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.
IV. The Contrast Between "Residing at Ease" and "Residing Uneasily"
To further grasp "residing and finding ease," we might consider the state of "residing uneasily."
Analects, Yang Huo (阳货):
"Zai Wo asked: 'The mourning period of three years is too long. If a Gentleman neglects ritual for three years, ritual will certainly fall into ruin; if he neglects music for three years, music will certainly collapse. When the old grain is consumed and the new grain has ripened, and the drilling sticks have been changed for fire, one year should suffice.' The Master said: 'Rice to eat, brocade to wear—are you at ease with that$24' He replied: 'I am at ease.' The Master said: 'If you are at ease, then do it! When a Gentleman observes the mourning period, the delicious food tastes bland, music heard gives no joy, and his dwelling gives him no ease, which is why he does not do it. Now that you are at ease, then do it!'"
In this famous dialogue, Confucius asks Zai Wo if he would be at ease concluding the mourning period after only one year following his parents' death. Zai Wo replied he would be at ease. Confucius said, then do it. But the true Gentleman, during the mourning period, finds that "delicious food tastes bland, music heard gives no joy, and his dwelling gives him no ease," which is why he observes the three-year mourning.
This shows that a person's ability to be "at ease" (An) in something presupposes a deep recognition and internalization of that thing—be it filial piety or propriety. The Gentleman's ability to be "at ease" in the Arrangement of the Yi presupposes that he profoundly understands the Arrangement of the Yi and has internalized it as part of his own being.