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. The Distinction Between the Canon and the Commentaries of the Zhou Yi
To explicate this passage, we must first clarify the distinction between the Canon (Jing 经) and the Commentaries (Zhuan 传) of the Zhou Yi.
The Zhou Yi has traditionally been divided into the "Canon" and the "Commentaries." The "Canon" comprises the hexagram figures (Images), the Hexagram Judgments (Gua Ci 卦辞), and the Line Judgments (Yao Ci 爻辞) of the sixty-four hexagrams. The "Commentaries," often referred to as the "Ten Wings" (Shi Yi 十翼), include the Two Commentaries on the Judgment (Tuan Zhuan 彖传), the Two Commentaries on the Image (Xiang Zhuan 象传), the Two Commentaries on the Text (Xì Cí Zhuàn 繫辭传), the Commentary on the Words of the Text (Wen Yan Zhuan 文言传), the Commentary on the Trigrams (Shuo Gua Zhuan 说卦传), the Commentary on the Sequence of Hexagrams (Xu Gua Zhuan 序卦传), and the Commentary on the Miscellaneous Hexagrams (Za Gua Zhuan 杂卦传)—ten sections in total.
The Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Confucius (Shi Ji, Kongzi Shijia 史记·孔子世家) records:
"In his later years, Confucius delighted in the Yi, and wrote the commentaries on the Tuan, the Xi, the Xiang, the Shuo Gua, and the Wen Yan. When reading the Yi, the thongs binding the bamboo slips broke three times. He said: 'Give me a few more years, and I might master the Yi thoroughly.'"
This passage is crucial. It clearly informs us: First, that Confucius "delighted in the Yi in his later years," indicating that his deep study of the Yi was an endeavor of his old age. Second, that Confucius personally "wrote the commentaries" (xu) on the Tuan, Xi, Xiang, Shuo Gua, and Wen Yan. Third, that the "thongs binding the bamboo slips broke three times" demonstrates the diligence with which Confucius read the Yi—so frequently that the leather cords broke repeatedly. Fourth, Confucius's remark, "Give me a few more years," suggests that he considered the profundity of the Yi such that even a Sage like himself required more time for its study.
Why is this background information so important$1 Because the passage we are interpreting comes precisely from the Xì Cí Shang Zhuàn. If the Xì Cí Zhuàn is indeed attributed to Confucius (or at least is a faithful record of his learning), then this passage is not merely a general philosophical discussion but a high-level summarization of the essence of the Yi from Confucius’s later years—the crystallized thought following his thrice-broken reading cords.