This concept refers to the outcomes of events that have different impacts on individuals, where positive outcomes are considered auspicious and negative outcomes are regarded as inauspicious. This classification is also applied to things that may lead to good or harmful results, or things that are good or harmful in nature. For example, weddings are seen as auspicious ceremonies, while funerals are viewed as inauspicious ceremonies. People generally strive for auspiciousness and try to avoid inauspiciousness. Consequently, they continuously explore the factors that contribute to these states and have developed different interpretations.

The sages created the systems of eight trigrams and 64 hexagrams to observe images. Texts are attached to all hexagrams and hexagram lines to predict auspicious events or disasters, and changes thus occur through the interaction between what is hard and what is soft. (The Book of Changes)

Nature’s ways are constant. They did not exist because Yao was on the throne or disappear because Jie was the ruler. By employing reasonable measures to deal with them, auspicious outcomes will be generated. However, if unreasonable measures are used to respond to them, it will lead to inauspicious results. (xunzi)