Between Emulation and Resemblance: A Fundamental Inquiry into the Microcosm of the Dao of Change

I. The Pre-Qin Semantics of Qíng: Not Emotion, But Essential Reality

The final and most subtle layer of the passage: "The sage's sentiment (qíng) is manifested in the words (cí)."

First, we must distinguish the meaning of qíng in the pre-Qin context, which does not perfectly align with modern "emotion." Qíng in pre-Qin thought has at least three core meanings:

First: Actual Substance or True State (Qíng shí). This is the oldest meaning. The Zuo Zhuan, Duke Xi, Year 28: "The true nature (qíng) and the false (wěi) of the people are all known." Here, qíng is contrasted with wěi (falsehood/artificiality), referring to the actual state of affairs. Zhuangzi, Discussion on Making Things Equal (Qi Wu Lun): "There is qíng and there is trust; there is non-action and there is no form." (Yǒu qíng yǒu xìn, wú wéi wú xíng.) "Having qíng" means the Dao has its essential reality (qíng shí), and "having trust" means the Dao has its verification.

Second: Innate Nature (Xìng Qíng). Xunzi, On Names (Zheng Ming): "Nature (xìng) is what Heaven provides; Qíng is the substance (zhì) of Nature." In Xunzi's framework, qíng is the substantial content of nature—the innate leanings toward liking and disliking that humans possess. Book of Rites (Li Ji), Yue Ji: "Man is born quiescent; this is the nature of Heaven. Moved by things, he stirs; this is the desire of nature." Qíng is closely linked to xìng (nature), being the natural reaction of nature upon encountering external things.

Third: Volitional Intent or Aspiration (Qíng zhì). The Odes Commentary (Mao Shi Xu): "Poetry is where intention (zhì) leads. In the heart, it is intention; when spoken, it becomes poetry. Qíng moves within and takes form in speech." Here, qíng is the inner will or aspiration, expressed through language (poetry, words).

Returning to "the sage's sentiment is manifested in the words," which meaning is most appropriate$28

Han Kangbo adopts the first meaning, suggesting that qíng refers to "actual substance": When the sage composes the hexagram and line texts, what is contained within them is the authentic substance (qíng shí) of the Dao of Heaven and Earth. Kong Yingda’s Zhengyi further elaborates on this: "The sage’s qíng is manifested in the texts of the hexagrams and lines; it means the sage’s sentiment of concern for governing the world is made evident in the words." Kong Yingda effectively combines the first and third meanings—the sage's qíng is both the true understanding of the Dao of Heaven and Earth and the profound care for governing the world.

I believe this synthetic understanding is most fitting. The sage's qíng is not mere emotional expression, nor is it cold objective record, but rather the sage's profound apprehension of the Dao of Heaven and Earth, combined with a deep concern for the welfare of the world, all condensed into the hexagram and line texts.