Master Zhu's Diagram of Changing Hexagrams

按：邵子之學源出希夷，實老莊之宗派。但希夷一言一動，無非神仙面目；而邵子則不尚虛談，不立異行，不落禪機，不溺丹道，粹然儒者氣象，故二程樂與之遊。然觀其平日所論，微有不滿於邵子者：曰放曠，曰偏駁，曰無禮不恭，曰空中樓閣，曰儒術未見所得，曰其說之流有弊。瑕瑜不相揜，亦未可謂推尊之至也。

Hu Wei commented: Shao Yong's learning originated from Chen Tuan, and in fact belonged to the school of Laozi and Zhuangzi. However, Chen Tuan's every word and action presented the appearance of a immortal; while Shao Yong did not value empty and mysterious discussions, did not engage in novel and distinctive behavior, did not fall into the subtleties of Chan Buddhism, nor did he become addicted to alchemy. He displayed a pure Confucian demeanor, so the two Cheng brothers were willing to associate with him. However, looking at the Cheng brothers' usual discussions, they actually subtly expressed dissatisfaction with Shao Yong: they called him "reckless," "biased," "impolite and disrespectful," compared him to "a building in the air," said his Confucian learning had not yielded results, and warned that his teachings, if passed on, would bring about evils. The flaws and merits could not be concealed from each other, and it could not be said that the Cheng brothers revered him to the utmost.

及其為墓誌，則謂得之穆、李者，特因其材之所宜以為入道之門戸，則固以象數為一家之學矣。雖云自得者多，不止穆、李之所傳，然終不離乎象數。易道之大，無所不包，執一家之學而以為伏羲之精意全在於此，豈理也哉！

When Cheng Hao wrote the epitaph for him, he said that what he had received from Mu Xiu and Li Zhihai was merely suitable for his own talent and character, serving as a way to enter the Dao. This clearly regarded the images and numbers as the teachings of a single school. Although he himself had gained much through personal insight, not limited to what was passed down by Mu and Li, he could not escape the framework of images and numbers. The Way of the Changes is vast and inclusive, encompassing everything. To grasp the teachings of one school and claim that Fuxi's subtle intentions are entirely contained within it, how could such a notion be reasonable!

朱子於先天方位得養生之要，於加一倍法見數學之精，篤信季通，意固有在，吾何敢輕議，但不當列諸經首以為伏羲之易耳。明道適僧舍，見其方食而曰「三代威儀盡在是矣」，此偶然語也；設有人焉，掇浮屠之戒律冠於《禮經》之首，則荒矣。胡文定於內典獨稱《楞嚴》《圓覺》，亦謂彼教中有可取者耳；設有人焉，舉二書於《中庸》《論語》合為一編，則悖矣。故吾以為邵子之易與聖人之易，離之則雙美，合之則兩傷，學者不可以不審也。

Zhu Xi derived the principles of health preservation from the Earlier Heaven diagram, perceived the subtlety of mathematics through the method of doubling, and firmly believed in Cai Yuan Ding's statements, with his intentions clearly aimed somewhere, and I dare not lightly comment on them; however, it is inappropriate to place these diagrams at the beginning of the classics, treating them as the Yi of Fuxi. Cheng Hao went to a Buddhist monastery and saw the monks having their meal, then said, "The decorum of the Three Dynasties is all here," which was merely an incidental remark; if someone were to take Buddhist precepts and place them before the Li Jing, that would be absurd. Hu An Guo (posthumous name Wen Ding) praised the Lengyan Jing and Yuanjue Jing from the Buddhist scriptures, merely indicating that there are some commendable aspects in that teaching; if someone were to compile these two texts together with the Zhongyong and Lunyu into one book, that would be a misstep. Therefore, I believe that Shao Yong's Yi and the Yi of the sage are each excellent when separated, but both would be harmed if combined, and scholars must be cautious in distinguishing between them.

右論邵康節。

The previous section discusses the relationship between Shao Yong's teachings and the Earlier Heaven diagrams.

《宋史·隠逸傳》：譙定字天授，涪陵人。少喜學佛，折其禮歸於儒，後學《易》於郭曩氏，自見乃謂之象，一語以入。郭曩氏者，世家南平，始祖在漢為嚴君平之師，世傳易學，蓋象數之學也。定一日至汴，聞伊川程頤講道於洛，潔衣往見，棄其學而學焉，遂得聞精義，造詣愈至，浩然而歸。

The "Biography of the Recluse" in the "Song History" records that Qiao Ding, who was called Tianshuo, was from Fuling. He was young and fond of studying Buddhism, but later was convinced by Confucianism and turned to Confucian learning. Afterwards, he studied the "Book of Changes" with the Guo family, and when he had his own insights, he called them "Xiang" (images). He could directly enter the key point with a single sentence. The Guo family had lived in Nanping for generations, and their ancestor in the Han dynasty had been the teacher of Yan Junping. They had passed down the study of the "Book of Changes" through the generations, following the school of Xiangshu (images and numbers). One day, Qiao Ding went to Bianjing and heard that Cheng Yi, known as Master Yichuan, was lecturing on the Way in Luoyang. He then dressed himself neatly and went to pay his respects. He abandoned his previous studies and changed to follow Cheng Yi, thus hearing the subtle principles and deepening his understanding. He returned home with a sense of grandeur and fulfillment.

其後頤貶涪，實定之鄉也。北山有巖，師友游泳其中，涪人名之曰讀易洞。靖康初，呂好問薦之，欽宗召為崇政殿說書，以論弗合，辭不就。髙宗即位，定猶在汴，右丞許翰又薦之，詔宗澤津遣詣行在。至維揚，寓邸舍，窶甚，一中貴人偶與鄰，饋之食不受，與之衣亦不受，委金而去，定袖而歸之。其自立之操類此。

Later, Cheng Yi was exiled to Fuzhou, which was the hometown of Qiao Ding. There was a mountain cave in Beishan where master and disciple used to leisurely study and discuss, and the people of Fuzhou called it "Reading the Yi Classic Cave." In the early years of Jingkang, Lü Haowen recommended Qiao Ding, and Emperor Qinzong summoned him to serve as a lecturer in the Chongzhi Hall. However, due to disagreements in opinions, he declined the position. When Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, Qiao Ding was still in Bianjing. The Right Chancellor of the Ministry of Personnel, Xu Han, again recommended him, and the court issued an edict ordering Zong Ze to prepare boats and carts to send him to the imperial court. When he arrived in Weiyang, he stayed in a guest house, living in poverty. A eunuch who happened to be his neighbor gave him food, but he refused to accept it; he also refused clothes. The eunuch left money and went away, and Qiao Ding used his sleeve to wrap the money and returned it. His conduct of self-reliance and integrity was roughly like this.

上將用之，會金兵至，失定所在，復歸蜀，愛青城大酉之勝，棲遁其中。蜀人指其地曰譙巖，敬定而不敢名，稱之曰譙夫子，有繪像祀之者，久而不衰。定易學得之程頤，授之胡憲、劉勉之，而馮時行、張行成則得定之餘意者也。定後不知所終，樵夫牧童往往有見之者，世傳其為仙雲。

Emperor Gaozong was about to appoint him, but just as the Jin army came, Qiao Ding lost his way and returned to the Sichuan region. He loved the beautiful scenery of Qingcheng Mountain and Dayou Mountain, and so he withdrew to live in seclusion there. The people of Sichuan pointed to his place of retreat and called it "Qiao Rock," showing respect for him and not daring to use his name directly. They called him "Master Qiao." Some even painted his portrait and worshipped it, and this tradition continued for a long time. Qiao Ding's study of the Book of Changes came from Cheng Yi, and he passed it on to Hu Xian and Liu Mianzhi. However, Feng Shixing and Zhang Xingcheng received his teachings later. Later, Qiao Ding's final destination was unknown. Often, shepherds and woodcutters would see him, and the world spread the legend that he had become an immortal.

初，程頤之父珦嘗守廣漢，頤與兄顥皆隨侍，遊成都，見治篾篐桶者挾冊，就視之則《易》也。欲擬議致詰，而蔑者先曰：「若嘗學此乎？」因指「未濟男之窮」以發問，二程遜而問之，則曰：「三陽皆失位。」兄弟渙然有所省，翌日再過之，則去矣。

At first, Cheng Yi's father, Cheng Xiang, served as the governor of Guanghan, and both Cheng Yi and his brother Cheng Hao were with him. Once they visited Chengdu and saw a bamboo worker carrying a book. When they approached to take a look, they found it was the Book of Changes. The Cheng brothers were about to find the right words to ask questions, but the bamboo worker spoke first, asking, "Have you studied this before?" Then he pointed to the sentence in the "Sequence of Hexagrams" "Wei Ji, the male's decline" and asked about it. The two Cheng brothers modestly asked him for an explanation, and he replied, "Because in the Wei Ji hexagram, the three yang lines are not in the right place." The brothers suddenly had a clear understanding. The next day, they went to find him again, but he had already left.

其後袁滋入洛，問《易》於頤，頤曰：「易學在蜀耳，盍往求之？」滋入蜀訪問，久無所遇，已而見賣醬薛翁於眉、卭間，與語大有所得，不知所得何語也。憲、勉之、滋皆閩人，時行、行成蜀人，郭曩氏及篾叟、醬翁皆蜀之隠君子也。

Later, Yuan Zi went to Luoyang and asked Cheng Yi about the Book of Changes. Cheng Yi said, "The study of the Book of Changes is in Sichuan, why not go there to seek it out?" Yuan Zi went to Sichuan to search for it, but did not meet anyone for a long time. Later, he met an old man selling sauce named Xue in between Muzhou and Qiongzhou, and had a conversation that brought him great insight, though he did not know exactly what he had gained. Hu Xian, Liu Mianzhi, and Yuan Zi were all from Fujian, while Feng Shixing and Zhang Xingcheng were from Sichuan. The Guo Nang family and the bamboo-woven craftsman and the old man selling sauce were all reclusive sages from Sichuan.

朱子《籍溪先生胡公行狀》曰：先生學《易》於涪陵處士譙公天授，久未有得。天授曰：「是固當然，蓋心為物漬，故不能有見，唯學乃可明耳。」先生於是喟然嘆曰：「所謂學者，非克己工夫也邪？」自是一意下學，不求人知，一旦揖諸生，歸隠於故山。

Zhu Xi's "Jixi Xiansheng Hu Gong Xingzhuang" says: Master Hu Xian studied the Book of Changes with Quaoding, a hermit in Fuling, but for a long time had no insights. Quaoding said, "This is naturally so, because the human mind is tainted by external things, so it cannot perceive clearly; only through learning can one understand." Master Hu then sighed and said, "So learning is not simply the effort to overcome one's own desires?" From then on, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to practical study, not seeking recognition from others. One day, he bowed to his students and left to retreat to the mountains of his hometown.

《與汪尚書書》曰：郭子和雲譙天授亦伊川黨事後門人。熹見胡、劉二丈說親見譙公自言，識伊川於涪陵，約以同居洛中，及其至洛，則伊川已下世矣。問以伊川易學，意似不以為然，至考其它言行，又頗雜於佛老子之學者，恐未得以門人稱也。以此一事及其所著象學文字推之，則恐其於程門亦有未純師者，不知其所謂卒業者果何事邪？

Zhu Xi in his letter to Wang Shushu said: Guo Yong, who goes by the name Zihe, claimed that Qiao Ding was a disciple of Cheng Yi after the Cheng Yi faction ban. I once heard two elders, Hu Xian and Liu Mianzhi, say that they personally heard Qiao Ding himself tell that he met Cheng Yi in Fuling and had agreed to live together in Luoyang later. When he arrived in Luoyang, Cheng Yi had already passed away. When asked about his view on Cheng Yi's study of the Book of Changes, his opinion seemed to be in disagreement. Further examining his other words and deeds, they were quite mixed with Buddhist and Laozi's teachings. Therefore, he cannot be considered a true disciple of Cheng's school. From this incident and his writings on the象学 (xiangxue, which refers to a system of divination), it seems that he did not fully inherit Cheng's teachings. I do not know what exactly is meant by the term '卒业' (zuoye, which refers to completing one's studies or finishing one's apprenticeship).

按：朱子此言，則譙定僅識伊川於涪陵，而入洛則不及見，史稱先受《易》於洛，後復從遊於其鄉者，妄也。徽宗朝蔡京用事，禁毋得挾元佑書，自是伊洛之學不行。時胡、劉二公皆在太學，而定適至，聞其嘗與伊川遊，故慨然師事之。所欲聞者義理也，而定本象數之學，不能有所益。定於伊川不純師，二公於定亦未純師也。

Hu Wei's commentary: According to Zhu Xi's words, Qiao Ding only met Cheng Yi in Fuping, and by the time he arrived in Luoyang, he was too late to meet him. The "Song History" says he first studied the Book of Changes in Luoyang and later studied with Cheng Yi in his hometown, which is untrue. During the reign of Emperor Huizong, Cai Jing was in power and banned the private possession of books from the Yuanyou period. From then on, the teachings of the Yi school from the Yi Luo tradition could not spread widely. At that time, Hu Xian and Liu Mianzhi were both in the Taixue, and just as Qiao Ding arrived, they heard that he had once studied with Cheng Yi, so they respectfully regarded him as their teacher. However, what they wanted to learn was the principles of meaning, while Qiao Ding's learning was mainly in the numerical and symbolic approach. Therefore, Qiao Ding could not be considered a pure disciple of Cheng Yi, and Hu Xian and Liu Mianzhi could not be considered pure disciples of Qiao Ding either.

故朱子雖遊二公之門，而不得見希夷之真圖，晚使蔡季通入峽乃購得之。「易學在蜀」亦必非伊川語，蓋其徒知象數非儒者所尚，故自附伊川之易以張其學，修史者不能裁擇，因而書之以為傳，實不然也。昔嚴君平著《老子指歸》，而郭曩氏始祖為其師，然則定所受者乃老子之易，其於聖人之道猶爝火之於日月也，何足選哉？何足選哉？

Therefore, although Zhu Xi studied under both Hu and Liu, he did not see Chen Tuan's true diagram, and only in his later years did he send Cai Yuan ding to the Three Gorges area to buy it. The statement "The study of the Book of Changes is in Sichuan" was certainly not said by Cheng Yi. It is likely that the disciples of that school knew that the method of images and numbers was not favored by Confucian scholars, so they attached themselves to Cheng Yi's study of the Book of Changes to promote their own school. Since historians could not decide which to take or reject, they simply copied it and wrote it into the biography, but in reality it was not the case. In the past, Yan Junping wrote the "Commentary on the Dao De Jing," and the ancestor of the Guo family was his teacher. Therefore, the tradition that Qiao Ding inherited was the Book of Changes based on Laozi, which is like a small torch compared to the sun and moon. How could it be worth mentioning? How could it be worth mentioning?

右論蜀隠者。

The above section discusses the origin of the Yi Jing studies of Qiao Ding and the school of hidden scholars from Shu.

李潛《麻衣道者正易心法序》曰：此書頃得之廬山一異人（或云許堅）。或有疑而問者，餘應之云：何疑之有？顧其議論可也。昔《黃帝素問》《孔子易大傳》，世尚有疑之，嘗曰：世固有能作《素問》者乎？固有能作《易大傳》者乎？雖非本真，是亦黃帝、孔子之徒也。餘於《正易心法》亦曰：世固有能作之者乎？雖非麻衣，是乃麻衣之徒也。胡不觀其文辭議論乎？一滴真金，源流天造，前無古人，後無來者，翩然於羲皇心地上馳騁，實物外真仙之書也。讀來十年方悟，浸漬觸類，以知易道之大如是也。得其人當與共之。

In the Northern Song dynasty, the recluse Li Qian of Lu Mountain wrote a preface for The Mind Method of the Orthodox Changes by the Hemp-Robed Daoist. He said: This book was recently given to me by a strange person from Lu Mountain (some say his name was Xu Jian). Some people doubted and asked questions, but I answered them: What is there to doubt? Just look at its arguments. In the past, there were people who doubted the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon and the Great Commentary on the Changes by Confucius. I once said: How could there really be someone who wrote the Inner Canon? How could there really be someone who wrote the Great Commentary on the Changes? Even if it was not written by the original authors, it must have been written by someone from the same school as the Yellow Emperor or Confucius. I say the same about The Mind Method of the Orthodox Changes: How could there really be someone who wrote this book? Even if it was not written by the Hemp-Robed Daoist, it must have been written by someone from his school. Why not look at its words and arguments? It is truly like a single drop of pure gold, its source flowing naturally from heaven, preceding all ancient people and coming after none, freely galloping on the mind of Fuxi. It is truly a book of true immortals beyond worldly things. I read it for ten years before I understood it, layer by layer, gradually comprehending, and then I realized how vast the Way of the Changes is. When encountering the right person, it should be shared with him.

《正易心法》曰：卦象示人，本無文字，使人消息，吉凶嘿會。易道不傳，乃有周孔；周孔孤行，易道復晦。又曰：易道彌滿，九流可入，當知活法，要須自悟。又曰：世俗學解，浸漬舊聞，失其本始，易道淺狹。（卷首題云：希夷先生受並消息。）

The Mind Method of the Orthodox Changes says: The trigrams are revealed to people, originally without written words, allowing individuals to personally observe their changes, and to understand fortune and misfortune through silent comprehension. When the Way of the Changes was lost, there emerged the words of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius; yet when the teachings of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius were circulated alone, the Way of the Changes became obscure again. It also says: The Way of the Changes pervades everywhere, and all the schools of thought can enter through it. One should understand the living method, but the key still lies in personal enlightenment. It also says: The common interpretations are tainted by old hearsay, losing their original essence, and thus the Way of the Changes becomes shallow and narrow. (The book's preface is inscribed as 'Hixi Master received and transmitted the teachings.')

跋曰：五代李守正叛河中，周太祖親征，麻衣語趙韓王曰：「李侍中安得久？其城中有三天子氣。」未幾城陷，時周世宗與本朝太祖侍行。錢文僖公若水，陳希夷每見以其神觀清粹，謂可學仙，有升舉之分，見之未精，使麻衣決之，麻衣雲無仙骨，但可作貴公卿耳。夫以神仙與帝王之相，豈易識哉！麻衣一見決之，則其識為何如也。即其識神仙、識帝王眼目以論易，則其出於尋常萬萬也，固不容於其言矣。乾道元年冬十有一月初七日，玉溪戴師愈孔文撰。

The跋of this book says: During the Five Dynasties period, Li Shouzhen rebelled in Hezhong. Emperor Guo Wei, the founder of the Later Zhou dynasty, personally led the campaign. The Hemp-Robed Daoist told Zhao Pu (later enfeoffed as the Prince of Han) that "Li Shizhong cannot last long; there are three imperial energies within that city." Soon after, the city fell. At that time, Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou and the present Emperor Zhao Kuangyin were both with the army. Wenxi Gong Qian Ruoshui, whenever Chen Tuan saw him, always found him to have a divine and refined appearance, believing he could become a immortal. However, Chen Tuan himself could not judge accurately, so he invited the Hemp-Robed Daoist to decide. The Hemp-Robed Daoist said that he had no immortal bones, and could only become a high-ranking official. How could the appearance of a immortal and that of an emperor be easily recognized! The Hemp-Robed Daoist could judge it at a glance, so his insight must have been extraordinary. Based on his ability to recognize immortals and emperors, his interpretation of the Book of Changes must be far beyond ordinary people. His words are naturally not to be doubted. Written on the seventh day of the eleventh lunar month in the first year of Qiandao, by Dai Shiyu (given name Kongwen).

南軒張氏曰：嗚呼，此真麻衣道者之書也。其說獨本於羲皇之畫，推乾坤之自然，考卦脈之流動，論反對變復之際深矣，其自得者歟！希夷隠君實傳其學，二公髙視塵外，皆有長往不來之願，抑列御冦、莊周之徒歟？

Southern Song dynasty's Nanxuan Master Zhang Shi said: Ah, this is indeed the book of the Hemp-Robed Daoist. Its approach is based solely on Fuxi's hexagram diagrams, investigating the natural principles of Heaven and Earth, examining the flow of hexagram pulses, and discussing the depth of opposition and transformation, which is profound. It must be the result of his own personal insight! Chen Tuan, this reclusive gentleman, actually inherited his learning. Both of them looked down upon the world, holding a wish to leave behind the world forever, perhaps they were of the same kind as Lie Yukou and Zhuang Zhou?

雖然，概以吾聖門之法則未也。形而下者謂之器，或者有未察歟？其說曰：「六十四卦，惟乾與坤本之自然，是名真體。」又曰：「六子重卦，乾坤雜氣，悉是假合，無有定實。」餘則以為六子重卦，皆乾坤雜氣之妙用，真實自然，非假合也。希夷述其說曰：「學者當於羲皇心地上馳騁，無於周孔腳跡下盤旋。」予則以為學《易》者須於周孔腳跡下尋求，然後羲皇心地上可得而識。推此可概見矣。然其書之傳，固非牽於文義、鑿於私意者所可同年而語也。

Though this is true, if we apply our Confucian standards universally, it may not be sufficient. The principle that "what is below form is called an instrument" may not have been thoroughly examined by the author. The book says, "Among the sixty-four hexagrams, only Qian and Kun are based on nature, and this is called true essence." It also states, "The six subsidiary trigrams and the compound hexagrams are all mixed gases of Qian and Kun, mere combinations without fixed form or substance." I, however, believe that the six subsidiary trigrams and the compound hexagrams are the subtle workings of the mixed gases of Qian and Kun, real and natural, not mere combinations. Chen Tuan once said, "Scholars should roam in the mind of Fuxi, not circle around the footsteps of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius." I, however, think that those studying the Book of Changes must first seek within the footsteps of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, only then can they understand the mind of Fuxi. From this, one can roughly see the point. Nevertheless, the fact that this book has been passed down is not something that can be compared with works that are overly constrained by meaning or forced by personal interpretation.

朱子《書麻衣心易後》曰：此書詞意凡近，不類一二百年前文字。如所謂「雷自天下而發，山自天上而墜」，皆無理之妄談；所謂「一陽生於子月而應在夘月」，乃術家之小數；所謂「由破體煉之乃成全體」，則爐火之末技；所謂「人間萬事悉是假合」，又佛者之幻語耳。其它此比非一，不容悉舉。

Zhu Xi said in "Commentary on the Heart of the Ma Yi Yi" that the words and meanings of this book are commonplace and shallow, not resembling writings from a hundred or two hundred years ago. For example, the book says "Thunder arises from heaven and mountains fall from heaven," which are all unreasonable nonsense; it says "the first yang is born in the month of Zi and is verified in the month of Mao," which is merely the petty tricks of fortune-tellers calculating time; it says "from broken form to complete form," which is merely the inferior techniques of alchemists' furnace refining; and it says "all worldly affairs are mere combinations," which is nothing but the Buddhist talk of illusions. There are many such examples in the book, not just one or two, too numerous to list one by one.

要必近年術數末流，道聴塗說，掇拾老佛醫卜諸說之陋者以成其書；而其所以託名於此人，則以近世言象數者必宗邵氏，而邵氏之學出於希夷，於是又求希夷之所敬，得所謂麻衣而托之。以為若是，則凡出於邵氏之流者莫敢議已，而不自知其說之陋，不足以自附於陳、邵之間也。

In the end, this must certainly be the work of recent practitioners of divination who have merely gathered together superficial remarks from various schools such as the old ways, Buddhism, medicine, and divination, to compile this book. As for why they attributed it to the Hemp-Robed Daoist, it is because modern scholars of symbolic and numerical divination necessarily revere Shao Yong, and Shao Yong's teachings came from Chen Tuan. Therefore, they sought out those respected by Chen Tuan, and found the so-called Hemp-Robed Daoist, and thus attributed the work to him. They thought that by doing so, anyone from Shao Yong's school would not dare to criticize them. But they do not realize that their own views are shallow and unworthy of association with Chen Tuan or Shao Yong.

《再跋麻衣易說後》曰：予既為此說，後二年假守南康，始至，有前湘陰主簿戴師愈者來謁，老且蹩，使其壻自掖而前。坐語未久，即及麻衣易說，問其師傳所自，則曰得之隠者；問隠者誰氏，則曰：「彼不欲世人知其姓名，不敢言也。」既復問之邦人，則皆曰書獨出戴氏，莫有知其所自來者。

Zhu Xi wrote in "Zai Ba Mai Yi Shuo Hou" that after I wrote the previous跋, two years later I was temporarily appointed as the military governor of Nan Kang. Upon arriving at my post, a man named Dai Shi Yu, who had previously served as the chief clerk of Xiang Yin, came to pay his respects. He was already old and lame, and his son-in-law had to help him walk forward. After sitting down and talking for a short while, he mentioned the "Mai Yi Shuo." I asked him where he had learned this book from, and he said he had obtained it from a hermit. When I asked the hermit's surname, he replied, "That person did not wish for the world to know his name, so I dare not say." Later, I asked the local people, and they all said that this book came only from the Dai family, and no one knew where it originated.

予後至其家，見幾間有所著雜書一編，取而讀之，則其詞語氣象宛然麻衣易也。予以是始疑前時所料三五十年以來人者，即是此老。既歸即取觀之，則最後跋語固其所為，而一書四人之文，體制規模乃出一手，然後深信所疑之不妄。

Later I went to his house and saw a collection of miscellaneous writings on the writing desk. I took it up and read it, and the words and style were exactly like the style of the Ma Yi Yi. I therefore began to suspect that the person I had previously inferred as "a person from the past thirty to fifty years" was actually this old gentleman. After returning home, I looked again at the book, and indeed the final colophon was written by him. Moreover, the writings of four people in the entire book shared the same style and structure, and I then firmly believed my suspicion was not a mistaken judgment.

是時戴病已昏，不久即死，遂不復可窮詰。獨得其易圖數卷，閱之又皆鄙陋瑣碎，穿穴無稽，如小兒嬉戲之為者。欲以其事馳報敬夫，則敬夫亦已下世。因以書語呂伯恭曰：「吾病廢有年，乃復為吏，然不為他郡而獨來此，豈天固疾此書之妄，而欲使我親究其實邪？」

At that time, Dai Shi Yu was already so ill that his mind was confused, and he died soon after, so there was no way to ask him further questions. All we could obtain were a few scrolls of his Yi diagrams. After looking through them, I found them to be trivial and superficial, full of forced interpretations without solid basis, like children playing games. I wanted to quickly inform Zhang Xi (whose courtesy name was Jingfu) about this, but he had already passed away. So I wrote a letter to Lu Zuqian (whose courtesy name was Bogong), saying, "I have been ill and inactive for many years. Now I have once again returned to official duties, yet I have not gone to any other prefecture but this one. Is it not possible that heaven itself detests the absurdity of this book, and has thus arranged for me to personally investigate the truth?"

時當塗守李壽翁侍郎雅好此書，伯恭因以餘言告之。李亟以書來曰：「即如君言，斯人而能為此言，亦吾所願見也，幸為津致使其一來。」予適以所見聞報之，而李已得謝西歸，遂不復出，不知竟以餘言為何如也。

At that time, Li Chun, the governor of Taiping Prefecture (located in Dangtu) and a deputy minister, had always been fond of this book. Lü Zuxian therefore told me what I had said, and Li Chun immediately wrote back saying, "Even if it is as you said, the fact that this person could say such things is something I would like to meet him for, so please introduce him to me so that he can come." I was about to reply to him with what I had seen and heard, but Li Chun had already resigned and returned westward, never to take up office again. I do not know what evaluation he ultimately had of my words.

《陳氏書録解題》曰：舊傳麻衣道者授希夷先生，崇寧間廬山隠者李潛得之，凡四十二章，蓋依託也。朱侍講云：南康主簿戴師愈撰，乃不唧溜底禪，不唧溜底修養法，不唧溜底時日法。

In the Southern Song dynasty, Chen Zhenwen of the Zhizhai Book Catalogue and Commentary said: It was traditionally believed that this book was passed down from the Hemp-Robed Daoist to Master Chen Tuan, the Recluse of Xiyi. In the Chongning period, a recluse named Li Qian on Mount Lu obtained it, and it had forty-two chapters. However, in reality, it was a forgery. Zhu Xi, who once served as a court lecturer, said: This book was written by Dai Shiyu, the chief clerk of NanKang. It is a mediocre work on Chan Buddhism, mediocre cultivation methods, and mediocre methods for choosing auspicious times.

王炎曰：洛水李壽翁侍郎喜論《易》，炎嘗問曰：「侍郎在當塗板行麻衣新說如何？」李曰：「程沙隨見屬。」炎曰：「恐託名麻衣耳。以撲錢背面喻八卦陰陽純駁，此鄙說也；以泉雲雨為陽水，以澤為陰水，與夫子不合。」李曰：「然。然亦有兩語佳。」炎曰：「豈非『學者當於羲皇心地上馳騁，不當於周孔腳跡下盤旋』邪？然此二語亦非也。無周孔之辭，則羲皇心地學者何從探之？」李無語。

Wang Yan said: A man from Luo River, the Vice Minister Li Chun (styled Shouweng), liked to talk about the Book of Changes. I once asked him: "What do you think of the new interpretation of the Ma Yi school published by the printing house in Dangtu?" Li Chun replied: "It was commissioned by Cheng Xiong (styled Shasui)." I said: "I fear it is just a pretended name of Ma Yi. Using the head and tail of a copper coin to illustrate the purity and mixture of the yin and yang of the Eight Trigrams is a shallow and vulgar way of explanation. To regard spring water, clouds and rain as yang water, and marshes as yin water, is inconsistent with Confucius' view." Li Chun said: "You are right. However, there are two sentences that are good." I said: "Are they not the ones that say, 'Scholars should run freely on the mind of Fuxi, not circle around the footprints of Confucius and Zhou Gong'?" But even these two sentences are wrong. Without the words of Zhou Gong and Confucius, how could scholars explore the mind of Fuxi?" Li Chun had no reply.

按：是書託名麻衣，序跋與書及注同出一手，其它踳駁之說無論，獨李壽翁所賞二語，貽誤學者不淺。然其言實出希夷，《觀物外篇》曰：「先天學，心法也。圖雖無文，吾終日言而未嘗離乎是。」亦即所謂「羲皇心地上馳騁，不於周孔腳跡下盤旋」也。麻衣，小說家以為即白閣僧相錢若水者，其人蓋孫君仿、麞皮處士之流，縱令是書真出麻衣，吾亦深惡而痛絶之，況戴師愈乎？

Hu Wei's commentary: This book is attributed to the Hemp-Robed Daoist. The preface, colophon, main text, and annotations all come from the same person. Other confused and disorderly statements are not worth discussing. Even just the two sentences praised by Li Chun, which have misled scholars greatly, actually originated from Chen Tuan. In the "Outer Chapter of Observing Things" from "The Imperial Ultimate Treatise," it says: "The study of the Earlier Heaven is a matter of the mind. Although the diagram lacks words, I have been discussing it all day long without ever departing from it." This is what is meant by "roaming on Fuxi's mind ground, not circling around the footprints of the Zhou and Confucius." As for the Hemp-Robed Daoist, the novelists consider him to be the monk who gave a physiognomy reading to Qian Ruoshui in the White Pavilion. This person is probably of the same kind as Sun Junfang and the Hermit of the Deer Skin. Even if this book were truly written by the Hemp-Robed Daoist, I would strongly dislike it, let alone if it were written by Dai Shiyu.

右論麻衣道者。

The previous section discusses the origins and forgery of the book "The Mind Method of the Orthodox Changes" attributed to the Hemp-Robed Daoist.

潛溪宋氏《溟涬生贊序》曰：溟涬生者，旴江廖應淮海學也。抱負竒氣，好研摩運世推移及方技諸家學。年三十遊杭，上疏言丁大全誤國狀，大全怒，中以法，配漢陽軍。生荷校行歌出都門，道旁觀者嘖嘖壯之。

In the early Ming dynasty, the scholar Song Lian, known as Master Qianxi, wrote a preface to his work "Zeng Xing Sheng Zan," stating that Zeng Xing Sheng was a person from Xujiang named Liao Yinghui, whose courtesy name was Hai Xue. He had great ambitions and a bold spirit, and he loved to study the changes of the world and various techniques from different schools. At the age of thirty, he traveled to Hangzhou and submitted a memorial exposing the misgovernment of Ding Duanquan. Ding Duanquan became very angry and used legal means to slander him, sentencing him to be sent to Hanyang Jun with chains. Liao Yinghui wore chains and sang songs as he left the city gate, and people around him praised his bravery and courage.

抵漢江濱，遇蜀道士杜可大，揖曰：「子非廖應淮邪？」生愕然曰：「道士何自知之？」可大曰：「宇宙太虛一塵耳，人生其間為塵幾何？是茫茫者尚瞭然心目間，矧吾子邪？然自邵堯夫以先天學授王豫天悅，天悅死無所授，同葬玉枕中。未百年而吳曦叛，盜發其冢，得《皇極經世體要》一篇、《內外觀象》數十篇，餘賄盜得之，今餘五十年，數當授子，吾俟子亦久矣。」

He walked by the Han River and met a Daoist from Shu, Du Keda. Du Keda bowed and said, "Are you not Liao Yinghuai?" Liao Yinghuai was surprised and asked, "How did the Daoist know that?" Du Keda replied, "The universe in the Great Void is no more than a single grain of dust. How many grains of dust can a person be in it? If I can clearly see such an endless expanse, how much more so can I see you? However, since Shao Yong passed on the study of Earlier Heaven to Wang Yu (whose courtesy name was Tianyue), and when Wang Yu died there was no one to pass it on, he buried the books together in his jade pillow. Less than a hundred years later, Wu Xi rebelled, and tomb robbers dug up his grave. They found one piece called "The Essentials of the Imperial Extent and the World's Order" and dozens of other pieces called "Inner and Outer Observations of the World." I bought them from the robbers with money. Now fifty years have passed, and according to the number, it should be passed on to you. I have been waiting for you as well."

乃言於上官，脫其籍，盡教以冢中書。其算由聲音起，生神鑑穎利，可大指畫未到者，生已先意逆悟，可大自以為不及。學既成，去隠宣、歙間。遇餘安裕弋陽，將教之，安裕勸生業《中庸》，生瞠目厲聲曰：「俗儒幾辱吾康節於地下矣。」

Du Ke Da appealed to the superior official on behalf of Liao Yinghuai, removing his status as a criminal and giving him all the books obtained from the tomb. The system of calculation started from sound. Liao Yinghuai was intelligent and quick to understand, so even where Du Ke Da had not yet explained, Liao Yinghuai had already grasped it. Du Ke Da thought he could not match Liao Yinghuai. After completing his studies, he left and lived in seclusion between Xuanzhou and Xishui. In Yiyang, he met Yu Anyu, who was about to teach him, but Yu Anyu advised him to study the Zhongyong. Liao Yinghuai looked at him angrily and shouted, "You, this vulgar scholar, are almost about to insult me in the afterlife, Shao Kangjie."

復去之杭，客賀外史家，晝市大衍數，夜沽酒痛飲，飲即吐，吐即飲，不醉如泥不休。醉中嘗大叫曰：「天非宋天，地非宋地，奈何奈何。」語聞賈似道，遣客叩之，生曰：「毋多言，浙水西地髮白時是其祥也。」似道未解，復召至，屏人與語，生曰：「明公宜自愛，不久宋鼎移矣。」似道惡其言，掩耳走。

He went again to Hangzhou and stayed with He Wai Shi. By day he practiced the divination method of Da Yan, and by night he bought wine and drank heavily, vomiting after each drink, then drinking again, not stopping until he was completely drunk. While drunk, he shouted loudly, "The sky is not the sky of the Song Dynasty, the earth is not the earth of the Song Dynasty, what shall we do, what shall we do?" This was reported to Jia Shidao, who sent his attendant to inquire. Liao Yinghuai said, "There is no need to say more; when the grass and trees in the western part of Zhejiang turn white, that will be the sign." Jia Shidao did not understand, so he summoned Liao again, dismissed the others, and talked with him. Liao said, "You should take care of yourself, for the imperial throne of the Song Dynasty is soon to change hands." Jia Shidao disliked these words and covered his ears and walked away.

生亦徑出，過曽淵子家索酒轟飲，酒酣作嬰兒啼曰：「大廈將焚，燕猶呢喃未已邪。」復賦歌以見意，都人士聞之，競指以為怪民，不與接，獨太學生熊睎聖猶時造其廬。生私執熊手謂曰：「吾端居層樓，聞空中戎馬百萬來，人鬼作哭泣聲。壬申襄樊陷，甲戌宮車晏駕，乙亥長江飛渡，似道亦殛死臨漳，丙子三宮播遷，諸王大臣皆南北亂走，噓吸事耳，子不去欲何為？」居亡何，宋事日非，沿江州郡望風奔潰。生大慟曰：「殺氣又入閩廣中，吾不知死所矣。」遂遁去，其言無一不驗。

Liao Yinghuai went straight out, passing by Zeng Yuanzi's house to drink wine and get drunk. When he was drunk, he imitated a baby's crying and said, "The great building is about to burn down, but the swallows are still chirping incessantly." He also composed a song to express his feelings. When the scholars in the capital heard this, they all rushed to call him a strange person, and refused to associate with him. Only the student of the Imperial Academy, Xiong Xiying, would occasionally visit his residence. Liao Yinghuai privately held Xiong Xiying's hand and said, "I am quietly living on the top of a high building, hearing a million soldiers and horses coming from the sky, and both men and ghosts are weeping. In the Renshen year, Xiangyang and Fancheng will fall, in the Jiaxu year the emperor will die, in the Yihai year the Yuan army will cross the Yangtze River, and Jia Shidao will be executed in Linding. In the Bingzi year, the three palaces will be forced to move, and all the princes and ministers will be running around north and south. These are all things that will happen in an instant. If you don't leave, what are you going to do?" Soon after, the situation of the Song dynasty became worse and worse, and the prefectures along the Yangtze River surrendered one after another. Liao Yinghuai was greatly grieved and said, "The killing atmosphere has reached Fujian and Guangdong. I don't know where I will die." Then he fled away. All his words came true.

後四年病死處州學中，年五十二，無子，一義女從之。生宗堯夫先天之學，頗自謂知《易》，每見諸易師傳疏，不問淺深，輒訕駁以為樂。及論後天，則尊羲畫為經，彖爻繋辭為傳，黜《文言》《彖》《象》二傳為九師之言，且謂《說卦》非聖筆不能作，上下《繫》乃門人所述，《序卦》直漢儒記耳。蓋生聰明絶人，未聞道而驟語數，故其論經多失中。

Four years later he died of illness while staying at the state school in Chuzhou, at the age of fifty-two, without any sons, only a daughter-in-law by adoption remained by his side. Liao Yinghui followed Shao Yong's theory of the Earlier Heaven, and took pride in his understanding of the Book of Changes. Whenever he encountered commentaries and interpretations from different schools of the Book of Changes, regardless of their depth, he would often criticize and refute them for fun. When discussing the Later Heaven system of the Book of Changes, he held the hexagram images of Fuxi as the fundamental principles, and considered the Hexagram Statements, Line Statements, and the Great Treatise as commentaries. He regarded the Wenyan and the two commentaries of Tai and Xiang as mere words of the nine schools of Han dynasty scholars, and even claimed that the Shuogua was not written by the sage, and that the upper and lower Great Treatises were merely records by his disciples, while the Xugua was simply the notes of Han scholars. Perhaps Liao Yinghui was exceptionally intelligent, but he began to discuss numbers before he had truly understood the Way, so his interpretations of the classics often went beyond the middle path.

然性使酒難近，又好訐人陰私，人面頸發赤不顧，罕有從其學者，唯國子簿吳浚、進士彭復樂師之。浚不卒業，復屢受唾斥不怨。生將遁時，召復至，口發例，手布籌，雖平昔所靳若終身不示人者，一舉授復。復後又授鄱陽傅立雲。

However, his nature was to take out his anger through drinking, making it hard for people to get close to him. He also liked to expose others' private matters, regardless of how red others' faces and necks became. Therefore, few people wanted to learn from him. Only Wu Jun, the chief clerk of the National Academy, and Peng Fu, an imperial examiner, were willing to take him as their teacher. Wu Jun did not finish his studies, while Peng Fu was repeatedly scolded and cursed by him but never held a grudge. When Liao Yinghuai was about to flee, he called Peng Fu over, speaking about the rules of calculation and arranging counting sticks with his hands. All those things he had been careful to keep secret, as if never to reveal them in his lifetime, were suddenly passed on to Peng Fu. Later, Peng Fu passed them on to Fu Liyun of Poyang.

或曰：生瀕死語女曰：「吾死後一月，朝中命山姓鳥名使者來徵吾及傅立，立當過吾門，汝可出藏書示之，立當以此致大官。」後皆如其言。所謂山姓鳥名，崔鵬飛也。生所著書有《玄玄集》《厯髓》《星野指南》《象滋綂會》《聲譜》《畫前妙旨》，數十萬言，今猶間傳於世。（贊不録。）

Someone said: Liao Yinghui, before he died, told his adopted daughter: "After I die, within a month, the court will send an envoy whose surname contains the character for mountain and whose name contains the character for bird to summon me and Fu Li. Fu Li will pass by my house, and you can give him the books I have hidden. He will use these books to attain high official rank." Later, everything turned out exactly as he had said. The person referred to as having a surname containing the character for mountain and a name containing the character for bird was Cui Pengfei. The books written by Liao Yinghui include "Xuanyuan Ji," "Lisui," "Xingye Zhi Nan," "Xiangzhi Tonghui," "Shengpu," and "Huazheng Miaozhi," totaling hundreds of thousands of characters, and they are still occasionally passed down today. (The praise by Song Lian is not included here.)

余自幼即見長老談溟涬生事，近見李淦性學及戚光子實所造文，又知生為詳。以生之精藝如此，而修《宋史》者不列之《方技傳》中，殊可恨也，故予愍之，特序之，又傷易道之微，激而贊之。惜乎予文蕪陋，不能永生也，然餘情亦至矣。濂志。

Song Lian also said: I have heard from elders since childhood about the story of Ming Xing. Recently, having seen the writings of Li Gan (whose courtesy name is Xingxue) and Qi Guang (whose courtesy name is Zishi), I have come to know his life more thoroughly. With his skills reaching such a high level, yet the compilers of the "Song History" did not include him in the "Biographies of the Masters of the Arts and Techniques," which is truly regrettable. Therefore, I feel pity for him and have specially written an introduction for him; I also feel sorrow for the decline of the Yi doctrine, and thus have written a eulogy for him. Alas, my writings are disorderly and crude, unable to make his name last long, but my intention has been fulfilled. Song Lian records.

按：程可久云「易以道義配禍福，得正而斃則吉，詭遇獲禽則凶」，此千古格言也。嚴君平精於卜筮，與人子言依於孝，與人臣言依於忠，猶不失開物成務之意。管輅善言《易》，亦嘗以謙、壯諷何晏，請上追文王六爻之旨，下思尼父彖象之義，未嘗近舍周孔，逺宗羲畫也。

Hu Wei commented: Cheng Xiong (styled Kejiu) said, "The Book of Changes uses moral principles to match fortune and misfortune. To die upholding righteousness is auspicious, while using improper means to hunt animals is inauspicious." This is a saying of lasting value. Yan Junping was skilled in divination. When speaking with someone's son, he would return to the principle of filial piety, and when speaking with a subject, he would return to the principle of loyalty. He did not deviate from the original meaning of the Book of Changes, which is "to open up things and accomplish affairs." Guan Lu was good at discussing the Book of Changes. He once used the hexagrams of "Modesty" and "Great Strength" to advise He Yan, urging him to look up to the six-line interpretations of King Wen and to reflect on the meanings of the "Tao" and "Xiang" sections of Confucius. He never abandoned the teachings of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius in order to far away from the hexagrams of Fuxi.

自先天之學興，而易道之蓁蕪甚矣。廖應淮自謂得康節真傳，而其所談者唯禍福，無一字及於道義，罔知忌諱，屢觸危機，其不為京房、郭璞，特幸而免耳。驗之最大者莫如宋亡，而究竟分毫無補，亦安用前知為也？

Since the study of the Earlier Heaven system arose, the Way of the Book of Changes has become overgrown with weeds and in disarray. Liao Yinghuai claimed to have inherited the true transmission of Shao Yong, but what he discussed was only fortune and misfortune, without a single word concerning moral principles. He completely lacked awareness of taboos and repeatedly violated dangerous situations. He did not suffer the fate of Jing Fang and Guo Pu, but this was merely a fortunate escape from disaster. The greatest verification of his predictions was the fall of the Song dynasty, yet it provided no help at all for the situation. So what is the use of knowing beforehand?

餘安裕勸讀《中庸》，蓋以索隠行怪，聖人之所不為，而無道不黙，亦非明哲保身之事，故微辭以規之，而應淮不自覺寤，詆為俗儒。其於《易》也，訕侮程、張，卑視周、孔，二篇獨尊羲畫，十翼専取《說卦》，鄙倍之論，全無忌憚，豈僅失中而已邪？

Yu Anyu advised him to read the Zhongyong, because seeking obscure things and behaving strangely are not what the sages would do, and refusing to remain silent in an age of disorder is not the way of a wise person who seeks self-preservation. Therefore, he advised him in a gentle manner. However, Liao Yinghuai remained completely unaware, and instead insulted those who were considered vulgar scholars. Regarding the Yi, he ridiculed Cheng Yi and Zhang Zai, despised the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, and only revered Fuxi's hexagrams in the upper and lower parts of the text. From the Ten Wings, he only took the Shuogua, and his crude and unreasonable remarks showed no restraint at all. This was not merely "not following the middle way."

世俗溺於所聞，爭言象數，黃口小兒人人慾為邵子，而二篇十翼束之髙閣，邪說橫行，聖真滅息矣。雖曰末流之極弊，抑先天心法之傳有以導之使然也。其後劉秉忠、李俊民等専治《皇極經世》數，而顧以《易》鳴，唯資中黃澤楚望謂當因孔子之言上求文王、周公之意，可謂粹然一出於正。然非屏棄九圖，則黃霧不披，青天白日終不可得而見也。

Common people are immersed in what they hear, competing to talk about the figures and numbers, even young children all want to be like Shao Yong. Meanwhile, the upper and lower parts of the Book of Changes and the Ten Wings are left gathering dust, false doctrines spread widely, and the true meaning of the sages is thus lost. Though this can be said to be the extreme corruption of the later generations, it is also the result of the transmission of the Earlier Heaven method. Later, Liu Bingchong and Li Junmin and others specialized in the numerical theories of the Huangji Jingshi, yet they ended up making their fame through the Book of Changes. Only Huang Ze of Zizhong (whose name was Chuwang) advocated that one should seek the original intention of King Wen and the Duke of Zhou according to the words of Confucius, which can be said to be purely following the right path. However, if one does not abandon those nine diagrams, the yellow mist will not disperse, and the clear sky and bright sun will never be seen.

右論溟涬生。

In the previous section, the discussion criticizes the tendency of the Liao Yinghuai school to focus exclusively on fortune and misfortune, pointing out the drawbacks of this approach.

王氏弼《周易略例·明象篇》曰：夫象者，出意者也；言者，明象者也。盡意莫若象，盡象莫若言。言主於象，故可尋言以觀象；象主於意，故可尋象以觀意。意以象盡，象以言著，故言者所以明象，得象而忘言；象者所以存意，得意而忘象。猶蹄者所以在兔，得兔而忘蹄；筌者所以在魚，得魚而忘筌也。然則言者，兔之蹄也；象者，魚之筌也。

Wang Bi of the state of Wei wrote in his "Outline of the Zhou Changes: The Clarification of the Images" that the "image" is used to express meaning, and "words" are used to explain the image. To exhaust meaning, there is nothing better than the image; to exhaust the image, there is nothing better than words. Words depend on the image, so one can follow words to observe the image; the image depends on meaning, so one can follow the image to observe meaning. Meaning is exhausted through the image, and the image is made clear through words, so words are used to explain the image, and once the image is obtained, words can be forgotten. The image is used to preserve meaning, and once meaning is obtained, the image can be forgotten. This is like a rabbit trap, which is used to catch rabbits, and once the rabbit is caught, the trap is forgotten; a fish basket is used to catch fish, and once the fish is caught, the basket is forgotten. Thus, words are like the rabbit trap, and the image is like the fish basket.

是故存言者，非得象者也；存象者，非得意者也。象生於意而存象焉，則所存者乃非其象（所存者在意）也；言生於象而存言焉，則所存者乃非其言也（所存者在象）。然則忘象者，乃得意者也；忘言者，乃得象者也。得意在忘象，得象在忘言。故立象以盡意，而象可忘；重畫以盡情，而畫可忘也（盡和同之意，忘其天火之象；得同志之心，拔茅之畫可棄）。

Therefore, those who cling to words have not truly grasped the image; those who cling to the image have not truly grasped the meaning. The image arises from the meaning, yet clinging to the image means one is not grasping the true image (Tang Dynasty Xing Zhu's commentary: the true image lies in the meaning). Words arise from the image, yet clinging to words means one is not grasping the true words (commentary: the true words lie in the image). Thus, those who can forget the image are the ones who truly grasp the meaning; those who can forget the words are the ones who truly grasp the image. Grasping the meaning lies in forgetting the image; grasping the image lies in forgetting the words. Therefore, the sages established images to exhaust the meaning, yet the images can be forgotten; they used overlapping hexagrams to express the feelings, yet the hexagrams can also be forgotten (commentary: once one understands the meaning of "Tongren" and "tong," one can forget the "Heavenly Fire" image of the lower Kan and upper Qian in the "Tongren" hexagram; once one attains the heart of unity and harmony, the "Bamboo Pulling" line drawing in the "Tai" hexagram can be discarded).

是故觸類可為其象，合義可為其徵。義苟在健，何必馬乎？類苟在順，何必牛乎？（《大壯》九三有乾亦云羝羊，《坤》卦無乾彖亦云牝馬。）爻苟合順，何必坤乃為牛？義苟應健，何必乾乃為馬？（《遯》無坤，六三亦稱牛；《明夷》無乾，六二亦稱馬。）而或者定馬於乾，案文責卦，有馬無乾，則偽說滋漫，難可紀矣。互體不足，遂及卦變；變又不足，推致五行。一失其原，巧愈彌甚，縱復或值，而義無所取，蓋存象忘意之由也（失魚兔則空守筌蹄，遺健順則空說龍馬）。忘象以求其意，義斯見矣。

Therefore, all things that are connected can be established as its image, and all meanings that are consistent can be taken as its verification. If the meaning lies in being strong and vigorous, why must it necessarily be a horse? If the nature of things lies in being gentle and yielding, why must it necessarily be an ox? (Note: The hexagram Da Zhuang (Great Strength) has the Qian trigram but still refers to 'ram,' while the Kun hexagram, which does not have the Qian trigram, still refers to 'female horse' in its hexagram statement.) If the line is in harmony with being gentle and yielding, why must it necessarily be the Kun trigram to be an ox? If the meaning corresponds to being strong and vigorous, why must it necessarily be the Qian trigram to be a horse? (Note: The hexagram Duan (Retreat), which does not have the Kun trigram, still refers to an ox in line six three; the hexagram Ming Yi (Dark Light), which does not have the Qian trigram, still refers to a horse in line six two.) Some people insist on fixing the horse exclusively to the Qian trigram, and they demand that the hexagram structure must match the wording. When there is a horse but no Qian trigram, they fabricate explanations, claiming there are too many to remember. When the mutual trigrams do not make sense, they resort to hexagram transformations; when hexagram transformations do not make sense, they refer to the Five Phases. Once the original meaning is lost, the situation becomes worse, even if occasionally correct, there is no value in the meaning. This is all due to clinging to the image while forgetting the meaning. (Note: If you lose the fish and the rabbit, you can only empty-handedly hold onto the fishing net and the hoof.) If you abandon the strong and vigorous and the gentle and yielding, you can only talk about dragons and horses in vain. Forgetting the image and seeking the meaning, the meaning will naturally appear.

陵陽李氏心傳《丙子學易編》曰：自周之衰，言《易》者寖失羲、文之意，而牽合破碎，或反資以為亂，故夫子作《十翼》，専以義理明之。其後讖緯之學興，而飛伏、互體之文，壬遁、九宮之說，紛紛然並出，皆托《易》以行世。至王輔嗣乃獨辭而闢之，其視兩漢諸儒可謂賢矣，惜其溺於時好，乃取莊、老之妄以亂周、孔之實，故《易》之道終不明於世。

In the Southern Song dynasty, Li Xinchuan from Linyang wrote in his work "Bingzi Xue Yi Bian" that since the Zhou dynasty declined, those who studied the Book of Changes gradually lost the original meaning intended by Fuxi and King Wen. They made forced interpretations, leading to fragmented and confused explanations. Some even used these interpretations as a basis for causing chaos. Therefore, Confucius composed the Ten Wings, using principles and meanings to clarify the Book of Changes. Later, the study of prophecies and omens became popular, along with various methods such as flying and hidden numbers, mutual forms, the Six壬 system, and the Nine Palaces. All these emerged together, all pretending to be based on the Book of Changes and spreading throughout the world. It was only Wang Bi (whose courtesy name was Fusi) who wrote independently to oppose these trends, and compared to the scholars of the Two Han dynasties, he could be considered wise. Unfortunately, he was immersed in the prevailing trends of his time and used the false doctrines of the Zhuangzi and Laozi to confuse the practical principles of Duke Zhou and Confucius. Thus, the Way of the Book of Changes was never fully clarified in the world.

按：王氏筌蹄之喻，雖出於莊子而其義不同。其所謂忘言忘象者，亦謂學《易》者觀象玩辭，期於自得，久之當有所融釋脫落耳，非若為先天之學者欲盡棄周孔之言，専於羲皇心地上馳騁也。即其卦爻之解，間有涉於虛無者，亦皆莊老之微旨，與坎離龍虎之說精觕相去逺矣。故伊川教人且看王輔嗣、胡翼之、王介甫三家《易》，以其所主在義理，不為百家眾技所惑也。宋人奉陳、邵為伏羲，而顧斥輔嗣為莊老，吾不知其何說矣。

Hu Wei's commentary: Wang Bi's metaphor of "筌蹄" although originates from the "Zhuangzi," has a different meaning. What he said about forgetting words and images is merely referring to those who study the "Yi" to observe the images and play with the words, hoping to achieve understanding on their own, and after a long time, naturally achieving a fusion and shedding of superficial aspects. It is not like those who study the Earlier Heaven school, who would completely discard the words of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, and instead focus solely on Fuxi's mind. Even if he occasionally touched upon the concept of nothingness in explaining the hexagrams and lines, it was still the subtle meaning of the doctrines of ZHUANG and LAO, and was far removed from the crude practices of alchemy involving the坎离 and dragon and tiger. Therefore, Cheng Yi advised people to first study the "Yi" by Wang Bi, Hu Yuan (whose courtesy name was Yizhi), and Wang Anshi (whose courtesy name was Jiefu), because their focus was on the meaning and principles, and they would not be misled by the techniques of the hundred schools. The Song dynasty people regarded Chen Tuan and Shao Yong as Fuxi, yet they criticized Wang Bi as being associated with ZHUANG and LAO. I really don't know what this statement means.

程子《易傳序》曰：《易》，變易也，隨時變易以從道也。其為書也，廣大悉備，將以順性命之理，通幽明之故，盡事物之情，而示開物成務之道也。聖人之憂患後世，可謂至矣。去古雖逺，遺經尚存，然而前儒失意以傳言，後學誦言而忘味，自秦而下，蓋無傳矣。予生千載之後，悼斯文之湮晦，將俾後人沿流而求源，此傳所以作也。

Cheng Yi's preface to the Cheng Family Commentary on the Zhou Yi says: What is called the Yi is change, changing with the times to conform to the Dao. This book is vast and comprehensive, used to follow the principles of human nature and destiny, to understand the causes of both the hidden and the manifest, and to exhaust the nature of things, thus revealing the principle of "opening things and accomplishing affairs." The sages worried for future generations, reaching the extreme. Though the ancient times are far away, the transmitted texts remain, yet earlier Confucian scholars lost the original meaning and only passed on the words, while later scholars recited the words and forgot the meaning. Since the Qin dynasty, it can be said there has been no true transmission. I was born a thousand years later, lamenting the obscuring and darkness of this tradition, wishing for later generations to follow the tributaries back to the source. This commentary is written for that purpose.

《易》有聖人之道四焉：以言者尚其辭，以動者尚其變，以制器者尚其象，以卜筮者尚其占。吉凶消長之理，進退存亡之道，備於辭，推辭考卦，可以知變，象占在其中矣。君子居則觀其象而玩其辭，動則觀其變而玩其占。得於辭不達其意者有矣，未有不得於辭而能通其意者也。至微者理也，至著者象也，體用一源，顯微無間。觀會通以行其典禮，則辭無所不備。故善學者求言必自近，易於近者非知言者也。予所傳者辭也，由辭以得其意，則在乎人焉。

The Book of Changes contains the four aspects of the Way of the sage: those who use it to discuss value its words, those who use it to act value its changes, those who use it to make objects value its images, and those who use it for divination value its omens. The principles of good and evil, increase and decrease, and the methods of advancement, retreat, survival, and demise are all fully expressed in the words. By examining the words and studying the hexagrams, one can understand the changes, and the images and omens are included within them. The gentleman in peace observes the images and savors the words; when acting, he observes the changes and savors the omens. Some people obtain the words but cannot grasp their meaning, yet no one can grasp the meaning without the words. The most subtle is principle, the most evident is the image; principle and application arise from the same source, and there is no gap between the evident and the subtle. Observing the interconnectedness of things and applying them to the rites and institutions, the words will be fully encompassed. Therefore, those who are good at learning must begin with the words, and those who neglect the words are not truly understanding words. What I transmit is the words; as for understanding the meaning from the words, that lies with each individual.

《遺書》：張閎中以書問「《易》之義本起於數」，程子答曰：謂義起數則非也。有理而後有象，有象而後有數。《易》因象以知數，得其義則象數在其中矣。必欲窮象之隠微，盡數之毫忽，乃尋流逐末，術家所尚，非儒者之務也，管輅、郭璞之學是已。又曰：理無形也，故因象以明理；理見乎辭者也，則可由辭以觀象，故曰「得其義則象數在其中矣」。

The "Cheng Family Legacy" records that Zhang Hongzhong wrote a letter asking, "The principles of the Book of Changes originally arise from numbers." Cheng Yi replied that it is incorrect to say the principles arise from numbers. There is first principle, then image, then number. The Book of Changes uses images to understand numbers and to grasp its meaning; thus, both image and number are included. If one insists on exploring the subtle aspects of images and calculating the minutest details of numbers, that is chasing the stream and neglecting the source, a pursuit favored by magicians, not the proper concern of a Confucian scholar. This is the kind of learning followed by Guan Lu and Guo Pu. Cheng Yi also said: principle has no form, so images are used to explain principle; principle manifests in words, so one can observe images through words. Therefore, it is said, "When one grasps its meaning, both image and number are included."

朱子曰：自秦漢以來，考象辭者泥於術數，而不得其弘通簡易之法；談義理者淪於空寂，而不適乎仁義中正之歸。求其因時立教，以承三聖，不同於法而同於道者，則惟伊川先生程氏之書而已。後之君子誠能日取其一卦若一爻者熟復而深玩之，如已有疑將決於筮而得之者，虛心端意，推之於事而反之於身，以求其所以處此之實，則于吉凶消長之理、進退存亡之道，將無所求而不得，邇之事父，逺之事君，亦無處而不當矣。

Zhu Xi said: Since the Qin and Han dynasties, those who have studied the images and words of the divination texts have been confined to divination techniques and have not attained the broad and straightforward way; those who have discussed principles have fallen into emptiness and nothingness, and have not reached the proper path of benevolence and righteousness. To find someone who can teach according to the times, continuing the teachings of the three sages Fuxi, King Wen, and Confucius, with different methods but the same way of the Dao, there is only Cheng Yi's writings. If later gentlemen truly take one hexagram or one line from them and read them repeatedly, deeply pondering them, as if they had a doubt in their mind and were about to use divination to decide, and just happened to receive this hexagram or line, then with humility and sincerity, applying them to affairs and reflecting on themselves, seeking the real principles to deal with the present situation, they will have no difficulty in understanding the principles of fortune and misfortune, increase and decrease, and the methods of advancement and retreat, survival and death. In the near term, they will be filial to their father, and in the distant term, they will be loyal to their sovereign, and there will be no inappropriate place.

鄱陽馬氏端臨曰：按伊川之《易》，精於義理而略於卜筮象數，此固先儒之說。然愚嘗以為《易》之象數卜筮，豈出於義理之外？蓋有此理則有此象、有此數，而卜筮之說，其所謂趨吉避凶、恵迪從逆雲者，又未嘗不一出於義理。平時本諸踐履，則觀象玩辭，此義理也；一旦謀及卜筮，則觀變玩占，亦此義理也，初不必岐而二之。

In the Yuan dynasty, Ma Duolin from Poyang said: According to Cheng Yi's "Cheng氏 Transmission of the Zhou Changes," it is precise in the principles and theories but brief in the divination symbols and numbers. This is the standard evaluation of earlier Confucian scholars. However, I have always thought that the symbols and numbers of the Zhou Changes and divination, how could they exist outside the principles? If there is this principle, then there must be this symbol and this number. As for the statements in divination, such as seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, following the virtuous path brings good fortune, and opposing the virtuous path brings misfortune, these are also all derived from the principles. Usually, taking practical action as the foundation, observing the symbols and studying the words, this is the principles. When there is a matter to consult divination, observing the changes and studying the divination, this is still the principles. There is no need to divide them into two separate aspects.

項氏《周易玩辭》自序曰：「君子居則觀其象而玩其辭，動則觀其變而玩其占」，讀《易》之法盡於此矣。《易》之道四，其實則二，象與辭是也。變則象之進退也，占則辭之吉凶也。不識其象，何以知其變？不通其辭，何以決其占？然而聖人因象以措辭，後學因辭而測象，則今之讀《易》，所當反覆紬繹、精思而深味者，莫辭若也。於是作《周易玩辭》。

In his preface to the "Zhou Yi Wan Ci" (Commentary on the Zhou Yi), Xiang Anshi of the Southern Song dynasty said: "A gentleman in peace observes its images and savors its words; when taking action, he observes its changes and savors its divination." The method of reading the Zhou Yi is fully explained here. The principles of the Zhou Yi have four aspects, but in reality there are only two, namely the image and the words. Change refers to the movement of the image; divination refers to the fortune or misfortune of the words. Without understanding the image, how can one know the change? Without understanding the words, how can one judge the divination? Yet the sages based their words on the images, while later scholars base their interpretations of the images on the words. Therefore, today in reading the Zhou Yi, the most important thing is to repeatedly draw out the meaning, think deeply, and savor the words. Thus, he wrote this work, the "Zhou Yi Wan Ci."

又曰：程子平生所著，獨《易傳》為全書，安世受而讀之三十年矣。今以其所得於《易傳》者述為此書，而其文無與《易傳》合者，合則無用述此書矣。世之友朋，以《易傳》之理觀吾書，本末條貫，無一不本於《易傳》者；以《易傳》之文觀吾書，則未免有「使西河之民疑汝於夫子」之怒。知我者此書也，罪我者此書也。

Xiang Anshi also said: Cheng Yi's entire life's writings consist only of the "Commentary on the Changes" which is a complete work. I have studied and recited it for thirty years. Now I have compiled my insights gained from the "Commentary on the Changes" into this book. The words in this book are nowhere the same as those in the "Commentary on the Changes"; if they were the same, there would be no need to write this book. If friends in the world use the principles from the "Commentary on the Changes" to examine my book, they will find that from beginning to end, the reasoning is coherent and nothing is not based on the "Commentary on the Changes". But if they use the words of the "Commentary on the Changes" to examine my book, they would inevitably incur the criticism of "making the people of Xihexiang doubt you as if you were Confucius". Thus, this book is both the one that understands me and the one that accuses me.

鄱陽馬氏《周易玩辭序》曰：《易》有聖人之道四，變與象居其二焉。自義理之學大明，而變象之說幾晦，先儒欲救其弊，則曰：「聖人當時自可別作一書明言義理以詔後世，何用假託卦爻，為此艱深隠晦之辭乎？」愚嘗以為變之說不一：有隨時之變，如彖、象、小象、文言、繫辭各自一義是也；有逐爻之變，如九六七八、陰陽老少是也；有逐卦之變，如剛柔往來、互體飛伏是也。

Ma Duanlin, in his preface to Xiang Anshi's "Commentary on the Zhou Changes," said that the "Book of Changes" contains four aspects of the sage's way, among which "change" and "image" account for two. Since the study of rational principles has become prominent, the discussion of "change" and "image" has almost become obscure. Previous scholars wanted to correct this bias, so they asked: "Why did the sage not write another book to clearly explain the principles and inform future generations, but instead use the hexagrams and lines, writing in obscure and difficult language?" I have thought that the concept of "change" is not only one. There is change according to time, such as the meaning formed by the "Commentary on the Judgment," the "Great Image," the "Small Image," the "Words of the King," and the "Great Treatise." There is also change according to each line, such as the distinctions of nine, six, seven, eight, and the yin and yang, old and young. There is also change according to each hexagram, such as the mutual transformation of yin and yang, the interaction of soft and hard, and the mutual generation and concealment of the hexagrams.

象之說亦不一：有卦畫之象，陰陽竒耦、三連六斷是也；有大象之象，天地風雷、山澤水火是也；有《說卦》之象，乾為馬、坤為牛、乾為首、坤為腹之類是也。至簡要者隨時之變也，至支離者逐卦之變也，至精微者卦畫之象也，至瑣碎者《說卦》之象也。必研究其簡要精微者，而不拘泥其支離瑣碎者，則曰象曰變，固無非精義至理之所寄也，豈有二哉？

The concept of "xiang" (image) also has various interpretations: there is the image of trigrams, such as the odd and even lines representing yin and yang, and the connected three lines of Qian (Heaven) versus the broken six lines of Kun (Earth); there is the image of great things, such as the eight elements of heaven, earth, wind, thunder, mountain, marsh, water, and fire; and there is the image from the "Shuo Gu" (Commentary on the Trigrams), such as taking the horse as Qian and the ox as Kun, or taking the head as Qian and the abdomen as Kun. Among these, the most concise and clear is the changing with the times, while the most fragmented is the changing of each trigram; the most subtle is the image of the trigram lines, while the most trivial is the image from the "Shuo Gu." If one focuses on studying the concise and subtle aspects without being bound by the fragmented and trivial ones, then the so-called "xiang" and "bian" (change) are originally not separate things but both寄托 (寄托 means寄托, which can be translated as "寄托" or "convey") profound meanings and principles. How could they be entirely different things?

按：象、辭、變、占四者，說《易》之綱領也。伊川歸重於辭，平庵因之。愚則謂辭本乎象，象尤不可忽，故夫子曰「聖人立象以盡意，繫辭焉以盡其言」，又曰「八卦以象告，爻彖以情言」。象者，二體六爻之畫是也，而王輔嗣以乾牛坤馬之類當之。朱子謂如「初九潛龍勿用」一辭中四者俱備：初九，變也；潛龍，象也；勿用，占也。愚則謂潛龍、牝馬等語，若詩之比興，總謂之辭，非夫子之所謂象。平庵云：凡卦辭皆曰彖，凡卦畫皆曰象，未畫則其象隠，已畫則其象著，故指畫為象，非謂物象也；大象總論六畫之義，小象各論一畫之義，故皆謂之象；其曰天、曰龍者，自因有象之後推引物類以明之耳，本稱《易》象，非此之謂也。斯言可以正諸儒之失。未筮謂之辭，筮得其辭謂之占，亦非但「勿用」二字為占也。

Hu Wei's commentary: The four aspects of image, statement, change, and divination are the main points for explaining the Book of Changes. Cheng Yi focused on the statement, and Xiang Anshi (who styled himself Ping'an) followed his view. I think the statement originates from the image, and the image is especially important. Therefore, Confucius said, "The sage established images to express meaning, and attached statements to fully express the meaning," and also said, "The eight trigrams use images to convey, and the lines and the form express the situation." The term image refers to the two trigrams above and below and the six lines of the hexagram. However, Wang Bi used such interpretations as the乾 trigram representing an ox and the坤 trigram representing a horse to substitute for the image. Zhu Xi thought that the phrase "Initial Nine, the dragon is hidden and not used" contains all four elements: "Initial Nine" is the change, "the hidden dragon" is the image, and "not used" is the divination. I think that phrases like "the hidden dragon" and "the female horse" are similar to the metaphor and allusion in the Book of Poetry, and they should be considered as statements, not the image as Confucius mentioned. Xiang Anshi said: all hexagram statements are called the form (tuan), and all hexagram diagrams are called images (xiang). When the diagram is not drawn, the image is hidden; when it is drawn, the image becomes visible. Therefore, the diagram is called the image, not the physical image. The Great Image summarizes the meaning of the six lines, while the Small Image discusses the meaning of each line separately, so they are all called images. As for talking about heaven and dragon, that is deriving from the image of the hexagram and using things from the world to explain it. Originally, the term "image" in the Book of Changes refers to this. These words can correct the mistakes of the scholars. When there is no divination, it is called the statement; when divination is made and the statement is obtained, it is called divination. It is not only the two words "not used" that count as divination.

京山郝氏敬《談經》曰：羲畫始呈玄旨，苞絡如夜半子，陽初動，晨光未熹。夏、商之易不可覩矣，然使其無憾，文王必不更演《易》。至文王、周公抽厥玄緒，但其辭旨深約，如平旦昧爽，曲房晏起，尚未知曙。迨夫子《十翼》，讚揚幽隠，畢達揭日月而行康莊，大明中天矣。旋罹秦火，六籍散越而《易》獨存，後生捧完璧，誠斯文大幸。奈何更生異端，稂莠其真苗，磔裂其同體，妄謂羲聖有不傳之秘，使緯稗蠭起，詆夫子《十翼》為一家言，離經叛道莫此為甚。

In the Ming dynasty, He Jing from Jingshan wrote in his work "Tan Jing" that Fuxi first presented the hexagrams with profound meaning, encompassing all things like the moment of the first hour of the night, when the yang energy was just beginning to stir and the morning light had not yet brightened. The Yi of the Xia and Shang dynasties is no longer visible, but if the Yi of that time had been perfect, King Wen would certainly not have proceeded to develop the Yi. When King Wen and the Duke of Zhou drew out the profound threads within, their words were deep and concise, like the early morning when the sky is just beginning to lighten, and those who slept late in a deep room still did not know it was already daylight. Later, when Confucius composed the Ten Wings, he explained all the subtle and hidden aspects, making everything clear, as if lifting the sun and moon to walk along the broad and open path, with the sun shining brightly in the sky. Then came the Qin dynasty's burning of books, and the Six Classics were scattered, but the Yi alone was preserved. The later generations holding this intact jade tablet were truly a great fortune for the scholarly tradition. Unfortunately, there arose heretical interpretations, using weeds to confuse the true seed, splitting what was originally one into many, falsely claiming that Fuxi had another secret meaning not passed down, leading to a flood of spurious writings and false interpretations. They even slandered Confucius' Ten Wings as merely one person's opinion, and there is no greater deviation from the classics than this.

近時博士家承邵、朱之說，謂三聖不同易，病分經合傳之非古，歸咎王弼，此不能三年之喪而緦小功之察也。夫謂經傳不可合者，以書同而道異、言同而人異，如《春秋》諸傳於經，則誠未可合也；羲、文、周、孔，奚不合之有？由孔子視三聖為古，自視為傳；由今視四聖，則皆古也，皆經也。孔子何遂不如左、公、谷傳《春秋》？世儒不病左、公、谷合《春秋》，而病《十翼》合《易》，以伸「四聖不同易」之說，謬也。

Modern scholars who interpret the classics have followed the views of Shao Yong and Zhu Xi, believing that the Book of Changes created by Fuxi, King Wen, and Confucius are different, and they criticize the combination of the classic text with its commentaries as not following ancient practices, blaming Wang Bi for this. This is like saying one cannot observe the three-year mourning period, yet insisting on the details of lighter mourning clothes and minor mourning rites. The argument against combining the classic with its commentaries is based on the idea that although the texts are the same, the doctrines differ, and although the words are the same, the people differ. Indeed, the commentaries of the various schools on the Spring and Autumn Annals cannot be combined with the classic text. But why should the works of Fuxi, King Wen, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius not be combined? From Confucius's perspective, the three sages were ancient figures, and his own work was the commentary; from today's perspective, all four sages were ancient figures, and all were classics. How could Confucius be considered inferior to the commentators Left Zhuan, Gongyang, and Gu Liang of the Spring and Autumn Annals? The current scholars do not criticize the practice of combining the three commentaries with the Spring and Autumn Annals, yet they criticize the combination of the Ten Wings with the Book of Changes, using this to support the idea that the four sages had different versions of the Book of Changes. This is absurd.