The origin of Zhouyi, the change of its position in history?

According to the traditional view, the Book of Changes says that "man is more sacred and the world is three ancient." In other words, the Book of Changes has experienced three times (the so-called "three ancient") and was completed by three saints (Fuxi, Wang Wen and Confucius) (the so-called "three saints").

Fuxi, also known as Mi, Bao and Dong, is the ancestor of human beings in China mythology. Legend has it that man was born when he married Nuwa's younger brother and sister. He also said that he taught people to weave nets to hunt and invented gossip. According to many scholars' research, he was a tribal leader in primitive society. Judging from the cultural relics unearthed in archaeology, Fuxi statues are mostly snakes with heads, which may be the result of later generations worshipping their ancestors and a totem worship.

King Wen, the leader of the Zhou clan, surnamed Ji, was born in Mingchang. At the end of Shang Dynasty, it was cruel and was constantly opposed by the people. Under the rule of Shang Dynasty, Zhou Guo became more and more powerful and popular with the people. This poses a threat to business. Under this condition, Shang Zhouwang imprisoned King Wen in Gou Li (in tangyin county, Henan), and King Wen performed 64 hexagrams in troubled times, so the history books called King Wen Zhouyi.

Confucius, a native of Lu (Qufu, Shandong) in the Spring and Autumn Period, was a famous thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism. He used to be a scout of Lu, and his life was bumpy. He is mainly devoted to education and sorting out ancient documents handed down from generation to generation. According to historical records, Yi Zhuan was written in his later years.

According to the saying that "people are more saint and history is more ancient", Zhouyi is not an era and a person's work is correct. However, there are also many problems. For example, Fuxi's painting of gossip is just a legend, and there is no more physical evidence to prove it, and there is no more evidence to refute this assertion. Wang Wen's emphasis on gossip and divination is also problematic. Because in the Book of Changes, the historical facts after King Wen were recorded. For example, some scholars think that "Ming Yi is in Ji Zi" and "Sima Shufan is in Kanghou" reflect the historical facts after King Wen. Therefore, hexagrams were not written by King Wen, and some people think that emphasizing hexagrams is not King Wen. For example, Wang Bi thought Fuxi emphasized divination, Zheng Xuan thought Shennong emphasized divination, and Sun Sheng thought Yu Xia emphasized divination.

There are also different opinions about Confucius' writing Yi Zhuan. Some people say that it was written by Confucius, while others say that it was written by Confucius' students. Traditionally, Confucius wrote Yi Zhuan, but in Yi Zhuan, it is called Confucius. In ancient times, Confucius meant that students respected their teachers, and Confucius could not call himself Confucius.

According to the research of modern academic circles, it is generally believed that the Book of Changes (referring to the sixty-four hexagrams) was written in the late Yin Dynasty and the early Zhou Dynasty, reflecting the ambiguous relationship between the king of Wen and the Zhou Dynasty, and its heavy hexagrams came from the hand of the king of Wen. These hexagrams were written by Duke Zhou.

As for the Book of Changes, most scholars think that it was written in the Warring States period, and the author is not Confucius, but it embodies the spirit of Confucius and reflects the thoughts of Confucius and Confucianism. Confucius probably said a lot when he taught the Book of Changes. Confucius' students compiled Yi Zhuan by sorting out, supplementing and polishing Confucius' records about Yi. According to the textual research of Mr. Liu Dajun's Introduction to the Book of Changes, The Book of Changes was written by Meng Si School (Confucius' descendant Zi Si, Mencius' later study). (See "Introduction to Zhouyi" P27-37) Of course, it is also suggested that Confucius not only did not write the Book of Changes, but also did not read the Book of Changes, but this view is incorrect. The reason is: Confucius clearly stated in The Analects that "fifty should learn the Book of Changes" and also quoted the hexagram of The Book of Changes "Don't be constant with virtue, or be ashamed of virtue". Sima Qian and Ban Gu affirmed in the history books that Confucius liked the Book of Changes late and read a lot. The so-called "Bian Wei's Three Masterpieces" means that when Confucius repeatedly read the Book of Changes, the cowhide of the series was broken three times, which shows that reading the Book of Changes is diligent. W: Cowhide. Bian Wei: String bamboo slips with cowhide. Three unique skills: break three times. There was no paper in the Spring and Autumn Period, so I wrote (or carved) words on bamboo slips and strung them into a book with cowhide. So Confucius read Zhouyi. (For the relationship between Confucius and Zhouyi, see Introduction to Zhouyi, P 145).

I. Interpretation of the Book of Changes

There are different opinions on the interpretation of the word Zhouyi in ancient times, but there are mainly two kinds: one thinks that Zhouyi is a divination book of the Zhou Dynasty; One view is that Zhouyi is a book about change. This is the meaning of the English translation of the Book of Changes. Specifically, the word "Zhou" has two meanings: ① It refers to Zhou Pu and the universe, which is vast and all-encompassing. (2) refers to the code name, namely the Zhou Dynasty. In ancient times, books of the Zhou Dynasty were usually called Zhou Shu, such as Zhou Li and Zhou Yu. The word "Yi" also has two meanings: ① refers to change. From the perspective of philology, the composition of the word "Yi" is "day" and "month". "Yi" means "the sun" on the top and "the moon" on the bottom, symbolizing the changes of yin and yang of the sun and moon; Oracle Bone Inscriptions, who said "Yi", poured water (or wine) from one vessel into another vessel as a symbol of change and transaction. Judging from the content of Zhouyi, it contains changing ideas: for example, in hexagrams, the dry hexagrams are changed from "dive", "see", "fly" and "rise" in the initial hexagrams to the upper hexagrams, and the too hexagrams are changed from big to small, flexible, fair and fierce. Show the change of numbers by counting time, and so on. This change in the Book of Changes is profoundly and clearly expounded in the Book of Changes. The so-called combination of Yin and Yang and the change of heaven and earth in Yi Zhuan became the essence of China's dialectical philosophy in the pre-Qin period. So "Yi" means change. (2) refers to the ancient divination books. According to ancient records, three divination books, Lianshan, Guizang and Zhouyi, are called "three changes", so Yi is the proper term of divination books. (See Liu Dajun's Introduction to Book of Changes Pl-4).

Second, the title of Zhouyi.

There was a reference to Zhouyi in the Spring and Autumn Period, which was mentioned many times in the historical book Chunqiu Zuozhuan, but from the Zhouyi used by people at that time, it included 64 hexagrams (symbols) and hexagrams.

During the Warring States period, people wrote the Book of Changes in order to explain it. The Book of Changes and The Book of Changes are both called The Book of Changes. For example, Zhuangzi's so-called "Yi Yin Yang" and Xunzi's so-called "Good for Yi" include the Book of Changes.

Since the Western Han Dynasty, in order to strengthen centralization of authority, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion of "respecting Confucianism alone" and called the works of Confucius and Confucian scholars "Jing". The Book of Changes and The Book of Changes are called the Book of Changes, or directly called the Book of Changes. Since then, Zhouyi, Yijing and Yijing have been used together. Some people call it Zhouyi, some people call it Yijing, and some people call it Yijing. In fact, they mean the same thing, both referring to the sixty-four hexagrams and Yi Zhuan. Until today, there is still no strict distinction. Some scholars, in order to distinguish the classic and biography of Zhouyi, call the sixty-four hexagrams and epigrams "Zhouyi Ancient Classics", and the Notes on Confucius in Zhouyi Ancient Classics and Scholars "Zhouyi Biography".

Third, the nature of Zhouyi.

There has always been disagreement in academic circles about what kind of book Zhouyi is. Some people argue that Zhouyi is a divination book, some people argue that Zhouyi is a history book, and some people argue that Zhouyi is a philosophy book. We believe that the nature of Zhouyi is a very complicated issue, which should be treated objectively and historically. In the long historical development of China, with the change of politics, the need of theory and the change of its own status, the nature of Zhouyi is also different.

(1) Judging from the emergence and early application of Zhouyi, Zhouyi is a divination book. In the early society of China, due to the low productivity and underdeveloped science, the ancestors could not give scientific explanations to natural phenomena, social phenomena and human physiological phenomena, which led to the worship of God and thought that there was a supreme emperor and/or God behind things, dominating everything in the world. When people are repeatedly hit by unexpected natural and man-made disasters, they germinate the desire to predict the consequences of this sudden disaster and their actions with the help of providence, so as to achieve the purpose of avoiding disadvantages. Based on this, in their long-term practice, they invented various prediction methods to communicate between man and god, and the Zhouyi, which best embodies the meaning of god, was produced under such conditions. Therefore, the Book of Changes was produced purely to meet the needs of people's production and life prediction at that time.

Zhouyi was mainly used for divination for a long time after it came into being. There are 22 cases of divination recorded in Chunqiu Zuozhuan and Guoyu. For example, there is a story in Zuo Zhuan in the Spring and Autumn Annals: When Qi Tang died, Cui Wuzi mourned and saw the beauty of first frost, but he wanted to be a concubine, but he was unsure, so he used Zhouyi for divination and got the book "Sleeping". Some people, according to the slogan "trapped in a stone, according to a thistle, enter their palace without seeing their wives." So I took her as a concubine. We can see that in the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhouyi was mainly used for divination, which provided a guide for people's behavior.

(2) According to the interpretation of Zhouyi in the Book of Changes, the Book of Changes attaches importance to the divination function of Zhouyi, and repeatedly emphasizes that learning Zhouyi well can help us understand the principles of life and death, ignorance and ghosts and gods, break the doubts of the world, communicate the wishes of the world, become the affairs of the world, and clearly tell people that Zhouyi is to be obeyed. "So if a gentleman lives, he must observe his image and play his words. If he moves, look at his changes and play his career. It is a godsend, and there is no disadvantage. " At the same time, the Book of Changes contains a relatively complete divination method in the Book of Changes.

Thus, for a long time after the Zhouyi came into being, its main function was to possess and provide people with a guide to action.

However, after the Han Dynasty, the nature of Zhouyi changed. On the one hand, it retains the original nature of divination and has been fully developed. Yi-ology scholars overcame the limitations of Dayan method and created a relatively complete new divination method. Jiao Yanshou and together created the divination method of Jiao. His disciple Fang Jing was even better than his teacher. He completely changed the rules of divination and created the method of taking the armor. So in the Han dynasty, the method of divination tended to be perfect. On the other hand, Zhouyi also has new functions, because it contains profound philosophy of life, especially after the interpretation and development of Yi Zhuan, its philosophical level has reached a new height, and Zhouyi has become a profound philosophical classic. It is for this reason that the Book of Changes was favored by the rulers of the Han Dynasty. From the original book of divination, it has become an official philosophical book of governing the country and cultivating oneself. Known as the head of the Five Classics and the source of the Tao. The thought of Zhouyi penetrated into all fields of social life at that time and became the theoretical basis for rulers to govern the country. Since then, Zhouyi has contained duality. On the one hand, under the seal of the rulers of past dynasties, its theoretical guiding role is increasingly exposed and distinct; On the other hand, folk magicians are constantly updating and perfecting the divination system. Until today, the duality of Zhouyi is still very obvious.