The Yijing as a Receptive Text:A Phenomenological Research*#

Abstract:In the reception of Yijing 《易经》(also as The Book of Changes),the existence of the text of Yijing as a reception text should not be regarded as an objective history book or simple record of divination,but as a typical living text consisting of strata from Yan 言 (the stratum of sound and concrete meaning units by Ingarden) to Xiang 象 (the stratum of imaginative forms) and Yi 意 (the stratum of metaphysical formation).It originated from real life,but was not limited by this concrete existence.Thus,the existence of Yijing not only included writings,but also the existence in the process of interpretation by latter receivers,therefore realizing a lively transcending.Yijing as a reception text should not be regarded as a closed and objective record,but an open and appealing text to all receivers.

Keywords:Yijing;reception aesthetics;text;appeal

I

TheYi易 is a paradigm of Heaven and Earth,therefore it can fulfill theDaoof Heaven and Earth.Upward,we use theYi易 to observe the configuration of Heaven;downward,we examine the patterns of Earth.Thus we understand the reasons underlying what is opaque and what is evident.1黄寿祺、张善文：《周易译注》，上海：上海古籍出版社，2002年，第535页。[HUANG Shouqi and ZHANG Shanwen,Zhouyi yizhu (Annotations on Zhouyi),Shanghai:Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House,2002,535.]

This is a high praise ofYi易 by theXici Zhuan《系辞传》(Commentary on the Appended Statements).The expounding was plain and simple,yet fulfilled with deep affection and life experience ofYi易.Throughout the centuries,the later scholars ofYi易学 (YiStudies) were all fully convinced by this axiom.In their minds,the book ofZhouyi《周易》was originally a divine classic ever since its creation,and the writer of this omniscient classic could only be an ancient sage.Thus,a hermeneutical circle was formed:the scholarship ofYi易 would always interpret theYijingin the orientation of the ultimate paradigm of “TheYi易 is a paradigm of Heaven and Earth”(易与天地准),whereas their conclusion would also testify theDao道 of ancient sages which had already been stressed in theShi Yi十翼 (Ten Wings).In the view of Hans R.Jauss,the author of theYizhuan《易传》was like the “first reader” ofYijing,and the writing of theYizhuanalso became the primitive impetus for the scholarship ofYi易.

However,this hermeneutic circle was broken a hundred years ago,especially after the rise of the scholars ofGushi Bian古史辨(the School of Analysis of Ancient History).Profoundly influenced by the New Culture Movement (新文化运动) at the turn of the twentieth century,these scholars published a series of articles of textual and historical research,most of which were collected in theGushi Bian.In modern times,Gushi Bianscholars such as Gu Jiegang 顾颉刚 (1893—1980),Qian Xuantong 钱玄同 (1887—1939) and Li Jingchi 李镜池 (1902—1975) were the most influential.Their methodology,in short,was to break the antiquated traditional methodology by means of evidential research (实证),therefore disclosing the origin of the historical texts.With the study ofYi易，this meant doing away with the traditional statement of “Written by three sages and lasting three antique eras” (人更三圣，世历三古),hence revealing the original feature as “divination ofZhouyi.”2杨庆中：《二十世纪中国易学史》，北京：人民出版社，2000年，第113页。[YANG Qingzhong,Ershi shiji Zhongguo yixue Shi (The History of Scholarship of Yi in the 20th Century),Beijing:Renmin Publishing House,2000,113.]Oriented by this new paradigm,they made a discreet historical research on the“objective” facts correlated to theGuayao ci卦爻辞 (statements of hexagrams and lines).For instance,Gu Jiegang studied the historical stories such as “King Hai’s loss of cattle and sheep in the Kingdom of Youyi,” “Marquis of Kang bestowed horses to baronage,” and so forth,that happened in Yin and Zhou dynasties and were recorded inYijing.In conclusion,he pointed out that,although these affairs recorded inYijing“actually took place in history,they were misrepresented by later readers.” For example,the story of Marquis of Kang originally referred to the historical fact recorded inShiben《世本》(Genesis of Pedigree):“During enfeoffment,the king dedicated horses,and the Marquis of Kang was adept at raising livestock,and became prosperous indebted to it.” But in later interpretation,“as was said by Wang Bi 王弼 (226—249) and Kong Yingda 孔颖达 (574—648),‘Kang,literally refers to flourishing.And Kong added,Hou (Marquis) means the promoting courtier.’ The reasons of this interpretation were,firstly,they didn’t know the existence of Marquis of Kang in early Zhou dynasty,secondly,even if they knew about early Zhou’s Marquis of Kang,they had to make this evidence obscure in order to defend the traditional paradigm of ‘King Wen wrote the statements,’ which was evident in the cases like explaining Viscount of Ji as ‘Haizi’ (荄滋),‘Haizi’ (亥子) and ‘It’s son’(其子).”3顾颉刚：《古史辨》第3册，上海：上海古籍出版社，1982年，第17页。[GU Jiegang,Gushi Bian (Discussions of Ancient Chinese History),vol.3,Shanghai:Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House,1982,17.]After all,theGushi Bianscholars put all traditional interpretations into “brackets” and probed directly into the historical facts,to demonstrate thatYijingandYizhuanwere the outcome of absolutely opposite historical concepts.Therefore the traditional interpreting methodology of “interpreting theYijingin accordance toYizhuan” (以传解经) had lost its justifiability of “objective” existence;also,the old statement of “[Yijing]written by four sages” (四圣一揆) originating fromYizhuanhad become a pseudo-theory,as if constructing a mansion on sand,for the writers ofYizhuanlived through the Warring States era to the Qin-Han dynasties,whose statements were the least objective or trustworthy.In this sense,the true feature ofYijingshould only be confined as a book of divination,and all contents in the book should be contemporary objective facts,whereas theYizhuanmisrepresented the truth and transformed theZhouyiinto a monograph of philosophy.Therefore,there should be no logic correlations betweenGuayao xiang卦爻象 (the images of hexagrams and lines) andGuayao ci卦爻辞 (the statements).

Intrigued byGushi Bianscholars,the traditional scholarship ofYi易was shaken from the root,as the genesis of this tradition,i.e.,theYizhuanwas peeled off from theYijing,only because the interpretation ofYijingbyYizhuandid not seem to coincide with the objective facts recorded inYijing.This perspective was evidently amazing and refreshing,but what made it so retrospective and meditative was the fact that the scholars who drastically opposed the tradition were always regarding themselves as defenders of tradition.As was said by Gu Jiegang:“TheYijingwas originally divination,thePoetry《诗经》 originally ancient songs,we are just disclosing their originality;the so called construction here is nothing but ‘recovery,’ and the so called destruction but a sweeping of the obscure dust.”4Ibid.,1.In this sense,the “tradition” recognized by theGushi Bianscholars was merely the objective facts in history,while the later interpretation were only spraying a layer of mist above the authentic history,same as how the writers ofYizhuandeviated theYijing.In summary,the starting point of Gu’s theory was his stratified accumulation of history.InYu Qian Xuantong Xiansheng Lun Gushi Shu《与钱玄同先生论古史书》 (On the Ancient History with Professor Qian Xuantong),he listed his historical criteria:1.“The later the era,the longer the span of the time in the ancient legend”;2.“The main figure is amplified further and further in legend”;3.“Although we don’t have the real situation of a certain affair in history,yet we are able to figure out the original situation of the affair in legend.”5Ibid.,4.Obviously,the revolutionary views of theGushi Bianscholars were inherited from the traditional trend of suspecting the antiquity which had existed for thousands of years.As was summarized by Li Zehou 李泽厚,this trend of thought would draw conclusions,make judgments,make choices,and exert applications in accordance to the reasons of people,regardless of the traditional or adventitious facts,and it was just for this practical reason that the Chinese nationality adapted the critical environment for all the thousands of years.6路新生：《中国近三百年疑古思潮史纲》，上海：上海人民出版社，2001年，第1页。[LU Xinsheng,Zhongguo jin sanbai nian yigu sichao shigang (The Study of the Suspicion of Antiquity in the Latest 300 Years),Shanghai:Shanghai People’s Publishing House,2001,1.]For the scholarship ofYi易,when this suspicion came to fuse with the new culture movement,the theoretical horizon of the scholarship ofYi易 was thoroughly transformed.From then on,the new hermeneutical paradigm of separating theYizhuanfrom theYijing(经传分观)was widely accepted,and the most influential scholars inYi易 such as Gao Heng 高亨 (1900—1986) and LiJingchi were all deeply influenced and oriented by this paradigm.Today,though many scholars ofYi易disagree about the thorough separation ofYizhuanfromYijing,they still admit the gap between the two ancient books especially during interpretation.Whether we accept it or not,this is a paradigmatic revolution in the interpretation ofZhouyi.

From the traditional acknowledgement that “theYi易 is a paradigm of Heaven and Earth”to the statement of “separating theYizhuanfromYijing,” we can outline queries of three layers,beginning with the validity of the interpretation ofYijingbyYizhuan.The scholars who suspect the traditional interpretation ofYi易 deny the objectivity or,in other words,the scientific value of the interpretation ofYizhuan,because of the discrepancy or even the contradiction betweenYizhuanandYijing.Thus the tradition ofYi易 was shaken from the root,which introduces the second level of query,the historicity ofZhouyi:which text,in the overall scholarship ofYi,can be ascertained as the authentic existence ofYijing—the material existence ofYijingas a divinatory book in the Yin-Zhou dynasties,or the acceptedYijingin the historical horizon of the traditional scholarship? This query is followed by the third,which is to question the ultimate existence ofYijing:if,chronically and spatially,theYijinghad existed ever since the first compiling of the book,which “copy”among all the time and space is the original one? Or,how can we define the authentic existence of the broadly accepted and interpreted classic ofYijing?

Apparently,the key fact to reply to the queries above is the way of existence of the text ofYijing.Essentially,the scholars insisting on the separation would only admit the earliest text of theYijingas the authentic one,i.e.,the book first created in West Zhou dynasty.Therefore the later scholars ofYi易 are simply external visitors to a pile of “fixed text,” for they are only permitted to accept the fixed facts and static meanings inYijing,which only serve as an alienated recorder of objective ancient history.However,this is not the case at all:when we study an ancient classic,only when we consider the text as an inclusive integrity or a live spirit can the essence of the text be broadly accepted by the later readers.And only when the classic exists as an intentional object which constantly appeals reception and interpretation,and always open to evolution and conversation,can the text be regarded as a live spirit,other than a dead recording,as was stated in theDa Zhuan《大传》 (Commentary on the Appended Statements):“Therefore the gentleman observes the images and ponders the statements in tranquility,and examines the changes and ruminates the prognostication in motivation.This is why help befalls from Heaven,it’s auspicious,and nothing will fail.How perfect is theYi易! It is by means of theYi易 that the nobleman exalts his virtue and broadens his undertakings.”7黄寿祺、张善文：《周易译注》，第531页，542页。[HUANG Shouqi and ZHANG Shanwen,Zhouyi yizhu (Annotations on Zhouyi),531,542.]

In the interpretation ofYijingby theYizhuan,it is rather clear that there is a stratified structure fromYi意 (the Idea),throughXiang象 (the “Image”),and toYan言 (the “Writing”).The writer of theYizhuanmust be interpreting theYijingwith an overall understanding of theDaoofYi易derived from the basic classic,which forms the stratum of idea,rendering itself the starting point of the composing ofYizhuan.In order to be transformed into the materialized words which could be read and understood by later readers,the metaphysical understanding of idea must be cast upon the images and numbers,which makes up of the “Image Weaved by Human Minds”(人心营构之象).Such is the hermeneutical stratum of image.In the view of phenomenology,the stratum of image is not the image of hexagrams and lines in the traditional scholarship ofYi易.Literally the latter refers to the drawings of hexagrams and lines,in comparison to the written words.However,during interpretation,the Image as a hermeneutical stratum is a metaphysical transcendence of all materialized drawings,the former being an abstract existence of image and numbers in the mind of writers,while the latter are materialized substances,which possess their own material forms and original meaning.These form the stratum of writing.As we all know,similar stratified correlations exist in the theory of Roman Ingarden.InThe Literary Work of Art,he lays out series of strata of the existence of the work of art:1.The sound stratum;2.Stratum of the units of meaning;3.Stratum of the objects represented;4.Stratum of the schematized aspects;5.Stratum of the metaphysical qualities.8Roman Ingarden,The Literary Work of Art (Chicago:The Northwestern University Press,1973:148).We need not follow every detail of Ingarden’s theory in this thesis,but his phenomenological ontology was widely accepted and debated.Many scholars responded to his theory by analyzing the strata of the existence of a work of art,including Mikel Dufrenne,Liu Ruoyu (James L.Y.Liu) 刘若愚 (1926—1986),and René Wellek.Nevertheless,the comments by Wang Bi,a brilliant figure of Obscurism (玄学),should never be omitted:

The Image serves to embody the Idea.The Writing serves to explain symbols.For the complete expression of Idea nothing functions better than Image,and for the complete explanation of Image nothing is better than Writing.The Writing is intended for the Image.Hence by examining Writing one may perceive Image.The Image is intended for the Idea.Hence by examining Image one may perceive Idea.The Idea is completely expressed by Image,and Image completely explained by Writing.9（魏）王弼著，楼宇烈注：《王弼集校释》，北京：中华书局，1999年，第609页。[WANG Bi,LOU Yulie,Wang Bi ji jiaoshi (Critical Edition of Wang Bi’s Collected Works),Beijing:Zhonghua Publishing House,1999,609.]

This is substantial evidence for the previous discussion,and it also illustrates the fact that theYijingis a perfect model to exemplify the stratified interpretation.In this sense,the existence of the text ofYijingshould be considered a Writing-Image-Idea structure.In the subsequent chapters,we’ll analyze the three strata one by one,whereas the ultimate intention of the analysis is to provide a reply to the three queries mentioned above.

II

Firstly,we shall analyze the stratum of Writing.As we have stressed above,Writing refers to all materialized drawings.For theYijing,the stratum of writing includes all drawings of symbols of hexagrams and lines (卦爻符号) as well as all statements ofGuasandYaos(卦爻辞),which form an integral system of ideographical expression.Though most scholars would admit that the symbols of hexagrams and lines are included in the stratum of image,the symbols and statements are both materialized entities to embody the ideas inYijing.In the interpretation ofYijing,the statements and symbols are the first objects manifested in the consciousness of readers.To continue,we will make a delineation of the two types of writings.

As we know,there are two types of hexagram symbols,the solid line () and the broken line ().The two line types are intricately interweaved in various hexagrams,rendering the symbols an integral graphical system.There are several explanations for the genesis of the lines,including the“genital organs,” astronomical pictographs,solar shadows,“divinatory implements,”“single-segment bamboo sticks,knotting of cords,divinatory numbers” and so forth.With the advent of archaeological discoveries and collation of the ancient bamboo slips and silk texts (上古简帛) in recent decades,especially the deciphering of the numerical diagrams (数字卦),the explanation of“divinatory numbers” is broadly accepted.In this theory,the solid and broken lines were originated from the abstraction of numbers,as was discussed by Lou Yulie 楼宇烈：“No doubt,the image of broken line‘ ’ was originated from the number‘ six,’ i.e.,the original connotation of the broken line was the divinatory number of six in divination,which was later summarized as representation of all even numbers,(...) while the solid line‘ ’was originated from the number ‘one,’ whose primitive meaning was the number of ‘one’ in divination,which later represented all the odd numbers.”10楼宇烈：《易卦爻象原始》，《北京大学学报（哲学社会科学版）》1986年第1期，第22页。[LOU Yulie,“Yigua yaoxiang yuanshi” (The Scope of the Genesis of the Symbols of Yi),Beijing daxue xuebao (Journal of Peking University[Philosophy and Social Sciences])1 (1986):22.]Another comment was made by Li Ling 李零:“From Shang and West Zhou Dynasty to the Spring-Autumn and Warring States eras,the divination ofYi易 in early China was always represented by 6 numbers:1,5,6,7,8,9,the hexagrams and lines represented by 1 and 8—the predecessors of theGuasandYaosin the historical texts ofZhouyiin present days,were still in use until early Han dynasty.”11李零：《中国方术考》，北京：东方出版社，2001年，第258页。[LI Ling,Zhongguo fangshu kao (The Research on the Alchemy of China),Beijing:Orient Publishing House,2001,258.]Though the views on numerical diagrams are still under hot debate and serious suspicion,there is no doubt that the solid and broken lines are abstract representations of odd and even numbers.More importantly,the two line types are closely correlated to the divination numbers,as we can see from theCommentary on the Appended Statements:

The number of the great expansion is fifty,and the use of it is forty-nine.We divide these[stalks]in two groups,thereby representing the two.We dangle one single stalk,thereby representing the three.We count off the stalks by fours,representing the four seasons.We gather the odd ones to a space between the fingers,thereby representing an intercalary month.Within five years,there is always a second intercalary month,so we place a second lot of stalks between the fingers,followed by the dangling of another stalk.Thus the number of stalks to formQian乾is 216,while the number of stalks to formKun坤is 144,the total number being 360,which matches the number of days of a year.And the number of stalks of the two parts[ofZhouyi]is 11,520,which corresponds to the number of the myriad of things.Therefore it takes four operations to form theYi易,and takes 18 changes to make a hexagram.12黄寿祺、张善文：《周易译注》，第548—549页。[HUANG Shouqi and ZHANG Shanwen,Zhouyi yizhu (Annotations on Zhouyi),548—49.]

This is the only paragraph depicting the process of divination inYizhuan.We can see that the configuration of the lines to be solid or broken,which would at last form an integrated sixline hexagram,is practically determined by the number of stalks in the divinatory operations.In this respect,the symbols of hexagrams and lines are,in the original state,connotations of numbers,or,we can assert,the materialization of numbers.As was recorded inZuo Zhuan《左传》 (the Commentaries of Zuo),Han Jian 韩简,an aristocrat in Spring Autumn era concluded as such:“Turtles correlate to[foretelling]images,and the Divination correlates to numbers.”（15th Year of Lu Xigong《左传·鲁僖公15年》）

Next we’ll discuss the statements.The basic components of the statements ofYijingare written characters.Unlike phonetically-based alphabets such as the Latin alphabet,the Chinese characters are abstract,graphical,and vividly derivative,and each graphically-based character is correlated to a certain concrete image ever since it was created,thus making the integrity of Chinese characters an ideographic system,as was summarized by Zhu Liangzhi 朱良志:“The fundamental feature of Chinese is that its characters correspond to concrete images,rendering itself a strongly visible graphically-based symbol system.”13朱良志：《中国艺术的生命精神》，合肥：安徽教育出版社，1998年，第128页。[ZHU Liangzhi,Zhongguo yishu de shengming jingshen (The Spirit of Life in the Art of China),Hefei:Anhui Education Publishing House,1998,128.]In this sense,both the symbols of hexagrams and lines and written characters are the abstraction of certain objects,which is the original meaning of the symbol.Therefore each word or character inYijingwould have a fundamental nature,a most essential and originative signified.Now let’s takeYuan,Heng,Li,Zhen(元、亨、利、贞),the four characters that have the highest frequency of appearance inYijingas the major object to analyze.As ofYuan(元),as was explained inShuowen Jiezi《说文解字》(Analysis and Comments on the Origin of Characters):“Yuan means origin,composed byOne(一),andWu(兀).” InErya·Shigu《尔雅·释诂》(Exposition and Glossary of Elegancy),“Yuanmeans the Head (首).” These were both expounding the original meaning of the character ofYuan.Besides,Gao Heng explained the essential meaning ofYuanas “Big”(大),with collateral evidence fromMao Shi《毛诗》 (the Mao Edition of Poetry) andLi Ji《礼记》 (Notes on Rituals),which could provide another reasonable explanation.Also inShuowen,“Heng(亨) means dedication,which could be classified in the group ofGao(高) with omission,imitating the pattern of dedicating cooked sacrifice.” In the view of Gao Heng,the characterHengis parallel to “Xiang”(享),with evidence of a number of statements inYijing.ForLi(利),theShuowenexplained:“[Li]means blade,classified with knife,becauseLifollows harmony,[it’s also]classified in harmony with omission.As was explained inYijing,‘Liis the harmony of justice.’” AndZhen(贞) means,inShuowen:“Divination,classified inBu(卜),combined withBei(贝) as the dedication (贽);or explained asDing(鼎)with omission of phonetic element,byJing Fang(京房).” (Needs proper citation here) The traditional scholarship ofYi易 always interpreted theZhenas Righteous (正),however,with more and more ancient texts discovered,especially the oracle bones and shells being unearthed in recent decades,the “original” meaning ofZhenexemplified by these seemed certain to be divination.In conclusion,each written character inYijinghas its own original meaning,which is relatively stable and clearly defined.

Furthermore,since all statements are constituted by characters,each item of statements would also have an “original signified” because of this.In the view of traditional scholarship,all statements correlate to the integral pattern of images and numbers as well as theDaoof Heaven and Humans （天人之道）.However,after the textual researches of scholars ofYi易 such as Gu Jiegang,Li Jingchi,Guo Moruo 郭沫若 (1892—1978),and so on,a pictograph of social history full of slashing and burning cultivation,giving marriage and giving birth,dedicating and fighting of the ancestors of the Chinese nationality in Shang-Zhou dynasties had thereby become apparent gradually.Among the above,Guo Moruo’s research was very typical.In hisZhouyi Shidai de Shehui Shenghuo《〈周易〉时代的社会生活》(The Social Lives of the Era ofZhouyi),he re-digested the historical value of thestatementsofZhouyi,and depicted the true history of Yin-Zhou dynasties in three aspects:basis of life,social structure and spiritual production.For example,he pointed out that statements such as “Hunting a deer without a forester,could only end up getting lost in the depths of forest” (Third Six of Zhun) and so forth reflected the fishing and hunting lives of the pre-Qin era;“Losing sheep in Territory of Yi” (Fifth Six of Dazhuang) and so on reflected the husbandry of that time;“A withered poplar blossom,signifying the old lady getting a young husband” (Fifth Nine of Daguo) reflected marriage,politics,the military,religion,and many aspects of social lives.In this respect,Guo states that “apart from less than a half of the statements as the declaration of the extremely abstract and concise ideas,most of the statements were depicting the real social lives which were existent at that time.Therefore if we could make a systematical differentiation of the dominant and subordinate elements of the sentences reflecting the real social lives,we would be able realize the situation of the social life as well as a model of all the spiritual productions of that time.Thus,making theYijingdepict theYijingitself and disclosing all layers of mystic covers,we can figure out what kind of primitive people are dancing nakedly.”14郭沫若：《周易时代的社会生活》，见蔡尚思主编：《十家论易》，上海：上海人民出版社，2006年，第9—29页。[GUO Moruo,“Zhouyi shidai de shehui shenghuo” (The Social Lives in the Time of Zhouyi),in Shijia lun Yi(Discussion on Yi by Ten Authorities),ed.CAI Shangsi,Shanghai:Shanghai People’s Publishing House,2006,9—29.]

Hence,we can see that the first stratum ofYijingas a receptive text to emerge in front of readers is actually correlated to an objective existence,the social life,and the objectivity constituted the signified contents of meaning of each word.No doubt,the signified contents are the original meaning of the characters and statements,which form the materialized constituents of the existence ofYijing.In the view of reception aesthetics,the original meaning is like theRepertoire,which would provide a substantiated pre-understanding and materialized foundation for the interpretation ofYijing.This means that any understanding of theYijingwould be based on the original meaning,and would be oriented by these primitive horizons.It is for this reason that many scholars equalized this stratum as the total existence of the text ofYijing,regarding theYijingas merely a history book reflecting the social lives of its time.In this sense,the symbols of hexagrams and lines are nothing but the abstraction of numbers,and the statements nothing but accumulation of objective facts.Thus,the historical existence ofYijingwill be limited to the materialized layer;i.e.,only the objectiveYijingwill be regarded as the authentic existence ofYijing.

However,this pure objectiveYijingdoes not exist,or does not constitute the whole existence ofYijing.On the one hand,the symbols and statements were not created at the same time.The recording and editing of the rites of divination had been going on for over a thousand years,along with the editing and accumulating of the primitive texts ofYijing,until certain noblemen in the Zhou dynasty observed the images and collated the statements,when the text ofYijinghad finally been settled at a comparative stable form of existence.Therefore it is a metaphysical system or,in Hans.R.Jauss’s theory,a specificErwartungshorizont.Thus the process of writing and compiling ofYijingis more a fusion of the original meaning of the symbols with written characters that constitute the statements,rather than a mechanical and objective correlation.Therefore,the symbols of hexagrams and lines are not isolated,but entirely intentional and apparently inclusive of the statements.

On the other hand,the statements are not purely objective either.In the view of theGushi Bianscholars,the statements were nothing but records of historical facts.Although later scholarship made a compromise from this extreme acknowledgement,they still admitted that theYijingwas the accumulation of divinatory records.However,theYijingwas not created at one spot of time and space,but was written by a number of authors over a long span of time.By quotingZhou Li《周礼》 (The Rituals of Zhou),Zhu Bokun 朱伯崑 explained the primitive recording of divination as such:“At times of divination,when it’s completed,the wizard who was in charge of divination would record all the images and judgments during divination,and stored them and the dedications to the gods in the royal treasuries.At the end of year,they would count and analyze all the recordings,to see how many among them had been proved efficacious.The efficacious ones would be sorted out as the basis of next operation of divination.”15朱伯崑：《易学哲学史》，北京：昆仑出版社，2005年，第11页。[ZHU Bokun,Yixue zhexue Shi (History of Philosophical Theories of Zhouyi),Beijing:Kunlun Publishing House,2005,11.]In this respect,we can see that the compilation of statements was always mixed with subjective ideas.As a living person,aDasein,the compilers and writers of statements were always practicing their own experiences while creating theYijing,hence denying the objectivity of the book.

III

Generally,the creation ofYijingfollows a process of “idea →hexagram →writing (words and symbols),” in which the life experience of the writers would be cast upon the images and at last be materialized in concrete writings.But the process of the interpretation ofYijingis in a reverse sequence;i.e.,the interpretation always starts from the written symbols to the images,and then goes deep to the mind of the author,and this is the authentic display of the text in history.The stratum of writing is evidently correlated to realistic social lives,which is well addressed by the comment that “TheYideals with the start of things and completion of affairs” inYizhuan.Another reason whyYijingis correlated to realism is that it was a book of divination,which was very practical in the process of divination (this sentence needs rephrasing).However,precisely because of the divinatory feature,the book obtained its transcendence and intentionality,rendering the understanding of the book to go beyond the materialized and substantial Writing to the stratum of Image (this sentence needs rephrasing).

In general,the process of divination would include:

divination by stalks (揲蓍)→outlining theBasic Hexagram(本卦)→ascertaining theDerivative Hexagram(之卦)→locating the correlated statements (卦爻辞)→interpreting the statements→making judgment

In this process,the divination by stalks is the so called “Four Operations and Eighteen Changes”(四营十八变),to decide whether the line is solid or broken according to the number of remaining stalks after operation.Though the later scholarship ofYi易(up to the present day) has disagreed abouthow to locate the exact statement after the basic and derivative hexagrams being outlined,it is firmly undeniable that further interpretation to the item of statement is necessary for the final judgment of auspicious or inauspicious.For example,when the divinatory located the line statement of theFirst SixofKunas the judgment for this divination:treading on frost,and the solid ice arrives,the wizard presiding this divination must make an initial understanding of the realistic fact of treading on ice,then correlate this picture to the inquired affair for the divination,and hence outline an integral image of hexagram signifying auspicious or inauspicious,form a persuasive explanation to the image and finally,and at last answer the inquiries of this divination.Some scholars include this process in the pattern of divinatory theology,considering it an objectively definitive interpretation.

Actually,the process of divination,especially from the locating of statement to the judgment of fortune is a transcendence of the mind.In the case of treading on ice,all characters such as Tread,Frost,and Ice have their own stable and static original meaning,which are acknowledged by all interpreters.However,confining the interpretation of these characters to their own original meaning will not reach a judgment of auspicious or inauspicious,for there must be a fusion of the fundamental meaning of the statement and the specific information of the time and space of divination.In this interpretation,the meaning of the characters must go beyond the literal definition and form an integral live image,which includes the subjective ideas of the wizards and inquirers.This transcendence may take place in merely one second’s time before logic takes effect,and even with unforeseeable mystic,not so scientific,and obviously subjectiveVorurteil.But it is significant in the study ofYijing,because this transcendence,which is based on objective and realistic existence but goes beyond its original horizon,is just a perfect model for the paradigm of the Image-thought of ancient China,rendering itself azhong miao zhi men众妙之门 (Gate to the Myriads of Miracle).

What we have discussed above is the transcendence of the stratum of image inYijing,and the direct outcome of this transcendence would be the “consciousness of image”;i.e.,every item of statements would form an integral image (整体之象) which may transcend the concrete meaning of characters and reach a thoroughly new understanding,always including the life experience of“auspicious,inauspicious,regret,and mean” (吉凶悔吝).The transcendence in divination is not uniquely possessed by Chinese culture alone,but also a key feature of the poetic thought that had been widespread in the world,even at the early stages of human culture.In Frazer’sGolden Bough,we can see this transcendence everywhere.In the native Indian tribes in North America,people would annihilate the enemy by means of destroying their idol;the royal physicians in Roman times declared that people could smear acne with anything at time of meteors falling in the sky,for they believed that the acne could be wiped off as the falling meteor;and soldiers in Madagascar were forbidden to see hedgehogs,bull knees,roosters that died in fights,or animals stabbed to death,to avoid either becoming a coward or tragically losing their lives on the battlefield.16James G.Frazer,The Golden Bough:A Study of Magic and Religion (Oxford:Oxford University Press,2009).These various traditions disseminated all over the ancestral world of human beings shared a common feature:that they all transcended concrete and realistic writings to reach something far more remote but closer related to the life existence of people.Thus the meaning of the original image was transcended,and became inclusive of the subjective consciousness of human beings.Furthermore,the static drawings obtained a live spirit,which was closely related to the vivid experience of life.Without the life experience,the written characters and lines were simply a dead corpse.

This interpretation will definitely lead to the consciousness of numbers.In theYijing,this consciousness is displayed as the acknowledgement of the up or down of the position of lines and of the sequence of the 64 hexagrams.It is true that there is abundant evidence proving that the appearance ofYao Ti爻题 (titles of the lines) may be later than the creation ofYijing.And there must have been multiple editions of sequence of 64 hexagrams in the unearthed pre-Qin texts besides the one depicted in theXugua Zhuan《序卦传》 (Commentary of Sequence).But one thing is certain that there must have been a clear consciousness about the sequence of hexagrams and the mutual relationship between the six lines.We can find traces of this in the historical texts of West Zhou dynasty,among which the symbols of hexagrams and lines are the most direct evidence.As we know,the statements such as “He who effaces his own prominent qualities will be able to practice constancy” and “A yellow lower garment means fundamental good fortune”exemplify the ontological consciousness of the position of lines in hexagrams,especially the middle position.Nevertheless,according to the view of separation (经传分观),the writer ofYijingnever had any acknowledgement of the position of lines or the image of hexagrams,they simply made a mechanic correlation of these to the records of divination.However,with an overview of the statements of hexagrams and lines,we can find that the compilers ofYijingstill possessed a numerical acknowledgment of the hexagrams and lines.In the statistical study of some scholars in comparison,such as Huang Peirong 黄沛荣,the statements for the second and fifth lines are always the most auspicious,which sum up at 47.06%,almost half of the total;and they have the fewest inauspicious judgments,only 13.94%.Apparently,this phenomenon must not be casual,but “closely related to the position of lines.”17黄沛荣：《易学乾坤》，参见杨庆中：《周易经传研究》，北京：商务印书馆，2005年，第58—59页。[HUANG Peirong,“Yixue qiankun” (Qian and Kun of Scholarship of Yi),in YANG Qingzhong,Zhouyi jingzhuan yanjiu (Study of Basic Classics and Commentaries of Zhouyi),Beijing:Commercial Press,2005,58—59.]Besides,it is also very common to see correspondence between statements and images in written words.The character “middle”(中) is most often seen in the statements of the second and fifth line,such as “Here in the army,middle and fortunate” (Second NineofShi);“Good fortune comes in middle” (Second SixofJiaren);“If one treads in the middle,he’s not to blame” (Fifth NineofGuai) and so on;also,the character “Bao” (包) is often seen in these two middle positions.We can also find ancillary evidence for this view in the recently unearthed texts.After a research into the “digital hexagrams”on the pottery pads of the West Zhou dynasty unearthed in 2001 in Xiren Village,Changan County,Shanxi Province,Li Xueqin 李学勤discovered that,if the divinatory numbers recorded on it were transformed into hexagrams ofYijing,they could be a perfect match to the accepted edition of sequence of hexagrams:“The[transformed]four consecutive hexagrams,Shi,Bi,XiaoxuandLü(师、比、小畜、履) were corresponded to the 7th,8th,9th and 10th hexagram in theSequence,and the two hexagrams,JijiandWeiji(既济、未济) corresponded to the 63rd and 64th.This correspondence of sequence can hardly be casual.”18李学勤：《周易溯源》，成都：巴蜀出版社，2006年，第234—237页。[LI Xueqin,Zhouyi suyuan (Research of Origin of Zhouyi),Chengdu:Bashu Pu blishing House,2006,234—37.]He also discovered that the four hexagrams mentioned above were mutually reverse,rendering themselves a tiny unity among the upper classics,and the same withJijiandWeiji.No doubt these are solid evidence for the intentional arrangement of symbols of hexagrams,exemplifying the consciousness of the either reversible or opposite in the mutual structural relationship (非覆即变) had already existed in the minds of the ancient people.Therefore,Professor Li concluded:“This was not general divination,but the thought ofYi易.”19Ibid.In this respect,we can see that,in the mind of the compilers ofYijing,there had already been an acknowledgement of the integral pattern of the statements and images,and that of the sequence of the overall lines and hexagrams,though the pattern may not be strictly concrete and logically conceptual.

Therefore,the stratum of image in the text ofYijingis not an objective and substantive layer.Although it is closely related to the stratum of writing,it has transcended beyond the writing,and it is through the intervention of human subjectivity during divination that the images obtained an intensive intentionality.However,in the interpretation,the images fail to make a thorough transcendence beyond the stratum of writing,for the reason that the integral image of each line or hexagram only plays as a single experience in a certain dot of space and time.Also,because none of these lines and hexagrams is identical,the experiences are apparently heterogeneous.But,what is it that unified all these heterogeneous images into one totality? The reply may only be derived from the transcendence of images—the stratum of “Idea.”

IV

Any metaphysical system must have an ultimate ontological essence,the most essential existence.Evidently,there was an overall acknowledgment ofYi易 in the mind of the compilers ofYijingwhen the book was created,as was stated by Yu Dunkang 余敦康 (1930—2019),though the overall acknowledgment ofZhouyiwas inclusive of anything,the essence at the kernel stratum shrank into theYi Dao易道 (DaoofYi) which was extremely trivial.TheDaoofYi易道 was the theoretical essence or innermost spirit ofZhouyi,which entirely negated the essential definition ofZhouyi.However,the acknowledgement in the mind of the writer ofYijingstill remains contradictory.In the view of the traditional scholarship ofYi易,the metaphysical essence of Heaven and Earth,Yin and Yang,thesan cai zhi dao三才之道 (Daoof Three Factors) are transcendentally included inZhouyi,and from where is the system of hexagrams and lines displayed.After being overridden at the turn of the twentieth century,another perspective is widely accepted:“In the seven to eight hundred years fromYijingtoYizhuan,Chinese culture underwent a significant evolution from witchcraft to humanity,which displayed a process of constant separating and annexation.”20Ibid.In other words,the theories reflected inYijingrepresent the destiny theology (天命神学) of the West Zhou dynasty,which was the production of divinatory culture;what is reflected inYizhuanis the humanity culture of the Warring States era,a philosophical system of the harmony of Heaven and Man (天人合一).Thus,the theoretical system constructed inYizhuanis a novel invention of the latter interpreters,which means that the theories of theDaoofYi易道,the philosophy of Yin and Yang,the disciplines of images and positions,as well as the philosophical system of observing the world and imitating the image （观物取象） are all appendages thrust upon the basic classics,rendering the latter a fabrication of a book of the sages,which puts the fundamental nature of divinatory culture into “brackets” and delineates theDaoof sages through its own pattern of hexagrams and lines.Admittedly this depiction might accord the objective history of evolution ofYijing.It is true that we cannot see any direct clue of fully grown and systematic theory of Yin and Yang,or disciplines or evenDaoofYi易道in the basic classic.However,in what basis could the writers ofYizhuanfabricate a system of philosophy of Yin and Yang and thrust that upon the statements and hexagrams ofYijing? And why could this mechanical system justify itself so tactically,with only a few exceptions? And why were the theories“invented” inYizhuanaccepted by generations afterwards,with few suspicions? These questions had been proposed at the rise ofGushi Bianscholars,but literally,the replies from the scholarship ofYi易 failed to override the traditional paradigm outlined byYizhuan,though the latter seems so contradictory under the queries of the scientific paradigm.In fact,theDaoofYi易道 correlated theYijingtoYizhuan,and fusing the two into one totality did exist;but it was not a substance,or it wouldn’t exist in a mature and fully developed form,but in a form of life concern in the text ofYijing.It is just the concern of life that unifies all the heterogeneous and mechanical symbols and characters into the receptive text ofYijing,and makes the latter emerge in front of the readers as a live integrity.

As we have discussed above,the basic feature of the divination ofYi易 is to give a reply to the question of life and to provide an ultimate judgment for the concern.Almost all questions answered by the diviners were closely related to the everyday life of people,and the judgment of auspicious or inauspicious always punctuated their life concerns,for the ultimate impetus for divination was just the worship for life.In conclusion,the ancestral people could always obtain their intuitive experience from their living behaviors.In Frazer’sGolden Bough,all the rituals,taboos,witchcrafts,and legends recorded either correlated to the life and death of people,or symbolized war,manufacture,marriage,and medication.All the heterogeneous and symbolized images of affairs and objects were intimate concerns for the survival of people,which was deeply and intricately rooted in the symbolic activities of the ancestral people,with divination as the most typical representation.Thus,in the divinatory rites,from the patterns of divination,people could outline a philosophy of life:here with the ancestral people,the consciousness of time and space gradually developed and expanded.In the rituals of worshiping their deity and ancestries,they may very possibly acknowledge the origin and development of the universe,society,and all human beings,as well as the will of gods and the circulation of Heaven,and notice the nature of the universe,and the rise and fall of the human history.21葛兆光：《中国思想史》第1卷，上海：复旦大学出版社，2003年，第38页。[GE Zhaoguang,Zhongguo sixiang Shi (An Intellectual History of China),vol.1,Shanghai:Fudan University Press,2003,38.]Now we see that this is also a hermeneutical circle (阐释的循环),and that divination itself is a life concern.Through divination,people were able to perceive the universal existence at a higher level.In this pattern,the behaviors of divination were stratified in the consciousness of people,and what was orienting them was the acknowledgement of life,which was so subjective and of apparent humanity features.Hence,Mou Zongsan 牟宗三 (1909—1995) pointed out that the philosophy of China was centralized in life,and the essence of Chinese philosophy was the acknowledgement of life.Therefore,in the text ofYijing,the integral system of 64 hexagrams and 384 lines and all items of statements are unified and oriented by the acknowledgement of life,which was summarized as the Analogy of Life by Zhu Liangzhi.In his view,different from the subordinate thinking with an opposing nature of the west,the life philosophy of China,especially the theory ofZhouyi,applied a correlative thinking,in the process of which the matters and materials,ideas and images,subjects and objects are mutually correlated,and the correlations are always discovered from the seemingly unrelated facts,while the inner basis of the correlations is life.“It was just in this sense that the Chinese regarded Heaven,Earth,and the whole nature as a big integrity,in which myriads of things displayed what they were,and gathered with their own kind,and formed a greater living integrity with their own lives.The significance of continual living was just playing itself as breeding and nurturing life on the chronicle axle,and constantly motivating life on the spatial axle (needs rephrasing).22朱良志：《中国艺术的生命精神》，第19—21页。[ZHU Liangzhi,Zhongguo yishu de shengming jingshen (The Spirit of Life in the Art of China),19—21.]As ofYijing,the system of hexagrams and lines,and their substantial carriers—the concrete written lines and characters—are all life existences.

In conclusion,the receptive text ofYijingshould be regarded as a stratified life existence,from the solid writing,to metaphysical images,and ultimately to the idea.It is closely correlated to the practical social lives,without being constrained in the concrete substantial existence,because these substantial objects cannot be mechanically connected as an integral text,for there is so much vacancy and braking in the pattern.And only in the interpretation of the receptors can the organic unification of the text ofYijingprocure accomplishment,as well as the accomplishment of the life experience of the symbolic system weaved inYijing.And it was just the life experience that became the ultimate source of interpretation of theYijing.Therefore the text ofYijingis far from purely objective,but is an appealing and intentional pattern of text;also,it is not a static and confined existence,nor is it a mechanic accumulation of a pile of objective facts or records of divination,but a motive and vivid life structure open to the interpreters and receptors.It is just this essential nature that helped theYijingfrom being replaced or eliminated in the generations of evolution of Chinese culture,but maintained an open and receptive text in the interpretations,and always so lively and impetuous.It is this point that was accepted by theYizhuan,that the latter constructed and displayed a dynamic system of interpretation ofYijing.

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