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. "Simulating According to Their Outward Forms" (Nǐ Zhū Qí Xíng Róng) — Mimicry and Abstraction
The next step in the scripture is critical: "and simulated them according to their outward forms (*nǐ zhū qí xíng róng, 拟诸其形容)."
"Nǐ" (Shuowen): "To measure/compare." Duan Yucai comments: "To measure means to model/regulate. To plan." In the Pre-Qin context, the basic meaning of nǐ is "to compare," "to simulate," or "to take as a standard." For example, in the Liji (Qu Li Shang): "When comparing one person to another, one must compare within the same category." This means comparison must be made among peers.
The two characters "form" (xíng, 形) and "countenance/appearance" (róng, 容) were not a single term in the Pre-Qin period, but two parallel concepts. Xíng refers to external physical shape; róng refers to posture, facial appearance, or countenance. Combined, they denote the external, visible, and describable appearance of a thing.
Thus, "nǐ zhū qí xíng róng" means: To compare the subtle and hidden deep textures (zé) with the outward forms (xíng róng) they manifest, in order to simulate and express them.
This is an extremely important cognitive step. Zé is latent and cannot be directly presented, but it is always revealed through the xíng róng of myriad things. For instance: the movement of Heaven is hidden and imperceptible, but the rising and setting of the sun, moon, and stars are visible; the vitality of the Earth is hidden, but the flourishing and fading of plants, the ebb and flow of rivers, are visible. What the Sage does is use these visible xíng róng to approximate the imperceptible zé.
In modern epistemological terms, this process is grasping the essence through phenomena. However, the uniqueness of Pre-Qin thought is that it did not sharply separate phenomenon from essence, as later Western philosophy did. Instead, it held that the phenomenon itself is the "manifestation" of the essence—xíng róng is the external expression of zé, and zé is the internal basis of xíng róng. They are inseparable, differing only in the distinction between "manifest" and "hidden."