The origin of the Book of Changes and the changes in its status in history?
The era and author of the Book of Changes
According to traditional saying, the book of "Book of Changes" is "the three saints of the world, the three ancients of the world." That is, the writing experience of the Book of Changes The three eras of Shangzhan, Middle Ancient and Lower Ancient times (the so-called "Three Ancients") were completed by the three saints Fuxi, King Wen and Confucius (the so-called "Three Saints").
Fuxi, also known as Fuxi, Baoxi, Paoxi, etc., is the ancestor of mankind in Chinese mythology. Legend has it that humankind was born from his marriage to Nuwa, his brother and sister. He also said that he taught people to weave webs for hunting and invented gossip. According to research and research by many scholars, he was a tribal leader in primitive society. Judging from the cultural relics unearthed from archeology, Fuxi statues mostly have human heads and snake bodies. This may be the result of later generations worshiping their ancestors and a kind of totem worship.
King Wen, leader of the Zhou clan, had a surname of Ji and a given name of Chang. At the end of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou was brutal and was constantly opposed by the people. However, the Zhou State under the rule of Shang became increasingly powerful under the governance of King Wen, and King Wen also won the hearts of the people. This constitutes a threat to business. Under these conditions, Shang King Zhou imprisoned King Wen in Youli (in Tangyin County, Henan Province). When King Wen was in trouble, he performed the sixty-four hexagrams and hexagrams and lines, so history books say that King Wen wrote the Book of Changes.
Confucius was a native of the State of Lu (Qufu, Shandong Province) in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was a famous thinker, educator, and founder of Confucianism. After sorting out the ancient documents that have been handed down, according to historical records, "Yi Zhuan" was written by him in his later years.
According to the saying that "people update the three saints and the world has three ancients", "The Book of Changes" is not the work of one era or one person. This statement is correct. But there are also many problems. For example, Fuxi's painting Bagua is just a legend. There are no more physical objects to prove it, and there is no more evidence to refute this conclusion. There is also a problem with the statement that King Wen emphasized Bagua and composed hexagrams and lines. Because the hexagrams and lines of the "Book of Changes" record the historical facts after King Wen, some scholars believe that the words "Ji Zi Zhi Ming Yi" and "Kang Hou Yong Xi Ma Fan Shu" reflect the historical facts after King Wen. Therefore, the hexagrams and lines were not written by King Wen, and some people believe that the heavy hexagrams were not written by King Wen. For example, Wang Bi believed that Fu Xi heavy hexagrams, Zheng Xuan believed that Shen Nong heavy hexagrams, and Sun Sheng believed that Xia Yu heavy hexagrams.
There are also different opinions on whether Confucius wrote the "Yizhuan". Some say that it was done by Confucius, while others say that it was done by Confucius' students. The traditional view is that Confucius wrote the "Yizhuan". However, in the "Yizhuan" there are The name "Confucius said", "Confucius said" in ancient times refers to the honorific title given to teachers by students. It is impossible for Confucius to call himself "Confucius said".
According to modern academic research, it is generally believed that the "Book of Changes" (referring to the 64 hexagrams and hexagrams and lines) was written at the end of the Yin Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, reflecting the events between King Wen and Zhou at the end of the Yin Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty. The heavy hexagram came from the hand of King Wen. The hexagrams and lines were written by the Duke of Zhou.
As for "Yi Zhuan", most scholars believe that it was written during the Warring States Period. The author was not Confucius, but a work by scholars after Confucius. However, it embodies the spirit of Confucius and reflects Confucius's Confucian thoughts. There may be many These words were spoken by Confucius when he taught the Book of Changes. Confucius's students compiled, supplemented, and polished the records of Confucius' lectures on "Yi" into "Yi Zhuan". According to the textual research of Mr. Liu Dajun's "Introduction to Zhouyi", "Yizhuan" was written by the Simeng school (Confucius' descendants Zisi and later Mencius). (See "Introduction to the Book of Changes" p27-37) Of course, some people have 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: In The Analects, Confucius clearly said that "it takes fifty to learn the Book of Changes", and he also quoted the ninety-three lines of the Heng Hexagram in the Book of Changes that "if you do not persevere in virtue, you may be ashamed of it." Sima Qian and Ban Gu affirmed in the history books that Confucius liked "Yi" later in life and read "Yi" as "three unique things compiled by Wei". The so-called "Three Wonders of Wei Bian" means that when Confucius read "Yi" repeatedly, the cowhide of the string of books was broken three times, which shows that he read Yi diligently and deeply. Wei: Cowhide. Wei Bian: Use cowhide to skewer bamboo slips. Three Jue: broken three times. In the Spring and Autumn Period, when there was no paper, words were written (or carved) on bamboo slips and strung together with cowhide to form a book. It can be seen from this that Confucius read "The Book of Changes". (For the relationship between Confucius and the Book of Changes, see page 145 of "Introduction to the Book of Changes").
1. Explanation of the name of "Zhouyi"
There are different interpretations of the word "Zhouyi" in ancient times, but there are two main types: one is that "Zhouyi" is a divination omen in the Zhou Dynasty book; one thinks that "The Book of Changes" is a book about changes. The translation of The Book of Chang in English takes this meaning.
Specifically, the word "Zhou" has two meanings: 1. It refers to the universal and universal Zhou, that is, the Yi Dao is vast and all-encompassing. ② Refers to the code name, that is, the Zhou Dynasty. In ancient times, the books of the Zhou Dynasty were often called Zhou Shu, such as "Zhou Rites", "Zhou Yu", etc. The word "Yi" also has two meanings: ① It refers to change. From the perspective of philology, it is said that the word "Yi" is composed of "sun" and "moon". The upper part of "Yi" is "sun", and the lower part is "moon", which symbolizes the changes of yin and yang in the sun and moon; some oracle bone inscriptions saying "Yi" symbolize pouring water (or wine) from one vessel into another vessel to indicate transformation and transaction. . Judging from the content of "Book of Changes", it contains the idea of change: for example, in the hexagram-yao words, the "dragon" in the "Qian" hexagram changes from "hidden", "seeing", "flying", and "arrogant" from the first line to the upper line. , the changes in size, coming, going, leveling, and reciprocating in the hexagram "Tai". Perform time calculations to display changes in numbers, etc. This change in the "Book of Changes" was profoundly and clearly explained in the "Yizhuan" which annotated the "Book of Changes". The so-called thoughts of the interaction of yin and yang and the changes of heaven and earth in "Yi Zhuan" have become the essence of Chinese pre-Qin dialectical philosophy. Therefore, "Yi" means change. ② is a synonym for ancient divination books. According to ancient book records, there are three "Books of Changes" called "Lianshan", "Gui Zang" and "Book of Changes". (See Liu Dajun's "Introduction to Zhouyi" Pl-4).
2. Differences in the title of "Zhouyi"
In the Spring and Autumn Period, there were references to "Zhouyi". In the history book "Chunqiu Zuozhuan", "Zhouyi" was mentioned many times. "Book of Changes", but judging from the "Book of Changes" used by people at that time, it included sixty-four hexagrams (symbols) and hexagrams and lines.
During the Warring States Period, the "Book of Changes" was written with the purpose of explaining the "Book of Changes". "Book of Changes" and "Yi Zhuan" are collectively called "Yi". For example, "Yi" in Zhuangzi's so-called "Yi follows Yin and Yang" and "Xunzi" said "those who are good at changing will not take advantage of it" include "Yi Zhuan".
After the Western Han Dynasty, in order to strengthen the centralization of power, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion of "exclusively respecting Confucianism" and called Confucius's Confucian works "Classics". The Book of Changes and the Book of Changes are called the Book of Changes, or simply the Book of Changes. Since then, "Book of Changes", "Book of Changes" and "Book of Changes" have been used mixedly. Some are called "Book of Changes", some are called "Book of Changes", and some are called "Yi". In fact, the meanings are the same, and they all refer to the sixty-four hexagrams and "Yi". "Yi Zhuan" has been used to this day, but there is still no strict distinction. In order to distinguish the differences between the classics and biographies of the Zhouyi, some scholars call the sixty-four hexagrams and the hexagrams and lines the Ancient Classic of Zhouyi, and call the ten Confucian Confucian annotations of the Ancient Classic of Zhouyi the Great Biography of the Zhouyi.
3. The nature of "The Book of Changes"
There have long been disagreements in the academic circles about the nature of the book "The Book of Changes". Some people advocate that the "Book of Changes" is a book of 箮书. Some people advocate that "The Book of Changes" is a history book, while others advocate that "The Book of Changes" is a book of philosophy. We believe that the issue of the nature of "The Book of Changes" is a very complex issue and cannot be generalized. This issue should be viewed objectively and historically. In the long historical development of China, the nature of "The Book of Changes" has also changed with political changes, theoretical needs and changes in its own status.
(1) Judging from the emergence and early application of "Zhouyi", "Zhouyi" is a 箮书. In early Chinese society, due to low productivity and underdeveloped science, the ancestors were unable to provide scientific explanations for natural phenomena, social phenomena, and people's own physiological phenomena. Therefore, they worshiped gods and believed that there was something behind things. The existence of a supreme emperor and/or god who controls everything in the world. When people are repeatedly hit by unexpected natural and man-made disasters, they develop the desire to rely on divine will to predict the consequences of these sudden disasters and their own actions, so as to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Based on this, they invented various prediction methods for communicating between humans and gods in long-term practice. Among them, the "Book of Changes" that best reflects the will of gods was produced under such conditions. Therefore, "The Book of Changes" was purely produced to meet the production and life prediction needs of people at that time.
For a long time after the creation of "Zhouyi", it was mainly used for divination. In "Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan" and "Guoyu", 22 examples of using "Zhouyi" to divination were recorded. For example, there is a story recorded in "Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan": After the death of Duke Tang of Qi, Cui Wuzi mourned him. Seeing his beauty, he wanted to take her as a concubine, but he had no idea, so he used "Zhouyi" to predict a hexagram, and got "Trapped", some people concluded based on the line "Trapped in stones, clinging to thorns, entering the palace without seeing his wife, it is bad luck", but Cui Wuzi did not believe it and thought that there was no harm in a husbandless woman. If it was harmful, I would have already asked my late husband to take it away. So I took her as my concubine.
We can see that during the Spring and Autumn Period, "The Book of Changes" was mainly used for divination and providing guidance for people's behavior.
(2) Judging from the explanation of "Zhouyi" in "Yi Zhuan", "Yi Zhuan" pays attention to the divination function of "Zhouyi" and repeatedly emphasizes that studying "Zhouyi" well can understand the theory of life and death and the reason of ghostly light. , The feelings of ghosts and gods can eliminate the doubts of the world, connect the world's aspirations, and achieve the world's affairs. It also clearly tells people that "The Book of Changes" is a magic weapon that enables people to obey God's will and remain invincible. "Therefore, when a gentleman is at home, he observes his images and plays with his words; when he moves, he watches his changes and plays with his words. This is because God has blessed him with good fortune and no disadvantage." ("Xici") At the same time, it is included in the "Book of Changes" A relatively complete method of divination in the "Book of Changes" - the Dayan method.
From this, we can see that for a long time after the "Book of Changes" was produced, its main function was to provide people with guidelines for action.
However, after the Han Dynasty, the nature of "Book of Changes" changed. On the one hand, it still retained the original nature of divination, and it has also been fully developed. Yi scholars overcame various limitations of the Dayan method and created a relatively complete new method. Jiao Yanshou wrote "Yi Lin" and established the Jiao family's 筮 method. His disciple Jingfang was even better than his teacher. He completely changed the Zhen method and created the Najia method. Therefore, the 筮 method tended to be complete in the Han Dynasty. On the other hand, "The Book of Changes" also has new functions, because the "Book of Changes" contains profound philosophy of life, especially after the interpretation and development of the "Book of Changes", its philosophical level has reached a new height, and the "Book of Changes" has become a This is a profound philosophical classic. It is for this reason that the "Book of Changes" was favored by the rulers of the Han Dynasty. It was originally a book of divination and became an official philosophical book for governing the country and cultivating one's character. It is known as the first of the Five Classics and the source of the great truth. The ideas of "The Book of Changes" penetrated into all areas of social life at that time and became the theoretical basis for rulers to govern the country. Since then, the "Book of Changes" has included dual natures. On the one hand, under the seal of successive rulers, its theoretical guiding role has become increasingly apparent and prosperous; on the other hand, folk magicians have continuously updated and improved the system of laws and regulations. To this day, the duality of "The Book of Changes" is still very obvious.