Chapter One: Introduction -- Why Study the Jiaren Hexagram$1

Section 1: Why Does the Zhouyi Devote a Hexagram Exclusively to "Family"$2

The sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi encompass all the phenomena of Heaven and Earth. Qian and Kun establish the substance of Heaven and Earth; Zhun and Meng inaugurate the beginnings of the myriad things; Ji Ji and Wei Ji complete the cycle of ending and beginning. Yet within this vast system of hexagram images, one hexagram takes "family" as its name and the Way of the family as its theme -- this is Hexagram 37, "Jiaren" (Family).

One cannot help but ask: why$3

Among the sixty-four hexagrams, "Shi" speaks of military affairs, "Song" of litigation, "Bi" of alliance, "Yu" of joy, and "Guan" of contemplation -- these hexagram names all take a single affair, state, or principle as their title. Why then is "Jiaren" alone named after the most fundamental unit of human relationships$4 Does this imply that within the philosophical system of the Zhouyi, "family" occupies some irreplaceable and foundational position$5

Let us first return to the Xuguazhuan (Commentary on the Sequence of Hexagrams) for clues. The Xuguazhuan states:

"Mingyi means injury. One who is injured abroad must return to the family; hence it is followed by Jiaren."

This passage reveals the positional logic of the Jiaren hexagram within the sequence of sixty-four. The Mingyi hexagram (No. 36) symbolizes light being wounded and the worthy suffering adversity. When one is injured in the outer world, one inevitably returns home. This logic appears simple, yet contains a profoundly philosophical insight -- "family" is the refuge of the wounded, the foundation for the beleaguered, the starting point of all outward endeavor, and the place of return after every external setback.

Why does the text say one who is injured abroad "must" (bi) return to the family$6 The word "must" deserves careful consideration. It is not "perhaps," not "may," but "must." This means that in the mind of the Xuguazhuan's author, "family" possesses a kind of necessary attractive force, an ultimate sense of belonging. This resonates deeply with what we shall later explore: the pre-Qin Confucian understanding of the ontological nature of "family," and the Daoist recognition of "returning to the root."

We may press further: among the sixty-four hexagrams, why is there no "Guoren" (People of the State) hexagram or "Tianxiaren" (People of All Under Heaven) hexagram, but only a "Jiaren" (Family) hexagram$7 Does this suggest that in the thinking of pre-Qin philosophers, "family" is a more fundamental unit of human relations than "state"$8

The Lunyu (Analects) records the words of Master You in "Xue Er":

"It is rare for one who is filial to parents and respectful to elders to be inclined to offend superiors; and one not inclined to offend superiors has never yet been inclined to create disorder. The exemplary person (junzi) attends to the root. When the root is established, the Way is born. Filial piety and brotherly respect -- are these not the root of humaneness (ren)$9"

The word "root" (ben) here is the key. The virtues of filial piety and brotherly respect cultivated within the family are the "root" of humaneness. Without family there can be no filial piety or brotherly respect; without these there can be no humaneness; without humaneness there can be no governing the state or bringing peace to all under Heaven. From this we see that the Jiaren hexagram stands as its own hexagram precisely because "family" holds the status of "root" in pre-Qin thought.

The Daxue (Great Learning) elaborates further:

"The ancients who wished to manifest luminous virtue throughout all under Heaven first governed their states well. Those who wished to govern their states well first regulated their families. Those who wished to regulate their families first cultivated their persons. Those who wished to cultivate their persons first rectified their hearts. Those who wished to rectify their hearts first made their intentions sincere. Those who wished to make their intentions sincere first extended their knowledge. The extension of knowledge lies in the investigation of things."

"When things are investigated, knowledge is extended. When knowledge is extended, intentions become sincere. When intentions are sincere, the heart is rectified. When the heart is rectified, the person is cultivated. When the person is cultivated, the family is regulated. When the family is regulated, the state is well governed. When the state is well governed, all under Heaven is at peace."

"From the Son of Heaven down to the common people, all without exception must take self-cultivation as the root."

Here, "regulating the family" (qi jia) stands between "cultivating the person" and "governing the state," serving as the pivotal link in the progression from inner to outer, from private to public. When the family is not regulated, the state cannot be well governed; when the state is not well governed, all under Heaven cannot be at peace. This is the deeper reason the Jiaren hexagram is indispensable among the sixty-four.

Section 2: Why Does the "Wind-Fire" Image Correspond to "Family"$10

The trigram structure of the Jiaren hexagram is: upper trigram Xun (Wind), lower trigram Li (Fire). Wind above fire -- fire burns below, wind issues from the fire -- this is the basic image of "Wind-Fire Family."

Why does the combination of wind and fire symbolize "family"$11 This is a question well worth exploring.

First, from the perspective of natural imagery. Fire burns in the hearth, and wind (hot air, cooking smoke) rises from the chimney -- this is precisely the most basic, most central scene of domestic life among the ancient people. The fire pit, the hearth -- these were the most vivid markers of a family's existence. Where there is fire there is cooking smoke; where there is cooking smoke there are family members gathered to eat; where there is communal eating there is the cohesion of a family. In high antiquity, the most direct way to determine whether a place was inhabited was to look for rising smoke. Wind issuing from fire, smoke curling upward -- this is the most primordial, most unadorned image of "family."

The Liji (Record of Rites), "Liyun" chapter, records:

"In antiquity, the former kings had no palaces. In winter they dwelt in pit-caves, in summer in nests of branches. They had not yet discovered the use of fire: they ate the fruits of plants and trees, the flesh of birds and beasts, drank their blood, and consumed their fur. They had no hemp or silk, and clothed themselves in feathers and hides. Later a sage arose who then cultivated the benefits of fire, smelted metal, mixed earth, and made towers, palaces, chambers, and windows. They roasted, broiled, boiled, and grilled, and made sweet wine and curds."

The phrase "cultivated the benefits of fire" (xiu huo zhi li) is of paramount importance. The invention and use of fire not only transformed human diet but fundamentally changed human dwelling patterns and social organization. With fire came fixed dwellings (because fire had to be maintained); with fixed dwellings came the embryonic form of the family. Fire is precisely the material precondition for the establishment of "family."

Turning to the virtues of the trigrams: Li is fire, and its virtue is illumination, beauty, and attachment. Xun is wind, and its virtue is penetration, compliance, and command. The Jiaren hexagram places Li on the interior and Xun on the exterior, symbolizing inner clarity of insight and outer gentleness of instruction. Applied to the Way of the family: within the home there is the wisdom of clear discernment to manage internal affairs, and there is the gentle wind of moral instruction to carry out education.

The Tuanzhuan (Commentary on the Judgment) says of the Jiaren hexagram:

"Jiaren: the woman is correctly positioned within; the man is correctly positioned without. When man and woman are correct, this is the great righteousness of Heaven and Earth. The family has a stern sovereign -- this refers to the father and mother. When the father acts as a father, the son as a son, the elder brother as an elder brother, the younger brother as a younger brother, the husband as a husband, and the wife as a wife, then the Way of the family is correct. When the family is rectified, all under Heaven is settled."

We shall analyze this Tuanzhuan passage in detail later. For now, note the correspondence between "the woman is correctly positioned within, the man is correctly positioned without" and the hexagram image: Six in the second place (a yin line in the second position -- the central position of the inner trigram) symbolizes the woman correctly positioned within; Nine in the fifth place (a yang line in the fifth position -- the central position of the outer trigram) symbolizes the man correctly positioned without. Yin and yang each obtain their proper place, each fulfilling their role -- this is the rectitude of the family Way.

But why is it specifically "wind" above and "fire" below, rather than the reverse$12 If we invert the upper and lower trigrams, we obtain fire above wind -- the "Fire-Wind Ding" (Cauldron) hexagram (No. 50). The Ding hexagram symbolizes ritual cooking in a cauldron, extended to mean reforming the old and establishing the new, nourishing the worthy and employing the capable -- similarly related to "fire" and "cooking," yet pointing toward the public social sphere of nourishing worthies and reform rather than the internal order and moral instruction of the family.

This contrast is deeply thought-provoking. With the same combination of wind and fire, why does wind above yield "Family" while fire above yields "Cauldron"$13

From the perspective of natural imagery: in the Jiaren hexagram (wind above fire), fire burns below and wind (heated air, cooking smoke) naturally rises -- this is the natural state of lighting a fire in the hearth to cook. In the Ding hexagram (fire above wind), wind blows from below and fire burns above -- this is the state of a ritual cauldron set above firewood, wind fueling the flames. Lighting a hearth fire is an everyday domestic matter; cooking in a ritual cauldron is a ceremonial and sacrificial occasion. The former belongs to the family; the latter belongs to the state. From this we can see that the hexagram images in the Zhouyi are by no means arbitrary but constitute a precise correspondence between natural phenomena and human symbolic meaning.

Section 3: Scope and Method of This Study

This study will be strictly limited to the intellectual resources of the pre-Qin period. "Pre-Qin" refers to the historical period before the Qin unification of the realm, encompassing high antiquity (the age of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors), the Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States periods. The primary texts cited include:

Classics: The Zhouyi (including the canonical text and the Ten Wings), the Shangshu (Book of Documents), the Shijing (Book of Odes), the Zhouli (Rites of Zhou), the Yili (Etiquette and Rites), the Liji (Record of Rites, some chapters of which were compiled around the Qin-Han transition but whose core ideas derive from the pre-Qin period), the Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals) together with the Zuozhuan, Gongyangzhuan, and Guliangzhuan commentaries.

Masters: The Lunyu (Analects), the Mengzi (Mencius), the Xunzi, the Laozi (Daodejing), the Zhuangzi, the Guanzi, the Mozi, the Hanfeizi, the Lushi Chunqiu, the Guoyu, and others.

In terms of methodology, this article will employ several approaches:

First, image-number analysis. This involves analyzing the Jiaren hexagram's structure and meaning through trigram images (upper and lower trigrams, nuclear trigrams, reversed trigrams, inverted trigrams, etc.) and line positions (the position of each of the six lines, whether yin and yang lines are in their proper places, the correlative relationships between lines).

Second, mutual illumination of canon and commentary. This involves using the Tuanzhuan, Xiangzhuan, Wenyan, Xici, and other Ten Wings texts to interpret the canonical text (hexagram and line statements), while simultaneously using the canonical text to corroborate the commentarial texts, forming a hermeneutic circle of mutual elucidation.

Third, intertextual resonance. This involves extensive citation of original passages from other pre-Qin texts, allowing their ideas to resonate with and corroborate the principles of the Jiaren hexagram, thereby understanding the hexagram's deeper meaning within the broader context of pre-Qin thought. This article does not conduct a comparative study between the Zhouyi and other texts but rather lets them "illuminate" one another, forming an organic intellectual whole.

Fourth, the method of inquiry. Throughout the analysis, this article will continuously raise "why" questions and attempt to provide answers grounded in pre-Qin intellectual resources. These inquiries serve both as methodology and as the narrative strategy of this article -- through persistent questioning, guiding the reader layer by layer into the core principles of the Jiaren hexagram.

Section 4: The Etymology of "Jia" (Family) and Archaic Concepts

Before entering into the formal analysis of hexagram images and texts, we must first examine the character "jia" (family) itself.

The ancient form of the character "jia" has a roof radical "mian" (the shape of a house) above and "shi" (the shape of a pig) below. This graphic structure has sparked enduring scholarly discussion: why does "a pig under a roof" mean "family"$14

The most straightforward interpretation is that in high antiquity, the raising of livestock (especially pigs) marked the transition to settled life. Nomads followed water and grass, dwelling in no fixed place -- they did not constitute a "family." Only settled people, building houses and raising pigs, had stable family life. The pig was among the earliest animals domesticated in ancient China, and one of the most requiring of fixed penning. Raising pigs meant settlement; settlement meant having a family.

Another interpretation relates to archaic sacrifice. The pig was among the most commonly used sacrificial animals in ancient rites. Pigs were kept in the household not only for daily consumption but also for offerings to ancestors at the seasonal sacrifices. A settled unit that was qualified to sacrifice to its ancestors -- that was a true "family." This accords with the core function of "family" in the pre-Qin period: ancestral sacrifice.

The Liji, "Quli xia," states:

"The Son of Heaven sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, to the four directions, to mountains and rivers, and to the Five Household Gods, completing the cycle each year. Feudal lords sacrifice locally, to mountains and rivers, and to the Five Household Gods, completing the cycle each year. Grand masters sacrifice to the Five Household Gods, completing the cycle each year. Gentlemen sacrifice to their ancestors."

Though this passage describes the sacrificial prerogatives of different ranks, below the level of "gentlemen sacrificing to their ancestors," even commoner households bore the responsibility of ancestral sacrifice. One of the core functions of the family was to maintain a spiritual connection with the ancestors, and the sacrificial victim (the pig) was the material medium of that connection.

A third interpretation merits attention: in more remote antiquity, the "pig" beneath the "roof" may not have been an ordinary domestic pig but an animal of some totemic or sacred significance. In archaic myth and folk custom, the pig was associated with earth, fertility, and reproductive power. Keeping a sacred pig beneath the family roof symbolized the household's connection to the fecund power of the earth. Though this interpretation is speculative, it accords with the animistic worldview of the archaic ancestors.

Regardless of which interpretation one adopts, the logic behind the creation of the character "jia" points to a single core: "Family" is a community of human relationships sustained by a material foundation (dwelling, animal husbandry) and animated by a spiritual bond (ancestral sacrifice, transmission of bloodline). It is not merely a physical space but a space of meaning, a space of ethics.

This understanding will pervade our entire analysis of the Jiaren hexagram's principles.