The Essence of the Xici Shangzhuan: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Junzi's Settled Peace and the Order of the Yijing
This article offers a deep reading of the core proposition in the Xici Shangzhuan — 'What the junzi dwells in and finds peace in is the order of the Yi' — integrating the pre-Qin context, the Confucian scholarly lineage, and the structure of the Zhouyi to elucidate how the junzi, by embodying the Way of Heaven and Earth, takes the Yi as the foundation of settled existence, contemplates the images and savors the statements, and ultimately attains the state of 'auspiciousness with nothing unfavorable.'
Chapter Nine: Image, Statement, Change, Divination — The Four Dimensions
These four constitute a complete framework: Image (visual symbol) -> Statement (linguistic expression) -> Change (dynamic operation) -> Divination (practical application). They are mutually cyclical and reinforcing, not merely linear.
The Xici Shangzhuan says: "The Yi possesses the Way of the sage in four aspects: for speaking, one values its statements; for acting, one values its changes; for crafting implements, one values its images; for performing divination, one values its oracles." The ideal junzi attends to all four.
The four correspond to four human capacities: intuition (images), understanding (statements), insight (changes), and judgment (divinations). They also correspond to the Three Powers: image tends toward the Ways of Heaven and Earth; statement toward the Way of Humanity; change penetrates all three; divination comprehensively applies all three.