Interpreting and Investigating the Chapter: 'The Sage Perceived the Profundities of the World' — The Primordial Code of *Xiang* and *Yao*
This paper deeply investigates the core proposition, 'The Sage perceived the profundity (Ze) of the world,' within the *Xi Ci Zhuan* (Commentary on the Appended Judgments) of the *Zhou Yi*, analyzing the original Pre-Qin semantics of 'Ze,' 'Xiang' (Image), and 'Yao' (Line). It focuses on explaining the cognitive leap of the Sage through 'looking up and observing down,' transforming deep textures (Ze) into external simulations (Xiang), and reveals the intrinsic connection between the 'Yao' and ancient ritual systems, thereby reconstructing the foundation of Yi learning theory.
II. Why Are Two Systems Needed$6
This returns to the distinction between zé and dòng.
We can imagine: If the world contained only zé but no dòng—that is, if myriad things had deep structures but did not change—then only the Xiang would be necessary. A fixed structural diagram would suffice to describe the entire world.
But the world has dòng—myriad things are constantly changing. A single, fixed Xiang cannot capture the richness and directionality of change. Thus, the Yao is needed—a dimension of time and change must be introduced upon the basis of the Xiang.
Conversely, if the world contained only dòng but no zé—if things constantly changed but had no deep structure—then change would be chaotic and disordered, impossible to grasp or predict. But the reality is that while change is complex, it possesses an internal order (huì tōng), which is the manifestation of zé.
Therefore, zé and dòng, Xiang and Yao, are mutually prerequisite and inseparable pairs. The Xiang provides the structural framework for understanding change; the Yao displays the specific path of change within that framework.
This is an exquisitely subtle theoretical design, whose philosophical depth is in no way inferior to any later cognitive system in any civilization.