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.
IV. Reconsidering "Manifestation" (Jiàn)
One final detail is worth noting: the text uses the character "reveal/manifest" (jiàn, read xiàn) three times consecutively—"fortune and misfortune are revealed (jiàn) without," "meritorious achievements are seen (jiàn) in change," and "the sage's sentiment is manifested (jiàn) in the words." The final jiàn should also be read as xiàn.
Why does it not say the sage’s sentiment "is contained" (zài) in the words, or "resides" (cún) in the words, or is "entrusted" (jì) to the words, but specifically says it is "manifested" (jiàn) in the words$33
The use of "manifested" (xiàn) implies a process where something originally hidden is later revealed. The sage's sentiment is originally profound and inscrutable—Confucius said in the Analects, Book 17: "What does Heaven say$34 The four seasons proceed, and the myriad things are born. What does Heaven say$35" The sage is like Heaven; their sentiment is not easily shown. However, through the hexagram and line texts, this hidden sentiment is "revealed" (jiàn)—it manifests to those who study with diligence.
This forms a perfect resonance with another famous saying in the Xi Ci Shang:
"The Master said: 'Writings do not exhaust words, and words do not exhaust meaning.' If so, is the sage’s meaning not visible$36 The Master said: 'The sage establishes images to exhaust meaning, establishes hexagrams to exhaust the sincerity and falsehood of things, and attaches words to exhaust their expression.'"
"Establishing images to exhaust meaning"—the Xiang exhausts the sage's meaning. "Attaching words to exhaust expression"—the Cí exhausts the sage's words. "Establishing hexagrams to exhaust the sincerity and falsehood of things"—the hexagrams exhaust the reality and deception of all under Heaven. But after all this "exhausting," the sage's "sentiment" (qíng)—that more fundamental care and apprehension—is finally "manifested" (jiàn) through the Cí.
It is "manifestation" (jiàn), not "exhaustion" (jìn). "Exhaustion" implies complete depletion, while "manifestation" suggests something revealed without necessarily being fully depleted. This subtle difference tells us that: The hexagram and line texts can reveal a part of the sage’s sentiment, but whether the sage's sentiment can ever be completely exhausted$37 That is another question. This leaves eternal space for continuous interpretation and deepening by successive generations.