The Essence of the 'Great Treatise A': A Philosophical Inquiry into the Gentleman's Establishment of Life and the Order of the *Yi*
This article deeply interprets the core proposition from the 'Great Treatise A'—'That which the gentleman dwells in and finds peace is the order of the *Yi*.' It examines how the gentleman, by internalizing the Way of Heaven and Earth and utilizing the *Book of Changes* as the foundation for establishing his life, achieves a state of 'auspiciousness without detriment' through observing the images and contemplating the textual explanations, situated within the Pre-Qin context and the Confucian tradition.
General Preface
The Book of Changes (Zhou Yi 周易) draws its origins from the wisdom of Fuxi (伏羲), who observed the heavens above and the earth below; it progressed through the efforts of King Wen (文王), who appended judgments to the hexagrams; and it culminated in the scholarship of Confucius (孔子), who read it until the thongs binding the bamboo slips broke three times. Its source is profound, and its principles are vast, beyond the capacity of a single generation or person to exhaust. The Commentary on the Text (Xì Cí Zhuàn 繫辭傳) is where Confucius articulated the profound significance of the Yi, elucidating the subtle depths of the former Sages, harmonizing with the transformative power of Heaven and Earth, and clarifying the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of human affairs.
The passage we investigate in this article is drawn from the Commentary on the Text, Part I (Xì Cí Shang Zhuàn 繫辭上傳), which states:
"Therefore, that wherein the Gentleman resides and finds ease is the Arrangement of the Yi (《易》之序也); that wherein he delights and contemplates is the Divinations of the Lines (爻之辞也). Thus, when the Gentleman resides, he observes their Images (象) and contemplates their Words (辞); when he acts, he observes their Changes (变) and contemplates their Divinations (占), whereby Heaven assists him (自天佑之), and everything auspicious brings no harm (吉无不利)."
Although this passage is brief, its inner content is immensely rich. It touches upon the relationship between the Gentleman (Junzi 君子) and the Yi, the dialectic between dwelling (Ju 居) and acting (Dong 动), the mutual observation of Images (Xiang 象) and Words (Ci 辞), the cross-reference between Change (Bian 变) and Divination (Zhan 占), and finally, the ultimate state of being "assited by Heaven, bringing no harm to anything auspicious." It can be said that this passage constitutes one of the spiritual blueprints for the entire Xì Cí Zhuàn, and indeed the entire Zhou Yi, serving as the core key to understanding how the Sages of the Pre-Qin era cultivated themselves, governed the world, and understood the Mandate of Heaven through the Yi.
When we reread this passage today, it is not for mere philological analysis, nor for occult application, but rather to return to the context of the Pre-Qin and High Antiquity, interpreting this text in a deep, comprehensive, and systematic manner across three dimensions: the exegesis of the terminology, the elucidation of the underlying principles, and the validation through historical evidence.
This article will strictly adhere to documents from the Pre-Qin and pre-Han periods, extensively citing original texts from the Canons and Commentaries of the Zhou Yi, the Book of Documents (Shang Shu 尚书), the Book of Odes (Shi Jing 诗经), the Zuo Zhuan (左传), the Discourses of the States (Guo Yu 国语), the Analects (Lun Yu 论语), the Mencius (孟子), the Xunzi (荀子), the Laozi (老子), the Zhuangzi (庄子), the Book of Rites (Li Ji 礼记), the Great Dai Rites (Da Dai Li Ji 大戴礼记), the Guanzi (管子), the Han Feizi (韩非子), the Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Lü (Lüshi Chunqiu 吕氏春秋), and the Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji 史记), striving for rigorous textual criticism, well-founded argumentation, clarity in explanation, and the discovery of new insights.
The entire work is divided into twelve chapters, preceded by this General Preface and followed by a concluding Discussion. We shall unfold them chapter by chapter for the benefit of the reader.