Appended Remarks, Part One

Heaven is honored, Earth is humble; thus Qian and Kun are fixed. The humble and high are arrayed; thus the noble and base are positioned. Movement and stillness have their constants; thus the firm and yielding are decided. By square, kinds gather; by group, things divide; thus auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are born. In Heaven, images are formed; on Earth, forms are formed; thus transformation becomes visible. Therefore, the firm and yielding rub against each other, the eight trigrams surge together; they are drummed by thunder and lightning, moistened by wind and rain; the sun and moon run their courses, one cold and one hot. The way of Qian produces the male, the way of Kun produces the female; Qian knows the great beginning, Kun completes the things. Qian is known through ease, Kun is capable through simplicity; that which is easy is easily known, that which is simple is easily followed; if it is easily known, there is affinity; if it is easily followed, there is achievement; if there is affinity, it can endure; if there is achievement, it can be great. That which can endure is the virtue of the worthy; that which can be great is the work of the worthy. When ease and simplicity are achieved, the principle of all under heaven is obtained. When the principle of all under heaven is obtained, one establishes a position within it.

The Sage established hexagrams to observe images, attached remarks to them to clarify auspiciousness and inauspiciousness; the firm and yielding push each other to give birth to transformation. Therefore, auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are the images of gain and loss. Regret and shame are the images of anxiety and apprehension. Transformation is the image of advance and retreat. The firm and yielding are the images of day and night. The movement of the six lines is the way of the three extremes. Therefore, that which the noble person occupies and finds peace in is the order of the Yi. That which they enjoy and contemplate are the words of the lines. Thus, when the noble person dwells, they observe the images and contemplate the words; when they move, they observe the transformation and contemplate the divination; thus they are helped by Heaven, auspicious with nothing unfavorable.

The Tuan is that which speaks of images. The lines are that which speak of change. Auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are that which speak of gain and loss. Regret and shame are that which speak of small flaws. "No blame" is the skillful mending of faults. Therefore, the listing of noble and base resides in position; the leveling of small and great resides in the hexagram; the distinguishing of auspicious and inauspicious resides in the words; the anxiety of regret and shame resides in the boundary; the "no blame" of the shock resides in regret. Thus, hexagrams have small and great, and words have danger and ease; the words each point to where they go.

The Yi is aligned with Heaven and Earth, therefore it can encompass the way of Heaven and Earth. Looking up, one observes celestial patterns; looking down, one examines earthly geography; thus one knows the cause of the hidden and the bright. Returning from the origin to the end, one thus knows the theory of life and death. Essence-breath forms things, wandering souls create change; thus one knows the actual state of ghosts and spirits. Being similar to Heaven and Earth, it does not conflict; knowing all things comprehensively, its way aids all under heaven, so it does not overstep. Walking broadly without drifting, delighting in Heaven and knowing mandate, it is therefore without anxiety; settling in the soil and thickening benevolence, it is thus able to love. It bounds the transformation of Heaven and Earth without overstepping, curves to complete the myriad things without omission, and communicates with the way of day and night to know; thus the spirit has no fixed direction and the Yi has no fixed body.

One yin and one yang is called the Dao: that which continues it is goodness, that which completes it is nature. The benevolent see it and call it benevolence; the wise see it and call it wisdom. The common people use it daily without knowing it; therefore, the way of the noble person is seldom seen. It is manifested in benevolence, hidden in application; it drums the myriad things without sharing the worries of the Sage—such great virtue and great work are truly arrived at! To be wealthy is called great work; to be renewed daily is called great virtue; generating and generating is called Yi; the forming of images is called Qian; the modeling of laws is called Kun; using extreme numbers to know the future is called divination; communicating with change is called affairs; the unpredictability of yin and yang is called spirit.

The Yi is broad! It is great! If one speaks of the distant, it does not obstruct; if one speaks of the near, it is still and correct; if one speaks of that between Heaven and Earth, it is complete! As for Qian, its stillness is focused, its movement is straight; thus the Great is born from it. As for Kun, its stillness is contracting, its movement is opening; thus the Broad is born from it. The broad and great match Heaven and Earth; change and communication match the four seasons; the meaning of yin and yang matches the sun and moon; the goodness of ease and simplicity matches the utmost virtue.

The Master said: "The Yi has reached the utmost! The Yi is that by which the Sage exalts virtue and expands work; knowing to exalt the ritual and humble the base, exalting the modeling of Heaven and humbling the law of Earth. Heaven and Earth established positions, and the Yi acts within them. Completing nature and preserving existence—this is the gate of way and righteousness."

The Sage has a way of seeing the hidden secrets of all under heaven and models them in their outward forms, imaging what is fitting; therefore it is called an image. The Sage has a way of seeing the movement of all under heaven and observes its convergence and communication to carry out ritual laws, attaching remarks to them to decide auspiciousness and inauspiciousness; therefore they are called lines. Speaking of the utmost secrets of all under heaven must not be avoided; speaking of the utmost movements of all under heaven must not be disordered. Only after modeling does one speak; only after discussing does one move; through modeling and discussing, their transformation is completed.

"The calling crane is in the shade, its young respond to it. I have a fine goblet, I shall share it with you." The Master said: "When the noble person dwells in their room and puts forth good words, those a thousand miles away respond; how much more so those who are near! When they dwell in their room and put forth words that are not good, those a thousand miles away turn away; how much more so those who are near! Words issue from the body and are added to the people; actions start near and are seen far. Words and actions are the pivot of the noble person; the triggering of the pivot is the master of honor and disgrace. Words and actions are that by which the noble person moves Heaven and Earth—can they not be cautious!" "Joining People: first there is shouting and calling, then laughter." The Master said: "The way of the noble person is sometimes to emerge, sometimes to dwell; sometimes to be silent, sometimes to speak. Two people with one heart can cut through metal. The words of one heart are fragrant as orchids."

"First six: using white grass as a mat, no blame." The Master said: "If it were simply placed on the ground, it would suffice. Using grass as a mat, what blame could there be! This is the utmost of caution. Grass as a thing is thin, yet its use can be weighted; if this art of caution is carried forward, there will be nothing lost."

"Laborious Humility: the noble person has a successful end, auspicious." The Master said: "To labor without boasting, to have achievement without claiming merit—this is the utmost of thickness; it is speaking of one's achievement while placing oneself below others. When virtue and words are abundant, ritual words are respectful; humility is that which brings respect to preserve one's position."

"The arrogant dragon has regret." The Master said: "To be noble without a position, high without the people, a worthy person in a low position without assistance—therefore movement results in regret."

"Not leaving the courtyard, no blame." The Master said: "Where disorder is born, words are used as the ladder. If the ruler is not discreet, he loses his ministers; if the minister is not discreet, he loses his body; if secret matters are not discreet, achievement is harmed; therefore the noble person is cautious and discreet and does not go out."

The Master said: "The one who made the Yi—his knowledge was that of a thief! The Yi says: 'Carrying a load while riding, this brings the bandit.' Carrying a load is the work of the small man. Riding is the tool of the noble person. When a small man rides the tool of the noble person, the thief thinks to seize it. When the above are negligent and the below are violent, the thief thinks to attack. Negligent hiding teaches the thief; polished appearance teaches lust. The Yi says: 'Carrying a load while riding, this brings the bandit.' This is the summoning of the thief."

Heaven is one, Earth is two; Heaven three, Earth four; Heaven five, Earth six; Heaven seven, Earth eight; Heaven nine, Earth ten. The number of Heaven is five, the number of Earth is five; the five positions find each other and each has a union. The number of Heaven is twenty-five, the number of Earth is thirty; the total number of Heaven and Earth is fifty-five; this is how transformation is completed and ghosts and spirits act. The number of the Great Expansion is fifty, but its use is forty-nine; dividing it into two images the pair, hanging one to image three, counting by four to image the four seasons, returning the odd to the intercalary to image the leap month—every five years there are two leaps, so after two intercalations one hangs.

The stalks of Qian are two hundred and sixteen; the stalks of Kun are one hundred and forty-four; the total is three hundred and sixty, matching the days of a year. The stalks of the two sections are ten thousand one thousand five hundred and twenty, matching the number of all things. Therefore, four circuits complete the Yi, eighteen changes complete the hexagrams; with eight trigrams there is a small completion; extending and stretching them, touching the kind to grow it, all the possible works of all under heaven are finished. Manifesting the way and acting out divine virtue, therefore one can engage in social exchange and receive the help of spirits. The Master said: "One who knows the way of transformation—do they not know what the spirit does!"

In the Yi there are four ways of the Sage: for those who speak, the words are esteemed; for those who move, the change is esteemed; for those who make tools, the image is esteemed; for those who divine, the omen is esteemed. Therefore, when the noble person intends to act or proceed, they ask and use words; their receiving of the mandate is like an echo—there is no distance, no hidden depth; thus they know coming things. If not the utmost refinement in all under heaven, who could participate in this!

Combining three and five for change, interlacing the numbers, communicating the transformation, thus the patterns of all under heaven are completed; reaching the extreme of the numbers, thus the images of all under heaven are fixed; if not the utmost change in all under heaven, who could participate in this!

The Yi is no thought, it is no action; it is silent and unmoved, yet through resonance it communicates the causes of all under heaven. If not the utmost spirit in all under heaven, who could participate in this!

The Yi is that by which the Sage probes the deepest and researches the incipient! Because it is deep, it can communicate the will of all under heaven; because it is incipient, it can complete the affairs of all under heaven; because it is spirit, it is not hurried yet is fast, it does not move yet arrives.

When the Master said "In the Yi there are four ways of the Sage," he meant this.

The Master said: "What does the Yi do? The Yi opens things and completes affairs; it encompasses the way of all under heaven, and that is all." Therefore, the Sage uses it to communicate the will of all under heaven, to fix the work of all under heaven, and to decide the doubts of all under heaven. Therefore, the virtue of the yarrow stalk is round and spiritual, the virtue of the hexagram is square and knowing, the meaning of the six lines is easy to contribute; the Sage uses this to wash the heart, retreating to hide in the secret; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are shared as worries with the people; spirit knows the coming, knowledge hides the gone—who could participate in this? The brilliant, clear, and divine-martial of old who did not kill! Thus they were clear about the way of Heaven and observant of the causes of the people; they brought forth divine things to advance the use of the people; the Sage used this to align warnings and make their virtue spiritual! Therefore, closing the door is called Kun, opening the door is called Qian; one closing and one opening is called change; coming and going without end is called communication; seeing it is called image, forming it is called tool; making it and using it is called law; utilizing entry and exit, when all people use it, it is called spirit. Therefore, the Yi has the Taiji, which gives birth to the two forms; the two forms give birth to the four images; the four images give birth to the eight trigrams; the eight trigrams fix auspiciousness and inauspiciousness; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness give birth to great work. Therefore, no model of image is greater than Heaven and Earth; no change and communication is greater than the four seasons; no hanging image more manifest than the sun and moon; no exalting height greater than wealth and honor; providing all things for use, establishing tools for the benefit of all under heaven—none is greater than the Sage; probing secrets and searching the hidden, hooking the deep to reach the far, fixing the auspiciousness and inauspiciousness of all under heaven, completing the steady persistence of all under heaven—none is greater than the yarrow and tortoise. Therefore, Heaven produces divine things, and the Sage follows them. Heaven and Earth transform, and the Sage models them. Heaven hangs images to show auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, and the Sage images them. The river produced the Map, the Luo produced the Writing, and the Sage followed them. The Yi has four images as a means of showing; it attaches remarks as a means of informing; it fixes them with auspiciousness and inauspiciousness as a means of deciding.

The Yi says: "Helped by Heaven, auspicious with nothing unfavorable." The Master said: "Help is assistance. That which Heaven assists is accordance. That which people assist is trust. Treading in trust and thinking of accordance, while also exalting the worthy—this is why it says 'Helped by Heaven, auspicious with nothing unfavorable.'"

The Master said: "Writing cannot exhaust speech, and speech cannot exhaust intention." If so, can the intention of the Sage be seen? The Master said: "The Sage establishes images to exhaust intention, sets hexagrams to exhaust truth and falsehood, attaches remarks to exhaust their speech, changes and communicates them to exhaust benefit, drums and dances them to exhaust spirit."

Qian and Kun—are they not the threads of the Yi! When Qian and Kun are arrayed, the Yi is established within them. If Qian and Kun were destroyed, there would be no way to see the Yi; if the Yi cannot be seen, Qian and Kun would perhaps cease. Therefore, that which is above form is called Dao, that which is below form is called tool; transforming and tailoring it is called change; pushing and carrying it forward is called communication; lifting and interlacing it for the people of all under heaven is called enterprise. Thus, as for images, the Sage has a way of seeing the hidden secrets of all under heaven and models them in their outward forms, imaging what is fitting; therefore it is called an image. The Sage has a way of seeing the movement of all under heaven and observes its convergence and communication to carry out ritual laws, attaching remarks to them to decide auspiciousness and inauspiciousness; therefore they are called lines. The reaching of the utmost secrets of all under heaven resides in the hexagram; the drumming of the utmost movements of all under heaven resides in the words; transforming and tailoring it resides in change; pushing and carrying it forward resides in communication; being spiritual and clear resides in the person; achieving through silence, trusting without speaking, resides in virtue and conduct.