Rao Liangcai and Wu Jiayun each presented secret documents.

饒公亮彩以《心鏡》為秘書，吳公稼雲以《未悟》及《管子神書》為秘書。二公談論六壬常意見不合，然透《心鏡》者，占驗較多，予見吳公占驗，占驗惟甲子年八月十二日丙子占歙縣中舉幾人，得伏吟課，吳公曰：“當中五人！”予與饒公竟莫測其課理，叩問吳公，公大笑而不言，迨榜發竟應。

Rao Liangcai regarded the "Xin Jing" as a secret text, while Wu Jiayun regarded the "Wei Wu" and the "Guanzi Shen Shu" as secret texts. The two gentlemen often had differing opinions when discussing the Six壬 system, but the one who thoroughly understood the "Xin Jing" had more accurate divinations. I personally witnessed Wu's divination on the day of the Jiazi year, eighth month, twelfth day, Bingzi day, when he predicted how many candidates from the Xixian examination would pass. He cast a Fu Yin lesson and said, "Five people will pass." Both I and Rao could not grasp the meaning of his lesson, so we asked Wu, but he just laughed and did not answer. However, when the results were announced, his prediction was spot on.

是科江名九先生銘中式第二十名，先是六月甲子日未將辰時，江象坤兄為其占鄉試，斷其必中，予與饒公嫌青龍內戰，朱雀空亡，俱未敢許。迨榜發，報雲。饒公來問予，曰：“此粗心斷課之過也。夫青龍是官星相氣，朱雀”（以下脫漏十九字）加年命之下，末見太陽，不以幕貴為墓論，予以為深服饒公之好學，所謂因敗而成者其勢進。

In that examination, Jiang Mingjiu (Ming) ranked twenty-first. Before that, on the sixth month's Jiazi day at the hour of Chen, Jiang Xiangkun brother divined for him the local examination, predicting he would pass. I and Rao Gong were suspicious of the divination, noting that the Qinglong was fighting internally and the Zhuque was in Kongwang, so we did not agree. When the results were announced, he had indeed passed. Rao Gong came to ask me, and I said, "This is our fault for being careless in interpreting the divination. Qinglong is originally the official star's phase; Zhuque..." (The original text is missing nineteen characters here.) ...Adding it below the year and destiny, and the final transmission also shows the sun, it cannot be interpreted as "Mugui entering the tomb." Although this missing passage is long, the main idea can still be inferred: even though Qinglong is fighting internally, it is still the phase of the official star; although Zhuque is in Kongwang, as long as it is added below the year and destiny, and the final transmission also shows the sun, it cannot be interpreted according to the rule of "Mugui entering the tomb." I therefore deeply admired Rao Gong's diligence—those who achieve success through failure are indeed on the rise.

斬關課，諸書惟言利於隱遁、逃亡、出行、厭禱、合藥、書符等事，殊不知亦利於行師。

The "Zhang Guan Ke" is mentioned in various texts as being favorable for concealment, escape, travel, repelling evil spirits, prayer, medicine preparation, and drawing talismans. However, it is not recognized that it is also beneficial for military campaigns.

《五代史賀環傳》云：事鄆州朱宣為都指揮使，梁太祖攻朱瑾於兗州，先遣環與賀懷割、柳存等，以兵萬一人攻兗州，環趨待賓館，欲絕梁餉道。太祖略地至中州，得降卒，言環等兵趨待賓館矣。以六壬占之，得斬關，以為吉，乃選精兵疾馳百里，期先至待賓館以逆環，而原黑夜失道，且至鉅野東，過環兵，擊之，環兵大敗，梁兵急追之，環顧路窮，登冢大呼曰：“我賀環也，可弗殺我。”太祖馳騎取之。

The *Five Dynasties History* *Biography of He Gui* (the original text also uses "Huan" for "Gui") records that He Gui served Zhu Xuan in Yunzhou, holding the position of commander of all troops. When Liang Taizu Zhu Wen attacked Zhu Jin in Yanzhou, Zhu Xuan first sent He Gui and He Huaiqie, Liu Cun, and others with an army of 11,000 soldiers to attack Yanzhou. He Gui advanced to the Taiguan inn, intending to cut off the Liang army's supply lines. When Liang Taizu advanced to the central plains and captured surrendered soldiers, he learned that He Gui's forces had already moved to the Taiguan inn. He then used the Six Rens divination method to cast a horoscope, obtaining the "Zhangan" lesson, which he considered a great auspicious omen. He then selected elite troops and rushed 100 li, hoping to arrive at the Taiguan inn first to confront He Gui. However, He Gui's troops became lost in the dark and arrived east of Juyi, passing by the Liang army's side. The Liang army seized the opportunity to attack, and He Gui's entire army suffered a great defeat. The Liang soldiers pursued relentlessly. Seeing no way out, He Gui climbed a grave and shouted, "I am He Gui; do not kill me!" Liang Taizu rode up on horseback and captured him alive.

獨足課最不吉，邵公為人占買賣得此為獨足，宜舟行不利陸行，舟行必加倍獲利，是說也，予未嘗試，未敢以為必然。往日理中有為眾事而執用己財者，因向予占向公家肯認還否，得獨足課，予曰：“重重脫氣，玩一獨字，是爾一人耗財，公家不肯認還也。”又六安張序東翁辛未年占代辦六霍口岸，得獨足課，予曰：“獨足難行，重重脫敗，定不如意。支為店業，既乘敗神，已為廢岸。三傳再敗，無可挽回矣。”二傳俱驗。

The single-footed divination is most inauspicious. Shao Yanhe once used this divination for someone's business and said that the single-footed divination is suitable for water routes but not for land routes, and traveling by water would certainly bring double profit. I have not tried this myself, so I cannot confirm it definitely. Previously, in my hometown, someone used his own money for a public matter and came to me to divinate whether the public would acknowledge the debt and repay it. The divination came out as the single-footed one. I said, "The divination shows repeated leakage of energy. Considering the character 'du' (single), it means you will lose money alone, and the public will not repay." Also, Zhang Xudong, an elder from Liu'an, divined the business of handling trade at the ports of Liu'an and Huoshan in the year Xinwei, and also got the single-footed divination. I said, "Single-footed is difficult to proceed, and there is repeated leakage of energy leading to decline; it is certain that things will not go as desired. The day branch represents the business, and since it is riding on the losing god, it is already a deserted port; the three transmissions also meet the losing place, which is even more irreversible." Both of these divinations later came true.

獨足課主傷子息。庚申年三月一人占門樓倒塌主何吉凶，（此處脫漏十餘字）……（此處脫漏十餘字）家病者五人，是日交立夏，疊疊死氣作六合，凶危極矣。

A single-legged divination lesson indicates harm to children and descendants. In the Gengshen year, during the third month, someone divined about a collapsing gatehouse and asked what fortune or misfortune it indicated (the original text here is missing more than ten characters) ... (the following text also has more than ten characters missing) ... five people in the family fell ill on that day. That day was just before the beginning of the summer solstice, and the divination showed heavy death qi combined with Liu He, reaching the peak of danger. This entry has many missing parts, making it impossible to determine the day branch and the hour general of the divination. Only the remaining sentences can be recorded as they are, without conjecture.

二煩課諸書極言其凶，予為人占升遷，之未見有甚大凶處。因思日宿即太陽，人所易知。月宿乃太陰，太陰有遲疾，其躔度過宮，人所難曉。古法正月朔起室，二月朔起奎云云，而天上太陰躔度六合諸書，以訛承訛，所云某月某日月宿在某宮者，又何嘗在宮也，乃紛紛言其大凶，知其並非欲驗，不過相沿舊說而矣，大抵二煩課，從三交課中來，凡得三交課，須查七政時曆書，此日此時太陰躔度果在子午卯酉宮而發用者，方不錯。

Two-fan divination is generally considered extremely ominous by various schools of thought, but I have encountered it when predicting promotions for others and did not observe significant danger. Therefore, I began to think: the sun's position, or the day mansion, is easy for everyone to know; the moon's position, or the Tai Yin, is the location of the moon, but the moon's movement is sometimes fast and sometimes slow, making it difficult for ordinary people to accurately calculate when it enters a particular mansion. Ancient methods state that the beginning of the first lunar month starts at the Encampment mansion, and the beginning of the second lunar month starts at the Legs mansion, and so on. However, the records of the moon's position in various books have been passed down with errors, and the claim that the moon is in a certain mansion on a certain day is not necessarily accurate. Yet people still insist it is extremely ominous, indicating that these statements were never intended to be verified, but rather followed tradition blindly. In general, the two-fan divination arises from the three-intersection divination. Whenever one casts the three-intersection divination, one must consult the Seven Celestial Officials Almanac to check whether the Tai Yin's position on that day and hour truly falls in the four cardinal mansions—Zi, Wu, Mao, and You—and initiates the divination, only then can it be considered accurate.

其天寇卦，月宿加離辰死，其卦月宿在天罡，皆以七政時憲書中躔度為準，不可草率。

As for the 'Heavenly Enemy Hexagram'—where the moon's position is over the Fire position and the hour is dead—and the hexagram where the moon's position falls on the Heavenly Gang (the hour position), both should be verified according to the actual celestial positions recorded in the 'Seven Political Chronology Book,' and should not be decided hastily.

占此現彼，壬課最多。憶戊午科七月，予在杭州，德安孝廉餘梅波先生卜來年會試，得丙子日返吟，死神加干，死氣入傳，皆為日鬼，常作德絕，予曰：“此課會試而應人口夭亡。”先生驚問：“何人？”予不便直言，答以兄弟等輩。惟私謂予友鄭體功先生、吳友陶先生曰：“梅波先生不能過十日矣。”十日果殃於場田竹谿寺。

When a divination about one matter turns out to be about another, this situation is very common in the Six壬 system. I remember during the Wuwu examination in July, while I was in Hangzhou, Mr. Yu Meibo, a candidate from De'an, divined the next year's imperial examination and received a Bingzi day return lesson. The death deity was placed on the day stem, and death qi entered the three transmissions, both serving as official ghosts for the day stem. The day virtue was also in the绝 position. I said, "This divination is about the imperial examination, but the result is about the death of family members." Mr. Yu was surprised and asked who it was, but I did not want to say directly, only mentioning someone in his younger generation. In private, I told my friends Mr. Zheng Tiguang and Mr. Wu Youtao, "Mr. Yu Meibo will not live more than ten days." Ten days later, he indeed died in the examination hall and was buried at Zhuxi Temple.

又乙庚申年十二月予客儀徵，族兄宰傳占來年專官，得壬戌日返吟課，德喪祿絕，鬼臨三四，且死神死氣各在干支，是大凶象。觀其捐官且緩，急宜照應人口，保重自家，蓋本命壬申加寅，為入反斗，而辰鬼……恐婦人……（以下脫漏十餘字）惟憶其妻之母向來周到，次年夏月無故自經，及回煞……身……不可見，大驚失色，越六日即云“異哉！”。

Again, in the year of Gengshen, during the twelfth lunar month, I was staying in Yizheng, and my cousin Zaituan divined a lesson for the following year's attempt to secure an official post. The divination on the day of Renxu showed a loss of day stem virtue, a broken official god, and the official ghost appearing in the third and fourth lessons. Moreover, the death deity and death qi were pressing upon the day stem and day branch respectively, indicating a very ominous omen. I advised him to delay the donation of an official post, and instead focus on taking care of his family and preserving his own health, because his birth stem, Renshen, was combined with寅, forming the 'reverse battle' pattern. And the official ghost on the辰... might be expected to affect his wife. (The original text is missing more than ten characters here.) I only remember that his wife's mother was always kind to others, but in the summer of the next year she died by hanging without any apparent reason. On the day of her soul returning, ... I could not bear to look, and everyone was greatly shocked. Six days later, only one sentence remained: 'How strange!' The original text is missing here, and the outcome of the matter is no longer clear.

大抵事關緊迫，則神明不報所問之事而報未問之事也。猶神告人曰：“大限已終，何必求名？”

In general, whenever a matter is urgent and critical, the divine does not answer the question you asked, but instead reveals something you did not inquire about. It is as if the divine is telling this person: your time is up, what use is it to seek fame and success?

不獨占此現彼，又有來人心懷數事，欲占類事，殊不知神將於第一課中俱報者，不可不察。此即王遠知所“人止問我一事，殊不知此課事事可問，事事可斷。蓋世人來，已將他通身逐件包括在課中。”之意。

Not only does the method of divination involve "divining the present from the past," but there is also another situation: the person may have several matters in mind, intending to consult only one of them, yet the divine oracle has already revealed all the matters in the first reading. This point must not be overlooked. This is exactly what Wang Yuanzhi said: "A person asks me about one matter, but he does not realize that every matter in this reading can be asked about and interpreted, because as soon as a person enters, all his affairs are already included in the reading."

戊午年八月浙江鄉闈之後，蘭谿柳書旂先生於十九日庚戌先報子時占乃尊己酉命在家安否，再報未時占自身丙子命今科中否。予見子時第一課干為尊長上得青龍戲水，初傳丑上是父母，中傳申是其長生，末傳子是其帝旺，定主安康。命上丑墓遁丁神，不過癭大為患耳。

In the year Wuwu, in the eighth lunar month after the provincial examination in Zhejiang, Mr. Liu Shuqi of Langxi on the nineteenth day, Gengxu, first divined at the beginning of the night whether his father, born in Jiyou year, was safe at home; then he divined again at the hour of Wei whether he himself, born in Bingzi year, would pass the examination. Looking at the first divination at the beginning of the night: the day stem represents the elder generation, and above it there was the Azure Dragon playing with water; the first transmission on Chou was the parent's yao, the middle transmission on Shen was the long growth of the parent's yao, and the final transmission on Zi was the prosperity of the parent's yao. Therefore, I concluded that he would certainly be safe and sound. However, the Chou in his own birth chart was both in the tomb and hidden by the Ding spirit, so he would only suffer from a minor illness like a goiter.

又因青龍戲水，主東事，子水為子孫是因子孫而有東事也。子是書旅先生本命乘龍，由是行年為日祿，年命與辰土旬首結一子孫水局，更主因子命子孫而有耋事，而致東也。朱雀雖不現，卻乘月建加長生，緣子時第一課即應高中，不必推第二課而知矣。是科果中，其父病痰火而年安。

The reason for the joyous event is due to the Azure Dragon playing by the water, which signifies auspicious matters. The water trigram, Zi, represents the grandson's trigram, indicating that the joy is caused by the grandson. Zi is precisely the birth trigram of Shu Qi Master, and it is also accompanied by the Azure Dragon. From this, we can deduce that his year of birth coincides with the day's official luck, and his birth year and the Chen earth, which is the first trigram of the ten heavenly stems, form a water trigram circle, further confirming that the joy is due to the grandson's generation. Although the Vermilion Bird is not present in the lesson, it is riding on the Month Builder and also accompanied by the Growth trigram. Based on the first lesson at the Zi hour, it is already evident that he will pass the examination. There is no need to examine the second lesson to know this. Indeed, he passed the examination in this examination. His father, however, suffered from a cough with phlegm and fever, but remained safe and sound within a year.

吾徽賣卜者占病不言吉凶，而壽言祭禱，此實向來陋習，然《周易》有“用史巫之辭”，則亦未可盡非。

The fortune tellers in the area of Huizhou never say whether the prognosis is good or bad when divining illness; instead, they always emphasize the need for worship and prayer. This is indeed a longstanding bad custom. However, the Zhou Changes originally mention the phrase "using the words of historians, witches, and priests," indicating that relying on the words of these religious figures to comfort the sick family should not be entirely dismissed.

壬子年未月庚申未將辰時有占兄丙寅病者，予曰：“日干加巳，而巳復加寅命，並丁馬克干，於是往東南方得病，巳為婦，乘太常為孝服，八專主淫佚，丑墓發用，縱有淫佚之心，而無淫佚之實，得毋往東南方見孝服婦人而動心，故得病乎？”巳為生氣非鬼，而干支乘死氣巳火，為巳火之夫，既來疊疊脫干，是其乃夫之鬼不依也。

In the year Renzi, month Wei, day Gengshen, with the hour Chen, someone came to consult about his brother, who was born in the year Bingyin. I said, "The day stem is added to Si, and Si is added to his native branch Yin. Furthermore, the Ding spirit and the post-horse are attacking the day stem. This indicates that the illness was acquired by going to the southeast. Si represents a woman and is accompanied by Tai Chang, which signifies mourning attire. The book of eight special positions indicates matters of licentiousness, but the branch Chou is the resting place of the initiating transmission, meaning that although there may have been thoughts of licentiousness, there was no actual act. Perhaps he met a woman wearing mourning attire in the southeast and became emotionally disturbed, thus falling ill." Si is life qi rather than official ghost, but the death qi accompanying the day stem and branch is precisely this Si fire, which represents the deceased husband of that woman. The heavy death qi is draining the day stem's qi, indicating that the husband's ghost is unwilling to be appeased.

然究竟夫鬼病無憂，太常須祭禱，脫多宜補劑自愈。此人因由郡中回家，行至洲沙橋，見一孝服之婦，而評價甚褻，到家即病，日漸昏沉。其家問予，問之不答，乃訪所同行者，始得其詳。次日病人忽作囈語，似嫠婦之夫憑身，責其出褻言者也。其家祭禱方安，兼服芪術而愈。

However, in the end, this illness caused by the ghost of the deceased husband is not something to worry about: if the Tai Chang is in charge, worship and prayer should be performed, and if there is excessive loss of energy, then taking tonifying medicine is appropriate, and naturally the illness will recover. This person had returned from the prefectural city to his home, and when he reached the Zousha Bridge, he saw a woman in mourning clothes who made several very disrespectful remarks. He immediately fell ill upon arriving home, and his condition became worse day by day. His family came to ask me for advice, but the patient himself would not speak about it; later, they inquired from fellow travelers and found out the truth. The next day, the patient suddenly started talking nonsense, as if the husband of the widow had possessed him and scolded him for his disrespectful remarks. Only after his family performed the worship and prayer did his condition stabilize, and after taking herbs such as Huang Qi and Bai Zhu, the illness was cured.

又是年七月壬辰命人從武陵得疾與婦者，其侄來占之。午將辰時得丙申日，三傳子亥戌，予因蛇墓加支帶天目，天后為鬼，既從墓上發傳，主有女祟纏身，所以昏沉不醒。干上小吉，可以制鬼，中傳功曹長生，末傳天罡雖空，卻是本命，可以沖去戌墓，又向三陽格，皆主無慮。

In the same year, in July, a man born in the year of Renchen returned from Wuling and contracted a disease related to a woman. His nephew came to seek a divination. The time was the hour of Chen (noon) with the day of Bingshen. The three transmissions were Zi, Hai, and Xu. I noticed that the Teng Snake was riding on the墓 (grave) and added the heavenly eye evil, while the Heavenly Empress was acting as the official ghost. Moreover, the transmission started from the墓 (grave) itself. I therefore concluded that a female ghost was haunting him, causing him to be drowsy and unconscious. Fortunately, the day stem was Wei (small blessing), which could control the official ghost; the middle transmission, Gongcao (寅), was the long life; the final transmission, Tian Gang (辰), although falling into emptiness, was his own birth stem, capable of breaking the Xu墓 (grave). The lesson also formed the "Three Yang" pattern. All these signs indicated no cause for worry.

然未為祭祀，須用史巫送之，此人因遊西湖花神廟，見塑容端麗，竟動痴情，由是得疾沉重。後乃祭送而安。可見天間實有鬼神，吾人一言一動，不可不慎也。

But no sacrifice has yet been performed, so we must invite the priest, the historian, and the shaman to send him away. This person originally met the goddess of flowers at West Lake's temple, saw her statue with a graceful appearance, and became infatuated, thus falling seriously ill; later, after the sacrifice, he recovered. This shows that there are indeed ghosts and spirits in the world, and we must be careful with every word and action.

怪為聖人所不語，然既現於課傳，不能不告之，使其趨避，辛酉年五月有鄭姓占宅中何年得子，予見天目煞臨干帶丁神克子息，斷其家中有怪，難為子息。鄭云去年往九華進香，誰知帶一怪而回，擾鬧不已，夫婦同床則鬧尤甚。予曰：“中末空亡，不久自去，去後方能得子。果應。

Strange and unusual things are topics that sages do not discuss, but since they have appeared in the divination texts, they cannot be ignored. They must be told to those seeking divination so that they may avoid misfortune and seek good fortune. In the year Xinyou, in the fifth lunar month, a man surnamed Zheng came to consult about which year his family would have a son. I observed that the heavenly eye evil spirit was present on the day stem and that the Ding spirit was also attacking the son's hexagram, so I concluded that there was a strange spirit in his family, making it difficult for him to have a son. Zheng said: "Last year, I went to the Jiuhua Mountain to make offerings, but I unknowingly brought a strange spirit back home, which has been causing a lot of trouble. Especially during the time when my wife and I sleep together, it has been particularly troublesome." I replied, "Both the middle transmission and the final transmission fall into Kongwang, so this strange spirit will not stay long. Once it leaves, you will be able to have a son." Later, this prediction indeed came true.

又乙丑年九月，予客蘭谿，有三五秀才占宅，內一藍姓者，占得天目加支，又帶火怪、光影等煞，斷其家有狐怪放火光，眾人佩服，求禳解之法，予勸其行德以壓之，今不知若何矣。此二課惜失記日時。

Again, in the year Yichou, during the ninth month, I was staying in Lanxi, and several young scholars came to consult about their homes. One of them, surnamed Lan, had the Tianmu sha falling on his day branch, along with fire ghosts and shadowy evil spirits. I predicted that his family had a fox spirit emitting firelight. Everyone was very impressed and asked me for a method to remove the evil. I advised him to do many good deeds and use virtue to suppress the spirit. I don't know what happened later. These two readings are regrettable because the day branch and time were not recorded.

然天目臨支，亦有未見應者。

However, when the Heavenly Eye煞 is located in the Day Branch, there are also examples where the effect has not been observed, so it cannot be universally applied.

丙辰年四月乙未日，族人有名希賢者，庚午年生，占宅得伏吟課，白虎乘天目墓庫加支發用，主有伏尸為患。課傳純財，克去行年上子水印綬，斷不可居。希賢於袖中出一課，繫十年前羅日亭先生為其占宅，丁卯日卯將未時，亦斷其宅有伏尸不利。然其家並無響動怪異之事，惟人丁蕭索，孤寡零丁，希賢越丙午年亦殃，究竟有無伏尸與否，終不得而知也。

In the year of Bingchen, fourth lunar month, day of Yiwei, a relative named Xixian, born in the year of Gengwu, came to consult about his family residence. He received a Hidden Chant divination lesson: the White Tiger was riding the Heaven's Eye curse, sitting on the Storage and placed on the Day Branch as the Initiating Transmission, indicating that there was a "buried corpse" in the residence causing trouble. The Four Lessons and Three Transmissions were all wealth divinatory elements, which overcame the water of the year pillar, and I concluded that this residence was absolutely unsuitable for living. Xixian took another lesson from his sleeve, which was cast ten years earlier by Luo Riting, on the day of Dingmao, with the卯 general at the hour of Wei. It also indicated that there was a "buried corpse" in the residence, which was unfavorable. However, his family had not experienced any strange occurrences or disturbances, only a decline in population and isolation. Xixian died in the year of Bingwu. The term "buried corpse" refers to old bones buried beneath the foundation of the house, which indicates a lack of prosperity in the family. This house showed this image in two different divination lessons, and in reality, the family did indeed experience isolation and decline. However, whether there were actually buried corpses underground could never be confirmed.

羅日亭先生學問淵博，知醫，善六壬。每遇疑難之病，必以六壬決之。徽人稱之曰“半仙”。吾鄉去先生之居僅二十餘里，惜未及門求教，是一憾事。予姐丈之父汪又瞻先生少年得一怪病，耳中如聞人云“齊桓公、晉文公，皆霸諸侯也。”目中便見一霸字，初小後大，極於彌天匝地，而人便暈絕，次日方醒，即瞬目亦見之，每月三五次如此，群醫俱莫名其病。

Master Luo Rizheng was a man of broad learning, skilled in medicine, and adept at the Six壬 (Six Changes) divination method. Whenever he encountered difficult medical cases, he would certainly use the Six壬 to make a decision. The people of Huizhou called him "Half Immortal." My hometown was only more than twenty miles away from his residence, but I was unfortunate not to have visited him in person, which became a regret. My brother-in-law's father, Mr. Wang Yuozhan, once suffered from a strange illness in his youth: he would hear someone saying in his ears, "Qi Huanggong and Jin Wenguang were both hegemonic rulers of the feudal states," and immediately a character "霸" (hegemon) would appear before his eyes, starting small and gradually growing larger until it covered the sky and earth, causing him to faint and not recover until the next day. Even blinking would not stop the vision, and this would occur three or five times each month. All the doctors were unable to identify the nature of this illness.

乃延日亭先生診之，先生診後占曰：“此怪痰為患也！不必服藥，宜飲高梁酒百斤便愈。”如其言飲之，未至百日已愈，乃不復飲。一日遇日亭先生於他處，告以未飲百斤已愈。先生曰：“爾病雖愈，但飲酒不如數，則根終未除，老年因喉痰亡。”後至七十八歲，果如其言，其脈理數學之精如此。

So he invited Master Luo Rizheng to examine him. After taking his pulse, Master Luo cast a divination and said, "This is caused by a strange phlegm spirit. You don't need to take medicine; just drink a full hundred jin of sorghum wine, and it will be cured." Following his advice, he drank the wine, and within less than a hundred days, his illness was cured. Then he stopped drinking. One day, he met Master Luo somewhere else and told him that he had not drunk the full hundred jin and his illness was already cured. Master Luo said, "Although your illness is cured, you have not drunk enough wine, so the root of the disease has not been removed. In old age, you will die from phlegm disease in the throat." Later, Master Wang lived to be seventy-eight years old, and indeed, this prediction came true. The master's profound understanding of pulse diagnosis and numerology reached such a level.

距呈坎縣五里，曰楊干，有王牧夫先生者，六壬尤精。先生名謙，號師孝，又號種道道人，久客維揚，求占等戶外之屢常滿所。有《六壬占驗存略》兩冊，斷法專重取象，與吳稼雲先生見解相同，其貴人起例，壬全在日晝用卯，夜用巳，餘日與諸本相同。其論行年，間有取行年上神之上神者，令人不解。如六十歲行年在丑，丑上見巳，不以巳論吉凶，而以巳上之酉斷吉凶也。

There is a place called Yanggan, five miles from Lichan. The local man Wang Mufu was especially skilled in the Six壬 (Six Changes) divination method. His name was Qian, with the courtesy name Shixiao and the title Zhongdaodao Ren. He lived long-term in Yangzhou, and many people came to seek his divination, so often that the shoes outside his door were piled up. He wrote a two-volume work called "Six壬 Divination Verification and Brief Records," and his method of divination focused on taking symbolic meanings, which was similar to the views of Wu Jiayun. His method for determining the nobleman (guiren) was that on癸 days, during the day he used the卯 branch, and at night he used the巳 branch, while for other days, it was the same as in the commonly used texts. When discussing the year of the person (xingsnian), he occasionally took the upper god above the god on the xingsnian, which was confusing. For example, if the xingsnian was at the丑 branch, and the丑 branch had the巳 god on it, he did not use the巳 god to determine fortune and misfortune, but instead used the酉 branch above the巳 to make the judgment.

都轉盧雅雨先生見曾亦知六壬，嘗請牧夫先生占升遷，辰時丑將得丁卯日，三交課，三傳酉子卯，盧公以為三傳遞生人舉薦，必升。先生曰：“生我者閉口，不能顯薦。況年命皆在未，乘戌空亡，不能著實，何能升遷？三傳乃大概之象，年命方切己耳。”後果未升，丙子年九月占課，壬午冬告仕。而同按年命乘空虛而不實，斯開一種新法門，予嘗試之有驗，其閉口不能顯薦，亦屬《畢法》所未備。

The official Lu Yayu, known as Xianzeng, also understood the Six壬 system. He once asked Master Mufu to divinate his promotion. The time was the hour of Chen, with the general sign of Chou, and the day was Dingmao, with the three transmissions of You, Zi, and Mao. Lu believed that the three transmissions followed the principle of mutual generation, indicating that someone would recommend him and he would certainly be promoted. However, Master Mufu said, "The one that generates me is located on 'Closed Mouth,' so it cannot be openly recommended. Moreover, both the year and the destiny are in Wei, and they are accompanied by Xu, falling into Kongwang, so the matter will not be concrete. How can there be promotion? The three transmissions only give a general outline of one matter, while the year and destiny truly reflect one's own situation." Later, he indeed did not get promoted. In the ninth month of the Bingzi year, he divined another lesson, and by the winter of the Renwu year, he retired. Using the principle "If the year and destiny ride on Kongwang, the matter will certainly not be real," this serves as a new method, which I have tested and found it to be accurate. As for the principle "Closed Mouth cannot be openly recommended," this is also something not mentioned in the "Bifa."

家惠蒼小阮好六壬，常借各種書遺予，及為山東固堤店巡檢，猶寄牧夫先生論六壬數則，今從笥中檢出，備錄於後，以免遺亡。

My cousin Hui Cang has a fondness for the Six Changes (Liu Ren) divination method and often lends me various books on the subject. When he was appointed as the inspector of Gudidi in Shandong, he still sent me several passages from Mr. Wang Mufu's discussion on the Six Changes. Now I have found these passages in my bookcase and have copied them here together, to prevent them from being lost over time.

牧夫先生曰：“生合有情，必搜其本。刑剋無情，必究其根。則富貴窮通，可以據數而言之矣。天時者動也，吉凶悔吝生乎動。時，一念之動也；未動之前，陰含陽也，既動之後，陰陽分也。一念之動之先，陰陽未分，吉凶何由而見？既動之後，則為先鋒，得推而測之者矣。一念之動，不可不慎也。

Master Mu Fu said: "Those that are mutually generating and harmonious should be traced back to their origin; those that are mutually controlling and inharmonious should have their root cause investigated. In this way, one's fortune and misfortune can be determined by the numerical patterns.the so-called天时, when applied practically, is simply the concept of 'movement'. All auspicious and inauspicious outcomes, regret and hardship, arise from movement. Here, the term 'time' actually refers to a single thought movement. Before the thought arises, yin contains yang, and they are undifferentiated; after the thought arises, yin and yang become distinct. Before the thought arises, since yin and yang are not yet separated, how can auspicious and inauspicious outcomes be manifested? Once the thought arises, this single thought becomes the initial signal, providing a basis for prediction. Therefore, a single thought movement must not be taken lightly."

推測之法有五，一曰誠意，意不誠則精神荒亂；二曰靜心，心不靜則妙人難通；三曰觀理，理不觀則專一隅；四曰測向，向不測則論雷同；五曰推義，義不推則數同膠柱。”

There are five methods of divination: the first is sincerity of intention; if the mind is not sincere, the spirit becomes scattered and lacks focus. The second is stillness of the mind; if the mind is not quiet, the subtle aspects cannot be understood. The third is observing principles; if one does not clearly understand the principles, one can only be confined to a corner. The fourth is discerning direction; if one does not consider the direction of things, the interpretation will be merely following others' words. The fifth is exploring meaning; if one does not seek the meaning, the numbers obtained will be as stiff as a dead zither string.

“數之吉凶，雖繫於占類之所向，而數之變化，則在乎卜者之精粗。神以五氣旺衰而告之卜，以六義吉凶而明之干支，猶未卜占也。神明之告之行之，求其權在於卜師，神告吉而師測以凶，神告凶而師測以吉，此謂之心不靜，而誤占人不淺矣。

The auspiciousness or inauspiciousness shown in the divination numbers depends on the nature of the matter being divined, but the changes in the numbers depend on the skill level of the diviner. The deities use the waxing and waning of the Five Phases' energies to convey the divination, and they use the six meanings to clarify the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness. Simply listing the heavenly stems and earthly branches is not enough for a judgment; the deities' messages must be interpreted and implemented by people. The initiative actually lies in the hands of the diviner. If the deities indicate good fortune but the diviner judges it as bad, or if the deities indicate bad fortune but the diviner judges it as good, this is called an unstable mind, and the harm caused to others can be profound.

聖賢之理，非止一隅，而學者之心粗，只宜兩片。遂使神化軋粘，奇文隱合，此又非占者之過，乃學者膠柱鼓瑟也。故先賢以未卜之先，以觀其動，於其坐立之處，以察其方位。然後洞察正時，詳格值事，合乎干支三合年命，而四方八面，玲瓏剔透，不使絲毫窒礙為遺恨也。學子用如是斷，能事畢矣。戊辰又七月牧夫王謙識。”

The principles of sages and virtuous men are not confined to a single aspect. However, scholars often have coarse minds and only look at things from the perspective of opposites, thus making the subtle changes of divination seem contradictory and the hidden, harmonious texts easily overlooked. This is not the fault of divination itself, but rather the scholars' rigid adherence to fixed patterns, like striking a zither with fixed pegs. Therefore, the methods of predecessors were: before setting up the divination, first observe the person's movements and examine their position to determine the direction. Then, understand the correct time, carefully investigate the governing deity of the matter, and combine it with the day stem, day branch, triple harmony, and the person's birth year and destiny, achieving a thorough understanding in all directions without any obstruction or regret. If students follow this method in their judgment, they will truly master the skill. Written by Wang Qian, the Herdsman, in the leap July of the Wuchen year.

牧夫先生又論行人曰：“行人知其何時為，馬臨鬼地識其端。蓋鬼者，病也。”又解《中黃經》十一月丑將甲午日午時占行人，年四十二歲，干上酉乘勾陳，三傳酉辰亥，《中黃經》以貴人逆轉取卯為門，門上神戌中有辛舍，剋日，克行年上寅，又寅是酉舍，剋日克行年，主不歸。牧夫先生則曰：“此主行人在遠即不能來，況身有官非口舌勾留，如何得動？況干乘馬作鬼，行年入墓，上見德祿，戀他鄉，何能得動也？”

Master Mu Fu again discussed divining the return of a traveler, saying: "To know when a person who has left home will return, look to whether the Post-horse is in the ghostly place. From this we can get a hint; the so-called ghost refers to illness." He then explained a lesson from the Zhonghuang Jing: in the eleventh month, with the Chou zodiac as the general, on the Jiawu day at the noon hour, the person in question is forty-two years old, with the day stem on You, riding Gou Chen, and the three transmissions being You, Chen, and Hai. The Zhonghuang Jing's method is to reverse the nobleman, taking Mao as the "door," with the god on Wu containing Xin. Xin can overcome the day stem and also overcome the year stem on Yin; and Yin is the dwelling of You, which also overcomes the day and the year stem, so he will not return. Master Mu Fu said: "This lesson indicates that the traveler is far away and will not return. Moreover, he is involved in legal troubles and disputes, which are holding him back, how can he move? Furthermore, the day stem is riding the Post-horse, and the Post-horse is also serving as the official ghost, the year stem falls into the grave, and above it there is the day virtue and the day fortune, showing a strong attachment to the foreign land, where can he go?"

《心鏡》占行人不知何方法，專看行人之行年所臨處定吉凶，《指南》遵之。若不知行年則以支上神詳之，此法出於《龍首經》。《龍首經》云：“若不知行者年，以日為行處，以辰為行之地，日之神陰與神之神陰，與吉神與凶神並，即凶。”按《龍首經》看日干日支甚是，以辰為行處，尤為的確。愚意以為即知行者年，亦當以日辰參看，而辰上之神並第四課皆可測其所在也。

The Xin Jing does not specify the method used for divining the whereabouts of a traveler, but instead determines fortune and misfortune based solely on the place where the traveler's age stem falls. The Liunin Zhi Nan followed this approach. If the traveler's age stem is unknown, then the divine spirit on the day branch is used for detailed analysis, a method originating from the Longshou Jing. The Longshou Jing states: "If the traveler's age stem is unknown, use the day stem to represent the traveler and the day branch to represent the place he is going. Combine the hidden spirits of the day stem and the day branch, and if they are accompanied by auspicious spirits, it is favorable; if by malevolent spirits, it is unfavorable." Note: The Longshou Jing's emphasis on examining the day stem and day branch is correct, especially using the day branch to represent the destination, which is particularly appropriate. My point is that even if the traveler's age stem is known, one should still refer to the day stem and day branch for consultation. The divine spirit on the day branch, together with the fourth lesson, can be used to infer where another person is.

讀《龍首經》知古人即以六壬選擇，今惟張九儀用之，所著《儀度六壬》又較《龍首經》為詳矣。《通書》中不將日宜嫁娶以及人道、天道日、游神等起例見於《龍首經》，而選擇豈數典忘其祖也久矣！

After reading the "Longshou Jing," one realizes that ancient people had already used the Six壬 method for selecting auspicious days. Nowadays, only Zhang Jiuyi still follows this practice, and his work, "Yidu Liu Ren," is more detailed than the "Longshou Jing." The "Tongshu" mentions that "Bu Jiang days" are suitable for marriage, as well as the principles of human days, heavenly days, and wandering spirits, all of which are already found in the "Longshou Jing." However, the school of selecting auspicious days has long forgotten its origins.

問：疑《龍首經》不知出於何時，觀《吳越春秋》內伍員、范蠡、文種諸占，惟引《金匱》、《玉門》，而不及《龍首》。及葛洪《抱朴子》始有《龍首經》之名，顏之推《家訓》亦言及之，則其書殆出於晉時歟？近見孫湄如先生刊本，《自序》云“考其官銜，知為漢人遺書。”於是前疑頓釋。

Someone asked: When was the "Longshou Jing" (Dragon Head Classic) written? Looking at the divination examples in the "Wuyue Chunqiu" (Spring and Autumn of Wu and Yue) involving Wu Yuan, Fan Li, and Wen Zhong, only the "Jingu Kai" (Golden Chest) and "Yumen" (Jade Gate) are cited, not the "Longshou Jing." It was not until Ge Hong's "Baopuzi" (Master Who Embraces Simplicity) that the title "Longshou Jing" appeared, and Yan Zhitui also mentioned it in his "Yan Shi Jiaxun" (Family Instructions of the Yan Family). Therefore, one might suppose that this book was written during the Jin Dynasty. Recently, I saw a published edition by Sun Meiru, whose preface states that by examining the official titles mentioned in the book, one can conclude that it is a work from the Han Dynasty. This immediately resolved my previous doubts.

宋仁宗最嗜六壬，故其時習此學者甚多，而以元軫、苗公達為最。至徽宗、高宗時，邵彥和一出，又架諸人之上。理宗時，有凌福之等本邵公之法作《畢法賦》，於是諸法咸備，至平至當，一掃疑神疑鬼之習氣。

Song Renzong was most fond of Liu Xin, so many people studied this discipline during his time, among whom Yuan Zhen and Miao Gongda were the most outstanding. By the time of Huizong and Gaozong, Shao Yanhe emerged and surpassed all others. During the reign of Lizong, Ling Fuzhi and others based their work on Shao's methods to compose the "Bifa Fu," thus making all the rules complete and practical, eliminating completely the风气 of being suspicious and superstitious.

至今朝，則以六壬、三命諸術考試司天臺之學生。時有徐次賓者，精於其術，著《一字訣》、《玉連環》，皆六壬一脈相傳也。至於《鳳髓靈》之節外生枝，《六壬通元》師巫邪說。更有一知半解之人，偶然湊合，便立為法，無怪書愈多而愈晦矣，北齊顏之推曰：“世傳之書，皆出於流俗，言辭鄙淺，驗少妄多，然哉，然哉！”。

By the time of this dynasty, they used the Six壬 (Ling) and San Ming (Three Lives) systems of divination to select students for the Astronomical Bureau. At that time, Xu Cibin was particularly skilled in these methods, and he wrote "Yi Zhe" and "Yu Lian Huan," both of which were passed down in the tradition of Six壬. As for works like "Feng Sui Ling," which branched out into irrelevant matters, and "Ling Yuan Tong Yuan," which was full of superstitious and heretical ideas, plus some people who only had partial knowledge and occasionally compiled a few lines to claim they had established their own system, it's no wonder that more and more books were produced, yet the principles became increasingly obscure. Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi dynasty said: "Books circulating in the world are all written by vulgar hands, their language is crude and shallow, few are verified and many are absurd." He was right, he was right!

邵彥和先生所著《口鑑》，今無完本。《斷案》散見於各書者，不多不全；予三十年來自徽而至杭，而蘇，而揚，各處蒐羅，僅得二百餘課，其人斷語為後人改竄者時亦有之。此凌福之所謂“後人恣己見，作繁文以雜其真者”是也。

Master Shao Yanhe's work "Kou Jian" is no longer available in its complete form; his "Duàn Àn" is scattered among various collections, and it is neither numerous nor complete. For thirty years, I have searched from Huizhou to Hangzhou, then to Suzhou and Yangzhou, gathering only over two hundred divination cases. Among them, I have often encountered cases where the original statements have been altered or tampered with by later commentators. This is exactly what Ling FuZhi said: "Later people, relying on their own interpretations, add complicated words, thus confusing the original true meaning of the book."

考其自占動靜一課，知先生為衢州人，然查《衢州府志》無其姓名，嘗記相知者在衢州者訪此公遺書，而久不得。讀楊忠愍公年譜，知公通三式之學，可見此學亦為君子所不棄。晉之戴洋，唐之李靖，元之劉秉忠、耶律楚材，明之劉青田，皆粗其學。因非渺見寡聞之輩所能精通者也。

Examining his divination lesson titled "Self-Divination of Movement and Stillness," we can tell that the gentleman was from Quzhou. However, when I checked the Quzhou Annals, there was no record of his name. I once asked a friend who was familiar with the area in Quzhou to search for his lost writings, but I could not find them. Reading the chronicle of Yang Zhongmin (Yang Jiseng), I learned that he was well-versed in the three systems of divination, indicating that this field of study is not something that virtuous scholars would reject. In the Jin Dynasty, Dai Yang; in the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing; in the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Bingzhong and Yelü Chucai; and in the Ming Dynasty, Liu Qingtian (Liu Ji) all had some knowledge of this discipline. From this, we can see that this is not something that can be mastered by those with shallow understanding or limited knowledge.