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.
III. Interpretations of the Cheng-Zhu School of Neo-Confucianism
Cheng Yi, in his Yichuan Yi Zhuan, integrated both "emulation" (xiào) and "resemblance" (xiàng) into the framework of the Theory of Heaven (Tian Lun). He argued that the reason the Yao can emulate the movement of Heaven and Earth is that the principle of Heaven (the "Principle" (Li) in the concept of "One Principle manifested in myriad forms") permeates both the natural world and the symbolic system. The correspondence between the hexagram/line symbols and the myriad things in Heaven and Earth is not due to some mysterious causal link, but because they both share the same "Heavenly Principle" (Tian Li).
Zhu Xi’s annotation in the Zhou Yi Ben Yi on this passage is concise:
"Emulate (Xiào), means to follow by analogy. Resemble (Xiàng), means to imitate. These both refer to the natural principles of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things."
Zhu Xi emphasized the "natural principles of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things"—this expands the reference of "this" (cǐ) from specific celestial and terrestrial images to universal principles. For Zhu Xi, the Yao do not emulate one specific thing, but the universal Principle that runs through all things.