Fu Xi - from Turtles to Trigrams

Fu Xi was the first of three noble emperors, the San-huang, in Chinese mythology. According to tradition he ruled from 2952 to 2836 B.C. (116 years). Fu Xi taught many arts, such as the use of fishing nets, the breeding of silk worms, and the taming of wild animals. He also proportedly invented music, and, most importantly, the eight Trigrams (BaGua), which is used as a template for Feng Shui.

Also attributed to him is the invention of casting oracles by the use of yarrow stalks. Furthermore, Fu Xi is said to have invented the one hundred Chinese family names and decreed that marriages may only take place between persons bearing different family names.

"In the beginning there was the one."
[Lao Zi (Lao Tse) the father of Taoism]

Fu Xi's most original invention is the development of the eight trigrams that order the world according to eight principles: the Sky, the Earth, the Thunder, the Mountain, the Water, the Fire, the Marsh and the Wind. These trigrams represent an abstract vision of the world and its changes. Each trigram results from another by the change of only one line, and the knowledge of the essence of these changes enables the user to learn more about themselves and the environment.

For more background on Trigrams and the Bagua, please refer to the "History" section, on our website.