Chapter Ten: The Convergence of Six Combination Qi Transformation and Pre-Qin Philosophy

Section 1: Six Combination Qi Transformation and the Way of the Yijing

The principle of Six Combination Qi Transformation shares a profound inner connection with the core ideas of the Yijing.

I. The Way of Change

The Yijing, "Appended Statements, Part I":

"The Yijing as a book cannot be set aside; as a Way, it shifts constantly. Changing and moving without fixity, flowing through the six voids, rising and falling without constancy, firm and yielding interchanging -- it cannot be taken as definitive doctrine; it adapts only to what changes require."

"Changing and moving without fixity" -- nothing stands still for a single moment. The Six Combinations and Qi Transformation is one concrete manifestation of change -- the qi of two Earthly Branches, through combination, transforms into a new quality. This change cannot be forced by human effort; it is the natural result of Heaven and Earth's workings.

II. The Way of Mutual Resonance

The Yijing, Hexagram Xian, has been cited above. Xian is resonance, the mutual feeling of yin and yang. The "combination" of the Six Combinations is a form of mutual resonance -- Branches of different attributes (one yang, one yin) respond to each other and unite.

The Yijing, "Appended Statements, Part I":

"The Changes has the Supreme Ultimate, which gives birth to the Two Modes; the Two Modes give birth to the Four Images; the Four Images give birth to the Eight Trigrams. The Eight Trigrams determine fortune and misfortune; fortune and misfortune give birth to the great enterprise."

Supreme Ultimate -> Two Modes -> Four Images -> Eight Trigrams -> Fortune and Misfortune -> Great Enterprise. The mechanism of "Two Modes giving birth to Four Images" is precisely the combination of yin and yang. Yin and yang combine, generating Greater Yin, Lesser Yang, Lesser Yin, and Greater Yang -- the Four Images. This is of the same lineage as the mechanism of Six Combination Qi Transformation.

III. The Way of Timeliness

The Tuan commentary of the Yijing repeatedly emphasizes the importance of "timeliness" (shi):

"How great is the Primal Origin of Qian! The myriad things receive their beginnings from it... The six positions are completed in their season; riding the six dragons in their season, one drives across Heaven." (Qian)

"How great is the timeliness of Yi!" (Yi, Nourishment)

"How great is the timeliness of Daguo!" (Daguo, Great Exceeding)

"How great is the timely use of Kan!" (Kan, the Abysmal)

"How great is the timely use of Kui!" (Kui, Opposition)

"Timeliness" is one of the core concepts of the Yijing. Whether the Six Combination Qi Transformation succeeds, and whether the transformed qi is strong or weak, all depend on "timeliness" -- the seasonal conditions. When the season is right, transformation occurs; when it is wrong, transformation fails. This is the Way of "timeliness and the center" -- doing the right thing at the right time.

IV. The Way of Simplicity

The Yijing, "Appended Statements, Part I":

"Qian by ease gives knowledge; Kun by simplicity gives capability. Ease leads to easy understanding; simplicity leads to easy following. Easy understanding brings closeness; easy following brings accomplishment. Closeness enables endurance; accomplishment enables greatness. Endurance is the virtue of the worthy; greatness is the work of the worthy. Through ease and simplicity, the pattern of all under heaven is grasped. When the pattern of all under heaven is grasped, one takes one's place at its center."

The Six Combinations and Qi Transformation may appear complex, but its fundamental principle is supremely simple -- yin and yang combine to transform qi, and that is all. One yang and one yin combine, generating new qi. This is the simplest and yet most profound law between Heaven and Earth. Precisely because it is simple, it can "endure" and "become great" -- this law applies across all times and spaces, eternally unchanging.

Section 2: Six Combination Qi Transformation and the Way of the Most High (Laozi)

Chapter 42 of the Most High (Laozi) has been cited above:

"The Dao gives birth to the One; the One gives birth to the Two; the Two gives birth to the Three; the Three gives birth to the myriad things. The myriad things carry yin on their backs and embrace yang; through the blending of qi they achieve harmony."

This passage is the highest philosophical summary of Six Combination Qi Transformation:

• "The One gives birth to the Two" -- the Supreme Ultimate generates yin and yang; the twelve Earthly Branches divide into yin and yang branches.
• "The Two gives birth to the Three" -- yin and yang combine to transform qi ("through the blending of qi they achieve harmony"); this "Three" is the newly generated qi.
• "The Three gives birth to the myriad things" -- new qi flows forth and all things are born therefrom.

The Six Combinations and Qi Transformation is the concrete manifestation of "the Two giving birth to the Three" -- each combination of an yin and a yang Branch generates a new Phase of qi (or the qi of Sun and Moon). This new qi is neither yin, nor yang, nor a simple sum of yin and yang, but an entirely new product of yin and yang blended in harmony. This is the meaning of "the Three."

The Most High (Laozi), Chapter 2:

"Being and non-being give rise to each other; difficult and easy complete each other; long and short define each other; high and low incline toward each other; tone and sound harmonize with each other; before and after follow each other."

"Being and non-being give rise to each other" -- this is the fundamental mechanism of all things' generation. The two Branches of a Six Combination, one is "being" (yang Branch, yang qi manifest), one is "non-being" (yin Branch, yin qi latent). Being and non-being combine, and generation occurs.

"Tone and sound harmonize with each other" -- this accords precisely with the pitch-pipe theory discussed in the previous chapter. Yang pitches and yin pitches harmonize, producing consonance. This consonance is the acoustic expression of qi transformation.

Section 3: Six Combination Qi Transformation and the Way of Master Zhuang (Zhuangzi)

Master Zhuang does not directly discuss Six Combination Qi Transformation, yet his philosophy of "transformation" (hua) is deeply consonant with its principle.

Master Zhuang, "Discussion on Making All Things Equal":

"Heaven and Earth were born together with me, and the myriad things and I are one."

Master Zhuang, "Free and Easy Wandering" (Xiaoyao You):

"In the northern darkness there is a fish; its name is Kun. The Kun is of an unknown number of thousands of li in size. It transforms into a bird; its name is Peng."

The Kun transforms into the Peng -- this "transformation" is qualitative change, is a leap, is sublimation. The "transformation" in Six Combination Qi Transformation carries the same meaning -- the qi of the Earthly Branches, through combination, undergoes qualitative change, transforming into entirely new qi.

Master Zhuang, "The Great Ancestral Teacher":

"When the springs dry up and the fish are left stranded on the ground, they moisten each other with damp breath, wet each other with spittle -- but this is not as good as forgetting each other in rivers and lakes."

"Moistening each other with damp breath, wetting each other with spittle" -- this is the image of two creatures mutually sustaining each other. The two Branches of a Six Combination likewise sustain and fulfill each other -- Zi with Chou, Yin with Hai, Mao with Xu... Yet "this is not as good as forgetting each other in rivers and lakes" -- the highest combination is not attachment to "combination" but transcendence through transformation. After Zi-Chou combine to transform into Earth, the original natures of Zi and Chou disappear; only Earth qi remains. This is the state of "forgetting each other in rivers and lakes."

Master Zhuang, "The Great Ancestral Teacher":

"The Great Clod burdens me with form, labors me with life, eases me with old age, and rests me with death. Therefore, what makes my life good is what makes my death good also."

"The Great Clod" is the great Earth. "The Great Clod burdens me with form" -- Earth bears and carries all things' bodily forms. Zi-Chou combining to transform into Earth embodies precisely this: all things returning to the earth, the earth bearing all things. And "what makes my life good is what makes my death good" -- to understand life well is to understand death well. The Zi-month brings the birth of yang (life), and the Chou-month sustains it (the return and storing after death). Life and death contain each other, both held within Earth's embrace.

Section 4: Six Combination Qi Transformation and the Way of the Guanzi

The Guanzi represents a synthesis of Legalist, Strategist, and Daoist thought from the pre-Qin era. Its discussions of the Five Phases and yin-yang are closely related to Six Combination Qi Transformation.

The Guanzi, "Chapter on the Four Seasons" (Sishi Pian):

"Therefore spring: yang qi first rises, and all things are born. Summer: yang qi finishes rising, and all things grow. Autumn: yin qi first descends, and all things are gathered. Winter: yin qi finishes descending, and all things are stored."

This passage uses the rise and fall of yin and yang to explain the four seasons: in spring yang first rises (things are born), in summer yang completes its rise (things grow), in autumn yin first descends (things are gathered), in winter yin completes its descent (things are stored).

Comparing this with the Six Combination Qi Transformations:

• Zi-Chou transform into Earth (winter): yin qi finishes descending; Earth consolidates and stores -- things are stored within the earth
• Yin-Hai transform into Wood (late winter/early spring): yang qi first rises; Wood qi sprouts -- things are about to be born
• Mao-Xu transform into Fire (mid-spring/late autumn): yang qi ascending, transforming into radiance -- things' growth requires light and heat
• Chen-You transform into Metal (late spring/mid-autumn): things move from profusion to concentration -- yang's rise and yin's beginning
• Si-Shen transform into Water (early summer/early autumn): yang finishes rising and yin first descends -- extreme yang transforms into Water
• Wu-Wei transform into Sun and Moon (around the summer solstice): the extreme of yin and yang -- Sun and Moon in splendor

This comparison reveals the precise correspondence between Six Combination Qi Transformation and the four seasons' yin-yang rise and fall. The Six Combinations are not fabricated from nothing but the natural reflection of the four seasons' yin-yang dynamics.

Section 5: Six Combination Qi Transformation and the Perspectives of the Mohists and Logicians

Among the pre-Qin philosophers, the Mohists valued practicality and the Logicians valued logical analysis. The doctrine of Six Combination Qi Transformation takes on different aspects when viewed through these two lenses.

The Mohist perspective:

The Mozi, "Canon, Part I" (Jing Shang):

"Force is what causes form to move."

The Mozi, "Exposition of the Canon, Part I" (Jing Shuo Shang):

"Force means weight. Downward, lifting, weight -- downward."

The Mohists emphasized the concept of "force" -- force is the cause of bodily motion. If we view Six Combination Qi Transformation through Mohist eyes, "combination" is the convergence of two forces, and "qi transformation" is the resultant effect of their convergence. Forces of different directions and different natures converge to produce a new resultant force -- this is the physical explanation of qi transformation.

The Logician perspective:

Master Zhuang, "Under Heaven" (Tianxia Pian), records the words of Hui Shi:

"The ultimately great has nothing outside it -- this is called the Great Unity. The ultimately small has nothing inside it -- this is called the Small Unity."

And:

"The sun at its zenith is already declining; a thing at the moment of birth is already dying."

The Logicians excelled at analyzing the contradiction and unity of concepts. The "conquest within combination" and "transformation through combination into something other" found in Six Combination Qi Transformation are precisely the kind of cases of dialectical unity that the Logicians investigated. Zi is Water, Chou is Earth; Water and Earth conquer each other -- this is the contradiction. Yet Zi and Chou can combine -- this is the unity. Their combination transforms into Earth -- this is the new product born from the resolution of contradiction. The dialectical thinking of the Logicians is perfectly suited to analyzing the logical structure of Six Combination Qi Transformation.