Research Of FANG Yi-zhi’s Thought Of Yi-ology

The object of this paper is an attempt to interpret the structure and show the value of Fang Yi-zhi’s Yi-ology. Reviewing the historical origins of familial learning, from Fang Xue-jian, Fang Da-zhen and Fang Kong-zhao, ended at Fang Yi-zhi, the school of the Fang’s family of Tongcheng came through four generations and had the character of amalgamation. Generally speaking, Fang Xue-jian retorted the theory of neither good nor evil of mind, consciousness, things and knowledge, or named the theory of four nothing, which was put forward by Wang Ji, the follower of Wang Shou-ren. Compared with the theory of four nothing, Fang Xue-jian thought that theory of original goodness of human nature was the core concepts in the doctrine of Wang Shou-ren. Thus, clarifying theory of original goodness of human nature became the main task of Fang Xue-jian’s Yi-ology Fang Da-zhen believed in the principle of "seek the harmonious unity, but not echo others blindly", and absorbed the reasonable components of Buddhism and Taoism, in order to advocate the concept of great unity. Fang Kong-zhao experienced political wrangling of Ming Dynasty, dispirited and discouraged, so explored the symbolic significance of latent dragon and wanted to preserve strengthen. Thus latent became the values of Fang Kong-zhao’s Yi-ology. Fang Yi-zhi was a contributed scholar and social activists of late Ming and early Qing Period.In the times of the turning period between the Ming and Qing dynasty, the concept of "Syncretism of Three Religions" had been around. As the follower of the Trinity Denomination, Wu Ying-bin, the grandfather of Fang Yi-zhi, had influenced the structure of the Yi-ology of Fang Yi-zhi. Consciousness of hardship is the outstanding performance of social responsibility of Confucianist. In the idea world of Fang Yi-zhi, Yi-ology plays an important role in the realm of getting rid of the troubles from death, which is equivalent to a specific guide to the people. But mind is the mixture of the state of death and survival and the state of transcending survival and death. In addition to these factors, the partisan politics and the dispute about a man of noble character and a base person also influenced the theoretic creation of Fang Yi-zhi. The Peasants’ Revolt, the collapse of local governments and nomads invasion compelled Fang Yi-zhi to work out a practical scheme that could realize peace, prosperity and harmony. Fang Yi-zhi investigated the meaning of Zhou-Yi detailedly, and insisted that the Zhou does not refer to the Dynasty of Zhou, but conceals the meaning of universality, rotating and cosmos. The Yi should neither be translated into the lizard accordingly, nor the mixture of sun and moon. Because the Yi is, in reality, the great yang or pure yang that transcending the contradiction between yin and yang. The Book of Changes is a classic that owns a head of dragon and a tail of fox. The saint of Confucianism is in possession of the morality that has a covert side and a visible side, just as the dragon chopping and changing fantasticality, or transforming timely. The beginning of the Yi is supreme ultimate that turns into dragon and fox. In the structure of Yi-ology, dragon implies assurance, fox means suspicion. They unite into one. Fang Yi-zhi thought that change is the key link in the process of learning the Yi-ology. Calibrating the signs of change is conducive to have a taste of the verve of the Yi-ology. Hexagrams and lines are the accessory appliances to grope for the principle of the Yi-ology. All forms of changes are the subject to mind. Nothing but the accomplishment of mind and nature, human could acquaint themselves with the trajectory of changes.On the matter of trigrams and double-trigrams, Fang Yi-zhi had not been troubled by the argument about who should be the author of double-trigrams, and resorted to the schemata of the Neo-Confucianists that assuming supreme ultimate as the beginning of changes. Supreme ultimate produces the yin and yang, movement and quiescence, then deviates the He(River) Map and the Luo Chart. Not only eight trigrams but also sixty-four double-hexagrams issue from supreme ultimate. Fang Yi-zhi did not deny the positive significance of divination, and respected trigrams as the ancient characters which contain luxuriant meaning. On the research field of the author of hexagrams and lines statements, Fang Yi-zhi declared that the Book of Changes consist of two volumes and sixty-four double-hexagrams, every double-hexagram includes the name given by King Wen, the hexagrams statements of King Wen, the lines statements of King Wu. All of these have been called Classic of Changes. In addition, ten wings of Confucius, also called Appendices on the Book of Changes, plays an important role on elaborating the meaning of Classic of Changes. Related to "three saints" and "four saints" of the Book of Changes, Fang Yi-zhi respected Fu Xi, King Wen, Ji Zi, and Confucius as four saints, especially King Wen and Ji Zi as the great and painstaking saints, because the Book of Changes and grand norms in nine categories have consistency.Affected by Dao Sheng who was a famous Zenist, Fang Yi-zhi devoted himself to the concept that Master Zhuang was the successor and orphan of Confucianism, and Book of Master Zhuang should be successor of the Book of Changes. Additionally, Master Zhuang used the expression of Laozi for the purpose of propagating Confucianism. In this theory form, Mater, Mencius and Qu Yuan should be the successor of Confucius, though they did not meet each other. This idea conceals the anxiety that the conflict existing between Confucianism faith and the status of Buddhism monk. Fang Yi-zhi realized that the idea of Master Zhuang should be in accordance with the school of Kongji-Mencius and the way that using Zen Buddhism to commentate Book of Master Zhuang should date back here. Master Zhuang and Hui Shi were contemporaries; the latter was an ancient scientist who put forward the idea that all things unite one. Fang Yi-zhi and his father Fang Kong-zhao attached importance to this idea and contradicted Matteo Ricci who reject the idea in order to propagate the theology of Catholic.Fang Yi-zhi made much account of the positive role of image-numerology, and founded the method that storing the principle among emblems and numbers. In this way, Fang Yi-zhi explained his position. Fang Yi-zhi was interested in the study of emblems and numbers. In his opinion, so-called rites from great unit and in a division of ministry and labor had set the general process of changes that the supreme ultimate producing all things since its beginning. Fang Yi-zhi explored the reason of all things on this basis in order to deepen the understanding of nature and human society. Following the thought of predecessors, Fang Yi-zhi emphasized intrinsic relationship of the supreme ultimate, the ultimate nonbeing and the ultimate being, and used the great unit to connect "one divides into two" and "unite two into one" so as to to reveal the truth that the supreme ultimate neither falling into Being nor Nothing. There must be two since there is one, but one is the fundamental. Then searched the logical link between one and three by right of(?) the Buddhism pattern. In this frame, three aspects of fear, three aspects of appellation, three aspects of cause, and three aspects of knowledge corresponds to the supreme ultimate, the ultimate nonbeing and the ultimate being. All kinds of changes boil down to the great unit. Accordingly, all academic point of views could be dominated by the great unit.With keen interest in the things all around the world, Fang Yi-zhi made an attempt to search the world by the means of the study of emblems and numbers. In integral structure of the Yi-ology of Fang Yi-zhi, imagination, numbers, principle, and material force occupy the important position. Compared with the scholars who indulged in the empty talk on the principle, Fang Yi-zhi focused on the general process of emblems and numbers so that the principle of Yi-ology could be found. All things are made up of material force that is not disorderly and unsystematic. On the contrary, material force contains natural order and moral principles that can be analyzed by emblems and numbers. Thus Fang Yi-zhi concluded that all things should be equivalent to numbers. Of course, these numbers do not mean the numbers in mathematics, but rather the numbers of heaven and earth in line with Appendices on the Book of Changes, or the numbers in the He (River) Map and the Luo Chart.Fang Yi-zhi brought the supreme ultimate into the process of transforming the He (River) Map into the Luo Chart, involving Mystical transmutation of Wang Xuan who was his teacher, for further research. The thought of "Mystical transmutation" in Fang Yi-zhi’s Yi-ology was mainly embodied in the process of"the River Chart turning into the Luo Chart", considering that the River Chart emphasized "Five elements produce one another", while The Luo Writing emphasized "Five elements overcome one another", both of which embodied the admiration Confucian had for the "morality of production and reproduction". Starting with "Metal and earth exchange positions", Fang Yi-zhi and the others deepened the understanding of the propositions of "Five elements respect metal as the leader", "Yang is exalted and Yin is lowly", and "Metal produces water" and so forth, and formed a more systemic and whole new idea. Fang Yi-zhi eliminated the debate on the four elements in Buddhism, four elements in western philosophy, and five elements in Chinese philosophy. Fang Yi-zhi summarized the past views of the He(River) Map and the Luo Chart, then put forward the new view.By the expression of Yi-ology, Fang Yi-zhi injected the new spirit of observation and experiment into the transformation and development of the traditional academic. In the field of natural science, Fang Yi-zhi respected Zhice and Tongji as the new method, and inaugurated induction and deductive method from Yi-ology. In addition to these, Fang Yi-zhi was insistent on the advocacy of new scientific methods that hiding the intelligence into the things so as to take measures to meet the situation that putting particular emphasis on morality and overlooking external things. In a brief historical retrospect of the inherent mathematical theory, Fang Yi-zhi absorbed the scientific knowledge of the Western world that was translated into the Chinese language so that on the one hand promoted the cultural communication between China and the Western world, on the other hand defined our research directions of the traditional Yi-ology. Fang Yi-zhi regarded Zige as the existing way of all things, and put forward the view that laws produces way against "Law are originate from the way," which was a concept of the Huang-Lao School from the Qin to the Han period.In the area of social administration, Fang Yi-zhi explained further that the concept of mastery reason containing integrated administration system or enlighten by propriety and musi. In this ideal system, the Heaven constitutes the reasonable foundation of social administration and power distribution. The core value of the heaven is the attribute of creative creativity highly valued by Confucianism that also named humanity. Fang Yi-zhi premised that the relation of self-following and common-following should be valued, which represents the spirit of Ziyou in Confucianism, in order to construct the public life rules and pay close attention to the spiritual life of social members. In this way, Fang Yi-zhi integrated the knowledge and morality. The strongest counter- argument was that Vulgar and hypocritical persons, who cause moral degeneration, and thugs should be punished severely. Fang Yi-zhi’s visions left him with the four prohibitions of Confucius, also translated into four freedoms, which is a term referring to freedom from preconception, freedom from predetermination, freedom from obstinacy, and freedom from egoism. Fang Yi-zhi also considered that the happiness of Confucius and Yanhui should be the essence of Ziyou, which leading to the development in an all-around way. In the field of moral principles, Fang Yi-zhi inherited the glorious tradition that five constant human relationships should be respected as friendship, which implies the equality spirit of Confucianism. In the political ideas, Fang Yi-zhi insisted that the government should not only govern the common people but also the Monarch. By means of the introspection of the learning of emperor and prime minister, the functions of eunuch, and the drawbacks of system of civil servants, Fang Yi-zhi changed the ethical relationships between monarch and subjects into the relationships of monarch, government and the common people, also the relationships between monarch and the common people into the relationships between country and the common people. On the basis of the concept of "hiding the world in the world", Fang Yi-zhi attempted to express the political ideal, In the course of time, that" administrating the world by the world".One of the fruitful achievements of intelligentsia in the period of Fang Yi-zhi was the popularization of actual knowledge. Fang Yi-zhi inherited the tradition that using the actual reason to explaining goodness theory, which was put forward by his great-grandfather Fang Xue-jian. In this idea, the study of practical things should be scholar’s responsibility; on the contrary, indulging in empty talk must be condemned. The social responsibility of Confucianist lies in sustaining ethics and professional standards, exploring the reasons of all things, and using ethics and professional standards to intervene in power operation so as to advance the administrative capacity. He summarized their views that real heaven governing heaven and earth, real yang governing yin and yang, great unit governing one and more, perfect goodness governing goodness and evil, perfect reason governing material force and principle, great nothing governing being and nothing. Seen from self-cultivation, Yi-ology could help cultivate gentleman’s personality, and build a good social environment, so that social members could turn over a new leaf. After a series of hardships, Fang Yi-zhi came to a conclusion that the field of Liyun could popularize the brief of humanity of Confucianism in the world. Because humanity is the fountainhead of Confucianism, and Liyun demonstrates the basic way that the great unit supporting the five elements and social life. In his view, reasons of all things and the public order should be the ramification of the heaven. Fang Yi-zhi’Yi-ology had attached importance to one all- pervading principle, and strives to mesh intellects and knowledge to form new ideas.