| "Yijing Zhengshi"(The Explanation and Elucidation of the Yi Jing)is a work that attempts to revive the "Book of Changes" by adding new semantics and interpretations to the historical framework of the Han-Song and Xiangshu debates that had already existed in the study of the Book of Changes.In the early years of the Republic of China,the study of classics faced unprecedented challenges due to the collapse of the imperial system,the backwardness of people’s minds,and the dominance of Western learning.The "Book of Changes" even became a lost book,and whether Confucianism could survive in that radical era became a question.In the face of the survival or demise of Confucian culture,the wise put forth their own opinions,and this book was written as a way of rescuing the world through a new teaching method that drew on the ways of ancient sages.The book was published before its predecessors,revealing the hidden teachings of the early Confucians and exposing the errors in the moral and ethical principles of the time,such as treating the demands of those above as the shackles of those below,and turning the rituals and etiquette that should have been rooted in the benevolence,filial piety,righteousness,and loyalty of people into rigid external regulations.The book attempts to differentiate between the original Confucianism and the political and ceremonial Confucianism that emerged in the Han dynasty,and denies the teaching of the saints that restrains the freedom of the people.It then integrates the "Book of Changes," "Great Learning," and "Doctrine of the Mean" into a highly consistent "hole,using the "Book of Changes" as the basis of Confucianism,the "Great Learning" and "Doctrine of the Mean" as the spiritual methods and applications of Confucianism,and the purpose of the work is to reverse the Tao with virtue and the postnatal with the prenatal.Finally,it constructs a Datong society in which one can attain inner sainthood and outer kingship through moral cultivation,achieving the Confucian mission of saving the world,This article discusses and elaborates on the content of the book’s innate learning in four chapters.The first chapter analyzes the development of Confucianism in the late Qing and early Republic of China.In the face of the crisis of national survival,people from different forces made different attempts.The constitutionalists advocated the abolition of the traditional education of classics and adopted a policy of subject-based education;the conservatives,such as Yuan Shikai and Kang Youwei,attempted to restore the status of Confucian classics through political movements;and this,in turn,aroused cultural radicals to completely negate traditional Chinese culture,including Confucianism and classics.At this point,the Confucian school attempted to evolve in different directions.This led to the emergence of a new Confucianism,characterized by intellectualization and a combination of Chinese and Western elements,as well as a religious-based Confucianism oriented towards salvation.This article emphasizes that in the face of the crisis of national surv ival and extinction,regardless of the path taken-whether it be cultural radicalism,conservatism,intellectualized new Confucianism,or religious-based Confucianism-the goal is to solve the current social crisis.There is no insurmountable gap between "worldly affairs" and"salvation," which is the solid basis of the Confucian-centered position of the salvation-oriented new teaching in "Yijing Zhengshi."Chapter Two discusses the naturalistic view of the images and diagrams that run through the three editions of the Book of Changes according to the interpretive work of the Book of Changes.The three editions of the Book of Changes were considered outdated before the time of Zhu Xi,but were re-established by the practical scholarship of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.The,"Tu" and "Xiang"diagrams that run through the three editions of the Book of Changes were further developed in the interpretive work of the Book of Changes.However,the practical scholarship that emphasized "practical use" neglected the focus on inner cultivation in the interpretive work of the Book of Changes.Therefore,the interpretive work of the Book of Changes could not directly adopt the view of the practical scholarship.In the view that the three editions of the Book of Changes are connected by the "Tu"and "Xiang" diagrams,the Book of Changes is a book that uses the order of the universe to explain human affairs,and the sages’ insight into the creation and transformation of the universe to educate people to cultivate their inner virtue.The book uses the sequence of the natural order of the universe to connect the three editions of the Book of Changes and uses the various "Tu" diagrams to explain the transformation of the qi.Only by understanding the beginning and end of the transformation can one understand its essence and application.Ultimately,the Book of Changes can be fully understood by combining textual interpretation with the model of qi calculation through diagrammatic images,allowing readers to directly access the thoughts of the ancients.The author of the interpretive work of the Book of Changes did not choose his pen name for the purpose of textual analy sis,but to respond to the viewpoints of cultural radicals,clarify the relationship between Con fucius and the Book of Changes,uphold the position of Confucianism,and restore the status of Confucianism in the hearts of the people in that particular era.This provided the groundwork for the explanation of the concept of "reverse dao with virtue" and "reverse heaven with human intervention" in the book.Chapter Three of the interpretive work of the Book of Changes is known as the"He-Luo".According to the theory of the interpretive work of the Book of Changes,if there is the qi of heaven and earth,generation,yin and yang,odd and even numbers,there must be corresponding positions and uses for directionality,pairing,facing,and generating and overcoming.This is the underlying framework of the "He-Luo" in the interpretive work.The book uses the odd and even numbers of heaven and earth to represent the qi of yin and yang,and uses their increase and decrease to describe the sequence of qi,using the "He Tu" diagram to illustrate the rules of qi movement.The circular arrangement of the five elements based on the cycles of yin and yang,and the spatial arrangement of the five elements based on the four directions are used to explain the necessary characteristics of the "He Tu" diagram.The diagrammatic images in the "He Tu" diagram are then used to generate the "Luo Shu" diagram.The"Luo Shu" diagram uses numbers to represent the qi,and its sequence of qi movement is the same as that of the "He Tu" diagram.The interpretive work of the Book of Changes then uses the principle of mutual generation and mutual overcoming,as well as the principle of complementary correspondence,to explain the positions and uses of the four corners and four sides in the "Luo Shu" diagram.The diagrammatic images of the "He Tu" and "Luo Shu" diagrams provide a unified model that combines numerical and graphical interpretationsChapter 4 discusses the Tai Chi Diagram.The "Yijing Zhengshi" believes that there are actually two Tai Chi diagrams.This understanding is essential for a comprehensive comprehension.The Tai Chi diagram commonly referred to is the fish-like image of yin and yang,which is only the manifestation of Tai Chi,not its essence.The essence of Tai Chi is the boundless vitality contained within the original yang and pure yang.The application of Tai Chi is "Qi transformation," which is the self-unfolding and self-realization of the pure yang Qi of Tai Chi’s primordial state.All things are transformed from the one Qi of Tai Chi’s essence.After the "Qi transformation" of Tai Chi,"its virtue lies in life."Life originates from Tai Chi,and it is not a process that occurs outside of it.Tai Chi itself is the Tao,and its application is the manifestation of the innate goodness.The "original beginning must end" is also the Tao.The former is the self-expression of innate goodness,and the latter is the return of acquired nature to innate nature.The transformation of acquired nature occurs in the order of yin before yang.Only after the coexistence of yin and yang can the Yang,one of the two elements,be generated as a result of "yin becoming tranquil and then active." This Yang has already fallen into the realm of acquired nature and is no longer the original pure yang of Tai Chi’s essence.Once Tai Chi’s essence is activated,everything that follows is non-being.E ven the Kun and Qian elements must return to the original Qian element.Time belongs to the realm of acquired nature,and the "Yijing Zhengshi" also acknowledges that the acquired world becomes more complex as it develops.However,in terms of es sence and application,Tai Chi is both essence and application simultaneously and is not subject to the unfolding of time.Essence and application cannot be separated,and essence is inherent in application,while application must return to essence.Existence and non-existence cannot be forcibly separated either,as the two are mutually dependent.Tai Chi is the beginning of change and also the beginning of the "Yijing." The theory of "the original beginning must end" and "the return from virtue to the Tao" is also expounded in the context of Tai Chi. |
