Dùnjiǎ yǎnyì 遁甲演義
Elaborated Meaning of the Hidden-Trunk [Divinatory System] by 程道生 (Chéng Dàoshēng, late Míng, zhuàn 撰)
About the work
A 4-juan systematic exposition of the Dùnjiǎ 遁甲 (Hidden-Trunk) cosmological-divinatory tradition — one of the Sānshì 三式 (Three-Form) divination systems of late-imperial Chinese practice (alongside Tàiyī KR3g0047 and Liùrén KR3g0031). The methodology is named “Hidden-Trunk” because the jiǎ (1st heavenly-trunk) is conceived as concealed-and-not-displayed, with the operational liùyí (six-instruments) — yǐ, bǐng, dīng, wù, jǐ and others — derived from the concealed jiǎ.
The 提要 traces the Dùnjiǎ historical genealogy:
- The methodology’s foundational structure is the jiǔgōng (nine-palace) — derived from the Yìwěi Qiánzáo dù’s “Tàiyī moves through the nine palaces” doctrine
- Hàn-period Wǔxíngjiā literature lists only Fēnggǔ liùjiǎ, Fēnghòu gūxū — no clear Dùnjiǎ reference
- Liáng Jiǎnwéndì’s Yuèfǔ poem first contains sānmén yìng dùnjiǎ phrase
- The Chénshū Wǔdì jì uses dùnjiǎ by name — by Chén dynasty (557-589) the methodology was institutionally recognized
- Suí zhì lists 13 dùnjiǎ references (Wǔ Zǐxū, Xìndū Fāng, Gé Mì 葛祕 Sānyuán dùnjiǎ tú, etc.) — all lost
- Tang Lǐ Jìng (Lǐ Wèigōng) Dùnjiǎ wànyī jué, Hú Qián 胡乾 Dùnjiǎ jīng — also lost
- Sòng Rénzōng commissioned the Jǐngyòu yuèsuí xīnjīng covering Liùrén + Dùnjiǎ; Yáng Wéidé 楊維德 Dùnjiǎ yùhán fúyìng jīng — actively practiced
- After the Jìngkāng (1126-27) Guō Jīng 郭京 (the Sòng yāowàng “demonic-deceptive” general who claimed to be able to summon spirits to repel the Jīn invaders) brought dùnjiǎ into political-disrepute
- Subsequent admixture of Daoist fúlù (talisman-and-register) practice further degraded the system
- By the late-imperial period, Liùrén had become more popular while Dùnjiǎ nearly disappeared
The 提要 commends Chéng Dàoshēng’s revival of the Dùnjiǎ tradition: through his work the foundational methodology is preserved, with the post-Sòng degradations stripped away to recover the substantive technical content. The 提要’s verdict: “The most-with-principled-and-cause among the fāngjì [techniques and arts]“.
For the parallel Sānshì divinatory works, see KR3g0031 Liùrén dàquán and KR3g0047 Tàiyī jīnjìng shìjīng. For Chéng Dàoshēng’s biography, see 程道生.
Tiyao
[Full text in source file. Dated Qiánlóng 46 (1781).]