Chapter Sixty-One: Observing Things

金須百鍊然後精，人亦如此。今有人登兩臺，兩臺皆等，則不見其高。一臺高，然後知其卑下者也。室中造車，天下可行，軌轍合故也。苟順義理，合人情，日月所照皆可行也。所行之路不可不寬，寬則少礙。能醫人能醫之疾，不得謂之良醫；醫人之所不能醫者，天下之良醫也。能處人所不能處之事，則能為人所不能為之事也。

Metal must undergo a thousand hammerings and refinements to become pure; people are the same. If someone climbs two platforms of equal height, they cannot tell which is higher; only when one is higher can the other be seen as lower. Making a cart inside a room, after it is made, it can travel throughout the world because the width of its wheel tracks conforms to the standard measurements. Similarly, as long as something follows the principles of righteousness and human feelings, it can be effective wherever the sun and moon shine. The path people walk must not be narrow; a wide path has fewer obstacles. A physician who can treat illnesses others can treat is not a good physician; only one who can treat illnesses others cannot is a physician for the world. Similarly, one who can handle matters others cannot handle can certainly accomplish what others cannot.

良藥不可以離手，善言不可以離口。大羹可和，元酒可漓，則是造化亦可和可漓也。自然而然者，天也，唯聖人能索之。效法者，人也。若時行時止，雖人也，亦天也。人謀，人也；鬼謀，天也。天人同謀而皆可，則事成而吉也。事無鉅細，皆有天人之理。修身，人也；遇不遇，天也。得失不動心，所以順天也；行險僥倖，是逆天也。求之者，人也；得之與否，天也。得失不動心，所以順天也。強取必得，是逆天理也。逆天理者，患禍必至。

Good medicine should not be left in the hands, and good words should not be left unspoken. The great soup used in worship is originally the meat broth without any seasoning, and the original wine is simply clear water without any addition. If one says that the great soup can still be seasoned and the original wine can still be diluted, then it is equivalent to saying that nature itself can be adjusted by people. The natural and spontaneous aspect belongs to Heaven, and only the sage can understand it. The aspect of following the pattern and imitating it belongs to human beings. As for when to act and when to stop, it seems that people are doing it, but in reality it is also Heaven. Human planning belongs to human beings, while divination and consulting the gods belong to Heaven. When both Heaven and human beings plan and find it feasible, the matter will succeed and be auspicious. Whether big or small, every matter contains two aspects: human and Heaven. Cultivating oneself is the human aspect, while encountering or missing an opportunity is the Heaven aspect. Whether one gains or loses, remaining calm is called following Heaven; taking desperate risks forby chance is going against Heaven. Seeking is the human aspect, while whether one can obtain or not is the Heaven aspect. Remaining calm in gain or loss is called following Heaven; insisting on taking it by force is going against Heaven's way, and those who go against Heaven's way will surely bring calamity upon themselves.

天之孽十之一猶可違，人之孽十之九不可逭。天道之變，王道之權也。為治之道，必通其變，不可以膠柱，猶春之時不可行冬之令也。用兵之道，必待人民富，倉廩實，府庫充，兵強名正，天時順，地利得，然後可舉。天時、地理、人事三者，知之不易。學以人事為大。今之經典，古之人事也。學不際天人，不足以謂之學；學不至於樂，不可謂之學。記問之學，未足以為事業。凡人為學，失於自主張太過。學在不止，故王通云“沒身而已”。

The Book of Documents, the Taijia section, says: "Disasters caused by heaven can still be avoided to some extent; but disasters caused by oneself cannot be escaped." Disasters from heaven may still allow for one part of ten to be avoided; but disasters caused by oneself will have nine parts out of ten that cannot be escaped. The changes of heaven's way are equivalent to the flexibility of the way of the king. The method of governing the world must understand the need for constant adaptation, and not be like a fixed tuning of a zither, rigidly sticking to one tone—just as spring cannot implement the policies of winter. The method of warfare must wait until the people are well-off, the granaries are full, the treasuries are abundant, the military strength is strong, the cause is just, the heavens are favorable, and the geographical advantages are on our side, then can war be launched. The three elements of heaven's timing, geographical advantage, and human affairs are not easy to fully understand; among these, human affairs are most important. The classics we study today are records of the human affairs of the ancients. If learning does not connect heaven and humanity, it cannot be called true learning. If learning does not reach the state of joy, it cannot be called true learning. Learning that relies only on rote memorization and answering questions cannot support great achievements. The common problem in learning is excessive self-willed judgment. Learning is valuable in its continuous pursuit, so Wang Tong said to "learn until death"—to stop only when one's life is over.

右總元會、運、世之數，《易》所謂“天地之數”也。日為元，一甲主一元。月為會，自子至亥，分十二會。星為運，自甲至癸，凡三周，得三十運為一會。十二會，則自甲至癸，三十六周，得三百六十運而為一元。辰為世，自子至亥一周，得十二世為一運。三十周三百六十世為一會，三百六十周四千三百二十世為一元，三十年為一世，則一運得三百六十年，一會得一萬八百年，一元得一十二萬九千六百年。

This diagram summarizes the numbers of yuan, hui, yun, and shi, which are referred to in the "Great Treatise" of the "Zhou Changes" as "the numbers of heaven and earth." Shao Yong used the four celestial phenomena in the heavens to correspond with four time units on earth: the sun corresponds to "yuan," with one jiazi governing one yuan; the moon corresponds to "hui," divided into twelve hui from zi to hai—since the moon meets the sun twelve times a year, the number twelve is used. Stars correspond to "yun," with one cycle from jia to gui making one yun, three cycles totaling thirty yuns forming one hui; twelve hui each go through jia to gui, totaling thirty-six cycles, resulting in three hundred and sixty yuns forming one yuan. The earthly branches correspond to "shi," with one cycle from zi to hai forming twelve shis making one yun; thirty cycles total three hundred and sixty shis forming one hui, and three hundred and sixty cycles total four thousand three hundred and twenty shis forming one yuan. Calculating by thirty years as one shi, one yun is three hundred and sixty years, one hui is ten thousand and eight hundred years, and one yuan is twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty years.

天地之數，體一用三。元之用至世，故以元經會。書至世，而止會之用至年，故以會經運。始書年運之用至月，而以運經世。不書月者，省文以藏用。於堯、舜、禹三書正月五代末，再書正月餘月，則間一書之以示義也。會之用，雖止於年，然會之比元，皆以月當年。故會經運之數於堯、舜、禹，亦三書正月，與運經世同，以示用起於寅也。

The numbers of Heaven and Earth are such that the "body" (体) accounts for one part, while the "application" (用) accounts for three parts. The function of "Yuan" extends all the way to "Shi" (世), so the chapter "Using Yuan to Govern the Great Cycle" uses Yuan to encompass the Great Cycle, and records events only up to "Shi"; the function of "Hui" extends all the way to "Nian" (年), so the chapter "Using Hui to Govern the Movement" uses Hui to encompass the Movement, and begins to record events by year; the function of "Yun" extends all the way to "Yue" (月), so the chapter "Using Yun to Govern the World" uses Yun to encompass the World. The reason for not recording month by month is to save on words and conceal the "application." Only in the cases of the reigns of Yao, Shun, and Yu, and again at the end of the Five Dynasties, is the first month written as "Zhengyue" (正月), while other months are written intermittently to indicate the pattern. Although the function of "Hui" only extends to the year, compared with "Yuan," both use one month to represent a year; therefore, in the cases of Yao, Shun, and Yu, the chapter "Using Hui to Govern the Movement" also writes "Zhengyue" in the same way as "Using Yun to Govern the World," to indicate that the "application" begins from the position of Yin.

以元經會，其數自冬至而起，至大雪末而終。總一元有十二會，三百六十運，四千三百二十世。一元在大化中，猶一年，會當月，運當日，世當時也。以會經運，其數自開物於寅之半而始，至閉物於戌之半而終，總八會，二百四十運，二千八百八十世，八萬六千四百年。自冬至日甲月子星甲辰子起，凡二會半，七十五運，九百世二萬七千年，而開物及閉物後有一會半，四十五運五百四十世，一萬六千二百年，而一元之數終矣。以運經世，其數始於月會巳之六星，運癸之百八十辰，世未之二千一百五十六甲辰年。堯即位，至五代周恭帝末，凡三千三百一十六年。

The chapter "On the Great Cycle and the Great Convergence" calculates its numbers starting from the winter solstice and ending at the end of the festival of Great Snow; in total, one great cycle includes twelve great convergences, three thousand six hundred transformations, and four thousand three hundred twenty ages. When viewed within the entire great process of change, one great cycle is equivalent to a year: a great convergence corresponds to a month, a transformation corresponds to a day, and an age corresponds to an hour. The chapter "On the Great Convergence and the Transformation" calculates its numbers starting from the midpoint of the beginning of the universe at the position of寅 and ending at the midpoint of the concealment of all things at the position of戌; in total, it includes eight great convergences, two hundred forty transformations, two thousand eight hundred eighty ages, and eight hundred and sixty-four thousand years. Starting from the moment of the winter solstice when the sun is at the position of甲, the moon at the position of子, the star at the position of甲, and the hour at the position of子, after going through one and a half great convergences, which is seventy-five transformations, nine hundred ages, and two thousand seven hundred years, the process of creation begins; after the concealment of all things, there is still one and a half great convergences, which is forty-five transformations, five hundred and forty ages, and one hundred and sixty-two thousand years, and the numbers of one great cycle are completed. The chapter "On the Transformation and the Age" calculates its numbers starting from the sixth star of the month at the position of巳, the first hundred and eighty hours of the transformation at the position of癸, and the second thousand one hundred and fifty-six years of the age at the position of未 in the year Jiachen; starting from the enthronement of the Tang Yao, to the end of the reign of the last emperor of the Later Zhou dynasty, it totals three thousand three hundred and sixteen years.

右律呂聲音之數，《易》所謂“萬物之數”也。十聲者，十日也。一聲有十六聲者，日、月、星、辰互變一聲，各成四聲也。十二音者，十二辰也。一音有十六音者，水、火、土、石互變一音，各成四音也。十聲全數百六十者，陽剛之體數也。去其無聲者四十八，餘百一十二，則陽剛之用數也。十二音全數一百九十二者，陰柔之體數也。去其無音者四十，餘百五十二，則陰柔之用數也。以體數相唱和，則聲音各得三萬七百二十者，動植體數也。以用數相唱和，則聲音各得一萬七千二十四者，動植用數也。

The diagram above represents the numbers of the tones and laws of sound, which is referred to as "the numbers of all things" in the "Great Treatise" of the "Zhou Changes" (I Ching). The term "ten sounds" corresponds to the ten heavenly stems; one sound is further divided into sixteen sounds because the four celestial bodies—sun, moon, stars, and constellations—interact and transform with each other, each sound generating four tones, resulting in sixteen through the multiplication of four by four. The term "twelve tones" corresponds to the twelve earthly branches; one tone is further divided into sixteen tones because the four elements—water, fire, earth, and stone—interact and transform with each other, each tone generating four tones, again resulting in sixteen through the multiplication of four by four. The total number of ten sounds is one hundred and sixty, which is ten multiplied by sixteen, representing the "essential numbers" of yang. Subtracting the forty-eight that have a position but no sound, the remaining one hundred and twelve are the "operational numbers" of yang. The total number of twelve tones is one hundred and ninety-two, which is twelve multiplied by sixteen, representing the "essential numbers" of yin. Subtracting the forty that have a position but no tone, the remaining one hundred and fifty-two are the "operational numbers" of yin. When the essential numbers of both sides are multiplied together, the sounds and tones each result in thirty thousand and seven hundred twenty, which is the essential number of animals and plants. When the operational numbers of both sides are multiplied together, the sounds and tones each result in seventeen thousand and twenty-four, which is the operational number of animals and plants.