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.
II. The Classic Origin of "Heaven assists him" (Zi Tian You Zhi)
The phrase "Heaven assists him, bringing no harm to anything auspicious" is not original to the Xì Cí Zhuàn but is quoted from the Line Judgment of the Upper Nine position of the Da You (Great Possession) Hexagram in the Zhou Yi:
"Upper Nine: Heaven assists him, and everything auspicious brings no harm." (Zi Tian You Zhi, Ji Wu Bu Li. 自天佑之，吉无不利。)
The Da You Hexagram (Fire over Heaven), Li above Qian below, symbolizes light shining brightly, leading to great possession and gain. Upper Nine is the topmost line of this hexagram.
The Tuan Zhuan explains the Da You Hexagram:
"Great Possession, the yielding element obtains the great central position and is responded to by those above and below, thus it is called Great Possession. Its Virtue is firm and vigorous yet civilized and bright; it conforms to Heaven and acts timely; therefore, there is Great Success."
"The yielding element obtains the great central position"—Line Six Five (Yin line) occupies the fifth position (the honored position), being yielding and central, humble yet honored. "Responded to by those above and below"—all lines above and below correspond to it. It is "firm and vigorous yet civilized and bright"—the lower trigram Qian is firm and vigorous, the upper trigram Li is civilized and bright. It "conforms to Heaven and acts timely," hence "Great Success."
Why does Upper Nine, "Heaven assists him, bringing no harm to anything auspicious," receive Heaven's aid in the highest position$30
The Xì Cí Shang Zhuàn, after quoting this phrase, provides an extremely important explanation:
"The Master said: 'Aid (You) means to help. What Heaven assists is compliance (Shun); what Man assists is trustworthiness (Xin). Treading on trustworthiness, one contemplates compliance, and further honors the worthy. Therefore, "Heaven assists him, and everything auspicious brings no harm."' "
This passage is vital, and we must analyze it sentence by sentence.