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. Different Emphasis in Historical Interpretations
The different schools of Yi study reflect different emphases on this chapter:
The Han School of Image and Number (Xiang Shu Pai) (e.g., Meng Xi, Jiao Yan Shou, Jing Fang) focused on the "Xiang." They developed complex theories like the Trigram Energy (gua qi), Natal Embracing (nà jiǎ), Flying and Submerged (fei fu), etc., integrating almost everything in the cosmos into the system of trigram images. This school represents an extreme development of the first half of the chapter: "The Sage perceived the profundities of the world, and simulated them according to their outward forms; he depicted them according to what was appropriate for the things, and thus he is called the Xiang."
The Wei-Jin School of Rationale and Principle (Yi Li Pai) (e.g., Wang Bi, Han Kangbo) emphasized "meaning," advocating "forgetting the Image to grasp the Meaning" (dé yì wàng xiàng, 得意忘象) and "sweeping away the Image to return to Rationale." They argued that excessive preoccupation with images and numbers obscured the underlying principles, advocating for direct apprehension of the rationale of the trigrams and lines. This school, in a sense, stressed the latter half of the passage—"attaching statements to determine auspiciousness and inauspiciousness"—as the Ci (Rationale) is the ultimate goal, and the Xiang is merely the means.
The Song Dynasty Neo-Confucians (e.g., Cheng Yi, Zhu Xi) attempted to balance image-number and rationale-principle. Cheng Yi's Yichuan Yizhuan stressed rationale without abandoning image; Zhu Xi's Zhou Yi Benyi emphasized original meaning (the function of divination) while incorporating rationale, each with a different focus but all attempting synthesis.
The Qing Dynasty Philologists (Pǔ Xué Jiā) (e.g., Hui Dong, Jiao Xun, Zhang Huiyan) returned to the path of image and number, using rigorous textual criticism to reconstruct the Han Dynasty system of image-number learning, correcting the tendency of Song scholars to engage in empty talk about rationale.
These different approaches to Yi study are actually developments of different facets of this chapter. If we return to the scripture itself, we find that the design of the scripture emphasizes the balance of Xiang and Yao, the balance of "structure" and "process," and the balance of "observation" and "decision-making"—any interpretation that leans too heavily on one side will miss the complete intention of the text.