I Ching (Yi King, Book of Changes)

5. ‘ The sleeves of the younger sister of (king) Tl-yl, when she was married away, were not equal to those of her (half-) sister, who accompanied her— such was her noble character, indicated by the cen¬ tral position of the line. 6. ‘(What is said in) the sixth line, divided, about there being nothing in the basket ’ shows that the subject of it is carrying an empty basket. LV. (The trigrams representing) thunder and lightning combine to form Fang. The superior man, in accordance with this, decides cases of liti¬ gation, and apportions punishments with exactness. 1. ‘Though they are both of the same character, there will be no error:’—if the subject of this LIV. Thunder rolling above is supposed to produce movement in the waters of the marsh below. The combination of this symbolism in Kwei Mei is recognised as an evil omen in the case which the name denotes. The application of it is not in¬ appropriate. Paragraph 1. ‘It is the constant practice (for such a case)’ seems to mean that an ancillary wife has no right to the disposition of herself, but must do what she is told. Thus it is that the mean position of the younger sister does not interfere with the service she can render.

The addition to the Text of ‘ the purpose’ in paragraph 4 is to show that the putting marriage off is on the part of the lady and not on the other side. line seek to overpass that similarity, there will be calamity. 2. ‘ Let him cherish his feeling of sincere devo¬ tion, that it shall appear being put forth—it is by sincerity that the mind is affected. 3. ‘ There is an (additional) screen of a large and thick banner —great things should not be attempted (in such circumstances). ‘ He breaks his right arm —in the end he will not be fit to be employed. 4. ‘ He is surrounded by a screen large and thick:’—the position of the line is inappropriate. ‘ At midday he sees the constellation of the Bushel—there is darkness and no light. ‘ He meets with the subject of the line, undivided like himself. There will be good fortune —action may be taken. 5. ‘ The good fortune indicated by the fifth line, divided,’ is the congratulation (that is sure to arise). 6. ‘ He has made his house large he soars (in his pride) to the heavens. ‘ He looks at his door, which is still, with no one about it —he (only) keeps himself withdrawn from all others.

LV. Lightning appears here as the natural phenomenon of which Li is the symbol. The virtues attributed to the two trigrams are certainly required in the application of them which is subjoined; but that application has little or nothing to do with the explanation of the hexagram supplied by the Text. I hardly understand the conclusion of paragraph 1. My trans¬ lation of it is according to the view of Au Hsi, if I rightly under¬ stand that. Paragraph 2. It is by such sincerity that the mind is affected,— that is, the mind of the ruler occupying line 5. LVI. (The trigram representing) a mountain and above it that for fire form Lii. The superior man, in accordance with this, exerts his wisdom and caution in the use of punishments and not allowing litigations to continue. 1. ‘The stranger is mean and meanly occu¬ pied —his aim is become of the lowest character, and calamity will ensue. 2. ‘ He is provided with good and trusty ser¬ vants:’—he will in the end have nothing of which to complain. 3. ‘ The stranger burns his lodging-house:’—and he himself also suffers hurt thereby. When, as a stranger, he treats those below him (as the line indicates), the right relation between him and them is lost.

4. ‘ The stranger is in a resting-place:’—but he has not got his proper position. ‘ He has the means of livelihood, and the axe :’— but his mind is not at ease. 5. ‘ In the end he will obtain praise and a (high) charge :’—he has reached a high place. 6. ‘ Considering that the stranger is here at the very height (of distinction),’ with the spirit that possesses him, it is right he (should be emblemed by a bird) burning (its nest). Line 3 has a correlate in 6, which is weak, and as it were out of the game. The light in 3 moreover is hidden. Hence the symbolism; and through the blindness of its subject his hurt, which unfits him to be employed. The line undivided like 4 is 1; perhaps we might translate— 1 He meets with the subject of the parallel line.’ No one but himself has any confidence in the subject of line 6. He holds himself aloof from others, and they leave him to himself. ‘ He loses his ox(-like docility) too readily and easily—to the end he would not listen to (the truth about the course to be pursued). LVII. (Two trigrams representing) wind, follow¬ ing each other, form Sun. The superior man, in accordance with this, reiterates his orders, and secures the practice of his affairs.

i. ‘(Now) he advances, (now) he recedes:’—his mind is perplexed. ‘ It would be advantageous for him to have the LVI. Different attempts are made to bring the idea of a travelling stranger out of the trigrams Kan and Lf; but none of them is satisfactory. Let Khung Ying-ta’s view serve as a specimen of them :—‘ A fire on a mountain lays hold of the grass, and runs with it over the whole space, not stopping anywhere long, and soon disappearing;—such is the emblem of the traveller.’ The application may be derived well enough from the attributes of the trigrams; but does not fit in with the lessons of the Thwan and Hsiang. The meanness of the subject of line i does not arise from the nature of his occupation; but from his mind and aim being emptied of all that is good and ennobling. Strong and trusty servants are the most important condition for the comfort and progress of the traveller; and therefore it alone is resumed and expanded. The subject of line 3 treats those below him with violence and arrogance, which of course alienates them from him. ‘He has not got into his proper position’ seems to say no more than that 4 is a strong line in an even place.

It is difficult to say what ‘ he has reached a high place’ means. The fifth line is not in this hexagram the ruler’s seat; but by his qualities and gifts the subject of it attracts the attention and regard of his friends and of his ruler. The spirit that possesses the subject of line 6 is one of haughty arrogance, with which the humility that ought to characterise him cannot co-exist. His careless self-sufficiency has shut his mind against all lessons of wisdom. firmness of a brave soldier:’—his mind would in that case be well governed. 2. ‘ The good fortune springing from what bor¬ ders on confusion’ is due to the position (of the line) in the centre. 3. ‘ The regret arising from the violent and repeated efforts to penetrate ’ shows the exhaustion of the will. 4. ‘He takes game in his hunting, enough for the threefold use of it:’—he achieves merit. 5. ‘ The good fortune of (the subject of) the fifth line, undivided,’ is owing to its correct position and its being in the centre. 6. ‘ The representative of penetration is beneath a couch :’—though occupying the topmost place, his powers are exhausted.

‘ He has lost the axe with which he executed his decisions :’—though he try to be correct, there will be evil. LVII. I have said on the Thwan that some commentators make the upper trigram symbolical of the ordinances of the ruler and the lower symbolical of the obedience of the people. E. g., AMng-jze says :—‘ Superiors, in harmony with the duty of inferiors, issue their commands; inferiors, in harmony with the wishes of their supe¬ riors, follow them. Above and below there are that harmony and deference; and this is the significance of the redoubled Sun. When governmental commands and business are in accordance with what is right, they agree with the tendencies of the minds of the people who follow them.’ Paragraph 2 seems to say that the sincerity of purpose indicated by the central position of the second line conducts its subject to the right course, despite the many considerations that might dis¬ tract him. ‘ The will is exhausted ’ in paragraph 3 intimates that ‘ the repeated efforts’ made by its subject have exhausted him. He can now only regret his failures. LVIII. (Two symbols representing) the waters of a marsh, one over the other, form Tui. The superior man, in accordance with this, (encourages) the conversation of friends and (the stimulus of) their (common) practice.

1. ‘The good fortune attached to the pleasure of (inward) harmony ’ arises from there being nothing in the conduct (of the subject of the line) to awaken doubt. 2. ‘ The good fortune attached to the pleasure arising from (inward sincerity)’ is due to the confi¬ dence felt in the object (of the subject of the line). 3. * The evil predicated of one’s bringing around himself whatever can give pleasure’ is shown by the inappropriateness of the place (of the line). 4. ‘ The joy in connexion with (the subject of) the fourth line, undivided,’ is due 'to the happiness (which he will produce). 5. ‘ He trusts in one who would injure him:’— his place is that which is correct and appropriate. 6. ‘ The topmost line, divided, shows the pleasure (of its subject) in leading and attracting others :’— his (virtue) is not yet brilliant. What is said in paragraph 6 proceeds on a different view of the Text from that which I have followed. LVIII. The application of the Great Symbolism here will recall to many readers the Hebrew maxims in Proverbs xxvii. 17,19. The sentiment of it, however, does not readily fit in to the teaching of the hexagram as set forth in the Text.

There is nothing in the conduct of the subject of line 1 to awaken suspicion. He has as yet taken no action; but it was not neces¬ sary to say anything like this about the subject of line 2, his central position being an assurance that he would never do anything of a doubtful character. LIX. (The trigram representing) water and that for wind moving above the water form Hwin, The ancient kings, in accordance with this, presented offerings to God and established the ancestral temple. 1. ‘ The good fortune attached to the first line, divided,’ is due to the natural course (pursued by its subject). 2. ‘Amidst the prevailing dispersion, he hurries to his contrivance (for security)—he gets what he desires. 3. ‘He has no regard to his own person:’—his aim is directed to what is external to himself. 4. ‘ He scatters the (different) parties (in the state), and there is great good fortune:’—brilliant and great (are his virtue and service). 5. ‘The accumulations of the royal (granaries) are dispersed, and there is no error:’—this is due to the correctness of the position. 6. ‘His bloody wounds are gone:’—he is far removed from the danger of injury.

Line 3 should be strong, and the desire of pleasure which is the idea of the hexagram leads its weak subject to the course which is so emphatically condemned. Paragraph 5 is incomplete. Does the correctness and appropri¬ ateness of the position of the subject of the line afford any expla¬ nation of his trusting the subject of the weak line above, who would only injure him ? It ought to keep him on the contrary from doing so. The commentators have seen this, and say that the paragraph is intended by way of caution. The action of the hexagram should culminate and end in line 5. But the subject of it has not made brilliant attainment in the firmness and correctness by which the love of pleasure should be controlled. LIX. The ‘ in accordance with this ’ must be equivalent to—‘ to remedy the state of things thus symbolised.’ What follows certainly LX. (The trigram representing) a lake, and above it that for water, form An eh. The superior man, in accordance with this, constructs his (methods of) numbering and measurement, and discusses (points of) virtue and conduct. 1. ‘He does not quit the courtyard outside his door—he knows when he has free course and when he is obstructed.

2. ‘ He does not quit the courtyard inside his gate. There will be evil—he loses the time (for action) to an extreme degree. 3. In ‘ the lamentation for not observing the (proper) regulations,’ who should there be to blame ? 4. ‘ The progress and success of the quiet and natural (attention) to all regulations ’ is due to the deference which accepts the ways of (the ruler) above. 5. ‘ The good fortune arising from the regulations enacted sweetly and acceptably ’ is due to (the line) amounts to this, that the ancient kings considered the services of religion, sincerely and earnestly attended to, as calculated to counter¬ act the tendency to mutual alienation and selfishness in the minds of men. How they operated to have this beneficial effect we are not told. Nor is it easy to account for the extension of what is said in the Text about the establishment of the ancestral temple to the presentation also of offerings to God. Probably the writer had the same idea in his mind as in the Great Symbolism of hexagram 16, q. v. ‘ The natural course ’ pursued by the subject of line 1 is, pro¬ bably, that required by the time.

‘What the subject of line 2 desired’ would be his success in counteracting the prevailing tendency to disunion. The view given of paragraph 5 is that propounded by Kn Hsi. For paragraph 6 see the note on line 6 under the Text. occupying the place (of authority) and being in the centre. 6. ‘ The regulations are severe and difficult. Even with firm correctness there will be evil—the course (indicated by the hexagram) is come to an end. LX I. (The trigram representing the waters of) a marsh and that for wind above it form iifung Fft. The superior man, in accordance with this, deli¬ berates about cases of litigation and delays (the infliction of) death. 1. ‘The first line, undivided, shows its subject resting (in himself). There will be good fortune : ’— no change has yet come over his purpose. 2. ‘ Her young ones respond to her:’—from the (common) wish of the inmost heart. 3. ‘ Now he beats his drum, and now he leaves off:’—the position (of the line) is the appropriate one for it. LX. Various explanations of the Great Symbolism have been attempted. E. g., -Oang-jze says:—‘ The water which a lake or marsh will contain is limited to a certain quantity. If the water flowing in exceed that, it overflows. This gives us the idea of jVieh.’ What is found on the application of it is to my mind equally unsatisfactory.

The subject of line 1 knows when he might have free course and when he is obstructed, and acts accordingly. He is regulated by a consideration of the time. The subject of line 1 ought not to act, and he is still. The sub¬ ject of line 2 ought to act, and he also is still. The error and the effect of it are great. The subject of line 3 shows by his lamentation how he blames himself. The other three paragraphs are sufficiently explained in what is said on the Text. 4. ‘A horse the fellow of which disappears:’— he breaks from his (former) companions, and mounts upwards. 5. ‘He is perfectly sincere, and links others to him in closest union—the place (of the line) is the correct and appropriate one. 6. ‘ Chanticleer (tries to) mount to heaven —but how can (such an effort) continue long ? LXII. (The trigram representing) a hill and that for thunder above it form Hsiao Kwo. The superior man, in accordance with this, in his conduct exceeds in humility, in mourning exceeds in sorrow, and in his expenditure exceeds in economy. 1. ‘ There is a bird flying (and ascending) till the result is evil:’—nothing can be done to avoid this issue.

2. ‘He does not attempt to reach his ruler:’— LXI. Dissatisfied with previous attempts to explain the Great Symbolism, the Khang-hsi editors say:—‘ The wind penetrates things. The grass and trees of the level ground are shaken and tossed by it; the rocky valleys and caverns in their sides have it blowing round about them; and it acts also on the depths of the collected waters, the cold of which disappears and the ice is melted before it. This is what makes it the emblem of that perfect sincerity which penetrates everywhere. The litigations of the people are like the deep and dark places of the earth. The kings examine with discrimination into all secret matters connected with them, even those which are here mentioned, till there is nothing that is not penetrated by their perfect sincerity.’ But all this is greatly strained. The symbolism of the eight trigrams gets pretty well played out in the course of the 64 hexagrams. 1. ‘No change has come over the purpose:’—the sincerity, that is, perfect in itself and of itself, continues. 2. One bond of loving regard unites the mother bird and her young; so answers the heart of man to man.

a minister should not overpass the distance (be¬ tween his ruler and himself). 3. ‘ Some in consequence find opportunity to assail and injure him. There will be evil:’—how great will it be! 4. ‘He meets the exigency (of his situation), with¬ out exceeding (the proper course)—(he does so), the position being inappropriate (for a strong line). ‘ If he go forward, there will be peril, and he must be cautious—the result would be that his course would not be long pursued. 5. ‘There are dense clouds, but no rain:’—(the line) is in too high a place. 6. ‘He does not meet the exigency (of his situation), and exceeds (his proper course) :’—(the position indicates) the habit of domineering. LXIII. (The trigram representing) fire and that for water above it form Ki 31 . The superior LXII. The Khang-hst editors endeavour to show the appro¬ priateness of the Great Symbolism in this way:—‘When thunder issues from the earth, the sound of it comes with a rush and is loud ; but when it reaches the top of a hill it has begun to die away and is small.’ There is nothing in the Chinese about the hills being high; and readers will only smile at the attempted explanation. The application of the symbolism, or rather of the idea of the hexagram, is good, and in entire accordance with what I have stated that idea to be.

Nothing can be done to avoid the issue mentioned in paragraph 1, for the subject of the line brings it on himself. Paragraph 2 deals only with the symbolism in the conclusion of what is stated under line 2. The writer takes the view which I have given on the Text. For paragraphs 3 and 4 see the notes on the Text. In line g the yin line is too high. If the line were yang, the auspice would be different. man, in accordance with this, thinks of evil (that may come), and beforehand guards against it. 1. ‘ He drags back his wheel:’—as we may rightly judge, there will be no mistake. 2. ‘In seven days she will find it:’—for the course pursued is that indicated by the central position (of the line). 3. ‘ He was three years in subduing it:’—enough to make him weary. 4. ‘He is on his guard all the day:’—he is in doubt about something. 5. ‘ The slaughtering of an ox by the neighbour in the east is not equal to (the small sacrifice of) the neighbour in the west:’—because the time (in the latter case is more important and fit). ‘His sincerity receives the blessing:’—good for¬ tune comes on a great scale.

6. ‘His head is immersed; the position is peril¬ ous:’—how could such a state continue long ? LXIV. (The trigram representing) water and that for fire above it form Wei 3 i. The superior man, in accordance with this, carefully discriminates among (the qualities of) things, and the (different) positions they (naturally) occupy. 1. ‘His tail gets immersed:’—this is the very height of ignorance. LXIII. Water and fire coming together as here, fire under the water, each element occupies its proper place, and their interaction will be beneficial. Such is the common explanation of the Great Symbolism; but the connexion between it and the application of it, which also is good in itself, is by no means clear. The notes on the different lines present nothing that has not been dealt with in the notes on the Text. 2. ‘ The second line, undivided, shows good for¬ tune arising from being firm and correct:’—it is in the central place, and the action of its subject thereby becomes correct. 3. ‘(The state of things is) not yet remedied. Advancing will lead to evil:’—the place (of the line) is not that appropriate for it. 4. ‘By firm correctness there is good fortune, and cause for repentance disappears:’—the aim (of the subject of the line) is carried into effect.

5. ‘(We see) the brightness of a superior man:’— the diffusion of that brightness tends to good fortune. 6. ‘He drinks and gets his head immersed:’— he does not know how to submit to the (proper) regulations. LXIV. In this last hexagram we have water below and fire above, so that the two cannot act on each other, and the Symbolism may represent the unregulated condition of general affairs, the different classes of society not harmonising nor acting together. The appli¬ cation follows naturally. Ki t Hsi and others suspect an error in the text of paragraph 1; yet a tolerable meaning comes from it as it stands. The Khang-hsi editors observe on paragraph 2 that an undivided line in the second place, and a divided line in the fifth place, are both incorrect, and yet it is often said of them that with firm cor¬ rectness in their subjects there will be good fortune;—such is the virtue of the central position. This principle is at last clearly enun¬ ciated in this paragraph. Af^ang-jze says:— 1 The subject of line 4 has the ability which the time requires, and possesses also a firm solidity. He can carry out therefore his purpose. There will be good fortune, and all cause for repentance will disappear. The smiting of the demon region was the highest example of firm correctness.’

Both the symbols in paragraph 6 indicate a want of caution, and an unwillingness to submit one’s impulses to the regulation of reason and prudence. The Great Appendix. Section I. Chapter I. i. Heaven is lofty and honourable; earth is low. (Their symbols), AVnen and Khwan, (with their respective meanings), were determined (in accordance with this). Things low and high appear displayed in a similar relation. The (upper and lower trigrams, and the relative position of individual lines, as) noble and mean, had their places assigned accordingly. Movement and rest are the regular qualities (of their respective subjects). Hence comes the definite distinction (of the several lines) as the strong and the weak. (Affairs) are arranged together according to their tendencies, and things are divided according to their classes. Hence were produced (the interpretations in the Y t, concerning) what is good [or lucky] and evil [or unlucky]. In the heavens there are the (different) figures there completed, and on the earth there are the (different) bodies there formed. (Corresponding to them) were the changes and transformations exhi¬ bited (in the Yi). 2. After this fashion a strong and a weak line were manipulated together (till there were the eight trigrams), and those eight trigrams were added, each to itself and to all the others, (till the sixty-four hexagrams were formed).

3. We have the exciting forces of thunder and lightning; the fertilising influences of wind and rain ; and the revolutions of the sun and moon, which give rise to cold and warmth. 4. The attributes expressed by Khitn constitute the male; those expressed by Khwan constitute the female. 5. Kh\en (symbolises Heaven, which) directs the great beginnings of things; Khwan (symbolises Earth, which) gives to them their completion. 6. It is by the ease with which it proceeds that Kh ien directs (as it does), and by its unhesitating response that Khwan exhibits such ability. 7. (He who attains to this) ease (of Heaven) will be easily understood, and (he who attains to this) freedom from laborious effort (of the Earth) will be easily followed. He who is easily understood will have adherents, and he who is easily followed will achieve success. He who has adherents can con¬ tinue long, and he who achieves success can become great. To be able to continue long shows the virtue of the wise and able man; to be able to become great is the heritage he will acquire. 8. With the attainment of such ease and such freedom from laborious effort, the mastery is got of all principles under the sky. With the attainment of that mastery, (the sage) makes good his position in the middle (between heaven and earth).

Chapter I is an attempt to show the correspondency between the phenomena of external nature ever changing, and the figures of the Yi King ever varying. The first four paragraphs, it is said, show, from the phenomena of production and transformation in external Chapter II. 9. The sages set forth the diagrams, inspected the emblems contained in them, and appended their explanations ;—in this way the good fortune and bad (indicated by them) were made clear. 10. The strong and the weak (lines) displace each other, and produce the changes and transformations (in the figures). 11. Therefore the good fortune and evil (men¬ tioned in the explanations) are the indications of the right and wrong (in men’s conduct of affairs), and the repentance and regret (similarly mentioned) are the indications of their sorrow and anxiety. nature, the principles on which the figures of the Y i were made. The fifth and sixth paragraphs show, particularly, how the attri¬ butes represented by the figures jOien and Khwan are to be found in (the operations of) heaven and earth. The last two para¬ graphs show both those attributes embodied or realised in man. The realisation takes place, indeed, fully only in the sage or the ideal man, who thus becomes the pattern for all men.

In paragraph 3 we have five of the six derivative tri¬ grams ;—the six ‘ children,’ according to the nomenclature of the Wan arrangement. ‘Thunder’ stands for Ian (EEE-EE), ‘light¬ ning’ for li ( — — ). ‘wind’ for sun ( ■— ■). and ‘rain’ for khan ■ ■*= '). ‘The sun,’however, is also an emblem of 11 , and ‘the moon’ one of kan (— —). generally said to represent ‘mountains,’ while tui ( ' * '). representing ‘collections of water,’ has no place in the enumeration. KiX Hsl says that in paragraph 3 we have the natural changes seen in the phenomena of the sky, while in 4 we have such changes as find body and figure on the earth. Paragraphs 5 and 6 have both been misunderstood from neglect of the peculiar meaning of the character I’ih (|), and from taking it in its common acceptation of ‘knowing.’ Both com¬ mentaries and dictionaries point out that it is here used in the sense of ‘directing,’ ‘ presiding over.’ In paragraph 7, however, it resumes its ordinary significancy. 12. The changes and transformations (of the lines) are the emblems of the advance and retrogression (of the vital force in nature). Thus what we call the strong and the weak (lines) become the emblems of day and night. The movements which take place in the six places (of the hexagram) show the course of the three extremes (i. e. of the three Powers in their perfect operation).

13. Therefore what the superior man rests in, in whatever position he is placed, is the order shown in the Yi; and the study which gives him the greatest pleasure is that of the explanations of the several lines. 14. Therefore the superior man, when living quietly, contemplates the emblems and studies the explanations of them; when initiating any move¬ ment, he contemplates the changes (that are made in divining), and studies the prognostications from them. Thus ‘ is help extended to him from Heaven; there will be good fortune, and advantage in every movement.’ Chapter II, paragraphs 9-14, is divided into two parts. The former contains paragraphs 9-12, and tells us how the sages, king Wan and the duke of Wau, proceeded in making the Y i, so that the good fortune and bad of men’s courses should be indicated by it in harmony with right and wrong, and the processes of nature. Paragraphs 13, 14 form the second part, and speak of the study of the Yt by the superior man, desirous of doing what is right and increasing his knowledge, and the advantages flowing from it. I can follow to some extent the first two statements of para¬ graph 12, so far as the ideas of the writer are concerned, though asserting any correspondence between the changes of the lines of the diagrams, and the operations of external nature, as in the suc¬ cession of day and night, is merely an amusement of the fancy. I all but fail, however, to grasp the idea in the last statement. In the trigram, the first line represents earth; the second, man; and the

Chapter III. 15. The Thwan speak of the em¬ blematic figures (of the complete diagrams). The Yio speak of the changes (taking place in the several lines). 16. The expressions about good fortune or bad are used with reference to (the figures and lines, as) being right or wrong (according to the conditions of time and place); those about repentance or regret refer to small faults (in the satisfying those con¬ ditions) ; when it is said ‘ there will be no error,’ or ‘ no blame,’ there is reference to (the subject) repairing an error by what is good. 17. Therefore the distinction of (the upper and lower trigrams and of the individual lines) as noble or mean is decided by the (relative) position (of the lines); the regulations of small and great are found in the diagrams, and the discriminations of good and bad fortune appear in the (subjoined) ex¬ planations. 18. Anxiety against (having occasion for) re¬ pentance or regret should be felt at the boundary line (between good and evil). The stirring up the thought of (securing that there shall be) no blame arises from (the feeling of) repentance. third, heaven; in the hexagram, the first and second lines are assigned to earth; the third and fourth, to man; and the fifth and sixth, to heaven. These are the three Powers, and each Power has ‘ a Grand Extreme,’ where its nature and operation are seen in their highest ideal. This is to some extent conceivable; but when I try to follow our author, and find an analogy between the course of these extremes and the movements in the places of the diagrams, I have no clue by which to trace my way. For the con¬ cluding sentence of paragraph 14 see the duke of j?au on the last line of hexagram 14,

19. Thus of the diagrams some are small, and some are great; and of the explanations some are startling, and some are unexciting. Every one of those explanations has reference to the tendencies (indicated by the symbols). Chapter IV. 20. The Yi was made on a principle of accordance with heaven and earth, and shows us therefore, without rent or confusion, the course (of things) in heaven and earth. 21. (The sage), in accordance with (the Yl), looking up, contemplates the brilliant phenomena of the heavens, and, looking down, examines the defi¬ nite arrangements of the earth ;—thus he knows the causes of darkness (or, what is obscure) and light (or, what is bright). He traces things to their be¬ ginning, and follows them to their end;—thus he knows what can be said about death and life. (He Chapter III, paragraphs 15-19, gives additional information about the constituent parts of the Yi, that is, the Text of the classic as we have it from king Wan and his son. The imperial editors say that it expands the meaning of the fourth paragraph, the third of chapter 2. It does do so, but this account hardly covers all its contents. To understand the names ‘small and great,’ as used of the dia¬ grams in paragraphs 17 and 19, it should be noted that hexagrams to which the divided or yin line gives their character are termed ‘small,’ and those where the undivided or yang line rules are

called‘great.’ Kin (44, ), Thun (33, =E), and Phei (12, — —) are instances of the former class; Ffi(24, = E=), Lin (19, = = ), and Th&i (11, EE_==) of the other. It is observed by 3 hfii Kh \ng (early in the Ming dynasty) that the terms ‘ diagrams ’ and ‘ explanations ’ must be understood not only of the whole figures but also as embracing the several lines. perceives how the union of) essence and breath form things, and the (disappearance or) wandering away of the soul produces the change (of their constitu¬ tion);—thus he knows the characteristics of the anima and animus. 22. There is a similarity between him and heaven and earth, and hence there is no contrariety in him to them. His knowledge embraces all things, and his course is (intended to be) helpful to all under the sky;—and hence he falls into no error. He acts according to the exigency of circumstances without being carried away by their current; he rejoices in Heaven and knows its ordinations;—and hence he has no anxieties. He rests in his own (present) position, and cherishes (the spirit of) generous benevolence; — and hence he can love (without reserve).

23. (Through the Yi), he comprehends as in a mould or enclosure the transformations of heaven and earth without any error; by an ever-varying adaptation he completes (the nature of) all things without exception ; he penetrates to a knowledge of the course of day and night (and all other connected phenomena);—it is thus that his operation is spirit¬ like, unconditioned by place, while the changes which he produces are not restricted to any form. Chapter IV, paragraphs 20-23, is intended still more to exalt the Y i, and seems to say that the sage by means of it can make an exhaus¬ tive study of all principles and of human nature, till he attains to the knowledge of the ordinances of Heaven. Such is the account of the chapter given by Hsi; but the second character in paragraph 21 must be understood in the signification which it has in all the sixty-four sentences which explain the emblematic structure of the hexagrams, as=‘in accordance with ’ and not ‘by means of.' The Chapter V. 24. The successive movement of the inactive and active operations constitutes what is called the course (of things). imperial editors append to their statement of Wu’s account, that it must be borne in mind that the sages had not to wait till the Y i was made to conduct their exhaustive study. They had done that before, and the Yf may be considered as a talk on the results, drawn out in its own peculiar style. It holds the mirror up to nature; but its authors knew nature before they made it.

In paragraph 21, ‘the brilliant phenomena of the heavens’ are the various shining bodies of the sky, with their rising and setting; ‘ the definite arrangements of the earth ’ are the different situations of its parts according to the points of the compass, and its surface as diversified by mountain and valley; and by the study of these the causes of day and night are known as being the expansion and contraction of the elementary ether. The same thing produces the facts of birth or life and death. 3 ing, which I have translated ‘essence,’ denotes the more subtle and pure part of matter, and belongs to the grosser form of the elementary ether; kh\, or ‘ spirit,’ is the breath, still material, but purer than the png, and belongs to the finer, and more active form of the ether. Here ih\ is ‘the breath of life.’ In the hwun or ‘soul (animus),’ the kh\ predominates, and the png in the pho or animal soul. At death the hwun wanders away, ascending, and the pho descends and is changed into a ghostly shade. So did the ancient Chinese grope their way from material things to the concept and representation of what was immaterial.

For my ‘characteristics of the anima and animus,’ Dr. Medhurst rendered‘the circumstances and conditions of the Kwei Shins’ (Theology of the Chinese, pp. 10-12); but he observes that ‘the Kwei Shans in the passage are evidently the expanding and contracting principles of human life.’ The kwei shans are brought about by the dissolution of the human frame, and consist of the expanding and ascending shan, which rambles about in space, and of the contracted and shrivelled kwei, which reverts to earth and nonentity. It is difficult to express one’s self clearly on a subject treated so briefly and enigmatically in the text. We must understand that the subject of the predicates in this and the next two paragraphs is ‘the sage,’ who has endeavoured to give a transcript of his views and doings in the YL The character, 25. That which ensues as the result (of their movement) is goodness; that which shows it in its completeness is the natures (of men and things). 26. The benevolent see it and call it benevolence. The wise see it and call it wisdom. The common people, acting daily according to it, yet have no knowledge of it. Thus it is that the course (of things), as seen by the superior man, is seen by few.

27. It is manifested in the benevolence (of its operations), and (then again) it conceals and stores up its resources. It gives their stimulus to all things, without having the same anxieties that pos¬ sess the sage. Complete is its abundant virtue and the greatness of its stores! 28. Its rich possessions is what is intended by ‘ the greatness of its stores; ’ the daily renovation which it produces is what is meant by ‘ the abun¬ dance of its virtue.’ 29. Production and reproduction is what is called (the process of) change. 30. The formation of the semblances (shadowy forms of things) is what we attribute to Kh i e n; the giving to them their specific forms is what we attri¬ bute to Khwan. 31. The exhaustive use of the numbers (that turn which I have translated by ‘spirit-like’ in paragraph 23, is different from kh\ in paragraph 21. It is shan, a character of the phonetic class, while its primary material signification has not been satis¬ factorily ascertained. ‘The Chinese,’ says P. Regis (vol. ii. p. 445), ‘ use it in naming the soul, true angels, and the genii of idola¬ ters ; and the Christian Chinese use it when they speak of God, of the Holy Spirit, of angels, and of the soul of man. For what else could they do ? ’

up in manipulating the stalks), and (thereby) knowing (the character of) coming events, is what we call prognosticating; the comprehension of the changes (indicated leads us to) what we call the business (to be done). 32. That which is unfathomable in (the move¬ ment of) the inactive and active operations is (the presence of a) spiritual (power). Chapter V, paragraphs 24-32, still shows us the Y1 fashioned so as to give a picture of the phenomena of the external universe; but the writer dwells more on the latter, and the different para¬ graphs give an interesting view of his ideas on the subject. He supposes a constant change from rest to movement and from movement to rest, through which all things are formed, now still, now in motion, now expanding, now contracting. It is customary to speak of two forms of an original ether as the two elementary principles, but they are really one and the same ether, in a twofold condition, with a twofold action. By their successive movement the phenomena of existence are produced,—what I have called ‘the course (of things)’ in paragraph 24. It is attempted,however, by many native scholars and by some sinologists, to give to tao, the last character in that paragraph, the meaning of ‘ reason,’ that which intelligently guides and directs the movements of the two elements. But this view is not in harmony with the scope of the chapter, nor can the characters be fairly construed so as to justify such an interpretation.

The imperial editors say that the germ of the Mencian doctrine about the goodness of human nature is in paragraph 25; but it says more widely, that ‘ every creature is good,’ according to its ideal as from the plastic yin and yang. But few, the next para¬ graph tells us, can understand the measure of this goodness. ‘The benevolent operations’ in the course of things in para¬ graph 27 are illustrated from the phenomena of growth and beauty in spring and summer; and the cessation of these in autumn and winter may be called ‘ a concealing and storing them up.’ Paragraph 29 seems to state the origin of the name Yt as applied to the book, the Yi King. In paragraph 30 the names Kh i en and Khwan take the place of yin and yang, as used in paragraphs 24 and 32. In Khxt n, Chapter VI. 33. Yes, wide is the Yi and great! If we speak of it in its farthest reaching, no limit can be set to it; if we speak of it with reference to what is near at hand, (its lessons are) still and correct; if we speak of it in connexion with all between heaven and earth, it embraces all.

34. There is Kh ien. In its (individual) stillness it is self-absorbed; when exerting its motive power it goes straight forward ; and thus it is that its pro¬ ductive action is on a grand scale. There is Khwan. In its (individual) stillness, it is self-collected and capacious ; when exerting its motive power, it developes its resources, and thus its productive action is on a wide scale. 35. In its breadth and greatness, (the Yi) corre- the symbol of heaven, every one of its three lines is undivided; it is the concentration of the yang faculty: so Khwan, the symbol of the earth, is the concentration of the yin. The critics them¬ selves call attention to the equivalence of the symbolic names here given to yin and yang. The connexion of the two is necessary to the production of any one substantial thing. The yang origin¬ ates a shadowy outline which the yin fills up with a definite sub¬ stance. So actually in nature Heaven (A 7 zien) and Earth (Khwan) operate together in the production of all material things and beings. The ‘numbers,’ mentioned in paragraph 31, are not all or any numbers generally, but 7, 8, 9, 6, those assigned to the four ‘em¬ blematic figures,’ that grow out of the undivided and divided lines, and by means of which the hexagrams are made up in divination. The ‘ future or coming events ’ which are prognosticated are not particular events, which the diviner has not already forecast, but the character of events or courses of actions already contemplated, as good or evil, lucky or unlucky, in their issue.

The best commentary on paragraph 32 is supplied by paragraphs 8-10 of Appendix VI. The ‘Spirit’ is that of ‘God;’ and this settles the meaning of tao in paragraph 24, as being the course of nature, in which, according to the author, ‘ God worketh all in all.’ sponds to heaven and earth; in its ever-recurring changes, it corresponds to the four seasons; in its mention of the bright or active, and the dark or inactive operation, it corresponds to the sun and moon ; and the excellence seen in the ease and ready response (of its various operations) corresponds to the perfect operations (presented to us in the pheno¬ mena of nature). Chapter VII. 36. The Master said :—‘ Is not the Y! a perfect book?’ It was by the Yi that the sages exalted their virtue, and enlarged their sphere of occupation. Their wisdom was high, and their rules of conduct Were solid. That loftiness was after the pattern of heaven; that solidity, after the pattern of earth. Chapter VI, paragraphs 33-35, goes on further to celebrate the Yi as holding up the mirror to nature in all its operations and in its widest extent. The grandiloquent language, however, amounts only to this, that, when we have made ourselves acquainted with the phenomena of nature, we can, with a heated fancy, see some analogy to them in the changes of the diagrams and lines of the Yi book.

Kh ien and Khwan must be taken as the same names are understood in paragraph 30 above. ‘ The Yi,’ with which paragraph 33 begins, must be understood also at the commencement of paragraph 35. The character which I have translated by ‘ corresponds’throughout this last chapter, should not, it is observed, have stress laid upon it. Kn Hsi says that it is simply equal to the ‘ there is a similarity ’ of paragraph 22. ‘The bright or active element ’ and ‘the dark or inactive’ are in the original, ‘ the yang and the yin.’ The correspondence predicated between them and the sun and moon, the brightness and warmth of the one, and the paleness and coldness of the other, shows us how those names arose, and that it is foreign to the original concept of them to call them ‘ the male and female principles:’—with the last clause compare paragraphs 6-8. 37. Heaven and earth having their positions as assigned to them, the changes (of nature) take place between them. The nature (of man) having been completed, and being continually preserved, it is the gate of all good courses and righteousness. Chapter VIII. 38. The sage was able to survey all the complex phenomena under the sky. He then considered in his mind how they could be figured, and (by means of the diagrams) represented their material forms and their character. Hence these (diagrams) are denominated Semblances (or emblematic figures, the Hsiang).

39. A (later) sage was able to survey the motive influences working all under the sky. He contem¬ plated them in their common action and special nature, in order to bring out the standard and proper tendency of each. He then appended his Chapter VII, paragraphs 36, 37, is understood to set forth how the sages embodied the teachings of the Yi in their character and conduct. But when it is said that ‘ it was by the Yi that they exalted their virtue and enlarged their sphere of occupation,’ the meaning can only be that what they did in these directions was in harmony with the principles which they endeavoured to set forth in the symbols of the Yi. 1 Their rules of conduct were solid,’ in paragraph 36, is, literally, ‘their rules were low.’ To the height of heaven reached by the wisdom of the sages, the author opposes the low-lying earth, between which and their substantial practices and virtues he dis¬ covered some analogy. It will be seen that the chapter commences with 1 The Master said.’ JKt Hsi observes that ‘as the Ten Appendixes were all made by the Master, these words are out of place, and that he conjectures that wherever they occur here and elsewhere, they were added after the sage’s time.’ Their occurrence very seri¬ ously affects the question of the authorship of the Appendixes, which I have discussed in the Introduction, pages 28-31.

explanation (to each line of the diagrams), to deter¬ mine the good or evil indicated by it. Hence those (lines with their explanations) are denominated Imi¬ tations (the Yio). 40. (The diagrams) speak of the most complex phenomena under the sky, and yet there is nothing in them that need awaken dislike ; the explanations of the lines speak of the subtlest movements under the sky, and yet there is nothing in them to produce confusion. 41. (A learner) will consider what is said (under the diagrams), and then speak; he will deliberate on what is said (in the explanations of the lines), and then move. By such consideration and deliberations he will be able to make all the changes which he undertakes successful. 42. ‘ Here hid, retired, cries out the crane ; Her young’s responsive cry sounds there. Of spirits good I drain this cup; With thee a cup I’ll freely share.’ The Master said :— 1 The superior man occupies his apartment and sends forth his words. If they be good, they will be responded to at a distance of more than a thousand 11;—how much more will they be so in the nearer circle ! He occupies his apart¬ ment and sends forth his words. If they be evil, they will awaken opposition at a distance of more than a thousand 1 i;—how much more will they do so in the nearer circle! Words issue from one’s person, and proceed to affect the people. Actions proceed from what is near, and their effects are seen at a distance. Words and actions are the hinge and spring of the superior man. The movement of that

hinge and spring determines glory or disgrace. His words and actions move heaven and earth ;—may he be careless in regard to them?’ 43. ‘ (The representative of) the union of men first cries out and weeps, and afterwards laughs.’ The Master said, on this :— ‘ The ways of good men (different seem). This in a public office toils; That in his home the time beguiles. One man his lips with silence seals; Another all his mind reveals. But when two men are one in heart, Not iron bolts keep them apart; The words they in their union use, Fragrance like orchid plants diffuse.’ 44. ‘ The first line, undivided, shows its subject placing mats of the white grass beneath what he sets on the ground.’ The Master said :—‘ To place the things on the ground might be considered suf¬ ficient; but when he places beneath them mats of the white grass, what occasion for blame can there be ? Such a course shows the height of care¬ fulness. The white grass is a trivial thing, but, through the use made of it, it may become impor¬ tant. He who goes forward using such careful art will not fall into any error.’

45. ‘ A superior man toiling laboriously and yet humble! He will bring things to an end, and with good fortune.’ The Master said on this:—‘He toils with success, but does not boast of it; he achieves merit, but takes no virtue to himself from it;—this is the height of generous goodness, and speaks of the man who with (great) merit yet places himself below others. He wishes his virtue to be more and more complete, and in his intercourse with others to be more and more respectful;—he who is so humble, carrying his respectfulness to the utmost, will be able to preserve himself in his position.’ 46. ‘ The dragon (is seen) beyond his proper haunts; there will be occasion for repentance.’ The Master said on this:—‘He is noble, but is not in his correct place; he is on high, but there are no people to acknowledge him; there is a man of virtue and ability below, but he will not assist him. Hence whatever movement he may make will give occasion for repentance.’ 47. ‘ He does not quit the courtyard before his door;—there will be no occasion for blame.’ The Master said on this :—‘When disorder arises, it will be found that (ill-advised) speech was the steppingstone to it. If a ruler do not keep secret (his deliberations with his minister), he will lose that minister. If a minister do not keep secret (his deliberations with his ruler), he will lose his life. If (important) matters in the germ be not kept secret, that will be injurious to their accomplishment. Therefore the superior man is careful to maintain secrecy, and does not allow himself to speak.’

48. The Master said:—‘ The makers of the Yi may be said to have known (the philosophy of) robbery. The Yi says, “He is a burden-bearer, and yet rides in a carriage, thereby exciting robbers to attack him.” Burden-bearing is the business of a small man. A carriage is the vehicle of a gentleman. When a small man rides in the vehicle of a gentle- man, robbers will think of taking it from him. (When one is) insolent to those above him, and oppressive to those below, robbers will wish to attack him. Careless laying up of things excites to robbery, (as a womans) adorning of herself excites to lust. What the Y i says about the burdenbearer’s riding in a carriage, and exciting robbers to attack him, (shows how) robbery is called out.’ Chapter VIII, paragraphs 38-48. In the first two paragraphs here we have an account of the formation of the diagrams, and of the explanation of the whole hexagrams and of the individual lines. ‘ The sage ’ in paragraph 38 is intended presumably of Fu-hsi; but we cannot say, from it, whether the writer thought of him as having formed only the eight trigrams, or all the sixty-four hexagrams. In the diagrams, however, we have semblances, or representations, of the phenomena of nature, even the most com¬ plex, and hard to be disentangled. Paragraph 39 goes on to speak of the explanation more especially of the individual lines, by the duke of Kk u, as symbolical of good luck or evil, as they turned up in the processes of divination.

Paragraph 40 declares the usableness (so to speak) of the dia¬ grams and the explanations of them; and 41 shows us how a learner or consulter of the Y i would actually proceed in using it. In paragraphs 42-48 we have the words of Confucius on seven lines in so many hexagrams, or rather his amplification of the words of the duke of Wau’s explanations of their symbolism. The lines are 2 of hexagram 61 ; 5 of 13 ; 1 of 28 ; 3 of ig; 6 of 1; 1 of 60; and 3 of 40. What Confucius says is not without in¬ terest, but does not make the principles on which the Yi was made any clearer to us. It shows how his object was to turn the symbolism that he found to a moral or ethical account; and no doubt he could have varied the symbolism, if he had been inclined to do so. I have spoken in the preceding chapter of the difficulty which the phrase ‘The Master said’ presents to our accepting the Ap¬ pendix as from the hand of Confucius himself. But his words in paragraph 43 are in rhyme. He did not speak so. If he rhymed his explanation of the symbolism of the line that is the ground¬ work of that paragraph, why did he not rhyme his explanations of

Chapter IX. 49. To heaven belongs (the num¬ ber) 1 ; to earth, 2 ; to heaven, 3 ; to earth, 4; to heaven, 5 ; to earth, 6; to heaven, 7; to earth, 8 ; to heaven, 9 ; to earth, 10. 50. The numbers belonging to heaven are five, and those belonging to earth are (also) five. The numbers of these two series correspond to each other (in their fixed positions), and each one has another that may be considered its mate. The heavenly numbers amount to 25, and the earthly to 30. The numbers of heaven and earth together amount to 55. It is by these that the changes and transformations are effected, and the spirit-like agencies kept in movement. 51. The numbers of the Great Expansion, (multi¬ plied together), make 50, of which (only) 49 are used (in divination). (The stalks representing these) are divided into two heaps to represent the two (emblematic lines, or heaven and earth). One is then taken (from the heap on the right), and placed (between the little finger of the left hand and the next), that there may thus be symbolised the three (powers of heaven, earth, and man). (The heaps on both sides) are manipulated by fours to repre¬ sent the four seasons; and then the remainders are returned, and placed (between) the two middle fingers of the left hand, to represent the intercalary month. In five years there are two intercalations, and there¬ fore there are two operations; and afterwards the whole process is repeated.

52. The numbers (required) for Kh ien (or the the other lines ? To answer these questions categorically is beyond our power. The facts that suggest them increase the difficulty in ascribing this and the other additions to the Yi to the later sage. undivided line) amount to 216; those for Khwan (or the divided line), to 144. Together they are 360, corresponding to the days of the year. 53. The number produced by the lines in the two parts (of the Yi) amount to 11,520, correspond¬ ing to the number of all things. 54. Therefore by means of the four operations is the Yi completed. It takes 18 changes to form a hexagram. 55. (The formation of) the eight trigrams consti¬ tutes the small completion (of the Yi). 56. If we led on the diagrams and expanded them, if we prolonged each by the addition of the proper lines, then all events possible under the sky might have their representation. 57. (The diagrams) make manifest (by their ap¬ pended explanations), the ways (of good and ill fortune), and show virtuous actions in their spiritual relations. In this way, by consulting them, we may receive an answer (to our doubts), and we may also by means of them assist the spiritual (power in its agency in nature and providence).

58. The Master said:—‘ He who knows the method of change and transformation may be said to know what is done by that spiritual (power).’ Chapter IX, paragraphs 49-58, is of a different character from any of the preceding, and treats, unsatisfactorily, of the use of numbers in connexion with the figure of the Yi and the practice of divination. In the Thang edition of the Y i, published in the seventh century, paragraph 49 is the first of the eleventh chapter according to the arrangement now followed. .Oang-jze restored it to its present place, which it occupied, as has been proved, during the Han Chapter X. 59. In the Yi there are four things characteristic of the way of the sages. We should set the highest value on its explanations to guide dynasty, and to which it properly belongs. It and the next para¬ graph should be taken together, and are distinct from what fol¬ lows, though the Thang edition is further confused in placing 51 before 50. In 49 and 50 ‘ heaven ’ and ‘ earth ’ are used as we have seen jOien and Khwan are in paragraphs 30 and 34. Odd num¬ bers belong to the strong or undivided line, which is symbolical of the active operation in nature, and the even numbers to the weak or divided line, symbolical of its inaction. The phraseology of the paragraphs, however, can only be understood by a reference to ‘ the river map,’ which has been given in the Introduction, pages 15, 16.

The map, as it appeared on the back of ‘ the dragon-horse,’ con¬ sisted of so many circles, and so many dark circular markings, the former, it was assumed, being of the yang character, and the latter of the yin. Fu-hsi for the circle substituted the strong or undivided line (-), and for the dark markings the weak or divided (— —). It will be seen that the yang symbols are the 1, 3> 5> 7 and 9 circles, and the yin are the 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 cir¬ cular markings, which is the pictorial delineation of paragraph 49. The only thing to be said upon it is that the arrangement of the five circles and ten circular markings is peculiar, and evidently devised ‘ for a purpose.’ So far, however, as we know, no figure of the map was attempted till after the beginning of our twelfth century. The same figure is supposed to illustrate what is said in para¬ graph 50: ‘ The numbers of the two series correspond to each other in their fixed positions.’ 1 and 2, and 3 and 4 certainly front each other, and perhaps 5 and 6; but 7 and 8, and 9 and 10 do not do so in the same way. It is said also that ‘ each has another that may be considered its mate.’ So it is with 1 and 6, 2 and 7, 3 and 8, 4 and 9, but hardly with 5 and 10. Further, 1 + 3 + 5 + 74-9 = 25; 2 + 4 + 6+8+10 = 30; and a5 + 3 0 = 55; all of which points are stated.

The last statement in the paragraph, however, derives no illus¬ tration, so far as I can see, from the figure. How can the num¬ bers effect the things that are predicated of them? There is a us in speaking; on its changes for (the initiation of) our movements; on its emblematic figures for (defi¬ nite action as in) the construction of implements; jargon indeed about the formation of the five elements, but in order to make it appear not reasonable, but capable of being related, writers call in ‘ the Lo writing ’ to the aid of ‘ the Ho map and ‘the five elements’ is a division of the constituents of material things, which is foreign to the Yi. Paragraph 51 is intended to describe the process of divination in manipulating the stalks, but the description is confused by intro¬ ducing into it the four seasons and the subject of intercalation, so as to be very difficult to understand. In the middle of the Ho map are the five circles symbolical of heaven and the ten dark terrestrial markings (five above and five below the others). These multiplied together give fifty, which form ‘ the great expansion.’ But 50 divining stalks or slips, when divided, give either two odd numbers or two even; and therefore one was put on one side. The remaining 49, however divided, were sure to give two parcels of stalks, one containing an even number of stalks, and the other an odd, and so might be said fan¬ cifully to represent the undivided or strong, and the divided or weak line. It is needless to go minutely into the other steps of the process. Then comes in the counting the stalks by four, because there are four seasons in the year, and those that remain represent the intercalary days. But how could such a process be of any value to determine the days necessary to be intercalated in any particular year? The paragraph shows, however, that, when it was written, the rule was to intercalate two months in five years. But it does not say how many days would remain to be carried on to the sixth year after the second intercalation.

Paragraph 52. The actual number of the undivided and divided lines in the hexagrams is the same, 192 of each. But the repre¬ sentative number of an undivided line is 9, and of a divided line 6. Now 9x4 (the number of the emblematic figures) x 6 (the lines of each hexagram)=2i6; and 6x4x6=144. The sum of these products is 360, which was assumed, for the purpose of working the intercalation, as the standard length of the year. But this was derived from observation, and other considerations;—it did not come out of the Yi. Paragraphs 53-56. The number in 53 arises thus:—192 (the and on its prognostications for our practice of divination. 60. Therefore, when a superior man is about to take action of a more private or of a public character, he asks (the Yi), making his inquiry in words. It receives his order, and the answer comes as the echo’s response. Be the subject remote or near, mysterious or deep, he forthwith knows of what kind will be the coming result. (If the Yi) were not the most exquisite thing under heaven, would it be concerned in such an operation as this ? 61. (The stalks) are manipulated by threes and fives to determine (one) change ; they are laid on opposite sides, and placed one up, one down, to make sure of their numbers; and the (three necessary)

number of each series of lines in the sixty-four hexagrams) x 36 (obtained as above) = 69i2, and 192 x 24=4608, the sum of which = 11,520. This is said to be ‘the number of all things,’ the meaning of which I do not know. The ‘ four operations ’ are those described in paragraph 31. They were thrice repeated in divination to determine each new line, and of course it took eighteen of them to form a hexagram. The diagrams might be extended ad infinitum, both in the number of lines and of figures, by the natural process of their formation as shown in the Introduction, page 14, without the aid of the divining stalks; and no sufficient reason can be given why the makers of the figures stopped at sixty-four. It is difficult to believe the first statement in paragraph 57 and to understand the second. What is it ‘to Shan or spiritualise virtuous actions?’ The concluding statement approximates to impiety. We may grant what is affirmed in paragraph 58, but does the Yt really give us any knowledge of the processes of change and transformation in nature? What wiser are we after all the affirmations about numbers ? ‘ Change ’ = changings, understood actively:—the work of Heaven; ‘ transformations^evolution:—the finish given by earth to the changing caused by Heaven.

changes are gone through with in this way, till they form the figures pertaining to heaven or to earth. Their numbers are exactly determined, and the emblems of (all things) under the sky are fixed. (If the Y i) were not the thing most capable of change of all things under heaven, how could it effect such a result as this ? 62. In (all these operations forming) the Yf, there is no thought and no action. It is still and without movement; but, when acted on, it penetrates forth¬ with to all phenomena and events under the sky. If it were not the most spirit-like thing under the sky, how could it be found doing this ? 63. The (operations forming the) Yt are the method by which the sages searched out exhaus¬ tively what was deep, and investigated the minutest springs (of things). 64. ‘ Those operations searched out what was deep —therefore they could penetrate to the views of all under the sky. ‘ They made apparent the minutest springs of (things)—therefore they could bring to a completion all undertakings under the sky. ‘ Their action was spirit-like —therefore they could make speed without hurry, and reached their destination without travelling.

65. This is the import of what the Master said, that ‘ In the Yi there are four things indicating the way of the sages.’ Chapter X, paragraphs 39-65, enlarges on the service rendered to men by the Y1, owing to the way in which it was made by the sages to express their views and carry into effect their wishes. Paragraph 59 mentions the four things in which its usefulness appears. ‘The emblematic figures’ are the four hsiang, which are produced by the manipulation of the undivided and divided Chapter XI. 66. The Master said :—‘What is it that the Y i does ? The Y! opens up (the knowledge of the issues of) things, accomplishes the undertak¬ ings (of men), and embraces under it (the way of) all things under the sky. This and nothing more is what the Y i does. Thereby the sages, through (divination by) it, would give their proper course to the aims of all under the sky, would give stability to their undertakings, and determine their doubts.’ 67. Therefore the virtue of the stalks is versatile lines, and whose representative numbers are 9,8, 7,6. ‘ Divination ’ appears in the paragraph as pft-shih, which means ‘divination by the tortoise-shell and by the stalks.’ But the tortoise-shell had nothing to do with the use of the Y i. Before the composition of these Appendixes the two terms must have been combined to express the practice of divination, without reference to its mode.

Paragraph 60 speaks of the explanations and prognostications of the Yi. The ‘ exquisiteness ’ ascribed to it would be due to the sages who had devised it, and appended their explanations to it; but the whole thing has no existence save in cloud-land. Paragraph 61 speaks of the operations with the stalks till the various changes in the results issued in the determination of the emblematic figures, and then in the fixing of the individual lines and entire hexagrams. Even Au Id si admits that the references to the different processes are now hardly intelligible. Paragraph 62. How could the writer speak of the Yi without thought or action as being most ‘spirit-like?’ If it did what he asserts, those who contrived it might be so described ? They would have been beings whose operation was indeed like that of spirits, inscrutable, ‘unfathomable’ (paragraph 32), even like that of the Spirit of God (VI, 10). Paragraphs 63 and 64 ought not to be taken as saying that the sages did the things described for themselves by the Yi. They knew them of themselves, and made the Yi that others might come by it to do the same. So the writer imagined. No words could indicate more clearly than those of paragraph 65 that the para¬ graphs between it and 59 did not come from Confucius, but from the compiler of the Great Appendix, whoever he was.

and spirit-like; that of the diagrams is exact and wise ; and the meaning given by the six lines is changeful to give (the proper information to men). The sages having, by their possession of these (three virtues), cleansed their minds, retired and laid them up in the secrecy (of their own conscious¬ ness). But their sympathies were with the people in regard both to their good fortune and evil. By their spirit-like ability they knew (the character of) coming events, and their wisdom had stored up (all experiences of) the past. Who could be able to accomplish all this ? (Only our) ancient sages, quick in apprehension and clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence, and all-embracing know¬ ledge, and with a majesty, going spirit-like to its objects;—it was only they who could do so. 68. Therefore (those sages), fully understanding the way of Heaven, and having clearly ascertained the experience of the people, instituted (the employ¬ ment of) these spirit-like things, as a provision for the use of the people. The sages went about the employment of them (moreover) by purifying their hearts and with reverent caution, thereby giving (more) spirituality and intelligence to their virtue. 69. Thus, a door shut may be pronounced (analo¬ gous to) Khwan (or the inactive condition), and the opening of the door (analogous to) ATAien (or the active condition). The opening succeeding the being shut may be pronounced (analogous to what we call) a change; and the passing from one of these states to the other may be called the constant course (of things).

The (first) appearance of anything (as a bud) is what we call a semblance; when it has received its complete form, we call it a definite thing. (The divining-plant having been produced, the sages) set it apart and laid down the method of its employment,—what we call the laws (of divination). The advantage arising from it in external and in¬ ternal matters, so that the people all use it, stamps it with a character which we call spirit-like. 70. Therefore in (the system of) the Yi there is the Grand Terminus, which produced the two ele¬ mentary Forms. Those two Forms produced the Four emblematic Symbols, which again produced the eight Trigrams. 71. The eight trigrams served to determine the good and evil (issues of events), and from this deter¬ mination was produced the (successful prosecution of the) great business (of life). 72. Therefore of all things that furnish models and visible figures there are none greater than heaven and earth ; of things that change and ex¬ tend an influence (on others) there are none greater than the four seasons; of things suspended (in the sky) with their figures displayed clear and bright, there are none greater than the sun and moon; of the honoured and exalted there are none greater than he who is the rich and noble (one); in pre¬ paring things for practical use, and inventing and making instruments for the benefit of all under the sky, there are none greater than the sages; to ex¬ plore what is complex, search out what is hidden, to hook up what lies deep, and reach to what is dis¬ tant, thereby determining (the issues) for good or ill of all events under the sky, and making all men under heaven full of strenuous endeavours, there

are no (agencies) greater than those of the stalks and the tortoise-shell. 73. Therefore Heaven produced the spirit-like things, and the sages took advantage of them. (The operations of) heaven and earth are marked by (so many) changes and transformations; and the sages imitated them (by means of the Yi). Heaven hangs out its (brilliant) figures from which are seen good fortune and bad, and the sages made their emblema¬ tic interpretations accordingly. The Ho gave forth the map, and the Lo the writing, of (both of) which the sages took advantage. 74. In the (scheme of the) Yi there are the four symbolic figures by which they inform men (in divin¬ ing of the lines making up the diagrams); the expla¬ nations appended to them convey the significance (of the diagrams and lines); and the determination (of the divination) as fortunate or the reverse, to settle the doubts (of men). Chapter XI, paragraphs 66-74, treats of divination, and the scheme of it supplied in the Yi. That scheme must be referred first to Heaven, which produced the spirit-like things,—the diviningplant and the tortoise; and next to the sages, who knew the mind of Heaven, and made the plant and shell subservient to the pur¬ pose for which they were intended.

Paragraph 66 answers the question of what the Y i does; and if there were truth or reason in it, the book and its use would be most important. I have closed the quotation of “ the Master’s ” words at the end of the paragraph; but really we do not know if they extend so far, or farther. Paragraphs 67 and 68 glorify the sages and their work. The virtues of the divining-plant all belonged to them, and it was thus that they were able to organise the scheme of divination. The production of ‘ the spirit-like things ’ is, in paragraph 73, ascribed to ‘Heaven;’ the characters about them in these paragraphs mean no more than is expressed in the translation. Chapter XII. 75. It is said in the Yi, ‘Help is given to him from Heaven. There will be good fortune; advantage in every respect.’ The Master Paragraph 69 shows how the antinomy of the yin and yang pervades all nature, and how the sages turned it, as existing pre¬ eminently in the divining-plant, to account. Paragraph 70. Evidently the author had in view here the genesis of the diagrams of the Y i, the number of figures increasing in a geometrical progression with the ratio of 2, while the lines of the figures form an arithmetical progression with the common differ¬ ence of 1. This is quite plain after ‘the two elementary forms

(-and — —)’ have been made. They give birth to ‘the four emblematic symbols,’ each of two lines ( . , =—=, __ = =, known, in this order, as the Grand or old Yang, the young Yin, the young Yang, and the Grand or old Yin). By the addition to each of these symbols first of the yang line, and then of the yin, there arise the eight trigrams, each of three lines; and the process of formation might be continued indefinitely. But how was the first step taken in the formation of the two ele¬ mentary lines ? Here, it is said, they were produced by the Thai Ki, or the Grand Terminus. This is represented in Ku Hsi’s ‘ Youth’s Introduction to the Study of the Yi,’ by a circle ; but he tells us that that representation of it was first made by Aau-jze (a.d. 1017-1073, called also A'au Tun-i, Aau Mau-shft, and, most of all, A'au Lien-Mi), and that his readers must be careful not to suppose that Ffi-hsi had such a figure in his mind’s eye. I fail myself to understand how there can be generated from a circle the undivided and the broken line. Given those two lines, and the formation of the sixty-four hexagrams proceeds regularly according to the method above described. We must start from them, whether we can account or not for the rise of the idea of them in the mind ofFfi-hsi.

Leaving the subject of the figure of the Thai K i, the name gives us hardly any clue to its meaning. Ki is used for the extreme term of anything, as the ridge-pole of a house, or the pinnacle of a pagoda. The comment on the first sentence in the paragraph by Wang Pi (a.d. 226-249) is:—‘Existence must begin in non¬ existence, and therefore the Grand Terminus produced the two elementary Forms. Thai Ki is the denomination of what has no denomination. As it cannot be named, the text takes the extreme said:—‘Yfi (j|£) is the symbol of assisting. He whom Heaven assists is observant (of what is right); he whom men assist is sincere. The individual here indicated treads the path of sincerity and desires to be observant (of what is right), and studies to exalt the worthy. Hence “ Help is given to him from Heaven. There will be good fortune, advantage in every respect.’” 76. The Master said:—‘ The written characters are point of anything that exists as an analogous term for the Thai K\.’ Expanding Wang’s comment, Khung Ying-ta says:—‘Thai K\ means the original subtle matter, that formed the one chaotic mass before heaven and earth were divided; ’ and then he refers to certain passages in L&o-gze’s Tao Teh King, and identifies the Thai K\ with his Tao. This would seem to give to Thai K\ a material meaning. The later philosophers of the Sung school, however, insist on its being immaterial, now calling it li, the principle of order in nature, now tfio, the defined course of things, now Ti, the Supreme Power or God, now shan, the spiritual working of God. According to ATMng-jze, all these names are to be referred to that of ‘ Heaven,’ of which they express so many different concepts.

Paragraph 71 speaks of divination in practice, and paragraph 7 2 celebrates the service done by that through the plant and shell, as equal to, and indeed the complement of, all the other services ren¬ dered by heaven and earth, the seasons, the sun and moon, the sages, and the greatest potentates. Surely, it is all very extravagant. The last two paragraphs resume the theme of the making of the Y i by the sages, and their teaching the practice of divination. Of the Ho map and the Lo writing, I have spoken in the Introduction, pages 14-18. But if we accept the statement that the Lo writing had anything to do with the making of the Yi, we must except Ffi-hsi from the sages to whom we are indebted for it. It was to the Great Yu, more than a thousand years later than Fu-hsi, that the Lo disclosed its writing; and Yii is never said to have had anything to do with the Yi. Nor is either of these things mentioned in Section ii, paragraph u, where the work of Fu-hsi is described more in detail. not the full exponent of speech, and speech is not the full expression of ideas;—is it impossible then to discover the ideas of the sages?’ The Master said :— 1 The sages made their emblematic symbols to set forth fully their ideas; appointed (all) the diagrams to show fully the truth and falsehood (of things); appended their explanations to give the full expression of their words; and changed (the various lines) and made general the method of doing so, to exhibit fully what was advantageous. They (thus) stimulated (the people) as by drums and dances, thereby completely developing the spirit-like (character of the Yl).’

77. May we not say that Kh ien and Khwan [= the yang and yin, or the undivided and divided lines] are the secret and substance of the Yi ? Kh\&n and Khwan being established in their several places, the system of changes was thereby constituted. If Kkien and Khwan were taken away, there would be no means of seeing that system; and if that system were not seen, Kki&n and Khwan would almost cease to act. 78. Hence that which is antecedent to the ma¬ terial form exists, we say, as an ideal method, and that which is subsequent to the material form exists, we say, as a definite thing. Transformation and shaping is what we call change; carrying this out and operating with it is what we call generalising the method; taking the result and setting it forth for all the people under heaven is, we say, (securing the success of) the business of life. 79. Hence, to speak of the emblematic figures :— (The sage) was able to survey all the complex phe- nomena under the sky. He then considered in his mind how they could be figured, and (by means of the diagrams) represented their material forms and their character. Hence those (diagrams) are denominated Semblances. A (later) sage was able to survey the motive influences working all under the sky. He contemplated them in their common action and special nature, in order to bring out the standard and proper tendency of each. He then appended his explanation (to each line), to determine the good or evil indicated by it. Hence those (lines with their explanations) are denominated Imitations (the Yao).

80. The most thorough mastery of all the com¬ plex phenomena under the sky is obtained from the diagrams. The greatest stimulus to movement in adaptation to all affairs under the sky is obtained from the explanations. 81. The transformations and shaping that take place are obtained from the changes (of the lines); the carrying this out and operating with it is ob¬ tained from the general method (that has been established). The seeing their spirit-like intima¬ tions and understanding them depended on their being the proper men; and the completing (the study of) them by silent meditation, and securing the faith of others without the use of words, de¬ pended on their virtuous conduct. Chapter XII, paragraphs 75-81, endeavours to show how we have in the Yi a representation of the changing phenomena of nature, and such a representation as words or speech could not convey. Paragraph 7 5 has a good meaning, taken by itself; but it has no apparent connexion with the rest of the chapter. Kn Hsi thought Chapter I. i. The eight trigrams having been completed in their proper order, there were in each the (three) emblematic lines. They were then it was misplaced in its present position, and should be at the end of chapter 8. Compare paragraph 14.

What follows in the paragraph has no connexion with these two statements. P. Regis, who divides his translation into two paragraphs, says:—‘Satis patet utramque textus hujus partem non cohaerere. multiplied by a process of addition till the (six) component lines appeared. 2. The strong line and the weak push them¬ selves each into the place of the other, and hence the changes (of the diagrams) take place. The appended explanations attach to every form of them its character (of good or ill), and hence the movements (suggested by divination) are deter¬ mined accordingly. 3. Good fortune and ill, occasion for repentance or regret, all arise from these movements. 4. The strong and the weak (lines) have their fixed and proper places (in the diagrams); their changes, however varied, are according to the re¬ quirements of the time (when they take place). 5. Good fortune and ill are continually prevailing each against the other by an exact rule. 6. By the same rule, heaven and earth, in their course, continually give forth (their lessons); the sun and moon continually emit their light; all the movements under the sky are constantly subject to this one and the same rule. Quod ergo illas divisimus, id fecimus majoris perspicuitatis causa, non ratione ordinis qui certe nullus est, ut in re potius assuta quam connexa.’

Paragraph 79 is a repetition of paragraphs 38, 39, ‘to introduce,’ says Affl Hst, ‘the two paragraphs ’ that follow. The editors of the imperial edition find in 80, 81, an amplifica¬ tion mainly of 76, showing how what is said there of the natural phenomena is exhibited in the Yt. The concluding sentence is a declaration (hardly necessary) about the sage makers, to the effect that they were as distinguished for virtuous conduct as for wisdom,—‘the proper men’ to stand between Heaven and the mass of men as they did. 7. Kh ien, (the symbol of heaven, and) conveying the idea of strength, shows to men its easy (and natural) action. W/lwan, (the symbol of earth, and) conveying the idea of docility, shows to men its compendious (receptivity and operation). 8. The Yao (or lines) are imitative representa¬ tions of this. The Hsiang, or emblematic figures, are pictorial representations of the same. 9. The movements of the lines and figures take place (at the hand of the operator), and are un¬ seen ; the good fortune or ill is seen openly and is beyond. The work to be done appears by the changes; the sympathies of the sages are seen in their explanations.

10. The great attribute of heaven and earth is the giving and maintaining life. What is most precious for the sage is to get the (highest) place — (in which he can be the human representative of heaven and earth). What will guard this position for him ? Men. How shall he collect a large population round him ? By the power of his wealth. The right administration of that wealth, correct instructions to the people, and prohibitions against wrong-doing;—these constitute his righteousness. Chapter I, paragraphs 1-10, is an amplification, according to Khung Ying-ta and the editors of the imperial edition of the present dynasty, of the second chapter of Section i. The latter say that as all the chapters of Section i from the third onwards serve to elucidate chapter 2, so it is with this chapter and all that follow in this Section. The formation of the diagrams, and of their several lines, their indication of good fortune and bad, and the analogy between the processes of nature and the operations of divination, and other kindred subjects, are all touched on. The order of the eight trigrams in paragraph 1, is /Wien, tui, Chapter II. 11. Anciently, when Pao-hsi had come to the rule of all under heaven, looking up, he contemplated the brilliant forms exhibited in the sky, and looking down he surveyed the patterns shown on the earth. He contemplated the orna¬ mental appearances of birds and beasts and the (different) suitabilities of the soil. Near at hand, in his own person, he found things for consideration, and the same at a distance, in things in general. On this he devised the eight trigrams, to show fully the

li, Mn, sun, khan, kan, khwan. The three lines of each are emblematic,—the first of heaven, the second of man, the third of earth. This is the most likely explanation of hsiang, ‘the em¬ blems’or ‘ similitudes’here. Why the maker—‘sages’—stopt at sixty-four figures, of six lines each, is a question that cannot be answered. Paragraph 2. Of course it was a great delusion to suppose that the changes of lines consequent on divination could be so con¬ nected with the movements of life as to justify the characterising them as good or evil, or afford any guidance in the ordering of conduct. Paragraph 4. Who can tell ‘the requirements of the time’ amid the complexity of the phenomena of nature or the ever-varying events of human experience and history ? The wiser men are, the more correct will be their judgments in such matters; but is there any reason for trusting to divination about them ? Paragraphs 5, 6. It is difficult to say what is ‘ the exact rule ’ intended here; unless it be that the factors in every movement shall act according to their proper nature. The Khang-hsi editors say:—‘We see the good sometimes meeting with misfortune, and the bad with good fortune; but such is not the general rule.’ ‘The lessons that heaven and earth give forth ’ are those concerning the method of their operation as stated in paragraph 7, and more fully in 6, 7, 8 of Section i.

What is said in paragraph 10 is striking and important, and in harmony with the general strain of Confucian teaching;—as in the Great Learning, chapter 10, and many other places; but I fail to see its appropriateness in its present place in the Yi. attributes of the spirit-like and intelligent (operations working secretly), and to classify the qualities of the myriads of things. 12. He invented the making of nets of various kinds by knitting strings, both for hunting and fishing. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Li (the third trigram, and thirtieth hexa¬ gram). 13. On the death of Pdo-hsi, there arose Shannang (in his place). He fashioned wood to form the share, and bent wood to make the ploughhandle. The advantages of ploughing and weeding were then taught to all under heaven. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Yi (the fortysecond hexagram). 14. He caused markets to be held at midday, thus bringing together all the people, and assem¬ bling in one place all their wares. They made their exchanges and retired, every one having got what he wanted. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Shih Ho (the twenty-first hexagram). 15. After the death of Shan-nang, there arose Hwang Ti, Yao, and Shun. They carried through the (necessarily occurring) changes, so that the peo¬ ple did (what was required of them) without being wearied; yea, they exerted such a spirit-like trans¬ formation, that the people felt constrained to approve their (ordinances) as right. When a series of changes has run all its course, another change ensues. When it obtains free course, it will continue long. Hence it was that ‘these (sovereigns) were helped by Heaven; they had good fortune, and their every movement was advantageous.’ Hwang Ti, Yao, and Shun (simply) wore their upper and

lower garments (as patterns to the people), and good order was secured all under heaven. The idea of all this was taken, probably, from Khxen and Khwan (the first and eighth trigrams, or the first and second hexagrams). 16. They hollowed out trees to form canoes; they cut others long and thin to make oars. Thus arose the benefit of canoes and oars for the help of those who had no means of intercourse with others. They could now reach the most distant parts, and all under heaven were benefited. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Hw&n (the fifty-ninth hexagram). 17. They used oxen (in carts) and yoked horses (to chariots), thus providing for the carriage of what was heavy, and for distant journeys,—thereby benefiting all under the sky. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Sui (the seventeenth hexagram). 18. They made the (defence of the) double gates, and (the warning of) the clapper, as a preparation against the approach of marauding visitors. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Yii (the sixteenth hexagram). 19. They cut wood and fashioned it into pestles ; they dug in the ground and formed mortars. Thus the myriads of the people received the benefit arising from the use of the pestle and mortar. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Hsi&o Kwo (the sixty-second hexagram).

20. They bent wood by means of string so as to form bows, and sharpened wood so as to make arrows. This gave the benefit of bows and arrows, and served to produce everywhere a feeling of awe. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Khwei (the thirty-eighth hexagram). 21. In the highest antiquity they made their homes (in winter) in caves, and (in summer) dwelt in the open country. In subsequent ages, for these the sages substituted houses, with the ridgebeam above and the projecting roof below, as a provision against wind and rain. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Td Wwang (the thirtyfourth hexagram). 22. When the ancients buried their dead, they covered the body thickly with pieces of wood, having laid it in the open country. They raised no mound over it, nor planted trees around; nor had they any fixed period for mourning. In subse¬ quent ages the sages substituted for these practices the inner and outer coffins. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Ta Kwo (the twenty-eighth hexagram). 23. In the highest antiquity, government was carried on successfully by the use of knotted cords (to preserve the memory of things). In subse¬ quent ages the sages substituted for these written characters and bonds. By means of these (the doings of) all the officers could be regulated, and (the affairs of) all the people accurately examined. The idea of this was taken, probably, from Kwai (the forty-third hexagram).

Chapter II, paragraphs 11-23, treats of the progress of civi¬ lisation in China, and how the great men of antiquity who led the way in the various steps of that progress were guided by the Yt. Only five of these are mentioned;—the first, Ffi-hsi, the beginning of whose reign, according to the least unlikely of the chronological accounts, must be placed in the 34th century b. c., while Shun’s [16] C C Chapter III. 24. Therefore what we call the Yl is (a collection of) emblematic lines. They are styled emblematic as being resemblances. reign ended in b. c. 2203. The time embraced in this chapter therefore is about twelve centuries and a half. But the writer gives his own opinion that the various discoveries and inventions mentioned were suggested to their authors by certain hexagrams of the Yi. The most commonly received view, however, is that Fu-hsi had only the eight trigrams, and that the multipli¬ cation of them to the 64 hexagrams was the work of king Wan, fully a thousand years later than Shun. This is the view of the editors of the imperial Yi. If it be contended that Fu-hsi himself multiplied his trigrams, and gave their names to the resulting hexagrams, how could he have wrapped up in them the intimations of discoveries which were not made till many centuries after his death ? The statements in the chapter cannot be received as historical. It came from another hand, and not from Confucius himself. The writer or compiler gives the legends current about the various inventions of his time. The making of the trigrams is placed first of all to do honour to the Yi. The account of it is different from that given in paragraph y 3 of the former Section, and we hear nothing of the Ho map or Lo writing.

Paragraph 11. Pao-hsi here and in 13 is the same as Fu-hsi. As P&o is written here, there is no meaning in it; but another character Phao (j^) is more common, and Phao-hsi would mean the inventor of the kitchen and cookery. This was the first step towards civilisation, and was appropriately followed by the hunting and fishing—both by means of nets—in paragraph 12. Paragraphs 13, 14 celebrate the work of Shan-nang, ‘the mar¬ vellous or spirit-like husbandman.' There was no metal about the primitive plough. The market for the exchange of commodities, without the use of coin, was an important advance. The invention of the robes, or of dress, mentioned in paragraph 1 g, would seem to show that previously men had been in a very rude state. The passage indicates, however, the courtesies and proprieties of social life, in which dress plays an important part, and which now began to be organised. The infant navigation in paragraph 16 was as little indebted to the use of metal as the agriculture of 13. Paragraphs 17 and 18 show that in those primitive times there 25. What we call the Thwan (or king Wan’s explanations) are based on the significance (of each hexagram as a whole).

26. We call the lines (of the figures) Ydo from their being according to the movements taking place all under the sky. 27. In this way (we see) the rise of good fortune and evil, and the manifestation of repentance and regret. were already the practices of rapine and war. 1 The double gates ’ were those of the city wall, and of the enclosed suburb. The clapper may still be heard all over China. Bows and arrows, however, came rather later, as in 20. I suppose ‘the sages’ in paragraphs 21, 22, 23 refer generally to the great names mentioned in the previous chapters; nor can we define the distinction in the writer or compiler’s mind between ‘ antiquity ’ and ‘ the highest antiquity.’ Compare what is said on the rise of the coffin in 22 with Mencius’ remarks on the same subject in Book III, ii, 5. 4. He would hardly have expressed himself as he did, if he had been familiar with this text. The invention of written characters is generally ascribed to Ffi-hsi. Paragraph 23 does not say so, but the inventor is said to have been a sage of a subsequent age to the time of ‘ high antiquity.’ That ‘ high antiquity’ must stretch back very far.

Chapter III, paragraphs 24-27, treats of the Yi as made up of figurative diagrams, which again are composed of lines ever changing, in accordance with the phenomena of nature and human experience, while to the resulting figures their moral character and providential issues are appended by the sages. It may be regarded as an epitome of chapter 2 in Section i. Paragraph 24. It is observed by the editors of the imperial edition that a chapter should not begin with a ‘ therefore; ’ and they are inclined to agree with many critics who would enter this as the last paragraph of the preceding chapter. In that case it would be a summing-up of the concluding sentences of the different paragraphs, the truth and genuineness of which are deservedly suspected. The characters for ‘ therefore,’ however, are very loosely used in these Appendixes.—The lines, as they were intended by Chapter IV. 28. In the Yang trigrams (or those of the undivided line) there are more of the Yin lines, and in the Yin trigrams (or those of the divided line) there are more of the Yang lines. 29. What is the cause of this ? It is because the Y ang lines are odd (or made by one stroke), and the Yin lines are even (or made by two strokes).

30. What (method of) virtuous conduct is thus intimated ? In the Yang trigrams we have one ruler, and two subjects,—suggesting the way of the superior man. In the Yin trigrams we have two rulers, and one subject,—suggesting the way of the small man. Fu-hsi, were emblematic; and they are still more so, as interpreted by the duke of K& u. Meanings are drawn from the figures that resemble or illustrate principles in the subjects to which they are applied. Paragraph 25. The character rendered ‘the significance’ means materials, and is illustrated by reference to all the different materials out of which a house is composed. So there are half-a-dozen things about the diagrams, their lineal structure, emblematic in¬ tention, their attributes, &c., out of which their interpretation is fashioned. Paragraph 26. E. g. an undivided line may appear in an odd place, which is right, or in an even place, which is wrong; and the case is the opposite with the divided lines. But what has this to do with the right or wrong of the events divined about ? Chapter IV, paragraphs 28-30. Of the distinction of the trigrams into Yang and Yin. The trigrams that contain only one undivided line — /’an (==_=), khan ( ~ ' [H ), and kan (== — are called Yang.

The undivided line is called‘the lord’in them. It is just the opposite with the Yin trigrams, in which there are two undivided lines, and one divided, — sun ( V li ( - V and tui ( ~r, _ r= j. These together constitute the ‘six children,’or ‘three Chapter V. 31. It is said in the Y i, ‘Full of anxious thoughts you go and come; (only) friends will follow you and think with you.’ The Master said:—‘ In all (the processes taking place) under heaven, what is there of thinking ? what is there of anxious scheming ? They all come to the same (suc¬ cessful) issue, though by different paths; there is one result, though there might be a hundred anxious schemes. What is there of thinking ? what is there of anxious scheming ?’ 32. The sun goes and the moon comes; the moon goes and the sun comes;—the sun and moon thus take the place each of the other, and their shining is the result. The cold goes and the heat comes ; the heat goes and the cold comes;—it is by this mutual succession of the cold and heat that the year is completed. That which goes becomes less and less, and that which comes waxes more and more ;—it is by the influence on each other of this contraction and expansion that the advantages (of the different conditions) are produced.

33. When the looper coils itself up, it thereby straightens itself again; when worms and snakes sons ’ and ‘ three daughters ’ in the later arrangement of the tri¬ grams, ascribed to king Wan. Paragraph 29. Each part of the divided line counts as one; hence a yang trigram counts as 14-2 + 2 = 5 strokes, four of which are yin, while a yin trigram counts as 2 + 1 + 1 = 4, only two of which are yang. But this is mere trifling. In explanation of paragraph 30 it is said -that ‘ we have in the yang trigrams two (or more) subjects serving one ruler, and in the yin one subject serving two rulers, and two rulers striving together for the allegiance of one subject.’ This is ingenious, but fanciful; as indeed this distinction of the trigrams into a yang class and a yin is a mere play of fancy. go into the state of hybernation, they thereby keep themselves alive. (So), when we minutely inves¬ tigate the nature and reasons (of things), till we have entered into the inscrutable and spirit-like in them, we attain to the largest practical application of them; when that application becomes the quickest and readiest, and all personal restfulness is secured, our virtue is thereby exalted.

34. Going on beyond this, we reach a point which it is hardly possible to know. We have thoroughly comprehended the inscrutable and spirit-like, and know the processes of transformation;—this is the fulness of virtue. 35. It is said in the Yi, ‘(The third line shows its subject) distressed before a rock, and trying to lay hold of thorns; entering into his palace and not seeing his wife:—there will be evil.’ The Master said :—‘ If one be distressed by what need not distress him, his name is sure to be disgraced ; if he lay hold on what he should not touch, his life is sure to be imperilled. In disgrace and danger, his death will (soon) come;—is it possible for him in such circum¬ stances to see his wife ?’ 36. It is said in the Y i, ‘ The duke with (his bow) shoots at the falcon on the top of the high wall; he hits it:—his every movement will be advantageous.’ The Master said:—‘The falcon is a bird (of prey); the bow and arrow is a weapon (of war); the shooter is a man. The superior man keeps his weapon con¬ cealed about his person, and waits for the proper time to move;—doing this, how should his move¬ ment be other than successful ? There is nothing to fetter or embarrass his movement; and hence, when he comes forth, he succeeds in his object.

The language speaks of movement when the instru¬ ment necessary to it is ready and perfect.’ 37. The Master said:—‘The small man is not ashamed of what is not benevolent, nor does he fear to do what is not righteous. Without the prospect of gain he does not stimulate himself to what is good, nor does he correct himself without being moved. Self-correction, however, in what is small will make him careful in what would be of greater consequence ;—and this is the happiness of the small man. It is said in the Yl, “His feet are in the stocks, and he is disabled in his toes :—there will be no (further) occasion for blame.’” 38. If acts of goodness be not accumulated, they are not sufficient to give its finish to one’s name; if acts of evil be not accumulated, they are not sufficient to destroy one’s life. The small man thinks that small acts of goodness are of no benefit, and does not do them; and that small deeds of evil do no harm, and does not abstain from them. Hence his wickedness becomes great till it cannot be covered, and his guilt becomes great till it cannot be par¬ doned. This is what the Yi says, ‘He wears the cangue and his ears are destroyed:—there will be evil.’

39. The Master said:—‘He who keeps danger in mind is he who will rest safe in his seat; he who keeps ruin in mind is he who will preserve his interests secure; he who sets the danger of disorder before him is he who will maintain the state of order. There¬ fore the superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come; when in a state of security, he does not forget the possibility of ruin; and when all is in a state of order, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is kept safe, and his states and all their clans can be preserved. This is according to what the Yi says, “(Let him say), ‘Shall I perish ? shall I perish?’ (so shall this state be firm, as if) bound to a clump of bushy mulberry trees.” ’ 40. The Master said:—‘Virtue small and office high; wisdom small and plans great; strength small and burden heavy:—where such conditions exist, it is seldom that they do not end (in evil). As is said in the Y 1 , “ The tripod’s feet are overthrown, and the ruler’s food is overturned. The body of him (who is thus indicated) is wet (with shame):— there will be evil.”’

41. The Master said :—‘ Does not he who knows the springs of things possess spirit-like wisdom ? The superior man, in his intercourse with the high, uses no flattery, and, in his intercourse with the low, no coarse freedom : — does not this show that he knows the springs of things ? Those springs are the slight beginnings of movement, and the earliest indications of good fortune (or ill). The superior man sees them, and acts accordingly without waiting for (the delay of) a single day. As is said in the Yl, “He is firm as a rock, (and acts) without the delay of a single day. With firm goodness there will be good fortune.” Firm as a rock, how should he have to wait a single day to ensure his knowing (those springs and his course) ? The superior man knows the minute and the manifested; he knows what is weak, and what is strong:—he is a model to ten thousand/ 42. The Master said:—‘ I may venture to say that the son of the Yen family had nearly attained (the standard of perfection). If anything that he did was not good, he was sure to become conscious of that ; and when he knew it, he did not do the thing again. As is said in the Yi, “(The first line shows its sub¬ ject) returning from an error that has not led him far away. There is no occasion for repentance. There will be great good.” ’

43. There is an intermingling of the genial in¬ fluences of heaven and earth, and transformation in its various forms abundantly proceeds. There is an intercommunication of seed between male and female, and transformation in its living types pro¬ ceeds. What is said in the Y i, 1 Three individuals are walking together and one is made to disappear; there is (but) one man walking, and he gets his mate,’ tells us of the effort (in nature) at oneness (of operation). 44. The Master said ‘ The superior man (in a high place) composes himself before he (tries to) move others ; makes his mind restful and easy before he speaks; settles (the principles of) his intercourse with others before he seeks anything from them. The superior man cultivates these three things, and so is complete. If he try to move others while he is himself in unrest, the people will not (act) with him; if he speak while he is himself in a state of apprehension, the people will not respond to him; if without (certain principles of) intercommunica¬ tion, he issue his requests, the people will not grant them. When there are none to accord with him, those who (work to) injure him will make their appearance. As is said in the Yl, “(We see one) to whose advantage none will contribute, while some will seek to assail him. He observes no

regular rule in the ordering of his heart:—there will be evil.”’ Chapter V, paragraphs 31-44, gives the words of the duke of K &u on eleven different lines in the Text of the Yi, along with remarks of Confucius in farther illustration of them. But they seem also to be intended to bring forth more fully the meaning of certain previous utterances about the structure and scope of the Yi. Paragraphs 31-34 start from the fourth line of the 31st hexa¬ gram, which would seem merely to require a steady and unvarying purpose in any one, in order to the full development of his influ¬ ence. The editors of the imperial edition, however, make the whole a sequel of paragraph 5. But granted that there is no ‘anxious scheming’ in the processes of the natural world or in the phenomena of insect life, there is really no analogy to their pro¬ ceedings in the course of the man who makes himself master of ‘ the nature and reasons of things,’ as described in 33 and 34. Nor are ‘ the nature and reasons of things’ to be found in the Yi, as the writer believed they were. Such as it is, it requires immense thought to understand it, and when we have laid hold of it, there is nothing substantial in our grasp. The ‘virtue’ predicated of such attainment is not so much moral excellence, as apprehension and the power and ability to invent, and to affect others.

Paragraph 35. See on the third line of Khwan, the 47th hexagram. If we were to translate the explanations of the line after Confucius, we should put the first two statements hypotheti¬ cally ; but the four that compose it seem to run on in the same way. They are all, I apprehend, hypothetical. Paragraph 36. See on the last line of Kith, the 40th hexa¬ gram. Paragraph 37. See on the first line of Shih Ho, the 21st hexa¬ gram. The ‘ self-correction in what is small’ implies of course that the small man has been ‘ awed.’ What is said about him here is true ; but we hardly expect it in this place. Paragraph 38 should probably begin, like those before and after it, with ‘ The Master said.’ The characters quoted from the Yi are again from the text of Shih Ho, on the last line. Paragraph 39. See on the fifth line of Phi, the 12th hexagram. Paragraph 40 gives Confucius’ views on the fourth line of Ting, the 50th hexagram. In paragraph 41 we are conducted to the 16th hexagram,—the Chapter VI. 45. The Master said:—‘(The tri¬ grams) AV/ien and Khwan may be regarded as the gate of the Yi.’ AAien represents what is of the yang nature (bright and active); Khwan what is of the yin nature (shaded and inactive). These two unite according to their qualities, and there comes the embodiment of the result by the strong and weak (lines). In this way we have the phenomena of heaven and earth visibly exhibited, and can com¬ prehend the operation of the spiritual intelligence.

46. The appellations and names (of the diagrams and lines) are various, but do not go beyond (what is to be ascribed to the operation of these two con¬ ditions). When we examine the nature and style second line of it. The being ‘firm as a rock’ is understood to symbolise the state of ‘ rest,’ the quiet self-possession out of which successful movement and action is understood to spring. In paragraph 42, ‘the son of the Yen family’ is Yen Hui, the favourite disciple of Confucius. The passage quoted from the Yi is that on the first line of Ffi, the 24th hexagram. To paragraph 43, as to paragraph 38, I would prefix the cha¬ racters for ‘ The Master said.’ ‘ Male and female ’ is to be taken generally, and not confined to the individuals of the human pair. One Chinese writer says that in the transformations ascribed to heaven and earth, birds, fishes, animals, and plants are included, but from the ‘transformation in its living types’ plants are excluded, because in their generation there is nothing analogous to the emis¬ sion and reception of seed. Other Chinese writers, however, are well enough acquainted with the sexual system of plants. It would seem to me that Confucius, if the paragraph were really his, intended only plants or the vegetable world in his reference to the operation of heaven and earth, and had all living tribes in view in his mention of male and female. The passage of the Yi referred to is on the third line of Sun, the 41st hexagram. The application of it is far-fetched.

Paragraph 44. See on the fifth line of Yf, the 42nd hexa¬ gram. (of the appended explanations), they seem to express the ideas of a decaying age. 47. The Yi exhibits the past, and (teaches us to) discriminate (the issues of) the future; it makes manifest what is minute, and brings to light what is obscure. (Then king Wan) opened (its symbols), and distinguished things in accordance with its names, so that all his words were correct and his explana¬ tions decisive ;—(the book) was now complete. 48. The appellations and names (of the diagrams and lines) are but small matters, but the classes of things comprehended under them are large. Their scope reaches far, and the explanations attached to them are elegant. The words are indirect, but to the point; the matters seem plainly set forth, but there is a secret principle in them. Their object is, in cases that are doubtful, to help the people in their conduct, and to make plain the recompenses of good and evil. The principal object, it is said, of chapter VI, paragraphs 45-48, is to set forth the views of king Wan and his son in the explana¬ tions which they appended to the diagrams and lines; and in doing this the writer begins in 45, with Fft-hsi’s starting, in the formation of his eight trigrams, from the devising of the whole and divided lines, to represent the two primitive forms in nature. The two ‘ pure ’ trigrams formed of these lines, unmixed, give rise to all the others, or rather the lines of which they are formed do so; and are thus compared to a gate by which the various diagrams enter to complete the system that is intended to represent the changing phenomena of nature and experience. The next sentence in the above version of paragraph 45 appears in Canon McClatchie’s translation of the Yl, as follows :—‘Khien is the membrum virile, and Khwan is the pudendum muliebre (the sakti of Khien).’ It is hardly possible, on reading such a version, to sup¬ press the exclamation proh pudori Can a single passage be adduced in support of it from among all the Chinese critics in the

Chapter VII. 49. Was it not in the middle period of antiquity that the Yl began to flourish? Was not he who made it familiar with anxiety and cala¬ mity ? 50. Therefore (the 10th diagram), Ll, shows us the foundation of virtue; (the 15th), Hsien, its handle; (the 24th), Ffi, its root; (the 32nd), Hang, its solidity; (the 41st), Sun, its cultivation; (the 42nd), Yi, its abundance; (the 47th), Khwan, its exercise of discrimination ; (the 48th), 3ing, its field ; and (the 57th), Sun, its regulation. 51. In Li we have the perfection of harmony; in Hsien, we have the giving honour to others, line of centuries ? I believe not. The ideas which it expresses are gratuitously and wantonly thrust into this text of the Yi. ‘ Kh\e.n’ and ‘Khwan’ are not spoken of thus. If the latter half of the paragraph be unintelligible, this interpretation of the former would make the whole disgusting. In paragraph 46 the writer passes from the work of Ffl-hsi to that of king Wan and his son, and the composition of the written Yi is referred to ‘ a decaying age,’—the age, namely, of the tyrant K& u. Then king Wan and the duke of Wau, it is said, deploring the degeneracy of their times and the enormities of the government, indicated, by their treatment of the ancient symbols, their sense of right and wrong, and the methods by which the prevailing evils might be rectified.

Paragraphs 47 and 48 follow and expand the meaning of 45. The editors of the imperial edition say that the former sentence of 47 is the sequel of 45, and the latter of 46, bringing us finally to the explanations and decisions of king W&n, as the most im¬ portant portion of the YI. Hst, moreover, observes that throughout the chapter, as well as in the chapters that follow, there must be many characters wanting in the text, while there are many also that are doubtful. This is specially the case with 48. Where the order of the characters has been disarranged merely, correction is easy; but where characters are evidently missing, attempts to fill the lacunae are merely guess-work. and the distinction thence arising; in Ffi. we have what is small (at first), but there is in it a (nice) discrimination of (the qualities of) things ; in Hang we have a mixed experience, but without any weari¬ ness ; in Sun we have difficulty in the beginning and ease in the end; in Yi we have abundance of growth without any contrivance; in Khwan we have the pressure of extreme difficulty, ending in a free course ; in 3ing we have abiding in one’s place and at the same time removal (to meet the move¬ ment of others); and in Sun we have the weighing of things (and action accordingly), but secretly and unobserved.

52. (The use of) Li appears in the harmony of the conduct; of Hsien, in the regulation of cere¬ monies ; of Ffi, in self-knowledge; of Hang, in uni¬ formity of virtue ; of S u n, in keeping what is harmful at a distance; of Yi, in the promotion of what is advantageous ; of Khwan, in the diminution of re¬ sentments ; of 3ing, in the discrimination of what is righteous; and of Sun, in the doing of what is appropriate to time and to circumstances. Chapter VII, paragraphs 49-52, is occupied with nine hexa¬ grams, as specially indicating how the superior man, or the ruler, should deal with a time of trouble and solicitude, specially by the cultivation of his own virtue. Not, we are told, that the same thing might not be learned from other diagrams, but these nine specially occurred to the writer, or, as many think, to Confucius. Paragraph 49 is important.as agreeing in its testimony with 46. The Yi was made in middle-antiquity; that is, in the end of the Shang dynasty, and the rise of the A au; and the maker or makers had personal and public reasons for anxiety about the signs of the times.

Paragraph 50 shows the particular phase of virtue in each of the nine hexagrams that are mentioned; 51, the marvellous character- Chapter VIII. 53. The Yi is a book which should not be let slip from the mind. Its method (of teach¬ ing) is marked by the frequent changing (of its lines). They change and move without staying (in one place), flowing about into any one of the six places of the hexagram. They ascend and descend, ever inconstant. The strong and the weak lines change places, so that an invariable and compendious rule cannot be derived from them ; — it must vary as their changes indicate. 54. The goings forth and comings in (of the lines) are according to rule and measure. (People) learn from them in external and internal affairs to stand in awe. 55. (The book), moreover, makes plain the nature of anxieties and calamities, and the causes of them. Though (its students) have neither master nor guardian, it is as if their parents drew near to them. 56. Beginning with taking note of its explanations, we reason out the principles to which they point. We thus find out that it does supply a constant and standard rule. But if there be not the proper men (to carry this out), the course cannot be pursued without them.

istics of each phase; and 52, its use. The ‘therefore’ with which paragraph 50 commences shows the process of thought by which the writer passed from the anxiety that possessed the mind of the author of the Yi to the use to be derived, in such circumstances, from the study of Li and the other hexagrams. Chapter VIII, paragraphs 53-56, describes the method of study¬ ing the Yi as consisting very much in watching the changes that take place in the lines, and reflecting on the appended explanations; while, after all, much must depend on there being ‘ the proper men,’ to carry its lessons into practice. Chapter IX. 57. The Y i is a book in which the form (of each diagram) is determined by the lines from the first to the last, which must be carefully observed. The six lines are mixed together, accord¬ ing to the time (when they enter the figure) and their substance (as whole and divided). 58. There is difficulty in knowing (the significance of) the first line, while to know that of the topmost line is easy;—they form the beginning and the end (of the diagram). The explanation of the first line tasks the calculating (of the makers), but in the end they had (but) to complete this.

59. As to the variously-disposed intermediate lines with their diverse formations, for determining their qualities, and discriminating the right and wrong in them, we should be unprovided but for the explanations of them. 60. Yea, moreover, if we wish to know what is likely to be preserved and what to perish, what will be lucky and what will be unlucky, this may easily be known (from the explanations of the different lines). But if the wise will look at the explanations of the entire diagrams, their thoughts will embrace more than half of this knowledge. 61. The second and fourth lines are of the same There seems to be a contradiction between the statements in paragraphs 53 and 56 about the book supplying, and not sup¬ plying, a standard rule; but the meaning, probably, is that while it does not give a rule generally applicable, it gives rules for par¬ ticular cases. Ku Hsi says he does not understand 54, and thinks some cha¬ racters must have been lost. ‘ The six places of the hexagram ’ in 53 are, literally, ‘the six empties.’ The places are so called, be¬ cause it is only a temporary possession of them, which is held by the fugitive lines, whether whole or divided.

quality (as being in even places), but their positions (with respect to the fifth line) are different, and their value is not the same; but the second is the object of much commendation, and the fourth the subject of many apprehensions,—from its nearness (to that line). But for a line in a place of weakness it is not good to be far (from the occupant of the place of strength), and what its subject should desire in such a case is (merely) to be without blame. The advantage (here) is in (the second line) being in the central place. 62. The third and fifth lines are of the same quality, (as being in odd places), but their positions are different; and the (occupant of) the third meets with many misfortunes, while the occupant of the fifth achieves much merit:—this arises from one being in the noble position and the other in the mean. Are they occupied by the symbol of weak¬ ness ? There will be peril. By that of strength ? There will be victory. Chapter IX, paragraphs 56-62, speaks of the hexagrams as made up of the different lines, and various things to be attended to in those lines to determine their meaning.

Paragraph 57. The time or order in which the lines enter de¬ termines of course the place and number of each in the figure. Their ‘substance’ is their form, as whole or divided, being yang or yin. Paragraph 58 belongs to the first and sixth lines. We are hardly prepared for the statement that ‘ the maker or makers ’ had so much difficulty in determining the meaning of the first line. Of course when they had fixed that and completed the figure, ex¬ plaining all the lines, it was easy for the student to follow their exposition, as paragraph 59 says. Paragraph 60 seems to say that the work of the duke of K au on each line was but an indicating in detail of the processes of his father’s mind in explaining the whole figure. Chapter X. 63. The Yi is a book of wide com¬ prehension and great scope, embracing everything. There are in it the way of heaven, the way of man, and the way of earth. It then takes (the lines representing) those three Powers, and doubles them till they amount to six. What these six lines show is simply this,—the way of the three Powers.

64. This way is marked by changes and move¬ ments, and hence we have the imitative lines. Those lines are of different grades (in the trigrams), and hence we designate them from their component elements. These are mixed together, and elegant forms arise. When such forms are not in their appro¬ priate places, the ideas of good fortune and bad are thus produced. The last two paragraphs mention several points important to be attended to in studying, more especially, the duke of Aau on the several lines. Three different views of the concluding statement,— ‘ are they occupied,' &c.,—are given in the imperial edition. ‘ It be¬ longs,’ says Wu Wang, ‘to the fifth line;’ ‘ to the third line,’ says Hft Ping-wan (also of the Yiian dynasty); while Han Hsing-kwo (of the Thang dynasty) held that it belonged to both. The Khang-hsi editors say that ‘ by discriminating and combining these views, we get to the meaning of the text.’ I am unable to do so. Chapter X, paragraphs 63, 64, speaks of the great comprehen¬ siveness of the Yt, its figures and explanations being applicable to the three Powers—heaven, earth, and man. With paragraph 63, compare paragraph 4, Appendix VI. In the trigram the upper line represents heaven, the middle line man, and the lowest earth. This paragraph and that other are the nearest approach I know to an attempt to account for the doubling of the number of lines, and stopping with the hexagram; but the doing so was entirely arbitrary. ATu Hsi says :— 1 The upper two characters belong to heaven, the middle two to man, and the lower two to earth.’ No words could be more express; and yet Canon McClatchie says (p. 354) r—‘ The two upper strokes represent Heaven, or Thaiyi, the husband; the two middle strokes, Earth, his wife; and the

Chapter XI. 65. Was it not in the last age of Yin, when the virtue of Wau had reached its highest point, and during the troubles between king Wan and (the tyrant) Whu, that the (study of the Y i) began to flourish ? On this account the explana¬ tions (in the book) express (a feeling of) anxious apprehension, (and teach) how peril may be turned into security, and easy carelessness is sure to meet with overthrow. The method in which these things come about is very comprehensive, and must be acknowledged in every sphere of things. If at the beginning there be a cautious apprehension as to the end, there will probably be no error or cause for blame. This is what is called the way of the Yl. two lower strokes, Man, their son ; all being animated by the same Divine Reason (tao) or Supreme God (Chih Shan).’ This note shows how one error, or misunderstanding of the Chinese original, draws other errors with it. The character tSo in the paragraph has not at all the sense of reason, human or divine, but its primary and ordinary signification of the path or course. As Lu (Han dynasty) says:—‘In the way of heaven there are the changes of day and night, sun and moon; in that of earth, those of hardness and softness, dryness and moisture; in that of man, those of action and rest, of movement and stillness, of good fortune and bad, of good and evil.’

‘ The imitative lines ’ in the translation of 64, is simply ‘ the Yao’ in the Chinese text, which I have rendered according to the account of them in paragraph 8, et al. Their different grades are their position as high or low in the figures (paragraph 1, Section i), and their ‘component elements,’ literally ‘their substance, or thingnature,’ is their structure as being yang or yin, according to the use of wuh in paragraphs 57, 59, et al. A yang line in an even place, or a yin line in an odd, is not in its appropriate place, and gives an indication of what is bad. Chapter XI, paragraph 65. P. Regis observes on this chapter:— ‘ I do not hesitate to say that there is found nowhere in the whole Chapter XII. 66. (The hexagram) Klnen repre¬ sents the strongest of all under the sky. Through this quality its operations are always manifested with ease, for it knows where there would be peril and embarrassment. (The hexagram) Khwan represents the most docile of all under the sky. Through this quality its operations are always mani¬ fested with the promptest decision, for it knows where there would be obstruction.

67. (The sages, who are thus represented, and who made the Yl,) were able to rejoice in heart (in the absolute truth of things), and were able (also) to weigh carefully all matters that could occasion anxiety; (thus) they fixed the good and bad fortune (of all things) under the sky, and could accomplish the things requiring strenuous efforts. 68. Therefore amid the changes and transforma¬ tions (taking place in heaven and earth), and the words and deeds of men, events that are to be fortunate have their happy omens. (The sages) knew the definite principles underlying the prog¬ nostications of the former class, and the future of Yi a passage which affords more light for the explanation of the book.’ Paragraph 49 told us that ‘the study of the Yi flourished in the middle period of antiquity, and that the author of it was familiar with anxiety and troubles.’ That information becomes here more particular. The Yi, existing when this Appendix was written, was made in the closing period of the Yin dynasty, and the making of it was somehow connected with the attempts of the tyrant Wau against king Wan. We are not told expressly that the book was written, in part at least, by king Wan; but the tradition to that effect derives a certain amount of support from what is said here. The general object of the author is also stated clearly enough,— to inculcate a cautious and reverent administration of affairs, never forgetful of the uncertainties of life and fortune.

those of the latter, (now to be) ascertained by divination. 69. The places of heaven and earth (in the dia¬ grams) having been determined, the sages were able (by means of the Y i) to carry out and complete their ability. (In this way even) the common people were able to share with them in (deciding about) the counsels of men and the counsels of spiritual beings. 70. The eight trigrams communicate their infor¬ mation by their emblematic figures. The explana¬ tions appended to the lines and the completed figures tell how the contemplation of them affected (the makers). The strong and the weak lines appear mixed in them, and (thus) the good and the evil (which they indicate) can be seen. 71. The changes and movements (which take place in the manipulation of the stalks and the formation of the diagrams) speak as from the stand¬ point of what is advantageous. The (intimations of ) good and evil vary according to the place and nature (of the lines). Thus they may indicate a mutual influence (in any two of them) of love or hatred, and good or evil is the result; or that mutual influence may be affected by the nearness of the lines to, or their distance from, each other, and then repentance or regret is the result; or the influence may be that of truth or of hypocrisy, and then the result is what is advantageous, or what is injurious. In all these relations of the (lines in the) Y1, if two are near and do not blend harmoniously, there may be (all these results),—evil, or what is injurious, or occasion for repentance and regret.