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.
I. First Inquiry: Why Does Man Need to "Reside and Find Ease"$29
Why does man require a spiritual haven where he can "reside and find ease"$30
This question, seemingly simple, is actually profoundly deep. Animals do not need to "reside and find ease"—they act according to instinct; they have no spiritual anxiety or unease. But man is different. Man has self-awareness, an understanding of death, and a pursuit of meaning—these are what generate spiritual unrest.
Analects, Wei Zheng:
"The Master said: 'Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.'"
"Xue er bu si ze wang, si er bu xue ze dai (学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆)."
"Labor lost" (Wang 罔)—bewilderment. "Perilous" (Dai 殆)—danger. Learning without thinking, or thinking without learning, both lead to spiritual instability.
Zhuangzi, Discussion on Making Things Equal:
"Great knowledge is broad and open; small knowledge is narrow and confined. Great words are impressive; small words are mere chatter. When asleep, their souls commune; when awake, their forms stretch out. They constantly engage in interaction, fighting battles with their hearts all day long."
Zhuangzi describes human mental turmoil—great wisdom and small wisdom, great words and small words, engaging in constant mental struggle with external things. This turmoil is the very root of man's spiritual unease.
"Residing and finding ease" in the Arrangement of the Yi is intended to solve this fundamental problem. When man finds an ultimate basis for settling his spirit—the fundamental order of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things—he is no longer shaken by daily distractions, nor troubled by the ups and downs of gain and loss, achieving a deep state of stability and composure.