| The Yi-ology is generally divided into two schools:numerological school and meaning-pattern school. Actually, there was no this kind of differentiation in the Commentaries of the Change credited to Confucius in which the numerology and meaning-pattern are united into one entity. It was not until the time during the reigns of the Western Han (206 BCE-25 CE) emperors Xuan (r.73-49 BCE) and Yuan (r.48-33 BCE) when Meng Xi, Jiao Yanshou and Jing Fang was living that the comparatively independent numerological school came into being. The thriving of numerology has its own cause and background. In the beginning of the Western Han dynasty, on account of poverty, Emperor Liu Bang's (r.206-195 BCE) suspicion and cracking down on vassals with different surnames, it was inevitable that the Han court chose the Daoism of Yellow Emperor and Lao zi as its principle of politics. Yet, along with the prosperity in the time of emperors Wen (r.179-157 BCE) and Jing (r.156-141 BCE) and cracking down on the vassals with the same surname, to establish a kind of centralized autocracy turned out to be Emperor Wu's (r.140-87 BCE) pursuit in mind when he resumed his position. In his Three Replies to Emperor Wu's Questions concerning the relationship between heaven and humanity, Dong Zhong-shu (179-104, or 194-114 BCE) sketched an ideal blueprint governance to attain to the state of benefiting the four seas and neighbor countries with virtue, which also contains issues of the Dao (Way) of heaven and mandate of heaven. Dong repeatedly emphasizes the function of moral edification with music and rituals, thus solely venerating Confucianism had come to be the internal necessity of the historical development. Along with it, the Yi jing (Book of Changes) appeared in the official political platform as a Confucian Classic. The Three Replies also contain the relationship between catastrophes and the emperor's governance, founding theoretical basis and political atmosphere for the emergence of Meng Xi, Jiao Yanshou and Jing Fang's yin-yang system of Change. The process in which Confucianism was obtaining the sole veneration was also a process of weakening vassals' political and academic strength, as well as a process of strengthening the political and academic centralization, especially since the year of 124 BCE when the secret imperial library to collect books from the grass root was built. Emperor Wu' extreme extravagance and indulgence in wars led to the economic declining of his court, whereas his deprival of the Prime Minister's rights and putting eunuchs in crucial positions directly caused political declining. It was not until the reign of Emperor Xuan (r.73-49 BCE) when he comparatively resumed Prime Minister's rights and abolished eunuchs'involving in the politics that the Han became prosperous again, when Meng Xi and Jiao Yan-shou's Yi-ology came into being and the academic background that Confucian Classics studies were drastically dividing into different branches. Because Emperor Xuan did not pay much attention to Confucianism, to prevent his son, who ardently loves Confucianism and later became Emperor Yuan (r. 48-33 BCE), from solely applying Confucianism to the statecraft, Emperor Xuan before his death put eunuchs such as Hong Gong and Shi Xian in crucial positions which caused the Western Han dynasty to decline again.The evolution of the system of Erudites could also reflect the academic evolution of the entire Western Han dynasty. Before Emperor Wu established the Erudites for the Five Confucian Classics, the erudites'role was mastery of historical and contemporary knowledge and lessons. After the establishment of the Erudite and Erudite-disciple system from the year of 124 BCE, mastering and applying the Confucian Classics studies to politics had become an effective route for the literati to involve in politics. Along with further internal division of the Confucian Classics studies, the number of the Erudites'disciples was multiplied during the reign of Emperor Zhao (r.87-74 BCE), and was multiplied again during the reign of Emperor Xuan (r.73-49 BCE). Owing to Emperor Yuan's (r.48-33 BCE) love of Confucianism, those who could master one of the Confucian Classics could be Erudites' disciples. Till the end of the reign of Emperor Cheng (r.32-8 BCE), the number of the disciples amounted to 3,000. So, it can be seen that, it is a process of multiplication. In this process, on account of the multiplication of different branches in the Confucian Classics studies, boring and too detailed new-text style of exegesis of the Classics appeared and lasted for a period of time and people began to like concise old-text style of hermeneutics initiated by Liu Xin (c.53 BCE-23 CE) who strived for the official positions for the old-text Classics. It was during the time when the new-text Classics studies were drastically dividing that Meng, Jiao and Jing's Yi-ology were officially established. At a time when the imperial court needed new erudites, the literati recommended Meng Xi who claimed that his teacher Tian Wangsun only gave him a book concerning the prognostication by catastrophes when Tian was dying, which was denied by his classmate Liang-qiu He. Yet, because Emperor Xuan heard that Meng had deviated from his teacher's teachings, Meng was not selected the Erudite of Change and lost a good opportunity. Yet, because people including Emperor Xuan had accepted the catastrophe theory, Meng's Yi-ology was finally officially established as a branch of Change before the official establishment of his classmate Liang-qiu He's Yi-ology in 51 BCE. Though Jing Fang was persecuted to death by sycophantic officials such as Shi Xian and Wu-lu Chongzong, Jing's Yi-ology was officially established during the reign of Emperor Yuan (r.73-33 BCE), in that the catastrophe theory of yin-yang had become an important part in politics.According to the Ru lin zhuan (Biographies of Confucian Scholars) in Si-ma Qian's Shi ji (Historical Records) and Ban Gu's Han shu (History of the Western Han) and Yi wen zhi (Records of Literature) in the Han shu, it can be seen that the two branches of Wang Tong-Yang He and that of Ding Kuan-Tian Wangsun derived from Tian He's Yi tradition, whereas the Yi-logies of Han Ying, the Nine Masters in the Vassal state of Huainan and Fei Zhi might not directly originate from the teachings of Tian He who was a major figure passing on the Yi jing at the beginning of the Western Han dynasty. This demonstrates that at the beginning of the Western Han dynasty, the Yijing was transmitted not only by Tian He. Besides of these three kinds of records, there are also some records of documents and figures concerning the Yi jing by which we can find that Wei Xiang and Liu Xiang's Yi-ology might not directly come from the lineage of Tian He. According to the age of the tomb owner of Mawangdui, the political and geographical positions of the Vassal State of Changsha, it was impossible for the tomb owner to directly learn the Yi jing from Tian He. Therefore, the silk manuscript of the Yi jing probably came from a version popular in the Chu area which might be adopted by the nine masters of the neighbor Vassal State of Huainan. Yet, the silk manuscript of the Commentaries also share many similar contents to the received Commentaries originated from Tian He's tradition. For this reason, the silk manuscript of the Yi jing can still be regarded as a much valuable literature for us to probe the new-text Yi tradition in the Western Han dynasty.Although Shi Chou, Meng Xi and Liang-qiu He were all disciples of Tian Wangsun, their Yi traditions represent three different branches of the Change respectively. After the establishment of the Five-Classic Erudites in 136 BCE, the Yi tradition of Wang Tong and Yang He at first obtained the official position and predominated during the reign of Emperor Wu (140-87 BCE). Ding Kuan was a general and literati of King Liang in oppressing the rebellion of the seven vassal states in 154 BCE. Sitting on the contribution to oppressing the rebellion, King Liang became arrogant and overstepped system of ritual, which aroused his brother, i.e. Emperor Jing's (r.156-141 BCE) aversion and suspicion. At last, King Liang died in dismay in 144 BCE. Then, like other literati around King Liang, Ding Kuan returned to his hometown and taught disciples. Ding Kuan would be the figures to be oppressed by autocratic Emperor Wu (r.140-87 BCE) in that Ding Kuan had been a general and literati of King Liang. Perhaps this is the reason why the branch of Ding Kuan's Yi tradition was not popular during the reign of Emperor Wu. It was not until the time of emperors Zhao (r.86-74 BCE) and Xuan (r. 73-49 BCE) that Tian Wangsun, one of Ding Kuan's disciples, became an Erudite of the Classic of Change. Because Shi Chou, who began to learn the Change from Tian Wangsun when he was a child, was yielding, he must be a representative steadfastly sticking to his teacher Tian Wangsun's teachings. Liang-qiu He originally learned the Change from another Jiang Fang who was a disciple of Yang He. Later, this Jing Fang was promoted to prefecture chief far from the Capital, then Liang-qiu He began to learn the Change from Tian Wangsun. Because Liang-qiu He and his son Liang-qiu Lin were well versed in his original teacher Jing Fang's tradition and taught this tradition to ten talented literati under an order of Emperor Xuan, what Liang-qiu He was passing down should be this Jing Fang's tradition, so he was a representative of this Jing Fang's Yi tradition. Meng Xi's love of yin-yang catastrophe theory might be affected by his father Meng Qing who knew well of the catastrophe theory of the Gong-yang school of the Classic of Spring and Autumn. Meng Xi's book of yin-yang catastrophe theory was impossibly transmitted from his teacher Tian Wangsun, in that the catastrophe theory had been accepted and even encouraged by the emperor and academic circle for several decades and therefore it was unnecessary for Tian to conceal and only gave this book to Meng Xing when he was dying. For this reason, Meng Xi's yin-yang catastrophe theory of Change ought to have other origins. In spite of this, because Meng Xi got a bad name of deviating from his teacher's teachings, after his Yi-ology was officially established as an Erudite post, few content of his teachings should be this theory. Yet the Gua-qi theory (correlating the hexagrams to seasonal points) credited to him founded a basis for the thriving of the catastrophe theory of Change in the Western Han dynasty. Meng Xi, Jiao Yan-shou and Jing Fang's image-numerology is closely related to ancient Chinese cosmology and concept of compass which can be attested by the excavated documents in recent decades.Jiao Yan-shou and Jing Fang's Yi tradition was so distinctive and much different from Shi, Meng and Liang-qiu's Yi traditions that Ban Gu asserted that Jiao and Jing's tradition originated from recluse teachings. Jiao Yan-shou told his disciple Jing Fang that he had once asked and discussed questions of Change with Meng Xi. Therefore, Jing Fang regarded Jiao's tradition as Meng's tradition although Meng's disciples did not agree with him. Because the hometown of both Ding Kuan and Jiao Yan-shou was in the vassal state of Liang, Jiao's yin-yang theory of Change might be affected by the "ancient connotations" of the Change transmitted by Ding Kuan who taught the Change and wrote books after he returned to his hometown due to King Liang's death. Nevertheless, Jiao's yin-yang tradition of the Change is closely related to Meng's yin-yang theory. Jiao's Forest of Change greatly expanded the images of the eight trigrams which were explicated by Mr. Shang Binghe who sometimes deviates from his own hermeneutic formulae. Jing Fang further perfected Meng Xi and Jiao Yang-shou's Qua-qi theory.The time when Jing's Yi tradition came into being was at a time when there were numerous catastrophes. Thanks to his high accuracy in prognostication by his catastrophe theory of yin-yang, Jing Fang was appreciated by Emperor Yuan (r.48-33 BCE) and had more opportunity to access to the emperor. Because Jing Fang reproached evil officials such as Shi Xian and Wu-lu Chongzong before the emperor, he was persecuted to death by them. Before his death, the emperor believed these evil official's words against Jing Fang, thus Jing Fang was dispatched to be prefecture chief of Weijun far from the capital, in the road of which Jing Fang wrote to the emperor several letters which related to his catastrophe theory by yin-yang of the Change. The Five-agency Records in the History of the Western Han cited nearly 70 items of Jing Fang's Commentaries on the Change which manifest Jing Fang's imagery thinking mode and his view on the Dao (Way) of heaven and humanity. Jiao's Forest of Change and Jing Fang's Commentaries on the Change share some historical events for prognostication, yet, with different characteristics in prognostication. Jing's Commentaries on the Change is a main document extant for us to study Jing Fang's thought on Yi, which reflect a cosmological view with the balance and rotation of yin and yang forces. The heavenly stems, earthly branches, and accumulation of yin and yang forces are arranged into the hexagrams according to ancient Chinese musicology. His Eight-trigram Qua-qi theory has much early origin in ancient Chinese history. Moreover, Jing's Na-jia theory (correlating the ten heavenly stems to the hexagram) differs from Yu Fan's Na-jia theory, while his Six-children Qua-qi theory and Flying & Hiding theory of the lines, trigrams, and hexagrams demonstrate the characteristics of the yin-yang alternation.Meng and Jing's tradition exerted profound influence upon the Apocrypha of Change, while the latter further extended philosophical connotations of the former.Although Fei Zhi's Yi tradition was much appreciated when the old-text Classics studies was booming since the end of the Western Han dynasty, there were still a great number of literati concentrated on Meng, Jiao and Jing's Yi tradition in the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE). Meng, Jiao and Jing's tradition conceives a cosmology uniting time and space, heaven and humanity into one entity. If the literati interpret the Classic of Change only by this mode, they must encounter many difficulties and give forth far-fetched interpretations. As an intrinsic component of the Change, image-numerology was adequately expanded in the Meng, Jiao and Jing's tradition, which greatly affected image-numerology of later generations. Meng, Jiao and Jing's Yi tradition originated from ancient Chinese philosophy, whereas it also extensively enriched ancient Chinese philosophy. Today, it is also significant and referential for us to understand the relationship between human and nature and the relationship between man and man.
|
PDF Full Text Request