Six Gods (六神) according to the day of the reading. The strength of the line that represents the subject of your question, its relationship to the moving lines, and the month and day of the reading together indicate the likely outcome and its timing.
One Breath supports both manual coin casting — you toss real coins and enter the results — and system simulation.
Classical texts behind this reading
Liu Yao readings on One Breath draw on four classical texts with over 2,500 passages in total. The texts cited for your hexagram are named in each result.
Zeng Shan Bu Yi
增删卜易
Ye He’s Qing-dynasty practical manual, the most complete in history, covering love, career, wealth, health and travel · 1,393 passages
Bu Shi Zheng Zong
卜筮正宗
Ming-dynasty classic of Liu Yao theory with detailed judgments by topic · 485 passages
Huang Jin Ce
黄金策
Specialised work on wealth questions and timing of outcomes · 477 passages
Huo Zhu Lin
火珠林
Foundational text of Jing Fang’s Na Jia system · 147 passages
Passages from the Classics
乾，元亨利貞。
— Zhou Yi, Hexagram 1 Qian 《周易·乾卦》
Qian: sublime, prospering, beneficial, steadfast.
天行健，君子以自強不息。
— Zhou Yi, Qian, Image commentary 《周易·乾·象传》
Heaven moves with vigour; the noble person strengthens himself without ceasing.
易，窮則變，變則通，通則久。
— Zhou Yi, Xi Ci II 《周易·系辞下》
When change reaches its limit it transforms; transforming, it flows through; flowing through, it endures.
天垂象，見吉凶，聖人象之。
— Zhou Yi, Xi Ci I 《周易·系辞上》
Heaven hangs out its images, revealing good fortune and misfortune, and the sages took them as models.
Why One Breath
Unlike a generic AI chatbot, One Breath uses retrieval-augmented generation: before each reading it searches 20,020 passages from 38 classical texts for the material most relevant to your question, and the AI then combines that classical knowledge with your own details. Every classical text cited in your reading is shown by name, so the analysis can be traced back to its sources.
All One Breath features are currently free, with daily usage limits; detailed paid reports will be added later. The site works in English and Chinese, on desktop and mobile, with nothing to install.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I ask a good I Ching question?
Ask about one specific matter, phrased clearly — for example “Will this job application succeed?” rather than “Tell me about my future.” Liu Yao answers concrete questions best.
Can I toss my own coins?
Yes. You can cast the six lines with three real coins and enter each result, or let the system simulate the toss.
What are moving lines?
Moving lines are lines that are about to change into their opposite. They produce a second hexagram and are usually the key to how the situation will develop.
Is the I Ching reading free?
Yes. All One Breath features are currently free with daily usage limits. Detailed paid reports will be added later.
What is the difference between Liu Yao and Plum Blossom (Meihua) divination?
Both use the 64 hexagrams. Liu Yao casts lines with coins and analyses each line with stems, branches and the Six Relatives; Meihua Yi Shu derives a hexagram from numbers, time or observations and reads the Body–Use relationship between trigrams.