Xunzi's 'Jiebi' (Dispelling Obscuration): On the Wholeness of the Dao, Cognitive Limitation, and the Blessing of Unobscured Vision
This article offers an in-depth reading of the 'Jiebi' chapter of the Xunzi, exploring the cognitive roots of the 'calamity of obscuration' among the pre-Qin thinkers. Through an analysis of 'the Dao embodies constancy and encompasses all change,' it reveals the predicament of human cognition clinging to 'a single corner,' and elucidates the transcendent value of Confucius's 'benevolence and wisdom, unobscured,' with the aim of understanding how to overcome cognitive bias.
Chapter Fifteen: "Obscuration" and "Brightness" — From Ming Yi to "Jiebi"
The Ming Yi (Brightness Wounded) hexagram — fire beneath the earth, brightness obscured — corresponds to the state of "obscuration." Its inverse, the Jin (Advance) hexagram — fire above the earth, brightness shining forth — corresponds to "unobscured vision." The passage from Ming Yi to Jin is the passage from "obscuration" to "brightness."
The Image Commentary on Jin says: "Brightness emerges above the earth: Advance. The exemplary person thereby makes his bright virtue shine forth of itself." "Dispelling obscuration" is ultimately a process of self-awakening — the Daxue opens: "The Way of the Great Learning lies in making bright virtue shine forth."
Throughout the Book of Changes, the themes of "obscuration" and "openness" recur: the Meng hexagram (ignorance and enlightenment), Tai and Pi (openness and blockage), Ge (revolution — removing old biases), Guan (contemplation — progressing from partial to comprehensive observation).