Zhouyi is an encyclopedia.

What book is Zhouyi?

To understand this problem, we must first understand who is the author of Zhouyi. What do "Zhou" and "Yi" in Zhouyi mean? Next, we should study the specific content of Zhouyi and draw a conclusion according to the content.

Now we see the Book of Changes, which is divided into two parts: the Book of Changes (original text) and the Book of Changes (later annotations):

The Book of Changes includes three parts: hexagrams, hexagrams and hexagrams. "Guahua" is the image of sixty-four hexagrams, which is composed of two symbols (hexagrams): "-"and "-". For example, six hexagrams (positive hexagrams) form the image of dry hexagrams (figure 1), and six hexagrams (negative hexagrams) form the image of Kun hexagrams. The words of hexagrams are the interpretation of all hexagrams, and Yi Ci is the interpretation of six Yi Ci.

The Book of Changes is the annotation of the Book of Changes. The popular version of the Book of Changes is divided into seal characters (up and down), image seal characters (up and down), connecting seal characters (up and down), classical Chinese seal characters, divination seal characters, imaginary seal characters and miscellaneous seal characters. In addition, the silk book Yi Zhuan unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb * * * includes Cohesion, Ersanzi Wen, Yi Zhiyi, Yao, Miu He and Zhao Li.

The mainstream view is that the Book of Changes was finally written by Zhou Wenwang, or it was written in the early Zhou Dynasty. The author of Yi Zhuan is Confucius, or the main author is Confucius, and later generations have supplemented it.

Regarding the word "Zhou" in Zhouyi, the prevailing view is that it means "Zhou Dynasty" and is the name of the dynasty. "Yi" is the general name of divination books in the pre-Qin period. Discussion on the word "Yi" has the saying that "Yi has three solutions".

Judging from the contents of the Book of Changes, most of the hexagrams contain "* *, auspicious", * *, fierce ",* *, blameless" and "* *, regretful". It can be said that the Book of Changes itself is a book of divination, but on the one hand, it is because of the ambiguity of Chinese characters, especially ancient Chinese characters (a word can have multiple interpretations); On the other hand, the writing of divination itself is to solve doubts for fortune tellers; Besides, most of the Book of Changes is about Yi Li. Based on these three points, the research focus of the Book of Changes in later generations is to study its "Yi Li", that is, the principles of dealing with people, social development and governing the country. It can be called an "encyclopedia" to teach the truth of life!

In the development of thousands of years, there are many researchers in the Book of Changes, which have greatly tapped and exerted the value of the Book of Changes in divination, management, self-cultivation, history and science. It is a book worthy of lifelong study, which needs great efforts to study!