The Book of Changes, an ancient classic containing endless wisdom, has always attracted the attention of the world with its unique charm. Exploring the relationship between the Book of Changes and destiny is not only an important topic in the study of Chinese civilization, but also the focus of many scholars and wise people. Zhang Qijin, an expert on the Book of Changes, with his deep understanding of Chinese culture and unique research on the Book of Changes, reveals the mystery of the Book of Changes and destiny.
In the process of exploring the Book of Changes and destiny, Zhang Qijin emphasized that we must first understand the core idea of the Book of Changes - "the unity of heaven and man". He believes that "the unity of heaven and man" is the deep understanding of the relationship between nature and human society by the ancient Chinese ancestors, and it is also the soul of the Book of Changes. This idea is embodied in all aspects of the I Ching, including the arrangement and interpretation of its sixty-four hexagrams, as well as the method of the I Ching.
Talking about the best method of the "Book of Changes", Zhang Qijin said: "The Book of Changes is broad and profound, the first of the six classics, is the treasure of the Chinese nation, to study Chinese culture, whether it is the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period Confucianism, Taoism, Mo and the hundred schools of thought, or the Tang and Song Dynasty after Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and other schools, to discuss the "Book of Changes". At the same time, the Book of Changes is also a book of divination. Because of this, many people in modern times have a deep misunderstanding of the "life" in the I Ching. ”
Zhang Qijin analyzed that "life" is mentioned from time to time in the Book of Changes, and the understanding of life is not the same as today's statement. The Book of Changes talks about life as a category related to time, that is, a specific position in the current situation caused by heaven and earth, which is a restriction of objective conditions that no one can surpass. To act when the objective conditions allow it is to obey the destiny of heaven and to obtain good fortune, and it is by no means to let people sit back and wait for good luck to come. Blindly acting regardless of the conditions of the epidemic is against the destiny of heaven, and if you go against the destiny of heaven, you will be killed.
The I Ching not only opposes blind movement, but also encourages people to follow the rules of movement. Knowing one's position in the current situation and the laws of one's activities is knowing the destiny of heaven.
In fact, "life" is the limitation of objective conditions on people, and it is the restriction of natural and social laws on people. The theory of fate that we are talking about today is not the meaning of "fate" in the Book of Changes. There is an old Chinese saying that "know the destiny of heaven and do your best", and the attitude towards destiny is relatively positive.
Confucius himself said, "Fifty and know the mandate of heaven", it can be seen that he linked the study of "Yi" with "knowing the mandate of heaven". He advocated a serious study of Yi in order to make his words and deeds conform to the "Mandate of Heaven." In "Historical Records: The Family of Confucius", it is said that Confucius "read "Yi", and Wei compiled three uniques". He liked to read "Zhou Yi" very much, and once broke the leather strip wearing bamboo slips many times. This shows that Confucius's spirit of hard work and study is worthy of learning for future generations.
The Hanshu Confucian Biography records: "Confucius is easy to read, and the weft is three uniques, and it is passed on." "For 5,000 years, the Book of Changes has been passed down from generation to generation. Many scholars have studied and exemplified the scriptures, and left behind more than 3,000 works, which are magnificent.
Confucius liked to read the Book of Changes, so much so that the "Wei Compilation Three Uniques", that is, the cowhide rope worn by bamboo slips was broken many times. He said that he benefited a lot from the Book of Changes, "If I am a few years, I can learn it in 50 years, and I can do it without a big deal." Confucius is known as the "Father of Easy Learning" for the following reasons:
Reason 1: Confucius's greatest contribution to the study of changes is that Confucius discovered the value of the Book of Changes and included it in the "Six Classics", so that the Book of Changes was sublimated into a classic work, and since then it has been on the hall of elegance.
Reason 2: Confucius compiled the "Six Classics" (poems, books, rites, Yi, music, Spring and Autumn), including the Book of Changes, which played a major role in the preservation of the Book of Changes.
Reason 3: Confucius wrote "The Book of Changes", which changed the "Book of Changes" from a book of divination into a masterpiece of philosophy and social science.
Reason 4: Confucius took the Book of Changes as one of the textbooks of the Six Classics, which played an important role in the spread of the Book of Changes.
Reason 5: Confucius advocated righteousness, which played an important role in the development of Yixue and made the Book of Changes a classic of Confucianism.
Reason 6: In short, because of his contribution to Yixue and his position in the history of Yixue, Confucius can be called one of the top ten Yixue scholars in ancient China.
What is said here is "Confucius is old and fond of ease, Wei compiles three uniques, so he knows that fifty is not a year". This is according to the record, when Confucius was old, he learned the Book of Changes, and he used "Yiyi", which is a hobby, and this word expresses Confucius's enthusiasm for learning Yi, which is really a study of forgetting to sleep and eat. We believe that Confucius is easy to learn, but he also doesn't know the taste of meat in March, and the whole body and mind focus on this, which is called diligence, and he only learns one subject.
Zhang Qijin said: "Learning one is called diligence, and learning two is miscellaneous, so it is difficult to have understanding." "The enlightenment that Zhang Qijin said came from Confucius's concentration and learning, and it is difficult to have enlightenment if he is not specialized. When we look at Confucius's "Wei Compilation Three Uniques", we can see how hard Confucius worked to learn Yi, how specialized he was in Xueyi, and that book was turned three times. In the past, it was all bamboo slips, with a hole at both ends, and a rope was worn, and the rope was broken three times.
From here we also see that Confucius's studiousness, he really does not know that old age is coming, he learns and learns it, he is not happy, he is happy to forget his worries, work hard and forget to eat, this is worth learning from us. From here, it can be seen that the "fifty" mentioned by Confucius does not mean that the year is not learned, it does not mean that the age is not learned, the five and ten are not the number of years, but the number of yang and the number of yin is talked about here and the number of yang.
Confucius said: "Fifty easy to read, can be no big deal" has several meanings:
Meaning 1: According to legend, Confucius did not have the opportunity to see the Book of Changes before he was fifty years old.
Meaning 2: The elderly have rich experience and can understand Yili.
Meaning 3: Since fifty can be easy to understand, of course, there will be no big mistake in doing things.
Meaning 4: It may not be advisable to be too cautious from an early age (you need to accept wind and rain, accept setbacks, and explore and summarize experience by yourself). Adults always want children to take fewer detours, but children need to go through some detours before they can grow. For most people, the process is the most important, and we must understand the ups and downs of life in the process; Encourage people to explore and create, so that society can develop and life can be meaningful, but the key is to be vigilant and not to take the wrong path. "Read 10,000 books, travel 10,000 miles", so the great truth of the Book of Changes, after having a certain amount of social practice experience, may be easier to understand, and it is easier to understand a little bit of the heart.
Through the interpretation of Zhang Qijin, an expert in Yi Xue, we can see that as a treasure of Chinese culture, the wisdom of the Book of Changes is worthy of our in-depth study and inheritance. Zhang Qijin also provides new ideas and directions for our research. Let us work together to inherit and carry forward the excellent traditional Chinese culture!