Cosmological Construction and Rational Essence of the Original Functions of the *Book of Changes* Based on Divination Tracing

Section 6.3: Why Did the Divinatory Function "Overshadow the Main Guest"$46

So, if the original function of the Zhouyi was not divination, why did it later come to be primarily regarded as a book of divination$47 This question is also worth deep consideration.

The reasons may be severalfold:

First, the inertia of the shamanic-historical tradition. In ancient society, all knowledge systems related to communication between Heaven and humanity tended to be classified under the category of "shamanism." Although the Zhouyi had spiritually surpassed shamanism, its form—using yarrow, operating Shi divination, generating hexagrams—still retained many external features of shamanic rituals. Ordinary people, seeing these external forms, naturally equated it with divination.

Second, the drive of social demand. Pre-Qin society (especially the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods) was plagued by frequent wars and turbulent situations, leading to a strong psychological desire for "knowing the future." As a precise image-number system, the Zhouyi was easily borrowed as a tool for divination—because it indeed provided a complete symbolic system and operational procedure. But "can be used for divination" and "is essentially a book of divination" are two different things. A kitchen knife can be used to injure someone, but it is essentially a kitchen utensil, not a weapon.

Third, the divergence between "learning from below" and "reaching above." Confucius said: "Learning from below and reaching above." For most people, the entry point to the Zhouyi was divination—this is "learning from below." But true "reaching above" is grasping the Way of Change and cultivating the virtues of purity, tranquility, subtlety, and minuteness. Master Xunzi's statement, "The master of Yi does not divine," precisely describes the transition from "learning from below" to "reaching above." Unfortunately, most people remained at the level of "learning from below," so the divinatory function "overshadowed the main guest," obscuring the true spirit of the Zhouyi.

The Xici Zhuan itself was aware of this danger:

"The Master said, 'He who knows the Way of change, does he not know what the spirits do$48'" (子曰：“知变化之道者，其知神之所为乎！”)

"He who knows the Way of change" (知变化之道者)—only those who truly understand the Way of Change can know what "spirits" (here referring to the miraculous workings of the Way of Yi) are doing. As for those who do not understand the Way of Change$49 They can only attribute the miraculousness of Yi to the intervention of some supernatural force—this is the root of its superstitious and divinatory popularization.