Interpreting and Investigating the Chapter: 'The Sage Perceived the Profundities of the World' — The Primordial Code of *Xiang* and *Yao*

Chapter 6: Attaching Statements to Determine Auspiciousness and Inauspiciousness — The Decisive Function of the Yao

I. "Attaching Statements to Determine Their Auspiciousness and Inauspiciousness" (Xì Cí Yān Yǐ Duàn Qí Jí Xīong)

The final critical element of the scripture: "attached statements to them to determine their auspiciousness and inauspiciousness (xì cí yān yǐ duàn qí jí xiōng, 系辞焉以断其吉凶)."

"Xì cí" means attaching textual statements—these are the explanatory writings placed below the trigram lines, which are the hexagram and line statements we see today.

"Duàn qí jí xiōng" means judging the good or bad fortune of a developing situation. This is the ultimate goal of the entire process.

Here we must ask: Why did the Sage "determine auspiciousness and inauspiciousness"$29 What necessary connection does this have with the preceding "perceiving zé," "simulating Xiang," and "observing huì tōng"$30

The answer lies here: The Zhou Yi, fundamentally, is a "Book of Resolving Doubt"—it arose from the anxiety and response of the ancient people when facing uncertainty. The world's zé is subtle and difficult to perceive; the world's dòng is ever-changing. Man is placed within this, constantly facing dilemmas of choice—at such times, a reliable guiding system is needed to aid in decision-making.

The Xici Shang Zhuan (Chapter 11) states this clearly:

"Thus, the Yi is the Xiang. The Xiang is likening. The Judgment (Tuan, 彖) is the material (cái, 材). The Yao are those that效 (imitate/model) the movements of the world. Thus, when auspiciousness and inauspiciousness arise, regret and blame become manifest."

"The Yao are those that model the movements of the world" (yào zhě, xiào tiān xià zhī dòng zhě yě). The essence of the Yao is to "model" (xiào) the laws of the world's movements. The movements of the world involve both benefit and harm; human affairs involve both gain and loss. The Sage models these trends of change through the Yao, and then uses textual statements to make judgments of "auspiciousness" or "inauspiciousness."

Here lies a profound insight: Auspiciousness (jí) and inauspiciousness (xiōng) are not subjective judgments external to change, but inherent attributes of the change itself. If one follows certain trends of change, it is "auspicious"; if one goes against them, it is "inauspicious." The Sage "attaching statements to determine auspiciousness and inauspiciousness" is not making a moral judgment, but revealing the objective direction of the trend of change.

II. The Antiquity of "Auspiciousness" and "Inauspiciousness"

The concepts of jí and xiōng were deeply ingrained in high antiquity. Oracle bones contain numerous instances of the characters for jí and xiōng. The oracle bone script for jí depicts "soldier/official" (士) above "mouth" (口), possibly meaning a weapon placed in its sheath, extended to mean peace and good fortune. The script for xiōng depicts a pit or hole (sometimes with an 'X' mark), meaning a trap or depression, extended to mean danger and disadvantage.

In the Shang Dynasty divinations, jí and xiōng were the most basic categories of divinatory results. Every divination concluded with a judgment of "auspicious" or "inauspicious" (not auspicious). This tradition continued into the Zhou Yi.

However, the judgment of jí and xiōng in the Zhou Yi is far more complex than in the Shang oracle bones. Shang divination usually yielded only two results: "auspicious" or "inauspicious" (not auspicious), whereas the Yao Ci (Line Statements) of the Zhou Yi include multiple levels: "auspicious" (jí), "inauspicious" (xiōng), "regret" (huǐ), "blame" (lìn), "no blame" (wú jiù), "benefit" (lì), and "disadvantage" (bù lì).

The Xici Shang Zhuan provides a succinct summary of this:

"Auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are the images of gaining and losing. Regret and blame are the images of worry and apprehension." "Therefore, distinguishing the noble and base depends on position; equalizing the great and small depends on the hexagram; distinguishing auspiciousness and inauspiciousness depends on the statements."

"Distinguishing auspiciousness and inauspiciousness depends on the statements" (biàn jí xiōng zhě cún yú cí). The discrimination of jí and xiōng is achieved precisely through the Yao Ci. This brings us back to "attaching statements to determine their auspiciousness and inauspiciousness"—the purpose of attaching the statements is to judge jí and xiōng.

III. The Meaning of Duàn (断)

The word duàn in Classical Chinese fundamentally means "to cut off." By extension, it means "to resolve" or "to judge." Han Feizi (Nan San): "Affairs have no constant teacher; the key is that the ruler is good at making decisions (duàn)." This means the crucial element in handling matters is the sovereign's ability to make firm decisions.

The duàn in "attaching statements to determine their auspiciousness and inauspiciousness" emphasizes "judgment"—not vague suggestion, not ambiguous metaphor, but a clear determination that can serve as a basis for action.

This is also an important difference between Yao and Xiang. The Xiang provides an iconic intuition—seeing this image allows for multiple understandings and associations. But the Yao Ci provides a convergent judgment—"auspicious," "inauspicious," "beneficial to see the Great Man," "not beneficial to cross the great river"—these are direct instructions guiding action.

From an epistemological perspective, the Xiang is open-ended, while the Yao Ci is convergent. The Xiang displays a rich space of meaning, while the Yao Ci makes a concrete choice within that space. Only when combined do they constitute the complete cognitive-decisional system of the Zhou Yi.