Introduction to the Book of Changes, how to read this reference book?

Recently, I wrote several articles about the Book of Changes, which interested my friends. A friend left a message saying that everyone knows that the Book of Changes is awesome, but when I read it, I found that the text of the Book of Changes was obscure. Strange structure; There are too many technical terms to understand. Now briefly introduce how to understand this traditional classic.

The Book of Changes, known as the head of ten thousand classics, the source of Taoism and the foundation of culture, covers China's traditional Confucianism and Taoism, and is the general source of China's philosophy. It deserves serious study. Now let's share how to read this seemingly abstruse book:

The first step is to understand the content and evolution of the Book of Changes.

First of all, the first step, I want to know about the Book of Changes and know what it is about! The Book of Changes is mainly composed of The Book of Changes and Biography.

Classics are the core of the whole book. Essentially, the classic is a divination book, which is divided into three parts: going to Beijing and Xia Jing. There are thirty hexagrams in Attending Beijing, thirty-four hexagrams in Xia Jing and sixty-four hexagrams in * *. Each hexagram consists of hexagram painting, hexagram name, hexagram words and figures of speech. This structure is different from other traditional classics, so it is not easy to understand.

Biography explains classics, more like a philosophy book. Zhuan * * * consists of ten chapters, namely, the upper and lower chapters of Xun, where Xun is pronounced as (tuàn), which is a comment on the names and words of the hexagrams in the Book of Changes.

"Xiang" is divided into two parts, which is the annotation of the names of hexagrams and characters in the Book of Changes.

Classical Chinese is a further explanation of the two hexagrams of Gan Kun.

Cohesion is also an upper and lower chapter, an overall annotation to the Book of Changes, a philosophical program and a required reading of the Book of Changes.

Shuogua is a concrete explanation of gossip and images. Miscellaneous hexagrams is the relationship between hexagrams and hexagrams from the perspective of hexagrams. ; The preface to hexagrams is about the arrangement order of sixty-four hexagrams.

There are * * * ten biographies, which were collectively called "ten wings" by the ancients, indicating that biographies are a wing attached to the classics to explain the contents of the classics.

Of course, the original content of the Book of Changes is not that much. The Eight Diagrams in the Book of Changes first evolved from the ancient Fuxi. Before that, there were two versions, Lianshan Yi created by jiyan Di Shennong and Gui Zang Yi created by Huangdi.

But these two versions are so old that they haven't been handed down and can't be seen now. What we are seeing now is actually the Book of Changes created by Zhou Wenwang. According to Fuxi's Eight Diagrams, he deduced the Eight Diagrams of King Wen and the sixty-four hexagrams of King Wen.

Later, Duke Zhou, the son of King Wen and the younger brother of Zhou Wuwang, added a message to the 384 hexagrams in the Book of Changes. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius annotated and arranged the Book of Changes after it, which became the guiding material of the Book of Changes and formed a biography.

After the spread and development of Dong Zhongshu, Jing Fang and Shao Yong, I Ching has become an inexhaustible source of wisdom. Its thoughts run through all the ancient cultures in China, and it is the general hub of China culture!

The second step is to be familiar with the framework and philosophy of the Book of Changes.

The basic skeleton of the Book of Changes comes from He Tu and Luo Shu, which are two mysterious images handed down from generation to generation. They are considered as the source of the Book of Changes, Yin and Yang, Five Elements and even Chinese civilization, from which Tai Chi, Eight Diagrams and nine planets all come.

The core of the Book of Changes is the unity of opposites, which means that opposites are unified into two tools, namely Yin and Yang. The ancients thought: "Without Yang, Yin cannot be born, and without Yin, it cannot be transformed." Yin and Yang are interdependent, mutually restricted and mutually transformed, which is also the oldest dialectics of mankind!

In the process of mutual transformation, Yin and Yang evolved into four images: Shaoyin, Shaoyang, Sun () and Taiyin (Laoyin). Image refers to image, state, symbol and analogy. In the Book of Changes, the state of hexagrams and hexagrams is called hexagrams.

The running state of celestial bodies is called astronomical phenomena, the terrain state of the ground is called terrestrial phenomena, and the four phenomena of spring, summer, autumn and winter are also called four seasons, which also fits the concept of harmony between man and nature in the Book of Changes!

According to the perception of nature, the ancients designed hexagrams to express their understanding of the universe, the relationship between the sun and the moon, the agricultural society and the philosophy of life. Eight elements representing everything in the world are summarized into eight hexagrams, and then a complete gossip system is formed by adding text descriptions to the hexagrams.

Familiar with these basic skeletons, it is easier to understand the specific hexagrams and analyze the specific evolution law, and then we can further study the four methods of image, number, meaning and reason of the Book of Changes.

The third step is to keep in mind the system and methods of the Book of Changes.

Finally, let's take a look at the core theory of the Book of Changes, the rich connotation and life philosophy of the 64 hexagrams and 384 hexagrams in the Book of Changes. It's like a reference book. When you encounter a problem, you can find the answer from it!

Let's look at the basic units of the sixty-four hexagrams first. Each hexagram consists of six hexagrams. Different hexagrams represent different meanings, different arrangement order represents different periods of things, and the change of yin and yang represents the future direction of things.

He is a symbol imitating the changes of heaven and earth, similar to the "cross" in modern characters, representing the alternation of "Yi". Everything in the universe is always communicating, acting, having relationships and changing. There are two kinds of hexagrams: Yang hexagrams and Yin hexagrams. We know that three hexagrams make up eight diagrams, which represent eight natural phenomena between heaven and earth. The combination of gossip in pairs becomes a sixty-four hexagrams and six hexagrams!

It should be noted that the order of divination is from bottom to top, followed by the first divination, the second divination, the third divination, the fourth divination, the fifth divination and the last divination. The ancients used "nine" for positive numbers and "six" for negative numbers, so they called Yang Yao the ninth day, the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day and the ninth day. Call Yi Yin the sixth, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth day.

In addition to being divided into yang hexagram and yin hexagram, the ancients also divided into three parts, with one hexagram and two hexagrams as the ground. Three and four are people; Five plus six is heaven. Heaven shows yin and yang, tunnel represents rigidity and softness, and humanity says benevolence and righteousness. This is the theory that each hexagram contains heaven, earth and people!

Knowing this system and reading the Book of Changes will make it much easier to answer. I wrote an article in the Book of Changes, which is a guiding light on the road of life! It has been said that the law of six attributes is "difficult to know at first, more than two, more than three fierce, more than four fearful, more than five meritorious deeds, and easy to know". In each hexagram, the relationship between hexagrams and hexagrams is the key to judge the trend of things and predict good or bad luck.

Yang Yao should be in the positive position, and Yin Yao should be in the negative position, which is called "in position" and vice versa. "Being in office" and "not being in office" are the basic conditions for judging the good or bad luck of hexagrams, but they are not the only conditions!

When looking at the six hexagrams of each hexagram, if the yin hexagram is next to the yang hexagram and the yin hexagram is below the yang hexagram, it is said that the yin hexagram "inherits" the yang hexagram. It is beneficial for the lower part of the female body to contain and support the upper part of the male body. Just as a wise monarch needs the assistance of many wise ministers and the support of the people!

Corresponding to "bearing", if the yin is close to the yang and the yang is below the yin, it is called "taking" the yang. This is an improper phenomenon, just like the natural law that the dry sky is above and the Kun earth is below. If it means that the sun of the sky is under the shadow of the earth, it is putting the cart before the horse, which means it is not smooth and normal!

Similarly, when Yang Yao is located above the yin, it shows the relationship of "bearing", which means "occupying, suppressing and condescending" to Yang Yao, depending on who the test object is and where it is located.

In each hexagram, the close relationship between two adjacent hexagrams is called "Bi". Comparison means comparison, comparison and proximity. Only similar things can be compared. In the image of hexagrams, only two adjacent hexagrams can be compared. According to the principle of "like-sex repulsion, opposite-sex attraction", the "pro-sex ratio" of one yang and one yin is definitely better than the "enemy ratio" of two yang and two yin!

In each hexagram, the first hexagram and the fourth hexagram are in the lowest position of the inner and outer hexagrams respectively; The second and the fifth are respectively in the middle of the inner and the outer; The three and the upper ones are at the top of the inner and outer ones, respectively. They are in a similar position and can understand each other, take care of each other and echo each other. This relationship is called "ying". In addition to following the principle of like-sex repulsion and opposite-sex attraction, there is also the guiding significance of "things are rare"!

In each hexagram, the two hexagrams and the five hexagrams are regarded as the core of yin and yang, because the two hexagrams are in the middle of the inner hexagrams and are the core of the inner hexagrams; The five elements are in the middle and the core of the external elements. The position of five hexagrams is called the throne, which is the supreme position. If the five elements are yang elements, it means "Yang wins the middle". Similarly, if both hexagrams are yin hexagrams, it means "Yin wins the middle", which is the most auspicious situation!

To sum up, the core content of the Book of Changes is in the Classic Department, including the names of hexagrams, hexagrams and their explanations. The first is the attribute and image of each hexagram; Secondly, it is a concise and clear hexagram to judge the overall good or bad of this hexagram; After that, there were "haiku" and "Xiangci" corresponding to each other, followed by six hexagrams. The hexagrams are the essence of the Book of Changes and the main basis for judging good or bad luck!

Mr. Nan, a famous master of Chinese studies, has repeatedly stressed in Miscellaneous Notes on the Book of Changes and the Book of Changes that learning the Book of Changes requires memorizing the preface of the sixty-four hexagrams, the figures of speech, haiku and images of the two hexagrams of Gankun, and the contents of Cohesion Biography. In fact, the content of "The Legend of Coherence" is four words into a sentence.