Structure, Ethics, and Ontology of the Jiaren (Family) Hexagram in the Zhouyi
This article offers a deep exploration of the philosophical significance of Hexagram 37 'Jiaren' (Family) in the Zhouyi (Book of Changes), analyzing the relationship between the Wind-over-Fire trigram image and the Way of the family, and elucidating the foundational status of 'family' in ancient social structures through pre-Qin Confucian thought on 'roots' (ben) as found in Confucius, Mencius, and the Great Learning.
Chapter Ten: The Jiaren Hexagram from the Perspective of Archaic Myth and Folk Custom
"Fire" in human civilization created a gathering center -- on cold nights, people sat around the fire to warm themselves, eat, and converse. This was the most primitive form of "family." The Hanfeizi records Sui Ren Shi "drilling wood to make fire to transform the raw and rank."
"Wind" in archaic folk custom was closely linked to instruction and transmission. "Collecting the airs" (cai feng) was an important political activity; the Shijing's fifteen "Guofeng" are its fruits. "Family ethos" (jia feng) is the most basic, most primordial "wind."
The Liji, "Liyun," records the Master's vision of the "Grand Unity" (Datong) and the "Minor Prosperity" (Xiaokang) -- the latter establishing "family" as the basic social unit. The Shijing, "Daya," "Mian," depicts husband and wife building a home together -- the archaic prototype of the ideal family.
Ancestral sacrifice gave "family" a sacred dimension: "The great affairs of the state are sacrifice and warfare" (Zuozhuan). The family connected living and dead through ritual, becoming a community spanning life and death.
The four dimensions of the archaic "family" concept -- material (fire and dwelling), reproductive (marriage and offspring), sacred (sacrifice and ancestors), and instructional (family ethos and transmission) -- all find expression in the Jiaren hexagram.