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. Interpretations of the Han Dynasty Image and Number School
The mainstream of Han Dynasty Yi studies focused on Image and Number (Xiàng Shù). Han scholars, represented by Yu Fan, Xun Shuang, and Jing Fang, emphasized the specific correspondence between the Yao's image-number relations and reality when interpreting "The Yao are those that emulate this."
In his commentary, Yu Fan focused on techniques such as hexagram transformation, inner trigrams (hūtǐ), and the Nà Ji system (attributing lines to the five elements and celestial stems/earthly branches). He argued that "emulating this" referred to the correspondence between the Yin/Yang attribute of a line in a specific position and the concrete things in Heaven and Earth. For example, the first line emulates the beginning of Earth; the second, the completion of Earth; the third, the beginning of Man; the fourth, the completion of Man; the fifth, the beginning of Heaven; and the top line, the completion of Heaven. The Yin/Yang nature and position of each line emulate the specific state of movement within the Three Powers.
The contribution of Han numerical studies was to ground the meaning of xiào in concrete, operational correspondences. However, its limitation was an overemphasis on the technical details of image and number, sometimes obscuring the deeper philosophical implications carried by the word xiào.