Chinese Fortune telling system Liu Ren(六壬)
Chinese Fortunetelling system Liu Ren (六壬) as the variant of divination practices transformation on basic of Book of Changes (Yi Jing). In traditional Chinese culture the fortunetelling practices are the most full realized the holistic approach to problems of the interaction man and environment. Beginning from the ancients’ times in China the phenology was developed, the science about forecast climate, description of seasons, which figured out the dependences of influence on environment and climate changes. Chinese culture disposed of extensive and constantly increasing collections of divination practices. The key point in their systematization was creation Book of Changes (“Yi-Jing”), which is sufficiently perfect fortunetelling system whose basic categories and interpretive technologies contain the both cosmological ideas (such as the Sky, the Earth, time’s running, the idea about World Order) and the memory about more important ancient events [Hu Shih. The Development of Logical Method in Ancient China. Shanghai, 1928]. A variety of complicated divination practices on basic of Book of Changes was developed. The first mentions and some descriptions of fortunetellings in ancient China already were contained in the bibliographic part of the dynastic history “Hanshu”. The ancient Chinese philosophers Meng Xi (I B.C) and Yang Xu (53 B.C-18 B.C) created the most sophisticated and systematic structures. Meng Xi compared 64 hexagrams with calendar-climate processes. Yang Xiu wrote the “Canon about great cryptic” (“Tai Xuan Jing”) on basic of Book of Changes, where suggested the system from 81 tetragrams (3 types of lines), consisting from the features of three kinds – full, once interrupted and twice interrupted. During the developing of Chinese culture the divination practices and systems subject to astrologer’s social status and the sphere of its using, developed as be more complicated against the Book of Changes as be more simplified. Those described above fortunetelling systems gave a stimulus to the development of complicated divination practices. They gave the definitions not only for an individual person but for many processes concerning visual environment. In contrast to folksy superstitions independent fortunetellings (which are the development on fortunetelling categories basic on The Book of Changes) have the specific features in technology of analysis and interpretation. They content the complex of determined world-view ideas – as cosmological (ideas about space and time structure), as social (the most important evaluation indicators of the event or human person). Those eclectic knowledge systems keep the same sets of numerous symbols (“tiangan dizhi天干地支“), the mixed account technology and advanced interpretation part. These made accounts based on the way of time identification using two sets cyclical symbols. All their possible combinations compose from 60 figures, which were used describing 60 years circle. The definite day and hour also has the own meaning. The common feature for all these techniques is creation of the “Sky model” (circle of 10 sky trunks from so called “dizhi”) and the “Earth model” (square of 12 “earth branches from so called “tiangan”).Then were taken in account the next elements, such as “human factor” (the time appearing of the problem), influence of different stars and idols (which often have the same status as constellations). The specific character of the technology “model fortunetellings” was defined by astronomic observation practice and by the whole complex rites of year circle (the technique of casting horoscopes, right name’ choice to newborn, happy date for wedding or funeral). The fortunetelling system Liu ren (六壬) is one of those complicated fortunetelling practice. The system Liu ren has multiple structure, consisting from the amount philosophic and culturological categories [“Majority of numerological culture”, Beijing, 1999, p.1609]. The system Liu ren is based on the fundamental categories Yin-Yang (阴阳), five elements -Wu Xing (五行), five fates-Wu Yun (五运), all categories are specific to Chinese culture. The category of five fates- Wu yun is the category of changing the position of movement on basic of the cooperation five elements (五行).This category has so called main time-zhu shi(主时)and main age-zhu sui(主岁),according to these five fates parts we can make appropriate estimation. The category of five fates involves the main fate (zhu yun), guest fate (ke yun) and great fate (da yun). According to the traditional conceptions person’s fate was defined by birth date. The foundation for the creation of any fate was a combination including symbols of sky trunks and earth brunches, they fixed birth date and hour. A compatibility of cyclic symbols defined through the relation between Yin Yang consciousnesses, and also through the system of origination and suppression of the category five fates, which in a certain manner related to each symbols. In such a way, it was easy to retrace emperor’s life, knowing his birth date. The status of the fortunetelling system Liu ren became formed due to it is practical importance; its influence is met in different philosophic models, in numerous practices, connected with astrology and astronomy; in ideas about human’s organism activity which were realized in traditional Chinese medicine practice.
