Da Liu Ren: The Three Plates (大六壬三盤)
Da Liu Ren (大六壬, Great Six Ren) is one of the Three Styles (三式) of Chinese divination — the most complete system for individual divination questions with detailed temporal and situational precision. At the core of the Da Liu Ren chart structure are three overlapping conceptual plates.
Heaven Plate (天盤)
The upper plate representing celestial forces, divine timing, and the Yang aspect of any situation. The Heaven Plate 'rotates' over the Earth Plate — the key innovation of Da Liu Ren is that the Heaven plate's position changes with the hour of inquiry, making every reading time-sensitive and dynamically responsive to the moment of question. The Heaven plate position is calculated from the exact date and hour of the inquiry, linking the divination directly to the current cosmic configuration.
Earth Plate (地盤)
The fixed lower plate representing earthly conditions, physical situations, and the Yin aspect. The twelve Earthly Branches on the Earth Plate are fixed in their standard positions, corresponding to the twelve compass directions. The Earth Plate provides the stable reference grid against which the rotating Heaven Plate is read.
Human Plate (人盤)
The middle layer representing the human situation — the querent's circumstances, social context, and the dynamic interplay between Heaven and Earth. The Human Plate is derived from the combination of Heaven and Earth Plate positions — it is the interpretive synthesis layer where celestial forces meet concrete earthly circumstances in the querent's life.
The Three Powers Framework
The three plates embody the Three Powers (三才) framework — the same structure found throughout the Five Arts system. Heaven (Tian) governs timing and divine forces; Earth (Di) governs location and physical conditions; Human (Ren) governs the situation as experienced by the person. Da Liu Ren divination simultaneously reads all three levels, providing a complete picture of the cosmic-spatial-human situation at the moment of inquiry.