The Zhou Yi did not begin as a philosophy book - its core text was a divination manual. Over three millennia, from oracle bones to imperial encyclopedias, Chinese metaphysics built a rigorous cosmological architecture. Every era below is cross-referenced with primary sources you can read immediately in our Online Reader.
六十四卦 · 易道源頭Oracle & the Zhou Yi
Divination begins with turtle-shell oracles (甲骨占卜, Shang) and reaches its first written form in the Zhou Yi (周易) - 64 hexagrams built from yin-yang lines. The philosophical reading (yin-yang, change, the noble person) comes later in the Ten Wings commentaries.
《周易》
六十四卦卦爻辭與十翼經傳之原典，奠定三千年陰陽變易哲學之基石。
《莊子》
道家哲學巔峰聖典，探討萬物齊一、天籟自鳴與逍遙真宰之境。
《馬王堆帛書老子乙本》
道經在先、德經在後，還原老子五千言最質樸無華之古傳祖本。
陰陽五行 · 鄒衍立說Zou Yan & the Five Elements
The naturalists (yinyangjia 陰陽家), above all Zou Yan 鄒衍, turn the Five Elements into a working system of seasons, dynasties, and cycles. Five-element cosmology becomes the shared vocabulary of every later school.
《古周易》
還原孔子作十翼之前商周古易分立體系，純粹象數吉凶原貌。
《老子道德經河上公章句》
道門最早將五行運化、內氣調攝與治國修身融為一體的道德經權威注疏。
干支納甲 · 京房象數Stems, Branches & Najia
The ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches (天干地支) finish taking shape as the dating system. Jing Fang 京房's najia (納甲) method ties hexagrams to stems, branches and elements - the bridge between the Zhou Yi and fortune-telling.
《京氏易傳》
開創八宮卦變、五行納甲與六親世應，是漢代象數與後世筮法之核心橋樑。
《周易乾鑿度》
漢代易緯代表名著，首創太易、太初、太始、太素及九宮九飛卦理。
《周易參同契》
借大易卦爻、黃帝九鼎與內煉火候，融大易、黃老、爐丹為一體之千古奇書。
玄學分科 · 郭璞葬書Feng Shui & Physiognomy split off
The arts begin to separate: Guo Pu 郭璞's Zang Shu (葬書, traditionally the founding text of Feng Shui) and Liu Shao 劉劭's Ren Wu Zhi (人物志, a study of character). The schools of later metaphysics take their own roads.
《葬書》
「氣乘風則散，界水則止」之定義首出於此，奠定兩千年形勢派風水學說。
《周易注》
掃除漢代繁瑣讖緯卦氣，以魏晉老莊玄學得意忘象，開宋代理學之先聲。
《抱朴子內篇》
兩晉神仙金丹與服氣符箓集大成者，戰時保生養性之實證文獻。
《真誥》
南朝隱士陶弘景手輯晉代降授仙訣，道門神仙譜系與修行指南。
命理獨立 · 李虛中三柱Three pillars & the Form School
Destiny-reading becomes its own art. Li Xuzhong 李虛中 works from the year, month and day (three pillars, no hour). In Feng Shui, Yang Yunsong 楊筠松 founds the Form (形勢) school. The San Ming Tong Hui (三命通會) lineage begins.
《李虛中命書》
以年月日時之天干地支納音推人貴賤壽夭，韓愈為其撰墓誌銘稱「百不失一二」。
《周易集解》
采子夏、孟喜、京房、馬融、荀爽等三十五家易注，使漢易絕學得以流傳至今。
《坐忘論》
盛唐國師傳授之高級冥想修持，分七階論敬信、斷緣、收心、簡事、泰定、得道。
四柱定型 · 邵雍經世Xu Ziping & the flourishing of schools
Xu Ziping 徐子平 adds the hour pillar - the four pillars (四柱) - and gives BaZi the shape it keeps today. Shao Yong 邵雍 writes the Huang Ji Jing Shi (皇極經世) and plum-blossom numerology (梅花易數). Zi Wei Dou Shu 紫微斗數 (attributed to Chen Tuan 陳摶) appears. Rational-qi (理氣) Feng Shui rises.
《皇極經世》
以伏羲先天六十四卦推演天地興衰大運，開闢宋代理學「加一倍法」與數學哲學。
《東坡易傳》
蘇軾謫居惠州、儋州九死一生時撰成，文采斐然，融合儒釋道貫通性命之理。
《周易本義》
朱子力倡「易本卜筮之書」，恢復文王周公古經分卷，自元明清歷代奉為正統。
《紫陽真人悟真篇》
道門內丹修真與《參同契》齊名，以七言絕句與詞曲揭示性命雙修之密旨。
經典集成 · 滴天髓定本The classical canon
The tradition fixes its standard texts: Yuan Hai Zi Ping (淵海子平), Di Tian Sui (滴天髓), Zi Ping Zhen Quan (子平真詮) and Qiong Tong Bao Jian (窮通寶鑑). In Feng Shui, Jiang Dahong 蔣大鴻 and later Shen Zhuren 沈竹礽 formalize the Xuan Kong 玄空 method. The three arts (三式: Qi Men 奇門, Liu Ren 六壬, Tai Yi 太乙) continue their separate transmission.
《三命通會》
四柱八字命理學百科全書，清乾隆紀曉嵐評為「綜覈術數之書，此為最善」。
《滴天髓闡微》
徹底摒除神煞偽術，專以陰陽五行清濁、氣勢順逆為依歸，公認命學無上寶典。
《御纂周易折中》
康熙御定易學巨作，折衷程朱，廣泛收錄先秦至明末歷代諸儒精闢見解。
《明正統道藏總庫》
中華道教文獻史上最浩瀚的皇家總集，涵蓋經戒、丹藥、符圖、齋醮與哲學全卷。
考據轉型 · 術數出海Research, industry & going global
From the mid-20th century the arts industrialize in Hong Kong and Taiwan - Zi Wei Dou Shu becomes more popular than BaZi among practitioners there. Software and later AI make charts a commodity, while the zodiac, Feng Shui and BaZi travel west as cultural symbols.
《周易尚氏學》
以先秦左傳國語及焦京之說解易，提倡「易無妄下之字」，近代考據學卓越豐碑。
《莊子集解》
匯集王念孫、俞樾等乾嘉諸老考證成果，現代學界研讀先秦道家之標準通讀本。
For guidance and self-awareness purposes only. This timeline is a cultural and historical overview - a map of how the tradition developed, not a claim about any outcome. The original classical texts in the library remain the verifiable authority.