An interpretation of “Yi is what that communicates the Dao of heaven and that of human” on bamboo slips

TANG Yi-jie

(Center for Zhouyi & Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Shandong University , Jinan 250100, China )

(Department of Philosophy, Beijing University , Beijing 100871, China )

Translated from Chinese by ZHANG Wen-shi

(Center for Zhouyi & Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Shandong University , Jinan 250100, China )

Abstract: “ Yi is what that communicates the Dao of heaven and that of human” recorded in Guodian Chu Jian · Yu Chong (a compilation of inscriptions on the bamboo slips of Chu, one of the Warring states, excavated at Guodian, Hubei Province, China) might be the earliest and most explicit proposition now available to express the thought of unity of heaven and human. This proposition indicates, in traditional Chinese philosophy, the relationship between the heaven and human is an immanent inseparable one, while in western philosophy, it is argued as an external relationship. Zhouyi is the most ancient classic discussing the communication between the Dao of heaven and that of earth.

Key words: Guodian Chu Jian ; Yu Chong ; Yi ; the Dao of heaven; the Dao of human; unity of heaven and human

 

    The excavation and publication of Guodian Chu Jian , bamboo slips of Chu , brings forth many important issues ought to be studied for Chinese culture, esp. Chinese philosophy. For instance, the issue of Qing , emotion, though some scholars had studied it, yet, generally speaking, it was not stressed enough. Last year, I wrote the paper of A Philosophical Interpretation to “the Dao Originates from Qing 1 . But I did not unfold the issue completely. As a matter of fact, this issue may relate to many issues to be studied. For example, there are the following remarks in Yu Chong (collection of remarks) I and II: “Emotion is produced from (human) nature, and rituals are stipulated by (the need of) emotion”, “Rituals are established in line with human emotions” ① 2 , “Creditability is that which is the dwelling place for emotions”, “The beginning is close to emotions and the end is similar to righteousness”, “(Human) was born with wisdom, and then likes and dislikes produce”, etc. It can be seen by these remarks (or propositions) that emotions are closely related to Ren , benevolence, Yi , righteousness, Li , courtesy, Zhi , wisdom, Xin , creditability (upheld by Confucianism), which are worthy to be deeply studied. I would like to discuss in this paper the proposition of “ Yi is what that communicated the Dao of heaven and that of human”.

I

    The relationship between the heaven and human has always been a core issue to be discussed in traditional Chinese philosophy. SI-MA Qian claims that his Shi Ji , Historical Records, is a book “communicating the heaven and human, and voicing the changes (of dynasties) from ancient times to contemporary”; DONG Zhong-shu asserted, when he answers Emperor Wu of Han's questions, that what he spoke is a knowledge concerning “the relationship between the heaven and human”; YANG Xiong said: “The sages …… unite the heaven and human closely without any cracks”( Fa Yan · Wen Shen ); HE Yan, one of initiators of the Xuan xue , metaphysical learning, in the Wei and Jin dynasties, praised WANG Bi, another initiator of the Xuan xue , as a philosopher with whom he could discuss the relationship between the heaven and human; TAO Hong-jing, the real founder of the Mao shan sect of religious Daoism, said that only GU Huan, another Daoist leader, understood that what he attained in mind was related to the issue concerning the relationship between the heaven and human; And “CUI Hao has both wide learning and a retentive memory, and is well versed in the convergence of the heaven and human” ( Wei shu , History of the Wei Dynasty, volume 35, Biography of CUI Hao). Even Buddhism had to be influenced by the issue after it was spread to China . There is a sentence in the Lotus Sutra translated from Sanskrit by Zhu Fa-hu, a famous monk in the western Jin Dynasty: “The heaven sees human, and the human sees heaven”. Later, when Kumārasi translated this sutra again and met this sentence, he said: “The translation of this remark is identical to its connotations expressed by Sanskrit, yet the language is over polished than the substance.” Monk Rui responded: “It was (originally) not about the linking and seeing each other between heaven and human.” Kumārasi answered: “right”. When LIU Yu-xi, a philosopher in the Tang Dynasty, criticized LIU Zong-yuan, another contemporary philosopher, and referred to the latter's Tian shuo , Discourses upon the Heaven, he said: “His writing is really fine, it might be composed in passion. But it did not complete the correlation between heaven and human.” SHAO Yong, a philosopher in the Song Dynasty, stated more clearly: “A knowledge or learning ought not to be called knowledge or learning if it does not concern the link between heaven and human.” ( Guan wu Wai pian , the Exterior Chapter for Observing Things). So, it can be seen that, since ancient times, most of Chinese scholars regard the relationship between the heaven and human as a basic proposition for their philosophical research. In traditional Chinese philosophy, there are many kinds of sayings for the heaven-human relationship, such as XUN Zi raised that “(we ought to) clarify the obligations of heaven and human”, ZHUANG Zi “was shaded by the heaven but did not know human”, and LIU Yu-xi advocated that “the heaven and human conquer each other”, etc. In the Wei (220-265 AD) and Jin (265-420 AD) dynasties, the issue about the relationship between “nature” and “ Ming jiao ”, Confucian moral concepts and values, is also an issue concerning the heaven and human, and thus JI Kang proffered the saying of “transcending Ming jiao and following nature”. But the main stream of traditional Chinese philosophy undertakes demonstrating the “unity of the heaven and human” (or “mutual communication between the heaven and human”, or “no two between the heaven and human”) or explicating the “unity of the heaven and human” as the most important task. If we ask which book is the earliest and clearest one expounding the “unity of the heaven and human”, Zhouyi is undoubtedly the one. There is such a remark in Guodian Chu Jian · Yu Chong : “( The Book of ) Poetry is what that collects ancient and present poems; ( The Book of ) History …… ; ( The Book of ) Rituals is what that describes how to interact in society; ( The Book of ) Music is what that stimulate one's feeling or exert edification. ( The Book of ) Changes , Yi , is what that communicates the heaven and human; The Spring and Autumn Annals is what that collects ancient and present events.” These remarks are very important, for we could know by them what the six classics recount before the middle Warring States period. Each remark can be treated as a subject of a paper. In the past, some scholars insisted there had not been the mention of the “six classics” in Confucianism before the Warring States period, but the record that Confucius educated people by the books of “poetry, history, rituals, and music” 2 . So far, by the excavated bamboo slips, it can be seen that, at least before the mid Warring States period, there had been the saying of educating people by the “six classics” and the main aim of each classic was clarified. “ Yi is what that communicates the Dao of heaven and that human” could be understood as that Yi is a book elaborates the unity of the whys and wherefores of the heaven and human. In other words, Yi merges the principle of the heaven and that of human, both of which are no more than a united principle. “That communicates the Dao of heaven and that of human” might be a proposition earliest clearly mentioning the “unity of heaven and human” in the extant documents.

    By the materials extant of the pre-Qin period, we may find some contents connote the thought of the “unity of the heaven and human”, but not so clearly as expressed in the excavated bamboo slips. As for Confucius was concerned, he did not directly mention the issue of the relations of the heaven and human in the Analects of Confucius , from two remarks of which we may obtain the implication of the “relationship between the heaven and human”. Confucius uttered: “Great indeed was Yao (a legendary monarch and model for all rulers in ancient China ) as lord! How magnificent that great is heaven, that Yao was comparable!” ( Tai Bo ) Only the “heaven” is the greatest and only Yao could imitate “heaven”. Confucius also said: “For the superior man, there are three apprehensions: he is apprehensive of the mandate of heaven, the great men, and the sages' remarks.” ( Ji Shi ) Both the mandate of heaven and the sages' remarks, which ought to be regarded as one, should be apprehensive of. This discourse only implies that Confucius expressed there exists an innate relationship between the “heaven” and “human” (referring to the sages), but did not directly expound the issue about the relationship between the heaven and human. Zi Gong said: “ …… , Confucius' comment on (human) nature and the Dao of heaven could not be obtained and heard.” (ZHANG Zai extended in Hengqu Yi Shuo · Xi Ci Shang , Hengqu's Commentaries on Yi : “ Yi (reflects) (human) nature and the Dao of heaven.”) Here may prompt us: (human) nature and the Dao of heaven was an issue Confucius' disciples paid much attention to, while nature and the Dao of heaven, i.e. relationship between heaven and human, was discussed in Yi . Zhong Yong , The Doctrine of the Mean, expounded the relationship more clearly than Lun Yu , the Analects of Confucius. For instance: “Only the utmost honesty under heaven could complete its nature; If one is able to complete its nature, he could be able to accomplish human nature; If he is able to accomplish human nature, he could be able to accomplish the things' nature; If he is able to accomplish the things' nature, he could be able to give assistance to the changes and bringing up of the heaven and earth; If he is able to give assistance to the changes and bringing up of the heaven and earth, he could be able to join in (the changes and reactions of) the heaven and earth.” (ZHU Xi annotated as: “The utmost honesty refers to the sages' virtue which could not be added by under the heaven. To complete its nature connotes that nothing of the virtue is insubstantial and thus there is no selfishness from carnal desires, while the innate mandate of heaven inside an individual is observed and followed and nothing of it, no matter how delicate or rough it is, is not accomplished. Human and things' nature is also the nature of ego, while the differences of nature are derived from different endowments of forms and Qi (from the heaven. To accomplish the nature implies that one comprehends it without any ambiguity and deal with it without any inappropriateness. To join in the heaven and earth implies to exist simultaneously with the heaven and earth and form the three. This is the state realized by those who are indeed internally honesty and illuminated.”) That is to say, the sage's virtue is not ridiculous but true and substantial, and so he could comprehend human and things' nature completely, and thus could stand side by side with the heaven and earth and forming three. Here there might be the thought of “one body of heaven and human”, but it did not definitely raise the concept of the “unity of heaven and human”. Mencius uttered more definitely: “One who could accomplish his heart and mind could be able to accomplish his nature; If one can be able to accomplish his nature, he could be able to know the heaven.” Here he comparatively definitely clarified the relationship between the heaven and human. Yet, Mencius deduced that there was a relationship of unity between heaven and human mainly from human. All the above mentioned indicates that the proposition “ Yi is what that communicates the Dao of heaven and that of human” offers a very important subject to the Yi studies.

II

    Seldom had I studied Yi Jing . Frankly speaking, I dare not study it, for it is too profound. But to Yi Zhuan , the Commentaries, esp. Xi Ci , the Great Treatise, I have some knowledge, for it is unavoidable to study them in studying the history of Chinese philosophy. It is difficult to say whether my understanding is correct or not, just as Xi Ci (section i) criticized: “The benevolent see it and call it benevolence; the wise see it and call it wisdom.” It says in Xi Ci (section ii): “ Yi is a book of wide comprehension and great scope, embracing everything. There are in it the Dao of heaven, the Dao of man, and the Dao of earth.” WANG Fu-zhi in Zhouyi Wai Zhuan , the Exterior Commentaries on Zhouyi , annotated: “The Dao of the Three Powers (heaven, man, and earth) is Da quan , all-embracing, unified into one end, and the one end is commanded by Da quan . None could comprehend its profoundness unless he could attain to (the state of) the unity of heaven and human.” The (General) Dao (Way) threads through the Dao of heaven, the Dao of human, and the Dao of earth. Once the Dao is formed, the Three Powers are possessed. Da quan , (the quality of) all-embracing, is equal to the Dao . The Dao commands each of the Three Powers, and we may comprehend the Da quan (which commands the Three Powers) by each of the Three Powers. One could not grasp the profound principles of the Yi unless he had understood this kind of “relationship between heaven and human”. (When WANG Fu-zhi interpreted “ Yi is a book of wide comprehension and great scope, embracing everything”, he annotated in Zhouyi Wai Zhuan : “‘embracing everything' means that Da quan , all-embracing, is unified into one end, and the one end is commanded by Da quan .”) Although the Three Powers were referred to, the relationship between heaven-earth and human was actually implicated. It is discoursed in Shuo Gua (Remarks on the Trigrams): “Anciently, when the sages made the Yi , it was with the design that (its figures) should be in conformity with the principles underlying the mandates of heaven and natures (of human and things). With this view they exhibited (in them) the Dao of heaven, calling Yin and Yang ; the Dao of earth, calling (them) the soft and the hard; and the Dao of human, under the names of benevolence and righteousness. Each (trigram) embraced (those) three Powers; and being repeated, its full form consisted of six lines”. ZHANG Zai annotated: “(Both) the three Powers (trigrams) and being repeated (hexagrams) conceive the Dao of Qian (symbolizing heaven) and Kun (symbolizing earth). Yi is one thing which combines the three Powers, a unity of heaven (earth) and human, …… ” ① . The three Powers of heaven, earth and human conceive the principle of both opposite and close relation between Qian ( — ) and Kun (--). Yi unites heaven, earth and human, and thus heaven and human are communicative. In Yi Zhuan , when heaven is mentioned, the earth is contained, as it says in Wen Yan of Qian : “The great man is he who is in harmony, in his attributes, with heaven and earth; in his brightness, with sun and moon; in his orderly procedure, with the four seasons; and in his relation to what is fortunate and what is calamitous, in harmony with spirit-like operations (of Providence). He may precede Heaven, and Heaven will not act in opposition to him; he may follow Heaven, but will act (only) as Heaven at the time would do. If Heaven will not act in opposition to him, how much less will men!” Here “heaven and earth” implies the “heaven containing earth”, and “heaven” implies “heaven & earth”. That is to say, Yi is a book implying the “unity of heaven and human”. Shuo Gua , Remarks on the Trigrams, narrated “completely exploring the principle, effecting the complete development of (every) nature, till arriving at the destiny”. ZHANG Zai annotated: “the Dao of heaven is equal to nature, so those who would like to know human have to know heaven. Had he known heaven, could he be able to know human. Having known (heaven and) human conceives the meaning of ‘completely exploring the principle, effecting the complete development of (every) nature, till arriving at the destiny'.” “The Dao of heaven is equal to nature” extends that the “ Dao of heaven” is inseparable from human nature, i.e. “heaven” is inseparable from “human”. “Completely exploring the principle” refers to “exploring the principle of heaven” and “effecting the complete development of nature” to “effecting human nature”. The two aspects of “heaven” and “earth” are unified, so, to know heaven need to know human, and vice versa. The “destiny” is the cardinal tendency unifying heaven and human. In addition, it is said in Xi Ci (section i): “The Yi was made on a principle of accordance with heaven and earth, and therefore embraces all the course (of things) in heaven and earth. …… There is a similarity between him and heaven and earth, and hence there is no contrariety in him to them. His knowledge embraces all things, and his course is (intended to be) helpful to all under the heaven, and hence he falls into no error.” CHENG Yin-chuan, one of the founders of the neo-Confucianism of the Song Dynasty, extended: “The implications of the Yi expose the Dao of heaven and earth, …… ‘embracing all' refers to (embracing) universal principles. …… The implication of the Yi is similar with the Dao of heaven and earth, and therefore there in no contrariety. Similarity here connotes identity. ‘His knowledge embraces all things, and his course is (intended to be) helpful to all under the heaven, and hence he falls into no error' designates that what the connotations (of Yi ) embrace is knowledge or wisdom, which encompass principles of the myriad things, and (the capacity of) the Dao is enough to benefit all under the heaven, and hence falling into no error.” Here the Yi 's “being made on a principle of accordance with heaven and earth, and therefore embraces all the course (of things) in heaven and earth” illustrates the attributes of the Dao of heaven, and “His knowledge embraces all things, and his course is (intended to be) helpful to all under the heaven” correspond to the Dao of human, and thus Yi implicates the Dao of heaven and earth and principles of human and things. It is all-inclusive, revealing “heaven and human are one”. In addition, it says in Xi Ci : “(The Yi ) encompass the changes and transformations of heaven and earth without any error; (in accordance with it,) by an ever-varying adaptation he completes (the nature of) all things without exception.” CHENG Shi Yi Zhuan , CHENG's Commentaries on Yi , extended: “modeling on the changes and transformations of heaven and earth without any error; and adapting to accomplish the principle of the myriad beings without any exception, …… ”. The former part of the sentence designates the Dao of heaven, and the latter the Dao of human. Yi includes the Dao of heaven and that of human. The Yi unifies the Dao of heaven and that of human into one Dao , i.e. the Dao of Yi . So, it can be seen that the basic ideology exhibited in Xi Ci accords to the connotations “ Yi is what that merges the Dao of heaven and that of human” on the slips of Chu.

III

    How to understand “ Yi is what that merges the Dao of heaven and that of human”? We may see about it from two aspects. On one hand, it says in Guodian Chu Jian · Xing Zi Ming Chu , Nature Comes from Mandate: “Nature comes from mandate, and mandate falls from heaven.” Here “mandate” refers to “mandate of heaven”, indicating that “mandate” is endowed by “heaven”, (It says in Li Ji Zhu Shu · Zhong Yong , Interpretations and Annotations of the Records of Rituals · The Doctrine of the Mean: “The mandate of heaven is called nature”. It was annotated as: “the mandate of heaven refers to what the heaven delivers to human, and hence (the saying of) nature and mandate. It was extended in Volume 62 of Zhu Zi Yu Lei , Classified Remarks of Mr. ZHU Xi: “Though mandate is such defined, it is concurrently implicated with the meaning of endowment (from the heaven)”) “Nature” is determined by “heaven” and beyond human's capability, and therefore the “mandate of heaven” is a kind of transcendent power, and “human” should fear the “heaven” and be apprehensive of the “mandate of heaven”. In addition, human should be aware of the mandate. Yet, the “heaven” is neither quiet nor motionless, but active and has no unchangeable place. So, it says in Xi Ci (Section I): “His operation (conforms the Dao of Yi ) is unconditioned by place, while the changes are not restricted to any form”. Yet, on the other hand, though “heaven” is transcendental, it is innate, being immanent in “human”. Mencius said: “Reserve mind, and cultivate nature to serve the heaven; cultivate oneself, paying no attention to dying young or living long, to settle down one's life.” To cultivate mind and nature is to “serve the heaven”; to cultivate oneself is to settle down life, therefore, “heaven” is immanent in “human”. By combining these two features, it can be seen that heaven and human share an immanently transcendental correlation. Confucius said: “A man can expand the Dao ; but there is no Dao that can expand a man.” Here the “ Dao ” refers to the “ Dao of heaven” (also including the “ Dao of human”), which need to be expanded by human. The “ Dao of heaven” exists there, if you do not carry it forward, it is still at there and cannot help you become sages. So, it also says in Yu Chong (I), Collected Remarks: “If you (at first) know how the heaven act and how the human should act, then you could be able to know the Dao , and then know the mandate.” Knowing the principles (law of motion) of “heaven”, and knowing principles for “human” (principles for human to act), i.e. the law of social motions, and combining the both is called “knowing the Dao ”. If he knows the Dao , then he knows the internal power (mandate of heaven) by which the “heaven” pushes “human” forward. Therefore, Confucius said: “At fifty, I knew the mandate of heaven.” “Knowing the mandate of heaven” refers to completely realizing the “nature from heaven”. It says in vol. 67 of ZHU Zi Ji , Collected Works of ZHU Xi: Benevolence “in heaven, manifests as the mind of producing things abundantly; in human, displays as the mind of obtaining things warmly, including the four virtues and thread through the four ultimate (i.e. benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom). The “ Dao of heaven” producing things ceaselessly and takes benevolence or love as its mind or heart, hence “Heaven, in its motion, (gives the idea of) strength. The superior man, in accordance with this, nerves himself to ceaseless activity.” As “human” obtain the quintessence of “heaven”, they become “human”, and therefore, human should realize the heaven's mind of “producing things abundantly” and have the mind or heart of “warmly love human and benefit things”. Actually, the mind of heaven and that of human is one mind or heart. The significance for human life is to experience and prove the “ Dao of heaven”, and the value of human life is to accomplish the “mandate of heaven”, and therefore heaven and human are internally related. Internal relationship differs from external one, the latter refers to that the two (or more) elements are independent and irrelevant, while the former refers to the two (or more) elements are inseparable. The proposition of “unity of heaven and human” expounded by Yi is an important foundation stone for Confucianism.

IV

    Bertrand Arthur William Russell said in A History of Western Philosophy : “Descartes' philosophy …… It completed or almost completed spirit-substance dualism initiated by Plato and developed by Christian philosophy mainly on account of religious reason. …… Descartes' system raised two parallel and independent world of spirit and substance. Studying one of them may not drag the other in.” 3 That is to say, western philosophy had held long before that spirit and substance are independent and irrelevant, so it founded its arguments by the “external relationship”, or we may say, its thinking mode takes “mind” and “substance” as two independent dual things. ① Yet, fundamentally different from western philosophy, Chinese philosophy (esp. Confucian philosophy) had established its arguments from the “unity of heaven and earth” in Zhouyi . Confucianism upholds that, to study “heaven” (the Dao of heaven) needs to study “human” (the Dao of human), and vice versa. This is the thought of “unity of heaven and human” in Confucianism. CHENG Yi-chuan, a scholar of neo-Confucianism of the Song Dynasty, uttered: “Are there anyone who knows the Dao of human but does not know the Dao of heaven? (All) the Dao belongs to one Dao . How can the Dao of human be a Dao and that of heaven be another?” “The Dao of heaven, earth, and human is one Dao . If we have mastered one, the others will be within comprehension.” ( Yi Shu , Posthumous Writings, vol. 18) According to Confucian views, “heaven” and “human” would not be separated into two, let alone to take the relationship between “heaven” and “human” as an external one. It is inadvisable to merely study one but neglect the other. ZHU Xi said: “Heaven is human, and human is heaven. Human's beginning of birth is obtained from the heaven; after human was born, heaven resides inside him/her.” ( Yu Lei , Classified Remarks, vol. 17) “Heaven” cannot be separated from “human”, and vice versa, probably because human's beginning of birth was acquired from “heaven”, and once human was born, “heaven” would be manifested completely by “human”. If there is no human, heaven would not be productive, in this case, how could its vivacity be embodied? And how to “found the mind (or heart) for the heaven and earth”? To “found the heart for the heaven and earth” is to “found the mandate for the livings”. These two should not be separated. The “heaven”, by Chinese learning, is vivacious, producing things constantly and ceaselessly, and unified with “human”. WANG Fu-zhi extended in An Annotation to Zheng Meng · Qian Cheng (I) : “By textual research, it can bee seen that, since the Han Dynasty, the Dao for superior man had been related to ancient events, not knowing that the sages' edification is basis for the Dao of human. Until Mr. ZHOU Lian-xi composed Taiji Tu Shuo , An Explanation to Taiji Diagram, to explore the origin of the unity of heaven and human, it was clarified that human's birth was actually transformed from the mandate of heaven, the quintessence of the heaven's mysterious transformations being human nature. Thus certain principles for daily life do not go beyond the order of changes and transformations between Yin and Yang and could not be violated.” These remarks might be the best interpretation to Confucian thought of the unity of heaven and human and to “ Yi is what that merges the Dao of heaven and that of human”. The Dao of human originated from the Dao of heaven. When discussing the former, the latter should not be neglected, and vice versa, for the unity of heaven and earth exhibits the “certain principles for daily life” in the Dao of human, and the “order of changes and transformations between Yin and Yang ” in the Dao of heaven. Hence Confucian principle for the unity of heaven and human was implicated with metaphysical significance. ZHANG Zai extended the connotations of Yi in Zhang Zi Zheng Meng · Qian Cheng (I) as: “Confucian scholars attain to sincerity from brightness, and vice versa, unifying heaven and human. Greatest accomplishment of learning could make a person become a sage, and (the Yi ) obtains (the Dao of) heaven with no exception of (the Dao of) human, manifesting the implications of what the Yi mentioned as ‘no exception', ‘no being carried away' and ‘no error'”. WANG Fu-zhi annotated these remarks as: “Sincerity reflects the substantial principle of heaven; and the brightness designates (human) innate ability. The innate ability derives from the substantial principle of heaven, and therefore they could be crossly linked, with sincerity and brightness being united.” Here “no exception” derives from what had been indicated in Xi Ci : “by an ever-varying adaptation Yi completes (the nature of) all things without exception”, implying that the principles of Yi permeate in the variety of things without exception; “No being carried away” was based upon what had been indicated in Xi Ci : “acting according to the exigency of circumstances without being carried away by their current”, as HAN Kang-bo annotated: “adapting according to the exigency of circumstances without being carried away”, implying that the myriad things change and transform in order; “No error” derives from what had been indicated in Xi Ci : “Its wisdom encompass the myriad things and profit with the Dao all beings under the heaven without any error”, implying that it delivers grants toward the myriad things with no error. WANG Fu-zhi's annotation to ZHANG Zai's commentaries on Yi , we may say, had grasped the main purport of the Yi -ology. It was much wise for him to interpret the “unity of heaven and earth” with the “unity of sincerity and brightness”, for “sincerity” represents “substantial principles of the heaven” (real principles and norms in the natural world), while “brightness” is the wisest ability in human nature. A man with brightness may become a sage, while the sage's learning is the foundation for the Dao of human, and therefore “(the Yi ) obtains (the Dao of) heaven with no exception of (the Dao of) human”. Thus Yi Jing discourses concurrently the Dao of heaven and that of human, showing that Yi Jing was really a classic expounding the principle of the “unity of heaven and human”. By discussing the thinking mode of the “unity of heaven and earth”, we would like to point out that human and nature are internally related. We should take both “human” and “nature” into consideration, but not only pay attention to one with the other neglected. Therefore, we may say, the proposition of the “unity of heaven and human” expounded in Zhouyi distinctively diverges from the western thinking mode of the “separation of the heaven and human into two”. So far, the thinking mode of the “unity of heaven and human” could exert positive and active significance for us to deal with the present problem between human and nature. In studying ancient thought, we do not insist that ancient philosophers' ideology could directly solve all the problems existing in modern society, but their thinking mode and some propositions (ideological views) might inspire us and we may follow the mode, directing against the problems of the present society, to develop their ideology and make it contribute to nowadays human society.

    Here when we discuss the differences between Chinese and western cultures in thinking mode, we don not intend to deny the contributions made by western culture in human history. Western culture has its particular value and had exerted great influences on the scientific development and made human society score considerable achievements. But the development of human society witnessed the 21 st century, the thinking mode “separating heaven and human into two” in western philosophy (and sciences) brings drawbacks more and more evident to human society. For this reason, in remedying the drawbacks brought by western culture to offer an approach to make active contributions to the development of human society in the 21 st century, the notion of the “unity of heaven and earth” (“merging the Dao of heaven and that of human”) in Yi undoubtedly exerts an extremely important function for humankind of the whole world to seek survival and development. Therefore, we should make modern interpretations to the theories conceived in Zhouyi to further explore its modern significance.

 

 

Notes and references:

1. TANG Yi-jie. A philosophical annotation to the “ Dao originates from emotions” [J]. Academic Monthly, 2001, (7).

2. LI Ling. Records of Reading and Revision of the Inscriptions on the Bamboo Slips Excavated at Guodian . Beijing: Beijing University Press, 2002.

3. Bertrand Arthur William Russell. A History of Western Philosophy : Volume 2 [M]. Translated by MA Yuan-de. Beijing : Commercial Press, 1988. p. 91.

① LI Ling's Guodian Chu Jian Jiaodu Ji , Records of Reading and Revision of the Inscriptions on the Bamboo Slips Excavated at Guodian, revises the sentence as: “Rituals are that which is based on human emotions and moderates human behavior”.

① From ancient times, it has been said that Yi was made up and refined through three sages, Fuxi, King Wen of Zhou and Duke Zhou. I have an imagination which might have no basis. Legend has it that “In the highest antiquity, government was carried on by the use of knotted cords” ( Xi Ci , section ii), which most probably had something to do with Fuxi's drawing the eight trigrams. In the earliest recording events, the method might be very simple. The knot might be only divided into one-knot, which might imply affirmativeness and indicate a thing ought to be done, and two-knot, which might imply negation and indicate a thing ought not to be done. In drawing the eight trigrams, one-knot might be represented by “ — ” and two-knot by “--”, while the basic symbols of the eight trigrams are “ — ” and “--” from which the trigrams and hexagrams are derived. Perhaps it was King Wen of Zhou who named “ — ” Qian and “--” Kun. In the Text of Yi Jing , there were not the mentions of Yin and Yang . If we take Zhouyi as a system of symbols, its most basic symbols are “ — ”and “--” from which infinite symbolic systems could be transformed. So, Mr. FENG You-lan called Zhouyi a cosmic algebra. I had also discussed this issue in the paper On establishing hermeneutics of Zhouyi ( Zhouyi Yan Jiu , Studies of Zhouyi/No. 4, 1999). If we study Zhouyi as a symbolic system, we may not only establish a kind of Chinese semiology, but also could study Chinese semiology and Chinese hermeneutics as a united system, to found semiology of Zhouyi and raise a new visual angle for the image-number system of Zhouyi . We know characters (e.g. Chinese characters) and numbers (such as 1, 2, 3 …… ) are symbols, while “ — ” and “--” in Zhouyi and infinite symbolic systems derived from them are also a kind of symbolic system, in which the issue of Xiang , image, is very important as it is said in Xi Ci : “The sages set forth the trigrams and hexagrams and inspected images”. It is also said in Xi Ci : “The written characters are not the full exponent of speech, and speech is not the full expression of ideas” and “The sages made images to set forth fully their ideas”, thus the sages' full idea could be conveyed. Therefore, as a special semiology, Zhouyi will offer a new vision for Chinese philosophy.

① There are some transformations in some schools of modern western philosophy, such as phenomenology. As it has nothing to do with this paper, there is no need to go into details here.

(Originally published in Chinese in the STUDIES OF ZHOUYI/No. 5, 2003)