Appended Remarks, Part II

The eight trigrams are formed in sequence; images are within them. Doubling them accordingly, lines are within them. Firm and yielding push each other; change is within them. Attaching words to it and naming it; movement is within them. Auspiciousness, inauspiciousness, regret, and constriction—these are born of movement. The firm and the yielding are those that establish the root; openness and flow are those that follow the time; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are those where steadfastness prevails. The way of Heaven and Earth is to be steadfastly observed; the way of the sun and moon is to be steadfastly bright; the movement of all under heaven is to be steadfastly one. Now, Qian clearly shows man ease; Kun loosely shows man simplicity. The lines are that which effects this; the images are that which resembles this. Lines and images move within; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness appear without. Achievement appears in change; the feelings of the sage appear in words. The great virtue of Heaven and Earth is called birth; the great treasure of the sage is called position. By what does he keep his position? By benevolence. By what does he gather people? By wealth. Governing wealth with correct words, forbidding the people from doing wrong—this is called righteousness.

In ancient times, when Baoxi ruled all under heaven, looking up he observed images in heaven; looking down he observed laws in earth. He observed the patterns of birds and beasts and the suitability of the land; taking from his own body nearby, and from things afar. Thus he first made the eight trigrams, to communicate the virtue of divine brightness, and to categorize the feelings of the myriad things. Making knotted cords to form nets for trapping and fishing—this was taken from Li.

Baoxi passed away; Shennong arose. He carved wood for hoes and bent wood for plows. The utility of the plow and hoe he taught to all under heaven—this was taken from Yi. Establishing markets at midday, bringing together the people of all under heaven, gathering the goods of all under heaven, trading and then departing, each finding his place—this was taken from Shihe.

Shennong passed away; the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun arose. They communicated change so that the people did not tire; they transformed them with spirit so that the people found it fitting. When the Yi reaches an impasse, it changes; when it changes, it opens; when it opens, it endures. Thus heaven helps them, and nothing is unfavorable. The Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun let their robes hang loose while all under heaven was governed—this was taken from Qian and Kun.

Hollowing wood for boats, sharpening wood for oars; the utility of boat and oar to cross where there is no passage, reaching far to benefit all under heaven—this was taken from Huan.

Using oxen and riding horses, pulling heavy loads over great distances to benefit all under heaven—this was taken from Sui. Beating the wooden clapper at the double gates to await a violent guest—this was taken from Yu.

Cutting wood for pestles, digging earth for mortars; the utility of mortar and pestle by which the myriad people are aided—this was taken from Xiaoguo.

Bending wood for bows, sharpening wood for arrows; the utility of bow and arrow to awe all under heaven—this was taken from Kui.

In high antiquity, people lived in caves and dwelt in the wild; later sages changed this to palaces and rooms, with upper beams and lower eaves to await wind and rain—this was taken from Dazhuang.

Those who buried the dead in ancient times clothed them thickly with firewood, burying them in the open wild, without mounds or trees, with no count of the mourning period; later sages changed this to coffins and outer cases—this was taken from Daguo.

In high antiquity, knotted cords were used for governance; later sages changed this to writing and contracts, so that the hundred officials could govern and the myriad people be discerned—this was taken from Zhouyi/Guai.

Therefore, the Yi is image. Image is resemblance. The Tuan is the material. The lines are those that effect the movement of all under heaven. Therefore, auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are born, and regret and constriction become manifest.

Yang trigrams have much yin; Yin trigrams have much yang. Why is this so? Yang trigrams are odd; Yin trigrams are even. What is their virtue and conduct? Yang has one ruler and two people—this is the way of the noble. Yin has two rulers and one person—this is the way of the small person.

The Yi says: "Hustling to and fro, friends follow your thoughts." The Master said: "What need is there for all under heaven to think or worry! All under heaven return to the same place though the paths are different; they reach one accord through a hundred worries. What need is there to think or worry! When the sun goes, the moon comes; when the moon goes, the sun comes. Sun and moon push each other, and brightness is born. When cold goes, heat comes; when heat goes, cold comes. Cold and heat push each other, and the year is completed. That which goes is bending; that which comes is return. Bending and return move one another, and benefit is born. The inch-worm bends to seek its return. The dragon and snake hibernate to preserve their bodies. Refined meaning enters the spirit to achieve use. Using benefit to settle the body, so as to exalt virtue. Beyond this, none know. Exhausting the spirit to know transformation—this is the flowering of virtue."

The Yi says: "Constrained by stone, leaning on thorns; entering his palace, he does not see his wife. Inauspicious." The Master said: "To be constrained where one is not constrained, the name will surely be shamed; to lean where one should not lean, the body will surely be in peril. Having been both shamed and endangered, the time of death draws near—how could he possibly see his wife!"

The Yi says: "The duke uses a bow to shoot a falcon atop a high wall; capturing it, nothing is unfavorable." The Master said: "The falcon is a bird; the bow and arrow are tools. He who shoots them is a man. The noble hides the tool in his body, waiting for the time to move—what unfavorability could there be? Moving without being hindered, thus he goes out and captures. This speaks of one who moves once the tool is complete."

The Master said: "The small person is not ashamed by lack of benevolence, does not fear lack of righteousness; unless he sees benefit, he is not encouraged; unless he is threatened, he is not punished. A small punishment serves as a great warning—this is the fortune of the small person. The Yi says: 'Treading in shackles, toes extinguished, no blame.' This is what is meant. Goodness, if not accumulated, is not enough to establish a name; evil, if not accumulated, is not enough to destroy the body. The small person takes small goodness as useless and does not do it; he takes small evil as harmless and does not remove it. Thus evil accumulates until it cannot be hidden, and the crime grows too great to be absolved. The Yi says: 'What shackles extinguish the ears? Inauspicious.'"

The Master said: "The endangered are those who feel secure in their position. The lost are those who seek only to preserve their existence. The disordered are those who have their order. Therefore, the noble is secure but does not forget danger; he exists but does not forget loss; he is ordered but does not forget disorder. Thus his body is secure and the state can be preserved. The Yi says: 'It is gone, it is gone, tied to a flowering mulberry.'"

The Master said: "Virtue thin but position high; knowledge small but planning great; strength small but burden heavy—rarely do these not fail. The Yi says: 'The tripod breaks a leg, overturning the duke's soup; its form is drenched. Inauspicious.' This speaks of failing to sustain the burden."

The Master said: "To know the incipient—is that not spirit! The noble in his dealings with superiors does not flatter; in his dealings with inferiors he is not irreverent. His knowledge of the incipient is great! The incipient is the subtlety of movement, the first sight of auspiciousness. The noble sees the incipient and acts; he does not wait until the end of the day. The Yi says: 'Steadfast as a stone, not waiting for the end of the day, steadfastly auspicious.' Being like a stone, why use the whole day? The decision is known. The noble knows the subtle and knows the manifest, knows the yielding and knows the firm; he is the hope of ten thousand men."

The Master said: "The son of the Yan clan—is he not nearly so! There was nothing not good that he did not know; having known it, he never again performed it. The Yi says: 'Returning from not far, no need for regret, fundamentally auspicious.' Heaven and Earth are entwined, and myriad things transform into purity; man and woman join their essences, and myriad things transform into birth. The Yi says: 'Three walking together, then one is diminished; one walking alone, then he gains a friend.' This speaks of reaching oneness."

The Master said: "The noble settles his body before moving, changes his heart before speaking, fixes his relations before seeking. The noble cultivates these three, and thus is whole. To move out of danger—then the people will not join him. To speak out of fear—then the people will not respond. To seek without relation—then the people will not join him. When none join him, those who wound him arrive. The Yi says: 'None benefit him, some strike him. Establishing a heart that is not constant, inauspicious.'"

The Master said: "Qian and Kun—are they not the gates of the Yi? Qian is the yang thing; Kun is the yin thing. Yin and yang join in virtue, and firm and yielding have body, to embody the drafting of Heaven and Earth, to communicate the virtue of divine brightness." In naming them, they are mixed but do not exceed; in checking their kinds, is this the intent of a declining age? Now the Yi manifests the past and discerns the future, makes the subtle manifest and opens the hidden. Opening it to correctly name and distinguish things, correcting words and deciding phrases—then it is complete. Its naming is small, its categorization is great; its purpose is far, its phrasing literary. Its words are winding yet hit the mark; its affairs are sprawling yet hidden. Using the double to aid the conduct of people, to clarify the reward of loss and gain.

The arising of the Yi—was it in the middle ages? He who made the Yi—did he have worries and sufferings? Therefore:

Lu is the foundation of virtue. Qian is the handle of virtue. Fu is the root of virtue. Heng is the firmness of virtue. Sun is the cultivation of virtue. Yi is the abundance of virtue. Kun is the discernment of virtue. Jing is the ground of virtue. Xun is the regulation of virtue.

Lu: arriving through harmony. Qian: shining through honor. Fu: small, yet discerning among things. Heng: mixed, yet not wearying. Sun: difficulty first, then ease. Yi: growing in abundance without sinking. Kun: penetrating through impasse. Jing: dwelling in its place while moving. Xun: measured yet hidden.

Lu: acting with harmony. Qian: regulating with ritual. Fu: by self-knowledge. Heng: with one virtue. Sun: by distancing harm. Yi: by exciting benefit. Kun: by fewing resentment. Jing: by discerning righteousness. Xun: by exercising discretion.

The Yi as a book cannot be distant; as a way it shifts repeatedly. Change and movement do not dwell; it flows through the six voids, upper and lower without constancy, firm and yielding exchange places. It cannot be made into a fixed canon; only to change does it adapt. Its coming and going are measured; its outer and inner make one know fear. It is also clear on worries, sufferings, and causes; there is no teacher or protector, as if facing one's parents. First follow its words and weigh its method; once there are established constants, if the person be not the right one, the way does not move in vain.

The Yi as a book begins at the origin and summarizes the end to establish its substance. Six lines are mixed—only according to the time and things. The beginning is hard to know, the top is easy to know; this is root and branch. The first words suggest it, the final words complete it. As for mixing things to draft virtue, discerning right from wrong—then without the middle lines it is not complete. Alas, if one wishes to preserve existence or loss, auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, then dwelling within makes it knowable. He who is wise observes the Tuan phrases, and more than half of the thought is achieved.

Two and four have the same merit but different positions; their goodness differs: two has much praise, four has much fear—this is due to proximity. The way of the yielding is not favorable to those nearby; its essential is no blame, its use is the yielding center. Three and five have the same merit but different positions; their encounters differ: three has much inauspiciousness, five has much achievement—this is the rank of noble and base. Is the yielding endangered? Does the firm prevail?

The Yi as a book has breadth and greatness fully prepared: there is the way of heaven, the way of man, the way of earth. Combining the three materials and doubling them, thus six. Six are nothing else but the way of the three materials. The way has change and movement, therefore it is called lines; lines have ranks, therefore they are called things; things are mixed, therefore they are called patterns; patterns are not fitting, therefore auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are born.

The arising of the Yi—was it during the late days of Yin, the flourishing virtue of Zhou? Was it during the time of Wen Wang and Zhou? Therefore its words are precarious; the precarious are made level, the easy are made to tilt. Its way is very great, a hundred things are not abandoned; fearing from beginning to end, its essential is no blame. This is called the way of the Yi.

Now Qian is the utmost strength in all under heaven; its virtue and conduct are constantly easy, thus knowing danger. Kun is the utmost responsiveness in all under heaven; its virtue and conduct are constantly simple, thus knowing obstruction. It can explain to the heart, it can refine the thoughts of the feudal lords, settle the auspiciousness and inauspiciousness of all under heaven, and complete those who are diligent. Therefore, change and transformation are called acting; auspicious affairs have omens, image-affairs know the tool, divination-affairs know the future.

Heaven and Earth establish positions, the sage completes ability; man's plotting and ghosts' plotting, the common people participate in ability. The eight trigrams notify through images, lines and Tuan speak through feelings; firm and yielding dwell together, and auspiciousness and inauspiciousness can be seen. Change and movement speak of benefit; auspiciousness and inauspiciousness shift by feeling. Therefore, love and hate attack each other and auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are born; far and near take from each other and regret and constriction are born; truth and falsehood move one another and benefit and harm are born. In all the feelings of the Yi, if they are near but do not obtain one another, then inauspiciousness or harm may affect them, with regret and constriction.

He who is about to rebel—his words are ashamed; he whose heart is doubting—his words branch off; the words of a lucky man are few, the words of a restless man are many; he who slanders the good—his words wander, he who has lost his steadiness—his words bend.