The Essence of the Xici Shangzhuan: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Junzi's Settled Peace and the Order of the Yijing
This article offers a deep reading of the core proposition in the Xici Shangzhuan — 'What the junzi dwells in and finds peace in is the order of the Yi' — integrating the pre-Qin context, the Confucian scholarly lineage, and the structure of the Zhouyi to elucidate how the junzi, by embodying the Way of Heaven and Earth, takes the Yi as the foundation of settled existence, contemplates the images and savors the statements, and ultimately attains the state of 'auspiciousness with nothing unfavorable.'
Chapter Three: Detailed Exegesis — "What He Delights in and Savors Are the Statements of the Lines"
The character le ("delight") here carries both "joy" and "love." The Master distinguished three levels: "To know it is not as good as to love it; to love it is not as good as to delight in it" (Lunyu, "Yong Ye"). The character wan ("savor") implies repeated, unhurried, deep contemplation — not casual play but devoted study.
The line statements (yaoci) are specifically mentioned rather than hexagram statements because they are more concrete, vivid, and personally applicable. The Xici Xiazhuan says: "The lines model the movements of all under Heaven." Examples illuminate this: "Hidden dragon, do not act" (Qian, initial nine) — four characters containing inexhaustible depth; "Treading on frost, solid ice is coming" (Kun, initial six) — a natural phenomenon as metaphor for gradual causation; "No plain that is not followed by a slope; no departure that is not followed by a return" (Tai, nine in the third) — the law of reversal at the extreme.
"Dwelling in peace" provides spiritual stability; "delighting and savoring" provides spiritual pleasure. Together they constitute the junzi's complete relationship with the Yi.