Classical References

Using: The core case-study methodology, the Six-Relation classification system, and the framework for analyzing changing lines (Dong Yao).

Not using: Case studies whose authenticity is disputed across editions. Supplementary chapters attributed to later editors rather than the original author.

Multiple Qing-era editions exist (Kangxi and Guangxu woodblocks). Some hexagram case studies were likely added by later editors.

Using: The Eighteen Questions framework, the classification of hexagram patterns by life domain (career, wealth, relationships, health, travel, litigation), and the methodological rules for interpreting conflicting lines.

Not using: Passages where later editions diverge from Wang's original text. The appendix sections of uncertain provenance.

Discrepancies exist between Wang's original woodblock edition and later commercially printed versions. The authenticity of the 'Eighteen Questions and Answers' appendix is debated.

Using: The foundational Najia framework for mapping Stems, Branches, Six Relations, and Six Animals to each hexagram line.

Not using: Astrological and calendrical methods from the text that have been superseded by later, more precise systems (e.g., the 'purple-white' calculation method).

The author 'Hemp-Clad Daoist' is a legendary figure without historical verification. Scholarly consensus places the actual composition between late Song and early Ming.

Using: The subject-category diagnostic framework and its mnemonic verse formulas for common life-domain questions.

Not using: Sections on statecraft and national-level divination (irrelevant to personal guidance). The Liu Ji attribution narrative.

Attribution to Liu Ji (Liu Bowen), the famed Ming strategist, is almost certainly apocryphal. The text likely dates to the mid-to-late Ming period by an unknown author.

Using: Advanced analytical frameworks for hexagram interpretation: Flying/Hidden lines, Six Animals contextual dynamics, and inter-hexagram comparison logic.

Not using: Content that duplicates earlier texts without clear attribution. Sections whose provenance cannot be verified.

Few surviving editions. Several passages overlap with earlier texts (Huo Zhu Lin, Huang Jin Ce) — suggesting either compilation or later interpolation.