The relationship between Chinese characters and Yijing, Yin-Yang and Five Elements

I didn't intend to answer this question, because it is inevitable to talk too much. But I really can't sit still when I see that the Book of Changes has nothing to do with Yin, Yang and Five Elements.

Chinese characters have a long history. According to the current research, they should have originated from hieroglyphics. For example, in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Xia and Shang Dynasties, most of them were pictographs. These words are very close to the original, just like paintings. So now it is also called a calligraphy and painting family.

Hieroglyphs evolved continuously, and then today's Chinese characters were formed.

For the book of changes, it's like. Confucius said: "The changers are like this; Like also, like also "Book of Changes" translation is, like also; And what is an elephant like? "For example, Kangua is an elephant, like water.

We can see that this kind of divination is very similar to the water in hieroglyphics, or it is standing as water.

However, characters are not created according to the Book of Changes, and the creation of characters is based on the creation rules of characters. Such as pictogram, understanding, sound and so on. The Book of Changes is a collection of all laws and great wisdom.

The Book of Changes is about the way of Yin and Yang. "Cohesive Biography" said: "One yin and one yang are the Tao, those who follow it are good, and those who succeed are also people." The sixty-four hexagrams in the Book of Changes are all composed of Yin and Yang. The way of yin and harmony dominates all laws, so Chinese characters can't escape this law. But we won't say that words are created on the basis of yin and yang.

It's like, our world originated from chaos, and now everything comes from chaos, but when you call, you won't say, what is chaos?

For another example, when divining, there is divination, which combines words with the Book of Changes. When explaining this kind of divination, we will use both the knowledge of the Book of Changes and the professional knowledge of writing.

As for the five elements, this is very complicated. Judging from the original Zhouyi we have seen now, we really can't find the five elements. But the Book of Changes is only one part of the Book of Changes, not all of it. In addition, the study of Zhouyi is endless, and there is an explanation about the number of heaven and earth in Shuogua Zhuan. These explanations have been continuously explored and explained in the research of later generations, and they were initially combined in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. By the Han Dynasty, the five elements had been perfectly combined with the Book of Changes. The classic square post in Han Dynasty is the best proof. Jing Fang Yi has already begun to incorporate heavenly stems and earthly branches into the gossip, thus establishing the Na Jia divination method.

The Book of Changes is the Book of Changes of the Zhou Dynasty, and it is also the Book of Changes that we pass down orally now. Written in the Zhou Dynasty. The main branches existed as early as Xia and Shang Dynasties. As for the five elements, it's still early. According to the current historical data, it is difficult for us to explore how the five elements and the Book of Changes originated.

According to the divination book, heavenly stems and earthly branches originated from the Yellow Emperor; While that rumor was create by Fu. As for the earliest description of the five elements, it can be found in Shangshu, and Oracle Bone Inscriptions is also mentioned in the article, which originated in Xia and Shang Dynasties. So the relationship between them can be said to be confusing.

But in any case, the Book of Changes has long been inseparable from the Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. People who learn the Book of Changes, if they don't understand the Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, are equal to not learning. The Book of Changes is also the source of China culture, and Chinese characters are the carrier of inheriting these cultures.

Let me give you an example. The Book of Changes is expressed in Chinese characters, and the Book of Changes itself contains multiple meanings. For example, Zheng Xuan, a master of Yi Studies in the Eastern Han Dynasty, put forward that Yi has three meanings, namely, change, difficulty and simplicity. Generally speaking, the Book of Changes is a science of change, and its changing law remains unchanged, but its changing way is simple and clear. This is the meaning that only the Chinese characters of our Chinese nation can express. The English translation of the Book of Changes is The Book of Changes. This translation can only express the meaning of change, but not the other two meanings. This is the difference between writing and culture.

To sum up, there is no special direct relationship between them except the Book of Changes and the five elements of Yin and Yang. But all kinds of subtle things, inextricably linked, are all in it.