A probe into Da yi Sheng shui copied on the bamboo slips excavated at Guo dian
Written by LIU Da-jun
(Center for Zhouyi & Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Shandong University , Jinan 250100, China )
Translated by ZHANG Wen-zhi
(Center for Zhouyi & Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Shandong University , Jinan 250100, China )
Abstract: With reference to certain contents in Huai nan zi , Chun qiu Fan Lu and He guan zi , the author points out that a paragraph in the chapter of Da yi Sheng shui copied on the bamboo slips unearthed at Guo dian, Hubei Province, illustrated the annual circulation of the Yang qi . Moreover, the concept of Da yi in the chapter refers to Tai yi and Taiji in the Yi learning; the saying of “heaven & earth, Shen ming , Yin & yang , four seasons” reflects just the main contents of the Gua qi theory.
Key words: Guo dian; bamboo slips; Da yi Sheng shui ; Gua qi
There is a chapter called Da yi Sheng shui ( 大一生水， literally, The Grand One Produces Water) copied on the bamboo slips excavated from a Chu (one of the warring states in the Warring States Period, 476-221 BC) tomb at Guo dian, Hubei Province. It says in the chapter:
The Great One produces water, and the water conversely complements the Great One, hence forming the heaven; the heaven conversely complements the Great One, hence forming the earth; the heaven and earth □□□ , hence forming Shen ( 神， literally, divinity) and Ming ( 明， literally, brightness); Shen and Ming mutually complement each other, hence forming Yin and Yang ; Yin and Yang mutually complement each other, hence forming the four seasons; the four seasons mutually complement each other, hence forming the cold and heat; cold and heat mutually complement each other, hence forming dryness and humidity; dryness and humidity mutually complement each other, hence forming a year to the end. Therefore, year is that which is produced by (the mutual complements between) dryness and humidity; dryness and humidity are that which are produced by (the mutual complements between) the four seasons; cold & heat and the four seasons are that which are produced by (the mutual complements between) Yin and Yang ; Yin and Yang are that which are produced by (the mutual complements between) Shen and Ming ; Shen and Ming are that which are produced by (the mutual complements between) the heaven and earth; heaven and earth are that which are
produced by (the motion of) the Great One. So, the Great One hides in the water, circulates with the four seasons. It circulates or □□□□ the mother of the myriad things. It wanes and waxes, with a cycle being a warp(principle) of the myriad things. …… 1
Since the chapter came out, the academic field at home and abroad had been focusing on it. Scholars have written numerous papers to expound their views. But, by a comprehensive survey, many scholars only examined this paragraph by interpreting specific meanings of the characters. Personally, I believe this paragraph was implicated with the Gua qi theory (a theory elucidating the correspondence between the Chinese seasonal points and lines of the hexagrams) of the ancient Yi in the pre-Qin times. Only by Gua qi theory, can we obtain its real connotations. Regardless of my ignorance, I will venture to air a different idea.
By the paragraph, it can be seen that, besides the concepts of “heaven & earth”, “ Shen & Ming ”, “ Yin & Yang ”, “the four seasons”, being commonly used as terminologies in Zhouyi , the term of “year” ( sui ，岁 ) is also an important concept. To comprehend the profound connotations of the paragraph, we might begin from interpreting the “year”.
It records in the chapter of Zhong ( 《衷》 , impartiality) copied on silk excavated at Ma wang dui, Hunan province: “The year commences from the north east and completes at south west.” And Chun qiu Fan Lu · Tian bian Zai ren ( 《春秋繁露·天辨在人》 ) indicates: “Yin is that which assists Yang. And Yang is that which dominates the year.” Chun qiu Fan Lu · Tian Di Zhi Xing ( 《春秋繁露·天地之行》 ) indicates: “Yin-yang is that which forms the year.” It was by this idea that when XUN Shuang (128-190) interpreted “Heaven's (color) is azure and earth's is yellow” indicated in Wen Yan · Kun ( 《文言·坤》 ), he noted: “Heaven refers to Yang, which commences from the north east, so its color is azure; earth to Yin, which commences from south west, so its color is yellow.” Huan nan Zi · Quan yan Xun ( 《淮南子·诠言训》 ) indicates: “ Yang qi commences from north east and ends at south west; Yin qi commences from south east and ends at north east. With the growing of Yang, it becomes warmer and warmer to scorching hot; and with the growing of Yin, it becomes chiller and chiller to freezing cold.” Comparing the content of the above-quoted paragraph and that of XUN Shuang's annotation as well as the illustration from Huai nan Zi , we can see that what Chun qiu Fan Lu had expressed are correct. Having understood “Yang is that which dominates the year”, now we might deeply probe into this issue along with the accounts and analysis in Chun qiu Fan Lu .
Chun qiu Fan Lu · Xun tian Zhi dao ( 《春秋繁露·循天之道》 , literally, observing the Dao of heaven) elucidates:
Therefore, Yang commences its motion from mid-north and terminates at mid-south; Yin commences its motion from mid-south and terminates at mid-north. Though Yin and Yang moves in different routes, they both terminate at the mid (Zhong, 中 ) when reaching acme, and they both commence from the mid. The mid is but the Taiji ( 太极 , literally, Grand Terminus) of heaven and earth, and that where the sun and moon arrive and leave. It is a principle for heaven and earth that the motion of the sun could not go beyond the mid.
Contemporary scholars have demonstrated in discussing Da yi Sheng shui , that, despite there are different names of Da yi ( 大一 ), Tai yi ( 太一 ), Tai yi ( 太乙 ), Tai shi ( 太始 ), Tai ji ( 太极 ) and Da heng ( 大恒 ), they are implicated with the same connotations. It says in Zhouyi · Xi Ci : “Therefore, in Yi there is Tai ji .” Zhouyi Ji jie ( 《周易集解》 , Collected Annotations of Zhouyi) quotes annotation of YU Fan (164-232) as: “(Here) Tai ji refers to Tai yi ( 太一 ).” Li ji Yue ling ( 《礼记·月令》 Records of Rituals· Weather and Phenology in Different Months) annotated by KONG Yin-da also demonstrated that Tai ji refers to Tai yi . Therefore, the above-quoted “The mid is but the Tai ji of heaven and earth” can also be expressed as “The mid is but the Da yi of heaven and earth.” It says in Chun qiu Fan Lu · Yin yang Chu lu ( 《春秋繁露·阴阳出入》 ): “The Dao of heaven begins to arrive in winter. Yin and Yang arrive from two (opposite) directions and moves forward. Yin moves from the east to west, while Yang moves from the west to east. Till the month of mid-winter, (both Yin and Yang) encounter and unite into one at the (mid-) north, being called (Winter) Solstice”, in which the “one” united of Yin and Yang in mid-winter refers to Zhong ( 中 , the mid) indeed, for “(the state of) at the mid and not separated is called One”. This One is “the Tai ji of heaven and earth, where (the shadow cast by) the sun and moon arrives to and leaves for.” This One refers to Da yi , too.
That “Yang commences its motion from mid-north and terminates at mid-south; Yin commences its motion from mid-south and terminates at mid-north” revealed the same connotations as Da ming Zhong Shi (“ 大明终始 ”, literally, the brightly sun revolves from the end to the beginning repeatedly) , annotated by XUN Shuang, of the Tuan · Qian ( 《彖·乾》 ) in the Collected Annotations of Zhouyi : “ Qian ( 乾 ) commences from Kan ( 坎 ) and terminates at Li ( 离 ); Kun ( 坤 ) commences from Li ( 离 ) and terminates at Kan ( 坎 )”, for Qian symbolizes Yang , Kun symbolizes Yin ; Kan locates at north and Li at south. As a matter of fact, “ Qian commences from Kan and terminates at Li ” refers to that Qian commences from the One Yang (the mid-line of the trigram) of Kan ; and the Kun 's terminating at Kan refers to terminating at the One Yang of Kan , too. Chun qiu Fan Lu · Yin Yang Zhong Shi ( 《春秋繁露·阴阳终始》 ) indicated: “The Dao of heaven ends and begins again. Therefore, north is that where (the motion of) heaven terminates at and begins from, and where Yin and Yang unites and separates from.” Here “unites” refers to “the mid” and One. “Separates” refers to what the Chun qiu Fan Lu · Yin Yang Zhong Shi indicated “(the place where) Yin dives and enters to the west and Yang elevates and comes out to the east. The directions of entering and coming out are always opposite”. Importantly, it says in Chun qiu Fan Lu · Yin yang Zhong Shi : “The One from which the heaven commences moves …… ”, in which the word “One” coincides with the “One” mentioned in Xi Ci : “All the movements under the heaven are constantly subject to this One and the rule”. The Collected Annotations of Zhouyi quoted YU Fan's interpretation: “the One connotes the originality of Qian for moves of all creatures depend upon the Yang qi ( 阳气 ) of Tian yi ( 天一 , heavenly One), hence the saying of ‘All the movements under the heaven are constantly subject to this One and the rule'”. LI Dao-ping noted in Zhouyi Ji jie Zhuan Shu ( 《周易集解纂疏》， Notes to the Collected Annotations of Zhouyi) : “That One in ‘the One connotes the originality of Qian ' refers to Tian yi . And Tain yi mentioned in ‘moves of the myriad things depend upon the Yang qi (creative energy of Yang ) of Tian yi ' refers to Da yi ( 大乙 )”; “The originality of Kun might refer to the originality of Qian . Thus all creatures being produced depend upon the Yang qi . All of the 384 lines symbolize the waxing and waning of the originality of Qian , hence the saying of ‘all the movements under the heaven are constantly subject to this One and the rule'.” It is really convincing that YU Fang interpreted the “One” as the originality of Qian , Yang qi of the heavenly One, and LI Dao-ping further interpreted Tian yi as Da yi ( 大乙 ). Shuo wen Jie zi ( 《说文解字》 ,Origin of Chinese Characters, the earliest Chinese Dictionary by XU Shen ( 许慎 , 58-147) of the Eastern Han Dynasty) interpreted the character of Tian ( 天 , heaven) as “(it is) the highest and there is nothing above it. It is made up of the characters of 一 (One) and 大 (Great).” Yang connotes Da (great), and heaven connotes Yang, therefore Da yi (Great One) connotes Tian yi (Heavenly One) referring to “Yang's motions, which commences from the mid of north”. That “the Heavenly One produces water at north” mentioned in the Notes of the Collected Annotations of Zhouyi actually refers to that the Great One produces water at north. Meanwhile, Qian Zao Du ( 《乾凿度》 ) indicates: “ Qian and Kun symbolize Yin and Yang . And Yang commences from hai ( 亥 , the Earthly Branch Twelve, corresponding to north-west).” We know that Yang qi commences from hai , is produced at zi ( 子 , the Earthly Branch One, corresponding to central north), and hai and zi symbolize water. This also indicates “the Great One produces water”.
He guan zi · Huan liu ( 《鶡冠子·环流》 ) indicates: “There is the One, then there comes Qi ; there is Qi , then there comes Yi ( 意 , the will).” LU Dian, a scholar of the Song Dynasty, annotated: “One is that from which the primordial Qi originates; the will is that which is produced by opposite Qi .” According to this annotation, Chun qiu Fan Lu Yi zheng ( 《春秋繁露义证》 ) indicates: “From this (annotation), (we could infer that) human originates from heaven, heaven from the primordial, the primordial from the One. Therefore, numbers commence from One, the origin of all beings.” It says in He guan zi · Neng tian : “For the myriad things, what of them did not originate from the One?” And it says in Xi Ci : “ Qian (symbolizes Heaven, which) directs the great beginnings of things.” The Collected Annotations of Zhouyi quotes the interpretation for this from Jiu jia Yi ( 《九家易》 , Nine Scholars' Yi Learning): “ ‘Beginning' here connotes that Qian roots in the primordial Qi . All things owe to it their beginning.” Hence it is said in Da yi Sheng shui : “Heaven and earth are that which were produced by the Great One.” Chun qiu Fan Lu · Yu ying ( 《春秋繁露·玉英》 )indicates: “The Primordial One refers to the Great Beginning”, “the primordial just like the origin, connoting beginning and ending along with the (changes of) heaven and earth.” Chun qiu Fan Lu Yi zheng extended: “As Chun qiu Wei ( 《春秋纬》 , the Weft of the Spring and Autumn Annals) indicates, the Grand One contains the primordial and disperses quintessence and thus producing Yin and Yang.” It says in Huai nan zi · Zhu shu
Xun ( 《淮南子·主术训》 ): “The quintessence of the Grand One accesses to the Dao of heaven.” So, when XUN Shuang annotates “(the cycle of a year of) time forms (or is symbolized by) the six dragons”, he extends: “The six positions (corresponding to the six lines of the hexagram of Qian ) constitutes Qian along with the time”, thus “ Qian roots in the primordial Qi and all things owe to it their beginning”, just as LI Dao-ping extended: “All the 384 lines (of the hexagrams) represent the waxing and waning of the primordial of Qian”, similar with the elucidation of “water conversely complements the Great One, hence forming the heaven” and “the heaven conversely complements the Great One, hence forming the earth” copied on the bamboo slips.
Meanwhile, according the directions corresponding to the eight trigrams, north corresponds to Kan and Kan symbolizes water. According to the Gua qi theory, the trigram of Kan corresponds to winter. Chun qiu Fan Lu · Tian di Zhi Qi ( 《春秋繁露·天地之气》 ) indicates: “Winter (is composed of) Qi of water.” And He guan zi · Tai hong ( 《鶡冠子·泰鸿》 ) reasons: “(It) sustains miraculous and wisdom …… Because things sink in water, and under the heaven are all (from) water, we make the water locate at north and correspond to winter.”
“The mid is but the Taiji of the heaven and earth”, could just answer to the enigma of why the term Taiji (in Xi Ci of current version) being warmly argued in the academic circle is called Da heng ( 大恒 , Great Eternity) in Zhouyi copied on silk excavated at Ma wang dui, Hunan province. Though the orderly sequence of the hexagrams in Zhouyi of current version differs from that copied on silk, the hexagram of Heng ( 恒 , Perseverance, Duration) is set in the same position, the 32 nd hexagram of the 64 hexagrams in either sequence. This ought not to be a pure chance. So Da heng connotes Da zhong ( 大中 , Great Mid), while “the mid is but the Taiji of the heaven and earth”. Therefore, though Da heng (Grand Eternal) and Taiji (Grand Terminus) are two terms, their connotations are identical.
In addition, ZHENG Xuan (c.127-c.200) regarded Tai yi (Grand One) as a heavenly God and elucidated Tai yi and Tian yi 's circulation by way of mythology.
It says in Yi wei · Qian Zao Du ( 《易纬·乾凿度》 ): “The Grand One takes its numbers to make his rounds in the Nine Palaces. The sum of either the vertical, horizontal or slanting (three) numbers (of the Nine Palaces) are fifteen.” ZHENG Xuan annotated: “The Grand One is that the name of the God of Bei chen ( 北辰 , traditionally, North star). It is called the Grand One when it locates in its residence. And it usually goes rounds of (the places corresponding to) the eight trigrams in different time …… The heavenly numbers were divided and it comes out as Yang and enters in as Yin. Yang commences its circulation from zi ( 子 , corresponding to north) and Yin from wu ( 午 , corresponding to south). So, it is from the Palace of Kan (corresponding to north) that the Grand One commences its rounds.” “The god takes a repose in the palace for the Heavenly One (the central palace) and finally goes to the (southern) purple palace. So the Grand One commences its circulation from the (northern) Kan Palace and completes a round at the (southern) Li Palace, and the numbers corresponds to the orderly sequence it takes around.”
By now, we at last comprehend the real meaning of “the utmost goodness is like water” mentioned in the eighth chapter of Lao zi. Many fore Confucian scholars have
made various annotations, to which we are not completely satisfactory. We so far know that it is really correlated with the idea of “the Great One produces water”. Here, the goodness actually connotes the primordial, for it says in Wen Yan ( 《文言》 , one of the Ten Wings of Zhouyi ): “The primordial is the chief of goodness.” “The chief of goodness” actually refers to “the utmost goodness”. So, “the utmost goodness” is “the primordial”. For the connotations of the primordial, Gong-Yang's Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals · the First Year of the Reign of Duke Yin ( 《春秋公羊传·隐公元年》 ) indicates: “What is the primordial? It refers to the year when the monarch began to reign.” HE Xiu (129-182) annotated: “One turns into the primordial. The primordial refers to Qi , which originates from non-form and creates the heaven and earth, being the origin of the heaven and earth.” So, the primordial was turned into from One, and “the heaven originates from the primordial, and the primordial was produced from One”. For this reason, that “the utmost goodness is like water” closely correlates to that “the Grand One produces water”.
Meanwhile, we also realized the real purport of the Tuan (Judgment) extending the connotations of the hexagram of Qian . It says:
Vast is the great and originating (power) indicated by Qian! All things owe to it their beginning: it contains all the meaning belonging to (the name) of heaven. The clouds move and the rain is distributed; the various things appear in their developed forms. The brightly sun revolves from the end to the beginning repeatedly, and how (the indications of) the six lines (in the hexagram) are accomplished, (each) in its season. (Accordingly,) it mounts (the carriage) drawn by those six dragons at the proper times, and drive through the sky.
Just as what we have mentioned above, YU Fan annotated the originality of Qian as One. So, “vast is the great and originating (power) indicated by Qian ” refers to the state of the Great One; “the clouds move and the rain is distributed” corresponds to “the Great One produces water” and “water conversely complements the Great One, hence forming the heaven” to “all things owe to it their beginning: it contains all the meaning belonging to (the name) of heaven”. All things are endowed with Qi from the heaven, and get their forms from the earth, thus “the various things appear in their developed forms” implies that Kun receives the Qi of Qian and then appears in a form, corresponding to “the heaven conversely complement the Great One, hence forming the earth”. Without the excavation of the bamboo slips, how can we descendants realize this profound purport of the Tuan zhuan (the Judgment) of Qian !
Now, let us come back to further understand the purport of the chapter of the Great One Produces Water :
The heaven and earth mutually complement each other, hence forming Shen ( 神， literally, divinity) and Ming ( 明， literally, brightness); Shen and Ming mutually complement each other, hence forming Yin and Yang .
Ancient Chinese people maintain that the functioning of the heaven & earth, Yin & yang relies on Shen and Ming , as He guan zi · Tai Lu ( 《鶡冠子·泰录》 ) indicates: “Thus the mandate by which the heaven & earth, Yin & Yang are produced is symbolized by
Sheng and Ming ”, “ Sheng and Ming are that which accumulate quintessence and the refined (of things)”, “so, Sheng and Ming are closely interlocked and producing things endlessly”. It says in Shuo Gua ( 《说卦》 , one of the Ten Wings in Zhouyi ): “Anciently, when the sages made the Yi, in order to give mysterious assistance to the Shen and Ming , they produced (the rules for the use of) the divining plant.” XUN Shuang annotated: “ Shen (is indicated) in the heaven, while Ming in the earth.” LI Dao-ping extended in the Notes to the Collected Annotations of Zhouyi : “the former refers to Qian , while the latter to Kun ”. Qian symbolizes Yang, while Kun symbolizes Yin . So, “ Shen and Ming mutually complement each other, hence forming Yin and Yang .” For “being unpredictable of Yin and Yang is called Shen ” mentioned in Xi Ci (the Great Treatise of the Commentaries of Zhouyi), HAN Kang-bo annotated: “ Shen is that which indicates the consummate of changes and the miraculous functions of Yin and Yang unable to be illustrated by concrete forms, so it is unpredictable.” As for “ Shen is unconditioned by place, while the changes are not restricted to any form” mentioned in Xi Ci , GAN Bao annotated: “Peace & Stagnation, waxing and waning constitute Shen ”. And LI Dao-ping extended in the Notes to the Collected Annotations of Zhouyi : “ Shen roots in unpredictable changes of Yin and Yang , hence GAN's annotations”. He also elaborated Shen by the changes of Yin and Yang with the hexagrams of Pi (Stagnation) and Tai (Peace).
Yin and Yang mutually complement each other, hence forming the four seasons; the four seasons mutually complement each other, hence forming the cold and heat.
It says in Chun qiu Fan Lu · Si shi Zhi Fu ( 《春秋繁露·四时之副》 ): “As for the Dao of heaven is concerned, it grows (things) in spring warm, nourishes (things) in hot summer, kills (things) in chill autumn, and preserves (things) in cold winter. Warm, hot, chill and cold belong to different Qi , yet each exerts equally important functions in accomplishing a year.” Chun qiu Fan Lu · Han Ao Shu Duo ( 《春秋繁露·寒燠孰多》 ): “For the Dao of heaven, it is grown with warm Yang and accomplished with chill Yin. There will not be growing without warmth, nor accomplishing without chillness. (Warmth and chillness constitute) the quintessence of a year.” In the earlier Han Dynasty, people interpret the four seasons by that “(the motions of) the heaven form a year”, warmth and chillness by “the quintessence of a year”. “The four seasons”, “warmth & chillness” were attributed to the aspects of a year. Therefore, it can be seen that their views accord to the views expounded by the chapter copied on the bamboo slips.
Here the view of that changes of Yin and Yang lead to changes between the four seasons, hot and cold just coincides to the theory of waxing and waning of the 12 months in the Gua qi theory, i.e. the hexagrams of Tai ( 泰 ,Peace), Da Zhuang ( 大壮 , The Power of the Great) and Guai ( 夬 , Removing Corruption) correspond to spring; those of Qian ( 乾 ,Creative, Heaven), Gou ( 姤 , Encountering), and Dun ( 遯 , Retreat) to summer; Pi ( 否 , Stagnation), Guan ( 观 , Contemplation) and Bo ( 剥 , Falling Apart) to autumn, and Kun ( 坤 , Receptive), Fu ( 复 , Returning), and Lin ( 临 , Approach) to winter. Thereby, “ Yin and Yang mutually complement each other, hence forming the four seasons”. It is the main purport of Gua qi theory that the heaven and earth move with Yin and Yang's growing & declining and complementing each other. Meanwhile, this kind of theory about the special correlation
of mutual complement between the heaven and earth, Shen and Ming , Yin and Yang , four seasons was still being transmitted in the earlier Han Dynasty. It says in Huai nan zi · Tai zu xun ( 《淮南子·泰族训》 ): “So, Yin & Yang and the four seasons would not produce creatures and rain falling timely would not nourish grasses and wood unless Shen and Ming are united and Yin and Yang are harmonious”, “the heaven & earth and the four seasons would not produce creatures, unless Shen and Ming are united and Yin and Yang are harmonious”, “when it grows creatures, one can not see its nourishment, yet the creatures grow; when it kills creatures, one can not see its decease, yet the creatures perish. This is called Shen & Ming .” This thought of that Shen and Ming unite in between the heaven and earth, Yin and Yang , and four seasons is completely identical to the purport dwelling in the above-mentioned text copied on the bamboo slips.
Cold and heat mutually complement each other, hence forming dryness and humidity; dryness and humidity mutually complement each other, hence forming a year to the end.
There is an important paragraph describing “dryness and humidity in He guan zi · Du Wan ( 《鶡冠子·度万》 ):
The heaven is Shen (literally, spiritual); the earth is of form. Because the earth is humid, fire is produced, and because the heaven is dry, water is produced. If the legislation is too severe, the Shen will become humid, under the state of which the heaven will not produce water. If the sounds and voices are disordered, the form will become dry, under the state of which the earth will not produce fire. If the water and fire could not be produced, Yin and Yang will not be united into Qi, weight and measures will lose their basis, the destroying cycle of the five elements will be irregular, and finally, the myriad things will be difficult to be normally produced.
“Because the heaven is dry, water is produced” purports XUN Shuang's annotation as “ Qian commences from Kan (north) and terminates at Li (south)”. Qian “terminates at Li ”, so “the heaven is dry”. “Because the earth is humid, fire is produced” purports “ Kun commences from Li and ends at Kan ”. “ Kun ends at Kan ”, so “the earth is humid”. Conversely, “if the legislation is too severe, the Shen will become humid, under the state of which the heaven will not produce water”, because “the heaven is Shen ”, i.e. if the heaven become humid, it will not produce water. “The heaven is humid” purports Qian “terminates at Kan ”. Similarly, “the earth is of form” and “the form will become dry, under the state of which the earth will not produce fire” purport that, if the earth is dry, it will not produce fire. “The earth is dry” purports Kun “ends at Li ”. If we change this assumption into the sentence style of XUN's annotations to Da ming Zhong Shi (“ 大明终始 ”, literally, the brightly sun revolves from the end to the beginning mutually), it should be: “ Qian ( 乾 ) commences from Kan ( 坎 ) and terminates at Kan ( 坎 ); Kun ( 坤 ) commences from Li ( 离 ) and terminates at Li ( 离 )”. If so, it should just like what the chapter of Zhong ( 《衷》 ) indicates: “Heaven connotes ceaselessness, powerfulness, moving. It is advantageous in making merits, yet if it were not balanced with softness, it would die or be perished. So,
Yang being motivated tends to die, under the state of which fire is disadvantageous. Earth connotes frailness, softness, sinking and motionlessness. It is advantageous in making peace, yet if it were not balanced with solidness, it would die or be perished. So, repeated Yin tends to sink, under the state of which water is disadvantageous.” Disadvantageousness of water and fire mentioned above and not being produced of water and fire mentioned in He guan zi extend the same connotations. Importantly, the latter indicates: “If the water and fire could not be produced, Yin and Yang will not be united into Qi ”. Therefore, it can be easily seen the relationship of inter dependence and complement between humidity and dryness, water and fire, Yin and Yang , by which we may prove that the annotative words of XUN Shuang's “ Kan and Li are that where Qian and Kun reside at and Yin and Yang inhabit in” were indeed derived from ancient image-number theory of the pre-Qin times.
Therefore, year is that which is produced by (the mutual complements between) dryness and humidity; dryness and humidity are that which are produced by (the mutual complements between) the four seasons; cold & heat and the four seasons are that which are produced by (the mutual complements between) Yin and Yang; Yin and Yang are that which are produced by (the mutual complements between) Shen and Ming; Shen and Ming are that which are produced by (the mutual complements between) the heaven and earth; heaven and earth are that which are produced by (the motion of) the Great One. So, the Great One hides in the water, moves in the four seasons. It circulates or □□□□ the mother of the myriad things. It wanes and waxes, with a cycle being a warp (principle) of the myriad things.
This part conversely recounts the mutual complement and producing between dryness and humidity to the heaven and earth. Dryness & humidity are produced by Qian & Kun , Kan & Li , i.e. the heaven & earth, water & fire. (By this particular logic,) “If water and fire could not be produced, Yin and Yang will not be united into Qi ”, yet “Yin and Yang are that which accomplish a year”, so, “year is that which is produced by (the mutual complements of) dryness and humidity”. The following part from “cold and heat are that” to “ Shen and Ming are that which are produced by the heaven and earth” had been expounded above. It is unnecessary to be repetitious here. Importantly, it indicates in the last part: “So, the Great One hides in the water, moves in the four seasons. It circulates or □□□□ the mother of the myriad things. It wanes and waxes, with a cycle being a warp of the myriad things”. The Collected Annotations of Zhouyi quoted YU Fan's annotations to “Diminution and increase, waxing and waning: these take place in harmony with the condition of the time” mentioned in the Tuan of the hexagram of Shun ( 损 , Decrease) as “ Qian connotes waxing and Kun waning”. Qian symbolizes Yang and Kun symbolizes Yin . Ancient Chinese people correspond Yang to waxing (overflowing) and Yin to waning (emptiness). “Waning and waxing” refers to Yin and Yang . “With a cycle being a warp of the myriad things” connotes what the Qian Zao Du ( 《乾凿度》 ) indicates: “ Li symbolizes the sun, and Kan symbolizes the moon. Motions of the sun and moon constitute the warp for Yin and Yang , which initiate and terminate the myriad things, so Kan and Li embody terminals (of Yin and Yang ).”
Ancient Chinese people hold that spring governs growing, summer nourishing, autumn harvesting and winter preserving, as Chun qiu Fan Lu · Wu xing Dui ( 《春秋繁露·五行对》 ) indicates: “Spring governs growing, summer nourishing, late summer flourishing, autumn harvesting, and winter preserving. Preservation is that upon which winter accomplishes (a year).” By this, “the Great One hides in water” refers to it hides in the water symbolized by the trigram of Kan . And by now we can verify that the (undivided) Yang line in the middle of the trigram of Kan actually represents “the Great One”, and XUN Shang's annotative words of “ Kan and Li are that where Qian and Kun resides in and Yin and Yang inhabit in” as well as “ Kan and Li embody terminals” mentioned in Qian Zao Du indeed originate from ancient image-number theories of the pre-Qin times. In spring and autumn, Yang is increasing and Yin decreasing. While, in autumn and winter, it goes around in the other way, hence the saying of “it waxes (overflows) and wanes (become empty), with a cycle being a warp of the myriad things”.
This section reminds us of a paragraph about the Gua qi theory elucidated in Yi Wei · Qian Zao Du ( 《易纬·乾凿度》 ): “ Kan ( 坎 ) hides in the north, corresponding to November (lunar calendar, same below). Gen ( 艮 ) commences and terminates at the north-east, corresponding to December, and the Qi of the eight trigrams terminates at. Thus the eight directions are clearly demarcated, the Dao (principle) for growing, nourishing, harvesting and preserving are perfected, Yin and Yang are well balanced, the spirit-like virtue become thorough, and the myriad things take shape according to their classes. All these (qualities) are embraced in Yi. How consummate the virtue of Yi is! Confucius said, a year is made up of 360 days as a cycle, and each trigram functions for 45 days and (eight trigrams) complete a year!” and “ Qian ( 乾 ) symbolizes the heaven and terminates and initiates all creatures. North is that where the myriad things commence from, so Qian locates at the position corresponding to October. Gen is that which stops things, so it locates at the end of the four seasons and corresponds to December.”
Actually, “north is that where the myriad things commence from, so Qian locates at the position corresponding to October” purports “the Great One produces water, and water conversely complements the Great One, hence forming the heaven”; “Kan hides in the north, corresponding to November” purports “the Great One hides in the water and circulates with the four seasons”; “ Gen is that which stops things, so it locates at the end of the four seasons and corresponds to December” purports “hence forming a year to the end”. Examining the above-mentioned paragraph in Yi Wei · Qian Zao Du , we can find how identical its theory is to that elucidated in Da yi Sheng shui copied on the bamboo slips! Besides, ZHENG Xuan annotates “the myriad things commence from Zhen ( 震 )” and “Kan symbolizes water. It is the trigram (corresponding to) the exact north, a trigram symbolizing laboriousness, what all things are tending to. Hence it is said, ‘(he is) laborious at Kan. Gen is the trigram (corresponding to) the northeast. In it all things bring to a full end the issues of the past (year), and prepare the commencement of the next. Hence it is said, ‘(he) completes (the work of the year) in Gen'” elucidated in Shuo Gua ( 《说卦》 ) as: “ Kan , a trigram symbolizing laboriousness, refers to that the character of water is laborious and not
fatigued, hence all things are tending to it. All things bring to forth from the earth in spring and close into the earth in winter. That all things bring to a full end the issues of the past (year), and prepare the commencement of the next refers to, for all things, Yin qi terminates and Yang qi commences at (the position, northeast, corresponding to) Gen.” His theory is also in conformity with the spirit of Da yi Shen shui .
By now, we at last realized the connotations of “ Qian symbolizes heaven and terminates and initiates all creatures. North is that where the myriad things commence from.” So XUN Shuang holds “ Qian commences from Kan ”, i.e. commences from the mid Yang line of Kan , and thus “the Great One produces water, and water conversely complements the Great One, hence forming the heaven”. Kun “terminates at Kan ” actually refers to it terminates at the mid Yang line of Kan , too. So, “the Great One hides in water” refers to “hides in winter”. Kan governs winter and “denotes water. It is the trigram (corresponding to) the exact north, a trigram symbolizing laboriousness, what all things are tending to”. In short, Da yi Sheng shui elucidated the governor of year, the primordial Yang qi 's circulating course from the commencement to the terminal in a year. Therefore, it belongs to a chapter describing things by Gua qi theory of the pre-Qin times. Only interpreting it from the perspective of the Gua qi theory in the image-number Yi learning, can we understand its academic ideological connotations.
Notes and References:
1. The Bamboo Slips Excavated from a Chu Tomb at Guo dian [M]. Beijing : Cultural Relics Publishing, 1998.p.125