Confucius was the first person to discover the metaphysical value of "Yi", and his thoughts can be found in Shuowen Jiezi, many of which give full play to the philosophical thought of "Gankun". The so-called "metaphysical way" in Cohesion Biography refers to the universal principle beyond the scope of sensory experience. As Lao Tzu said, if you can't see it, you can't hear it, and you can't get the "hope of the world." This abstract metaphysical principle applies to all facts empirically and does not violate experience; Rationally, it conforms to the ideological principle, but it has its consistency. The author of the Book of Changes may not realize that the Book of Changes of metaphysics has these characteristics, and he has no intention of establishing a set of metaphysics. However, the Book of Changes involves the most universal principle of the universe, the proposition of the value spectrum and the position of man between heaven and earth, making it a metaphysical treasure. What exactly does this "Yi" mean? Confucius once said that "life is called Yi", which means that there is one of the most common phenomena in the universe, that is, everything is constantly innovating, and this is Yi. If "Yi" is understood as "change" and "creation", then the role of "Gankun" is of great significance. ?
As we can imagine, for the ancients, it is natural to stand high above the sky and overlook the earth and use "Gankun" as a symbol of heaven and earth. But the world is extremely concrete and limited. How can it become the universal principle of metaphysics? As mentioned above, Confucius believes that the Book of Changes is not only a book of divination, but also contains "morality". However, if this kind of "benevolence and righteousness" is limited to morality and ethics, and then people push the sky, it is inevitable to "know people and not know the sky." In other words, anthropomorphizing natural imagination is not in line with natural facts, but also inevitably comes from human subjective prejudice, and it is impossible to deduce the universal law of "Mirren Heaven and Earth". In order to solve this difficulty, Confucius thought that the "moral meaning" in the Book of Changes involved not only moral ethics, but also the fact that the universe was created by nature, thus developing a systematic metaphysical theory. Cohesion Biography has a lot of discussions on this, and its connotation is complicated. Its essence is "Heaven and Earth, Gankun" as "the field of Yi Dao", which contains a universal value system. For example, "Cohesion Biography" begins with a clear statement:
The heavens and the earth are humble, and the dry Kun will decide. Humble and high, with Chen, high and low. There are both movements, and rigidity and softness are broken. Square (or "human" mistakes) Birds of a feather flock together, and birds of a feather flock together, which brings good luck and bad luck. In nature, it forms underground and changes are visible.
Here "heaven" refers to a specific time, "earth" refers to a specific space, and "Gankun" symbolizes the functions of heaven and earth respectively. The sky is high and low, which is the most directly visible phenomenon in nature. In this time and space, everything is solemnly listed, and the value is in it, forming a hierarchy of axiology from high to low. Yi hexagrams are static in yin and dynamic in yang, and they must be both rigid and soft. Dry hexagrams are all composed of yang hexagrams, yang hexagrams are pure and rigid, and Kun hexagrams are all composed of yin hexagrams, and yin hexagrams are pure and rigid. And people get together to form a society, and different kinds of things are also in groups. Because of the community, there is human feelings, and because of human feelings, there is a phenomenon of gloating and regretting. In short, natural changes (that is, "Yi") appear in different astronomical phenomena in the sky. The movement of the sun and the moon is cold and hot, and it is a law of time. The earth appears in different landforms, and the mountains and rivers are fertile, which is a good time and a good place. All natural changes occur between heaven and earth, that is, time and space. In the process of natural creation, everything in the universe has acquired its own characteristics, and also gained its own position in the eternal and universal value system, which has led to various encounters of good luck and regret, which is also the most common life phenomenon. As Mr. Fang Dongmei saw, the Book of Changes can be said to be a philosophical system that runs through cosmology, ontology and axiology. After mastering this philosophical system, Confucius could not help but admire it.
Confucius said, "Easy! Fu Yi is a saint, so she worships virtue and has a wide career. Know how to respect courtesy and humility, and know how to respect heaven and humility. There is a place in heaven and earth, and it is easy to do it. " ?
Confucius' admiration for "Yi" is extremely lofty and broad, and saints also worship virtue and broad because of it. The "unity of knowledge and action" here may be the mistake of "respecting people with morality", otherwise it cannot echo the previous article. Sages are virtuous, but they behave humbly out of courtesy. (Page 176) [1] Lofty imitation of heaven, humble imitation of earth. Heaven and earth are in their proper places, and "Yi" can play a role. Once again:
Easy to fit in with heaven and earth, so we can learn the way of tomorrow. Looking up at astronomy and looking down at geography is the reason why you know the secret.
Yi Dao's changes are in harmony with heaven and earth, so it can cover the functions of heaven and earth. Looking up at the movement of celestial bodies and overlooking the nature of the earth, we can know the natural changes of alternating day and night, cold and summer. Mr Fang Dongmei thinks that this "way of heaven and earth" is "life". (page 133) [2]? Come again:?
Dry Kun is easy to be evil! Gan Kun is in a row, but it is easy to stand among them. It's easy to see that Gankun is ruined. If it is easy to be invisible, it will dry up or almost stop. ?
"Heaven and earth dry Kun" is where the change lies! "Heaven and Earth" is a space-time domain, and "Gankun" is its function. Gan Kun was arranged in an orderly way, and all the changes were destroyed in it. Without heaven and earth, we lose the function of time and space, and we can't know the change. On the contrary, the role of time and space is manifested in the occurrence of change. If there is no change, then "heaven and earth" will not exist. This sentence in Cohesion Biography has high philosophical value. The creation of the universe is closely related to the structure of time and space. As Mr. Cheng Shiquan once pointed out, heaven and earth are the body, and dry Kun is the use. Entity functions are inseparable, that is, the body is used immediately and the body is used only. Time and space are inseparable, but each shows its ability. (page 149) [1] So there is no time and space independent of change, and there is no change independent of time and space. "Dry" is time and "Kun" is space, which can also be seen in Cohesion Biography. Husband is dry, quiet and expert, moving and straight, based on great life. The quiet Fu Kun is also dynamic, which is based on his extensive knowledge. The vast universe matches heaven and earth, flexible seasons, yin and yang match the sun and the moon, and simplicity matches virtue.
"Dry" is a time function, specific to a static moment, a time series (time? The series is the beginning of the creation of the universe. As a spatial function, "Kun" embraces everything at rest and expands when it plays a role. It has no boundaries, so it can enrich everything. This has nothing to do with the divination of Zhuan Xu: "Gan Yuan is great! From the beginning of ten thousand materials, it is the unity of heaven "and Kun Gua's biography says" Do Kun Yuan! Everything is born, but it means the same thing. Mr. Fang Dongmei analyzed that "Gan Yuan" refers to Heaven as the "foundation of the country" and "Kun Yuan" refers to the tunnel as the "foundation of the road". The success of Tongtian Tunnel continues the originality of Gan Yuan, while the success of Kun Yuan enriches everything. (Page 29 1) [2] "Gan Yuan" stands for "the virtue of longevity" and "Kun Yuan" stands for "the virtue of longevity". Heaven and earth converge, so most of them are prepared. (page 160) [3]? Therefore, it can be said that vastness is the characteristic of heaven and earth, flexibility is the characteristic of the four seasons, yin is the moon and yang is the sun, which plays a beautiful role, which is the highest value provided by nature. Yi Jian "means time and space. For example, Cohesion Biography says:
It is easy to show people how to do it. Fu Kun, it's simple. ?
Husband, the world is the healthiest. Virtue is always easy to know risks. Fu Kun, the world is the most smooth, and Germany always knows resistance.
? Here "Yi" means "dry" and "Jane" means "Kun". "Yi" is not only a change, but also takes "time" as its essence, so "doing" is the function of time, so it shows the change of Yi Dao. As for "Jane", occasionally "Kun" is the function of space, so the exhibition space is endless. Mr. Cheng Shiquan once pointed out that "doing it with determination" is the function of time. NFD30？ However, "the effect of speaking space. See Cheng Shiquan's New Exploration of Yi Studies, p. 152. In the world, people are in danger because they are in the situation of time and space. Zheng Kangcheng said in the Book of Changes at the end of the Han Dynasty that "Yi has three meanings: Jane Yi has one meaning, Yi has two meanings, and the three meanings are not easy." After that, "Yi Jian" is often interpreted as simple and easy. But "Yi" is a saint, so it is easy to study them deeply. Only when "Yi Jian" is interpreted as "time and space" can it conform to the original meaning of "one". In this way, we can have another understanding of this passage in Cohesion Biography:
From scratch, you can achieve something. Easy to know, simple to know. Easy to know, simple to follow. Yi Zhi has relatives ("relatives" should be "new"), and Yi Cong has merits. Having relatives can last a long time, and having merits can be great. The virtue of a saint can last long, and the career of a saint can be great. Easy to simplify, but the world is meaningful. The world is reasonable and one of them.
"Heaven" is the beginning of the creation of the universe, while "Earth" carries everything. The function of "heaven" is recognized by changes, while the function of "earth" is viewed by the time of spatial coordinates. The function of time is known from change, while space follows time. From the change of time, we can find that everything in the universe is constantly updated in the flow of time. From space to time, we can find that everything breeds, and the role of space is endless. Constant renewal can last for a long time, and constant expansion can only know its vastness. Being long-term is the virtue of a saint, and being broad is the career of a saint. If people can grasp time and space, they can grasp the principles of nature. If you can master the principles of nature, you can participate in the creation of the universe. ?
Therefore, we can see the meaning of "Gan Kun" in The Legend of Coherence. First, take "heaven and earth as the body, dry Kun as the use", "dry Kun" as the time, and "Kun" as the empty; Second, "Gankun" is an inseparable whole, and space must match time; Thirdly, Yi and Gan Kun are inseparable, Gan Kun is in a row, and Yi is in it. In other words, creation must be based on time and space. Without time and space, there would be no creation at all. In view of this, Mr. Fang Dongmei believes that the core concept in the Book of Changes is "time", and the key lies in what is "time"? He said:?
To build time for things, the essence of language lies in change; Speak French, then pass it on, then continue; The effectiveness of language is infinite, and it will last for a long time and move towards infinity. ..... Time is infinite, endless, and everything is one ... It is the rational order in the process of cosmic education. The dynamic display order of time lies in the moment when the old is destroyed and the new is born. Under the relative strength, you gain more than you lose, so the change of time is a step towards eternity. Eternal, continuous, long-lasting, eternal. The deceased has not gone, and the successor has arrived. This is eternal. ..... responsibility is the reason. In the normative relationship of time dynamics, I ching philosophy gives the universe and heaven a quasi-balance, which enables us to understand the way and order of the world. (page 290) [2]
This can be said to be Mr. Fang Dongmei's unique view of "Yi has three meanings": the so-called "Yi" means that time flows back and forth without interruption; The so-called "difficulty" refers to the long-lasting and eternal cosmic order; The so-called "easy to simplify" means that its functions are endless. Mr. Dong Mei mentioned "easy to have four meanings" in the article "Emotion and Beauty of Life" (except easy to simplify, easy to change and difficult to trade): "The truth of time lies in change, the order of time will be smooth and the effectiveness of time will last long. Without biochemical changes, constant health is called change. Change it to a speech, you change it, you get a new one. The luck is endless and the connections are connected. You've handed in everything you've said, and then you'll continue. It takes a long time to recover after losing it. Over time, words accumulate, and people who accumulate will change and benefit. The change of time gradually disappears in an instant, and its success is ruined, so it is pitiful. If you are poor, you can change, if you bend, you will believe, if you are strong, you will not be sleepy, and if you are righteous, you will not be sleepy. " For the variability (substitution), change, ceaseless, revolution, innovation, disappearance, circulation, continuation and inheritance of time, the description of persistence, permanence, accumulation, increase, transition, destruction, exhaustion and creation is extreme. It's worth pondering over. See Fang Dongmei's The Virtue of Life, page 133. According to this view of time, Mr. Dong Mei once listed some metaphysical principles, such as the principle of detour, the principle of life and education. (page115-116) [4] Among them, the truth of life has five meanings. First, education is innate; Second, open things to business; Third, there is no end to innovation; Fourth, change has several meanings; Fifth, last forever. (page 152) [2] (page 127- 129) [5] all describe the various manifestations of "time" in natural creation: emergence, beginning, creation, change and so on. These principles show that the objective order of the universe is due to the creative function of time (dry elements), and people born in this creative universe can only "match heaven and earth with virtue" if they are full of creative spirit. From this point of view, Mr. Dong Mei said that the Book of Changes shows "Confucian metaphysics", taking the nature of the universe as the great vitality of innovation, and even taking goodness as the supreme personality, taking relative value as the chapter, and even focusing on goodness. In this Confucian metaphysics, "the universe" is a creative process based on time and endless life, and "man" is a "time man" with perfect education and practice, which is Confucian "humanism". (pp. 289-293) [2].
Mr. Fang Dongmei thinks that the emphasis on "time" in The Book of Changes is quite different from the western traditional thought. (page 16 1- 166) [3] The ancient Greek philosophers parmenides, Socrates and Plato did not attach importance to "time" and even rejected it. Only Hera Cretors and Aristotle talked about the changes in the universe. However, when Aristotle talked about change, he turned it into an eternal present. Mr. Fang Dongmei didn't seem to make it clear. In fact, Aristotle admits that everything in the universe is always changing and generating, and this change is towards the established purpose in order to fully realize it. This "complete realization" or "eternal present" as Mr. Dong Mei said. Later, many western thinkers failed to get rid of this stereotype. To borrow Russell's words, they even think: "Understanding the immaturity of time is the gateway to wisdom." Descartes proposed a coordinate system to arrange the existence of the universe. Newton's classical physics focuses on matter and space, while Kant's philosophy is based on Newton's physics. They don't understand the importance of "time" Descartes regards the extension of space as the essence of matter, and the most important thing is the physical measurement of the length, width and height of an object. Time has no place in his coordinate system. Newton took one-degree absolute time and three-degree absolute space as the basic framework of the universe, but that time was physical measurement and mathematical time. Kant adopted Newton's view of time, thinking that time series is mathematical, but this time series is out of the transcendental form of consciousness, not the natural structure. The modern philosopher who pays more attention to time can be said to be Hegel, who emphasized the importance of time in his philosophy of history and phenomenology of spirit. But like Aristotle, he divided complex time into time points and concentrated on the present, thinking that the past is not important and the future is not important. What really matters is now. Therefore, Mr. Dong Mei believes that before Bergson and Whitehead, western thinkers did not understand the importance of time. Hegel thinks that Kant "spatialized" time, but he thinks that time cannot be measured and spatialized by mathematical methods. Time is the form of life (the existence of ideas), which can only be obtained by intuition. In fact, existence is higher than space. Although he paid more attention to time than previous philosophers and affirmed that nature was a creative process, he followed Aristotle's teleology and transformed it into absolute idealism, which made time lose its importance in philosophical absoluteness. Although the "view of time" in the Book of Changes does not elaborate on the comparison with western thoughts, it outlines an important research direction. ?
Mr. Cheng Shiquan has a similar view. He believes that there are "philosophy that emphasizes time" and "philosophy that does not emphasize time". "Philosophy that emphasizes time" regards time as either the source of creation or the source of destruction. In the western philosophical tradition, the Pythagorean school of ancient Greece attached importance to space and quantity, and the configuration and movement of the universe must be based on a certain proportion, which is the origin of natural mathematicization. Socrates regards the perception of the world as impermanence, while Plato regards this world as the imitation of eternal reason, which shows that they belittle "time". Almost like Descartes, he regards the universe as a aimless material machine, while Newton regards time and space as an absolutely independent physical framework. Mechanism holds that time is "reversible" and has no effect on the objects in it. They are all "philosophies that don't pay attention to time." "Philosophy that doesn't pay attention to time" either spatializes time, takes time as a measuring framework, or takes time as a psychological function, and it doesn't exist at all. Bergson correctly criticized this. Scientists think that the universe is balanced and homogeneous, so they quantify time. This method completely ignores the fact that the universe is heterogeneous and uneven. (Page 3 1-42) [6] This situation is in the Second Law of Thermodynamics (Time? Arrow), although slightly improved, the concept of "entropy" makes the universe tend to be destroyed over time. This can be said to be a "philosophy that emphasizes time" that regards time as the abyss of destruction. According to "mechanism theory", in a closed system, the conservation and exchange of mass and energy and the motion of objects are "reversible processes". However, according to the second law of thermodynamics, "heat energy" will change irreversibly in a closed or isolated system, and the hotter part will dissipate energy to the colder part until the system temperature reaches equilibrium. Dissipative force separates heat energy and makes the system in equilibrium tend to disorder, which is called "entropy". Therefore, "time" has no specific direction in "mechanism". No matter in the past or in the future, the physical laws followed by objects are the same. But in the "Second Law of Thermodynamics", time is like an arrow with a certain direction. Heat energy can only be dissipated in a colder direction, and order can only lead to chaos. Therefore, according to this law, the universe, as a closed system, will tend to be "hot dead" with time, that is, the maximum chaos. This can be said to be a "philosophy that emphasizes time" that regards time as the abyss of destruction. On the other hand, the new discoveries of physics in the 20th century, Einstein's relativity of time and space, Maxwell's electromagnetic field theory and quantum physics have shaken the "time view" of classical physics. The view of time in modern physics is developing in a direction similar to that of Yi. Mr. Shi Quan summarized its essence and put forward four philosophical concepts related to it: "body and function are unique", "integration of time and space" and "bypass correlation". And "creative organic". ?
First of all, "Yi" takes "Heaven and Earth as the body, Gan Kun as the use", and both the body and the use are unique. In the eyes of ancient Yi scholars, nature is not a big machine made of matter, but a creative field inspired by the space-time function of the universe. We can say that we take material machinery as the main body and aim at creation and evolution, but we must not generalize and ignore time and space, especially time, which has its role. Secondly, "Yi" is a combination of "Gan Kun" and a fusion of time and space, similar to Einstein's space? The concept of time continuum) is consistent. It is easy to emphasize that space must match time, and time is the most important thing, but Einstein still takes time and space as the framework of physical measurement. In his theory, time is still spatial. Third, the Book of Changes takes the two hexagrams of Gankun as its extreme, and it is actually thirty-two pairs of sixty-four hexagrams, each of which is full of yin and yang, and the two sides are connected. It can be said that in the eyes of ancient scholars of Yi studies, all natural things are "by-pass related" and complement each other. Quantum theory finds that elementary particles have both particle and wave duality (particle? Waves duality), which ruled out the dispute between optical wave theory and particle theory, made them contrast and complement each other in nature, which was quite consistent with the idea of ancient scholars of Yi studies. 1947, Danish physicist niels bohr once chose "Tai Chi Diagram" as his knight badge, because he thought that the complementary phase of Yin and Yang in "Tai Chi Diagram" was the earliest evidence that China people showed the "complementary principle" in nature. See Cheng Shiquan's New Exploration of Yi Studies (109); John wheeler and Wojciech Dzurek (editor. ),? Quantum theory and measurement? (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1983). Finally, "Yi" regards the universe as a process of creation and life with "Gan Kun in office and Yi in it". This concept of "creation is organic" should not be subject to the mechanical law of cause and effect, so ancient scholars of Yijing paid more attention to opportunities and the possibility of change. Although Einstein's theory of relativity is a kind of deterministic mechanics, quantum physics is a kind of probabilistic/statistical mechanics. In the particle world, matter can't be said to be fixed anywhere, but just shows a tendency to exist. The occurrence of events can only be said to have a trend, but it cannot be said that it will definitely happen. In addition, Heisenberg put forward the "uncertainty principle", denying that the speed and position of particle motion can be measured at the same time. So in the microscopic universe, mechanical determinism has to be replaced by probability theory. For the above, please refer to Cheng Shiquan's Concept of Yi, Yijing and Modern Physics, which are included in New Exploration of Yi Studies, and included in New Theory of Yi Studies. ? Mr. Cheng Shiquan believes that although the "view of time" of the Book of Changes is not contrary to the new trend of western modern scientific development, they are essentially different. Ancient Yi-ology scholars, with their thinking wisdom of looking up, looking down, approaching and taking far, made a hole in the truth of the creation of the universe, and then used sixty-four hexagrams to symbolize its details. This is quite different from the world outlook which is obtained by highly accurate experimental observation and expressed in extremely abstract mathematical language in modern science. It is conceivable that scientific theory must be tested by experience, but this experience is often limited to the physical objects seen by sensory perception. The invisible relationship and function between related things may not be verified by experience. Science takes precise mathematics as its language, but what mathematics can express is limited to quantity, which cannot explain "qualitative emergence" or "synchronous coincidence". It can be seen that science alone cannot explain the truth created by the universe, let alone the relationship between man and the universe. (Page 1 13) [1]
In a word, The Book of Changes is a book with its historical background. The interpretation of "Gan Kun" also has its historical and social background that can not be ignored. However, Confucius likes Yi and takes "observing its morality" as the purpose. The metaphysical philosophy contained in Yi cannot be ignored. It can be said with certainty that the two hexagrams of "Gankun" show China people's view of time and space, which is not contrary to modern scientific thought, and has deeper philosophical implications. "Time" and "space" are the basic concepts in the study of western science and philosophy, and the related topics involved are wide and deep, which are beyond the scope of this paper. Mr. Fang Dongmei and Mr. Cheng Shiquan have provided important research clues for the comparative study in this field, which needs the continuous efforts of the latecomers.