Zhou's Yi Gu

Author: Shang Binghe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: The long-lost 2,000-year-old Fu Xi Da Yi has finally been restored to the world. The great achievement of Chinese Xiang Shu, the king of Yi Dao divination! Shang Binghe, known as Ziyue, was a native of Xingtang County, Hebei Province. Born in the ninth year of the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1870) and passing away in 1950, he was a graduate of the Guangxu era of the late Qing Dynasty. He was a highly learned scholar with an extensive body of writings, particularly excelling in the study of Yi. His major works include Commentary on Jiao’s Yi Lin, Jiao’s Interpretation of Yi, and Shang’s School of the Book of Changes. These three works established Shang’s in Chinese Yi studies, bridging the past and the future. The foundation of Shang’s school lies in Jiao’s Yi Lin. This work comprehensively preserves the essence of pre-Qin Yi studies, including the Book of Changes, the Zuo Zhuan, and the Explanation of the Hexagrams, embodying the true principles of Xiang Shu. From the Eastern Han Dynasty onwards, Yi studies began to decline, and the path of Yi Dao gradually faded. The Yi transmitted by figures like Ma Rong, Zheng Xuan, Xun Shuang, and Yu Fan was not the true essence of Yi Dao. Instead, the vibrant and unbound Yi symbols, which danced endlessly, fell silent, replaced by the and of Xun and Yu. Thus, the young and talented Wang Bi swept away the Xiang Shu tradition and embraced the empty rhetoric of Qingtan. It was truly a case of keeping wolves out the front door while tigers slipped in through the back. Alas! Yi studies have declined ever since, plunging into a long, dark night of 2,000 years! Before comprehending Yi Lin, Shang Binghe was confused about which school of Yi was correct and had no definite views. Only after studying Yi Lin did he suddenly gain clarity and achieve a thorough understanding. He said, "Once Yi Lin is mastered, use it to annotate the Book of Changes. Before mastering Yi Lin, one must use the Book of Changes to annotate Yi Lin." Jiao’s Interpretation of Yi is precisely a groundbreaking masterpiece that he created after fully mastering Yi Lin, using it to interpret the Book of Changes. On this foundation, he wrote another masterpiece, Shang’s School of the Book of Changes. In summary, the three monumental works—Jiao’s Interpretation of Yi, Commentary on Jiao’s Yi Lin, and Shang’s School of the Book of Changes—constitute the continuous mainstream of Yi studies. In fact, the hexagrams drawn by Fu Xi, the eight trigrams and the sixty-four hexagrams, have existed since ancient times. Later works such as Lianshan, Guizang, Book of Changes, Zuo Zhuan, Explanation of the Hexagrams, Yi Lin, Tai Xuan, Zheng Yi Xin Fa, and Huang Ji Jing Shi are all works that serve as bridges to the path of Yi Dao, fulfilling the principle of "knowing the origins of the past is to understand the records of the way."