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.
VI. The Relationship Between Xu (Arrangement) and Dao (Way)
We must inquire deeper: What is the relationship between the Xu (Arrangement) of the Yi and the Dao (Way) in Pre-Qin thought$26
The Laozi states:
"The Dao produces One; One produces Two; Two produces Three; Three produces the myriad things. The myriad things carry Yin on their backs and embrace Yang in their arms; the mingling of Qi creates harmony." (Chapter 42)
"Man follows the Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows itself (Nature)." (Chapter 25)
The Dao of the Laozi is the source and law of all things in the cosmos. The Xu of the Yi is, in fact, the manifestation of the Dao in concrete affairs. The Dao is abstract and formless, while the Xu of the Yi is concrete and observable—it demonstrates the operation of the Dao through the arrangement and change of the sixty-four hexagrams and three hundred and eighty-four lines.
The Xì Cí Zhuàn itself explicitly points this out:
"One Yin and one Yang constitute the Dao. What follows it is Goodness, what completes it is Nature. The Benevolent see it and call it Benevolence; the Wise see it and call it Wisdom. The common people use it daily but do not know it, hence the Way of the Gentleman is rare."
"One Yin and one Yang constitute the Dao"—the Dao is the alternation of Yin and Yang. The Yi, through its combinations of Yin lines (-- ) and Yang lines (—), manifests this alternation. Therefore, the Arrangement of the Yi is the Arrangement of the Dao; "residing and finding ease" in the Arrangement of the Yi is "residing and finding ease" in the Dao.
This profoundly echoes Confucius's words in the Analects, Li Ren:
"The Master said: 'If a man hears the Way in the morning, he may die content in the evening.'"
"Hearing the Way in the morning, dying content in the evening"—once the Way is grasped, even if one dies that very evening, there is no regret. This is the same spiritual state as "residing and finding ease" in the Arrangement of the Yi: having found the ultimate spiritual haven, one can face life and death with equanimity.