I Ching and its Extensions (3 Volumes)

Author: Zhang Yansheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: The I Ching says: "The I Ching is semblance. Semblance is semblance. The sages, observing the nourishment of the world, depicted its forms, symbolized its appropriateness, and thus created semblances. Observing semblances and connecting them, the sages followed them. When the eight trigrams are arranged, semblance is within them. Heaven displays semblances to reveal auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, and the sages symbolize them. What they delight in and play with is the words of the hexagrams. Observing the semblance and playing with the words." From these discussions in the I Ching, we can see that "semblance" is the fundamental basis for studying the I Ching. Furthermore, according to the Commentary on the Changes ("Heaven forms semblances, earth forms forms"), we can also understand that without familiarity with the I Ching's "semblances" and their various expressions and patterns, one cannot learn, study, or master the "principles" of the I Ching. Because the "principles" of the I Ching are derived and discussed through the various forms, states, and changes exhibited by abstract and concrete things under specific time, scope, level, direction, and spatial conditions. Without the basis of tangible or intangible forms and "semblances" that can be perceived directly or indirectly, one cannot observe, analyze, study, feel, comprehend, summarize, or the laws of things. Consequently, one cannot learn, study, or master the "principles" of the I Ching. This book aims to discuss the I Ching's "semblances" and their various patterns from the perspective of the abstract eight "basic trigrams" (jiaogua) and the various concrete things represented by the hexagrams and their positions—i.e., from the angle of "Xiang Shu Yi Xue" (the study of semblance and numbers)—to help learners of the I Ching gain a preliminary understanding of its "principles." Because mastering the I Ching's "semblances" and their patterns allows one to learn and master the laws of the I Ching even without a brilliant teacher's guidance. Otherwise, the Chinese written language, which is highly contextual and polysemic, with one character having multiple pronunciations and meanings, carries profound connotations. Additionally, the thought processes, methods, language, and dialects of ancient Chinese people differed greatly from those of modern people, making the study of the I Ching even more challenging. In such cases, learning the I Ching often relies solely on the hands-on guidance and transmission of experienced teachers. However, this method of direct teaching can sometimes lead students down narrow or extreme paths of study, making it difficult for them to grasp the I Ching's comprehensive and all-encompassing philosophical principle of "the interaction of yin and yang as the way" from a broad perspective. In ancient times, people had no concepts of airplanes, rockets, trains, overpasses, recorders, televisions, nebulae, the universe, black holes, quarks, or elementary particles. Today, if we want to use the ancient principles of the I Ching to guide our modern practice, we must appropriately extend the ancient I Ching's "semblances" (including the semblances of hexagrams and lines) and their changes and patterns while preserving their original meanings. Some of the extensions in this book—such as "the semblance of the eight trigrams," "the semblance of the six strokes" (including "zheng," "zhi," "ying," "zhong," "tiyong," and the upper and lower, inner and outer, front and back, left and right trigrams within the collection of various hexagrams and lines), "the semblance of the line positions," "the original hexagram," "half semblance," "mutual hexagrams," "mutual bodies," "linked mutuals," "opposite semblances" (including "the opposite of the entire hexagram," "half upper and lower opposites," and "simultaneous upper and lower opposites"), "opposite semblances" (including "the opposite of the entire hexagram," "half upper and lower opposites," and "upper and lower exchanges"), "line changes," "hexagram changes," "semblance changes," and their patterns and inherent meanings—can provide readers with insights. This allows the "principles" of the I Ching to remain scientific, practical, and truthful in the modern era.