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.
I. Zheng Xuan's Interpretation
Zheng Xuan was a great scholar of the Eastern Han, treating the Yi by integrating both image-number and rationale-principle. His commentary on this chapter is unfortunately mostly lost, but we can glean some insight from Kong Yingda’s Zhengyi:
Zheng Xuan glossed zé as "mixed/confused," emphasizing the aspect of the world’s myriad things being complex and multifarious—but relatively neglecting its deeper meaning of "subtle and hard to perceive."