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Chapter 2 of 2
京氏易传
"Jing Fang's Yi Zhuan," Volume II
Written by Jing Fang of the Han Dynasty
What is called "Yi" (Change) is essentially the study of images; what is called "yao" (lines) is the emulation of heaven, earth, and the myriad things. The sages looked upward to observe astronomical patterns and downward to survey geographical features, taking images from heaven, earth, sun, moon, stars, vegetation, and all things. Following their规律 brings harmony to all things; defying them throws the world into chaos.
This system is so refined as to be inexhaustible, so profound as to be unattainable. Therefore, the ancients employed the method of casting yarrow stalks to arrange the hexagram lines, applying it to the deduction of human affairs. The divination method consists of sixty-four hexagrams, matched with three hundred and eighty-four lines [Note by Hu Yi: the original text's "three hundred and sixty-four lines" should be corrected to "three hundred and eighty-four lines"], corresponding to the number of eleven thousand five hundred and twenty strategies [this number comes from the yarrow-stalk derivative hexagram count in the "Great Treatise" (Xici I)], used to determine the conditions of heaven and earth and all things. Thus, the qi of good and ill fortune flows up and down through the six lines, following the numbers eight, nine, seven, and six, manifesting the relationships of inner and outer hexagrams—riding, supporting, matching, and responding. Therefore it is said: "Embracing the three talents and doubling them" — dividing the ways of heaven, earth, and humanity each into yin and yang, forming the body of six lines.
Confucius said: "Yang is three, yin is four; this is the correct principle of position." Three is the number of the East, where the sun rises; moreover, for a round object, if the diameter is one, the circumference is three. Four is the number of the West, where the sun sets; for a square object, if the diameter is one, the perimeter is four. This speaks of the principle of the sun and moon moving through the celestial sphere. Thus the sixty-four hexagrams of the Yi are divided into two parts—the Upper and Lower Classics—symbolizing the opposition of yin and yang. The numbers of odd and even take their model from Qian and Kun. Qian and Kun are the foundation of yin and yang; Kan and Li are the life-force of yin and yang.
Through the four operations (si ying) one change is completed; after eighteen changes one hexagram is formed. Once the hexagram image is complete, good and ill fortune can be determined, and gain and loss can be clarified. Then the Five Phases are distributed, and the Four Images are spread forth; according with them brings good fortune, defying them brings misfortune. Therefore it is said: "Good fortune, misfortune, regret, and remorse arise from movement" (Xici II). It also says: "Clarify gain and loss within the four seasons." [This states that good and ill fortune arise within the process of change; the Five Phases have their flourishing, prospering, resting, declining, and perishing states. If the inner hexagram commits the positions of embryo or nourishment, one must combine the qi of the Five Phases to make inferences.]
The pivot of fortune is dispersed throughout the degrees of the celestial cycle, its qi rotating and alternating. Those that are flourishing should also emulate the way of heaven in their actions, advancing and retreating with the seasonal messages. Be secure yet never forget danger; be present yet never forget extinction—thereby according with the principle of destiny and nature. Exhaust the origins of milfoil and tortoise divination; when three lines are doubled into six lines, all that can be done is therein complete.
Divide the images of heaven and earth, Qian and Kun, and match them with jia, yi, ren, and gui [Qian and Kun split the foundation of heaven and earth, yin and yang, therefore divided into jia, yi, ren, gui, as the beginning and end of yin and yang]; match the images of Zhen and Xun with geng and xin [geng is yang entering Zhen, xin is yin entering Xun]; match the images of Kan and Li with wu and ji [wu is yang entering Kan, ji is yin entering Li]; match the images of Gen and Dui with bing and ding [bing is yang entering Gen, ding is yin entering Dui]. The eight trigrams are divided into yin and yang, fixed in six positions, and matched with the Five Phases. Light radiates through the four directions; transformation and movement establish standards. If heaven and earth did not transform, they could not interpenetrate and communicate. The Five Phases cycle through endings and beginnings; the four seasons alternately decay—transforming without resting, circulating through the six vacant positions, having no fixed state above or below, the firm and flexible interchanging. One cannot cling to fixed canons; one must only adapt to change. Good and ill fortune are arrayed together in each position; advance and retreat are distinguished at pivotal moments. In the changes of the Yi, the six lines cannot be clung to; one must judge flexibly according to the time of divination.
The Rites of Zhou, Chapter of Grand Diviner, records: "First is Lianshan, second is Guicang, third is Zhouyi." The first line is the yang position, the second line is the yin position, the third line is the yang position, the fourth line is the yin position, the fifth line is the yang position, the sixth line is the yin position. One, three, five, seven, nine are yang numbers; two, four, six, eight, ten are yin numbers [yin governs humility and lowliness; yang governs honor and nobility]. Yin starts from the position of Wu (noon), yang starts from the position of Zi (midnight); Zi and Wu travel separately. Zi moves leftward, Wu moves rightward; left and right determine good and ill fortune. The way of good and ill fortune is divided by the seasons of Zi and Wu.
Beginning of Spring, first month's node, qi resides in Yin position, corresponding to Kan hexagram, first line (chu liu); Beginning of Autumn uses the same line. Rain Water, first month's middle, qi resides in Chou position, corresponding to Xun hexagram, first line; End of Heat uses the same. Awakening of Insects, second month's node, qi resides in Zi position, corresponding to Zhen hexagram, first nine (chu jiu); White Dew uses the same. Spring Equinox, second month's middle, qi resides in Hai position, corresponding to Dui hexagram, fourth nine; Autumn Equinox uses the same. Pure Brightness, third month's node, qi resides in Xu position, corresponding to Gen hexagram, fourth six; Cold Dew uses the same. Grain Rain, third month's middle, qi resides in You position, corresponding to Li hexagram, fourth nine; Frost's Descent uses the same. Beginning of Summer, fourth month's node, qi resides in Shen position, corresponding to Kan hexagram, fourth six; Beginning of Winter uses the same. Grain Full, fourth month's middle, qi resides in Wei position, corresponding to Xun hexagram, fourth six; Minor Snow uses the same. Grain in Ear, fifth month's node, qi resides in Wu position, corresponding to Qian palace, fourth nine; Major Snow uses the same. Summer Solstice, fifth month's middle, qi resides in Si position, corresponding to Dui palace, first nine; Winter Solstice uses the same. Minor Heat, sixth month's node, qi resides in Chen position, corresponding to Gen palace, first six; Minor Cold uses the same. Major Heat, sixth month's middle, qi resides in Mao position, corresponding to Li palace, first nine; Major Cold uses the same.
Confucius said: "The Yi has four transformations: first-generation and second-generation are the Earthly Transformation, third-generation and fourth-generation are the Human Transformation, fifth-generation and sixth-generation are the Heavenly Transformation, and Wandering Soul and Returning Soul are the Ghostly Transformation." Among the eight trigrams, the ghost line is the Binding line, the wealth line is the Controlling line, Heaven and Earth (Father and Mother) are the Righteous line [Heaven and Earth refers to the Father and Mother line], Virtue (Descendants) is the Precious line [Virtue refers to the Descendants line], and Same Qi (Brothers) is the Dedicated line [i.e., the Brothers line].
Dragon Virtue, in the eleventh month, resides in the Zi position, moving leftward within Kan hexagram; Tiger Punishment, in the fifth month, resides in the Wu position, moving rightward within Li hexagram. Jia, Yi, Geng, Xin are the Heavenly Officers; Shen, You are the Earthly Officers; Bing, Ding, Ren, Gui are the Heavenly Officers; Hai, Zi are the Earthly Officers; Wu, Ji, Jia, Yi are the Heavenly Officers; Yin, Mao are the Earthly Officers; Ren, Gui, Wu, Ji are the Heavenly Officers; Chen, Xu are the Earthly Officers.
The tranquil line is Regret (hui); the moving line is Correctness (zhen). Zhen is the root; hui is the branch. The first line governs the upper segment, the second line governs the middle segment, and the third line governs the lower segment; the days of three months combine to form one month. The first line governs three days, the second line governs three days, and the third line governs three days, totaling nine days; the one remaining day is called the intercalary remainder. The first line's ten days form the upper decade, the second line's ten days form the middle decade, and the third line's ten days form the lower decade. Three decades make thirty days; accumulating decades forms months, and accumulating months forms years.
Eight times eight is sixty-four hexagrams; the sixty-four hexagrams are matched with three hundred and eighty-four lines, forming eleven thousand five hundred and twenty strategies, determining the twenty-four solar terms, and examining the Five Phases within destiny. Human affairs, the way of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars—all can be held within the palm; good and ill fortune manifest in each position.
The Great Treatise says: "Good fortune, misfortune, regret, and remorse arise from movement." Within Yin (寅) resides birth fire; within Hai resides birth wood; within Si resides birth metal [also said to be the position of "upper birth"]; within Shen resides birth water. Within Chou resides death metal; within Xu resides death fire; within Wei resides death wood; within Chen resides death water; Earth governs concurrently within them. During the construction of Zi, yang is born; during the construction of Wu, yin is born. The two qi clash against each other; good and ill fortune are thereby clarified.
Cumulative calculation follows the hexagram's palace: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui—the eight trigrams mutually agitate. The two qi of yin and yang—yang enters yin, yin enters yang—interacting and revolving without cease. Therefore it is said: "To birth and rebirth—this is called Change" (Sheng sheng zhi wei yi). Within heaven and earth, nothing is not penetrated and understood.
Qian arises from Si, Kun arises from Hai, Zhen arises from Wu, Xun arises from Chen, Kan arises from Zi, Li arises from Chou, Gen arises from Yin, Dui arises from [original text missing]. Among the sixty-four hexagrams, encountering flourishing brings good fortune, declining brings misfortune, clashing brings rupture, punishing brings defeat, death brings danger, and birth brings glory. Investigating their principles—how could there be anything not understood?
Divide thirty as the middle, sixty as the upper, thirty as the lower; totaling one hundred and twenty, penetrating the numbers of yin and yang. Renewal never stops, generation continues without end—serene yet never losing its foundation, clearly manifest to all. Yin and yang revolve—now cold, now hot; the Five Phases interact—now auspicious, now inauspicious. By these, one penetrates the virtue of the gods; by these, one classifies the conditions of all things. Thus the Yi can adjudicate the principles of the world, establish the order of human relations, and illuminate the righteousness of the kingly way. The eight trigrams are established, the five qi are fixed; the Five Constants take their model from Qian and Kun, according with yin and yang, to correct the righteousness of ruler and minister, father and son. Therefore the Yi says: "Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen" (Supreme, Prosperous, Beneficial, Correct).
The purpose of composing the Yi is to transmit teachings to later generations. The reach of teaching originally encompasses both "being" and "non-being." The Yi is that which encompasses both. Where there is good fortune, there is misfortune; where there is misfortune, there is good fortune. The principle from which good and ill fortune arise begins with the Five Phases and ends with the eight trigrams. From non-being entering being, calamities and anomalies manifest in the stars; from being entering non-being, images and numbers appear in yin and yang. The meaning of yin and yang is divided by years and months; once years and months are divided, good and ill fortune are determined. Therefore it is said: "The eight trigrams arranged in order—images are therein complete". The six lines above and below, the cycling of heaven, earth, yin and yang, the images of being and non-being, correspond to human affairs. The eight trigrams—looking upward and surveying downward—the key lies in humanity; the hidden and manifest, omens and auspicious signs—the key lies in heaven. Examining the time of heaven and observing human affairs—the key lies in the hexagrams.
The essential meaning of the eight trigrams begins with Qian and Kun and penetrates all things. Therefore it is said: "When the Yi is exhausted, it transforms; when it transforms, it is unobstructed; when it is unobstructed, it endures". Enduring in its way, its principle is attained. Divination does not cling to fixed views of good or ill fortune; it only adapts to change. To exhaust principle and fully realize nature—all is herein contained.
Chao Gongwu says: The "Han Shu · Yi Wen Zhi" (Bibliography of the History of the Han Dynasty) records the "Yi · Jing Family" in three works totaling eighty-nine chapters. The "Sui Shu · Jing Ji Zhi" (Bibliography of the Sui Dynasty History) records "Jing Family Chapters and Sentences" in ten volumes, plus ten works on "Prognostication" in seventy-three volumes. The "Tang Shu · Yi Wen Zhi" (Bibliography of the Tang History) records "Jing Family Chapters and Sentences" in ten volumes, with five extant works on "Yi Prognostication" in twenty-three volumes. Now the "Chapters and Sentences" has already been lost, surviving only fragmentarily in the works of Monk Yixing and Li Dingzuo. What circulates today includes: "Jing Family Cumulative Calculation Yi Zhuan" in three volumes, and "Miscellaneous Prognostication Rules and Methods" in one volume, sometimes jointly titled "Yi Zhuan" in four volumes—yet none of these names match the ancient records. What today is called "Jing Family Yi Zhuan," or "Jing Family Cumulative Calculation Yi Zhuan," is suspected to be the "Cuo Gua" (Interlocking Hexagram) mentioned in the Sui and Tang bibliographies; the "Miscellaneous Prognostication Rules and Methods" is suspected to be the "Ni Ci Zhan Zai Yi" (Counter-omen Divination of Disasters) from the Tang bibliography. "Cuo Gua" was seven volumes in the Sui bibliography and eight in the Tang. The so-called "Cumulative Calculation and Miscellaneous Divination of Disasters" in twelve volumes corresponds to these. By the Tang dynasty, only three volumes of "Ni Ci" survived; eight volumes were lost. In the eighth year of Yuanyou (1093 CE), Korea presented books to the court, including "Jing Family Zhou Yi Zhan" in ten volumes, suspected to be the "Zhou Yi Zhan" in twelve volumes from the Sui bibliography. Thus, of the Yi school's books, many have titles in catalogs but no surviving texts. Of Jing Fang's works, barely one-tenth survived by sheer luck, and even these cannot easily escape the broad shadow of transmitted scholastic lineage.
Chao Shuozhi once said: From the Renxu year of Yuanfeng (1082), when I happened to leave the path of civil examinations, I set my mind on studying the Yi, favoring the school of Wang Bi. Originally I had foolishly assumed that beyond Wang Bi there must be a school that valued image-number studies, and indeed I later obtained the transmission of Jing Fang's scholarship. Yet the text was corrupt and disordered with errors, unreadable. After long study, I gradually came to glimpse its meaning. Now, thirty-four years later, I was finally able, through its image-number learning, to correct textual errors, recording this privately in the solitude of a frontier mountain studio. This book takes the two images of Qian and Kun as its foundation, unfolds the eight trigrams, and through eight transformations completes the sixty-four hexagrams. Within the comings and goings, rises and falls, one observes the waxing and waning of the original qi of heaven and earth, corresponding to the manifestations of all things—all becomes vividly clear before one's eyes.
In general, it distinguishes the three Yi's, employs the Five Phases, rectifies the four seasons, carefully observes the twenty-four qi, records the seventy-two hou (pentads), fixes the five stars, and distributes the twenty-eight constellations, with advance and retreat keyed to "ji" (the subtle incipient moment). That which serves as the master of a hexagram is called the Shi (World line). Odd and even pair with one another; based on one to initiate two, that which serves as the match for the World line is called the Ying (Responding line). The position occupied by the World line, where yin and yang exercise their sway, is called the Fei (Flying line). Yin and yang begin from the paired hexagrams [Qian pairs with Kun, Zhen pairs with Kan, Xun pairs with Li, Gen pairs with Dui,] and ultimately do not depart from their original palace [the hexagram where the flying spirit resides corresponds to the palace of the hidden spirit]. That which assists the function of the spirits through concealment and manifestation is called the Fu (Hidden line). Beginning from the World line and circulating through both inner and outer hexagrams, referencing the original palace's numbers to record months is called the Jian (Establishment). Ending and then beginning again, exhausting the numbers yet never reaching completion, used to record days is called the Ji (Accumulation). Joining at the center, using four as the function, where one hexagram contains the function of four hexagrams, is called the Hu (Interlocking or mutual hexagram).
Qian establishes Jia-Zi below, and Kun establishes Jia-Wu above. Upon the eight trigrams, there then emerges the beginning of the first generation. The five positions of the first generation's first [line] become divided into the five generations' positions. Above the fifth generation is the Wandering Soul generation; at the beginning of the fifth generation is the Returning Soul generation. And the beginning of the Returning Soul generates the beginning of the subsequent hexagram. What it establishes—if on a yang day aligns with the solar nodes; if on a yin day aligns with the solar middle qi. Its numbers—the empty ones are twenty-eight, the full ones are thirty-six. In general, what can be spoken of is this.
As for the realm where images may go beyond meaning, and meaning may go beyond words—that is the state of interweaving functions, adapting freely to transformations. Sometimes paired together to discuss the two images of inner and outer [hexagrams], such as discussing Shi in relation to inner [Revolutions hexagram (Ge 革): water and fire paired in position, Li fire in the fourth generation with water]; sometimes discussing Shi in relation to outer [using metal-wood contention, where outer is first metal and inner first-generation wood]. Sometimes one does not discuss the images of inner and outer, but discusses inner and outer positions [Gathering Together (Cui 萃) hexagram: earth and wood enter Gen and Dui; first line earth, fourth line water]. Sometimes one discusses with three references the inner, outer, and flying [Adorning (Bi 贲) hexagram: earth, fire, and wood divided into yin and yang; Gen earth, Li fire, flying water]. Sometimes discussing the Hidden [Traveling (Lü 旅) hexagram: fire, earth, wood enter Li and Gen; Li fire, Gen earth, resting [at] hidden wood]. Sometimes jointly referencing inner, outer, World-Responding, Establishment, and Hidden [Contemplation (Guan 观) hexagram: metal, earth, fire, wood interchanging as embodied establishment; metal-water responding to the inner, earth-hidden, fire-denoting the transition to outer wood]. Sometimes neither discussing inner nor outer, but discussing the World-Establishment and Flying-Hidden [Increase (Yi 益) hexagram: metal-earth entering Zhen-Xun; World and Flying earth;