Chapter One: The Background and Scholarly Status of the Xici Zhuan

I. The Distinction Between the Canon and the Commentaries of the Zhouyi

To interpret this passage, one must first understand the distinction between the canon (jing) and the commentaries (zhuan) of the Zhouyi.

The Zhouyi has since antiquity been divided into the "canon" and the "commentaries." The canon consists of the hexagram figures (hexagram images), hexagram statements, and line statements of the sixty-four hexagrams. The commentaries are the so-called "Ten Wings" (Shiyi), comprising the Tuan Zhuan (Commentary on the Judgments) in two parts, the Xiang Zhuan (Commentary on the Images) in two parts, the Xici Zhuan (Commentary on the Appended Statements) in two parts, the Wenyan Zhuan (Commentary on the Words of the Text), the Shuogua Zhuan (Discussion of the Trigrams), the Xugua Zhuan (Sequence of the Hexagrams), and the Zagua Zhuan (Miscellaneous Notes on the Hexagrams) — ten texts in all.

The Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), in the "Hereditary House of Kongzi," records:

"The Master in his later years grew fond of the Yi. He arranged in order the Tuan, the Xi (Appended Statements), the Xiang, the Shuogua, and the Wenyan. He read the Yi until the leather thongs binding the bamboo strips broke three times. He said: 'Give me a few more years — if so, I shall be well-versed in the Yi.'"

This passage is of great importance. It tells us explicitly: first, that the Master "in his later years grew fond of the Yi," indicating that his deep study of the Yi was a matter of his later life; second, that the Master personally "arranged" the Tuan, the Xi, the Xiang, the Shuogua, and the Wenyan; third, that "the leather thongs broke three times" shows how diligently the Master read the Yi, studying it so repeatedly that the ox-hide cords binding the bamboo slips snapped three times; fourth, that the Master's own words, "give me a few more years," indicate that he considered the Yi so profoundly deep that even a sage such as himself felt he needed more time.

Why is this background information so important$1 Because the passage we are interpreting comes precisely from the Xici Shangzhuan. If the Xici Zhuan truly comes from the Master's own hand (or at least faithfully records his teachings), then this passage is not merely an ordinary philosophical discourse but the Master's distilled summary of the Yi's essential meaning in his later years — the crystallization of his thought after "wearing through the binding thongs thrice."

II. The Special Position of the Xici Zhuan Among the Ten Wings

Among the Ten Wings, the Xici Zhuan holds a uniquely special position. How so$2

The Tuan Zhuan interprets the hexagram statements one by one; the Xiang Zhuan interprets the image-meanings of each hexagram and each line; the Wenyan Zhuan is devoted exclusively to the Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth) hexagrams; the Shuogua Zhuan discusses the image-associations of the eight trigrams; the Xugua Zhuan discusses the sequential order of the sixty-four hexagrams; and the Zagua Zhuan summarizes the essential meanings of each hexagram through contrasting pairs. Each of these Wings has its own focus and emphasis.

Only the Xici Zhuan is different. It does not offer hexagram-by-hexagram or line-by-line explication; rather, it presents a comprehensive discourse on the overall spirit of the Yi, its fundamental principles, core methods, and ultimate values. It discusses: How is the Way of Heaven and Earth embodied in the Yi$3 What was the purpose of the sages in creating the Yi$4 What is the relationship between the hexagram images, line images, and statements$5 How should the junzi use the Yi for self-cultivation and engagement with the world$6 What are the root causes of auspiciousness, misfortune, regret, and difficulty$7

If we were to compare the Ten Wings to a building, the Tuan Zhuan, Xiang Zhuan, and others would be the individual rooms and walls, while the Xici Zhuan would be the architectural blueprint and the foundation.

Precisely because the Xici Zhuan possesses this character of a general treatise, every proposition and every judgment it puts forth typically carries programmatic significance. The passage we are interpreting is precisely such a programmatic proposition.

III. The Position of This Passage Within the Xici Shangzhuan

To accurately understand a passage, one must also know its position and contextual setting within the larger text.

The passage under discussion is located in the second chapter (by the conventional division) of the Xici Shangzhuan. The text preceding it reads:

"Heaven is lofty, Earth is humble: thus Qian and Kun are determined. The low and the high are set forth: thus noble and base find their positions. Movement and stillness have their constancies: thus the firm and the yielding are distinguished. Things are gathered by kind, beings are divided into groups: thus auspiciousness and misfortune arise. In Heaven, images are formed; on Earth, shapes come into being: thus change and transformation are made manifest."

This is the opening of the Xici Shangzhuan, beginning from the grand transformation of Heaven and Earth to discuss the cosmological foundations of the Yi's root concepts: Qian and Kun, noble and base, firm and yielding, auspicious and ominous, change and transformation.

Then it continues:

"Therefore the firm and the yielding rub against each other, and the eight trigrams stir one another. They are drummed on by thunder and lightning, moistened by wind and rain. The sun and moon move in their courses — now cold, now hot. The Way of Qian completes the male; the Way of Kun completes the female. Qian knows the great beginning; Kun brings things to completion. Qian through ease is known; Kun through simplicity has its ability. What is easy is easy to know; what is simple is easy to follow. Easy to know, then there is affection; easy to follow, then there is achievement. With affection, there can be duration; with achievement, there can be greatness. Duration is the virtue of the worthy person; greatness is the enterprise of the worthy person. Through ease and simplicity, the principle of all under Heaven is grasped. When the principle of all under Heaven is grasped, one takes one's position in the midst thereof."

Only after this grand cosmological and axiological preparation does the passage under discussion appear. The word shigu ("therefore") at its beginning indicates that what follows is a logical deduction from the preceding discourse, tightly linking cosmology with the philosophy of human life, joining the Way of Heaven and the Way of Humanity into one.

The Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean) says:

"Only the one of utmost sincerity under Heaven can fully realize his nature. Able to fully realize his own nature, he can fully realize the nature of other people. Able to fully realize the nature of other people, he can fully realize the nature of things. Able to fully realize the nature of things, he can assist in the transforming and nurturing of Heaven and Earth. Able to assist in the transforming and nurturing of Heaven and Earth, he can form a triad with Heaven and Earth."

In the context of the Xici Zhuan, the specific path by which the junzi "forms a triad with Heaven and Earth" through contemplating images, savoring statements, observing changes, and savoring divinations is the Yi.

IV. Why the Phrase Begins with "Therefore" (shigu)

This conjunction indicates that what follows is a necessary conclusion drawn from the preceding discourse — linking the cosmological discussion of Heaven-Earth, Qian-Kun, ease and simplicity, to the practical guidance for the junzi. These two characters tightly bind cosmology to the philosophy of human life, which is precisely a fundamental characteristic of pre-Qin thought: the unity of Heaven and Humanity, or more precisely, the mutual communication and mutual participation of Heaven and Humanity.

V. The Lineage of Yi Transmission in the Pre-Qin Period

The Shiji, "Biographies of the Disciples of Zhongni," records that among the Master's disciples, the Yi was transmitted by Shang Qu. The Shiji, "Biographies of the Rulin," further records:

"From Shang Qu of Lu, who received the Yi from the Master, after the Master's death Shang Qu transmitted the Yi, and through six generations it reached Tian He of Qi, whose courtesy name was Zizhuang, at the rise of the Han dynasty."

This lineage tells us that the ideas in the Xici Zhuan are not arbitrary elaboration, but core doctrines within a scholarly tradition with rigorous teacher-to-student transmission. Moreover, the Zhouli records three versions of the Yi — Lianshan (Xia), Guicang (Shang), and Zhouyi (Zhou) — showing a tradition reaching back far before the Master.