The Study On Lai Zhide’s Yi-ology

Lai Zhide, a master of image-numerology and Yi-ology and the famous neo-Confucianist of Ming Dynasty, followed the idea getting image-numerology and principle of Zhu Xi together in the book Yi, corrected the mistake of focusing on principle and ignoring image-numerology since Wang Bi of Wei and Jin Dynasty, emphasized the importance and value of image when annotating Yi and paid attention to exploring the principle behind image-numerology. He carried on and summarized image-numerology Yi-ology of the Western Han and Eastern Han Dynasty and principle Yi-ology of Song and Ming Dynasty. At the same time, he did not rigidly adhere to the definite opinion of people of virtue of the older generations and he used Cuo, Zong, Bian and Zhongyao as the method to annotate Yi and formed his unique Yi-ology ideology. This paper is a special study of Lai Zhide’s ideology of Yi-ology and neo-Confucianism and it discusses the following aspects.In the introduction, the author makes a brief introduction to the features and value of Lai Zhide’s Yi-ology and neo-Confucianism ideology, sorts out the existing research results in the academia, points out the deficiencies and shortcomings in the research of Lai Zhide thought, and puts forward the research idea and method of this paper.Chapter One introduces Lai Zhide’s life and his learning and research process. Lai Zhide lived in the late Ming Dynasty. At that time, Ming Dynasty witnessed the gradual decline in politics, economy and the social morality, the popular doctrine of Confucian school lost its guiding role as well. He took part in the metropolitan examination twice and failed every time, then he gave up his dream of becoming an officer resolutely. Making a grand ambition of "be willing to learn from Confucius", he lived in the mountain like a hermit to research Yi with great concentration, expecting to become a sage. Lai Zhide’s ideology experienced a change process. At first, he praised highly of Cheng-Zhu neo-Confucianism, then he turned to Wang Yangming’s philosophy of mind. At last, he denied all these theories and formed his own ideology combining neo-Confucianism and the philosophy of mind.Chapter Two makes the research on Lai Zhide’s basic concepts of Yi-ology. On the nature of the book Zhouyi, he agreed with Zhu Xi’s opinion of "Zhouyi is originally a book of divination", thought that Zhouyi was used for divination originally, and emphasized "matching morality and justice with weal and woe" at the same time. On the the author of classical work of Zhouyi, he insisted on the interlinkage and homology of four sages in Zhouyi. On the origin of Yi-ology, he followed the concepts of Xue Xuan and other people, considering that "Sages’opinion of Yi is just image-numerology", and the formation of the book Yi is the simulation and emulate of universe. On the relationship between image-numerology and principle, he persisted mainly on the images and emphasized the important role of images in the process of researching Yi, which means that statements append on images, and images and principle conceived in Zhouyi can not be separated, so it needed to reside principle in images and reveal principle through images.Chapter Three studies the ontology of Lai Zhide’s Yi-ology. He believed that Taiji is the extreme principle of the universe, and widely exits in the beginnings and ends of everything. Tao is the principle rotation of Taiji changing with each passing day, oriented to world of the general process of rotation changed between Yin and Yang, it emphasizes that the principle lies in the contradiction and rotation between Yin and Yang. In the relation between principle and material force, he overcame LuoQinshun and Wang Tingxiang’s shortcomings of simply pursuing for inseparable relation between principle and material force but abandoning transcendence of principle and image methodology of ontology, discussed the relationship between principle and material force in two levels of ontology and cosmology, not only emphasized image transcendence of the principle, but also confirmed the inseparable relation between principle and material force in the existential level, which is regression of original purpose of Zhu Xi theory to some extent. On the relation between Tao and Qi relevant to the relation between principle and material force, he distinguished Tao and Qi based on immateriality and materiality that the immateriality of Tao is presented through the materiality of Qi, and stressed the inseparable relation between Tao and Qi.Chapter Four focuses on the thoughts of Lai Zhide’s image-numerology in Yi-ology. The four images of Cuo, Zong, Bian, Zhongyao in Trigrams play important roles in Lai’s Yi-ology, and also the four pillars constructing Lai’s Yi-ology. He illustrated the relationship of Yin and Yang between trigrams on the whole, and explained the alteration of Yin and Yang inside the Yi Trigram with the theory of Yaobian and Zhongyao. What the four images of Trigrams put forward is the projection of his cosmological ideas, and world of transformations of material force indicating contradiction, rotation and overall balance between Yin and Yang.Chapter Five explains Lai Zhide’s self-cultivation skill. He discussed human nature beginning with the distinction between heaven-endowed nature and physical nature, and thought that the goodness of human nature is endowed with the complete and satisfactory principle of Taiji. However, due to the difference of good and bad physical nature endowed, the realistic and specific personal can’t present his or her true nature of heaven principle. If you want to present the principle of heaven obviously, it is necessary to cultivate the skills of eliminating human desires. Lai Zhide objected to cultivate skills on noumenon and stressed to see noumenon through skills that the principle of heaven will be naturally expressed after eliminating human desires. He thought that moral order is the representation of integrity, and his theory on skill of eliminating human desires to preserve heaven principle is just the way of self-sanctification by having sincerity resulting from intelligence.Lai Zhide’s Yi-ology and neo-Confucianism are attributed to two main characteristics in the conclusion chapter:one is to integrate and combine the matters, and the other is to deal with concrete matters relating to work, and a brief discussion on the shortcoming of Lai Zhide’s ideology is also given.