In the early 1930s the Chinese scholar Liu Zihua, then 27 years of age, who was in France on a work-study program, used the Eight Diagrams (without recourse to Newton's theory of gravity), to forecast the existence of the 10th planet of the solar system. He wrote a thesis entitled "The Eight Diagrams Theory of the Universe and Modern Astronomy", which won him the French national doctorate in 1938 and shook up the world of astronomy.
The Chinese picture of the Ultimate and the Eight Diagrams is still being studied by some Western scholars as a source of ancient science. It is certainly an important heritage of Chinese science and culture, though, at times, it was used for divination and other superstitious activities.
Bagua Zhang
Bagua Zhang is a form of traditional Chinese internal martial arts with extraordinarily unique characteristics that make it a valuable art in the world of martial arts. It originated 160 years ago and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Bagua conditions the body, mind and spirit with an emphasis on alternating fast and slow movements. Master Dong Haichuan was its founder and main propagator.
Bagua Zhang is also a form of energy cultivation that manifests itself from the wuji state of primordial consciousness. From the primordial consciousness the taiji wheel turns, generating the realms of form with eight characteristics called trigrams. There are four cardinal and intermediate patterns of qi flow and each pattern has a direction, age, color, symbol, mantra, mudra, channel, point, form, add infintum ... and palm changes.
Bagua Zhang is practiced by walking in a continual circular motion, gathering all of the energies of the eight directions; the eight palm changes create circles within the circles like the planets of the solar system rotating and revolving at the same time. Once practitioners can perform all of the eight palm changes their channels become open and they can connect with the energies of the eight directions and develop their own unique style based on their own set of circumstances and interactions with the variable energies of others who enter the Bagua sphere.
Bagua Zhang is one of the three major internal styles of Chinese martial arts. It is more vigorous and physically demanding than its sister arts Taiji Quan and Qigong . The forms and postures incorporate many low-squatting stances and specialize in twisting and turning the waist, inguinal folds, legs and arms.
