Have you ever had this experience — you decide to learn Plum Blossom Numerology (Meihua Yishu), buy the books, watch the videos, and then get stuck at the very first step: the tools for casting a hexagram.
Search online and eight out of ten tutorials will tell you: use Qianlong coins, three of them, the older the better. You rummage through every drawer in the house and can't find a single copper coin. You head to the antiques market and find out that a decent Qianlong coin goes for tens to hundreds of yuan apiece — three of them, and you've already spent a few hundred.
Then the doubts start creeping in: you haven't even cast your first hexagram, and you're already spending money. And what if the coins turn out to be fakes?
People ask me this in the back end all the time: "Teacher, do I really have to use Qianlong coins for Plum Blossom Numerology (Meihua Yishu)? I only have one-yuan coins — will those work?"
Today, let's settle this once and for all.
Why Qianlong Coins Are So Highly Regarded
Let's start with the Qianlong coin itself — what makes it special.
Since the Qing dynasty, Qianlong coins have been an extremely popular choice for Coin Casting. There are a few layers of reason for this.
The first layer is about the coin's physical form.
Copper coins are round on the outside and square in the center, with the emperor's reign title inscribed around the hole. Ancient thinkers spoke of "heaven being round and earth being square" — the round rim symbolizes heaven, the square hole symbolizes earth, and the characters in between represent humanity. Hold one of these coins and you have Heaven, Earth, and Humanity — the Three Powers — united in your hand. Casting a hexagram with it, in the ancient view, meant communicating with heaven and earth. That framing carried real weight.
The second layer is about the character "Qian" (乾).
The first of the sixty-four hexagrams in the I Ching is Qian — representing heaven, the ruler, and the father, the very head of all sixty-four. The word "Qian" (乾) appears right on the Qianlong coin, aligning it perfectly with the Qian hexagram. Ancient practitioners saw this as a good omen, and using the coin felt reassuring.
The third layer is about availability and quality.
Qianlong reigned for a full sixty years, and an enormous number of coins were minted — they survive in large quantities and are relatively easy to find. Coins from that era also tend to be thick, well-made, and consistent in size and weight, which makes them comfortable to hold and handle.
There is also a widespread claim that the copper-to-lead ratio of Qianlong coins is ideal for casting hexagrams. This theory has circulated widely, but honestly, no one can say with certainty whether there is any real basis for it.
Look at all these reasons together and you'll notice: the reverence for Qianlong coins is really a combination of cultural psychology and historical habit — not a claim that the coins themselves possess some supernatural power.
The Core of Plum Blossom Numerology Has Never Been About the Coin
Here's the honest truth: Plum Blossom Numerology (Meihua Yishu) has never specified that any particular coin must be used.
Plum Blossom Numerology was founded by Shao Yong of the Northern Song dynasty — several hundred years before Qianlong was even born. The coins Shao Yong's contemporaries used were Song dynasty coins, Tang dynasty coins, whatever was in circulation at the time. Qianlong coins simply didn't exist.
If Qianlong coins were truly required, Shao Yong himself wouldn't have been able to cast a single hexagram. That logic obviously doesn't hold.
In fact, the methods for casting a hexagram in Plum Blossom Numerology are remarkably flexible: time-based casting, number-based casting, direction-based casting, sound-based casting, object-based casting — the list goes on. Coin Casting is just one method among many, and arguably the most mechanical of the lot.
What is the essence of Coin Casting? It is using a randomly generated combination of yin and yang to simulate the constant flux of heaven and earth. The coin is just a vehicle. What truly matters is the focus and intent you bring to the cast.
As the ancients put it: "Before a thought arises, even spirits cannot know it." Whether your mind is present and concentrated — that is what determines whether a reading is accurate. Whether the coin is from the Qianlong era or the Republic of China, whether it is copper or steel, comes a very distant second.
Can Modern Coins Actually Be Used?
Yes. Not just "can" — they work perfectly well.
The only difference between a modern coin and an antique copper coin is its form, not its function.
Cast a hexagram with three one-yuan coins and the process is identical to casting with three Qianlong coins. The only thing missing is the square hole and the reign-title inscription. But the logic of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity — the Three Powers — lives in your mind, not on the face of the coin.
In practice, how do you tell yin from yang with a modern coin? Simple: the side showing the denomination (the number face) is heads; the side with the national emblem or floral design is tails. Toss all three six times, count how many tails come up each time, and your hexagram is built.
As for denomination — one yuan, five jiao, one jiao, all fine. The key is that all three coins must match. Same denomination, same size, same material. Mixing a one-yuan coin with a five-jiao and a one-jiao coin is not ideal — different weights and thicknesses affect the randomness of the toss.
Some people specifically recommend the five-jiao coin with the plum blossom design, saying it feels right in the hand and the image is crisp. That's a reasonable preference, but the bottom line remains: as long as all three coins match and the material is consistent, any coin will do.
Going Deeper — Plum Blossom Numerology Doesn't Even Need Coins
At this point, someone might ask: what if I don't have any coins at all? I've got my phone — can I still cast a hexagram?
Yes.
The real power of Plum Blossom Numerology lies in what the tradition calls "taking omens from whatever is at hand" — you use what is around you.
A slip of paper? Works. A handful of soybeans? Works. A few pebbles? Also works.
You don't even need to pick anything up. Call out two numbers and you have a hexagram. Glance at the time and you have a hexagram. Hear someone speaking outside and you have a hexagram.
This is the true scope of Plum Blossom Numerology: there is no object that cannot serve as the basis for divination.
Once you understand that, will you still agonize over whether you have a Qianlong coin?
So Why Do Some People Still Insist on Qianlong Coins?
After all that — "modern coins work," "paper slips work," "stones work" — you may still feel uneasy: will a hexagram cast with a modern coin be less accurate than one cast with a Qianlong coin?
That question has two sides.
On principle, no.
The accuracy of a reading depends on whether your mind is focused and sincere at the moment of casting. The tool is just a tool. A painter can produce a masterpiece with an expensive brush or a cheap one; what matters is the hand and the eye. Some practitioners have worked with worn, mismatched old copper coins their whole lives and still read with great precision. Ask them why, and they'll say: "I'm just used to these." That is what you might call a personal resonance — an ease and familiarity built between the practitioner and their instrument. Switching disrupts it more than it helps.
Psychologically, it might make a difference.
If you are convinced that modern coins are "unofficial" or "unreliable," that doubt will scatter your focus during the cast. A scattered mind produces an impure hexagram — and an impure hexagram is less likely to read true. In that case, the coin isn't the problem; your confidence is.
So: if Qianlong coins are available and using them puts you at ease, use them. If they aren't available, modern coins are equally valid. The deciding factor is your own belief.
A Few Straight Words for Those Starting to Learn Plum Blossom Numerology
First: the tool is secondary; the mental approach is primary.
Don't spend too much energy on the instrument. Qianlong coins, one-yuan coins, slips of paper — they are all just devices for generating a random yin-yang combination. What brings a hexagram to life is the concentration and sincerity you bring to the cast.
Second: don't let "must use X" claims lead you astray.
This field is full of them — "must use Qianlong coins," "only the Zi hour counts," "must follow the lunar calendar." Most of these claims are folklore that has been passed down uncritically, with no solid theoretical grounding. When you study Plum Blossom Numerology, learn to distinguish core principles from surface detail.
Third: start with the simplest approach.
If you're a beginner, don't rush out to hunt for antique coins. Pick up three matching coins, find a quiet moment, make one cast, and feel the process. Once the casting feels natural and your readings start to click, then consider whether to change your tools. By that point, you'll probably find — it doesn't matter what you use.
Plum Blossom Numerology is fundamentally about image (xiang) and number (shu). The images are woven into heaven and earth; the numbers live within your own mind. A copper coin, a modern coin, a slip of paper — each of them is simply a way to draw out the number that is already inside you.
Don't let a single coin block your way into Plum Blossom Numerology (Meihua Yishu).
Articles in this column are for cultural and educational purposes only and do not constitute life advice.