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.
III. Xunzi on "Those Good at the Yi Do Not Divinate"
In the Xunzi (Da Lüe):
"Those good at the Yi do not engage in divination."
This statement is often cited to illustrate the Confucian emphasis on rationale over image and number. However, if we understand it within the framework of the Xici Zhuan passage, Xunzi’s meaning becomes clearer.
"Those good at the Yi"—those who truly master the Yi. They "do not divine" (bù zhàn, 不占)—they do not need external ritual ceremonies to make judgments. Why$8 Because they have already deeply "perceived" the world's zé and the world's dòng; they can already "observe their convergence and connection" and can accordingly "enact their rites and regulations" and "determine their auspiciousness and inauspiciousness." For such people, the principles of the Yi have been internalized as their wisdom, requiring no external ritual trigger.
This does not negate divination; rather, it suggests that divination is a ladder leading to wisdom—once the summit is reached, the ladder can be set aside. Just as Wang Bi said, "forgetting the Image to grasp the Meaning"—it is not that the Image is unimportant, but that the ultimate goal is the "Meaning"; once the "Meaning" is grasped, the Xiang, as a tool, has completed its mission.