The Origins of Plum Blossom Divination

During China’s Northern Song dynasty, there was a renowned philosopher named Shao Yong (1011–1077), courtesy name Yaofu, posthumously honored as Kangjie. He founded the numerological school of Neo-Confucianism and made pioneering contributions to the study of the I Ching (Book of Changes). His major works include "The Supreme Principles and the World," "Dialogues of Fishermen and Woodcutters," "Collected Works of Yichuan," and "Plum Blossom I Ching."

In the Qianli period of the Northern Song, Mr. Shao Kangjie lived in seclusion in the mountains and forests. He would not light a fire in the bitter winter cold or use a fan in the summer heat, wholly absorbed in the I Ching to the point of forgetting the seasons. He even copied passages of the I Ching and pasted them on his walls so he could immerse himself in it at all times. Although he had long mastered its principles, he still struggled to grasp the “numbers” within it, which caused him great distress. One day, while napping, a mouse scurried past him. Startled, he threw his pillow—a ceramic headrest used in ancient times—missing the mouse but shattering the pillow.

Everything in the world can turn on chance, and the moment that pillow broke led to a legendary chapter in the study of the I Ching. Inside the fragments, Mr. Shao noticed paper hidden within. He pulled it out and read: “This pillow was sold to a wise man on a certain year, month, day, and hour; it broke when a mouse was struck.” Astonished, Kangjie sought out the pillow’s seller, who said, “Indeed, an old man once rested here reading the I Ching, with this pillow beneath his book. He hasn’t come by in a long time; I know his family well.”

The two of them went to the old man’s home, only to learn from his family that he had passed away. While they were still reeling, the family handed Mr. Shao a book the old man had left behind. It stated explicitly: “On a certain year, month, day, and hour, a wise man will come to my home. This book may be given to him to settle my affairs after my death.” As Mr. Shao read on, he found the text filled with I Ching symbols and divination methods. After calculating, he said, “While alive, your father hid gold in the cellar at the bed’s northwest corner; you can use it for his burial.” The family followed his guidance and found the gold exactly where he said.

After returning home with the book, Mr. Shao devoted himself day and night to working through its numbers. One day, while admiring plum blossoms, he saw two sparrows fighting and immediately deduced that the next evening a neighbor’s daughter would climb a tree to gather flowers and injure her leg. Those who heard his prediction were baffled. The next evening, events unfolded exactly as he had foretold, and word spread quickly. This computational method, later called “Plum Blossom Numbers,” became the basis of the “Plum Blossom I Ching.” He also predicted that on the day the blossoms fell, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., startled horses would trample the fallen petals—something that also came to pass. People at the time were in awe of his abilities.

Despite his fame, Mr. Kangjie once wrote in a poem, “Let others defame me as an immortal.” While others exalted him as an immortal, he regarded it as slander—an attitude far beyond the reach of modern fame-seekers. During the Jiayou period of the Northern Song, the court issued an edict inviting reclusive scholars to serve. An official recommended Shao Yong, but he repeatedly declined. In the end, he reluctantly accepted an appointment, then excused himself on grounds of health. He preferred a simple farmer’s life, providing only for himself—a humble ideal long pursued by the great masters of the I Ching.

Once, he divined the fate of a chair in his room and wrote beneath it: “On a certain year, month, day, and hour, this chair will be broken by an immortal guest.” On the appointed day, a Taoist came to visit and broke the chair by sitting on it. Embarrassed, the Taoist apologized, but Mr. Shao said, “The rise and fall of things is predetermined; there’s no need to worry—especially since it was broken by an immortal. Please sit and teach me.” He then lifted the chair to reveal the inscription underneath. Startled, the Taoist leapt to his feet and vanished.

In the preface Huang Zongxi wrote for “Plum Blossom I Ching” in “Baiyuan Xue’an,” he observed: “…Such are the marvels of numbers that even ghosts and spirits cannot escape them, much less people or things.” This underscores the extraordinary nature of Shao Yong’s divination. Another story is often told: Mr. Shao owned a very valuable vase and divined that it would be destroyed at noon on a certain day. When that day came, he placed the vase on the table, curious to see how it might break. As he watched, he drifted into deep thought. His wife called him to eat several times, but he did not hear. Finally, she knocked on the vase with a duster to get his attention and inadvertently broke it.

This shows that the rise and fall of things are predetermined—a profound truth. Extending the idea: when we buy a car, the time it might be in an accident, when it might be stolen, or when we might sell it all have their fixed moments. Likewise in personal matters—when one will prosper or decline, buy a home, encounter romance, or change jobs—each follows its destined course. Knowing that everything under heaven has its fate, why worry over trifles?

Finally, a few words about Plum Blossom I Ching. Many people today misunderstand Master Shao Kangjie’s teaching, grasping only the surface yet rushing into divination. They may casually pick up a few pebbles or sticks to cast lots, open a book at random to divine, or have the querent write a character to draw lots, and so on. All of these practices stray far from the master’s method. Such parlor tricks may amuse, but relying on them for serious predictions can lead to absurd results.

When faced with concrete matters requiring prediction and inference, it is still best to use the divination method devised by Jing Fang in the Han dynasty, commonly known as Six Lines and Eight Trigrams, or coin divination. The study of Plum Blossom I Ching demands a deep grounding in the I Ching; misapplied, it is no different from building a house on sand. A flash of cleverness may hit the mark once or twice, but it will not endure.