Cosmological Construction and Rational Essence of the Original Functions of the *Book of Changes* Based on Divination Tracing
This article traces the origins of the *I Ching*, arguing from oracle bone inscriptions of the character "shi" (筮) that its original function was not divination. It contrasts divination and *shi* to reveal the essential nature of early *Yi* studies as employing mathematical modeling to understand cosmic operations and perceive patterns of change, rooted in the philosophical wisdom of ancient peoples for comprehending nature and grounding existence rather than merely predicting fortune.
Section 1.2: The "Number" of Yarrow and the "Image" of Tortoise Shell — A Fundamental Difference in Cognitive Methods
Between "Bu" and "Shi," there exists an even deeper epistemological divergence.
The core of tortoise divination is "image" (象)—the cracks produced by heating the tortoise shell are uncontrollable in form, completely reliant on external random forces. What the diviner does is to "read" these randomly generated symbolic signs and associate them with specific meanings of good or ill fortune. This is a passive reception type of cognition: humans ask questions of the spirits, and the spirits "answer" through the cracks on the tortoise shell.
Shi divination is entirely different. The Xici Zhuan (Appended Sayings) meticulously records the operational process of the "Dayan Shi" (大衍之数, Great Elaboration of Numbers) method:
"The numbers for the Great Elaboration are fifty; forty-nine are used. Divide them into two to symbolize Yin and Yang; hang one to symbolize Three; count them in fours to symbolize the Four Seasons; return the remainder to the bracket to symbolize the intercalary month. Five years have two intercalary months, hence two brackets are made before hanging."
This passage reveals an astonishing fact: Every step of the Shi divination operation has a clear cosmological correspondence. "Divide them into two to symbolize Yin and Yang"—symbolizing Heaven and Earth (Yin and Yang); "hang one to symbolize Three"—symbolizing man standing between Heaven and Earth; "count them in fours to symbolize the Four Seasons"—symbolizing the passage of the four seasons; "return the remainder to the bracket to symbolize the intercalary month"—symbolizing the adjustment of leap months in the calendar.
This is not "randomly generating a number to ask about good or ill fortune," but simulating the fundamental structure of the cosmos through strict mathematical operations.
Why "simulate" the cosmic structure$7 If the sole purpose were to divine good or ill fortune, why go to such lengths to assign cosmological significance from astronomy and the calendar to each step$8 Wouldn't simply rolling dice, drawing lots, or observing bird flight be more convenient$9
This precisely indicates that the original purpose of Shi divination was not "prediction," but "understanding"—understanding the laws of Heaven and Earth's operation, understanding man's position in the cosmos, understanding the rhythm and regularity of change itself.
The Xici Zhuan continues:
"Therefore, the four operations complete the Yi, and eighteen changes form a hexagram."
The phrase "complete the Yi" (成易) is profoundly meaningful. Not "complete the divination" (成占), not "complete the prediction" (成卜), but "complete the Yi." What is accomplished by each Shi divination operation is not a divinatory result, but "Yi" itself—a concrete unfolding of the Way of Change.