Explaining the Yijing to a Distant Friend: An Introduction to the Xici Zhuan
An introduction to the Xici Zhuan (Appended Statements) of the Zhouyi, written for a faraway reader. Beginning with the fundamental concepts of hexagrams, lines, yin-yang, and the high and the low, it clarifies the composition and reading of the Xici, dispels the most common misunderstandings of beginners and overseas readers, and paves the way for a close study of the twelve chapters of the Upper Xici.
The Occasion
The Xici is one of the commentarial appendices (zhuan) to the Zhouyi (the Book of Changes). To discuss the Xici, one must first speak of the Zhouyi; and to speak of the Zhouyi, one must begin at the very beginning. So before we commence in earnest, here is this introductory essay -- like packing a fellow traveler's luggage before a long journey: written for friends who have never read the Zhouyi, for readers overseas, and for those willing to start afresh. Readers well versed in the classical tradition may skip this essay and proceed directly to the first lecture.
In the Zhouyi there is a hexagram called Jian (Gradual Advance). Its six lines describe a wild goose flying stage by stage: first to the water's edge, then to a great rock, then to a high plateau, then to the trees, then to the hilltop, and at last soaring high among the clouds -- "its feathers may be used as ceremonial ornaments." Even the feathers it sheds can serve as adornments for the human world. Reading the Xici should be just like this: each stage has its own scenery, each stage its own resting place. This introduction is simply the first step at the water's edge.