The Nine in the Third line of the Travel卦 uses Gen (Mountain) as Fire.

旅九三以艮為火。艮火之象，至東漢卽不知，祗邵子皇極經世以艮為火，為後儒所疑。乃邵子坤水之象，既與易合、易林合、九家合，則知其它亦皆有本，非自創也。後征之易林，解之謙云「三火起明，雨滅其光」，是以艮為火，艮納丙，數三，故曰三火；謙互艮，故雨滅其光。

The Traveler hexagram's third line takes the mountain (Gèn) as fire. The image of mountain as fire was unknown by the Eastern Han dynasty, and only Shao Yong in his "Huang Ji Jing Shi" took mountain as fire, yet it was doubted by later scholars. However, the image of earth (Kūn) as water that Shao Yong proposed is consistent with the Zhou Changes, with Jiao's Forest of Changes, and with the Nine Schools' interpretations of the Zhou Changes. Therefore, it can be known that his other images also have sources and are not made up by himself. Later verification using the Forest of Changes shows that in the "Qian" section of the "Jie" hexagram, it says, "Three fires arise in brightness, rain extinguishes their light." This is taking mountain as fire — mountain receives the dry (Gān) element as Bing (which belongs to fire), and its number is three, so it says "three fires"; the "Qian" hexagram has an intermingled mountain, hence "rain extinguishes their light."

又大壯之遯云「火爛銷金」，遯上乾，金；下艮，艮火，故銷金。他若坎之謙云「門燒屋燔」，蹇之渙云「從風放火」，皆以艮為火。而火爛銷金、三火起明，尤以艮為火之確證，以數定之。因由易林而求之易，旅九三云「旅焚其次」，次者舍也，艮為舍為火，故焚其次。離火在上，非艮火，不能焚次也。

The entry in The Great Strength (Da Zhuang) on The Retreat (Dun) says "fire burns and melts metal": The upper trigram of The Retreat is Qian (Heaven), which represents metal; the lower trigram is Gen (Mountain), which represents fire, so it can melt metal. Other examples include The坎 (Kan) trigram in The Humility (Qian) saying "the gate is burned and the house is set on fire," and The蹇 (Jian) trigram in The Dispersal (Huan) saying "to set fire to the wind," all of which use Gen as fire. The two entries "fire burns and melts metal" and "three fires start the light" are especially clear evidence that Gen represents fire, since they also use the number of Gen to confirm it. Therefore, turning back to The Zhou Changes (I Ching), the ninth line of the Traveler (Lv) trigram says "the traveler burns his lodging," where "lodging" refers to the traveler's shelter. Gen represents a shelter and also fire, so it says "burns his lodging." The fire of Li (Fire) is on the upper trigram, but without the fire of Gen on the lower trigram, the lodging cannot be burned.

巽初至四，正反兩兌口相背，兌為口舌，史巫皆以口舌為用者也，故曰用史巫。史巫既並稱，當然為祝史。左傳桓六年「祝史正詞」，昭十八年「吾事鬼神而疾病，是祝史之罪也」，周官大祝史四人、司巫史一人是也。乃荀爽以書勳之史當之，失易象矣。書勳之史，乃南狐之流，胡能與巫並列？後注家遵用不改，則以易象失傳，不知史巫皆取象於口舌也。

The first to fourth lines of the hexagram 巽 consist of one yang line and one yin line, forming two trigrams of 兑 facing each other. 兑 represents the mouth and tongue, and both historians and shamans rely on speech and words in their work, so the line statement of nine in the second line says "use the historian and shaman." Since "historian" and "shaman" are mentioned together, the "historian" here must refer to the shaman-historian. The Zuo Zhuan mentions in the sixth year of Duke Huan "the shaman-historian speaks truthfully," and in the eighteenth year of Duke Zhao "my illness comes from serving ghosts and spirits, which is the fault of the shaman-historian." In the Zhou Li, under the Grand Shaman there are four historians, and under the Master of the Shamans there is one historian, which refers to this kind of official. However, Xun Shuang mistakenly used the historian responsible for recording achievements and events, which lost the meaning of the Yi. The historian who records achievements and events is a person like Nan Shi or Dong Hu, how can he be placed alongside the shaman? Later commentators continued to use this without change, because the Yi imagery had been lost, and they did not know that both "historian" and "shaman" take their image from the mouth and tongue.

茲證以易林，萃之巽云「眾口銷金，愆言不驗」，巽正反三兌，故曰眾口、曰愆言。又大壯之巽云「犬吠非主，上下膠擾」，巽二至四兌，伏艮，故曰犬吠；震為主，震伏，故曰非主；膠擾卽紛若也。又剝之巽云「三人俱行，一人言北，伯仲欲南，少叔不得」，亦以巽正反兩兌口為說。凡此皆史巫紛若之義也。自易象失傳，荀爽卽不知此用覆象，故紛若之義，二千年來無一人能覺察者。非易林，孰能證明之？又孰肯信之？

Now using the "Jiao's Forest of Changes" to verify: The entry "Cui" to "Xun" says, "Many mouths melt gold, false words do not verify." —— The "Xun" hexagram has three "Dui" trigrams, both positive and negative, so it says "many mouths" and "false words." The entry "Da Zhuang" to "Xun" says, "A dog barks, not the master; above and below are disturbed." —— The "Xun" hexagram has "Dui" trigrams from the second to the fourth lines, and "Dui" contains "Gen," which is the dog, so it says "a dog barks"; "Zhen" is the master, but "Zhen" is hidden, so it says "not the master"; "disturbed" is the meaning of "feng ruo" in the line statements. The entry "Bo" to "Xun" again says, "Three people walk together, one says north, the elder and middle brother want south, the younger and younger brother cannot." This is also based on the mouths of the two "Dui" trigrams in the "Xun" hexagram. All these are the meaning of "shi shu fen ruo." Since the images of the "Book of Changes" have been lost, Xun Shuang did not know that this used the reversed image, so the meaning of "fen ruo" has not been understood for two thousand years. If there were no "Jiao's Forest of Changes," who could prove it? And who would believe it?

巽九五無初有終先庚三日後庚三日解。此其義，余曾說之，載周易古筮考中，然仍按十干生克之理為解，雖於初終之義有合，然以易林本象與對象往來返復之義證之，其無當與舊解等也。按易林夬之巽云「與神往來，長樂以安」，震為帝為神，言巽與震常往來返復也。蓋震究為巽，巽之初原為震，終成巽，故曰無初、曰有終。震主庚，一爻當一日，先庚三日者，言巽之前三日為震也；今成巽，而巽之究仍為震，後庚三日者，言巽之後三日仍將復於震也。

The interpretation of the line "Without beginning but with end, three days before庚 and three days after庚" in the line Nine in the Fifth of the卦《巽》: I have explained this before, and it is recorded in The Ancient Divination of the Zhou Changes. However, at that time I still explained it according to the principles of the ten heavenly stems and their generation and overcoming relationships, although it somewhat coincided with the meanings of "beginning" and "end." But when verified with the examples of mutual transformation and interaction in the Jiao's Forest of Changes, it still did not fully match the old interpretations. According to the Jiao's Forest of Changes, the line "With the divine, coming and going, long joy and peace" in the case of 《夬》transforming into 《巽》: 《震》represents the Emperor and the divine, and this line is precisely describing the frequent coming and going between 《巽》and 《震》. Originally, 《震》ultimately transforms into 《巽》, and the beginning of 《巽》was originally 《震》, and only at the end does it become 《巽》; since the initial 《震》is no longer present, it is said "without beginning," and since it finally becomes 《巽》and has an end, it is said "with end." 《震》receives the heavenly stem 庚, so 庚 represents 《震》; one line corresponds to one day, so "three days before 庚" means the three days before 《巽》were originally 《震》; now that it has become 《巽》, yet 《巽》ultimately still returns to 《震》, so "three days after 庚" means the three days after 《巽》will again revert to 《震》.

震巽相往來反覆，故易林否之巽云「代伯受患」，小畜之巽云「伯氏失利」，伯者，震也，言此時震伏，巽暫代震受事也。說卦云「其究為躁卦」，朱震云「巽三變成震，震三變成巽，震，躁卦也」，正釋此也。後解此者，惟虞仲翔謂庚為震，與易林旨合。而後之人見聖人言庚，便於十干中討生活，錘幽鑿險，刻剔玲瓏，豈知聖人言庚，祗以代震耳，並無其它深奧。至其義理，祗震巽相往復耳，尤顯近易解。其以幽深相錘鑿者，則以易說失傳，不知本象與對象常往來反覆之理也。

The trigrams 《Zhen》 and 《Xun》 move back and forth with each other, so in the 《Forest of Divination》, the line on 《Xun》 in 《Pu》 says "taking the place of Bo to suffer misfortune," and the line on 《Xun》 in 《Xiu Xu》 says "Bo loses the advantage." "Bo" refers to 《Zhen》 (as 《Zhen》 represents the eldest son, hence called Bo), meaning that at this time 《Zhen》 is hidden and 《Xun》 temporarily takes over to bear the responsibilities. The 《Commentary on the Trigrams》 says about 《Xun》, "its ultimate form is the restless trigram." Zhu Zhen says, "When 《Xun》 changes its third line, it becomes 《Zhen》, and when 《Zhen》 changes its third line, it becomes 《Xun》, and 《Zhen》 is the restless trigram," which is an explanation of this statement. Later commentators who interpreted these sentences only Yu Fan said that "Geng" refers to 《Zhen》, which aligns with the meaning of the 《Forest of Divination》. However, later people, upon seeing the sage mention "Geng," would search among the ten heavenly stems, digging deeply into obscure and intricate interpretations, carving it into something delicate and refined. They did not realize that the sage mentioned "Geng" merely as a reference to 《Zhen》, without any other profound meaning. As for the meaning behind it, it is simply the mutual movement between 《Zhen》 and 《Xun》, which is especially simple and easy to understand. Those who carved it into something obscure and difficult to comprehend did so because the teachings of the 《Book of Changes》 had been lost, and they did not understand the principle that the original form and the corresponding form constantly move back and forth with each other.

附先甲三日後甲三日解。此二句義，餘亦曾說之，載古筮考中，今以易林推之，義極簡也。蠱者否之始，蠱通隨，隨者泰之始，否泰皆有乾，乾納甲，故以甲代乾。蠱為否始，而蠱之先為泰，泰下乾，為先甲三日。乃泰初升上成蠱，為反否之始一日；二升成漸為二日；三升成否為三日。至三日而否運終矣，先甲變為後甲矣。

Appendix: Explanation of "First three days before the Jia, then three days after the Jia" in the hexagram "Gǔ". The meaning of these two lines I have explained before, and it is recorded in "Ancient Divination of the Zhou Changes". Today, using "Jiao's Forest of Changes", the reasoning is extremely clear. The hexagram "Gǔ" is the beginning of "Pǐ", and "Gǔ" is opposite to "Suí", which is the beginning of "Tài". Both "Pǐ" and "Tài" contain "Qián", and "Qián" is assigned the stem "Jia" through the method of "Najia", so "Jia" is used to represent "Qián". Since "Gǔ" is the beginning of "Pǐ", and before "Gǔ" is "Tài", the lower trigram of "Tài" is "Qián", which is why it is called "First three days before the Jia". Specifically, when the first line and the top line of "Tài" are exchanged, it becomes "Gǔ", which is the first day towards "Pǐ"; when the second line and the fifth line are exchanged, it becomes "Jiàn", which is the second day; when the third line and the fourth line are exchanged, it becomes "Pǐ", which is the third day. By the third day, the movement of "Pǐ" has ended, and "First three days before the Jia" has turned into "Three days after the Jia".

隨為泰始，隨之先為否，否上乾，為後甲三日。乃否上返初成隨，為返泰之始一日；五隨返成歸妹為二日；四隨返成泰為三日。至三日而泰運終矣，後甲復為先甲矣。始而終，終而始，循環不已，故彖傳曰「終則有始，天行也」。後解此者，惟虞氏謂甲為乾，惟姚配中說始終得解，而解先庚後庚則非。

The hexagram "Following" is the beginning of the hexagram "Great Passage," and before "Following" is "Opposition." The upper trigram of "Opposition" is "Heaven," which is referred to as "the third day after Jia." Specifically, the top line of "Opposition" returning to its original position forms "Following," which is the first day of returning to "Great Passage"; the fifth line following and returning forms "Return of the Maiden," which is the second day; and the fourth line following and returning forms "Great Passage," which is the third day. By the third day, the movement of "Great Passage" has ended, and "the day after Jia" reverts back to "the day before Jia." There must be an end to every beginning, and an beginning to every end, continuing in a cycle. Therefore, the "Commentary on the Judgment" of the hexagram "Guilt" says, "After an end comes a beginning, this is the way of Heaven." Later interpretations of these two sentences only Yu Fan correctly identified "Jia" as "Heaven," and only Yao Peizhong properly explained the concept of "beginning and end." However, his interpretation of "before Geng" and "after Geng" was incorrect.

兌大象朋友講習解。凡易言小有言、聞言不信、有言不信、慎言語節飲食、鶴鳴子和及講習者，無不以正覆兩震或兩兌相對（相對卽相背）為說，乃虞氏皆不用，獨解此曰兌兩口對為講習。相對者，以二至四正覆兩兌口相對，非謂上兌下兌為相對；上兌下兌，口皆外向，如何對乎？

The Great Image of the卦《兑》 says "friends discussing together." In general, whenever the Zhou Changes mention "a little talk," "words not believed," "words not trusted," "being cautious in speech and moderate in diet," "the crane calls and the child responds," or "discussion," they all refer to the use of one upright line and one inverted line of the trigram Zhen or two Dui trigrams facing each other (facing each other means opposing each other). However, Yu Fan never uses this method, but in this particular case he says, "the two mouths of Dui facing each other represent discussion." By "facing each other," it refers to the two Dui trigrams, one upright and one inverted, in the lines two to four facing each other, not the upper Dui trigram facing the lower Dui trigram. The mouths of both upper and lower Dui trigrams face outward, so how could they face each other?

虞此說似用覆象，與易林合，乃後儒釋者竟以上下兌為相對。後安陸李道平作集解篡疏，覺其不安，又以兌上陰開兩口為相對，則以易說失傳，東漢人耳聞覆象之例，不敢通用，偶用之，後儒卽不知所謂矣。惟虞謂兌二陽同類為朋，絕不知陰陽相遇為類為朋之義，故所詁又誤也。

Yu Fan's approach seems to have used the concept of inverted images, which aligns with Jiao's Forest of Changes; however, later commentators mistakenly took the upper and lower Dui trigrams as opposites. Later, Li Daoping from Anlu, in his Collected Explanations of the Zhou Changes, realized this was incorrect and tried to explain the opposite relationship by splitting the yin line of the top line of Dui into two mouths. This is because the principles of the I Ching have been lost: during the Eastern Han dynasty, people only heard about the concept of inverted images but did not dare to use it widely. They used it occasionally, but later Confucian scholars no longer understood what it meant. Additionally, Yu Fan said that the two yang lines in Dui are considered "peng" because they are of the same type, but he completely misunderstood the principle that yin and yang meeting constitutes the concept of "peng" and being of the same type. Therefore, this interpretation is also wrong.

渙利涉大川解。彖傳曰「乘木有功也」，巽木，中爻震木，木在水上，故利涉。易凡言大川者，獨此似可以坎為大川也。然二居坤水之中，前臨二陰，陽遇陰遇通，故利涉。必以坎為大川，坎險坎陷，誰利涉乎？仍不如以坤為水之義長也。

The hexagram "Huan" says "It is advantageous to cross a great river." The Commentary on the Judgment states "It is beneficial because the wood is carried upon water." The upper trigram is Xun (Wind), representing wood, and the middle trigrams are Zhen (Thunder), also representing wood. Wood floats on water, hence "advantageous to cross." In the Zhou Changes, whenever the term "great river" appears, only this instance seems to interpret the trigram Kan as the great river. However, the second line, Nine Two, is located within the trigram Kun (Earth), which represents water. It faces two yin lines ahead, and yang meets yin to achieve communication, hence "advantageous to cross." If we insist on taking Kan as the great river, then the nature of Kan is danger and entrapment. How can it be advantageous to cross? Therefore, it is still more reasonable to interpret Kun as water.

節卦名解。水澤亦先後天同位，故曰節。節者，符節，以相合為用，言坎居西，兌亦居西，若合符節也。節者，信也，言凡事皆有一定制節，不容改變，故君子以制度數，天地以成四時。天地節者，天地信也，全以先後天同位取義也。虞翻以泰三之五艮止為節，失古義矣。

The explanation of the卦名 "Jie" (Restraint). Water and marsh are both located in the same position in the Earlier Heaven and Later Heaven, hence the name "Jie." "Jie" means a symbol or token, which is used by joining two halves together: In the Earlier Heaven, the trigram Kan (Water) is located in the west, and in the Later Heaven, the trigram Dui (Lake) is also located in the west, just like a token being joined together. "Jie" also means trust: all things have a fixed limit, which cannot be changed. Therefore, the Great Image says "the gentleman regulates numbers and measures," and the Commentary on the Judgment says "the heavens and earth regulate and the four seasons are formed." The phrase "heavens and earth regulate" means that the heavens and earth are trustworthy. This meaning is entirely derived from the fact that the Earlier Heaven and Later Heaven share the same position. Yu Fan took the third line of the卦 Tai (Peace) and moved it to the fifth position, using the trigram Gen (Mountain) representing stillness as "Jie," thus losing the ancient meaning.

節初九九二爻詞解。吳冀州易說說此云：「易以陽在前為塞，陰在前為通。初之不出，以九二在前，故曰知通塞；二則可出而不出，故有失時之凶。」此發前人所未發，與易林大旨合若符契。節初九何以不宜出？陽在前為阻也。九二何以宜出？陰在前則通也。不宜出而靜，故無咎；宜出而不出，故失時。

The "Jie" hexagram's first line and second line statements are explained. Wu Rulun's "Yi Shuo" discusses these two lines, saying: "In the Zhou Changes, a yang line in front indicates obstruction, while a yin line in front indicates smoothness. The first line does not go out of the door because the second line, a yang line, is in front of it, so the Image Commentary says 'knowing the obstruction and smoothness.' The second line could go out but does not, hence the凶 (misfortune) of missing the right time." This is an insight not previously expressed and aligns with the main idea of Jiao's Forest of Changes as if it were a matching seal. The first line of the Jie hexagram is not suitable for going out because it is obstructed by a yang line in front. The second line is suitable for going out because a yin line in front allows passage. Not going out when it is not suitable and remaining quiet leads to 'no blame'; going out when it is suitable but not doing so leads to 'missing the right time.'

此與說大畜初二三三爻云：「凡陽之行，遇陰則通，遇陽則阻，故初二皆不進而三利往也。」初二何以不進？陽遇陽也。三何以利往？陽遇陰也。自東漢以來，以此旨解經者少，豈知此實全易之精髓、陰陽之樞機。學者試就其言求之全易，但玩卦象，不讀爻詞，而何爻吉、何爻凶，已瞭然在目矣。

This agrees with Wu's explanation of the first, second, and third lines of the Great Accumulation hexagram. He said, "Whenever a yang line advances, it meets a yin line and thus proceeds smoothly; when it meets a yang line, it is obstructed. Therefore, the first and second lines of the Great Accumulation do not advance, while the third line says 'favorable to go forward.' " Why do the first and second lines not advance? Because yang meets yang. Why is the third line favorable to go forward? Because yang meets yin. Since the Eastern Han dynasty, few have used this principle to interpret the classics; they do not realize that this is actually the essence of the entire Zhou Changes and the key to the waxing and waning of yin and yang. Scholars may test this by applying it to the entire Zhou Changes: if one only contemplates the hexagram images without reading the line statements, one can already clearly discern which lines are auspicious and which are inauspicious.

中孚卦名解。杭氏曰：「後天東南巽，卽先天兌位，故風澤曰中孚。」孚者，交相孚也。

Hang Xinzhai says: "In the Later Heaven arrangement, the Southeast direction is Xun, which corresponds to the position of Dui in the Earlier Heaven. Therefore, the hexagram of wind over marsh is called 'Zhong Fu.' 'Fu' means mutual trust and belief between each other."

中孚豚魚解。自易象失傳，東漢人不知魚象。荀爽謂豚處艮山、魚止兌澤，皆不能確指其象，是其證。至虞翻知巽魚象，仍不知豚象，乃讀豚為遯，後儒非之者多矣，而至今仍不得其象。按易林賁之中孚云「騎豚逐羊」，中孚震為騎，艮為豚。又師之旅云「豚彘不至」，亦以艮為豚，艮止，故不到；艮少，故為豚。自艮豚之象失傳，於是虞、黃以豚魚為遯魚，毛奇齡以豚魚為江豚，王引之謂為士庶禮品，遂以次穿鑿矣。

The interpretation of "pork and fish" in the Zhongfou hexagram. Since the images in the Book of Changes were lost, people in the Eastern Han dynasty did not understand the image of fish. Xun Shuang said that the pig was in the Gen hexagram (mountain) and the fish was in the Dui hexagram (lake), but neither could clearly indicate the origin of the image, as evidenced by this. Until Yu Fan understood that the Xun hexagram had the image of fish, but he still did not know the image of the pig, so he read "pork" as "Dun" (retreat). Later scholars criticized him greatly, yet to this day, the image of "pork" has not been found. According to Jiao's Forest of Changes, in the Fen hexagram leading to Zhongfou, it says "riding a pig to chase a sheep": the mutual hexagram of Zhongfou is Zhen (thunder), which represents riding, and Gen (mountain), which represents the pig. In the Shi hexagram leading to Lv (travel), it says "the pig and the boar do not arrive," also using Gen to represent the pig - Gen represents stopping, so it says "do not arrive"; Gen represents the young male, hence the term "pork" is used for the small pig. Since the image of "pig" in Gen was lost, Yu Fan and Huang Ying interpreted "porn fish" as "Dun fish," and Mao Qilin interpreted it as the Jiangtun fish. Wang Yinzhi said it refers to gifts used by commoners and scholars, and thus one after another, interpretations became increasingly forced.

中孚利涉大川解。彖曰「乘木舟虛也」，王肅曰「外實內虛，有似可乘虛木之舟」，最為得之。有舟卽可利涉大川，乃虞翻不知坤水在中、九二臨之、陽遇陰則通之理，必以坎為大川。二變不成坎，須三再變始能成坎，坎象成而利涉不辨為何爻。豈知易凡言利涉者皆確有所屬，如中孚之利涉則指二也。二前臨坤水，陽遇陰則通也，所謂乘木也，與大畜之九三同也。中孚二至五，卽大畜三至上也。然非易林坤水之象，孰能正虞氏之誤哉！

The interpretation of the phrase "favorable for crossing great rivers" in the Zhongfu hexagram. The Commentary on the Judgment says "riding on a wooden boat which is hollow," and Wang Su explains "the outer part is solid and the inner part is hollow, like a hollow wooden boat that can be ridden," which is the most accurate explanation. With a boat, one can "favorably cross great rivers." However, Yu Fan did not understand the principle that the water of the Kūn hexagram is in the middle, with the Nine in the Second Line closely adjacent to it, and that a Yang line meeting a Yin line allows communication. Instead, he insisted on taking the Kan hexagram as the great river. The Second Line changing does not form the Kan hexagram; it requires the Third Line to change as well before the Kan image is completed. Although the image of Kan is formed, it is unclear which line is responsible for "favorable crossing." He did not realize that in The Zhou Changes, whenever "favorable crossing" is mentioned, it always refers to a specific line. In Zhongfu, "favorable crossing" refers specifically to the Nine in the Second Line. The Nine in the Second Line faces the water of Kūn directly, and when a Yang line meets a Yin line, communication is possible. This is called "riding on wood," similar to the Nine in the Third Line of Daxu. The Second to Fifth Lines of Zhongfu correspond exactly to the Third to Top Lines of Daxu. However, without the image of "Kūn as water" from Jiao's Forest of Changes, who could correct Yu Fan's mistake?

中孚九二鶴鳴在陰其子和之我有好爵吾與爾靡之解。此其義二千年長夜矣，則以不知覆象也。不知覆象，卽不知其子為誰、和聲從何而出、陰為何象。按易林晉之艮云「學靈三年，聖且聰明」，學靈者，學語也。艮三至上，正反兩震言相對，下言如何出，上卽如言而返，故曰學靈，學靈卽和也。中孚二至五，亦正反兩震言相對。

The interpretation of the line Nine in the Second in the hexagram 中孚, "The crane calls in the dark, its young respond; I have a good cup of wine, I will share it with you," has become obscure like a night of two thousand years. The reason is the failure to understand the reversed image. Without understanding the reversed image, one does not know who "its young" refers to, where the harmonious sound comes from, or what the "dark" signifies. According to the entry in Jiao's Forest of Changes under the hexagram 晋 and 艮, it says, "Learning to speak for three years, the sage becomes wise and clever." "Learning to speak" refers to learning to speak. In the hexagram 艮, the third line to the top line consists of one positive and one negative line of 震, representing speech that is mutually responsive: the lower 震 speaks, and the upper 震 responds in kind, hence "learning to speak," which is also "harmony." Similarly, in the hexagram 中孚, the second line to the fifth line also consists of one positive and one negative line of 震, representing speech that is mutually responsive.

震為鶴，九家逸象震為鵠，項氏云「鵠鶴古通用，當作鶴」。按呂覽「鵠乎其羞」，注「讀如浩，大也」，音正與鶴通。劉孝標辯命論「龜鵠千秋」，費昶搗衣詩「開韞舒龜鵠」，皆鶴鵠通用之證。正字通謂為？[言為]字者，非也。吳草盧曰「黃鶴樓因黃鵠山而得名」，亦鵠鶴通用之證。

The trigram 《震》 represents a crane. The 《Nine Schools Commentary on the Yi Jing》 mentions it as 「《震》 represents a goose」, and Xiang Anshi explains that 「goose and crane were commonly used interchangeably in ancient times, and here it should be read as crane.」 According to the 《Book of Lord Shang》, 「the goose is proud」, and the annotation says 「read it as hao, meaning great」, which is phonetically similar to 「crane.」 Liu Xiaobiao's 《Discourse on Fate》 says 「turtle and goose live for a thousand years」, and Fei Chang's poem 《Striking Clothes》 says 「open the treasure chest to display turtle and goose」, all of which are evidence of the interchangeability of 「goose」 and 「crane.」 The 《Comprehensive Dictionary of Characters》 claims it is the character 「？[yan wei]」 (the original character is missing, and only the radical is indicated, so it is not appropriate to guess the character), which is incorrect. Wu Cheng (who used the style name Caolou) says 「the Yellow Crane Tower is named after the Yellow Goose Hill」, which is also evidence of the interchangeability of 「goose」 and 「crane.」

為鳴，為子，下震出聲，上震卽如聲而反，故曰和。子指三至五之覆震也。在陰者，仍用覆象，二至五正反兩震，卽兩艮，子指上之覆震，陰則指下之覆艮也。易林頤之中孚云「熊羆豺狼，在山陰陽」，艮為山，納丙，丙南，故曰山陽；艮之反卽山北矣，山北曰陰，故又在山陰。而下之震鶴正當反艮，故曰鳴鶴在陰，言鶴鳴于山陰也。

The trigram Zhen also represents a sound and a son: the lower Zhen produces a sound, and the upper Zhen responds in kind, hence the term "harmony." "Son" refers to the inverted Zhen from the third to fifth lines. Regarding "in yin," the inverted image is still used: the second to fifth lines contain one positive and one negative Zhen, which when viewed in reverse become two Gen trigrams. "Son" refers to the upper inverted Zhen, while "yin" refers to the lower inverted Gen. The entry "Bears and wolves, in the mountain yin and yang" from "Jiao's Forest of Changes" under "Yi" and "Zhongfú" explains that Gen represents a mountain, and the dry branch is Ji, which is located to the south, hence "mountain yang." When Gen is inverted, it becomes the northern side of the mountain, which is called "yin," hence "in the mountain yin." The lower Zhen represents a crane, which is positioned at the place of the inverted Gen, hence "a crane calling in yin" — meaning the crane is calling on the northern side of the mountain.

周易用覆之妙，匪夷所思，至東漢卽不知此義。見孟氏逸象以離為鶴也，而以訟之離當之，其誤一；不知陰象用反艮，而以訟之坎夜當之，其誤二；不知易無以艮坎為子之例，又不知子指覆震，而以二動成益、艮為子當之，其誤三；不知和為反震，而以益之震巽同聲相應解之，其誤四也。上亦失位，若再不能解，則將用節，豈有窮哉！

The Zhou Changes employ the subtle principle of inverted images, which is really beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. By the Eastern Han dynasty, no one understood this principle anymore. Commentators saw Meng Xi's extraordinary images that associate "Li" with a crane, and thus used "Li" in the Gua of "Strife" to represent it, which was the first mistake. They did not know that the image of "Yin" comes from the reversed Gen, yet they used "Kan" in the Gua of "Strife" to represent "night," which was the second mistake. They did not know that the Zhou Changes do not use Gen or Kan to represent "Zi," nor did they know that "Zi" refers to the inverted Zhen, yet they used the second line changing into Yi and Gen to represent "Zi," which was the third mistake. They did not know that "He" comes from the reversed Zhen, yet they explained it using the resonance between Zhen and Xun in the Gua of "Benefit," which was the fourth mistake. They also said that the top line is out of position. If this still does not make sense, they will then use the Gua of "Restraint" to fit it, and there is no end to this!

至於爵象，原屬大離，不必用訟離。兌爵為酒器，坎六四以震為樽，易林本之，凡遇震卽以為酒樽酒杯，則爵亦震象也。以貞悔言之，下貞上悔，貞我悔彼，而正反兩震要皯，則爾我也。爾我同此器，則共之矣。

As for the image of "jue" (a type of wine vessel), it originally belongs to the Great Li trigram, and there is no need to use the Li trigram from the卦 of讼. "Dui jue" is a type of wine vessel. The sixth line of the fourth position in the Kan trigram uses Zhen as the vessel. Based on Jiao's Forest of Changes, whenever Zhen appears, it is taken as a wine vessel or cup. Therefore, "jue" also carries the image of Zhen. If we consider the concepts of zhen and hui, the lower trigram represents zhen (the self) and the upper trigram represents hui (the other). A single positive and a single negative Zhen trigram are in mutual interaction, meaning "er" (the other) and "wo" (the self). Both the self and the other share the same vessel, which is "wu yu er mi zhi" — meaning that both possess it together.

此亦用覆也。震為鼓也，乃三至五震覆，則罷矣。震為歌笑，震覆則泣矣。而三當震與覆震之間，故其詞如此。舊解但謂不當位，故有此象者，義殊未盡也。與二爻用覆象詞也。

The line statement of the sixth line of the hexagram Zhongfu is also based on the concept of "covering image" (taking the image by inverting the hexagram). The second to fourth lines of Zhongfu form the trigram Zhen (Thunder), which has the image of drumming, hence the phrase "or drumming." Looking further up, the third to fifth lines form an inverted Zhen, which is Gen (Mountain), so the drumming image is reversed, and the drumming stops, hence "or stopping." Zhen also has the image of singing and laughing; when it is inverted, the singing and laughing turn into crying, hence "or weeping" and "or singing." The sixth line is located at the junction of the mutual Zhen and the inverted Zhen, thus possessing both images, which is why the line statement alternates between drumming and stopping, weeping and singing. Old commentaries only mention that the sixth line, being a yin line in a yang position, is inappropriate, which is far from a thorough explanation. This is similar to the second line, which also uses the concept of covering image in its statement.

考《左傳》昭五年明夷之謙曰：「日之謙當鳥。」日之謙卽離變艮，艮為鳥，故曰當鳥。若以離為鳥，卽離當離矣，有是理乎？故知杜注誤也。《易林》本之，《恆》之《小過》云：「燕雀銜茅。」是以艮為燕雀。又《困》之《小過》云：「鳳有十子。」亦以艮為鳳。又《明夷》之《艮》云：「鴟鴞娶婦。」又《噬嗑》之《漸》云：「鸋鴂鴟鴞。」皆以艮為鴟鴞，是艮之為鳥明矣。《小過》之飛鳥亦謂艮也，音則謂震也。不宜上宜下者，上謂五，下謂二。五乘剛，《屯》六二日：「六二之難，以乘剛也。」柔乘剛不順，故《傳》曰上逆；二承陽勢順，故《傳》曰下順。又《小過》為正覆兩艮，上震為覆艮，以飛鳥言，首向下，故亦曰上逆也。

A study of the divination example from the year Zhao Gong 5 in the Zuo Zhuan: A divination was made using the hexagram Mingyi (Brightening) changing to Qian (Modesty), and the divination statement said, "The modesty of the sun is like a bird." What is meant by "the modesty of the sun" is that the lower trigram of Mingyi, Li (Fire), changes to the lower trigram of Qian, Gen (Mountain), which has the image of a bird, hence the statement "like a bird." If Du Yu were to take Li as a bird, then it would be Li changing to Li, which is illogical. Therefore, Du Yu's commentary is wrong. The Jiao Forest of Changes also follows this image: In the hexagram Heng (Permanence) changing to Xiaoguo (Minor Excess), it says "swallows and sparrows carry reeds," taking Gen as swallows and sparrows; in the hexagram Kun (Obstruction) changing to Xiaoguo, it says "the phoenix has ten sons," also taking Gen as a phoenix; in the hexagram Mingyi changing to Gen, it says "crows and ravens marry," and in the hexagram Shike (Breaking the Bones) changing to Jie (Gradual Progress), it says "the nightingale and crows and ravens," all taking Gen as crows and ravens. This clearly shows that Gen is taken as a bird. Therefore, the "flying bird" in the hexagram Xiaoguo refers to Gen, and the "sound" in "left behind its sound" refers to Zhen (Thunder). The phrase "not suitable to go up, but suitable to go down" refers to "up" as the sixth line five, and "down" as the sixth line two. The sixth line five, being a yin and flexible line, is above the ninth line four, which is yang and strong, thus the line five is overbearing over line four. The image of line two in Tun (Obstruction) says, "the difficulty of line two is because it is on top of a strong line," and the situation of a flexible line being on top of a strong line is not harmonious, so the Commentary on the Judgment says "going against the trend." Line two is below, receiving the yang of lines three and four, which is a harmonious situation, so the Commentary on the Judgment says "going in harmony." Furthermore, the entire hexagram Xiaoguo is a upright Gen trigram and an inverted Gen trigram stacked together. The upper trigram Zhen is the inverted form of Gen, and in terms of the flying bird, it is like the head pointing downward, hence also called "going against the trend."

自艮為黔喙，《易林》作黔啄，純指鳥，東漢人誤以為獸類，而艮鳥之象失傳。於是《小過》之飛鳥、《左傳》之當鳥，皆不知其屬艮而誤解矣。宋衷以卦二陽在內、四陰在外象飛鳥，固誤；虞翻用卦變，謂飛鳥指《晉》離者尤穿鑿，則以不知艮鳥之象也。又上下專指二五，不指三四。四為陽遇陰則利往，《豫》九四、《大壯》九四、《豐》九四皆利，是其證也。三居艮終，《蹇》彖曰「其道窮」，正與上逆下順之言相反。乃自來解者往往涉及三四，不能分明，故經義愈晦也。然非《易林》艮鳥之象，孰能知《小過》及《左傳》之舊解皆誤哉！

The trigram Gen (Mountain) originally referred specifically to birds, as written in the "Yi Lin" as "Qian Zhuo" (black beak). Since the Eastern Han scholars mistakenly identified it as wild beasts like jackals, the image of Gen representing birds was lost. Therefore, the "flying bird" in the hexagram statement of Xiaoguo and the "bird" in the divination text of the "Zuo Zhuan" were no longer understood to originate from Gen, leading all later interpretations to be wrong. Song Zhong explained based on the hexagram diagram, believing that the two yang lines in the inner trigram and four yin lines in the outer trigram of Xiaoguo formed the shape of a flying bird, which was already incorrect. Yu Fan changed his approach by using hexagram transformation, saying that the flying bird referred to Li in the hexagram Jin, which was even more forced. The root of these errors lies in not knowing that Gen has the image of a bird. Moreover, the terms "upper" and "lower" specifically refer to lines six in the fifth and six in the second, and do not involve nine in the third and nine in the fourth. Nine in the fourth is a yang line encountering a yin line above, indicating favorable movement. Examples such as Yu in the fourth, Da Zhuang in the fourth, and Feng in the fourth all take the meaning of favorable movement, which is clear evidence. Nine in the third is at the end of the lower trigram Gen. The "Tian Zhuan" of Jian says, "Not favorable to the northeast, its path is exhausted," and the northeast is Gen, showing that the end of Gen represents a path exhausted, which is exactly opposite to the saying of "upper reversal and lower compliance." However, traditional commentators often bring in lines three and four, causing confusion and making the meaning of the classics increasingly obscure. Yet without the image of Gen as a bird from the "Yi Lin," who could recognize that the old interpretations of the hexagram statement of Xiaoguo and the divination text of the "Zuo Zhuan" were all wrong?

悲哉易象之失傳也！象既失傳，故竭數千年學者之力而不能通其詞。此爻祖象，據《易林》則謂艮也。《易林》《乾》之《蠱》云：「彭祖九子。」《蠱》上艮，艮為壽，故曰彭祖。又《隨》之《節》云：「思吾皇祖。」《節》上坎為思，中爻艮為祖。又《大壯》之《渙》云：「亡其祖考。」《渙》中爻艮，艮為祖，坎伏故亡。又《既濟》之《漸》云：「疆場有瓜，獻進皇祖。」是《易林》以艮為祖也。後思《易》《豫》象云：「以配祖考。」《豫》下互艮，故曰祖考。《易》原以艮為祖也。

The loss of the images in the I Ching is truly regrettable! Since the images have been lost, scholars have devoted themselves for thousands of years yet still cannot fully understand this line of text. In this line, the image of "zu" (ancestor) refers to Gen (Mountain) according to Jiao's Forest of Changes. In the Forest of Changes, the line of "Guz" (Guz) in the "Gan" hexagram mentions "Peng Zu's nine sons": the upper trigram of the "Guz" hexagram is Gen, which symbolizes longevity, hence the reference to Peng Zu. In the line of "Jie" in the "Sui" hexagram, it says "thinking of our royal ancestor": the upper trigram of the "Jie" hexagram is Kan, representing thought, and the interacting trigrams produce Gen, which is the ancestor. In the line of "Huan" in the "Da Zhuang" hexagram, it says "losing the ancestors": the interacting trigrams of the "Huan" hexagram produce Gen, which is the ancestor, and the lower trigram Kan represents concealment, hence the word "losing." In the line of "Jian" in the "Ji Ji" hexagram, it says "there are melons by the border, presented to the royal ancestor": the lower trigram of the "Jian" hexagram is Gen. This shows that the Forest of Changes uses Gen to represent the ancestor. Later, upon re-examining the Zhou Changes, the "Yu" hexagram's Great Image says "sacrificing to the Supreme Deity to accompany the ancestors": the interacting trigrams of the "Yu" hexagram produce the Gen trigram, hence the term "ancestors." This shows that the Zhou Changes originally used Gen to represent the ancestor.

妣象，據《易林》則謂巽也。《易林》《萃》之《渙》云：「公劉文母。」《渙》上巽，巽母，互大離，故曰文母。又《益》之《困》云：「二母不親。」《困》互巽，巽為母，上兌為反巽，故曰二母；兌先天數二，正反兩巽相背，故曰不親。又《損》之《巽》云：「太姒文母。」巽為母，互離為文，故曰文母。又《訟》之《隨》云：「入門見母。」《隨》艮為門，巽母，兌見，故曰見母。是《易林》顯以巽為母。後思《蠱》九二云：「幹母之蠱。」《蠱》下巽，是《易》原以巽為母也。

The image of "妣" is taken as the trigram Xun according to the "Yi Lin." In "Yi Lin," in the transformation from "Cui" to "Huan," it says "Gong Liu's cultural mother": the upper trigram of "Huan" is Xun, which represents a mother, and the lines two to five of the entire hexagram form a large Li trigram, which represents culture, hence it is called "cultural mother." In the transformation from "Yi" to "Kun," it says "two mothers are not close": the mutual trigrams of "Kun" produce Xun, which represents a mother, and the upper trigram Dui is the reverse of Xun, so one positive and one negative form two Xuns, hence it is called "two mothers"; Dui is the second trigram in the Earlier Heaven sequence, and the two Xuns facing each other, hence it is said "not close." In the transformation from "Sun" to "Xun," it says "Tai Si, the cultural mother": Xun represents a mother, and the mutual trigram Li represents culture, hence it is called "cultural mother." In the transformation from "Song" to "Sui," it says "entering the door to see the mother": the mutual trigram of "Sui" is Gan, which represents a door, and the upper trigram Dui is the reverse of Xun and represents a mother, and Dui also means "to see," hence it is said "to see the mother." Clearly, the "Yi Lin" explicitly takes Xun as the mother. Later, upon reconsidering the "Zhou Yi," the line "Nine in the Second" of "Gu" says "to rectify the蛊 of the mother," and the lower trigram of "Gu" is precisely Xun, showing that the "Zhou Yi" originally also took Xun as the mother.

過其祖遇其妣者，《小過》下艮，六二前承二陽，利往，故曰過其祖，言二過艮也，艮為祖也；中爻巽為妣，六二正當巽初，故曰遇其妣。妣卽母也。虞翻本《禮記》以母死為妣，取中爻大過死為義，後儒不察而盲從之。豈知《尚書》曰「如喪考妣」，夫母既死矣，尚何言喪？且又胡能遇之？況父考母妣，無死生之別，郭璞注《爾雅》論之詳矣，《禮記》之言不必拘也。

The phrase "passing by his father and meeting his mother" refers to the lower trigram of "Small Overstep" being艮 (Mountain), with the second line, six two, approaching the third and fourth lines, which are yang lines. This movement is favorable for proceeding forward, hence "passing by his father," meaning that the second line passes over the Mountain trigram, which represents the father. The lines from two to four form the trigram巽 (Wind), which represents the mother. The second line is precisely at the first line of this Wind trigram, hence "meeting his mother." The mother is referred to as "bi." Yu Fan relied on the "Rites of Zhou" which states that a living mother is called "mu" and a deceased mother is called "bi," and also used the meaning of the middle line from the trigram "Great Overstep" to explain the concept of a coffin and mourning. Later scholars followed this without careful examination. They did not consider that the "Book of Documents" mentions "as if mourning one's father and mother," but if the mother has already died, how can there be mourning? How can one meet her? Moreover, the distinction between "father" and "mother" does not depend on life or death. Guo Pu's commentary on the "Erya" has already explained this clearly, so there is no need to be overly strict about the statement in the "Rites of Zhou."

至君與臣象，據《易林》則以震為君，以艮為臣。《夬》之《小過》云：「終不見君。」《小過》震為君，互大坎，故不見。又《夬》之《坎》云：「君臣擾憂。」《坎》中爻艮震，震君艮臣，坎憂震動，故曰擾憂。又《兌》之《艮》云：「臣圍其君。」亦以艮為臣，震為君。蓋震為帝為王，故為君；艮為僮為僕，故為臣，臣與僕古不分。不及其君者，言震在上，二艮止而無應，故不及；二居艮中，故遇其臣。後思《易》《蹇》六二云：「王臣蹇蹇。」《蹇》下艮，以艮為臣。又《遯》九三云：「畜臣妾吉。」《遯》下艮，故曰臣妾。是《易》本以艮為臣。而自東漢以來，知乾君坤臣，不知震艮亦為君臣，故愈解愈晦也。

As for the images of "sovereign" and "subject," according to the "Yi Lin," the trigram Zhen represents the sovereign and Gen represents the subject. In the hexagram "Gua" changing into "Xiao Guo," it says "the sovereign is never seen at the end": the upper trigram of "Xiao Guo" is Zhen, which represents the sovereign. The lines two through five of the entire hexagram form a large Kan, which signifies concealment, hence the statement "the sovereign is never seen." In the hexagram "Gua" changing into "Kan," it says "sovereign and subject are disturbed and anxious": the middle trigrams of Kan produce Gen and Zhen, with Zhen representing the sovereign and Gen representing the subject. Kan signifies worry, and Zhen signifies action, hence the statement "disturbed and anxious." In the hexagram "Dui" changing into "Gen," it says "the subject surrounds the sovereign," again using Gen for the subject and Zhen for the sovereign. Generally, Zhen represents the emperor and the king, hence it is taken as the sovereign; Gen represents a servant or a slave, hence it is taken as the subject—originally, "subject" and "servant" were not distinguished. The phrase "not reaching the sovereign" refers to Zhen being in the upper trigram, while line six-two is located within Gen, which signifies stillness and has no responding line, hence it cannot reach the sovereign; line six-two is located within the lower Gen, hence it is said "meeting the subject." Later, upon further reflection on the "Zhou Yi," line six-two of "Jian" says "the king's subject is resolute," and the lower trigram of "Jian" is Gen, hence Gen is taken as the subject. Line nine-three of "Dun" says "keeping the subjects and concubines is auspicious," and the lower trigram of "Dun" is also Gen, hence "subjects and concubines" are mentioned. This shows that the "Zhou Yi" originally used Gen to represent the subject. However, since the Eastern Han dynasty, scholars have only known that Qian represents the sovereign and Kun represents the subject, and have not realized that Zhen and Gen can also represent sovereign and subject, so this line statement has become increasingly obscure over time.

自易象失傳，東漢人不知先天象，故解東鄰西鄰者靡不錯誤。祗鄭玄、崔憬能覺察離東坎西方合，以離為日，日出東；以坎為月，月生西為說，而不知先天象離坎本東西也，無庸以日月為解。按《易林》《復》之《未濟》云：「東鄰西國，福喜同樂。」是以上離為東鄰，下坎為西國。又《履》之《訟》云：「受福西鄰。」《訟》下坎，故曰西鄰，是不啻明解禴祭受福也。《升》之《歸妹》云：「東鄰西家。」謂《歸妹》中爻離坎也。《易林》之言離東坎西，可謂至明白矣。乃宋後之治漢易者，既知先天方位，猶申述東漢之誤解，是誠何心哉！

Since the transmission of the Yi images was lost, scholars of the Eastern Han dynasty did not understand the Earlier Heaven arrangement of the trigrams. Therefore, none of their explanations of the "east neighbor" and "west neighbor" in the line Nine in the Fifth of the Ji Ji hexagram were correct. Only Zheng Xuan and Cui Jing realized that in order for the explanation to make sense, the trigram Li (Fire) should be in the east and the trigram Kan (Water) in the west. However, they based their reasoning on the idea that Li represents the sun, which rises in the east, and Kan represents the moon, which rises in the west. They did not realize that in the Earlier Heaven arrangement, Li and Kan were originally located in the east and west respectively, so there was no need to refer to the sun and moon. According to the Yi Lin, in the Fu hexagram's transformation to Wei Ji, it says "east neighbor, west country, happiness and joy shared together." This clearly refers to the upper trigram Li as the east neighbor and the lower trigram Kan as the west country. In the Li hexagram's transformation to Song, it says "receiving blessings from the west neighbor," since the lower trigram of the Song hexagram is Kan, it is called the west neighbor—this is clearly stating the line Nine in the Fifth of Ji Ji, "the west neighbor's sacrifice, actually receiving its blessing." In the Sheng hexagram's transformation to Gui Mei, it says "east neighbor, west house," referring to the trigrams Li and Kan that emerge in the middle of Gui Mei. The Yi Lin clearly assigns Li to the east and Kan to the west. However, scholars after the Song dynasty, who were well aware of the Earlier Heaven arrangement, still continued to follow the incorrect interpretations of the Eastern Han dynasty. What was their intention?

上既曰征凶，下又言利涉，義自違反。朱子疑「利」上有「不」字，吳摯父先生疑「徵」為「貞」，二者必有一當，義始能通。經文既有缺誤，故此之大川遂不能解。此與《無妄》六二云「不耕穫，不菑畬，則利有攸往」，上下語皆不能通，不能強說也。

In the hexagram "Wei Ji," the line "Six in the Third" first says "going forward brings danger," and then later says "it is advantageous to cross a great river." The meaning before and after seems contradictory. Zhu Xi doubted that a "not" character was missing above the "advantageous" character, while Mr. Wu Zifu (Wu Rulun) thought that "going forward" might be a mistake for "uprightness." One of these two interpretations must be correct for the meaning to be coherent. Since the text has missing characters or errors, it is impossible to determine the meaning of "great river" here. This is similar to the line "Six in the Second" of "Wu Wang," which says "not plowing and not harvesting, not clearing and not cultivating, then it is advantageous to go somewhere." The two parts do not connect well, so we can only leave it in doubt and not force an interpretation.

《易林》以坎為大首。坎為水，一陽陷四、上二陰之中，而上六居坎之上，故曰濡其首。《未濟》上九亦曰濡其首，則用旁通也。虞翻以乾為首，說《既濟》上六尚可，說《未濟》上九遂不能通，則以旁通之說不明也。

The "Forest of Divination" (Yi Lin) takes Kan as the primary trigram. Kan also represents water, with one yang line submerged between the two yin lines at the Fourth and the Top positions. Since the Top line of the "Final Completion" (Ji Ji) is exactly on top of the Kan trigram, it says "dampening the head." The Top line of the "Not Yet Completed" (Wei Ji) also says "dampening the head," because the "Not Yet Completed" and the "Final Completion" have all their lines reversed, and they are mutually connected through their opposite relationships. It takes the image from the opposite trigram. Yu Fan took Qian as the primary trigram, which could be acceptable for explaining the Top line of the "Final Completion," but it does not make sense for explaining the Top line of the "Not Yet Completed." The reason is that he did not understand the principle of mutual connection through opposites.

行唐尚秉和節之撰。

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

九家專以艮為柝象，似不協。震為鳴、為口、為聲，形又宛然一柝也。艮為手、為小木，手持小木擊之，則口出聲而鳴矣。柝之象固非震莫屬，艮方為擊也。然九家云「從外示之艮」，此最與《易林》用覆象旨合。

The Great Treatise says, "Guarding the gates with repeated knocks of a wooden梆 to await robbers, this is derived from the hexagram 'Ease.'" The Shujia Commentary on the Yi assigns the "bamboo梆" (a wooden clapper used for night watch) to the image of Gen (Mountain), which seems inappropriate. Zhen represents sound, speech, and the mouth, and the shape of the hexagram itself resembles a wooden clapper. Gen represents hands and small wood; when a hand holds a small piece of wood and strikes it, sound is produced from the mouth. Thus, the image of the clapper belongs to Zhen, while Gen is only associated with the action of striking. However, the Shujia Commentary's statement that "the Gen image is seen from outside" aligns well with the principle of using inverted images in the Yi Lin.

《易林》《大壯》之《離》云：「丑寅不行。」是艮居丑寅也。丑者一歲之終，故艮成終；寅者一歲之始，故艮成始。成始成終，故曰「成言乎艮」。

The "Yi Lin" under the hexagram "Da Zhuang" in the "Li" section says "Chou and Yin are not suitable for movement," indicating that the position of Gen is precisely Chou and Yin. Chou marks the end of the twelfth lunar month, so Gen is said to "complete the end"; Yin marks the beginning of the first lunar month, so Gen is said to "complete the beginning." Since it completes both the end and the beginning, the "Shuo Gua" states, "It is the place where all things complete their end and begin anew, hence it is called 'Gen' which signifies completion."

帝出乎震，凡《易林》言帝者無不屬震。至於神，則人不知其象。虞翻謂神卽《易》，韓康伯以八卦當之，謂八卦變化推遷，莫有使之然者；惠棟、張惠言等皆用虞說，李道平謂卽乾坤，豈知仍謂震也。帝卽神，神卽帝也。《易林》《蒙》之《節》云：「眾神集聚。」《節》互震，震為神，坎眾，故曰眾神。《夬》之《巽》云：「與神往來。」言震究為巽，巽反為震，常相往來，故曰與神往來。

The "Say on the Trigrams" says, "The Emperor comes forth from Zhen." In all instances where the "Jiao's Forest of Changes" mentions "Emperor," none of them refer to anything other than Zhen. As for "Shen," later scholars did not know its symbolic meaning: Yu Fan said "Shen" is the Book of Changes itself; Han Kangbo used the Eight Trigrams as its representation, saying that the Eight Trigrams change and transform without any external force driving them. Hui Dong, Zhang Huiyan, and others all followed Yu Fan's view. Li Daoping, however, said "Shen" refers to Qian and Kun. They did not realize that "Shen" still refers to Zhen — Emperor is Shen, and Shen is Emperor. The "Forest of Changes" and the "Meng" hexagram "Jie" say, "All the gods gather together": the "Jie" hexagram's mutual trigrams produce Zhen, and Zhen represents Shen. The upper trigram is Kan, representing a multitude, so it is said, "All the gods gather together." The "Gua" hexagram "Xun" says, "Interacting with the gods": this refers to Zhen reaching its extreme and transforming into Xun, and Xun reverting back to Zhen, the two constantly interacting, hence "Interacting with the gods."

又《大有》之《觀》云：「神明所伏。」言《觀》上巽，巽伏震，故曰神伏。又《履》之《漸》云：「聖哲且神。」《漸》坎為聖，離為哲，巽通震，故曰聖哲且神。又《需》之《萃》云：「神使伸言。」《萃》通《大畜》，《大畜》中爻震，震為神，震言，故曰神使伸言。凡此皆以震為神之確證。蓋震之為卦，一陽復始，萬物由此出生，變化推移，有莫知其然而然者，無能形容，祗可謂之帝、謂之神也。

The commentary on "Great Possession" (Da You) under "Observation" (Guan) says "the divine is concealed": This refers to the fact that the upper trigram of Guan is Xun, which is the hidden trigram of Zhen. Therefore, it is said that the divine is concealed. The commentary on "Following the Path" (Lv) under "Gradual Progress" (Jian) says "sages and the divine": The mutual trigrams of Jian include Kan, representing sages, and Li, representing wisdom, while the upper trigram Xun connects with Zhen, which represents the divine. Therefore, it is said "sages and the divine." The commentary on "Necessity" (Xu) under "Convergence" (Cui) says "the divine enables expression": Cui and Da Xu are complementary trigrams. Da Xu's inner trigrams produce Zhen, which represents the divine, and Zhen also governs speech, so it is said "the divine enables expression." All these examples are clear evidence that Zhen represents the divine. Generally speaking, the trigram Zhen has one yang line rising from the bottom, initiating the birth of all things. In the process of change and movement, there is a power that operates naturally without known cause, which cannot be described, and can only be called "Emperor" or "Divine."

震言兌口，皆見於《易》，而《易林》每以兌為言，以震為口。蓋兌二動卽成震，震二動卽成兌，而言從口出，故二卦關於言語口舌之象，實不能分，故《易林》每混合用之。「說言乎兌」，實其所本。

The trigram Zhen represents speech and the trigram Dui represents the mouth, as mentioned in the Zhou Changes itself; however, the Yi Lin often reverses this, using Dui to signify speech and Zhen to signify the mouth. This is because the second line of the Dui trigram changes into Zhen, and the second line of the Zhen trigram changes into Dui. Since speech originates from the mouth, the imagery associated with speech and the mouth in these two trigrams is inseparable. Therefore, the Yi Lin frequently uses them together. The phrase "say something through Dui" from the Shuo Gua serves as the basis for this usage.

虞翻云：「薄，入也。」言陽入陰，陰牝陽也，故曰相薄。是以《易林》《夬》之《坤》云：「歲暮花落，陽入陰室。」《坤》十月卦，故歲暮花落；陽伏陰下，故曰陽入陰室，則陰牝陽也。又《中孚》之《坤》云：「符左契右，相與合齒。」夫合齒若符契，則陰陽交也，皆相薄之義也。薄卽戰，戰卽交也。

Yu Fan explained that "thin" means "entering." This refers to Yang entering Yin, and Yin taking Yang into itself ("pu" meaning receptive and yielding), hence called "xiang bo." Therefore, in the "Yi Lin" under the hexagram "Gua," it says, "At the end of the year, flowers fall, Yang enters the Yin chamber." The hexagram "Kun" corresponds to the tenth month in the twelve trigrams, hence the reference to the end of the year when flowers wither; at this time, Yang energy is hidden beneath Yin, hence "Yang enters the Yin chamber," which is the Yin taking in Yang. In the "Zhong Fu" under the hexagram "Kun," it says, "The symbol on the left and the token on the right join together, mutually matching." The symbol and token, as two halves, fit perfectly together, which is the image of the union of Yin and Yang. All these are expressions of "xiang bo." Therefore, "bo" is "zhan," and "zhan" is "jiao."

蓋《坤》闢於亥，而《乾》原居亥位，至十月，乾消剝入坤，則不見矣。胡以不見？為陰所牝也。陰牝陽則交矣，故曰合齒，故曰入室。後人因《坤》上六曰「龍戰于野，其血玄黃」，若陰陽實行戰爭而相傷者；由《易林》合齒之言釋之，實相交也，交卽戰也。《坤》彖曰：「西北喪朋，乃終有慶。」慶此也。

The hexagram Kūn is the ruler of the亥 month in the twelve trigrams of division. The hexagram Gān was originally located in the亥 position (northwest) in the Earlier Heaven arrangement. By the tenth month, the yang of Gān has been completely eliminated and absorbed into Kūn, thus becoming invisible. Why is it invisible? Because it is contained within yin. When yin contains yang, it is considered a union, so the "Yì Lín" says "joining teeth" and "entering the room." Later scholars, seeing the line "dragon fighting in the wild, its blood is black and yellow" in the upper sixth line of Kūn, mistakenly thought that yin and yang are really fighting and harming each other. But if we use the "joining teeth" phrase from "Yì Lín" to explain it, it clearly refers to mutual union. And mutual union is called "fighting." The "Tuán" section of Kūn says "loss of companions in the northwest, yet finally there is celebration," the celebration refers precisely to this.