The Nine in the Second (of the Hexagram Tai) says: 'Embrace the vast and the hidden, cross the river with confidence, not neglecting any distant place; friends are lost, but one gains favor by following the middle path.'

自東漢人不知坤為河為水象，解泰九二爻詞誤與利涉大川同。虞云：「荒？，荒？荒同字，大川也。變得正體坎，坎為大川為河，震為足，故用馮河。」案《爾雅》：「馮河，徒涉也。」《詩·小雅》「不敢馮河」，《毛傳》：「馮，陵也。」坤為河，二升五，正當坤水之中，故用以涉河，正所謂得尚于中行也。又《易林》需之泰云「弱水之西」，坤為水，坤柔，故曰弱水。又坤之升云「馮河登山」，升二至上與泰體同，亦以涉河為訓，河皆指坤。

During the Eastern Han dynasty, people did not know that the Earth (Kun) had the image of "river" and "water," so they mistakenly equated the Line Statement of "Nine in the Second" (Nine Two) in the "Great Passage" (Tai) with "favorable to cross a great river." Yu Fan said, "The character 'huang' and the missing character are actually the same, meaning a great river. When Nine Two changes to become correct, it forms the structure of Kan, which represents a great river and a river. Zhen represents the foot, so it says 'use to cross the river.' " According to the "Erya," "to cross a river" means to walk across the river. The "Book of Songs, Xiao Ya" mentions "dare not cross the river," and the "Mao Transmission" says, "crossing the river" means to leap over it. Since Kun represents a river, Nine Two rising to the fifth position is exactly in the center of the water of Kun, so it is used to cross the river, which is precisely the meaning of "to be in the middle path." Furthermore, in the "Forest of Changes" by Jiao, the line statement of "Need" changing to "Tai" says "west of the weak river" — Kun represents water, and since Kun is soft, it is called "weak river." Also, the line statement of "Kun" changing to "Rising" says "cross the river and climb the mountain" — the second line to the top line of the "Rising" hexagram is the same as the structure of the "Tai" hexagram, and it also explains crossing the river. This shows that "river" always refers to Kun.

包荒？為大川，亦指坤象。不遐遺者，言二五相距雖遐遠，然二必升五，不以遠而不升也。朋亡者，陰以陽為朋。亡者，往也，逃也。《列子》「亡羊補牢」，《漢書·韓信傳》「何聞信亡，自追之」，皆以亡為逃，逃卽往也。言陽往居五而為陰朋，五中位，卽尚于中行也。卦無坎象，虞氏必以荒？為坎，以河為坎，豈知坎乃變後之象，見有之象坤已為大川為河矣，何必用未來之坎？一象之失傳，其關係之巨若是。又虞氏誤以兌二陽為朋，謂二五上下兌象不見，故朋亡，是不知易朋之確詁也。

"The term 'huang' in 'baohuang' is interpreted as a great river, which also refers to the image of the earth (Kun). 'Bu xia yi' means that although the nine in the second line is far from the six in the fifth line, the nine in the second line will certainly rise to the fifth position, and will not fail to ascend just because the distance is great. 'Peng wang' refers to the idea that yin is associated with yang as friends; 'wang' means to go or to flee. The 'Lost Sheep and Mended Fence' story in the 'Liezi' and the 'Han Shu · Han Xin Zhuan' both use 'wang' to mean fleeing, and fleeing is equivalent to going. This means that the yang line goes to the fifth position, becoming the friend of all the yin lines; the fifth position is the central position, which is 'shang yu zhong xing'. The 'Tai' hexagram originally does not have the image of Kan, but Yu Fan insisted on interpreting 'huang' as Kan and 'he' as Kan. However, he did not realize that Kan is an image that appears only after the yao changes, while the existing image of Kun is already a great river and a river. Why then use the yet-to-appear Kan? The loss of one hexagram image has such a great impact. Yu Fan also mistakenly took the two yang lines of Dui as 'friends', saying that after the nine in the second line rises to the fifth position, the upper and lower Dui images disappear, so it is called 'friends disappear'. This shows he did not understand the correct meaning of the character 'peng' in the 'Yi Jing'.

翩翩為句。《易林》每以震為飛，四震體，故曰翩翩。不富為句。《易林》未濟之頤云「齗齗囓囓，貧鬼相責」，是以坤為貧也，貧卽不富。象曰失實，坤虛，故失實，亦詁不富也。以，及也。鄰謂五上，言四及五上也。戒者，備也。孚，信也，感通也，卽應與也。不戒以孚者，言四及五上皆有應與，不必戒備，自然孚於下也。孚於下，則二五相升降，無不當位也。自漢以來，因小畜有富以其鄰之語，於是以不富以其鄰五字連讀，致易義晦澀不明。豈知以其鄰與下屬也。虞翻以震東兌西為鄰，而不釋其義，以二五變四體離釋翩翩，皆曲說不可從。

"The term 'pian pian' should be read as a separate sentence. In 'Jiao's Forest of Changes,' the trigram Zhen (Thunder) is often associated with flying, and since the fourth line is within the structure of Zhen, it is said 'pian pian.' 'Bu fu' should also be read as a separate sentence. In the 'Forest of Changes' under the hexagram 'Wei Ji' (Without Completion) to 'Yi' (Nourishment), the text says 'Yin Yin Nie Nie, poor ghosts blaming each other,' showing that the trigram Kun (Earth) represents poverty; poverty is thus 'not rich.' The 'Image Commentary' says 'losing truth,' because Kun is hollow in the middle, hence 'losing truth,' which is also an explanation of 'not rich.' 'Yi' means 'to reach' or 'to involve'; 'lin' refers to the fifth and sixth lines, meaning the fourth line together with the fifth and sixth lines. 'Jie' means to be cautious; 'fu' means trust or mutual response, that is, having corresponding lines. The phrase 'not cautious but trusting' means that the fourth line together with the fifth and sixth lines each have corresponding lines, so there is no need for caution, and naturally there is mutual response with the lower trigram. Mutual response with the lower trigram allows the second and fifth lines to rise and fall appropriately, without being in improper positions. Since the Han dynasty, because the hexagram 'Xiao Xu' (Small Accumulation) contains the phrase 'fu yi qi lin,' people have read the five characters 'bu fu yi qi lin' together, making the meaning of the Book of Changes obscure. But they do not realize that 'yi qi lin' should be read with the following sentence. Yu Fan took the trigram Zhen in the east and Dui in the west as 'lin,' but did not explain the reasoning behind it. He also used the transformation of the second and fifth lines, with the fourth line forming the structure of Li (Fire), to explain 'pian pian,' which are forced interpretations and should not be followed."

虞氏謂：「否艮為城，今泰反否，乾壞為土，艮城不見，而體復象，故城復于隍也。」此等謬解，進退無據，可謂誤人之甚者矣。既以否艮為城，是用旁通也，是用對象也。但泰下乾變坤為土，尚可曰乾壞為土，否二三四正艮城也，胡云不見乎？若指本象，泰原無艮城，尚何待言。乃終又以本象泰三至上為解，三至上得復象，遂藉以了城復于隍之義。凡虞說初視之似密，實按之皆非。初學以其大師，為其說所糾纏而誤入迷途者多矣，故不得不辨也。

Yu Fan explained this line saying: "The 'Ge' hexagram contains 'Gen,' which represents a city; now the 'Tai' hexagram is the reversed form of 'Ge.' The 'Qian' trigram is destroyed and becomes earth, so the 'Gen' city disappears, and the hexagram also takes the image of 'Fu,' hence it says 'The city returns to the moat.' " This mistaken interpretation is inconsistent and has led people to great confusion. Since Yu Fan used the 'Gen' trigram from the 'Ge' hexagram to represent a city, he was employing the method of mutual reference. However, in the 'Tai' hexagram, the lower trigram 'Qian' transforms into 'Kun' earth, which can bewith difficulty explained as 'Qian' turning into earth. Yet the second, third, and fourth lines of the 'Ge' hexagram clearly form the 'Gen' trigram representing a city; how can they be said to disappear? If he refers to the image of the original hexagram, the 'Tai' hexagram does not contain a 'Gen' city, so there is no need to elaborate further. However, he later used the third to top lines of the 'Tai' hexagram to explain the image of 'Fu,' and thus used the character 'fu' to explain the meaning of 'the city returns to the moat.' All of Yu Fan's interpretations seem detailed at first glance, but upon close examination, they all fall apart. Beginners, misled by his status as a master of the Han dynasty school of divination, often fall into confusion. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify his views.

茲以《易林》證之，則此用覆象也。焦、京皆以復之「朋來無咎」為「崩來無咎」，因復震為反艮也，艮覆則山崩。又《易林》遯之解云「盈盛之門，高屋先履」，則以解上震，震為反艮，艮為屋，艮倒則屋覆矣，在上，故曰高屋先覆。由是推泰上門城復于隍。復、覆義通，復卦「反復其道」，《釋文》云「復本作覆」；又《詩·大雅》「陶復陶穴」，《說文》作「覆」，是其證。艮為城，艮倒則城覆矣。隍者，城下池，中爻兌，澤象也，城覆則城頭正在澤中也。後儒但以泰極將否詁復字，謂城以隍土築成，今城壞，復歸於隍，不知城復卽城壞。三至上為覆艮，復亦從象生，易無象外字也。

Now using the "Forest of Changes" by Jiao's, we can see that this passage uses the concept of inverted imagery. Jiao Yanshou and Jing Fang both read the phrase "peng lai wu jiu" in the hexagram "Fu" as "beng lai wu jiu," because the lower trigram of "Fu" is Zhen, which is inverted艮. When艮 is inverted, the mountain collapses. Also, in the "Forest of Changes" under the entry for "Dun" to "Jie," it says "Ying sheng zhi men, gao wu xian lu" ("lu" is a homonym for "fu"). The upper trigram of "Jie" is Zhen, which is inverted艮, and艮 represents a house. When艮 is inverted, the house collapses. Zhen is at the top, so it says "gao wu xian fu." From this we can infer the phrase "cheng fu yu huang" in the sixth line of the hexagram "Tai." "Fu" and "fu" have similar meanings: the "Tian" section of the hexagram "Fu" says "fu fu qi dao," and Lu Deming's "Classic Interpretation" says "fu was originally written as fu." In the "Book of Poetry, Da Ya," there is "tao fu tao xue," and the "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" cites it as "fu," which are all evidence.艮 represents a city, and when it is inverted, the city collapses. "Huang" is the moat beneath the city; in the hexagram "Tai," the middle trigram is Dui, which represents a marsh, so when the city collapses, the city's top falls into the marsh. Later scholars only used "Tai ji jiang pǐ" to explain the character "fu," saying that the city was originally built from the soil in the huang, and now that the city is ruined, the soil returns to the huang. They did not realize that "cheng fu" means the city is ruined. From the third line to the top line is an inverted艮, so the character "fu" also comes from the hexagram imagery. In the "Book of Changes," no character exists outside of the imagery.

杭氏云：「先天乾，後天離，同位於南，故曰同人。」《雜卦》曰「同人，親也」，同位故親。按《左傳》大有之幹曰「同復於父，敬如君所」，言離變乾，同位於南，故曰復曰所，卽本先天為義，此先天乾南之首見於《左傳》者。九家曰「乾舍於離，同而為日」，荀爽曰「乾舍於離，相與同居」，是皆以乾南釋同人之義也。

Hang Xinzhai said, "The Qian trigram of Earlier Heaven and the Li trigram of Later Heaven are both located in the south, so the hexagram is named 'Tong Ren' (Union)." The "Zagua Zhuan" says "Tong Ren, means to be close," because they are in the same position, thus being close. According to the "Zuo Zhuan," in the example of "Da You's Qian," it says "Returning to the father, respecting as the father's command," meaning that Li changes into Qian, and both are located in the south, so it says "returning" (to the original place) and "the same place," which is based on the Earlier Heaven's directional principle. This is the earliest occurrence in the "Zuo Zhuan" of the idea that Qian is located in the south. The "Jiu Jia Yi" says "Qian resides in Li, united as the sun," and Xun Shuang says "Qian resides in Li, sharing the same dwelling," both using the idea of Qian in the south to explain the meaning of the hexagram "Tong Ren."

欲解此經，須先明陰陽相須之理。《易林》乾繇詞不吉，以純陽也；乾之坤亦不吉，以純陰也；至泰否則皆吉。蓋易之道如電然，同性則相違，異性則相感；陽遇陽、陰遇陰則窒，陽遇陰、陰遇陽則通，是《易林》之定例也。由是推之，易凡言利有攸往者皆陽遇陰也，如大畜九三是也；凡言征凶者陽遇陽也，如大壯初九是也。惟陰亦然：革六二前遇三陽，故曰征吉，曰行有嘉；小畜六四上承二陽，則曰有孚，陰遇陽則通也；頤六二曰征凶，六五不可涉，陰遇陰則阻也。

To understand this passage, one must first grasp the principle of mutual dependence between yin and yang. In Jiao's Forest of Changes, the first hexagram of the Qian trigram (Qian over Qian) has an unfavorable oracle because it is entirely yang. Similarly, the oracle for Qian over Kun is also unfavorable because the lower trigram is entirely yin. However, when it comes to Qian over Tai and Qian over Po, the oracles become favorable. The principle of the Book of Changes is like electricity: like charges repel each other, and opposite charges attract; when yang meets yang or yin meets yin, there is blockage, but when yang meets yin or yin meets yang, there is smooth flow. This is a fixed principle in the Forest of Changes. By applying this principle, we can deduce that in the Book of Changes, whenever it says "favorable to go forward," it means that yang is followed by yin, such as in the line Nine Three of Da Xu. Whenever it says "dangerous to proceed," it means that yang is followed by yang, such as in the line Nine One of Da Zhuang. The same applies to yin lines: in the line Six Two of Ge, there are three yang lines before it, so it says "favorable to proceed" and "there is good fortune." In the line Six Four of Xiao Xu, there are two yang lines above it, so it says "there is sincerity." This is because yin meeting yang leads to smooth flow. In contrast, the line Six Two of Yi says "dangerous to proceed," and the line Six Five says "not favorable to cross a great river," because yin meets yin and encounters obstruction.

同人之利涉大川，若以《易林》象推之，則大川者乾也。《易林》蒙之幹云「海為水王」，是以乾為海水。又剝之同人云「雄處弱水，雌在海濱」，雄處弱水謂對象師二，雌在海濱謂同人，乾為海，二陰在其中，故曰雌在海濱。又九家易於蠱卦利涉大川云「乾天為河」。據此以釋同人之利涉大川，則乾為大川，利涉謂六二，陰遇陽則通，故云利涉大川也，至為為明確也。

The hexagram statement of "Tong Ren" (Union) says "favorable for crossing great rivers." Using the imagery from Jiao's Forest of Changes, the "great river" refers to Qian (Heaven). In Jiao's Forest of Changes, the entry "Meng to Qian" says "the sea is the king of water," taking Qian as the sea. Also, in the entry "Bo to Tong Ren" it says "the male is in the weak water, the female is by the seaside." "The male in the weak water" refers to the Nine in the Second of the hexagram Shi (Army), while "the female by the seaside" refers to Tong Ren: Qian is the sea, and the Six in the Second, a yin line, is among many yang lines, hence "the female by the seaside." The Nine Families' Commentary on Gu (Restlessness) also explains "favorable for crossing great rivers" as "Qian Heaven is the river." Thus, explaining "favorable for crossing great rivers" in Tong Ren, Qian is the great river, and "favorable for crossing" refers to the Six in the Second. Yin meeting yang leads to communication, hence "favorable for crossing great rivers" — this is very clear.

惟易之道扶陽不扶陰，凡遇陰通之處，不盡謂吉，且恐其遇盛以危陽，於咸之六二則曰居吉，於遯之六二則曰執之用黃牛之革，於姤之初六則曰繫于金柅、貞吉往凶，皆懼其前進而阻之。故彖傳釋同人之利涉，則曰「乾行也」，純用對象師，師九二臨坤水也，仍與其它之利涉大川指陽義同也。虞仲翔既不知乾為河水，又不思彖傳用旁通，只好仍用其故技，使四變再使上變，九五成坎為乾行。清治漢易者多宗虞，更無他說矣，易說之失傳益明矣。

However, the Way of the Book of Changes supports Yang rather than Yin. When Yin is connected, it is not always considered auspicious, and there is also concern that excessive Yin may endanger Yang. Therefore, in the line "Residing is auspicious" (from the line Six in the Second of the hexagram Xian), "holding fast with a bull's hide" (from the line Six in the Second of the hexagram Duan), and "binding to a metal brake, uprightness is auspicious, going forward is ominous" (from the line Six at the Beginning of the hexagram Gou), all these lines are meant to prevent Yin from advancing. Hence, the Commentary on the Judgment explains the "favorable crossing of great rivers" in the hexagram Tongren by saying "the movement of Heaven," entirely using the opposite hexagram Shī (the army) as a basis. The line Nine in the Second of Shī is a single Yang over the Yin water, which still aligns with the meaning of "favorable crossing of great rivers" in the Book of Changes, which is primarily associated with Yang lines. Yu Fan did not understand that Heaven represents the river water, nor did he consider that the Commentary on the Judgment uses the method of mutual transformation. He simply followed his old method: first changing the Fourth Line, then the Top Line, turning Nine in the Fifth into Kan, and claimed this was "the movement of Heaven." Most scholars of the Han interpretation during the Qing dynasty followed Yu Fan, and there were no other interpretations. This clearly demonstrates how greatly the Book of Changes has been lost.

按《易林》困之無妄云「戴山崔嵬」，無妄互艮為戴，上乾為山，故曰戴山。又大有之幹云「南山大行」，乾為南為山，故曰南山。又巽之姤云「高阜山陵」，姤重乾，故曰阜曰陵，是《易林》以乾為陵也。同人九三云「升其高陵」，乾為山，在上，故曰升其高陵，是易原以乾為山陵也。三陽，乾又純陽，陽遇陽則阻，故下曰「三歲不興」，言三利往之難也。虞仲翔以伏震為陵，震為反艮，象亦有本，惟卽三歲不興之言觀之，易確以乾為陵，故三不利往也，陽遇陽也。

According to Jiao's Forest of Changes, the divination text for "Confusion leading to No Pretense" says "mountain towering high"—the upper trigram of "No Pretense" is Gen (Mountain), and the upper trigram is Qian (Heaven), which represents mountain, so it is said "mountain on top." Similarly, in the divination text for "Great Possession leading to Heaven," it says "Southern Mountain Greatly Moving"—Qian represents south and mountain, so it is said "Southern Mountain." In the divination text for "Wind leading to Meeting," it says "high hill and mountain range"—"Meeting" has a double Qian image, so it is said "hill" and "mountain range." This shows that the Forest of Changes takes Qian as mountain range. In the line "Nine in the Third" of "Harmony with Others," it says "ascending the high mountain range"—Qian represents mountain and is in the upper trigram, so it is said "ascending the high mountain range." This shows that the Zhou Changes originally takes Qian as mountain and mountain range. Nine in the Third is a yang line, and the upper trigram Qian is pure yang, so yang meets yang and encounters resistance, hence the next line says "three years without rising"—three years without action, meaning that Nine in the Third wants to move forward but finds it very difficult. Yu Fan took the hidden Zhen (Thunder) under the trigram Xun as mountain range, since Zhen is the reverse of Gen, so this imagery is not entirely without basis; but according to the phrase "three years without rising," the Zhou Changes clearly takes Qian as mountain range, so Nine in the Third is not favorable for moving forward, precisely because yang meets yang.

艮為君子，艮在下，謙矣，初又在艮之下，故曰謙謙君子。經既曰君子，統艮全體言也；用涉大川吉，亦指艮也。蓋謙卦以三為主，猶師以二、豫以四、比以五為主也，故六爻爻詞皆與主爻有關。荀爽不知坤為大川，仍以坎為大川，謂初可用涉。豈知坎陷不能涉，初無應與不能涉，初陰二亦陰，陰遇陰則窒，尤不能涉。用涉大川者，統艮卦言，艮三涉四成豫，涉五成比，得位而往有功，故吉謂艮涉坤水，非初涉坎水。初涉坎而吉，易無此例也。

The trigram Gen represents the gentleman, and since Gen is the lower trigram, it already embodies humility. The line "Six at the beginning" is located at the very bottom of Gen, hence the saying "a gentleman who is humble and modest." The text refers to "the gentleman" in general, speaking of the entire Gen trigram. The phrase "used to cross great rivers, auspicious" also refers to Gen. Since the trigram "Qian" (The Gentleman) takes the third line as its main line, just as "Shi" (The Army) takes the second line, "Yu" (Joy) takes the fourth line, and "Bi" (Union) takes the fifth line, all six lines of the trigram are related to the main line. Xun Shuang did not understand that Kun represents a great river, and continued to take Kan as the great river, saying that the line "Six at the beginning" could be used to cross the river. However, he did not realize that Kan signifies danger and difficulty, making crossing impossible. Moreover, the line "Six at the beginning" has no corresponding line above it, making crossing impossible. Also, "Six at the beginning" is yin, and "Six in the second" is also yin; yin meeting yin leads to blockage, making crossing even more impossible. The phrase "used to cross great rivers" refers to the trigram Gen as a whole. The line nine in the third position of Gen reaches the fourth position to become "Yu" (Joy), and reaches the fifth position to become "Bi" (Union). When it is in a proper position and moves forward, it achieves success, hence it is auspicious. This clearly refers to Gen crossing the water of Kun, not "Six at the beginning" crossing the water of Kan. If "Six at the beginning" were to cross Kan water and achieve auspiciousness, the "Classic of Changes" would not have such an example.

三互坎，坎為勞卦，故曰勞謙，是易明用互也。而王弼解易竟不用互，鍾會因倡言易無互卦，以迎合世人解縛去滯、避難就易之心理，至宋遂成為風氣。朱子明知之，而亦不敢言，皆濫觴於弼也。

Nine Three is located within the mutual trigrams Kan. The "Say on the Trigrams" refers to Kan as the "Toil Trigram," so the line statement says "toil and humility." This shows that the Zhou Changes clearly uses mutual trigrams. However, Wang Bi's interpretation of the Changes did not use mutual trigrams. Zhong Hui therefore claimed that the Changes has no mutual trigrams, which conveniently catered to people's desire to escape constraints and choose the easier path. By the Song dynasty, this became a prevailing trend. Zhu Xi was well aware of this, but he did not dare to speak out — this trend originated from Wang Bi.

謙六五云「不富以其鄰」，自漢以來皆相連為句，與泰六四同，致經義愈晦，解索愈難。豈知《易林》每以坤為貧，貧卽不富，六五坤體，坤虛，故曰不富，自為句也。以其鄰，義與下屬，鄰者四上，言五率四上勢眾三用以侵伐，則無不利也。

The line "not rich with its neighbor" in the sixth line of the hexagram "Qian" has been read as a single sentence since the Han dynasty, similar to the situation in the fourth line of the hexagram "Tai." This has made the meaning of the text more obscure and the interpretation more difficult. However, it is not realized that in "Jiao's Forest of Changes," the earth (Kun) is often associated with poverty, and poverty means not rich. The fifth line is in the body of Kun, which is empty, hence "not rich." These three words form a complete sentence on their own. The meaning of "with its neighbor" should be read in connection with the next sentence: "neighbor" refers to the fourth and sixth lines, meaning that the fifth line leads the fourth and sixth lines, thus having a strong force. The third line then uses this power to wage war, and there will be no disadvantage.

上帝指震，帝出乎震也。《易林》每用震為帝，其多不可勝指。若祖，則互艮也。小過六二云「過其祖」，是經原以艮為祖，故象本之，《易林》本之。詳解見卷七。

"The term 'Heavenly Emperor' refers to the trigram Zhen (Thunder). The 'Sayings on the Trigrams' states, 'The Emperor arises from Zhen.' The 'Forest of Changes' by Jiao often uses Zhen as the Emperor, and there are numerous examples. As for 'Ancestor,' it refers to the interacting trigram Gen (Mountain). In 'Small Excess' hexagram Six in the Second, it says, 'Passing over the Ancestor,' showing that the 'Zhou Changes' originally used Gen as the Ancestor. Therefore, the 'Great Image Commentary' adopted it, and so did the 'Forest of Changes.' For a detailed explanation, see Volume Seven of this book."

行唐尚秉和節之撰。

This volume was written by Shang Binghe, a native of Xingtang (now Xingtang County, Hebei Province). Binghe's given name is Jiezi.

《易林》履之節云「安上宜官」，節互艮，艮止為安，陽在上而貴，故曰宜官，是以艮為官也。渝，變也，改也。官有渝者，言艮覆變為震也。震為出，艮為門，故出門交有功，言前臨二陰，陽遇陰則通也。舊解謂與四交者，非也。初當位，故象曰「從正吉」。此用覆艮，與革九四改命吉之用反巽同也，故曰渝曰改。又按艮，官之象，虞翻注「百官以治」云「艮為官」，而未言其義，後儒以艮為門闕為解，似非。

In Jiao's Forest of Changes, the line statement of "Lǚ zhī Jié" says "Anshang yí guān" — the hexagram Jié has the trigram Gen (Mountain) in its mutual structure. Gen represents stopping, stability, and security. A yang line is in a superior position and thus signifies dignity, hence the phrase "yí guān" (suitable for officialdom), showing that Gen is used to represent officialdom. "Yú" means change or transformation. The phrase "guān yǒu yú" refers to Gen being reversed to become Zhen (Thunder). Zhen represents movement, while Gen represents a gate, so the line statement continues with "chū mén jiāo yǒu gōng" (going out to meet others brings success). This means that the initial line faces two yin lines, and a yang line meeting a yin line signifies communication. Old annotations claim this refers to the fourth line, which is incorrect. The initial line is in the proper position, so the Image Commentary says "cóng zhèng jí" (following the correct path brings good fortune). This line uses the reversed Gen, similar to the ninth line of the hexagram Gé, which says "gǎi mìng jí" (changing one's destiny brings good fortune), which uses the reversed Xun. Thus, one line says "yú" (change) and another says "gǎi" (change). Additionally, Gen has the image of "guān" (officialdom). Yu Fan's commentary on the Great Treatise "bǎi guān yǐ zhì" (all officials are properly managed) says "Gen represents officialdom," but he does not explain the reasoning. Later scholars used "Gen represents a gate" to explain this, but this seems incorrect.

《易林》視正覆象不分，易本如此也。蒙二至上正覆兩艮，艮為童蒙、為求，正視之，童蒙在上，似我求童蒙；反之，則童蒙求我也。艮象來往反覆，故卦詞亦來往反覆。以蒙例隨，初至四正覆皆艮，亦皆震，震為夫，艮為小子。六二近初陽，故繫初失四，曰係小子失丈夫；三承四陽，故繫四失初，曰係丈夫失小子。至其所以失之故，仍陰遇陰則塞之定例：二陰為三陰所阻，故失四；三陰為二陰所隔，故失初。下震亦艮，上艮亦震，體同也，不分也，卦象來往反覆，卦辭亦來往反覆。而虞翻以五為小子，謂兌為少，故曰小子。夫兌為少女，焉得為小子？艮為小子，見於易，見於孟氏逸象，見於《易林》者尤多，未有以兌為小子者也。虞不知覆震為丈夫，謂四為丈夫，而以大過九二之老夫為例。豈知大過九二之老夫，乃謂對象震，非謂本象巽。虞已誤解，而復持其誤解以解隨，不愈誤哉。

In Jiao's Forest of Changes, the distinction between the original image and the reversed image is not made, as the Zhou Changes itself is like this. In the hexagram Meng, the second line to the top line consists of one positive and one reversed image of the trigram Gen, which represents childlike ignorance and seeking. When viewed in the normal way, the childlike ignorance is above, seeming as if I am seeking the childlike ignorance; when viewed in reverse, it becomes the childlike ignorance seeking me. The image of Gen fluctuates, so the hexagram statement also fluctuates. Using the example of Meng, we can infer the meaning of the hexagram Suí: from the first line to the fourth line, when viewed normally or reversed, they are both Gen and Zhen. Zhen represents the husband, and Gen represents the young man. The second line is close to the first line, which is a yang line, so it is attached to the first line and loses the fourth line, and the line statement says, "Attach to the young man, lose the husband." The third line is above the fourth line, which is a yang line, so it is attached to the fourth line and loses the first line, and the line statement says, "Attach to the husband, lose the young man." As for the reason for losing, it is still the fixed rule that "yin meets yin and becomes blocked." The second line is blocked by the third line, which is a yin line, so it loses the fourth line; the third line is separated by the second line, which is a yin line, so it loses the first line. The lower trigram Zhen is also Gen, and the upper trigram Gen is also Zhen, so the structure of the hexagram is the same, and there is no need to distinguish. As the hexagram image fluctuates, so does the hexagram statement. Yu Fan, however, took the fifth line as the young man, saying that Dui represents the young, so he called it "young man." But Dui is the young woman, how can it be called "young man"? Gen representing the young man is found in the original text of the Zhou Changes, in Mengxi's Yixiang, and more so in Jiao's Forest of Changes. There has never been a case where Dui is taken as the young man. Yu Fan did not understand that the reversed Zhen is the husband, and insisted that the fourth line is the husband, using the example of the second line of Da Guo, "old man," as support. But he did not realize that the "old man" in the second line of Da Guo refers to the trigram Zhen in the opposite hexagram Yi, not the trigram Xun in the original hexagram. Yu Fan had already misunderstood Da Guo, and then used this misunderstanding to explain Suí, which is not adding error upon error?

艮為小子，為道，是易用中爻也。兌為西，兌伏艮，艮為山，震為王，故曰王用享於西山，是本象與對象不分，易本如此，為《易林》所本也。

The hexagram Gen (Mountain) represents a young boy and also roads, indicating that the Zhou Changes (I Ching) uses the middle line for mutual relations. The hexagram Dui (Lake) represents the west, and what is hidden beneath Dui is Gen (Mountain), which represents a mountain. Zhen (Thunder) represents a king, so the line Six at the Top says, "The king offers sacrifices at the western mountain"—the king holds a sacrificial ceremony at the western mountain. This shows that the original image and the object are used interchangeably without distinction. The Zhou Changes (I Ching) is originally like this, and Jiao's Forest of Changes follows this tradition.

蠱無乾坤，而爻詞言父母，自東漢以來無明其故者。毛奇齡謂壞事有漸，蓋自其祖父而已然，如是解經，經無有不通者矣。其餘皆用卦變，謂蠱原為泰卦，泰坤乾，故言父母，此說也似是矣，然卦之從泰來者多矣，不言父母。杭氏云：「艮居戌亥，則乾位也，消息卦亦坤位也；巽居未申，則坤位也。艮巽既與乾坤先後天同位，故爻象及於父母。」此說也較前說進矣，仍未得也。

The hexagram Gǔ is composed of Gèn above and Xùn below, originally not containing the two trigrams Qian and Kūn. However, the line statements mention "parents," and since the Eastern Han dynasty, no one has been able to explain the reason. Mao Qilin said that the decline of bad things is a gradual process, probably starting from the grandfather's generation. If we interpret the classics in this way, there would be no scripture that cannot be interpreted. Others explain it by means of hexagram transformation, saying that Gǔ originally comes from the hexagram Tà, which contains both Kūn and Qian, hence the mention of "parents." This explanation seems reasonable, but since many hexagrams come from Tà, other hexagrams do not mention "parents." Hang Xinzhai said, "Gèn is located at the position of Xū and Hài in the Later Heaven, which is exactly where Qian is located; in the hexagram of change, it is also the position of Kūn. Xùn is located at the position of Wèi and Shēn, which is exactly where Kūn is located. Since Gèn and Xùn are in the same positions as Qian and Kūn in the Earlier Heaven and Later Heaven, the line images refer to "parents." " This explanation is more advanced than the previous ones, but still does not fully address the issue.

按《易林》大畜之蠱云「一巢九子，同公共母」，蠱艮巢震子，震又為父，故曰同公；巽母，故曰共母。又恆之豐云「監牛之讒，賊其父兄」，豐離為牛、為有言，故曰讒；震為父為兄，互大坎為賊，故曰賊其父兄。又升之兌云「父子相賊」，兌通艮互震，為父為子，坎為賊。又謙之歸妹云「爪牙之志，怨毒祈父，傷不及母」，歸妹兌為爪牙，震為士為言，又為父，故曰祈父；震通巽，巽伏，故不及。又旅之漸云「逶迤四牧，思念父母」，漸上巽，巽母，通震，震父，下互坎，坎思，故曰思念父母。《易林》以震為父，以巽為母，可謂明確矣。巽母尤多，詳在小過六二。蠱上互震，下巽，故前五爻皆言父母；至上爻出震巽，故不言父母，《易林》仍本之易也。易象失傳，無論若何揣測，皆不能得解。豈惟易難解，卽《易林》亦不知所謂也。

According to Jiao's Forest of Changes, the divination for "Great Accumulation" to "Guilt" says, "One nest with nine young, all sharing the same mother." The hexagram Guilt has the upper trigram Gen (Mountain) representing the nest, and the lower trigram Zhen (Thunder) representing the young. Zhen also represents the father, hence "all sharing the same." The trigram Xun (Wind) represents the mother, hence "sharing the same mother." Another example is from "Constant" to "Brightness," which says, "The cow's slander, the thief of father and elder brother." The hexagram Brightness has the lower trigram Li (Fire) representing the cow and also speech, hence "slander." Zhen represents the father and elder brother, and the interacting trigrams contain Kan (Water), representing the thief, hence "the thief of father and elder brother." Another example is from "Ascent" to "Joy," which says, "Father and son betraying each other." The hexagram Joy and Gen (Mountain) are connected, and the interacting trigrams contain Zhen, which represents father and son, while Kan represents the thief. Another example is from "Humility" to "Marriage by Capture," which says, "The will of claws and teeth, resentment and hatred toward the father, injury not reaching the mother." The hexagram Marriage by Capture has the upper trigram Dui (Lake) representing claws and teeth, and Zhen representing soldiers and speech, as well as the father, hence "hatred toward the father." Zhen and Xun are connected, but Xun is hidden, hence "injury not reaching the mother." Another example is from "Travel" to "Gradual Progress," which says, "Winding through four pastures, thinking of parents." The hexagram Gradual Progress has the upper trigram Xun (Wind), representing the mother, and Xun also connects to Zhen, representing the father. The lower trigram is Kan (Water), representing thought, hence "thinking of parents." The Forest of Changes clearly uses Zhen for father and Xun for mother. The examples of Xun as mother are especially numerous, as seen in the line for Xiao Guo (Little Overstep) six two. The hexagram Guilt has the upper trigram interacting with Zhen and the lower trigram Xun, so the first five lines all refer to parents. By the time it reaches the top line nine, it has moved beyond Zhen and Xun, so it no longer refers to parents. The Forest of Changes still follows the Zhou Changes. Once the images of the Changes are lost, no amount of speculation can be understood. Not only is the Zhou Changes difficult to understand, but even the Forest of Changes is unreadable.

此與利涉大川義同也，仍陽遇陰則通之旨也。凡易象如此者，皆利有攸往，利往卽利涉大川。坤水在前，震船行上，《易林》以震為舟。《易林》一象之闡明，切要如此。而虞翻以二至上體復為說，不知此為周易通例，不祗復也。惟未用其故智，謂二失位宜變陰成復，尚差強人意耳。

The line "There is no disadvantage" in the line Nine in the Second of the hexagram "Approach" means the same as "favorable for crossing a great river," still following the principle that "Yang meets Yin and thus becomes smooth." In the Zhou Changes, whenever a hexagram shows such a situation, it says "favorable for going somewhere," and "favorable for going" is the same as "favorable for crossing a great river." In the hexagram "Approach," the upper trigram is坤 (Earth), representing water in front, and the lines two to four form Zhen (Thunder), representing a boat moving upon it. Jiao's Forest of Changes indeed takes Zhen as a boat. Jiao's Forest of Changes explains a hexagram, and the key point lies here. Yu Fan, however, explains it by taking the lines two to the top to form the hexagram "Return," without realizing that this is a general principle in the Zhou Changes, not limited to the hexagram "Return." He did not use his usual method this time, not saying that the line Nine in the Second should change to a yin line to form "Return," which is somewhat commendable.

杭氏曰：「先天離，後天震，皆居東，故曰噬嗑。」合也。彖傳曰「雷電合而章」，亦以先後天相合也。

Hang Xinzhai said, "In the Earlier Heaven, the trigram Li is located in the East, and in the Later Heaven, the trigram Zhen is also located in the East, so the hexagram is named 'Shi He.' "He" means to join together. The Commentary on the Judgment says, 'Thunder and lightning join together to form a pattern,' which refers precisely to the combination of the images from the Earlier Heaven and Later Heaven."

坎為肉，東漢人無知者。虞翻解噬嗑六三昔肉云：「艮為膚，三在膚裡，當艮中爻，故稱肉。」荀爽則以四為昔肉，其不當與虞也。按《易林》咸之屯云「哺以酒脯」，屯上坎，坎為酒為脯。孟氏逸象「坎為酒為內」，內象不合，說者以納為解，吾疑內為肉之訛字。震口為哺也。蒙之艮云「攫飯把肉」，艮手，為攫為把，中爻坎，為飯肉。又師林云「鳥鳴呼子，哺以酒脯」，震為鳴為子，為鳥為哺，坎為酒脯，師無艮象，坎為肉脯之象益明。然後知噬嗑三爻之昔肉、四爻之乾胏、五爻之乾肉，皆坎象也，噬嗑三至五互坎也。餘前謂吾人有不知其象者矣，斷無象外之詞者，此也。有清一代之究治漢易者，如惠棟，如張惠言，宗王荀虞，固無論矣，他如毛西河、惠士奇、焦循、姚配中、王引之等，皆矯矯立異者，而訖不知此三象之何屬，徒以能尋摭昔字胏字之音訓為博，則以肉象失傳也。

Heavenly Stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui Earthly Branches: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai Trigrams: Qian (Heaven), Dui (Lake), Li (Fire), Zhen (Thunder), Xun (Wind), Kan (Water), Gen (Mountain), Kun (Earth) Glossary: Jiao's Forest of Changes = Jiao Shi Yi Lin Zhang Huiyan = Zhang Huiyan Upper Trigram = Shang Gua Fifth Line = Wu Yao Six in the Third = Liu San Nine in the Fourth = Jiu Si Six in the Fifth = Liu Wu Hui Dong = Hui Dong Wang Bi = Wang Bi Yu Fan = Yu Fan The image of Kan as representing flesh is unknown to the Eastern Han dynasty. Yu Fan interpreted the line "xi ru" (old meat) in the sixth line of "Shike" (Breaking the Bones) as follows: "Gen represents skin, and the sixth line is inside the skin, located at the central line of Gen, hence it is called flesh." Xun Shuang, on the other hand, took the ninth line of the fourth position as "xi ru," and his interpretation is similarly flawed as Yu Fan's. According to "Jiao Shi Yi Lin," in the divination for "Xian" changing into "Zun," the text says "feeding with wine and meat," where the upper trigram of "Zun" is Kan, which represents wine and meat. Meng Xi's "Yi Xiang" mentions "Kan as wine and inner," but the image of "inner" does not make sense. Those interpreting it use the character "na" (to take in) to explain it, and I suspect that "inner" is a corrupted form of "meat." Zhen represents mouth, hence "bub" (feeding). In another divination for "Meng" changing into "Gen," the text says "grabbing food with meat," where Gen represents hand, hence "grab" and "take," and the interacting trigram Kan in the middle line represents "food" and "meat." Also, in the divination for "Shi" (Army) in its native trigram, it says "a bird calls to its young, feeding them with wine and meat," where Zhen represents sound, child, bird, and feeding, and Kan represents wine and meat. The "Shi" trigram does not have the image of Gen, which shows that the image of Kan as representing meat and meat is even clearer. This allows us to understand that the "xi ru" in the third line, "gan zhou" in the fourth line, and "gan rou" in the fifth line of "Shike" all refer to the image of Kan. The third to fifth lines of "Shike" together form an interacting trigram of Kan. I have previously said, "We may not know what the image is, but there is nothing outside the image in the text," referring precisely to this case. During the Qing dynasty, scholars studying the Han dynasty's "Yi" (Book of Changes), such as Hui Dong, Zhang Huiyan, followed Wang Bi, Xun Shuang, and Yu Fan, and this is not worth mentioning. Others such as Mao Qiling (Xihé), Hui Shiqi, Jiao Xun, Yao Peizhong, and Wang Yinzhi were bold in innovating, yet they never understood clearly which trigram these three instances belong to. They only collected the phonetic and semantic meanings of the characters "xi" and "zhou" to show their erudition. This is all because the image of Kan as representing meat has been lost.

孟氏逸象，巽為魚，《姤》九二、九四之魚是也。《中孚》魚亦用巽。至坤之？？？？？？吉者，虞翻謂剝消《觀》巽，巽為魚為繩，故貫魚。夫巽既消矣，何有魚象？更何有繩象？何妥、崔憬以魚為陰類，宮人、后妃皆坤陰象，故取之。

In the lost images transmitted by Meng Xi, the trigram Xun is taken as fish. The line statement of the second line in the hexagram Gou, "enclosing fish," and the line statement of the fourth line, "enclosing no fish," refer to this image of fish. The hexagram Zhongfou also refers to fish using the image of Xun. As for the line "When the earth hexagram is followed by something, it is auspicious" (the original text is missing six characters, so I dare not make up), Yu Fan's explanation is that the hexagram Bao arises from the hexagram Guan through the process of change. The upper trigram of Guan is originally Xun, which represents both fish and rope, so the line statement says "passing through fish." However, since the trigram Xun has already disappeared in the process of change, how can the image of fish remain? How can the image of rope remain? He Tuo and Cui Jing abandoned the images and numbers and instead based their interpretation on meaning and principle. They regarded "fish" as a general term for the yin, considering palace women and consorts as examples of the yin and softness of the hexagram Kun, so the line statement of the fifth line in the hexagram Bao uses this analogy.

後世如毛奇齡、惠棟、姚配中、王引之、張惠言、朱芹、臧頤煊等，皆祖述此義，更以《禮》注宮人當夕次敘，敷演貫魚之義，其窮窘更甚於何、崔矣。按《易林·革之頤》云：「尼父孔丘，善釣鯉魚，羅罔一舉，得獲萬頭。」《頤》上艮，艮山，故曰尼父、曰孔丘，反震為孔也。艮手為釣，坤為鯉魚，大離為羅罔，坤眾為萬頭。

Later scholars such as Mao Qiling, Hui Dong, Yao Peizhong, Wang Yinzhi, Zhang Huiyan, Zhu Qin, Zang YiXuan, and others followed the interpretation of He Tuo and Cui Jing, and further cited the old annotations from the "Rites of Zhou" regarding the order in which palace attendants served, to explain the meaning of "guan yu" (a term referring to a sequence). Their interpretations were even more forced and constrained than those of He Tuo and Cui Jing. Now, according to Jiao Yanshou's "Yi Lin" under the hexagram "Ge" to "Yi": "The sage Confucius, good at fishing for carp, cast one net and caught ten thousand fish." The upper trigram of the "Yi" hexagram is Gen (Mountain), and according to "Shuo Gua," Gen represents a mountain. Confucius was born on Niqiu Mountain, so the line refers to him as "Ni Fu" (the father of Ni) and "Kong Qiu." When Gen is viewed upside down, it becomes Zhen (Thunder), which represents a great path with a hollow center, hence the use of the character "Kong" (empty). Gen represents the hand, thus symbolizing the act of holding a rod to fish; Kun represents carp; the fourth line of the "Yi" hexagram forms a large Li (Fire), which represents a net, hence "luo wang" (net); Kun represents multitude, hence "wan tou" (ten thousand heads). This clearly shows that the fish in this line of the Yi Lin is derived from the image of Kun, not from Xun.

又《訟之比》云：「求我所有，買魴與鯉。」《比》艮為求，重坤，故曰魴、曰鯉。又《小畜之剝》云：「孔鯉伯魚。」至於貫象，《剝》下有三坤，三魚排敘而進，貫象自著。又《洞林》豫之小過曰：「五月晦日，群魚來入州城寺舍。」坤變艮，故魚入城，是郭璞以坤為魚，與《易林》同也。

Another passage from the "Forest of Changes" in the "Book of Changes" says: "Seeking what I possess, buying a crucian carp and a carp." The "Goon" hexagram has the third to fifth lines forming the "Mountain" trigram, which represents seeking; the lower trigram of the "Goon" hexagram is "Earth," and the second to fourth lines also form the "Earth" trigram, creating the image of double "Earth." Therefore, the words "crucian carp" and "carp" in the text are based on the "Earth" trigram. In another instance, the "Small Accumulation" hexagram transforming into the "Splitting Apart" hexagram says: "In the fifth month on the last day, a crowd of fish enters the city, the temple, and the house." The "Earth" trigram transforms into the "Mountain" trigram, and the "Mountain" trigram represents gates, thresholds, cities, and towns, so the text says the fish enter the city—this shows that Guo Pu also uses the "Earth" trigram to represent fish, consistent with the imagery used in the "Forest of Changes" by Jiao. In conclusion, the "贯鱼" (fish being strung together) in the fifth line of the "Splitting Apart" hexagram uses the image of the "Earth" trigram, not the "Wind" trigram. Yu Fan's interpretation and the views of He and Cui are therefore incorrect.

虞仲翔作朋，兌為朋，以陽息至二成兌為說；京氏作崩，以艮覆為說。後儒從虞者多，從京者鮮，祗惠棟以虞說為不然，謂陽息尚未至二，胡得先言，主京氏說。茲以《易林》證之。《謙之姤》云：「山石朽敝，消崩墮落。」《姤》通《復》，《剝》艮窮上反下，反下則艮覆，山覆地，非崩而何？

Yu Fan (style name Zhongxiang) wrote the character "peng" for the Hexagram Statement of "Fu," reasoning that Dui represents "peng," and that when the yang energy begins to grow and reaches the Second Line, it forms the structure of Dui. Jing Fang, on the other hand, wrote "beng," reasoning that the mountain shape of Gen reversed is exactly the image of a mountain collapsing. Later scholars mostly followed Yu Fan's interpretation, while few followed Jing Fang's. Only Hui Dong thought Yu's explanation was not convincing—since the Hexagram "Fu" represents the initial emergence of yang energy, and the yang energy has not yet reached the Second Line, how could it be said in advance to be Dui? Therefore, he supported Jing Fang's view. Now let us verify this with the "Jiao's Forest of Changes." The statement in "Qianzhi Gou" says: "Mountains and rocks decay and break down, collapsing and falling." The Hexagram "Gou" and "Fu" are complementary; the Gen in the Hexagram "Bo" reaches the Top Line and has reached its extreme, and when it reaches its extreme, it turns back downward. A reversal turns it into an inverted Gen, the mountain overturned on the ground, which is not "collapse" what else?

又《屯之蒙》云：「山崩谷絕。」《蒙》二至五亦《復》體，亦以二至四覆艮為山崩。又《蹇之屯》云：「作室山根，人以為安，一夕崩顛。」《屯》中爻艮，艮為山為室，故曰作室山根。坎為夕，數一。震為覆艮，故曰一夕崩顛。由是證焦氏亦讀朋為崩，與京氏同也。漢人無讀崩者，獨焦讀與京同，授受分明矣。

Another passage from the "Forest of Divination" under the "Zun" hexagram says: "Mountains collapse and valleys are cut off." The second to fifth lines of the "Meng" hexagram correspond exactly to the structure of the "Fu" hexagram, and they also use the inverted Gen hexagram in lines two to four to represent the image of a mountain collapsing. Another passage from the "Jian" hexagram to the "Zun" hexagram says: "Building a house at the foot of a mountain, people think it secure, but it collapses overnight." In the "Zun" hexagram, the middle lines form the Gen hexagram. The "Shuo Gua" says that Gen represents a mountain, as well as gates, thresholds, and buildings, so the divination phrase says "building a house at the foot of a mountain." The Kan hexagram represents night, and its number is one, so it says "overnight." The Zhen hexagram is the inverted Gen hexagram, so it says "collapse." From these examples, it can be proven that Jiao Yanshou also read "peng" as "beng," the same as Jing Fang. No other Han dynasty figures read it as "beng," so the reading of Jiao Yanshou matches Jing Fang exactly, clearly showing the clear transmission of their teachings.

惠棟雖主京說，徒以《剝》消艮入坤為崩，至入坤出震之何以仍有崩象，焦、京全用覆象之義，則不詳也。東漢人於覆象偶知之，如謂《中孚》《大壯》有反巽是也。至象覆卽於覆象取義，如《蒙》之「童蒙求我」、《泰》上六之「城覆於隍」及《復》下震之為山崩，則無一人能詳也。惠棟主荀、虞者，故雖用京說，而不詳其義。

Hui Dong although supported Jing Fang's view, could only explain the hexagram Bao's yang waning and the mountain shape entering the earth as a collapse. But when the yang had entered the earth and then emerged from the zhen, why it still showed the image of collapse, which is the principle that Jiao Yanshou and Jing Fang entirely relied on the inverted image, Hui Dong could not explain. Eastern Han scholars occasionally noticed the inverted image, for example, the hexagram Zhongfou and Dazhuang contain the reverse xun. But if one says that once the hexagram is inverted, the meaning is taken from the inverted image, such as the line 'childlike ignorance seeks me' in the hexagram Meng, 'the city is overturned into the moat' in the line Six at the Top of the hexagram Tai, and the lower trigram zhen in the hexagram Fu being taken as mountain collapse, no one could explain it clearly. Hui Dong followed the school of Xun Shuang and Yu Fan, so although he adopted Jing Fang's interpretation, he could not explain the reasoning behind it.

虞謂十二消息不見坎象，故無疾。豈知《復》雖為候卦，十二消息有坎無坎，於《復》義何取乎？凡虞說不顧本經，祗演空象，多類此，故後儒除張惠言宗主虞《易》外，多駁之者，然亦無的解也。近易家杭辛齋謂此疾字為「不疾而速」之疾，似亦未協。

Yu Fan said that in the twelve hexagram messages, the hexagram "Fu" does not show the image of Kan, so the hexagram statement says "wu ji" (no illness). But he did not realize that although "Fu" is paired with the seasonal message, whether or not Kan appears in the twelve messages has nothing to do with the meaning of the hexagram itself. Whenever Yu Fan made his arguments, he often ignored the original meaning of the text and only deduced from empty images and numbers, and this was usually the case. Therefore, later scholars, except Zhang Huiyan who followed Yu's interpretation of the Book of Changes, mostly criticized him, but they could not provide a solid explanation. In modern times, Hang Xinzhai, a scholar of the Book of Changes, interpreted the character "ji" as "ji" in the Great Treatise "not ji but su" (not rapid but swift), meaning swift, but this interpretation also seems inappropriate.

按《易林·豐之復》云：「蒙佑諧偶，獲利五倍。」諧偶者，言陽得陰而諧和為偶，偶卽朋也，故能獲利。又《益之復》云：「德施流行，利之四鄰。」乾為德，乾流坤，故之四鄉無不利。震位四，坤為鄉也。又《既濟之復》云：「心願所喜。」《中孚之復》云：「宜利止居。」夫曰喜、曰利、曰諧，卽無疾之疾之義也。疾者，嫉也、患也、害也，坤為害，見於《繫辭》，見於孟氏逸象。

According to Jiao Yanshou's "Yi Lin · Feng Zhī Fu," it says: "Meng Yu Xia Ou, Luo Li Wu Bei." The term "Xia Ou" refers to the harmonious pairing of a yang line with a yin line, and the spouse is considered a friend, thus leading to profit. Again, in "Yi Zhī Fu," it says: "De Shi Ping Xing, Li Zhī Si Lin." The trigram Qian represents virtue, and the yang energy of Qian spreads into Kun, thus benefiting all directions without hindrance; Zhen is located in the fourth position in the directional numbers, and Kun represents towns and villages, hence the mention of "four neighbors" and "four villages." In "Ji Ji Zhī Fu," it says: "Xin Yuan Su Xi." In "Zhong Fu Zhī Fu," it says: "Yi Li Zhi Ju." These lines from the Yi Lin all have the primary hexagram Fu. Whenever they mention "joy," "profit," or "harmony," it clearly expresses the meaning of "wu ji" (no illness), and in turn clarifies the exact interpretation of the character "ji": "ji" means resentment, worry, and calamity. The trigram Kun represents harm, which is mentioned in the Great Treatise and also appears in the lost images transmitted by Meng Xi.

出入無疾者，言此一陽，入坤出震，得陰為朋友。陰陽之為朋友，自東漢以來無知者，皆以陰遇陰、陽遇陽為朋。近杭辛齋始謂陰以陽為朋，陽以陰為友，與《易林》闇合。餘征之《易》，若《復》之朋，則指陽也；若《豫》之朋，則指陰也，陰陽互為朋友也。惟同性者斷無朋友，故《坤》之「得朋」「喪朋」，自東漢以來皆錯詁。

The phrase "entering and exiting without illness" refers to the single yang line in the hexagram "Fu" entering the hexagram "Kun" and exiting the hexagram "Zhen," gaining many yin lines as friends. The principle that yin and yang are friends has not been understood since the Eastern Han dynasty; people have always taken yin with yin and yang with yang as "friends." Recently, Hang Xinzhai proposed that yin takes yang as its friend and yang takes yin as its companion, which coincides with the usage in Jiao's Forest of Changes. I verify this with the text of the Zhou Changes: in the hexagram "Fu," the term "friend" refers to yang; in the hexagram "Yu," the term "friend" refers to yin—this shows that yin and yang are mutual friends. Only between the same sexes can there be no friendship, so the terms "gaining friends" and "losing friends" in the hexagram "Kun" have been misinterpreted since the Eastern Han dynasty.

無有疾害之者，與《臨》二之「利有攸往」、《大畜》九三之「利有攸往」同也。後人徒見《說卦》坎為病，故以疾字屬坎，民知卦無坎象，胡能於坎上求？又疾字之訓為疾病者，乃疾字訓詁之一，其見於經傳，以患害為訓者尚多也。且坤為害，於象尤切也為甚。無害，彖所謂「順以動」也。

"Without harm" means there is nothing that threatens it, which is consistent with the "favorable for going somewhere" in the second line of the "Approaching" hexagram and the third line of the "Great Accumulation" hexagram. Both cases involve a yang line encountering a yin line, resulting in smoothness and ease. Later commentators only noticed the statement in the "Discourse on the Hexagrams" that "Kan represents heart disease," and thus associated the character "ji" (harm) with the image of Kan. However, the hexagram "Fu" does not originally contain the image of Kan, so how could one look for it in Kan? Moreover, the character "ji" is interpreted as disease in only one of its many meanings. In the classical texts, "ji" is often used to mean worry or calamity. Furthermore, the image of Kun (Earth) representing harm is especially appropriate. The reason for "without harm" is precisely what the "Commentary on the Judgment" says: "movement in a harmonious way."

鄭玄、虞翻、宋衷皆以至日為冬至，王輔嗣、孔穎達皆主二至言。清儒治漢《易》者惡輔嗣之掃象，向不取之，而主鄭、虞。茲《易林·晉之解》云：「二至之戒，家無凶禍。」戒卽商旅不行、后不省方也，而曰二至。又《復之履》云：「先王日至，不利出域。」《履》三至上《姤》，《姤》夏至，不利出域，卽后不省方也。

Zheng Xuan, Yu Fan, and Song Zhong all interpreted "至日" as the winter solstice. Wang Bi (styled Fusi) and Kong Yingda, however, argued that "至日" could refer to both the winter solstice and the summer solstice. Qing dynasty scholars who studied the Book of Changes during the Han dynasty disliked Wang Bi's rejection of the symbolic and numerical interpretations, and they did not adopt his view, instead favoring the interpretations of Zheng and Yu. According to Jiao's Forest of Changes, in the interpretation of the hexagram "Jin" (Progress), it says: "The warning of the two solstices brings no misfortune to the family." The term "戒" here corresponds to the great image of the hexagram "Fu" (Return), which states "traders do not travel, and the ruler does not survey the land." However, Jiao Yanshou specifically interpreted it as "the two solstices." In another interpretation, "Fu" (Return) to "Lu" (Following), it says: "The former kings observed the solstices, and it is not favorable to leave the domain." The third line to the top line of the hexagram "Lu" forms the hexagram "Gou" (Meeting), which corresponds to the summer solstice. "Not favorable to leave the domain" is the same as "the ruler does not survey the land." This shows that Jiao Yanshou's interpretation of "至日" in the hexagram "Fu" already included the summer solstice.

又《夬之頤》云：「二至靈臺，文所止遊。」《頤》下震，體《復》，為冬至；上艮，為反震，震反則夏至而《姤》矣。《易林》用象之神妙，不可思議如此。據此以推，《復》象之至日閉關，《易林》亦以為二至也。

Another passage from 《Jiao's Forest of Changes》 on 《Guai》 changing into 《Yi》 says: "Two solstices at the spiritual terrace, the cultural realm where the sage roams." The lower trigram of 《Yi》 is Zhen, which contains the structure of 《Fu》, corresponding to the winter solstice; the upper trigram is Gen, which is the reverse image of Zhen, and when Zhen is reversed, it becomes Xia Zhi and transforms into 《Gou》. Within one hexagram, both the winter and summer solstices are present, so the words of the Forest directly mention "two solstices." The 《Forest of Changes》 employs the subtle and profound imagery of hexagrams to such an astonishing extent. Based on this, the "solstice day closing the gate" mentioned in the grand image of 《Fu》 is also understood by the 《Forest of Changes》 as referring to both the winter and summer solstices.

又《後漢·魯恭傳》：「案《易》，五月《姤》用事，經曰『後以施令』（注亦作『令』，與今本異）『誥四方』，言君以夏至之日施命令，止四方行者，所以助微陰也。」注云：「《復》卦曰：『先王以至日閉關，商旅不行。』故夏至宜止行也。」是魯恭亦以至日為二至，與《易林》同也。

Another passage from the "Book of the Later Han · Lu Gong's Biography" records Lu Gong's memorial: "According to the 'Zhou Changes,' the Gou hexagram is in charge in the fifth month. The classic text says 'the sovereign issues commands'—the annotation by Li Xian cites the word 'command,' which differs from the present version of the 'Zhou Changes' which uses 'commandment.' 'He announces to the four directions,' meaning that the sovereign issues decrees on the summer solstice to prohibit travel throughout the land, in order to support the newly emerging subtle yin." Li Xian's annotation also states: "The Great Image of the Fu hexagram says 'the former kings closed the borders on the winter solstice, and merchants did not travel,' so travel should also be stopped on the summer solstice." This shows that Lu Gong also interpreted 'the extreme day' as the winter and summer solstices, consistent with the 'Jiao's Forest of Changes.'

《復》為冬至，消息卦甚明，鄭、虞不誤也。但謂至日亦祗言冬至，則誤，大象之義，無不推闡言也。況《復》卦卦辭曰「出入無疾」，出者出震，入者入巽，鄭、虞、王無異詁也。出震成乾則《復》，入巽成坤則《姤》，《復》則冬至，《姤》則夏至也。

The hexagram Fu is paired with the winter solstice, and this is clearly stated in the twelve message hexagrams; Zheng Xuan and Yu Fan were correct. However, if one says that the "day of arrival" in the image also refers exclusively to the winter solstice, that would be wrong, because the image's meaning is always extended and interpreted. Moreover, the Fu hexagram states "entering and exiting without illness," where "exiting" refers to the trigram Zhen, and "entering" refers to the trigram Xun. This interpretation is consistent among the three scholars Zheng Xuan, Yu Fan, and Wang Bi. Yang emerging from Zhen and ascending to Qian forms the hexagram Fu, while Yin entering Xun and ascending to Kun forms the hexagram Guo. Fu corresponds to the winter solstice, and Guo corresponds to the summer solstice; the words of a single hexagram already encompass both solstices.

又曰：「反復其道，七日來復。」《復》七日而反《姤》，《姤》七日而反《復》，《復》而《姤》，《姤》而《復》，循環不已。京房曰：「《復》者，六爻反復之稱也。」《復》一日《臨》，二日《泰》，三日《大壯》，四是《夬》，五日《乾》，六日七日則反《姤》；《姤》一日《遯》，二日《否》，三日《觀》，四日《觀》，五日《坤》，六日七日則反《復》，共十四日，故《復》七日不能來復。故出入反覆，皆兼《復》《姤》言也，《復》《姤》則二至也。卦辭用旁通，《易》恆例也。

The Hexagram Statement also says: "It reverses its course, returning after seven days." The Hexagram of "Reversion" (复) returns after seven days to become the Hexagram of "Meeting" (姤), and the Hexagram of "Meeting" returns after seven days to become the Hexagram of "Reversion." Thus, from "Reversion" to "Meeting" and from "Meeting" to "Reversion," the cycle continues without end. Jing Fang said: "What is called 'Reversion' refers to the name of the six lines reversing and returning." Counting from the Hexagram of "Reversion," the first day is "Approaching" (临), the second day is "Supreme Harmony" (泰), the third day is "Great Strength" (大壮), the fourth day is "Breaking" (夬), the fifth day is "Heaven" (干), and on the sixth and seventh days it returns to "Meeting" (姤). Counting from the Hexagram of "Meeting," the first day is "Retreating" (遯), the second day is "Non-Communication" (否), the third day is "Observing" (观), the fourth day should be "Splitting" (剥) according to the sequence of the changing hexagrams, the fifth day is "Earth" (坤), and on the sixth and seventh days it returns to "Reversion" (复). In total, this cycle spans fourteen days, so counting only seven days from "Reversion" does not truly return to "Reversion." This shows that both "coming and going" and "reversing and returning" refer to both the Hexagrams of "Reversion" and "Meeting," which correspond to the winter and summer solstices. The use of complementary hexagrams in the Hexagram Statements is a common practice in the Zhou Changes (I Ching).

餘說《易》，向無漢宋之分，然最咎輔嗣掃象，以從此人不知《易》為何物，避難就易，祛實蹈虛。至程伊尹，遂出其大無畏之精神，哆口談空，皆輔嗣作之俑。然輔嗣掃象，輔嗣尚知象，故其注往往由象而生，能與《易林》合，故取之。

I explain the Book of Changes without distinguishing between Han Learning and Song Learning. However, I most resent Wang Bi for eliminating the imagery and numerical calculations, because since then people have lost the true meaning of the Book of Changes, avoiding difficulties and choosing the easy path, abandoning practical evidence and stepping into emptiness. By the time of Cheng Yi, he even dared to talk about empty principles directly, which were all initiated by Wang Bi. However, although Wang Bi eliminated imagery, he himself actually understood imagery. Therefore, his commentaries often arose from imagery and could be consistent with Jiao's Forest of Changes, so I also adopt his views.

朱子晚年《易》說云：「程子謂得其義則象數在其中，吾以為先見象數，方說得理。不然，事無實證，則虛理易差。」又云：「聖王崇《詩》《書》《禮》《樂》以造士，未嘗言《易》，《易》自別是一個道理，某枉費許多年功夫。」蓋深知《易》象之重，然已無及。

Zhu Xi, in his later years, discussed the Book of Changes, saying: "Master Cheng believed that if one grasps the principles, the images and numbers would naturally be included within them; I, however, believe that one must first see the images and numbers before one can explain the principles. Otherwise, without concrete evidence, abstract principles are easily prone to error." He also said: "The sage kings promoted the Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents, the Book of Rites, and the Book of Music to cultivate scholars, but they did not specialize in the Book of Changes. The Book of Changes is indeed a separate set of principles. I have spent many years on this without achieving much." This shows that Zhu Xi, in his later years, deeply understood the importance of the images in the Book of Changes, but it was too late to make up for it.