Chapter 5: The Daoist Perspective: The Common Origin of Yi and Dao

Section 5.1: Laozi's "Dao" and the Yi's "Taiji"

The relationship between Laozi's (老子) teachings and the Zhouyi is one of the most profound topics in pre-Qin philosophy. Although Laozi never directly discussed the Zhouyi, the worldview implicit in the Daodejing (道德经) exhibits a surprising structural similarity to the fundamental spirit of the Zhouyi.

The Daodejing, Chapter 42, states:

"The Dao gave birth to One; One gave birth to Two; Two gave birth to Three; Three gave birth to the myriad things. The myriad things carry Yin and embrace Yang, and through the blending of qi (气, vital energy), they achieve harmony." (道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。万物负阴而抱阳，冲气以为和。)

The Xici Zhuan (Part Upper) states:

"The Yi has the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji), which generates the Two Modes (Liangyi). The Two Modes generate the Four Images (Si Xiang). The Four Images generate the Eight Trigrams (Ba Gua)." (易有太极，是生两仪，两仪生四象，四象生八卦。)

The structure of these two passages is parallel: Dao → One → Two → Three → Myriad Things; Taiji → Two Modes → Four Images → Eight Trigrams → Myriad Things. Both "Dao" and "Taiji" point to that primordial unity, the source of all transformations, the gate of all mysteries—that original unified entity before all differentiation and change occurred.

But what deserves deeper contemplation is the phrase "through the blending of qi, they achieve harmony" (冲气以为和). The way of existence of the myriad things is "carrying Yin and embracing Yang"—Yin and Yang are not in opposition but in fusion, not in conflict but in harmony. This is precisely the fundamental principle of the sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi: each hexagram is a specific combination of Yin and Yang lines. There is no purely Yin or purely Yang (except for the Qian and Kun hexagrams), and the different proportions and arrangements of Yin and Yang constitute the infinite diversity of all things and all affairs.

Why does Laozi emphasize "through the blending of qi, they achieve harmony"$37 Because the relationship between Yin and Yang is not one of struggle, but of coordination. This is completely consistent with the core spirit of the Zhouyi—the Xici Zhuan states:

"One Yin and one Yang is called the Dao." (一阴一阳之谓道。)

Not "Yang overcoming Yin is called auspicious, Yin overcoming Yang is called inauspicious," but "One Yin and one Yang is called the Dao"—the interplay of Yin and Yang itself is the Dao. The Dao is not in Yin, nor in Yang, but in the interplay and movement of Yin and Yang.

The depth of this insight far surpasses the scope of divination. Divination concerns itself with "Is this matter Yin or Yang, auspicious or inauspicious$38"—it requires a clear binary judgment. But "One Yin and one Yang is called the Dao" reveals the fundamental truth that transcends binary opposition: Yin and Yang are not ends in themselves, change is the essence; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are not fixed labels, but states that change with the times.

Section 5.2: Laozi's Discussion of "Returning" (Fan) and the Yi's "Revival" (Fu)

Another core concept in Laozi's thought—"return" (反, fan)—also deeply resonates with the fundamental spirit of the Zhouyi.

The Daodejing, Chapter 40, states:

"Returning is the movement of the Dao. Weakness is the function of the Dao. All things under Heaven are born from Being; Being is born from Non-being." (反者道之动，弱者道之用。天下万物生于有，有生于无。)

"Returning is the movement of the Dao" (反者道之动)—the Dao's mode of movement is "return": transformation towards its opposite. This is completely consistent with the principle of "when things reach their extreme, they turn around" in the Zhouyi. The very arrangement of the sixty-four hexagrams embodies this law: after Qian comes Kun, after Tai comes Pi (否), after Jiji (既济) comes Weiji (未济)—after every extreme state, there is inevitably a turning towards its opposite.

And the Fu (复, Revival) hexagram is a concentrated embodiment of this idea. The Fu hexagram's image is Thunder below Earth (☷ above ☳ below), with one Yang line at the bottom beneath five Yin lines, symbolizing the nascent Yang energy beginning to return after extreme Yin. The Tuan Zhuan (彖传, Judgment) states:

"Fu, does it not reveal the heart of Heaven and Earth!" (复，其见天地之心乎！)

"The heart of Heaven and Earth" (天地之心)—the depth of this concept is staggering. What is the "heart" of Heaven and Earth$39 Not static eternity, but the ceaseless revival and renewal. At the winter solstice, the first Yang returns, and all things begin a new cycle of growth—this is the heart of Heaven and Earth.

Why is this important$40 Because "Revival" (Fu) reveals not a "turn for the better, auspicious" in the sense of divination, but a cosmological "change will never cease, every end is a new beginning." This is a philosophical understanding of the essence of life, not a predictive judgment of specific events.

Laozi said:

"Attain the utmost emptiness, maintain the utmost stillness. The myriad things grow together, and I observe their return. Though things are abundant, each returns to its root. Returning to the root is called stillness. Stillness is called returning to destiny. Returning to destiny is called the constant. Knowing the constant is called enlightenment." (致虚极，守静笃。万物并作，吾以观复。夫物芸芸，各复归其根。归根曰静，静曰复命。复命曰常，知常曰明。)

"I observe their return" (吾以观复)—I use this to observe the law of the return of the myriad things. "Returning to the root is called stillness. Stillness is called returning to destiny" (归根曰静，静曰复命)—Returning to the root is called "stillness," stillness is called "returning to destiny." "Knowing the constant is called enlightenment" (知常曰明)—Understanding this constant law is called "enlightenment."

How similar this is to the spirit of "observing images" (观象) in the Zhouyi! Laozi "observes the return" (观复), and the sages "observe images" (观象)—both are about gaining understanding of the fundamental laws of the cosmos by calmly observing the operational principles of Heaven, Earth, and all things. This is not divination, but enlightenment of the Way.

Section 5.3: Zhuangzi's Statement on "Yi Expresses the Way of Yin and Yang"

The positioning of the function of the Zhouyi by Master Zhuangzi (庄子) leaves behind a profoundly important statement. In the "Tianxia" (天下) chapter of Zhuangzi, when discussing ancient scholarship, it states:

"The Shi expresses aspirations; the Shu expresses affairs; the Li expresses conduct; the Yue expresses harmony; the Yi expresses the Way of Yin and Yang; the Chun Qiu expresses distinctions of names." (《诗》以道志，《书》以道事，《礼》以道行，《乐》以道和，《易》以道阴阳，《春秋》以道名分。)

"The Yi expresses the Way of Yin and Yang" (《易》以道阴阳)—the function of the Yi is to expound the Way of Yin and Yang and its changes.

Please note, Master Zhuangzi does not say here "The Yi expresses good or ill fortune," nor "The Yi expresses divination," but "expresses the Way of Yin and Yang." "Expresses" (以道) here functions as a verb, meaning "to speak of," "to expound," "to reveal."

What is Yin and Yang$41 Yin and Yang are the fundamental laws governing the operation of all things under Heaven and Earth—the alternation of day and night, the passage of cold and heat, the rise and fall of hardness and softness, the cycle of life and death; behind all change are the interactions of Yin and Yang. "Expresses the Way of Yin and Yang" means revealing this fundamental law.

Master Zhuangzi juxtaposes the Yi with the Shi, Shu, Li, Yue, and Chun Qiu, assigning a core function to each classic. Shi expresses aspirations, Shu records affairs, Li guides conduct, Yue achieves harmony, Chun Qiu rectifies names—none of these functions is "divination." The function of the Yi, "expresses the Way of Yin and Yang," is also not divination, but revealing the fundamental laws of cosmic change.

This is the definitive positioning of the original function of the Zhouyi by pre-Qin Daoism: The Yi is a book of Yin-Yang philosophy.

Section 5.4: "Spirits Have No Fixed Abode, and the Yi Has No Fixed Form" — The Metaphysical Dimension of the Yi

In the Xici Zhuan (Part Upper), there is a profoundly deep statement that is often overlooked:

"Spirits have no fixed abode, and the Yi has no fixed form." (神无方而易无体。)

"Spirits have no fixed abode" (神无方)—miraculous changes are not confined to any fixed direction; "the Yi has no fixed form" (易无体)—the Way of Yi has no fixed form.

This statement directly denies the possibility of fixing the Zhouyi to any specific use (including divination). If "the Yi has no fixed form," then defining the Yi as a "book of divination" is precisely imposing a "form" upon it, isn't it$42 The essence of the Yi is fluid, open, and infinite—it can be used for divination, but also for self-cultivation, governing the state, observing images, and making artifacts, yet it is not equivalent to any single specific application.

Laozi said:

"The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name." (道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。)

Zhuangzi said:

"The Dao cannot be heard, for what is heard is not it; the Dao cannot be seen, for what is seen is not it; the Dao cannot be spoken, for what is spoken is not it. Do you understand the formless nature of form$43 The Dao should not be named." (道不可闻，闻而非也；道不可见，见而非也；道不可言，言而非也。知形形之不形乎？道不当名。) (Zhuangzi, "Zhi Bei You" chapter)

"The Dao should not be named" (道不当名)—the Dao should not be fixed by any name. Similarly, "the Yi has no fixed form" (易无体)—the Yi should not be limited by any fixed definition of function.

To understand the Zhouyi merely as a book of divination is precisely a "formed" understanding—it compresses the infinite Way of Yi into a finite tool. But the original spirit of the Zhouyi is precisely formless, infinite, and open to all possibilities.