What does the Book of Changes mean?

The Book of Changes is a book used for divination in ancient China, commonly known as the Book of Changes. There are already records of Zhouyi in Zuozhuan, such as Zuozhuan Xianggong Nine Years:' Jiang Yue:' Died of Zhouyi:' Sui, Yuan Henglizhen ...'' Zuozhuan Zhao Zhuan Gong Seven Years':' Confucius praised Zhouyi. "Explain that Zhouyi appeared at the latest in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At present, there is still controversy about the completion time of Zhouyi, but it was accepted by most people in the early Western Zhou Dynasty.

There are always different opinions about the word "Zhou" in Zhouyi. For example, some people think that Zhou means "everything is ready in Zhou Pu"; Some people think that Zhouyi refers to the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty was accepted by ordinary people, and many people thought that the word "Zhou" in Zhouyi meant time.

The interpretation of the word "Yi" in Zhouyi is complicated.

One said: "Yi is a word, from the day to the month, there are yin and yang." "Easy, the sun and the moon are also." "The moon is easy, quite soft."

One said, "Yi is like a bird."

One said, "Yi is a lizard. Lizards change color because of the environment, and it is easy to change every day. "

In the Qing Dynasty, Chen Ze wrote An Introduction to Zhouyi, which divided the definition of "Yi" into two parts:

Yue: trading, yin and yang are cold and hot, and the rule of up and down is also;

Yue: change, spring and autumn, autumn and winter, cycle also.

No matter what kind of explanation, it is not wrong to say that Zhouyi is about the interaction of yin and yang, which produces everything, "combining rigidity with softness, changing in it".

During the Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism regarded Zhouyi, Shi, Shu, Li, Yue and Chunqiu as classics, which were collectively called the Six Classics. So the Book of Changes is also called the Book of Changes.

After the evolution of the past dynasties, Zhouyi has become what we see today, which is divided into two parts: classics and biographies.

The scriptures are mainly 64 hexagrams and 384 hexagrams, each with its own hexagrams, which are explained for divination.

Sixty-four hexagrams consist of six groups of "-"and "-". "-"symbolizes masculinity; "-"symbolizes femininity. Therefore, "-"is called "Yang" and "-"is called "Yin".

"-"is represented by the largest number nine among odd numbers one, three, five, seven and nine, also called "nine".

"-"is represented by even two, four, six, eight and ten, also called "six".

"hexagrams" are composed from bottom to top, and the bottom is called "Chu". Go up in turn. Call two, three, four, five, the top one is called up.

After the sixty-four hexagrams, there is Guaci, which explains all the hexagrams, also known as Haiku. Xun is the name of an animal, which is good for teeth. When he was imprisoned by Yin, he deduced sixty-four hexagrams and explained them. Preface to Biography of Historical Records: "Xibo (the title of Zhou Wenwang when he was not king) played Zhouyi in prison."

After the hexagrams, hexagrams explain each of the six hexagrams. There are different opinions about the author of this poem. Some people say that it was written by Zhou Wenwang, while others say that it was written by Duke Zhou, the son of Zhou Wenwang.

Biography, called "Ten Wings", is ten articles in seven languages to explain the hexagrams. Wing has the meaning of assisting, which means assisting in the interpretation of classics. Eleven Wings consists of ten chapters: Biography of Xun, Biography of Xiang, Biography of Cohesion, Biography of Classical Chinese, Biography of Shuo Gua, Biography of Preface Gua and Biography of Miscellaneous Gua.

"Historical Records Confucius Family" said: "Confucius was fond of Yi in his later years, and he had three unique skills: preface, image, divination, classical Chinese, reading Yi and Wei."

Was the "Ten Wings" made by Confucius? Nowadays, many people think that the "Ten Wings" can't be made by one person, but there will be words from Confucius and his disciples because there are many contradictions in the "Ten Wings".

The biography of hexagrams is the interpretation of hexagrams, and the meaning of hexagrams is explained from the overall image of six hexagrams.

Elephants are divided into baby elephants and baby elephants. Image is still the interpretation of hexagrams. Different from Zhouyi, it simplifies six hexagrams into three hexagrams and explains all hexagrams from the things symbolized by gossip. Elephants explain every sentence from their own standpoint.

Cohesion Biography, also known as biography, is an overall exposition of the Book of Changes and a philosophical work with profound implications.

The Biography of Classical Chinese explains in detail the "Gangua" and "Kungua" in the sixty-four hexagrams.

Shuo Gua Zhuan is divided into two parts. The first part is a concise exposition of Yi, and the second part is an explanation of the gossip phenomenon.

The preface to the hexagrams explains the arrangement order of the sixty-four hexagrams.

The Biography of Miscellaneous Guas grouped the two opposing hexagrams in the sixty-four hexagrams and explained them in one sentence.

The above has become the whole content of the Book of Changes.