Da Liu Ren

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Da Liu Ren (Chinese: 大六壬) is an ancient form of Chinese divination which is based on the sexagesimal (base-60) numeral system. One source for this article is "Chinese Mathematical Astrology" by Ho Peng Yoke, another is Liu Ren Da Quan （六壬大全 = Encyclopedia of Liu Ren）, published in the Qing Dynasty Imperial Archive, known as the Four Treasures (四库). Third and fourth sources are two books by the author of this article, Da Liu Ren Divination and Personal Fortunes in Da Liu Ren. More citations from ancient China include Liu Ren Guan Ge Shen Shu, 六壬管辂神书 and Da Liu Ren Bi Jing 大六壬必镜.

Along with Qi Men Dun Jia 奇门遁甲 and Tai Yi (太乙), Da Liu Ren is known in China as one of the highest forms of Chinese Metaphysics, collectively known as the "Three Styles" (San shi 三式). While Qi Men Dun Jia was widely used in China during the Tang 唐 and Song 宋 dynasties, by the time of the Yuan 元, Da Liu Ren had overtaken Qi Men Dun Jia in popularity, at least according to source documents found in the caverns of Dun Huang 敦煌.

The overwhelming popularity of Da Liu Ren in ancient China was perhaps due to its higher degree of precision, in comparison with Qi Men Dun Jia. The cosmic board in Da Liu Ren consists of a Heaven Pan 天盘 placed over an Earth Pan 地盘, around which rotate twelve generals.

In Da Liu Ren divination, each day is divided into twelve double-hours. Each double hour in Da Liu Ren divination contains a cosmic board for daytime and evening divination. The Three Transmissions (San chuan 三传) are derived from configurations of the Heavenly Stem of the date, and the Earth Branch of the date. The Four Classes (Si ke 四课) are configurated in a similar manner.

Divination in Da Liu Ren is determined by Five Element (wu xing 五行) and Yin - Yang （阴阳) relationships between and amongst the Three Transmissions, Four Classes, Twelve Generals and the Heaven and Earth Pans. Da Liu Ren is further complicated by the necessity of mastering a large body of rules and regulations which govern the relationships named above. Da Liu Ren contains perhaps four times as many rules as Qi Men Dun Jia, for example. The extant historical literature on Da Liu Ren by far surpasses that of Qi Men Dun Jia.

As is true with Qi Men Dun Jia, Da Liu Ren was first used in China for the purposes of devising military strategy and later developed into a more popular and widespread form of divination which grew to include medical divination, matchmaking, childbirth, travel, criminology, weather forecasting, etc. types of divination.

In view of its complex nature, Da Liu Ren was regarded as the highest of the Three Styles, since mastery of its complex rule structure required many years of memorization. In contemporary China, few claim mastery of Da Liu Ren.

Related to China and Chinese culture, metaphysics, I Ching 易经, I Ging. Zhou Yi 周易, divination, fortune-telling, Three Styles (San shi 三式).