Yellow River Map
The Yellow River Map, also called the Hetu, is an ancient Chinese diagram tied to myths about the invention of writing and early civilization. It’s usually shown together with the Luoshu Square and has been used in Chinese geomancy, numerology, philosophy, and early science.
The Hetu refers to the Yellow River (Huang He), a major river in China that runs about 5,464 kilometers. In ancient times its name was simply “He.” The Map is part of Chinese cosmology, often imagined as a simple 3x3 grid that links earth, heaven, and numbers.
Legends say Fu Xi created the River Map after observing nature, and it helped him develop the trigrams that later appear in the I Ching. The River Map also features in the famous flood stories of Yu the Great. In some versions, the earth goddess Houtu shows the Map to Yu and helps him redirect the river to end the floods.
The River Map is mentioned in ancient texts such as the Book of Documents, and some traditions identify it with the bagua, or eight trigrams. The I Ching references both the River Map and the Luoshu.
Scholars see the River Map as a nine-cell magic square related to the five elements and directions, though interpretations vary. James Legge noted that the earliest forms are lost and that what we have dates from the Song dynasty; he says the Map is a numerical tool linked to the Lo Shu rather than a purely supernatural artifact.
Today, Hetu also appears in the names of some places in China.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:13 (CET).