Research on the Thought of I Ching in the Qin and Han Dynasties: A Series of Books on Cultural Roots

Author: Zhang Tao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This article opens up a brand-new field in the study of the I Ching and holds significant academic inspiration. For a long time, people have been constrained by traditional concepts, viewing the I Ching as a part of Confucian classics, focusing their attention on the annotation of classics and the evolution of schools of thought. This not only severely limited the research subjects and scope but also greatly obscured the essential nature of the I Ching, making it impossible to reveal the laws of its intellectual development.
1. On the compilation of the I Ching Commentary and its school affiliation: The I Ching Commentary is neither a work of Confucianism nor that of Taoism or any other of the "Nine Schools and Ten Schools." It was produced by I Ching scholars in the mid-to-late Warring States period, as a result that absorbs, synthesizes, and transcends all the schools of thought. The I Ching scholars represented by the authors of the I Ching Commentary constitute an independent intellectual school that stands shoulder to shoulder with or even surpasses the "Nine Schools and Ten Schools."
2. On the general characteristics of thought in the Qin and Han dynasties: The development of thought in the Qin and Han dynasties is a derivative and expansion of the I Ching thought, a result of comprehending and elaborating on the meaning of the Book of Changes. The intellectual history of the Qin and Han dynasties can be seen as a history of thought that adapts to the needs of the times, with the I Ching Commentary as its inner soul and important source, with the study and application of the I Ching as an important vehicle, and with the I Ching thought as its main trend and melody. This is also an important sign of the further development of ancient Chinese intellectual culture during the Qin and Han periods.
3. On the research objects and scope of the history of the I Ching: The study of the history of the I Ching should break free from the constraints of traditional research approaches and methods, expanding the scope of investigation to the entire historical process and cultural phenomena influenced by the Book of Changes and the I Ching. The research objects of the history of the I Ching should include the entire field of intellectual culture influenced by the Book of Changes and the I Ching, including the ideas and doctrines of all important figures and works that once studied or applied the I Ching, regardless of whether these figures were Confucian scholars of the I Ching with teachers, or whether these works were specialized works on the I Ching. Only in this way can we fully understand and grasp the trajectory and laws of the development of the I Ching, and correctly recognize and interpret the social, political, and intellectual cultural phenomena of the time. Of course, this kind of historical study of the I Ching is not a vague and all-encompassing thing; it must adapt to and conform to the developmental stages and unique laws of the I Ching itself. However, these stages and laws are not merely revealed through the transmission of classics and the evolution of schools of thought.