Cohesion is the fourth kind of Yi Zhuan in this edition and the highest ideological level among the seven kinds of Yi Zhuan in this edition. "Cohesion" explains the meaning and position of hexagrams by taking meaning, image and position; It also discusses the process of divination, and explains the emergence and formation of divination and divination paintings in Zhouyi by mathematical methods. Cohesion holds that Zhouyi is an ancient book about the way of saints, and there are four ways of saints: first, observing words, second, observing changes, third, making utensils and fourth, divination. The Book of Changes is a book full of worries and moral lessons. Reading the Book of Changes should enhance the moral realm from advantages and disadvantages as a means to turn evil into good.
Creatively expounded and developed the basic principles and cohesion of the Book of Changes. He believes that "one yin and one yang is the Tao", and odd, even, two hexagrams of yin and yang, two hexagrams of Gankun, eight classics and sixty-four hexagrams are all composed of one yin and one yang. Without the opposition of Yin and Yang, there would be no I Ching. It developed China's ancient concept of Yin and Yang into a systematic world view, and explained all changes in the universe and human society with the unity of opposites of Yin and Yang, Gankun and Rigid and Flexible. It particularly emphasizes the infinite nature of the universe, saying that "the greatness of heaven and earth means life" and "life means easy". He also put forward the idea of "poverty leads to change, change leads to communication, and the general principle lasts for a long time", played the idea of "extremes meet" and emphasized the sense of hardship of "being prepared for danger in times of peace". It believes that "the Revolution in the Tang Dynasty was based on nature and people", affirms the significance of change, and advocates continuous self-improvement and accomplishment through change. At the same time, it takes "preserving harmony and harmony" as the highest ideal goal, and inherits China's traditional thought of harmony. Condense and affirm the "Book of Changes and the Accuracy of Heaven and Earth", and think that the Book of Changes and its divination methods are based on the modeling of natural phenomena, and their roots are in nature; At the same time, it also contains elements that exaggerate the divination function of Zhouyi, and holds that the Yi hexagrams are all-encompassing and include all the laws of change. Among them, it is said that "the Book of Changes has Tai Chi, which means that the second instrument is born, the second instrument is born to four families, and the four families are born to gossip, which will set good and bad luck, and good and bad luck will lead to great cause". It theorizes the process of divination with chopsticks, and actually contains the theory of cosmogenesis, which has a great influence on later thinkers.
Reading Yi Zhuan, a better ancient annotation is Confucius' Book of Changes Justice, which is included in the Annotation of Thirteen Classics. Today, Xu Zhirui's Notes on Zhouyi, Qilu Bookstore, 1986 edition, Huang Shouqi and Zhang Shanwen's Notes on Zhouyi, and Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1989 edition are all better. Focus on reading the first and second parts of cohesion.
Overview of the Book of Changes
Yi is changeable, and Jing is law (or classic). That is, the Book of Changes, a rigorous philosophical work, can be used as divination in science. It is only because it is profound and difficult to understand that there are many far-fetched theories.
The Book of Changes is the oldest cultural classic in China and the first representative work of China traditional culture. Orthodox scholars of past dynasties praised it in many different languages. On the whole, they praised it as the "head of the group classics" and respected it very much. On the contrary, they think it is just an ancient divination book, which is close to the false words of Wu Zhu. It was only after Confucius' Biography of Zhouyi and many scholars in the past dynasties that the later talents blindly followed and respected it. What's more, since modern times, there have been many similar frivolous taunts. The Book of Changes was originally an ancient divination academic, but in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, through the collation and annotation of King Wen, it was put into the academic field of "Heaven and Man" from the scope of divination, thus the Book of Changes became the foundation of China's humanistic culture. Since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, it has been studied and described by Confucius and scattered as the source of hundreds of academic thoughts. This is an undeniable fact.
Therefore, we should study the culture of China, whether it is Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, or even Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism after the Tang and Song Dynasties. If we don't explore the Book of Changes, we will forget our ancestors.