The philosophical thought of the ancients from the perspective of the Eight Diagrams: “Following the laws of heaven and earth”
Ancient people read maps with south at the top and north at the bottom. Modern people read maps with north at the top and south at the bottom. This is a difference between ancient and modern times, so you need to pay special attention to it.
Understanding Fuxi's Eight Trigrams
I. Pronunciation of the Eight Trigrams
qián duì lí zhèn
Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen
Xùn kǎn gèn kūn
Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun
II. Meaning of the Eight Trigrams
"Qian" represents "heaven" and also the direction "south"; "Kun" represents "earth" and also the direction "north." For example, "south of the sky, north of the earth."
"Dui" represents "marsh" and also the direction "southeast"; and so on.
Li represents fire and east; Zhen represents thunder and northeast;
Gen represents mountain and northwest; Kan represents water and west; Xun represents wind and southwest.