🧭 The four frames

원격

This frame is raised from the strokes of the given name alone, leaving the surname out. It is read as the pattern of the years spent growing up inside the house, before going out into the world — which is why it is called early fortune. What temperament formed under a parent’s shade, what kind of child you were called at school, and the colour of the disposition that will lie underneath you all your life are all held here. What is interesting is that this frame doesn’t end with childhood. However old people get, there is a place they return to when things are hard, and the old reading says that place is usually this one — the way someone past forty falls back into a childhood habit on a tired night. So read a gentle number here as an even-tempered base, and a difficult one as a grain where early experience stays with you a long while — but do not settle anyone’s future on this one frame. A base is only a base; what gets built on it is still yours.

형격

Raised by adding the strokes of the surname to the strokes of the first character of the given name. It is weighted most heavily of the four and is also called the principal frame. It reads the pattern of the years when you leave school, get work and make a place of your own — that is, the years when your name is called most often and used hardest. The surname was inherited and the first character was given by a parent, which makes this the point where root and wind meet. Whether the work runs smoothly or has to be pushed each time, whether you grow inside an organisation or need your own name over the door — that is the conversation this frame opens. But a difficult number here does not pin young adulthood as hard going. This frame exists to indicate which part is worth tending a little more, not to pass a verdict. It is common for one of the four to be difficult while the other three are gentle, and it makes more sense to read the other three as supporting the difficult one.

이격

Raised by adding the strokes of the surname to the strokes of the last character of the given name. It is said to show the bridge laid between people, so relationships, a spouse, and the pattern of the middle years from the forties to the sixties are read here. By that age, who you are with sets the temperature of a life more than how well you do alone — and this frame is exactly that conversation about the people beside you. Whether partnerships take hold or standing alone suits better, whether you give a lot of heart to people or draw lines well, whether help arrives from outside or has to be made from within: all of it is read here. But a difficult number in this frame absolutely does not mean a poor marriage. What happens between people is governed far more by attitude than by a name, so this frame is best read as a road sign flagging what to watch. A driver who sees the sign and slows down is no longer on a dangerous road.

정격

Raised by adding every stroke in the surname and the given name, which makes it the total of the name and its summing-up. It is said to read later fortune from sixty onward, and it is really closer to reading the shape in which a road already walked comes to a close. If the first three frames are scenes from childhood, young adulthood and midlife, this one is the impression left at the end once those scenes are joined together. So a gentle number here is read as an easy later part even when the other frames are difficult, and a heavy one here is read as a warning to attend to how things are put away, even after a brilliant earlier life. Questions about protecting what you have, and about what to leave to children and to those who come after, tend to be discussed alongside this frame. Of course, later life is decided far more by how a person lived than by one line of a name. Take this frame as a hint about which way to tilt that living, slightly.

🎵 Sound elements

상생

When the elements of the initial consonants run from Wood to Fire, Fire to Earth, Earth to Metal, Metal to Water and Water back to Wood, the arrangement is called feeding. Spoken aloud, the earlier sound pushes the later one along, so the pronunciation is gentle and it settles softly in a listener’s ear. Name study reads this as the best arrangement, and the old gloss holds that work is not badly blocked, relations with people run evenly, and the bends of a life are gradual. The elders who named a child and then said it out loud several times were, in the end, checking this flow by ear. But one thing has to be clear: this is a conversation about the grain of a sound, not a guarantee about a fate. Nothing resolves itself simply because the arrangement feeds, and no life gets harder simply because it doesn’t. That your own name — called dozens of times a day — sounds gentle is quite enough to take from it.

상극

This is the arrangement where Wood presses Earth, Earth blocks Water, Water puts out Fire, Fire melts Metal and Metal cuts Wood. Every time the name is spoken, the earlier energy and the later one collide once, which is why it has long been handled carefully. The old gloss speaks of intention and circumstance frequently being out of step, of two different directions standing together in the mind so decisions run late, and of the road opening only after one more collision than other people needed. But something must be said plainly here. A clashing arrangement does not mean the name is bad or that it should be changed. Colliding energy is, turned over, tension — and tension is also what moves a person. A great many people with this arrangement have achieved substantially, and it is common to hear that the collision was itself the propulsion. With the habit of not deferring decisions, plus one person beside you to hold the balance, this arrangement softens perfectly well.

비화

When the elements of the initial consonants run as Wood and Wood, or Water and Water, the arrangement is called levelled. Nothing strikes anything, so it doesn’t collide the way a clashing arrangement does — instead the force gathers on one side and the scale tips. Used well it becomes the concentration to dig into one thing deeply; taken too far it becomes obstinacy, or a field of view narrowed to a single direction. A name running entirely on sounds of the same family also has a flatter rhythm when spoken, which is characteristic of this arrangement. But levelled is never flatly called unfortunate. Elements gathered in one place also means that energy is unusually distinct — and for someone whose chart happens to need exactly that element, this can be a welcome arrangement. So rather than deciding good and bad from the name alone, it is right to set it beside the chart. A name is clothing worn over a chart; it is not the chart itself.

🔢 All 81 numbers

Where the summed stroke count lands between 1 and 81 decides the pattern.

1 · The First Beginning (太初格) · 대길

Every count starts here, so this is read as the energy that draws the first line on an empty surface. Strength attaches on a road you tread first yourself rather than one somebody else cleared, and you often end up playing the eldest whether or not you are. But whoever opens the way is always alone, so shed only the habit of carrying it by yourself and this number’s straightness lasts.

2 · Division (分離格) · 흉

The shape of one splitting into two, so this is read as a number that parts and moves rather than staying long in one place. Two lines of thought always stand together in your mind, which slows decisions, and you sometimes shake what you built yourself. Still, one number decides nothing: the habit of not deferring a decision, plus one or two people who stay beside you, turns the splitting into widening.

3 · Renown (名譽格) · 대길

The number where a person stands between heaven and earth — three gathered, and the board finally opens. Talent shows outwardly, so the name walks ahead of you, and you shine especially at gathering people and making something happen. Beginnings are smooth and superiors notice you, so chances come early; keep filling that name in with ability and it lasts.

4 · Obstruction (否定格) · 흉

Four is the number of a square closed on all sides — large intent, narrow door. Work you laboured over goes wrong at the last step, or makes no sound for all the effort and you ache privately over it. But even a closed room has a window: one habit — never deciding anything large alone, always putting it to one other person — releases most of this number’s stuffiness.

5 · Success (成功格) · 대길

Five is the central number where the Five Elements are evenly present, so it is read as balanced and little inclined to either side. It doesn’t stand out and it runs fine wherever it is placed, and the role of reconciling people falls to it naturally. Fortune arrives spread out and long-lasting rather than all at once, so set down the impatience and the years after midlife get particularly solid.

6 · Succession (繼承格) · 길

Read as the number that inherits and keeps. The knack for taking what exists and doubling it is greater than the knack for making what didn’t, and you often end up looking after a share handed down within a family or an organisation. Goodwill accumulates before money does, so people stay — and those people bring the opportunities later. Just shed the habit of shouldering everyone else’s load as well.

7 · Development (發達格) · 길

Seven is a number that rarely bends once decided — energy as hard as metal. The force to push means you carry to the end what others abandoned halfway, and that persistence eventually gets paid. But hard things break easily too, so go one notch softer only when dealing with people, and this number’s drive gets used for a long time without injury.

8 · Opening (開物格) · 길

Eight is the number that stacks like a mountain, so diligence and patience become the estate directly. You choose spending time over finding a shortcut, and stay to the end where others left calling it dull. Results come late and once they come they don’t easily fall over. Just pin rest days into the calendar in advance so you don’t drive the body too hard.

9 · Straitness (窮迫格) · 흉

Nine is the full end-number: nowhere further up, and so inclined to tip. The old reading is of unusual talent that flares brilliantly and then wavers for want of staying power. Yet plenty of people have left a name with unusual gifts under this number — shrink the boards you have open a little and shift the weight towards health and people.

10 · Emptiness (空虛格) · 흉

Ten fills and returns to zero, so this is the shape where what you hold leaks away. What you gathered gets spent on someone else, and the heart empties often enough that you feel alone even among people. But empty also means it can be filled again: don’t carry decisions alone, and get the arithmetic and the records out of your head and onto paper — that is what protects this number.

11 · Renewal (新成格) · 대길

A number that has gone one full turn and stands at the beginning again — new shoots on dry wood. The strength to rebuild from where it collapsed is unusually good, so someone who has fallen badly once gets paid here. It suits raising a household and regathering what scattered, and as long as you don’t hurry, the mild energy runs long.

12 · Frailty (薄弱格) · 흉

Twelve is large in intent and shallow in root — the mind always running ahead of the body. Several things opened and the finishing left as homework; a lot of heart given to someone and resentment coming back. But a number like this gets strong by narrowing the board. Hold one thing at a time and don’t ignore what your body signals — that is enough to manage it.

13 · Quick Mind (聰明格) · 대길

A bright head with talents branching several ways. You have the knack of turning what you learn straight into your own words, so you pick up the trick of anything fast, and your value rises especially where you live by speech and writing. But knowing well and finishing are different things: hold one well for three years and this quickness hardens into a record.

14 · Scattering (離散格) · 흉

What gathered disperses, so leaving a familiar place or drifting from people happens often. A soft heart that reads other people’s circumstances first and misses its own share is part of this number’s long story. But scattering is also widening — turn your mind from regretting what you left towards rebuilding relationships where you now are, and it grows much gentler.

15 · Command (統率格) · 대길

A number that draws together above and below, suited to leading people. Without raising your voice you end up seated in the middle, gathering people by goodwill and keeping a board going for a long time. Wealth and honour attaching together is rare, which is why this has long been prized. Keep the habit of hearing juniors out to the end and it seldom wavers.

16 · Standing (德望格) · 대길

A number that starts low and is lifted up — goodwill enlarging the vessel. You have the disposition of giving first and forgetting it, so people gather, and in the hard periods those people come back as strength. Since your surroundings push you up without your reaching for a large seat, not hurrying is this number’s best strategy.

17 · Vigour (健暢格) · 길

Once decided, you see it to the end, so firm intent turns straight into results. Faced with a block you go through rather than around, which makes you the safest pair of hands for difficult work. But firmness hardening into obstinacy empties the seats beside you, so keeping one person who will disagree with you to your face is how this number stays usable.

18 · Advancement (發展格) · 길

What was stacked becomes visible — effort setting into a form you can see. The force to make a plan and push it through is good, so you easily become the operational centre of an organisation, and money stacks in layers rather than arriving at once. Your own standard is high and easily applied to others, so soften just that part.

19 · Hardship (苦難格) · 흉

Ample talent whose timing keeps missing — running well and catching at the threshold. Recognition comes late relative to ability, and unexpected gossip attaches where you worked hardest. But this number is better read as delaying than as destroying: leave slack in your health and your relationships in advance, avoid overreach, and the later part runs longer.

20 · Hollowing (虛妄格) · 흉

A full vessel tipping and emptying — what you achieved and what remains being two different things. The drop between the good periods and the hard ones is wide, so the heart swells and falls often, and you tire from carrying it alone. But an empty vessel can be filled again: not deciding large things alone, and looking after the body first, is enough to flatten most of the swing.

21 · Leadership (頭領格) · 대길

A number that stands at the head of a group, cutting its own road and leading others. It is priced properly in a seat where you take responsibility under your own name rather than one where you do as told. Early hardship makes the later part solid, so it often resolves as a late bloom. Shed only the habit of doing everything yourself and it opens wide.

22 · Break Midway (中折格) · 흉

A growing branch snapping midway — going well and then stopping once. Sensitivity and talent make the start good and the staying power waver. But new branches grow from a break, so build in a place to rest before you open a large board, and keep someone beside you to share things with; that manages it well enough.

23 · Rising (隆昌格) · 대길

The sun climbing to the middle of the sky — momentum reaching cleanly outward. The strength to build a board from nothing and grow it large suits founding and pioneering, and you come alive in front of people. But a risen sun must set, so preparing the next board while things are at their best is how this number is used long.

24 · Self-Made (立身格) · 대길

Starting bare-handed and stacking it up yourself, so diligence becomes the asset directly. Even inheriting little, you gather steadily and end up somewhere you needn’t envy anyone, which is why this has been read especially well for money. Sharp at arithmetic and not stingy with people, so the back is covered — and the slower you go the more the curve rises.

25 · Steadiness (安康格) · 길

A settled number with no rough edges, keeping its share without large waves. Several talents not entirely displayed earn you a long reputation as reliable, and your composure shines in a crisis. But once you have decided privately you don’t listen well — mind only that, and this number runs comfortably and long.

26 · Hero and Dispute (英雄是非格) · 평

A number that rarely takes the ordinary road, with upheaval and honour travelling together. Unusual spirit and talent achieve large things, and the same temperament brings gossip and bends along with it. Good and bad cannot be settled in a word here — learn only how to step back a pace in front of people and the difference becomes the estate.

27 · The Great Figure (大人格) · 평

Large intent and ample talent, tested repeatedly at the point of finishing. The strength of believing yourself right takes you far when you lead, and taken too far it puts you out of step with those around you and the board shakes midway. Keep one window open for other people’s words and this large vessel pays its worth.

28 · Turbulence (波瀾格) · 흉

A number of frequent waves — wide swings and often-changing seats. You live through twice what others meet once, and toughen correspondingly. It has long been flagged for caution, though it doesn’t mean collapse: not putting your name lightly on other people’s business — guarantees, partnerships — manages most of it.

29 · Abundant Wealth (豊財格) · 길

Wisdom and wealth attaching together — earning with the head. Appetite is large so the board is seen large, and that large picture is frequently correct. But appetite outrunning skill leaves you unable to close what you opened. Keep one rule — clear one old board before opening a new one — and it gets used at scale.

30 · Floating Dream (浮夢格) · 흉

The shape of reaching for a passing cloud — betting large once and being shaken large. A good instinct brings periods of luck, and those success stories are exactly what make the next board reckless. Less a bad number than a wide-amplitude one: set the line you will hold in advance and reduce decisions that rest on odds.

31 · Raising the House (興家格) · 대길

Wisdom, kindness and courage evenly present — the energy that raises a household and leads people. Climbing steadily from the bottom and eventually sitting at the top works in an organisation and in your own business alike. Few mistakes because you don’t rush, and you hold a seat once taken. Long read as the most reliably good of the numbers.

32 · Fair Wind (順風格) · 길

Wind catching the sail — the energy of meeting the right moment. There are periods where the result exceeds the effort, and unexpected people appear and open the way. But the wind isn’t yours: build ability and relationships while it is favourable. The disposition of remembering whoever helped you is itself the fortune here.

33 · Ascending (昇天格) · 대길

A dragon climbing into the sky — very strong momentum and a name that travels far. Value rises particularly in seats in front of people, and once it opens it opens wide. The energy is strong enough that the vessel has to grow with it, so humility and health have always been prescribed alongside. Listening to those below is this number’s safety catch.

34 · Upheaval (變亂格) · 흉

Sound outside and shaking within — things going wrong from a direction you didn’t watch. Long-laboured work shaken at a stroke is the story that follows it, which is why it has been handled carefully. But no single character decides a life: leaving contracts and paperwork behind, and deferring overreach, sidesteps most of this warning.

35 · Great Peace (泰平格) · 대길

No fierce momentum, flowing gently like water — filling its share without conflict. It suits art, scholarship and anything done with the hands especially well. Value rises in a seat that refines over time rather than one that fights at the front, so set down the impatience and it runs comfortably and long. Mildness is this number’s largest weapon.

36 · Chivalry (義俠格) · 흉

Rolling your sleeves up for other people, so loyalty becomes the temperament itself. Unable to walk past someone in difficulty, you gain people — and lose your own share and peace of mind for it. Not a poor temperament but a question of direction: help freely, but draw a line at guarantees and money, and it doesn’t go far wrong.

37 · Benevolence (仁德格) · 대길

Gaining people through kindness and good faith — standing alone without being lonely. Words and actions match, so trust accumulates the longer people know you, and that trust eventually converts into position and money. The strength to open your own road without leaning suits independence and the professions. Mind only losing out through trusting people too readily.

38 · Arts and Letters (文藝格) · 길

A number that lives by craft and sensibility rather than by force. Value rises in giving form to what is in the head — writing, drawing, designing, planning — and the more steadily you refine, the more it is recognised, late and substantially. Leaving something under your own name suits better than heading a large organisation, so keep putting the work out.

39 · Wealth and Honour (富榮格) · 대길

Wealth and standing attaching together — a large vessel with a solid back. Hardship in youth frequently returns as value after midlife, and once settled it doesn’t easily shake. But the energy is strong and overflows if taken too far, so choosing one place to give is how this number is kept.

40 · Change (變化格) · 흉

Never staying in one place — great talent and nerve with an uneven ending. Earning big and losing big is the story that follows, and so is gossip. But change is this number’s nature, so rather than fighting it, set the line of risk you can carry and decide in advance when you step back, and it becomes a strength instead.

41 · Great Achievement (大功格) · 대길

Inside and outside both furnished — intent and ability running level. The goodwill to draw people together and the force to finish work are both present, so you become the centre of any board and the name lasts well afterwards. Long read as achieving greatly, and it suits large seats and large work. Guard only against complacency.

42 · Hard Road (苦行格) · 흉

Touching several strands and never deepening any of them. Talented enough to do many things adequately, and that versatility is precisely what scatters the force. Less bad than unfocused: fix one subject to hold for three years and the scattered talents gather into one place and pay.

43 · Flourish and Fade (盛衰格) · 흉

Bright outside and hollow within — burning privately in a seat that looks fine from outside. There is income and little remains, and worry that doesn’t come out of your mouth. Recording the arithmetic openly, and choosing one person you tell the hard things to — those two alone fill most of this hollowness.

44 · Obstacles (魔障格) · 흉

A stone laid on every road you take, which is why it has long been handled carefully. Work you laboured over spins its wheels and unexpected interference attaches. Yet many with this number have dug one field deeply with unusual insight. Rather than following where everyone else goes, choose your own narrow and deep seat and it comes alive instead.

45 · Great Clarity (大覺格) · 대길

The fog lifting and the road appearing — opening a board through a large realisation. The eye gained by passing through a hard period becomes unusual judgement, and that judgement eventually calls in people and money. Intent gets through the way a boat moves on a fair wind, which is why it is read well. Make one place to share what you gained and it lasts longer.

46 · Time Not Yet (未運格) · 흉

The moment has not arrived, so there are periods where the effort makes no sound. High intent on a weak footing brings worry and tires the body with it. But a time that comes late comes late; it does not fail to come. Spend it learning and gathering qualifications while you wait, and the later part goes deeper for it.

47 · Coming Forth (出世格) · 대길

Flower and fruit together — what you intended showing outwardly. Good fortune with people means someone helpful appears at each decisive moment, and that connection turns into position and money. Your own effort with someone else’s force added on top doubles it, which is why it has long been prized. Not forgetting a kindness is this number’s root.

48 · Wisdom and Virtue (有德格) · 대길

Wisdom and goodwill together, playing teacher to others. Value rises in the seat beside someone pointing the way rather than out front issuing orders, which suits advising, counselling and education. Money comes slowly, following trust rather than haste. The habit of bringing what you know out and sharing it grows this number considerably.

49 · Withdrawal (隱退格) · 평

Fortune and misfortune back to back, so the face changes with the moment. Advance when it is time to advance and withdraw when it is time to withdraw and you achieve greatly; miss the moment and the effort spins. Less fixed than a number of judgement, so the habit of deferring a large decision by one day is what keeps it alive.

50 · Half Rise, Half Fall (盛衰相半格) · 흉

Achieving once and losing once, repeating. What was earned in the good period isn’t put away and goes straight out at the next bend. But this number’s warning is really about a habit: moving part of it, while things are good, somewhere you don’t touch, shrinks the swing enormously.

51 · Success and Failure (成敗格) · 평

Rising and falling in turn — spring and winter both inside a single year. You achieve greatly at the height and shake greatly at the tilt, so judgement during the good period matters especially. Not an unfortunate number but a number of amplitude: don’t get complacent when it goes well and don’t hurry when it is hard, and it passes fine.

52 · Riding the Moment (時乘格) · 대길

Recognising the moment and getting on it — the eye that sees half a step ahead. You decide while others are still hesitating, and it repeatedly turns out later that the decision was right. Judgement is the estate here, which suits planning, investment and opening new boards. Keep data and people beside the instinct and it wavers less.

53 · Hollow Within (內虛格) · 흉

Ample outside and a different story within — a wide gap between the front and the back. If the first half is good the second is thin, and if the first half is hard the second is better. Reduce the burden of living to other people’s eyes and turn towards substance, and most of this emptiness settles.

54 · Effort Without Reward (無功格) · 흉

Little credit remains for the effort, which is why it has long been treated heavily. Work begun with good intent goes wrong midway, or people hurt you. But one character does not decide a life: keep your name and money off other people’s business and concentrate on your own, and most of this warning passes by.

55 · Not Quite There (未達格) · 평

Looking fully equipped and always one step short. Good energy and thin energy are mixed half and half, so you stop where a little more push would have done it. Which also makes this the number of persistence: one habit — setting your own deadline and telling somebody about it — supplies the missing step.

56 · Regret (恨歎格) · 흉

The mind running ahead while the body and circumstances don’t follow. The gap between what you want to do and what you can do leaves a lasting regret, and folding something you started happens more than once. But breaking the goal into pieces changes it: many small achievements suit this number far better than one large one.

57 · Perseverance (努力格) · 길

Standing back up after the frost — getting firmer after one large experience. Past the early difficulty the staying power attaches and you find your place in the end. Diligence is paid rather than shortcuts here, so time works for you. As long as you don’t lose your health or your people in the hard period, there is certainly a later part.

58 · Late Glory (後榮格) · 평

Overcast first and clearing after — a hard front and a bright back. The bends of youth become the capital that gets paid after midlife. Which makes impatience this number’s greatest enemy: read the current slowness as preparation rather than failure and the second half is unmistakably different.

59 · Setback (災禍格) · 흉

Once the intent is broken it takes time to rebuild, so this seat needs patience especially. Putting down work halfway, or being disappointed by people. But for a number like this the answer is not enduring alone: build someone to consult and somewhere to lean, and the weight divides and becomes bearable.

60 · Wavering (動搖格) · 흉

Shaking without a root — direction changing often. Circumstances change before the plan is even made, which unsettles you and makes it easy to hand decisions to somebody else. The remedy is unexpectedly simple: fix one thing you do at the same time every day, however small. That one rule holds the centre.

61 · Splendour (榮華格) · 길

Wealth and name attaching together — bright on the outside. Resourceful enough to catch the openings, and you end up in seats where people see you. But faith in your own ability runs high, and out of step with those around you it cracks from the inside. Lowering yourself first with the people closest to you keeps this number unblemished.

62 · Falling Petals (花落格) · 흉

Blossom that has opened falling — inside and outside out of step. It runs smoothly outwardly while trust leaks within, and that surfaces as a problem later. So this number is better read as a signal to check the relationships: raise what you have postponed as it arises and most of the drift is prevented in advance.

63 · Auspicious (吉祥格) · 대길

Growing gently and reaching the fruit — intent achieved without large bends. Things roll at their own speed without being forced, the household is at ease and the back half comes out well. What this number is worth is lasting stability rather than one spectacular stroke. Keep only the mind that doesn’t take the present ease for granted.

64 · Stagnation (沈滯格) · 흉

The channel blocked and the water pooling — effort circling in place. Work looks like it will come off and stops; people look like they will stay and disperse. But even pooled water flows once a channel is cut: change to breaking the board into small pieces and finishing them one at a time, and the blockage opens a little at a time.

65 · Shining Sun (輝陽格) · 대길

Sunlight falling evenly — a household at ease and work reaching out without strain. Little friction with people, and long acquaintances turn into strength at the decisive moments. Your share fills without great appetite, which is why it has long been read as a comfortable number. Share that ease and it lasts longer.

66 · Clouded Judgement (愚昧格) · 흉

The arithmetic inside and outside not matching — judgement easily clouded. Work begun with good intent invites misunderstanding, and being swayed by what you were told costs you. So read this number as a signal to slow down: sleep on every large decision, and put what was said into writing.

67 · Heaven’s Fortune (天福格) · 대길

A hand helping from above — a road opening in whatever you do. Good fortune with people means unexpected help arrives at the difficult moments, and home and the outside world both run gently. The fortune lasts in proportion to your own diligence, so it is used most fully in the seat where you pass the help on.

68 · Clear Insight (明智格) · 길

Bright thinking and close-woven plans — cutting a road with the head. The knack of spotting what nobody else saw and building it raises your value especially in planning, invention and design. Diligence backs it, so results don’t spin. Keep one route for turning what is in your head into a form the world can see.

69 · Halt (停止格) · 흉

The walk stopping — periods where the force doesn’t attach. You put in the effort, the result runs late, and the body tires first. But a halt is also a chance to change direction: don’t push, spend the time on learning and repair, and this stagnation doesn’t last long.

70 · Dark Night (暗夜格) · 흉

Like a road after sunset, with little visible ahead. The heart empties often and there are periods where the effort seems to leave nothing. But a long night does not mean there is no morning. Reduce the time alone a little and build a routine that moves the body, and this darkness thins unmistakably.

71 · Late Arrival (晩達格) · 평

Going slowly, half working and half not — intent present and execution late. The plan in your head is excellent and you defer the first step until the moment passes. Less unfortunate than late: break the start into small pieces and fix only today’s portion, and it changes. The force to arrive, even late, is unmistakably there.

72 · Half and Half (相半格) · 흉

A good front and a thin back, or a hard front and a better back. Even in the periods that look mild from outside, losses accumulate within — a warning passed down for a long time. Which makes this the number of putting away: keep part of it back when things go well and check the position regularly, and the later regret shrinks considerably.

73 · Even Fortune (平吉格) · 평

Neither rising much nor falling much — flowing evenly. High intent unmatched by execution leaves some regret, and since you don’t overreach, nothing goes badly wrong either. It suits keeping your own pace rather than envying anyone’s brilliance, so compete on consistency and the later years are comfortable.

74 · Lost Road (迷路格) · 흉

Several roads and no way of telling which. Wandering for want of a place to use your talent, or misjudging the timing so the effort spins. But asking the way is nothing to be ashamed of: seek advice from someone who went first and put your criteria for deciding outside yourself, and this wandering gets much shorter.

75 · Holding Quiet (靜守格) · 평

Shaking when you step forward and at ease when you hold — value rising precisely in the seat that steps back. It suits keeping and refining what already exists rather than opening a board at the front. Waiting quietly is strategy here rather than passivity, so simply not deciding in a hurry is enough.

76 · Hard First (先困格) · 흉

A hard front and an open back — the early weight unusually heavy. You carry a load early, at home or at work, and that period feels long. But many with this number do settle in the later part. As long as you don’t lose your health or your people while enduring, the turn certainly comes.

77 · Front and Back (前後格) · 평

A different face front and back — good periods and thin ones mixed half and half. Meet someone helpful and it opens wide; push alone and it goes slowly. Which makes this the number of people: don’t decide alone, build company, and the even scale tips the good way.

78 · Good First (先吉格) · 평

A mild front and a careful back — coming along well until midlife and then being tested on staying power. A number that teaches how much harder keeping is than achieving. So putting things away while they are good is the whole of it: fold the overreach and look after the body, and most of the later regret passes by.

79 · Spent (終極格) · 흉

The energy pushed all the way out, so little force remains. Intent left over with circumstances not following, so the mind runs ahead alone — and being careful about keeping your credit has always been advised here. But this warning is about conduct: keep your promises and take on only what you can carry, and it doesn’t go far wrong.

80 · Conclusion (終結格) · 흉

One board ending and the next being waited for — a seat that steps back and tidies rather than pressing forward. There are periods where you tire of the world and want to withdraw. But tidying is preparation, not disappearance: reduce the appetite and spend it on body and mind, and the next board is far lighter.

81 · Return (還元格) · 대길

At eighty-one the turn completes and returns to the beginning, so this is the same seat as the original one. It is also why name numerology reduces anything past eighty-one by dividing by eighty-one. Holding the meaning that an ending is a beginning, it has long been read as the best of them, and it suits someone who achieves greatly without losing the mind they started with.