Transmission of Shao Yong's Yi Learning

MONUMENTA SERICA 61 (2013): 227-268

THE TRANSMISSION OF SHAO YONG’S YI LEARNING

BEFORE ZHU XI∗

CHU PING-TZU 祝平次

Contents

Zhu Xi’s Interpretation .............................................................................. 228

Shao Yong’s Yi Learning ........................................................................... 230

The Waipian .......................................................................................... 237 Shao Bowen and Shao Bo ........................................................................... 241

Zhu Zhen .............................................................................................. 247

Back to Zhu Xi Again ............................................................................... 252

Conclusion ............................................................................................ 255

Chinese Abstract ..................................................................................... 257

Table and Figures ..................................................................................... 258

This article begins with a simple question: “What is Shao Yong’s 邵雍 (1012–

1077) Yi 易 (Book of Changes) learning?” Despite its apparent simplicity, pin-

ning down the content of Shao’s Yi learning has proven to be quite difficult. In

their analyses of Shao’s Yi learning, scholars in both past and present have relied

on Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 (1130–1200) interpretation instead of Shao Yong’s own

works.1 As the Qing scholar Hu Wei 胡渭 (1633–1714) long ago indicated, it is

∗ This paper was presented at “Between Science and Divination: Modes of Ordering the World.

Workshop in Celebration of the 1000th Anniversary of Shao Yong” on January 20, 2012. The

author wants to thank the participants for their comments, Peter Ditmanson and Douglas

Skonicki for their discussion on key issues, and especially Douglas Skonicki for his editing

work. 1 For example, see Anne D. Birdwhistell, Transition to Neo-Confucianism: Shao Yung on Knowl-

edge and Symbols of Reality (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1989), Appendix A and Ap-

pendix B, pp. 235-245. Even though Birdwhistell adopted the diagrams from Wang Zhi’s 王植

Huangji jingshi shu jie 皇極經世書解 (Wenyuange Siku quanshu dianziban 文淵閣四庫全書電

子版 ed., (Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999), she did not pay attention to the fact

that they were inherited from Zhu’s works. See also Kidder Smith and Don J. Wyatt. “Shao Yung

and Number,” in Sung Dynasty Uses of the I Ching, edited by Kidder Smith (Princeton, N.J.:

Princeton University Press, 1990), pp. 100-135, which cites several diagrams indirectly from

Feng Youlan’s book; and Don J. Wyatt, The Recluse of Loyang: Shao Yung and the Moral Evaluation of Early Sung Thought (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996), pp. 195-207.

For examples in Chinese scholarship, see Yan Xiuzhuan 閆修篆, Yijing de tu yu gua 易經的圖

與卦 (Taipei: Wuzhou chubanshe, 1995), pp. 199-202; Zhu Bokun 朱伯崑, Yixue zhexueshi 易學哲學史 (Beijing: Huaxia chubanshe, 1995), pp. 116, 119; Li Shen 李申, Yitu kao 易圖考

(Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe, 2001), pp. 201-206.

CHU PING-TZU

228

because of Zhu Xi that Shao Yong’s view on the Yijing has been so prevalent in

the civil service examination system.2 It seems natural to use Zhu Xi’s interpreta-

tion as the basis for analyzing Shao Yong’s Yi learning because this interpretation

has been extremely influential for the past eight hundred years. However, the fact

that Zhu’s lifespan did not coincide with Shao’s raises the question of how Shao’s

Yi learning was received before Zhu. Was it in accordance with Zhu’s interpreta-

tion? If not, what was the basis for Zhu’s interpretation? Even though scholars

are aware of the Shao–Zhu discrepancy, these questions, which are still waiting

to be answered, will constitute the main focus of this article.3

In an effort to provide answers to these questions, this article will trace the

history of Shao Yong’s Yi learning before Zhu Xi. The article is divided into five

main parts. First, it clarifies Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Shao Yong’s Yi learning.

Second, it examines Shao Yong’s own works, focusing on three factors that play

an important role in Zhu’s interpretation; namely, the relationship between the

Yijing, numeric schema, and diagram. Third, it investigates the works of Shao

Yong’s son and grandson, which provide useful information about the status of

Shao Yong’s Yi learning right after Shao Yong’s death. Fourth, the article dis-

cusses Zhu Zhen’s 朱震 (1072–1138) book about the transmission of Yijing dia-

grams, particularly those attributed to Shao. Fifth, Zhu Xi’s interpretation is once

again interrogated in an effort to determine what he wanted to achieve through

his interpretation of Shao Yong’s Yi learning. In this section, the article also

highlights the obvious discrepancy between Zhu’s interpretation and the original

content of Shao Yong’s works. Finally, a brief conclusion will be drawn.

Zhu Xi’s Interpretation

According to Zhu Xi’s interpretation, Shao Yong’s Yi learning was famous for its

numeric schema and diagrams. Zhu’s stress on these two aspects informed the

manner in which literati understood Shao’s Yi learning for the next eight hundred

years. Zhu Xi asserted that Shao’s numeric schema were grounded in a method of

doubling ( jia yibei fa 加一倍法), and he expanded upon Shao Yong’s idea ascrib-

ing the creation of the diagrams to Fuxi 伏羲.4 Zhu Xi promoted Shao’s Yi learn-

ing by incorporating it into his own theory regarding the text. This situation, also

academically interesting, will be discussed later in the article. This section will

focus on introducing the content of Shao’s Yi learning as interpreted by Zhu Xi.

As we shall see, the numeric schema and diagrams are related to each other.

Therefore, the diagrams will be introduced first, followed by a discussion of the

2 Hu Wei 胡渭, Yitu mingbian 易圖明辨, Wenyuange Siku quanshu dianziban 文淵閣四庫全書

電子版 ed. (Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999), 6:10b.

3 Li Shen, Yitu kao, p. 203.

4 The term jia yibei fa is a quote from Cheng Hao 程顥 (1032–1085), see Cheng Hao and Cheng

Yi 程頤, Er Cheng ji 二程集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1981), p. 13: “As for Yaofu’s (Shao

Yong) numeric schema, it is nothing but a method of doubling” (堯夫之數，只是加一倍法).

TRANSMISSION OF SHAO YONG’S YI LEARNING BEFORE ZHU XI

229

numeric schema.5 There are four diagrams that Zhu Xi attributed to Shao Yong,

listed in the beginning section of his Zhouyi benyi 周易本義 (Original Meaning of

the Book of Changes). They are the “Fuxi bagua cixu” 伏羲八卦次序 (Fuxi’s

Diagram of the Order of the Eight Trigrams, Fig. 1), the “Fuxi bagua fangwei”

伏羲八卦方位 (Fuxi’s Diagram of the Direction of the Eight Trigrams, Fig. 2),

the “Fuxi liushisi gua cixu” 伏羲六十四卦次序 (Fuxi’s Diagram of the Sixty-

four Hexagrams, Fig. 3), and the “Fuxi liushisi gua fangwei” 伏羲六十四卦方

位 (Fuxi’s Diagram of the Directions of the Sixty-four Hexagrams, Fig. 4).6

These four diagrams were interrelated in that the two sixty-four hexagram dia-

grams were obtained by overlapping the two eight trigram diagrams. The struc-

tural principle of the trigrams and the hexagrams was thus named by Zhu Xi as

“the method of doubling.” This is evident in the following quotation from the

Guanwu waipian 觀物外篇 (Outer Chapters of Observing Things, hereafter:

Waipian), which Zhu ascribes to Shao Yong: “One splits into two; two into four;

four into eight; eight into sixteen; sixteen into thirty-two; and thirty-two into sixty-

four.”7 The diagrams, together with the description of the method of doubling,

show that under Zhu Xi’s interpretation Shao Yong’s Yi learning emphasized the

constructing principle of the trigrams and hexagrams. For Zhu, the numeric

schema, the method of doubling, explained the formation of the diagrams. After

listing the four diagrams, Zhu comments,

On the right are the four diagrams of Fuxi. The explanations about them are all from

Mr. Shao (Shao Yong). It is that Mr. Shao got it from Li Zhicai, [zi] Tingzhi,

Tingzhi got it from Mu Xiu Bochang, Bochang got it from Master Xiyi [i.e.,] Chen

Tuan, [zi] Tunan, of Mount Hua. It represents the so-called learning of xiantian (be-

fore Heaven).8

Zhu thus asserted that Shao Yong’s Yi learning was derived from the learning of

xiantian.

In addition to these four diagrams, Zhu also included two other diagrams: the

“Wenwang bagua cixu” 文王八卦次序 (Order of King Wen’s Eight Trigrams,

Fig. 5) and the “Wenwang bagua fangwei” 文王八卦方位 (Direction of King

Wen’s Eight Trigrams, Fig. 6). Regarding the latter diagram, Zhu Xi noted that

it was explained in the “Shuogua” 說卦 (Explanation on the eight trigrams) sec-

tion of the Yijing, and further cited Shao Yong comment: “These are King Wen’s

trigrams. They are the positions for function. This is the learning of houtian 後天

5 Also see Li Shen, Yitu kao, pp. 214-218.

6 Zhu Xi 朱熹, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi 原本周易本義 (Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing,

1999), in the tu 圖 section, 4a, 5a, 6a-7b, 9a-9b.

7 Shao Yong 邵雍, Huangji jingshi shu 皇極經世書 (Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing,

1999), 13:24b: 一分為二，二分為四，四分為八，八分為十六，十六分為三十二，三十二

分為六十四。

8 Zhu Xi, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi, tu section, 9a: 右伏羲四圖，其說皆出邵氏。蓋邵氏得之李之

才挺之，挺之得之穆脩伯長，伯長得之華山希夷先生陳摶圖南者，所謂先天之學也。

CHU PING-TZU

230

(after Heaven).”9 Thus, the contrast between xiantian and houtian learning and

that between the Yijing of Fuxi and the Yijing of King Wen became one of the

most outstanding features of Shao Yong’s Yi learning as constructed by Zhu Xi.

Browsing through the citations Zhu Xi used in his discussions of Shao Yong’s

theory of the Yijing, one can easily discern Zhu’s heavily relying on the Waipian

to construct Shao Yong’s Yi learning.10 As mentioned above, there exists a gap

between Zhu’s interpretation and the actual content of the Waipian itself. Second,

the Waipian did not appear until a couple of years after Shao Yong died. Deter-

mining its precise relationship to Shao Yong is also a problem. If these two prob-

lems cannot be solved, Shao Yong’s Yi learning cannot be solidly grounded even

though there has been a long tradition of discourse dedicated to it. In terms of dia-

gram and number, this article will show that the numeric schema found in the

Waipian is much more complicated than Zhu’s depiction. It will moreover demon-

strate that the numeric schema in Shao’s other works, though also very simple, are

not in accordance with Zhu’s interpretation. As for the diagrams, Alain Arrault

succinctly stated the problem in the subtitle of his recent article which asked:

“Who saw them?”11 In all of Shao Yong’s extant works there is not even one single

diagram, which leads us to question the textual provenance of Zhu’s interpretation.

Shao Yong’s Yi Learning

In contrast to the difficulties encountered in verifying the origins of the Waipian, the authenticity of Shao Yong’s two other works, his collection of poetry, the

Yichuan jirang ji 伊川擊壤集 (Poetry of Beating the Clods by the Yi River, here-

after: Jirang ji), and the Huangji jingshi 皇極經世 (Supreme Paradigm for Or-

dering the World), have never been doubted.12 However, there is very little mate-

rial related to the Yijing in these two works. In the Jirang ji, there are two poems

that have titles related to the Yijing, and only a few others which offer interpreta-

tions of the Yijing. As for the Huangji jingshi, the sixty-two chapters of the work

consistently present Shao Yong’s method of four divisions (sifen fa 四分法) as

the major issue, which cannot directly be linked to the Yijing.13 In this section, I

9 Zhu Xi, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi, tu section, 11b: 此文王八卦，及入用之位，後天之學也。

10 As indicated in the previous section, this is also true for modern scholars as well as their impe-

rial Chinese predecessors. 11 Alain Arrault, “Les diagrammes de Shao Yong: Qui les a vus?” Études chinoises XIX (2001) 1-

2, pp. 67-114.

12 Shao Yong’s prose pieces are collected in the Quan Song wen 全宋文 (Complete Prose from the

Song) (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu chubanshe, 2005), vol. 46, pp. 43-72. The Yuqiao wenda 漁

樵問答 (Dialogue between a Fisherman and a Woodcutter) is also included. However, the au-

thorship of this piece has been doubted since the Song; see the editor’s note on page 66 of the

Quan Song wen, vol. 46. Shao Yong, Yichuan jirang ji 伊川擊壤集, Sibu congkan electronic

version 四部叢刊電子版 ed. (Beijing: Shutongwen shujihua jishu, 2007).

13 Considering the hexagrams and their attached text, we cannot see that the number four is im-

portant. However, in terms of divination, for each line of a hexagram to be produced, there are


231

will analyze how these two works are related to the Yijing, number and diagram

in order to demonstrate the discrepancy between what Shao presents in these two

works and what is ascribed to him by Zhu Xi.

One of the two poems in the Jirang ji whose title is related to the Yijing focus-

es on the formation of hexagrams. The poem, entitled “Da Yi yin” 大易吟 (Chant

on the Great Yi), reads:

When Heaven (i.e., trigram qian 乾) and Earth (i.e., trigram kun 坤) fix their posi-

tions, the hexagrams pi 否 (withering) and tai 泰 (prospering) are contrary to each

other in kind.

When mountain (i.e., trigram gen 艮) and swamp (i.e., trigram dui 兌) interchange

their material force, the hexagrams sun 損 (decreasing) and xian 咸 (being stimulated)

manifest their meanings.

When thunder (i.e., trigram zhen 震) and wind (i.e., trigram xun 巽) get closer to

each other, the meanings of the hexagrams heng 恒 (perpetuating) and yi 益 (increas-

ing) arise.

When water (i.e., trigram kan 坎) and fire (i.e., trigram li 離) shoot into each other,

the hexagrams of jiji 既濟 (already passing the river) and weiji 未濟 (not yet passing

the river) arrive.

When the four images intertwine, there are sixteen events (i.e., hexagrams).

When the eight trigrams interact with each other, there are the sixty-four [hexa-

grams].14

Here, Shao talks about the different ways in which the hexagrams attain form.

The first half of the first four lines consists of quotations from the “Shuogua.”15

As the previous section has shown, Zhu Xi used these passages to construct the

“Fuxi bagua fangwei” diagram, which indicated the relative positions of the eight

four steps that have to be repeated. In the “Xici” 繫辭 it says: 四營而成易 (“Through four op-

erations, the Yi is completed”). See Zhu Xi, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi, 7:8b (for convenience sake,

I cite this work when referring the text of the Yijing). Thus, we can also say that the number

four is significantly related to the Yijing. Zhu Xi also emphasized that Shao Yong liked to ana-

lyze the world in four parts; see Zhu Xi 朱熹, Zhuzi yulei 朱子語類 (Classified Conversations

of Master Zhu), ed. Li Jingde 黎靖德 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986), p. 2546: “I think that

Kangjie (Shao Yong) at first only concentrated on the sentence, ‘Taiji produced liangyi (two para-

digms; i.e., yin and yang), liangyi produced sixiang (four images).’ His mind only concentrated

on this and after a long period of time he comprehended it thoroughly. Thus whatever he saw,

he saw it in divisions of four. In his method there is another fourfold division beyond the first

fourfold division.”

康節其初想只是看得「太極生兩儀，兩儀生四象」。心只管在那上面轉，久之理透，想得

一舉眼便成四片。其法，四之外又有四焉。

14 Shao Yong, Jirang ji, 17:9-b: 「天地定位」，否泰反類。「山澤通氣」，損咸見義。「雷

風相薄」，恒益起意。「水火相射」，旣濟未濟。四象相交，成十六事。「八卦相盪」，

爲六十四。

15 See Zhu Xi, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi, 10:1b. The original sentence of 「水火相射」 is 「水火不

相射」 (Water and fire do not shoot at each other). Apparently Shao Yong changed it for the

poetic format.

CHU PING-TZU

232

trigrams. In contrast, Shao Yong understood them as showing how the eight spe-

cific hexagrams were composed of pairs of the eight trigrams. Taking the third

line as an example, thunder refers to the trigram zhen 震, wind to the trigram xun

巽. The two trigrams make up the two hexagrams heng 恆 and yi 益. The fifth

line of the poem was also used by Zhu Xi to explain the diagonal lines of the

square diagram inside the circle diagram in the “Fuxi liushisi gua fangwei.”16

However, a consistent interpretation of the poem would explain this line as talk-

ing about the formation of the hexagrams, too.17 The theory underlying the for-

mation is hugua 互卦 (hexagrams interwining into each other) or huti 互體,

which describes how a four-stroke (sixiang 四象) image can give rise to sixteen

hexagrams. The method involves taking the first three strokes from the bottom as

the first trigram of a hexagram, and taking the last three from the bottom as the

second. For example, if we have a four-stroke image which has two unbroken

lines on the bottom and two broken lines on the top, then the first trigram at the

bottom of the hexagram would be dui 兌 and the second on the top would be zhen

震. The hexagram with dui at the bottom and zhen on the top is the hexagram

guimei 歸妹 (getting a sister married). Therefore, for a four-stroke image, there

are sixteen possibilities since each line can be broken or unbroken and for each

four-stroke image, a hexagram can be produced.18

The first half of the last line of the poem is also taken from the “Shuogua,”

and its meaning is obviously that different combinations of the eight trigrams can

produce sixty-four hexagrams.19 This poem shows that Shao Yong’s understand-

ing of the Yijing focused on the formation of the hexagrams. Importantly, this

16 According to Zhu Xi’s interpretation, the sixteen hexagrams referred to in this line are the six-

teen hexagrams mentioned in the previous four lines. They are the hexagrams of qian乾 (Heav-

en), kun (earth), pi (withering), tai 泰 (prospering), gen 艮 (mountain), dui 兌 (swamp), xian 咸 (being stimulated), sun損 (decreasing), zhen震 (thunder), xun 巽 (wind), heng 恒 (perpet-

uating), yi 益 (increasing), kan 坎 (water), li 離 (fire), jiji 既濟 (already passing the river), and

weiji 未濟 (not yet passing the river). However, Zhu’s interpretation hardly matches the first

half part of this line, “When the four images intertwine.” See Hu Fangping 胡方平, Yixue qimeng tongshi 易學啟蒙通釋 (General Explanation on the Yixue qimeng; Hong Kong: Digital

Heritage Publishing, 1999), 1:57b.

17 Li Guangdi 李光地, Yuzhuan Zhouyi zhezhong 御纂周易折中 (Standard Medium for the Zhouyi Compiled by Imperial Order; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999), 19:21b-22a:

Master Shao’s poem says, “When the four images intertwine, there are sixteen events.” He re-

garded these four lines as “when four images intertwine.” Scholars mistakenly felt that it re-

ferred to the sixteen hexagrams indicated by the previous lines. They all missed his point.

邵子詩云「四象相交，成十六事。」即以此四畫者為四象相交者爾。學者誤以上文天地否

泰十六卦當之，失其指矣。

18 The composed hexagrams by this method are (in order) qian, guai 夬 (deciding), kui 睽 (dis-

agreement), lin 臨 (approaching), jiaren 家人 (family), jiji, yi 頤 (mouth), fu 復 (returning),

gou 姤 (encountering), daguo 大過 (great mistake), weiji, xie 解 (dissolution), xian, jian 漸

(being gradual), jian 蹇 (being in a difficult situation), bo 剥 (peeling), and kun.

19 Zhu Xi, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi, 10:1b.


233

represents one of the three instances in the Jirang ji where the main idea of the

poem is about the Yijing.20

Another poem frequently cited in discussions of Shao Yong’s Yi learning is

found in his “Guanwu yin” 觀物吟 (Chant of Observing Things). The poem reads,

When born my ears and eyes are clear. Endowed by Heaven, they are not only made

for poverty.

Therefore I explore the cave of the moon and then I understand what things are. If I

had not reached the root of Heaven, I could not see what human beings are.21

When qian meets xun, I observe the cave of the moon; when Earth (i.e., trigram kun)

meets thunder (i.e., trigram zhen), I see the root of Heaven.

While I go back and forth with ease between the root of Heaven and the cave of the

moon, within the thirty-six palaces I feel nothing but [as pleasant as] in spring.22

20 There are two more poems, beside the “Da Yi yin,” which are related to the Yijing. I will dis-

cuss them briefly here. First, there is the “Qian Kun yin” 乾坤吟:

When using nine, there appear the dragons. As leaders, they produce numerous things.

When using six, it is suitable to be firm and correct perpetually. To follow qian will be benefi-

cial.

Four strokes are completed by nine and there is thirty-six.

Four strokes are completed by six and there is twenty-four.

How wonderful it is that nine and six can exhaust all human affairs. (Jirang ji, 13:10b.)

用九見群龍，首能出庶物。用六利永貞，因乾以爲利。四象以九成，遂爲三十六。四象以

六成，遂成二十四。如何九與六，能盡人間事。

This poem states that the unbroken stroke is represented by the number nine and the broken by

the number six. Even though it is directly related to the Yijing, the main point is to praise the

wonderfulness of the Yijing without providing any profound interpretation.

The second poem is the “Yinyang yin” 陰陽吟 (Chant of the Yin and Yang):

Yang circulates on one, and yin two.

One focuses on Heaven, and two on Earth.

Heaven circulates on six, and on Earth four.

Four focuses on shapes and Six on material force. (Jirang ji, 18:14b.)

陽行一，陰行二。一主天，二主地。天行六，地行四。四主形，六主氣。

This poem discusses the relationship between yin and yang as well as their corresponding num-

bers and concepts. Even though yin and yang are concepts related to the Yijing, how Shao Yong

came up with the links between yin and yang, the numbers and other concepts; and the manner

in which the significance of this poem is related to Shao Yong’s Yi learning are both unclear.

21 Both terms, tiangen 天根 (root of Heaven) and yueku 月窟 (cave of the moon), have precedents

before Shao Yong. Tiangen indicates a star in the sky and yueku a cave where the moon returns

to and comes out from. However, there is no precedent for grouping tiangen and yueku in the

Siku quanshu. Neither is there a precedent for using tiangen to indicate the fu hexagram and

yueku to indicate the gou hexagram. For an analysis of tiangen, see Kong Yingda 孔穎達, Liji zhushu 禮記註疏 (Commentary to the Liji; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999); for

yueku, see Wu Shu 吳淑, Shilei fu 事類賦 (Rhapsodies on Things Categorized); Hong Kong:

Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999), 1:18b.

CHU PING-TZU

234

According to this poem, the trigrams qian and xun combine to form the hexagram

gou 姤 (encounter), and the trigrams kun and zhen together create fu 復 (return).

The former is a broken line encountering five unbroken lines and the latter is an

unbroken line returning to five broken lines. Regarding the last line of the poem,

scholars have different interpretations as to what the symbol of “thirty-six palac-

es” refers to, though they all agree that it has something to do with the Yijing.23

The main theme of this poem is that no matter what the circumstances, the poet

would feel that he himself lives under the pleasant spring. To further clarify this

theme, we can compare this poem with the following poem, “Yueku yin” 月窟吟

(Chant of the Cave of Moon):

Between the cave of the moon and the root of Heaven, I go forth and back frequently.

Where I reside is so broad that wherever I go I feel unrestrained.

The place I naturally set my feet on is firm and thus my chest is filled with spring.

However, without poetry and wine, life for a man seems empty.24

Comparing this poem with the previous one, we find that both poems express a

self-contented attitude. Regardless of whether the thirty-six palaces signify other

hexagrams or not, the relationship to the Yijing is not the core issue. In addition

to these rare poems, linked to the study of the Yijing, the subtle temporal interval

between movement and stillness represented by the hexagrams fu and gou is also

a frequent theme in Shao’s poems.25 However, although they are related to the

Yijing, the Yijing is not their main topic of concern.

Shao Yong’s Yi learning is also referred to as the learning of xiantian (before

Heaven). 26 Even though this term xiantian is mentioned several times in the

Jirang ji, whether it has any relationship with a diagram is doubtful. The concept

of xiantian in the Jirang ji describes Shao Yong’s idea that Heaven and man are

fundamentally in accord with each other, although Heaven still represents a high-

er realm of status which existed before human civilization began.27 He sometimes

22 Shao Yong, Jirang ji, 16:2b-3a: 耳目聰明男子身，洪鈞賦與不為貧。因探月窟方知物，未

躡天根豈識人。乾遇巽時觀月窟，地逢雷處看天根。天根月窟閑來往，三十六宮都是春。

23 For example, see Zhu Xi 朱熹, Hui’an ji 晦庵集 (Collection of Hui’an; Hong Kong: Digital

Heritage Publishing, 1999), 62:13a; Zhu Sheng 朱升, “Sanshiliu gong tushuo” 三十六宮圖說

(Explanation on the diagram of the thirty-six palaces), in Cheng Minzheng 程敏政 (ed.), Xin’an wenxian zhi 新安文獻志 (Bibliography of Xin’an; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing,

1999), 31:18a.

24 Shao Yong, Jirang ji, 17:6b: 月窟與天根，中間來往頻。所居皆綽綽，何往不伸伸。投足自

有定，滿懷都是春。若無詩與酒，又似太虧人。

25 The emphasis on the hexagrams fu and gou is very important to the relationship between Shao

Yong and Zheng Guai 鄭夬. I will discuss their views of these hexagrams in the following sec-

tion on Zhu Zhen 朱震.

26 See the previous section on Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Shao Yong’s Yi learning.

27 Shao Yong’s proposal here is similar to ideas found in the Zhuangzi 莊子. On the one hand,

Zhuangzi proposes that Heaven represents a higher level of achievement than man, and on the

other, he also emphasizes that Heaven and man can co-exist in harmony. See Zhuang Zhou 莊周,


235

also uses “Fuxi,” a prehistorical political figure, as a symbol representing this

status. Thus, he maintained that Fuxi represents Heaven, which can be achieved

by the mind, and that Yao, Shun, and the founding kings of the three dynasties

represent man. This schema can be shown in the following table:28

xiantian 先天 (before

Heaven)

houtian 後天 (after Heaven)

tian 天 (Heaven) ren 人 (man)

Fuxi 伏羲 (sovereign

[huang 皇])

Yao 堯, Shun 舜, Tang 湯, Wu 武, Huan 桓, Wen 文

(emperors, kings, hegemons [di, wang, ba 帝王霸])

xin 心 (mind) shen 身 (body)

Table 1: The correspondence schema in Shao Yong’s thought

The correspondence between Heaven and man is also the theme of the poem

“Guan Yi yin” 觀易吟 (“Chant Observing the Yi”). This is the second poem

whose title is also directly related to the Yijing. It states:

One thing comes with one body. Within this body there exist qian and kun (or there is

a complete world).

If one understands that the ten thousand things are all in me, how could one ground

the sancai 三才 (i.e., Heaven, man and Earth) somewhere else?

Heaven separates function and substance from the One. Man initiates all plans from

his mind.

How could there be two different matters between Heaven and man? The Way will

not prevail without any cause and it is up to man [to be the cause].29

This poem together with the “Guan Shu yin” 觀書吟 (Chant of Observing the

Book of Documents), “Guan Shi yin” 觀詩吟 (Chant of Observing the Book of Odes), and “Guan Chunqiu yin” 觀春秋吟 (Chant of Observing the Spring and Autumn Annals), present Shao’s views on the Confucian Classics that he also ref-

erenced in the Huangji jingshi. 30 The theme concerning the relationship between

Heaven and man is found in both the Jirang ji and the Huangji jingshi. Thus,

even though Zhu Xi tries to utilize these poems to talk about the relationship be-

tween Shao Yong and the Yijing, this article does not agree with Zhu’s view, and

Zhuangzi zhu 莊子注 (Commentary of the Zhuangzi; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing,

1999), 3:1a-2a. 28 The contrast between xiantian and houtian, between tian and ren, and between Fuxi and the lat-

er kings is one of the major themes repeated in Shao Yong’s poetry.

29 Shao Yong, Jirang ji, 15:1a: 一物其來有一身，一身還有一乾坤。能知萬物備於我，肯把三

才别立根。天向一中分體用，人於心上起經綸。天人焉有兩般義，道不虛行只在人。

30 See Shao Yong, Jirang ji: 15:1a-2a; Huangji jingshi shu, 11:7a-9a.

CHU PING-TZU

236

proposes that these poems are more directly related to Shao Yong’s own scholarship

which, while not excluding Yi learning, does not focus exclusively on the Yijing.31

Other instances related to the Yijing in the Jirang ji are all symbolic or analog-

ical. Their meanings accord with the topics of the poems but they do not neces-

sarily have a lot to do with the Yijing. For example, in a poem written in 1070

when Shao was sixty sui, he states,

After understanding pi and tai, I fully comprehended advance and withdrawal in civil

service.

After seeing through qian and kun, I know who are dear and distant (to me).32

Even though qian, kun, pi, and tai are four hexagrams, Shao’s discussion of them

is not deeply related to the Yijing. Qian and kun are a binary term for “world” in

this context, and pi and tai are also a binary term indicating “bad situation” and

“good situation,” respectively. This kind of usage can hardly be considered to

have anything to do with Yi learning.

As for the Huangji jingshi, the major work scholars rely on to talk about

Shao’s philosophy, it also does not contain much material related to the study of

the Yijing. This work contains three parts. The first part is a chronological histo-

ry structured under a temporal cycle of four divisions – yuan 元 (origin), hui 會

(encounter), yun 運 (circulation), and shi 世 (generation). The second part adum-

brates diagrams of voice and sound. And, the third part concerns cosmology,

which is based on different combinations of the above four divisions. From these

three parts of the text, we can see that Shao Yong’s intention was to create a ho-

listic perspective to perceive the continuity between the natural world and the

human realm. It does not have a tight correspondence with the Yijing either.33

In terms of number, Shao’s cosmology is based on the number four. For ex-

ample, the natural world described by this cosmology can be seen in the diagram

of Fig. 7 and the Table 2 provided at the end of the article.

After the formation of the natural world, Shao talks about how human beings

are different from other naturally existing objects and then how sages are differ-

ent from other human beings. When comparing sages to Heaven, he again applies

other sets of the four-division schema. He continues with comments on human

history. From the end of the third chapter, he correlates sun (ri 日), moon ( yue 月), large star (xing 星), and small star (chen 辰) to yuan, hui, yun, and shi. He

furthermore adumbrates three different numerical systems. The first system con-

cerns yuan, hui, yun, and shi. For yuan, the beginning, it is 1; for hui, the en-

countering, 12; for yun, the circulation, 30; and for shi, a generation, 12. Thus,

the four divisions of yuan, hui, yun, and shi equals the series of 1, 12, 30, and

31 However, the Yijing does appear more important than other Classics in the Jirang ji. 32 Shao Yong, Jirang ji, 7:7a: 否泰悟來知進退，乾坤見了識親疎。

33 Later commentators do in fact associate the third part with the Yijing. See Zhu Bi 祝泌 ,

Guanwu pian jie 觀物篇解 (Explanation of Observing Things; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage

Publishing, 1999), juan 4.


237

12. The second numerical series is based on the numbers 10 and 12. 10 is as-

signed to greater yang 陽, minor yang, greater gang 剛 (hardness), and minor

gang, and 12 is assigned to greater yin 陰, minor yin, greater rou 柔 (softness),

and minor rou. Finally, the last number series is decimal, and it appears in the

book several times. Even though these examples show Shao’s interest in number,

as we shall see, the series of numbers are very different from those used to ex-

plain the Yijing in the Waipian.

Concerning Shao’s diagrams, except for those of voice and sound, there are

no diagrams in either the Jirang ji or the Huangji jingshi. It is fair to say that in

the two works most reliably attributable to Shao Yong, we cannot find much con-

tent related to Yi learning, including discussions of number or diagram. However,

if we turn to the Waipian, the situation is totally different.

The Waipian

Aside from the Jirang ji and the Huangji jingshi, Shao is also known to be the

author of the Waipian. However, interpreting the Waipian is a complicated prob-

lem because there are many stories regarding its provenance. The source of these

stories, Shao’s son Bowen 伯溫, only serves to complicate matters further. In addi-

tion, there are several sets of numerical series which, at first glance, appear to con-

tradict one another. This article will not deal with the content of the Waipian which

deserves a comprehensive analysis of its own. Instead, it will talk about that text’s

relationship to number, diagram and the story of its origin as told by Shao Bowen.

First, it is important to stress that there are no diagrams in the Waipian. How-

ever, there are two places that mention some “diagram,” or tu 圖.34 One appears

after the following paragraph from the “Shuogua” section of the Yijing cited

above in Shao Yong’s poem “Da Yi yin”:

Heaven and Earth are fixed in their positions. Mountain and lake exchange their ma-

terial force. Thunder and wind come close to each other. Water and fire do not shoot

into each other. When the trigrams match with each other, those who calculate the

past should follow [the normal order]; [whereas] those who seek to know the future

should contravene [the normal order]. Therefore, the Yijing has counting against [the

normal order].35

Shao comments,

The numbers of the Yi attain completion in the opposite order. This section directly

explains the meaning of the diagram, just as it can foresee the [passage of the] four

seasons.36

34 I do not count the instance of the River Chart (Hetu 河圖) since it appears in the “Xici” already.

35 Zhu Xi, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi, 10:1b-2a: 天地定位，山澤通氣，雷風相薄，水火不相射。

八卦相錯，數往者順，知來者逆，是故《易》逆數也。

36 Shao Yong, Huangji jingshi shu, 13:26b: 夫易之數由逆而成矣。此一節直解圖意，若逆知

四時之謂也. For the Waipian, I use the version in the end of the Huangji jingshi shu, Siku quan-shu edition. Guo Yu 郭彧, the compiler of the Shao Yong ji 邵雍集 uses Zhang Xingcheng’s 張

CHU PING-TZU

238

Zhu Xi uses this passage to explain the order of the sixty-four hexagrams in what

is regarded by Guo Yu 郭彧, the compiler of Shao Yong ji, as the “Xiantian tu”

(Diagram of Before Heaven).37 However, Shao does explain what he means by

counting in following the normal order and the opposite order:

The yang (the active energy), when among the yin (the passive energy), circulates in

the opposite order; so, too, does the yin, when among the yang. The yang when

among the yang, and the yin among the yin both circulate in the normal order. This is

the true ultimate principle. As we follow the diagram, we can see it.

Counting in accordance with the normal order, [we get] qian as One, dui as Two, li as Three, zhen as Four, xun as Five, kan as Six, gen as Seven, and kun as Eight;

counting in the opposite order, [we get] zhen as One, li and dui as Two, qian as

Three, xun as Four, kan and gen as Five, and kun as Six. 38

Apparently the text here is talking about the order of the trigrams, not the order

of the sixty-four hexagrams. However, if we consider the diagram constructed by

Zhu Xi, the diagram of the “Fuxi bagua fangwei,” it matches the numeric order

found in these two paragraphs. Thus, while we find that there are discrepancies

in Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Shao Yong’s Yi learning, there are also clues that

can give us some insight into Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Shao Yong’s text.

The second type of passage in which a diagram is mentioned only gives the

name of the diagram under discussion. These types of passages are cited by

scholars quite frequently; therefore I will quote them all together:

Even though there is no text [explaining] the diagram, (i.e., the “Xiantian tu”), what I

talk about all day long has never departed from it because all the principles of Heav-

en, Earth and the ten thousand things are in it.

Concerning the “Xiantian tu,” it is just like a ring with the middle void.

The learning of xiantian is a method of the mind. Thus, the diagram is deduced from

the center. The learning of xiantian takes sincerity as the main point. The ultimate

sincerity can penetrate spirituality; without sincerity, one cannot reach the Way.39

行成 Huangji jingshi guanwu waipian yanyi 皇極經世觀物外篇衍義 (“Extended Meanings of

the Outer Chapter of Observing Things” in the Huangji jingshi; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage

Publishing, 1999). Zhang changed the order of the paragraphs in the original text and divided

the text into nine parts, which are separated into two juan in the original text.

37 Guo Yu, “Qianyan” 前言 (Preface) to Shao Yong, Shao Yong ji 邵雍集 (Beijing: Zhonghua

shuju, 2010), p. 1.

38 Shao Yong, Huangji jingshi shu,13:27a: 陽在陰中陽逆行，陰在陽中陰逆行，陽在陽中、陰

在陰中則皆順行，此真至理，按圖可見之矣。順數之，乾一、兌二、離三、震四、巽五、

坎六、艮七、坤八；逆數之，震一、離兌二、乾三、巽四、坎五、艮坤六也。

In Zhang Xingcheng’s compilation, these consecutive paragraphs have been relocated to differ-

ent places.

39 Shao Yong, Huangji jingshi shu, 13:34b: 圖雖無文，（先天圖也。）吾終日言而未嘗離乎是，

蓋天地萬物之理盡在其中矣。

先天圖者，環中也。先天學，心法也。故圖皆自中起，萬化萬事生乎心也。先天學主乎誠，

至誠可以通神明，不誠則不可以得道。


239

Even though these three consecutive paragraphs discuss a diagram referred to as

“Xiantian tu,” there is no actual diagram attached. Moreover, the content of these

passages also works if we take the “Fuxi bagua fangwei” as the “Xiantian tu.”40

In conclusion, since no actual diagrams are included in the Waipian, it is diffi-

cult to determine the content of the “Xiantian tu” and how it figured in Shao’s

thought. Whether the above passages describe the same diagram is another prob-

lem. Even though later Confucian scholars tried to reconstruct Shao’s diagram

based on the Waipian, their efforts remain unconvincing because we do not know

who authored the Waipian or how its content is related to the diagrams ascribed

to Shao by Zhu Xi.

As for the numerical system in the Waipian, more research needs to be done

to reach any meaningful conclusion. If we compare the numerical series in the

Huangji jingshi to those in the Waipian, the latter are very different. In the Huangji jingshi, the numerical series accord with the traditional calendric units whether it is

the set of 1, 12, 30, 12, the set of 10 and 12, or the decimal system. Further-

more, these sets do not have any direct relationship to the Yijing. The Waipian on

the other hand starts with the comments on the numbers of Heaven and Earth

found in the Yijing. Moreover, there are several different sets of numbers de-

duced from the Yijing. In the above section, I discussed one example involving

the numbers of the eight trigrams. In what follows, I will provide two more ex-

amples.

The first one concerns the zhenshu 真數 (real number), the zhengshu 正數

(normative number) and the yishu 倚數 (emulating numbers; i.e., the numbers

which emulate the real number). The text reads,

There is only one zhenshu in the Yi and that is three. Three folds of Heaven mean that

three times three equals nine; two folds of Earth mean that two times three equals six.

“From three folds of Heaven and two folds of Earth come the yishu.” It (the yishu) is

not the zhengshu of Heaven and Earth. Yi 倚 means to emulate; it (the yishu) is pro-

duced by emulating the zhengshu of Heaven and Earth.41

Here we see a pair of nominal concepts, the yishu and the zhengshu, and also an-

other independent one, the zhenshu, that is created to explain one sentence from

the “Shuogua.” Even though the explanation of the sentence is different from

other commentators of the Yijing, the set of numbers, 3, 3, 2, 9, and 6 is not very

untraditional. However, they are different from those used in the Huangji jingshi. The next instance is far more complex:

In terms of Heaven, there are four seasons. One season has four months. One month

has forty days. Four times four equals sixteen and we have to reduce one from each.

Therefore, one season has three months and one month has thirty days. [The four in]

40 In fact, according to Shao Bowen, Confucius has expressed the idea of this diagram in the

“Shuogua.” If we take Shao Bowen’s words seriously, the diagram can only be the “Fuxi bagua

tu,” and not the “Fuxi liushisi gua tu.” See the discussion in the following section.

41 Shao Yong, Huangji jingshi shu, 13:22a-b: 易有真數三而已。參天者，三三而九；兩地者，

倍三而六。參天兩地而倚數，非天地之正數也。倚者，擬也。擬天地正數而生也。

CHU PING-TZU

240

“four seasons” is the tishu 體數 (number of substance); the three in “three months”

and “thirty days” is the yongshu 用數 (number of function). Even though the sub-

stance [number] is four, one [of the four] is often not functional. Thus, what is put in-

to function is the number three and its ultimate is nine. The tishu is often even and

therefore there are four and twelve. The yongshu is often odd and therefore there are

three and nine.42

In this instance, the numerical series is more complicated. Even though the terms

tishu and yongshu have appeared in the Huangji jingshi, in that work the tishu is

10 for yang and 12 for yin, and the yongshu is 112 for yang and 152 for yin.43

For the Huangji jingshi, 10 and 12 are directly taken from the calendric units of

Heaven (tiangan 天干) and Earth (dizhi 地支). In the Waipian, to say that a sea-

son has four months and a month has forty days is not in accordance with the tra-

ditional calendric numbers. In this case, the same terms are used but what they

indicate is different. The discrepancy between the numerical system in the Huangji jingshi and that of the Waipian is obvious.

Finally, the question of authorship is discussed by Shao’s son Bowen in his

book, the Yixue bianhuo 易學辨惑 (Dispelling Misunderstandings concerning the

Yi Learning). After introducing Zhang Min 張崏 (?–1080) as a disciple of Shao

Yong, Bowen states:

Ziwang 子望 (Zhang Min) recorded lots of my late father’s opinions. His family saw

how he treasured [those records] and so they put the records into his coffin. Later,

Zijian 子堅 (Zhang Xun 張峋, Min’s elder brother) obtained his manuscript and gave

it to me. That is the current Waipian. However, it only constitutes one or two tenths

of the total. He also once wrote the Yishuo 易說 (Explanation on the Yijing) and kept

it in his house.44

In this short record, the content of the text was not directly described by the au-

thor but by Shao Bowen. While Shao Bowen said it was a record of Shao Yong’s

opinions, he also noted that Zhang Min had written his own monograph on the

Yijing. In the Waipian, several paragraphs apparently explain the “Xici” 繫辭

commentary or the “Shuogua” commentary of the Yijing. We do not know

whether these were originally part of Zhang Min’s Yishuo or Zhang Min’s rec-

ords of Shao Yong’s words. Moreover, the Waipian was not handed to Shao

Bowen by the author but by the author’s brother. The brother, Zhang Xun, ac-

cording to Shao Bowen’s records, was the one whom Shao Yong appreciated and

wanted to pass his learning to. Furthermore, most of the text had been buried by

42 Shao Yong, Huangji jingshi shu, 13:1b: 天有四時，一時四月，一月四十日，四四十六而各去

其一，是以一時三月，一月三十日也。四時，體數也；三月、三十日，用數也。體雖具四，

而其一常不用也，故用者止于三而極于九也。體數常偶，故有四、有十二；用數常奇，故

有三、有九。

43 Shao Yong, Huangji jingshi shu, 12:12a-b.

44 Shao Bowen 邵伯溫 , Yixue bianhuo 易學辨惑 (Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing,

1999), 10b: 子望平時記錄先君議論為多，家人但見其素所寶惜，納之棺中。其後子堅得

其遺藳見授，今觀物外篇是也，蓋十纔一二。又嘗著易説藏於家。


241

Zhang’s family. We do not know why there was an additional portion of the manu-

script left over. Zhang Min died in 1080 and Shao Yong died in 1077. It is diffi-

cult to concretely determine whether the work is more like Zhang Min’s own

writing on the Yijing or his record of Shao Yong’s opinions, or a mixture of both.

However, Zhang Min is also the author of the draft of Shao Yong’s record of

conduct (xingzhuang lüe 行狀略).45 In the record of conduct, Zhang Min intro-

duces the Huangji jingshi but not the Waipian, furthermore, he lists Wang Yu 王

豫 (1010–?) as Shao Yong’s disciple, who is also Zhang’s uncle, according to

Shao Bowen. Wang, who was famous for his Yi learning, at first wanted to be

Shao Yong’s teacher but after talking to Shao he decided to regard Shao as a

teacher. This episode happened before Shao Yong moved to Luoyang.46 Then

Wang’s nephew, Zhang Min, started to learn with Shao after the latter moved to

Luoyang. According to Shao Bowen, they were both formal students of Shao

Yong. If what Shao taught Wang and Zhang was the same Yi learning, why can

we not find any related content either in Shao’s Jirang ji or the Huangji jingshi?47

In other words, Shao Yong’s Yi learning was known before he moved to Luoyang

and after he died in Luoyang. The link between these two periods is found in the

writings of his son, Shao Bowen. Like other stories told by Shao Bowen related

to Shao Yong’s Yi learning, the origin of the Waipian is not straightforward.

Shao Bowen and Shao Bo

Shao Bowen, Shao Yong’s elder son, has two extant works. One is the previously

mentioned Yixue bianhuo which talks about Shao Yong’s intellectual genealogy.

The other is his miscellany, the Shao shi wenjianlu 邵氏聞見錄 (Records of

Things Heard and Seen by Mr. Shao).48 The former work is a collection of biog-

raphies of people related to Shao Yong’s intellectual genealogy, and it describes

how Shao Yong associated himself with his Neo-Confucian friends. The latter

work contains fifty-four items related to Shao Yong. Even though the origin of

the Waipian is explained in these works, the content of the text does not appear in

either text.

In the Yixue bianhuo, Bowen described Shao Yong’s intellectual lineage as

follows:

45 Zhang Min 張崏, “Xingzhuang lüe” 行狀略, in Zhu Xi (ed.), Yi Luo yuanyuan lu 伊洛淵源錄

(Record of the Lineage from the Yi and Luo Rivers; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing,

1999), 5:3a-6a. 46 Zhang Min, “Xingzhuang lüe,” 5:4b; also, Shao Bowen, Yixue bianhuo, 7b-8a. 47 Especially in the Jirang ji, we see that Shao Yong had the intention to use poems to record his

daily life. In the case of the Huangji jingshi, Shao Yong mentions it from time to time in the

Jirang ji. However, most contents of the Waipian are not mentioned in the Jirang ji. That is,

there is a strong intertextual relationship between the third part of the Huangji jingshi and the

Jirang ji but not between the Waipian and the Huangji jingshi or the Jirang ji. 48 Shao Bowen 邵伯溫, Shao shi wenjianlu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983).

CHU PING-TZU

242

From Fuxi to King Wen, Duke Zhou and Confucius, it [the Yi learning or the Yijing]

was passed down generation after generation. Sometimes [the transmitters] were more

obvious, and sometimes more obscure. Nonetheless, the transmission was never dis-

continued. Scholars, such as Yang Ziyun [Yang Xiong 揚雄 (53 BC – 18 AD)], Guan

Ziming [Guan Lang 關朗 ( fl. 477)], and Wang Zhongyan [Wang Tong 王通 (584–

617)] were those who followed afterwards. The main theme of this learning claims

that none of meanings, words, images and numbers is dispensable. The principles are

all embodied in the sages’ Classic [i.e., the Yijing] so that there is no need to use

characters to explain it; rather only one diagram encompasses the numbers regarding

the growth and decline of yin [passive force] and yang [active force]. Even this dia-

gram was not intentionally created, as Confucius’ “Xici” [i.e., the commentary of the

Attached Words] has elaborated. Alas! It truly is a learning of exhausting the princi-

ples and fully manifesting one’s human nature.49

Here, two points of Shao Bowen’s are worthy of mention even though they some-

how manage to contradict each other. First, what was passed down was a dia-

gram without textual information appended to explain it. Second, this diagram

was mentioned by Confucius in his commentary to the Yijing. (Shao Bowen’s was

talking about the “Xici.”) Yet, there is of course no diagram in the Yijing except

for the images of the sixty-four hexagrams. Given this, what is the diagram to

which Shao Bowen refers? I will discuss this question later. Let me first interro-

gate Bowen’s description of Shao Yong’s Yi learning:

Even though my late father’s learning had that which was passed down [to him], he

obtained its nuances and changes by himself. He is capable of illuminating whatever

is implied in meanings, words, images and numbers, of comprehending the substance

and the function of the Yi, as well as the process of how a hexagram and its lines are

established. Thus he once wrote a poem saying, “Who believes that the Yi existed be-

fore the lines were drawn? [One] should know that there was no poetry after Confu-

cius deleted some of the Shi (Book of Odes).” However, his learning was not passed

down in the end for he seldom spoke to others in a casual manner. Therefore, few of

his contemporaries were able to know about it. It was just for the purpose of enter-

taining himself. Only Wang Yu of Daming and his nephew Zhang Min of Yingyang

studied with him, but both died quite early.50

Here we see the contradiction in claiming to belong to a lineage while at the same

time claiming an independent status for Shao Yong. Despite being situated in a

lineage, the most important insights regarding the learning transmitted in that lin-

eage were obtained by Shao Yong himself; though two disciples received this

learning from Shao, they both died pretty early. It seems as if Shao Bowen is

49 Shao Bowen, Yixue bianhuo, 7a: 蓋自伏羲以至文王、周公、孔子以來世世相傳，或隱或顯，

未嘗絶也。如揚子雲、關子明、王仲淹皆其所從來者也。其學主於意言象數四者不可闕一，

其理具見於聖人之經，不煩文字解説，止有一圖以寓其陰陽消長之數與卦之生變。圖亦非

創意以作，孔子繫辭述之明矣。嗚呼！真窮理盡性之學也。

50 Shao Bowen, Yixue bianhuo, 7a-7b: 先君之學雖有傳授，而微妙變通蓋其所自得也。能兼明

意言象數之藴而知易之體用、成卦立爻之所自，嘗有詩曰：「誰信畫前元有易，須知刪後

更無詩。」然其學卒無所傳，平時未嘗妄以語人，故當時人亦鮮克知之者，唯以自樂而已。

有大名王豫及其甥滎陽張崏雖嘗從學，而又皆早死。


243

claiming that no one still alive can understand Shao Yong’s Yi learning or even

simply know about its existence.51 When Shao Yong died Shao Bowen was al-

ready twenty years old and had participated in the local civil service examination

once, and it is difficult to believe that he would not have known anything about

his father’s Yi learning which would become so prominent according to his own

account.52

In the fifty-four items concerning Shao Yong in Bowen’s records, there are

four that discuss Shao Yong’s Yi learning. The first one indicates that Shao Yong

copied the Yijing by hand and learned the Yijing with Master Ren 任 of Binzhou

汾州.53 The second one recounts the famous legend that Shao Yong predicted that

the prime minister would be a southerner (i.e., Wang Anshi 王安石 [1021–

1086]) after hearing the cuckoo’s cry. Bowen connects this and another story of

prediction to Shao Yong’s learning of xiantian.54 The third one talks about Shao

Yong’s scholarship and his attitude toward the study of commentaries. Bowen

states that Shao Yong opposed commentarial study, asserting that Shao Yong’s

scholarship was based on a direct reading of the Six Classics. These comments,

though cited often, are still too general to offer a concrete picture of Shao Yong’s

ideas on the Yi: [He (Shao Yong)] considers that Laozi is the one who knows the substance of the Yi and Mencius the one who knows the function of the Yi. ... The Huangji jingshi uses

yuan, hui, yun, and shi to calculate [the passage of time] and is able to reach any day

within a thousand years easily. It takes the taiji (Great Ultimate) as its lobby and inner

chamber, the hexagrams qian and kun as its doors, and it includes the Six Classics.

Yin, yang, gang (the solid), and rou (the soft) circulate in its midst; decrease, growth,

fullness, and emptiness continually recycle as flourish and decline; and the supreme

[leader], the king, the emperor, the hegemon continually recycle as political order and

chaos.55

Again, the numbers mentioned are based on the system of the Huangji jingshi and

no diagrams are mentioned. The fourth item concerning Shao’s Yi learning talks

about Chen Guan’s 陳瓘 (1057–1124) preference for Shao Yong’s learning, and

mentions that Shao Bowen gave a copy of Shao Yong’s books to Chen.56

51 This is reconfirmed by Yang Shi. See the discussion below on the correspondence between

Yang Shi and Chen Guan. 52 For Shao Bowen’s participation in the civil service examination, see Shao Yong, “Zhangzi

Bowen shijie yi shi shi zi” 長子伯溫失解以詩示之 (Eldest son Bowen failed in the local civil

service examination; [I] showed him [my opinions] using poetry), in Jirang ji, 16:4b. 53 Shao Bowen, Shao shi wenjianlu, p. 194. 54 Ibid., pp. 214-215.

55 Ibid., p. 215: 以老子為知易之體，以孟子為知易之用。… 其所著皇極經世書，以元會運世

之數推之，千歲之日可坐致也。以太極為堂奧，乾坤為門戶，包括六經，陰陽剛柔行乎其

間，消息盈虛相為盛衰，皇王帝伯相為治亂。

56 Shao Bowen, Shao shi wenjianlu, p. 165.

CHU PING-TZU

244

In these four records, Shao Bowen sometimes expresses his opinions on these

events. However, nothing about the content of Shao Yong’s Yi learning is men-

tioned.

Shao Bowen’s second son, Shao Bo 邵博 (?–1158), also wrote a miscellany,

the Shao shi wenjian houlu 邵氏聞見後錄 (Continuum of the Record of Things

Heard and Seen by Mr. Shao).57 In this work, eight items discuss Shao Yong and

of these three relate to Shao Yong’s conception of the Yijing. In the first two

items, Shao Bo echoes Bowen’s claim that Shao Yong had copied the Yijing by

hand. Shao Bo, however, provides more information about the edition of the Yi-jing copied by Shao Yong, stating that this edition was the gu Yi 古易 (the ancient

Yijing). The difference between this edition and the edition commonly used in the

Song was the order of the sections. The order of the gu Yi is as follows:

1. hexagrams and their lines (gua yao yi 卦爻一);

2. the commentary to the attached text of each hexagram (tuan er 彖二);

3. the commentary to the image of each hexagram and its lines (xiang san 象

三);

4. the commentary to the qian 乾 and kun 坤 hexagrams and their attached

texts (wenyan si 文言四);

5. “On the attached texts” (xici wu 繫辭五);

6. “On the trigrams” (shuogua liu 說卦六);

7. “On the order of the hexagrams” (xugua qi 序卦七);

8. “Annotation to the names of the hexagrams” (zagua ba 雜卦八).58

The difference between this edition and the popular edition is that it separates the

jing 經 (classical text) part from the zhuan 傳 (commentary text) parts. In the

popular edition, from the second part to the fourth part, the commentary is in-

serted into its corresponding place in the first part, the classical text. Even though

Shao Yong’s view of this order cannot be known, his promotion of the gu Yi is significant in the history of Song Yi learning. In the Southern Song, both Lü

Zuqian 呂祖謙 (1137–1181) and Zhu Xi agreed that the order of the Yijing should be the same as the order stated by Shao Bo above. Based on this, Zhu Xi

further claimed that the Yijing was a book primarily about divination.

In the third record, Shao Bo expresses disappointment that the followers of the

Cheng Brothers (i.e., Cheng Hao 程顥 [1032–1085] and Cheng Yi 程頤 [1033–

1107]) attacked Shao Yong’s Yijing scholarship. He thus cited Chen Guan’s let-

ters to Yang Shi 楊時 (1053–1135), a famous disciple of the Cheng Brothers, to

justify the strength of Shao Yong’s Yi learning.59 It is in Chen Guan’s letters that

57 Shao Bo, Shao shi wenjian houlu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983).

58 Ibid., p. 37. The second record about how Shao Yong copied the Yi by hand is on page 39. 59 Shao Bo, Shao shi wenjian houlu, pp. 39-46. This record is strangely separated into two parts.

The first part, including one letter, is found at the end of juan 5, and the second part, including

three letters, at the beginning of juan 6. When the editor of the Quan Song wen 全宋文 (Com-

plete Song Prose Works) collected Chen Guan’s writing, only the first part was included; see


245

we first see the contents of the Waipian cited. It is cited by Chen Guan in order

to describe Shao Yong’s Yi learning. However, Chen listed the passage as Shao

Yong’s words (Kangjie yun 康節云) or as quotes from the Guanwu 觀物 (Ob-

serving Things) without mentioning that it was from the Waipian. There are four

letters to Yang Shi written by Chen Guan and collected by Shao Bo.60 As for

Yang’s replies to Chen, there are three letters in Yang’s literary collection.61 This

interaction between Chen and Yang is quite interesting since it provides some im-

portant clues about when Shao Yong’s Yi learning appeared on the scene during

the Song. For the purpose of this paper, I will not discuss the content of their

correspondence in detail. Instead, I will summarize the points related to the main

topic of the paper.

In Chen Guan’s letters, there are several interesting points. First, as men-

tioned above, he cites the Waipian but does so without mentioning it by name, re-

ferring to the passages as coming from the Guanwu or as Shao Yong’s words.

Second, he groups Yang Xiong’s Taixuan 太玄 (Great Mystery), Sima Guang’s

司馬光 (1019–1086) Qianxu 潛虛 (Submerging Voidness) and Shao Yong’s Yi learning together. Third, he notes that Sima Guang had never mentioned Shao

Yong’s Yi learning to others. Fourth, he considers Shao Yong’s Yi learning to be

about the method of the mind, which has nothing to do with words, numbers, or

foretelling. Concerning the first point, we see the content of the Waipian appear-

ing in texts, even though whether it was called the Waipian during the Northern

Song still needs to be investigated. As for the second, Chen defines Shao Yong’s

Yi learning as a recreational endeavor that was not in accordance with the com-

mentarial tradition. Regarding the third, we see a mode that we encounter quite

often when studying subjects related to Shao Yong. No contemporary witness ever

verifies that the learning of xiantian existed. And, on the fourth point, the numer-

ical system is not emphasized and a kind of idealism focusing on the concept of

mind is claimed. The last point does not help us uncover the purport of Shao

Yong’s Yi learning, but accords with Shao Yong’s self-depiction as found in the

Jirang ji. Since Chen’s letters are not very helpful, perhaps Yang Shi’s replies

can provide more useful information on the status and content of Shao’s Yi learn-

ing.

In Yang’s literary collection, there are eight letters to Chen Guan, three of

which discuss Shao Yong’s Yi learning. Yang speaks of Shao Yong respectfully;

however, he says that, despite his best efforts, he has not been able to understand

Zeng Zaozhuang 曾棗莊 and Liu Lin 劉琳 (eds.), Quan Song wen (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu

chubanshe, 2005), vol. 129, pp. 100-102. 60 In terms of content, the fourth one is most likely a partial draft of the first one. Shao Bowen

mentioned that he got these letters from Chen Guan’s son. See Shao Bo, Shao shi wenjian houlu, p. 46.

61 There are eight letters from Yang Shi to Chen Guan collected in the Quan Song wen. Among

the eight, the second, the fourth, and the eighth, which mention Shao Yong, can be linked to

Chen Guan’s letters. See Quan Song wen, vol. 124, pp. 183-184, 187-189, and 191.

CHU PING-TZU

246

Shao’s Yi learning. He even asked Shao Yong’s disciples and sons, but no one

could convince him that they truly comprehended Shao’s Yi learning. In his last

letter, he asked Chen Guan to show him the Diagram of xiantian. Considering

that there is no actual diagram in the text, and that Chen Guan described it as be-

ing not about written words and numbers, but only related to the mind, we have

no clue what kind of diagram these two Song literati were talking about or

whether there was an actual diagram involved.

The recorder of Chen Guan’s letters, Shao Bo, mentions how Chen Guan got

to know Shao Yong’s Yi learning,

Master Great Councilor (Chen Guan) had never associated with Kangjie (Shao Yong).

Bo’s late father, owing to Chen’s request, gave a copy of [Kangjie’s] remaining books

to him to bring home.62

Why Chen Guan was interested in Shao Yong’s Yi learning is left unsaid. Chen

himself leaves us his own commentary on the Yijing. The content of Chen’s

commentary does not show any relationship to the concepts found in the Waipian.

Moreover, in this record, Shao Bo also complains about how Cheng Yi’s disci-

ples portrayed Cheng’s view of Shao’s learning in a negative light. All of the

above facts show us: 1) that Shao Bowen passed the Waipian to Chen Guan, 2)

that the Waipian was not then named the Waipian, 3) that there was a competition

between Cheng Yi’s and Shao Yong’s Yi learning, and 4) no contemporary

claimed to understand what Shao Yong’s Yi learning was about.

Through Shao Bowen’s and Shao Bo’s works, we see more clearly how the

transmission of Shao Yong’s Yi learning happened. In Shao Bowen’s works, Shao

Yong’s Yi learning is mentioned together with the Huangji jingshi, the Jirang ji as well as some manuscripts passed from Zhang Xun to Shao Bowen, which Shao

Bowen claimed contained Zhang Min’s records of Shao Yong’s sayings. Shao

Bowen then passed a copy of the manuscript to Chen Guan. In Shao Bo’s work,

we see Chen Guan cite that manuscript to discuss Shao Yong’s Yi learning with

Yang Shi. Nevertheless, as a contemporary, Yang Shi testifies that, despite a pro-

longed search, he did not come across anyone who understood Shao Yong’s Yi learning. Chen Guan himself asserts that Shao Yong’s good friend, Sima Guang,

another major intellectual figure interested in the Yijing, had never mentioned

Shao Yong’s Yi learning. Furthermore, while a diagram is mentioned, no dia-

gram was actually included in these works. According to Shao Bowen, this dia-

gram was something already indicated by Confucius’ commentary, to the Yijing, the “Xici.” It is in Zhu Zhen’s 朱震 (1072–1138) work where we first see an ac-

tual diagram ascribed to Shao Yong, and this diagram is not mentioned in Confu-

cius’s commentary.

62 Shao Bo, Shao shi wenjian houlu, p. 45: 大諫公與康節不相接，博之先君，因公之請，嘗盡

以遺書之副歸焉。


247

Zhu Zhen

In Zhu Zhen’s Guatu 卦圖 (Diagrams related to hexagrams), a diagram is as-

cribed to Shao Yong.63 Aside from this diagram, Zhu Zhen also offers two ver-

sions of the genealogy for Shao Yong’s Yi learning. Zhu Zhen’s first version of

the genealogy appears in the memorial he wrote to present his commentary to the

emperor. 64 Aside from Shao Yong, all other famous Northern Song Neo-

Confucians were included in this genealogy as shown in Fig. 8.

This version of Shao Yong’s intellectual genealogy is very similar to what

Shao Bowen provides in his miscellany except that Shao Bowen does not mention

the branch of Zhou Dunyi 周敦頤 (1017–1073), and does not include Li Gai 李

溉 ( fl. 1015) in the branch down to Liu Mu 劉牧 (1011–1064). In this version of

the genealogy, the works passed down are different from the works listed in the

final generation. For example, the “Xiantian tu” was transmitted by Chen Tuan

陳摶 (871–989), but what Shao Yong produced was the Huangji jingshi and what

Zhou Dunyi produced was the “Taiji tu” (Diagram of the Great Ultimate). How-

ever, in his Guatu, Zhu Zhen also created another version of this genealogy

which listed the transmission of diagrams more tightly.65 The second version is

depicted in Fig. 9.

This second version of the genealogy was reconstructed according to Zhu

Zhen’s explanation of each diagram. If we focus on Shao Yong, what Shao

transmitted was not the “Xiantian tu” but the “Fuxi bagua tu” (Diagram of Fuxi’s

Eight Hexagrams). Zhu does not mention whether this diagram was the same as

the “Xiantian tu” or whether it was passed down to Shao Yong by Li Zhicai.

Moreover, Zhu Zhen says this diagram had two different origins: one was from

Shao Yong to Wang Yu 王豫 and the other from Zheng Guai 鄭夬 ( fl. 1061)

who obtained the diagram from the Guicang 歸藏 (Returning to the hidden, al-

legedly the Shang version of the Yi). But in his explanation of the diagram, Zhu

Zhen quotes Zheng Guai but not Shao Yong or Wang Yu.66 The problems regard-

ing these two origins bring us back to a story told by Shao Bowen about Shao

Yong’s relationship with Zheng Guai.

As noted above, in the Yixue bianhuo, Shao Bowen tried to clarify his father

Shao Yong’s intellectual genealogy. The main reason for writing the book was to

respond to an item about Zheng Guai found in Shen Gua’s 沈括 (1031–1095)

miscellany, the Mengxi bitan 夢溪筆談 (Brush Talks from Dream Brook). Ac-

cording to Shen Gua, Zheng Guai wrote a book about the Yijing, which Shen did

not value highly. However, Zheng’s theory about interexchange among hexa-

grams caught Shen Gua’s attention. Shen Gua then met a person named Qin Jie

63 See Zhu Zhen 朱震, Hanshang Yizhuan 漢上易傳 (Hanshang’s [i.e., Zhu Zhen’s] Commentary

on the Yijing; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999), the Guatu part. 64 Zhu Zhen, Hanshang Yizhuan, biao section, 1b. 65 Ibid., the first two juan of the Guatu part. 66 Ibid., Guatu part, 1:7a-7b.

CHU PING-TZU

248

秦玠 and discussed Zheng Guai’s method with him. According to Shen, Qin

commented:

Where did Guai get this method? I once met an extraordinary person (yiren 異人)

who passed the method to me. [I] applied it to verify the rise and fall (of the dynas-

ties), celestial movement and the calendar in the past. [I] frequently felt regret that I

could not exhaust this method. Mr. Shao in the western capital (i.e., Luoyang) also

knows its general outlines and is already capable of comprehending the changes

brought by the auspicious and the ominous. This person (Zheng Guai) dares to put it

into a book. Certainly he will receive a punishment from Heaven. This is not some-

thing that common people should hear.67

After citing Qin Jie’s words, Shen Gua ends this record by saying,

The words I heard from him were weird and he was careful not to reveal too much.

Therefore, I did not want to inquire further. Now both Guai and Jie are dead. Still, [I]

cannot understand what kind of method it is.68

According to Qin Jie, he had a different source from Shao Yong’s. However, he

could not determine whether Zheng Guai shared his or Shao Yong’s source, or

whether Zheng had another source.

In his Yixue bianhuo, Shao Bowen mentioned that both Qin Jie and Zheng

Guai wanted to be Shao Yong’s disciples but failed to meet Shao Yong’s stand-

ards.69 When Zheng Guai heard Qin Jie saying that Wang Yu kept a record of

what he learned from Shao Yong, he bribed Wang’s servant to steal the record

from Wang’s bedroom while Wang was dying.70 Shao Bowen says that Zheng

Guai’s diagram related to the Yijing is wrong, but also that his theory regarding

the diagrams might be right. Shao Bowen’s story is strange enough. Yet, he adds

that Qin Jie knew about this event but pretended he did not.71 In fact, Zheng Guai

wrote several books on the Yijing. Even though none of them are extant, some

quotes are preserved in Xiang Anshi’s 項安世 commentary to the Yijing.72 Sima

Guang even presented one of Zheng’s books to the court and recommended that

he be rewarded in 1061.73 The Southern Song bibliographer Chao Gongwu 晁公

67 Shen Gua, Mengxi bitan (Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999), 7:19b-20a: 夬何處得

此法？玠曽遇一異人授此數，歷推往古興衰運曆無不皆驗，常恨不能盡得其術。西都邵雍

亦知大畧，已能洞吉凶之變。此人乃形之於書，必有天譴，此非世人得聞也。

68 Ibid., 7:20a: 予聞其言怪，兼復甚秘，不欲深詰之。今夬與玠皆已死，終不知其何術也。

In Shao Bowen’s Yixue bianhuo (1b-2a), this sentence is modified as 今邵某與夬、玠已皆死，

終不知何術也 (Now Mr. Shao, Guai, and Jie have all died. Still, [I] do not know what kind of

method it is). 69 Shao Bowen, Yixue bianhuo, 11a-12a. 70 Ibid., 12a. 71 Ibid., 13a.

72 Xiang Anshi, Zhouyi wanci 周易玩辭 (Studying the Words of the Zhouyi; Hong Kong: Digital

Heritage Publishing, 1999), 1:33a, 2:30b, 6:14a, 10:3a, 16:12b.

73 Sima Guang, “Jian Zheng Yangting zhazi” 薦鄭揚庭劄子 (Memorial for recommending Zheng

Yangting), in Quan Song wen, vol. 54, p. 215.


249

武 (1105–1180) even cited Yao Sizong’s 姚嗣宗 ( fl. 1068) conception of Zheng’s

intellectual lineage after the item discussing Zheng Guai’s commentary to the Yi: The learning of Liu Mu was passed down to Wu Mi and Wu Mi passed it down to

Guai.74

Considering the different sources, it seems fair to say that Zheng Guai was an Yi scholar in his own right.75

According to Zhu Zhen, Zheng Guai described the composition principle of

the Fuxi bagua tu as follows:

After the first line of qian interacts with the first line of kun, then zhen is obtained.

That is why zhen is the eldest son. After the first line of kun interacts with the first

line of qian, then xun is obtained. That is why xun is the eldest daughter. After the

second line of qian interacts with the second line of kun, then kan is obtained. That is

why kan is the second son. After the second line of kun interacts with the second line

of qian, then li is obtained. That is why li is the second daughter. After the line at the

top of qian interacts with the line at the top of kun, then gen is obtained. That is why

gen is the youngest son. After the line at the top of kun interacts with the line at top of

qian, then dui is obtained. That is why dui is the youngest daughter. Qian and kun are

the great parents and that is why they can give birth to the trigrams. Fu and gou are

the small parents, that is why they can give birth to the sixty-four hexagrams. After

the first unbroken line of fu interacts with the first broken line of gou, one yang

[hexagram] is obtained; after the first broken line of gou intercourses with the first

unbroken line of fu, one yin [hexagram] is obtained. After the second unbroken line

of fu interacts with the second broken line of gou, two yang [hexagrams] are obtained

and after the second broken line of gou intercourses with the second unbroken line of

fu, two yin [hexagrams] are obtained. After the third unbroken line of fu intercourses

with the third broken line of gou, four yang [hexagrams] are obtained and after the

third broken line of gou intercourses with the third unbroken line of fu, four yin

[hexagrams] are obtained. After the fourth unbroken line of fu intercourses with the

fourth broken line of gou, eight yang [hexagrams] are obtained and after the fourth

broken line of gou intercourses with the fourth unbroken line of fu, eight yin [hexa-

grams] are obtained. After the fifth unbroken line of fu intercourses with the fifth

broken line of gou, sixteen yang [hexagrams] are obtained and after the fifth broken

line of gou intercourses with the fifth unbroken line of fu, sixteen yin [hexagrams] are

obtained. After the unbroken line at the top of fu intercourses with the broken line at

the top of gou, thirty-two yang [hexagrams] are obtained and after the broken line at

the top of gou intercourses with the unbroken line at top of fu, thirty-two yin [hexa-

74 Chao Gongwu, Junzhai dushu zhi 郡齋讀書志 (Record of Reading Books in the County Studio;

Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999), the first part of juan 1:10a: 劉牧之學受之吳

秘，秘受之夬.

75 According to Chao Gongwu, Zheng Guai has a twelve juan commentary to the Yijing, and five

articles: “Ming Shu” 明數 (Clarifying number), “Ming Xiang” 明象 (Clarifying Image),

“Ming Chuandao” 明傳道 (Clarifying the Genealogy of the Way), “Ming Cili” 明次例 (Clari-

fying the Order and the Instances), and “Ming Fan” 明範 (Clarifying the “Hong Fan” Chap-

ter). See Junzhai dushu zhi, the first part of juan 1:10a.

CHU PING-TZU

250

grams] are obtained. The yin and yang, and men and women are both circulated in the

normal order and thus sixty-four hexagrams are born.76

This passage gives a clear depiction of the mechanical process used to explain

how the eight trigrams and the sixty-four hexagrams are produced through the in-

teraction of yin and yang; it also provides a parallel between the production of the

eight trigrams and that of the sixty-four hexagrams. As the great parents, qian

and kun exchange with each other one line to produce the other six trigrams. As

the small parents, fu and gou exchange with each other one line to produce them-

selves and the other sixty-two hexagrams. We can see that the mechanical process

is like the series 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. If we consider fu and gou together, then

it will be 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26.

It is similar to the doubling method that Zhu Xi ascribes to Shao Yong, but

not quite the same. For Zhu, in each level a pair of yin and yang will be added on

top, so at level three, we can get the trigrams and at level six we can get the six-

ty-four hexagrams. For Zheng Guai’s method, at the first level we get fu as the

yang hexagram and gou as the yin hexagram; at the second level, we get fu and

lin 臨 (approaching) as the two yang hexagrams, and gou and dun as the two yin

hexagrams; at the third level, we get fu, mingyi 明夷 (brightness hurt), lin, and

tai as the four yang hexagrams, and gou, song 訟 (quarrel), dun, and pi as the

four yin hexagrams. At the sixth level, we can get the thirty-two yang hexagrams

as shown in the diagram from fu at the bottom to qian at the top, and the thirty-

two yin hexagrams from gou at the top to kun at the bottom. Both the directions

from fu to qian and from gou to kun are clockwise, and therefore correspond to

the normal order (shunxing 順行). However, according to Zhu Xi’s doubling

method, qian is the first hexagram, fu the thirty-second, gou the thirty-third, and

kun the last. i.e., the sixty-forth. Thus for Zhu Xi, the direction from qian to fu

and the direction from gou to kun are different.

When Shen Gua discusses Zheng Guai’s method, the content differs from

what was recorded by Zhu Zhen,

Qian and kun are the great parents; fu and gou are the small parents. When qian

changes once, fu is produced and one yang is obtained. When kun changes once, gou

is produced and one yin is obtained. When qian changes twice, lin is produced and

two yang [hexagrams] are obtained. When kun changes twice, dun is produced and

two yin [hexagrams] are obtained. When qian changes three times, tai is produced

and four yang [hexagrams] are obtained. When kun changes three times, pi is pro-

76 Zhu Zhen, Hanshang Yizhuan, the first juan of Guatu: 7b-8a: 乾之初交於坤之初得震，故為

長男；坤之初交於乾之初得巽，故為長女；乾之二交於坤之二得坎，故為中男；坤之二交

於乾之二得離，故為中女；乾之上交於坤之上得艮，故為少男；坤之上交於乾之上得兌，

故為少女。乾坤，大父母也，故能生八卦；復姤，小父母也，故能生六十四卦。復之初九

交於姤之初六，得一陽；姤之初六交於復之初九得一陰；復之二交於姤之二得二陽，姤之

二交於復之二得二陰；復之三交於姤之三得四陽，姤之三交於復之三得四陰；復之四交於

姤之四得八陽，姤之四交於復之四得八陰；復之五交於姤之五得十六陽，姤之五交於復之

五得十六陰；復之上交於姤之上得三十二陽，姤之上交於復之上得三十二陰。陰陽男女皆

順行，所以生六十四卦也。


251

duced and four yin [hexagrams] are obtained. When qian changes four times, da-zhuang is produced and eight yang [hexagrams] are obtained. When kun changes four

times, guan is produced and eight yin [hexagrams] are obtained. When qian changes

five times, fu is produced and sixteen yang [hexagrams] are obtained. When kun

changes five times, bo is produced and sixteen yin [hexagrams] are obtained. When

qian changes six times, guimei is produced and thirty-two yang [hexagrams] are ob-

tained. When kun changes six times, jian 漸 is produced and thirty-two yin [hexa-

grams] are obtained.77

We can see there are several differences between these two quotes. Zhu Zhen

posits a parallel between qian, kun, fu and gou as the great parents and the small

parents. Shen Gua’s quote loses this parallel. Thus it is very difficult to explain

why fu and gou are the small parents. Also, after qian and kun change six times,

it is difficult to understand how this produces the hexagrams guimei and jian.

However, if we only focus on number, we will find that the numbers of hexa-

grams start from two and then increase to four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two and six-

ty-four. This is also the same as Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Shao Yong’s Yi learn-

ing.

This diagram, the “Fuxi bagua tu,” is the same as the “Fuxi liushisi gua

fangwei” that Zhu Xi put in the beginning section of his commentary of the Yi-jing. However, the names are different. In terms of content, “sixty-four” seems

more understandable. The next diagram in Zhu Zhen’s book following this one is

the “Wenwang bagua tu” 文王八卦圖 (Diagram of King Wen’s Eight Hexa-

grams), which is different from Zhu Xi’s “Wenwang bagua fangwei.” Zhu Xi’s

diagram lists eight trigrams instead of hexagrams, which suggests that Zhu Zhen

clearly wanted to make a contrast between the titles of these two diagrams. How-

ever, according to his record of Zheng Guai’s explanation, the other six trigrams

are produced by the interchange of lines between the qian and kun trigrams. Zhu

Zhen quotes the Waipian to explain this diagram, and the passage he quotes can

be applied to Zhu Xi’s diagram as well. However, this also shows that there are

several different possible ways to understand the same passages in the Waipian.

This demonstrates the difficulty of interpreting the Waipian, and of transferring

the written words into actual diagrams and vice versa.

Aside from several quotes from the Waipian, there are two more passages in

Zhu Zhen’s book related to Shao Bowen. The first one records that Shao Bowen

received a diagram entitled the “Liushisi gua xiangsheng tu” 六十四卦相生圖

(Diagram of the sixty-four hexagrams giving birth to each other) and a set of

eight diagrams entitled the “Biangua fandui tu” 變卦反對圖 (Diagram of chang-

ing hexagrams and their opposite hexagrams) from Chen Siwen 陳四文 as shown

77 Shen Gua, Mengxi bitan, 7:19a-19b: 乾坤大父母也，復姤小父母也，乾一變生復，得一陽；

坤一變生姤，得一陰；乾再變生臨，得二陽；坤再變生遯，得二陰；乾三變生泰，得四陽；

坤三變生否，得四陰。乾四變生大壯，得八陽。坤四變生觀，得八陰。乾五變生夬，得十

六陽。乾五變生剥，得十六陰。乾六變生歸妹，本得三十二陽。坤六變生漸，本得三十二

陰。

CHU PING-TZU

252

in Fig. 7.78 The other passage discusses the “Dayan shu” 大衍數 (Numbers of

the Great Circle), which was passed down from Shao Yong to Shao Bowen.79 The

“Dayan shu” is a list of different numbers taken from the Waipian. As for the dia-

grams, they are attributed to Li Zhicai, Shao Yong’s teacher, even though they

subsequently passed through the hands of Chen Siwen. However, we do not see

this lineage appear in Shao Bowen’s own work. This shows the late date at which

this lineage was created and the importance of Shao Bowen in the transmission

history of Shao Yong’s so-called Yi learning.

Back to Zhu Xi Again

In Zhu Zhen’s book, we see two diagrams contrasted with each other, Fuxi’s

eight hexagrams and King Wen’s eight hexagrams. The contrast is peculiar be-

cause in the Fuxi diagram there are sixty-four hexagrams instead of eight. How-

ever, in terms of trigrams and hexagrams, there are only hexagrams in both dia-

grams. Our discussion of these diagrams will bring us back to the first section,

and Zhu Xi’s work on the contrast between Fuxi’s and King Wen’s Yijing. Let us focus on the two diagrams in Zhu Zhen’s book first. For Fuxi’s dia-

gram (Fig. 10), the title is changed to “Fuxi liushisi gua fangwei” (Fig. 4) to

make the content and the title better accord with each other. For King Wen’s dia-

gram (Fig. 11), the hexagrams are turned into trigrams and the diagram is re-

named the “Wenwang bagua fangwei” (Fig. 6) to make the contrast more

straightforward. There are four additional diagrams in Zhu Xi’s arrangement. To

provide a contrast to the “Wenwang bagua fangwei,” Zhu Xi made the diagram

“Fuxi bagua fangwei” (Fig. 2). To display the natural order of the Fuxi dia-

grams, the “Fuxi bagua cixu” (Fig. 1) and the “Fuxi liushisi gua cixu” (Fig. 3)

were made to match the “Fuxi bagua fangwei” and the “Fuxi liushisi gua

fangwei.” Finally the “Wenwang bagua cixu” (Fig. 5) was also made to match

the “Wenwang bagua fangwei.”80 After making these adjustments, the peculiar

contrast in Zhu Zhen’s book seems clearer. If we check the “Wenwang bagua

cixu” closely, it also fits with Zheng Guai’s theory making the trigrams qian and

kun the great parents even though Zhu Xi claims that this diagram was made ex-

plicit in the “Shuogua.”81

78 Zhu Zhen, Hanshang Yizhuan, the first juan of Guatu: 24b. 79 Ibid., the third juan of Guatu: 40a. 80 The missing pair is the Wenwang liushisi gua fangwei and the Wenwang liushisi gua cixu. For

the latter, it follows the order of the current Yijing. For the former, there is no way of under-

standing it if the diagram is really made to match the order of the current Yijing. 81 In Wang Shi 王湜, Yixue 易學 (Yi Learning; Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999),

we do see a diagram entitled “Xiantian tu” 先天圖 (7b-8a), which is the same as Zhu Zhen’s

“Fuxi bagua tu” 伏羲八卦圖 and Zhu Xi’s “Fuxi liushisi gua fangwei”: a diagram entitled

“Fuxi bagua” 文王八卦 (10b), which is the same as Zhu Xi’s “Fuxi bagua fangwei”; and a dia-

gram entitled “Wenwang bagua” (12b), which is the same as Zhu Xi’s “Wenwang bagua

fangwei.”


253

Another difference between Zhu Xi’s reconstruction and Zheng Guai’s dia-

grams as presented by Zhu Zhen concerns the explanations of the order of the

hexagrams. For Zheng Guai, the original pair of hexagrams are fu and gou. After

interacting with each other six times, the sixty-four hexagrams are produced in

the order from fu to qian and gou to kun. Therefore Zheng Guai asserted that the

hexagrams from fu to qian and from gou to kun both circulate in the normal order

(shunxing, i.e., clockwise). For Zhu Xi, the sixty-four hexagrams were con-

structed by adding one pair of unbroken and broken lines six times. Thus the or-

der proceeds from qian to fu and from gou to kun. Apparently, this is not the or-

der shown on the circle formed by sixty-four hexagrams. Therefore, Zhu Xi cites

the “Shuogua” to explain the different order: “When counting what happened in

the past, we should go with the normal order, and when predicting the future,

with the opposite order.”82 By doing this, Zhu Xi can explain why the natural or-

der of the sixty-four hexagrams had to be separated into two groups both in the

“Fuxi bagua fangwei” and the “Fuxi liushisi gua fangwei” diagrams.83

In terms of number, Zhu Xi solely focused on the method of doubling. How-

ever, as shown above, the different numerical series found in the Waipian are

much more complex, a fact which deserves closer scrutiny. Here let me just dis-

cuss one example. If we follow the method of doubling that Zhu Xi ascribes to

the Waipian, we will see the next paragraph reads:

Ten splits into one hundred, one hundred into one thousand, and one thousand into

ten thousand. It is just like how roots have trunks, trunks branches, and branches

leaves. If it is big, the quantity is less; if small, more. If [we] converge them, they

will become one; if we split them, ten thousand.84

Considering this paragraph together with the paragraph that deliberates on the

method of doubling, we can see that Zhu Xi wants to emphasize the relationship

between one and many, but not the production of the sixty-four hexagrams.

Moreover as mentioned above, the meaning of counting in the normal order and

opposite order in the Waipian is also different from what Zhu Xi uses to explain

the order of the “Wenwang bagua fangwei” and the “Fuxi liushisi gua fangwei.”

Instead of filling in diagrams to make the contrast between Fuxi’s Yijing and King

Wen’s Yijing more tenable and parallel, he tries to reduce the complexity of Shao

Yong’s number series to the minimum necessary to make it comprehensible.

What did Zhu Xi hope to accomplish by doing this?

While this question is difficult to answer definitively, we might get a partial

answer by looking at what Zhu Xi attempted to accomplish in his own Yi scholar-

82 Zhu Xi, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi, 10:2a: 數往者順，知來者逆。

83 Ibid., tu section, 5b.

84 Shao Yong, Huangji jingshi shu, 13:24b: 十分為百，百分為千，千分為萬，猶根之有幹、幹

之有枝、枝之有葉，愈大則愈少，愈細則愈繁，合之斯為一，衍之斯為萬。

CHU PING-TZU

254

ship. Zhu Xi wrote two major works on the Yijing.85 The first was his commen-

tary on the Yijing, the Zhouyi benyi 周易本義 (Original Meaning of the Zhouyi); the second, the Yixue qimeng 易學啟蒙 (Introduction of the Yi to the Beginners),

explained how to use the Yijing as a book for divination, Comparing these two

works with each other, the “Yi tu” 易圖 (Diagrams of the Yi) found at the begin-

ning of the Zhouyi benyi can be considered an abbreviated version of the Yixue qimeng. The “Yi tu” section included nine diagrams. The third to the eighth ones

are those discussed above; four are related to Fuxi’s Yijing and two are related to

King Wen’s Yijing. The first two are the “Hetu” 河圖 (Diagram of the River)

and the “Luoshu” 洛書 (Diagram of the Luo River). The last one is the “Guabian

tu” 卦變圖 (Diagram of Changing Hexagrams), composed by Zhu Xi himself. In

his explanations of the nine diagrams included in the “Yi tu,” Zhu Xi proceeded

according to a carefully arranged order. He employed the Yi dazhuan 易大傳

(Great Commentary to the Yi) first whenever possible. He then used other ancient

and Song scholars’ statements to supplement the explanation found in the Yi da-zhuan, and concluded by adding his own comments. In this way, a lineage of the

Yi learning was thereby created. At the end of the “Yi tu,” Zhu Xi provided the

following description of the nine diagrams:

On the right are nine diagrams of the Yi. Among them, there are the natural Yi de-

rived from Heaven and Earth, the Yi of Fuxi, the Yi of King Wen and the Duke of

Zhou, and the Yi of Confucius. Before Fuxi there was no text but only diagrams.

Therefore, [diagrams] are most suitable for studying in depth. On their basis, we can

see the original subtle meaning of the Yi. Only after King Wen did the written content

found in the current version of the Zhou Yi appear. However, a reader should read

them according to their respective contexts and not regard Confucius’ theory as King

Wen’s. 86

Zhu Xi thus created a tradition of Yi learning before Confucius. In the different

stages of this tradition, the foci of attention with regard to the Yijing were differ-

ent. The first stage, represented by the “Hetu” (Diagram of the River) and the

“Luoshu” (Diagram of the Luo River) was the stage before the Yijing was created

but the natural principles were already there. The second stage, represented by

Fuxi, was the stage when the Yijing was created according to the natural order,

and there were only diagrams without text. The third stage, represented by King

Wen and the Duke of Zhou, was the stage when the Yijing was adapted to suit

human utility and the text was attached. The fourth stage, represented by Confu-

cius, was the stage where the moral significance of the Yijing was explicitly re-

85 Zhu Jian 朱鑑, Zhu Xi’s grandson, later compiled the Zhu Wengong Yishuo 朱文公易說

(Comments on the Yi by Zhu Wengong), which collected all other material by Zhu Xi related to

the Yi aside from the following two major works.

86 Zhu Xi, Yuanben Zhouyi benyi, tu section, 17b: 右易之圖九，有天地自然之易，有伏羲之

易，有文王周公之易，有孔子之易。自伏羲以上皆無文字，只有圖書，最宜深玩，可見作

易本原精微之意。文王以下方有文字，即今之周易。然讀者亦宜各就本文消息，不可便以

孔子之説為文王之說也。


255

vealed. Positing a distinction and contrast between Fuxi’s Yijing and King Wen’s

Yijing suits the purpose of constructing such a lineage perfectly.87

Conclusion

What is Shao Yong’s Yi learning?

For Zhu Xi and the scholars who adopted Zhu’s view, Shao Yong’s Yi learn-

ing was characterized by a clear distinction between King Wen’s Yijing and Fu-

xi’s Yijing embodied in four diagrams and one numeric principle, the method of

doubling. However, in terms of both diagram and number, a clear discrepancy is

evident when judged against the contents of Shao Yong’s writings. First, there

are no diagrams in Shao Yong’s extant works. Even though Zhu Xi does not

acknowledge Zhu Zhen as a source, there is a great similarity between Zhu

Zhen’s two diagrams and Zhu Xi’s six diagrams. According to Zhu Zhen, the

more complicated “Fuxi bagua tu” (or Zhu Xi’s “Fuxi liushisi gua fangwei”) was

passed down and explained by Zheng Guai. As a contemporary of Shao Bowen,

Zhu Zhen accepts part of Shao Bowen’s construction of Shao Yong’s intellectual

lineage but not all of it. Considering that Zheng’s works had been presented to

the emperor by Sima Guang, that Yao Sizong also referred to his intellectual lin-

eage, and that, according to Shen Gua, Qin Jie did not seem to know about

Zheng, we should not trust Shao Bowen’s claim that Zheng stole Wang Yu’s rec-

ord of Shao Yong’s words right from Wang’s dying bed.

As for the method of doubling, it does appear in the Waipian. However, there

are several numerical systems in the Waipian, and the method of doubling is not

the most significant one. Moreover, Zheng Guai’s explanation of the “Fuxi bagua

tu” as discussed above represents another possible way to interpret the method of

doubling which is different from Zhu Xi’s understanding. It is fair to say that

Zhu Xi retrospectively created the main image of Shao Yong’s Yi learning by

transforming the diagrams Zhu Zhen compiled, adding the diagrams he created,

and emphasizing certain passages from the Waipian.

The Waipian, as shown by Zhu Xi, does contain many paragraphs which ex-

plain the Yi dazhuan, especially the “Xici” and the “Shuogua” commentaries. A

diagram, the “Xiantian tu,” is mentioned, but there is no actual diagram in the

text itself. The Waipian also includes several numeric series which appear to con-

flict with each other and with the Huangji jingshi at first glance. Its relationship

to Shao Yong’s two most reliable works needs to be further investigated. If we

consider that in the Jirang ji, Shao Yong mentions the content of the Huangji jingshi again and again, the absence of any serious discussion of the content of

the Waipian is also problematic. Before being able to confirm the Waipian as

87 In this case, Zhu Xi successfully integrated what was allegedly Shao Yong’s Yi learning into his

Neo-Confucian project. However, Zhu Xi did not completely accept Shao Yong in all aspects as

a Neo-Confucian master; see Don J. Wyatt, “Chu Hsi’s Critique of Shao Yung: One Instance of

the Stand against Fatalism,” HJAS 45 (1985) 2, pp. 649-666, especially pp. 664-666; see also

Zhu Xi, Zhuzi yulei, juan 100.

CHU PING-TZU

256

Shao Yong’s own, it might be better to first determine the relationship between

the Waipian and Shao Yong’s two other works.

As for the transmission of Shao Yong’s Yi learning, Shao Bowen played the

most important role. He was the one who transmitted the Waipian, the one who

constructed Shao Yong’s lineage of Yi learning, and the one who told the story at-

tributing the authorship of the diagrams to Shao Yong rather than Zheng Guai.

However, the fact that he did not comment on Shao Yong’s Yi learning through

his and his son’s life time raises doubts about the transmission of Shao Yong’s Yi learning.

Zhu Zhen, as a synthesizer of the Yi learning based on numbers and diagrams,

accepted the lineage created by Shao Bowen while at the same time giving credit

to Zheng Guai for the diagram allegedly created by Shao Yong. In opposition to

Zhu Zhen, Zhu Xi tried to provide a much simpler version of Shao Yong’s Yi learning. By selecting Shao Yong as the sole representative of the branch of Yi learning based on number and diagram, Zhu also provided a basis for merging

this branch of scholarship with the authority of Fuxi into Neo-Confucianism. Yet,

that is not the whole story. In this article the tradition which solely focused on

Shao Yong’s legacy was not discussed.

This article has instead discussed the main-stream transmission history of Shao

Yong’s Yi learning. Aside from this, there is another less influential tradition;

namely, the commentarial tradition on Shao Yong’s Huangji jingshi (which in-

cludes the Waipian). By the end of the Song dynasty, scholars like Wang Shi 王

湜 ( fl. 1136), Zhang Xingcheng 張行成 ( jinshi 1132), and Zhu Bi 祝泌 ( jinshi 1274) had composed commentaries on Shao’s works which are still extant. 88

Some of these commentaries are categorized together with the Huangji jingshi as shuxue 數學 (numerology) in the shushu 術數 (skills and numerology) section of

the zibu 子部 (philosophy), while others, which just partially borrowed from the

Waipian as mediated by Zhu Xi’s interpretation, were categorized in the jingbu

經部 (Classics), like Shao Bowen’s Yixue bianhuo. The significance of this phe-

nomenon still needs more investigation. However, what is clear is that this phe-

nomenon presents Shao Yong as an interesting figure whose intellectual legacy

thoroughly influenced later generations.

88 See Wang Shi, Yixue, Zhang Xingcheng, Huangji jingshi guanwu waipian yanyi and Huangji

jingshi suoyin 皇極經世索隱 (Exploring the Hidden [Topics] of the Huangji jingshi; Hong

Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999); and Zhu Bi’s Guanwu pian jie.


257

Chinese Abstract

宋代邵雍易學在邵雍和朱熹之間的傳承關係

本文首先敘述朱熹對於邵雍易學的定位。然後從與《周易》的關係、圖、數

三方面，探索邵雍在《伊川擊壤集》、《皇極經世書》和易學相關的詩和論

述。接著從圖、數、作者問題三方面，探討《觀物外篇》的內容。之後，討

論邵伯溫《易學辨惑》、《邵氏聞見前錄》和邵博《邵氏聞見後錄》中關於

邵雍易學的記載。然後檢討朱震在其奏表和《卦圖》中對於邵雍易學的說

法。最後再回到朱熹，重新檢視朱熹對於邵雍易學和之前論述諸人的記載、

論述相出入的地方，以及解釋朱熹為什麼要重構邵雍易學的理由。

作者認為雖然天地之理對於朱熹的理學理論來說非常重要，但在宋代新創

的圖數之學下，〈河圖〉、〈洛書〉所彰顯出的天地之理及其延伸出的圖說已

經變得各說各話，朱震的《卦圖》正表示出這種紊亂的情形。雖然朱震利用

編造出的知識系譜欲將它統整，然而各種圖之間的關係卻非常曖昧難明。朱

熹利用簡化之後的《觀物外篇》，以「伏羲之易」來聯結邵雍的先天易學。

藉著這樣的聯結，朱熹不但獨佔了「伏羲」這個文化象徵，更確立了《周易》

的根源的確是天地自然之理。

至於《觀物外篇》和目前學界的意見不同，本文建議在進一步研究之前，

先懸置它與邵雍的關係。因為朱熹的關係，所謂的「邵雍易學」得以在《四

庫全書》分類的經部易類中被討論，然而邵雍的《皇極經世書》（包括《觀

物外篇》）以及對於它的相關注釋著作卻被編在《四庫全書》分類的子部術

數類數學之屬裏。這些關於《皇極經世書》的注釋之作並不是朱熹將邵雍易

學納入其理學系統的主要原因，所以本文並未進行討論。

CHU PING-TZU

258

Table and Figures

走

感

暑

變

性

之

走

善

色

寒情聲

晝形氣

夜體味

飛

暑性

飛

色

寒情聲

晝形氣

夜體味

草

暑性

草

色

寒情聲

晝形氣

夜體味

木

暑性

木

色

寒情聲

晝形氣

夜體味

性

應

雨

化

走

性

耳

風飛目

露草口

雷木鼻

情

雨走

情

耳

風飛目

露草口

雷木鼻

形

雨走

形

耳

風飛目

露草口

雷木鼻

體

雨走

體

耳

風飛目

露草口

雷木鼻

Table 2: Shao Yong’s Four Division Cosmology, based on the Huangji jingshi, chapter 51.


259

Fig. 1: “Fuxi bagua cixu” 伏羲八卦次序, in: Zhu Xi, Zhuzi quanshu 朱子全書 (ed. Zhu Jieren 朱

杰人, Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2002), vol. 1, p. 19. According to Zhu Xi, this diagram

is based on the paragraph in the “Xici”: “In the Yi, there is the Great Ultimate which gave birth to

the Two Paradigms; the Two Paradigms to the Four Images; the Four Images to the Eight Tri-

grams” (易有太極，是生兩儀；兩儀生四象，四象生八卦).

CHU PING-TZU

260

Fig. 2: “Fuxi bagua fangwei” 伏羲八卦方位, in: Zhuzi quanshu, vol. 1, p. 20. According to Zhu Xi,

this diagram is based on the paragraph in the “Shuogua”: “Heaven and Earth fix their positions; moun-

tain and swamp interchange their material force; thunder and wind get closer and closer to each other;

and water and fire will not penetrate each other” (天地定位，山澤通氣，雷風相薄，水火不相射).


261

Fig. 3: “Fuxi liushisi gua cixu” 伏羲六十四卦次序, in: Zhuzi quanshu, vol. 1, p. 20, inserted

page. This diagram is based on Figure 1; i.e., adding the Eight Trigrams in sequence on top of

each trigram in sequence.

CHU PING-TZU

262

Fig. 4: “Fuxi liushisi gua fangwei” 伏羲六十四卦方位, in: Zhuzi quanshu, vol. 1, p. 20, inserted

page. Again this diagram is based on Figure 2; i.e., adding the Eight Trigrams in sequence on top of

each trigram in sequence.


263

Fig. 5: “Wenwang bagua cixu” 文王八卦次序, in: Zhuzi quanshu, vol. 1, p. 21. According to Zhu

Xi, this diagram is based on the paragraph in the “Shougua”: “The qian, representing Heaven, thus is

named ‘father’. The kun, representing Earth, thus is named ‘mother’. The zhen, on the first request

[by qian], a male was obtained, and thus is called ‘the eldest son’; the xun, on the first request [by

kun], a female was obtained, and thus is called ‘the eldest daughter’; the kan, on the second request, a

male was obtained, and thus is called ‘the son in the middle’; the li, on the second request, a female

was obtained, and thus is called ‘the daughter in the middle’; the gen, on the third request, a male was

obtained, and thus is called ‘the youngest son’; the dui, on the third request, a female was obtained,

and thus is called ‘the youngest daughter’” (乾，天也，故稱乎父；坤，地也，故稱乎母。震，一索

而得男，故謂之長男；巽，一索而得女，故謂之長女。坎，再索而得男，故謂之中男；離，再索

而得女，故謂之中女。艮，三索而得男，故謂之少男；兌，再索而得女，故謂之少女).

CHU PING-TZU

264

Fig. 6: “Wenwang bagua fangwei” 文王八卦方位, in: Zhuzi quanshu, vol. 1, p. 22. According to

Zhu Xi, this diagram is drawn based on the paragraph in the “Shuogua”: “The Supreme deity [lets

the multitude] come out from the zhen, equally [purified] by the xun, see each other in the li, be put

to work on the kun, be pleased in the dui, fight against each other on the qian, be laborious in the

kan, and claim success in the gen” (帝出乎震，齊乎巽，相見乎離，致役乎坤，戰乎乾，勞乎坎，

成言乎艮).


265

Fig. 7: The cosmological schema of the Huangji jingshi 皇極經世. The characteristic of parallelism in

Shao Yong’s description of his cosmology makes it easy to transform into a parallel diagram.

Fig. 8: The intellectual genealogy shown in Zhu Zhen’s memorial.

CHU PING-TZU

266

Fig. 9: The intellectual genealogy shown in Zhu Zhen’s Guatu 卦圖, in the Guatu section of Zhu

Zhen’s Hanshang Yizhuan 漢上易傳 (Hanshang’s [i.e., Zhu Zhen’s] Commentary on the Yijing;

Hong Kong: Digital Heritage Publishing, 1999), 1:2a, 7a, 11b, 24b.


267

Fig. 10: “Fuxi bagua tu” 伏羲八卦圖 in: Zhu Zhen, Guatu, 1:6a-6b. This diagram is the same as

Figure 4 but the title is different. Instead of the Sixty-four Hexagrams in Figure 4, the title reads,

“The Eight Hexagrams.”

CHU PING-TZU

268

Fig. 11: “Wenwang bagua tu” 文王八卦圖, in: Zhu Zhen, Guatu, 1:9a. This diagram is similar to

Figure 6, except that it uses the Eight Hexagrams but not the Eight Trigrams.