六十四卦是什麼？卦名、上下卦與卦序一次看懂
作者：Wei Chun Chuang・2026-11-05
翻開易經，最先看到的就是六十四個由六條橫線組成的符號，叫「卦」。它們看起來很多，其實只是一個簡單規則的結果：八個基本符號兩兩相疊。這篇從組成、卦名、順序三個角度，帶你看懂六十四卦。
六十四卦是怎麼來的？
易經只有兩種線：一條完整的「陽爻」⚊，和中間斷開的「陰爻」⚋。三條疊在一起，就有 2×2×2＝8 種組合，這就是八卦：乾☰、兌☱、離☲、震☳、巽☴、坎☵、艮☶、坤☷。
再把兩個八卦上下疊起來，就有 8×8＝64 種組合，也就是六十四卦。每一卦都有六條線，稱為六爻，一共 384 爻。
上卦和下卦怎麼分？
六爻由下往上數：最下面是初爻，往上依序是二爻、三爻、四爻、五爻，最上面是上爻。下面三爻組成「下卦」，也叫內卦；上面三爻組成「上卦」，也叫外卦。
讀卦時，習慣先看上下兩個八卦各是什麼，再看整體。例如上面是水、下面是雷，水與雷的意象合起來，就是這一卦的畫面。
「水雷屯」這種卦名要怎麼讀？
常見的卦名有兩段：前面是上卦與下卦的自然象，後面是卦的名字。
- 水雷屯：上卦坎（水）、下卦震（雷），卦名「屯」。
- 天地否：上卦乾（天）、下卦坤（地），卦名「否」。
- 地天泰：上卦坤（地）、下卦乾（天），卦名「泰」。
如果上下卦相同，就說成「某為某」：乾為天、坤為地、震為雷、巽為風、坎為水、離為火、艮為山、兌為澤，一共八個。
注意「天地否」和「地天泰」只是上下顛倒，卦名卻完全不同。所以記卦時，上下順序一定要分清楚。
六十四卦的順序是什麼？
今天通行的《周易》把六十四卦分成兩部分：上經三十卦，從乾卦到離卦；下經三十四卦，從咸卦到未濟卦。這個順序在〈序卦傳〉裡有一段一段的說明。
宋代朱熹在《周易本義》中收錄一首卦序歌，很多人用它來背順序：
乾坤屯蒙需訟師，比小畜兮履泰否；同人大有謙豫隨，蠱臨觀兮噬嗑賁；剝復无妄大畜頤，大過坎離三十備。
咸恆遯兮及大壯，晉與明夷家人睽；蹇解損益夬姤萃，升困井革鼎震繼；艮漸歸妹豐旅巽，兌渙節兮中孚至；小過既濟兼未濟，是為下經三十四。
卦序有什麼規律？
仔細看會發現，六十四卦大多兩兩一組。多數的一組是把整個卦上下顛倒，例如屯卦倒過來就是蒙卦，這叫「綜卦」。
有八個卦顛倒後還是自己，它們就改成陰陽全部互換來配對，這叫「錯卦」：乾與坤、頤與大過、坎與離、中孚與小過。
知道這個規律，背卦序時就不是背六十四個名字，而是背三十二組。
初學者要先背六十四卦嗎？
不必一開始就全背。比較輕鬆的順序是：先熟悉八卦，再學會把任何一卦拆成上下兩卦，最後才記卦名和卦序。會拆卦以後，看到一個沒見過的卦，也能先說出它的上下卦象。查卦的方法可以參考怎麼查六十四卦。
常見問題
- 六十四卦一共有幾爻？
- 每卦六爻，共 384 爻。乾卦和坤卦另外各有一段「用九」「用六」。
- 卦名前面的「水雷」是什麼？
- 是上卦與下卦的自然象，先說上卦再說下卦。水雷屯就是上卦坎水、下卦震雷。
- 上經和下經怎麼分？
- 通行本《周易》上經是第 1 到第 30 卦（乾到離），下經是第 31 到第 64 卦（咸到未濟）。
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What are the sixty-four hexagrams? Names, trigrams and order explained
By Wei Chun Chuang・2026-11-05
Open the I Ching and the first thing you meet is sixty-four figures made of six horizontal lines each, called hexagrams. There seem to be a lot of them, but they come from one simple rule: the eight basic trigrams stacked in pairs. This article explains how hexagrams are built, how their names work and how they are ordered.
Where do the sixty-four hexagrams come from?
The I Ching uses only two kinds of line: a solid yang line ⚊ and a broken yin line ⚋. Stack three and you get 2×2×2 = 8 combinations, the eight trigrams: Qian ☰, Dui ☱, Li ☲, Zhen ☳, Xun ☴, Kan ☵, Gen ☶ and Kun ☷.
Stack two trigrams, one above the other, and you get 8×8 = 64 combinations: the sixty-four hexagrams. Each has six lines, 384 lines in all.
Which part is the upper and which the lower trigram?
Lines are counted from the bottom up: first line, second, third, fourth, fifth and top line. The bottom three form the lower (inner) trigram and the top three the upper (outer) trigram.
Readers usually identify the two trigrams first and then look at the whole. Water above and thunder below, for example, combine into the image of that hexagram.
How do you read a name like "Water Thunder Zhun"?
A common full name has two parts: the nature images of the upper and lower trigrams, then the hexagram's own name.
- Water Thunder Zhun: Kan (water) above, Zhen (thunder) below; the name is Zhun, "Difficulty at the Beginning".
- Heaven Earth Pi: Qian (heaven) above, Kun (earth) below; the name is Pi, "Standstill".
- Earth Heaven Tai: Kun above, Qian below; the name is Tai, "Peace".
When both trigrams are the same, the name says so, such as "Qian is Heaven" or "Kan is Water". There are eight of these doubled hexagrams.
Pi and Tai are the same two trigrams turned upside down, yet they are different hexagrams with almost opposite meanings, so always keep track of which trigram is on top.
What order are the hexagrams in?
The received text of the Zhou Yi divides the hexagrams into an Upper Canon of thirty (Qian to Li) and a Lower Canon of thirty-four (Xian to Wei Ji). The Sequence of the Hexagrams commentary explains the order step by step. The Song-dynasty scholar Zhu Xi recorded a short rhyme listing all sixty-four names in order, and Chinese learners still use it to memorise them.
Is there a pattern in the order?
Most hexagrams come in pairs. Usually the second of a pair is the first turned upside down; Zhun inverted is Meng. Eight hexagrams look the same upside down, so they are paired by swapping every yin and yang line instead: Qian and Kun, Yi and Da Guo, Kan and Li, Zhong Fu and Xiao Guo.
Seen this way, you are learning thirty-two pairs rather than sixty-four separate names.
Should beginners memorise all sixty-four?
Not at first. An easier route is to learn the eight trigrams, then practise splitting any hexagram into its upper and lower trigrams, and only then learn the names and order. Once you can split a hexagram, even an unfamiliar one tells you its two images. See how to look up a hexagram.
FAQ
- How many lines are there in all?
- Six per hexagram, 384 in total. Qian and Kun each also have an extra statement, "using nines" and "using sixes".
- What do the first two words in a name mean?
- They are the images of the upper and then the lower trigram. Water Thunder Zhun has Kan (water) above and Zhen (thunder) below.
- How are the Upper and Lower Canons divided?
- In the received text the Upper Canon is hexagrams 1 to 30 (Qian to Li) and the Lower Canon is 31 to 64 (Xian to Wei Ji).
Practise with an app
To practise these ideas, YiJian is an iPhone course that teaches the I Ching from zero, with eight interactive beginner lessons (the first three free) and illustrated guides to all sixty-four hexagrams. Casting in the app is a practice feature for checking what you have learned and reflecting on your situation; it does not make decisions for you.