Probing the Dao of Xian: A Philosophical Investigation of the Way of Husband and Wife and the Root of Human Relations in the Xian Hexagram of the Yijing
This article offers an in-depth reading of the core proposition concerning the Xian (Influence/Resonance) hexagram of the Yijing: 'The Xian of the Yi reveals husband and wife. The way of husband and wife must not be left uncorrected, for it is the root of ruler-minister and father-son relations.' It systematically examines the hexagram's position in the structure of the Yi, the etymological relationship between xian and gan (resonance), and analyzes how 'the soft above and the firm below' embodies the principle of yin-yang sympathetic resonance and its foundational significance for pre-Qin ethical order.
Bibliography of Cited Texts (Pre-Qin Classics)
- Yijing (Book of Changes) -- including the canonical text and the Ten Wings: Tuanzhuan, Xiangzhuan, Xicizhuan, Wenyanzhuan, Shuoguazhuan, Xuguazhuan, Zaguazhuan
- Shangshu (Book of Documents) -- including the "Yao Dian," "Shun Dian," "Da Yu Mo," "Hongfan," "Mu Shi," and other chapters
- Shijing (Book of Songs) -- including portions of the "Zhou Nan," "Zhao Nan," "Bei Feng," "Wei Feng," "Xiao Ya," "Da Ya," and other sections
- Lunyu (Analects)
- Mengzi (Mencius)
- Xunzi -- including the "Da Lue," "Tian Lun," "Li Lun," "Jie Bi," and other chapters
- Laozi (Daodejing)
- Zhuangzi -- including the "Qi Wu Lun," "Ren Jian Shi," "Tian Dao," "Zhi Bei You," and other chapters
- Zuozhuan (Commentary of Zuo)
- Guoyu (Discourses of the States) -- including the "Jin Yu," "Lu Yu," "Zheng Yu," and other sections
- Liji (Record of Rites) -- including the "Hunyi," "Neize," "Yueji," "Zhongyong," "Daxue," "Jiyi," "Quli," "Jiao Te Sheng," "Ai Gong Wen," and other chapters (whose intellectual origins lie in the pre-Qin period)
- Yili (Book of Etiquette and Rites) -- including the "Shi Hunli" and other chapters
- Guanzi -- including the "Neiye" and other chapters
- Hanfeizi
- Mozi -- including the "Jian Ai" chapters
- Lushi Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Lu) -- including the "You Shi Lan," "Zhong Chun Ji," "Shou Shi," "Gui Yin," and other chapters
- Zhanguo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States) -- including the "Yan Ce" and other chapters
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Author: Xuanji Editorial Board
Word count: over fifty thousand words
This article takes pre-Qin classics as its foundation and the horizons of high antiquity as its frame, striving for thorough documentation and accessibility. All quotations in the text are drawn from pre-Qin (including late Warring States) classics, strictly adhering to the principle of not invoking information from the Han dynasty onward. Throughout the essay, the question "why" is repeatedly asked and answered on the basis of pre-Qin texts, so that the reader may apprehend, between the lines, the far-reaching wisdom of the ancient sages.