Between Emulation and Resemblance: A Fundamental Inquiry into the Microcosm of the Dao of Change
This article deeply analyzes the core proposition of 'Yáo imitating Xiàng' found in the *Xici Zhuan II* of the *Zhou Yi*, distinguishing the dynamic differences between 'imitation' (xiào) and 'analogy' (xiàng), tracing the referent of 'this' (cǐ), and interpreting how Yáo-Xiàng constitutes the epistemological framework for revealing the subtle workings of the Dao within the Pre-Qin context.
I. Multiple Interpretations of "Within" and "Without"
"When the Yao and Xiang move within (dòng hū nèi), fortune and misfortune are revealed without (jiàn hū wài)"—this is the third layer of progression in the passage. The first two layers addressed the essence of Yao and Xiang (what), while this layer addresses how they operate (how).
But what exactly do "within" (nèi) and "without" (wài) refer to$15 Commentators throughout history have offered at least three interpretations.
First Interpretation: Within the Hexagram versus Affairs Outside the Hexagram. Han Kangbo’s commentary suggests: "The Yao and Xiang move within the hexagram; fortune and misfortune are revealed outside the hexagram." This means the Yin-Yang change of the Yao and the composition of the Xiang occur inside the hexagram body, but the resulting fortune or misfortune corresponds to actual affairs outside the hexagram. This is the most direct reading—the construction of the hexagram via divination instruments is "within," and the development of the situation is "without."
Second Interpretation: Within the Subtle and Hidden versus Outside the Manifest. Cheng Yi (Yichuan Yi Zhuan) tended to understand "within" as the subtle, invisible level, and "without" as the manifest, visible level. When commenting on the Kun hexagram, he said: "A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have surplus blessings; a family that accumulates evil deeds will surely have surplus calamities. Good and evil accumulate in the subtle, and fortune and misfortune manifest in the evident." The movement of the Yao and Xiang is like the accumulation of good and evil, operating in the minute details; the revelation of fortune and misfortune is like the descent of blessings and calamities, appearing in the evident.
Third Interpretation: Within the Mind versus Outside the Affairs. This interpretation carries a stronger flavor of Heart/Mind Learning (Xinxue). While Zhu Xi (Zhou Yi Ben Yi) did not explicitly propose this view, later Song dynasty Yi scholars (like Yang Wanli in Cheng Zhai Yi Zhuan) often interpreted "within" as internal self-cultivation, and "without" as external destiny or encounters. In this view, "the Yao and Xiang move within" means that by studying the Yao and Xiang, one cultivates internal insight, and "fortune and misfortune are revealed without" means this internal cultivation ultimately manifests in external fate.
The three interpretations are not mutually exclusive. From the overall perspective of pre-Qin thought, the Second Interpretation is closest to the original intent—it reveals the transformation relationship between the subtle and the manifest, the potential and the realization.