The relationship between the overall thought of the Book of Changes and the pre-Qin Daoist and Confucian schools of thought

Yusheng (revised, October 9, 2010)

Abstract: This paper takes a different approach to the Confucian-Taoist debate surrounding the thought of the *I Ching* (Book of Changes). Starting with the psychology of divination, it argues that the Ten Wings aimed to enhance the *I Ching*’s implicit and multifaceted mystique and its relevance to contemporary life, but were insufficient to alter its original ideological system. Confucius’s later interest in the *I Ching* is seen as akin to Zhuangzi’s aesthetic pursuits, differing from Mencius’s philosophy of self-transcendence. From a social perspective, it points out that the early Han dynasty’s embrace of Taoism and the prevalence of Taoist thought during the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties were related to regional separatism. Dividing human society into a genetically encoded primitive society and a man-made secondary society, it finds that the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were primitive superpowers with a hierarchical balance of power, allowing for free migration of peasants. Compared to the early Han dynasty, there was no absolute authority, suggesting that the ruling class’s ideology during the *I Ching* era was closer to Taoism. The author interprets Taoist thought as a philosophization and idealization of primitive social lifestyles. The *I Ching* presents a picture of primitive social life based on the Tao, exhibiting anarchistic tendencies centered on the individual; yet, its text reveals a profound human tranquility and the beauty of nature. The highest ontology of the *I Ching* is identical to that of Daoism, differing only in name. The *I Ching*’s concept of the harmony between Heaven and humanity is similar to Zhuangzi’s, but different from Mencius’s. While later sections such as the *Appended Remarks* discuss the gentleman and morality, the gentleman here is the object of divination; their morality is for seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, more like the Daoist principle of overcoming strength with gentleness. The article concludes by discussing the complementary and interconnected aspects of Confucianism and Daoism; a person can favor Confucianism in youth and Daoism in old age, and Confucianism and Daoism should be distinguished by their ideas, not by the person. Some of the sayings of Confucius recorded in the *I Ching* are more like those of Laozi and Zhuangzi, differing from the original thoughts of Confucius and Mencius.

Keywords: I Ching, Confucianism, Taoism, primitive society

The three philosophical systems that first appeared in Chinese history, namely Taoism, Confucianism and Mohism, can all be regarded as philosophies of life, representing different ways of life. These ways of life cover the levels of individuals, society and the state, that is, the blueprint of a nation’s way of life at the philosophical level. Mohism appeared in the Warring States period, and during the Warring States period, Chinese society underwent a qualitative change, with different schools of thought emerging, representing the interests of different classes. Mohism represented the interests and desires of the lower-class laborers. Taoism and Confucianism, which appeared at the end of the Spring and Autumn period, were not like this. Laozi and Confucius spoke on behalf of the whole society, and they both valued the past and disdained the present. Therefore, the way of life during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties can be summarized as the complementarity of Confucianism and Taoism. However, at this time, Confucianism and Taoism had not yet been elevated to a philosophical level. The author once speculated that during the Three Dynasties, Taoism was the forerunner and Confucianism was the forerunner. [1] The Yi Jing shows the life picture of following the natural way in the early Zhou Dynasty. The dominant idea is the naturalness of nature. There is no thought system outside of people. Therefore, the main idea of ​​the Yi Jing is the later Taoist thought. Xunzi said, ¡ “Killing is punishable by death, injuring is punishable by law; this is the same for all rulers, and no one knows the origin of this principle.” (Xunzi: Zheng Lun) This statement by Xunzi has been confirmed by modern anthropology. Primitive tribes studied by anthropologists often had their own methods for dealing with unprovoked murderers, including execution. Therefore, the complementarity of Confucianism and Taoism does not exclude the function of law; law plays a supporting role.

First, the Ten Wings aim to increase the mystery and implicit meaning of the Book of Changes, but are insufficient to convey the essential Confucian doctrines.

The *Shangshu* (Book of Documents), in the chapter “Hong Fan,” states, “The tortoise shell follows the divination, the yarrow stalks go against it,” implying that divination results can only be “follow” or “go against,” hence the practice of “If three people divine, then follow the words of two.” The silk manuscript *Yao* mentions Confucius’s “Of a hundred divinations, seventy were correct.” Here, “correct” is neither following nor going against, but rather an intermediate state, at most equivalent to modern expressions like, “This divination was very accurate!” The divination result is subtle and multifaceted, capturing the diviner’s psychology and prompting them to ponder, thus leading to seventy correct divinations out of a hundred. The accuracy rate of divination using only the “follow” or “go against” option is always fifty percent.

It is generally believed that the Book of Changes was compiled by a group of diviners in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, who selected certain hexagram and line statements from previous divination records. [2] The original text contains only about four thousand characters. Although it breaks through the pattern of choosing between the two, the text is simple and archaic, making it difficult to resonate with the psychology of later generations. Just like when using the Book of Changes to divine for people today, we need to speak in the language of modern people to resonate with their psychology, but this does not change the original ideological system of the Book of Changes. Interpreting “auspicious journey” as “going out to do business is auspicious” does not mean that the Book of Changes is a commercial ideology. Similarly, if the Ten Wings were compiled by Confucian scholars for divination purposes, they would of course need to speak in the language of Confucian scholars in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to resonate with their psychology, but this does not change the original ideological system of the Book of Changes.

The current version of the Book of Changes includes the Ten Wings, which occupy more than three-quarters of the text. The Ten Wings increase the mystery of the Book of Changes by increasing its semantics and scope, in order to increase the frequency of what Confucius called “when”, that is, to increase the accuracy of divination. Only when the judgment is mysterious, implicit and ambiguous can the diviner ponder and associate, and seek the connection between various images at the subconscious level, so as to produce the effect of Jung’s “principle of simultaneity”. [3] The Book of Changes lists nearly twenty things that each of the eight trigrams symbolizes. The Book of Changes is more than four thousand words long. It uses the trigrams to explain many ancient historical events, but at the end it lists different mentality and verbal characteristics, saying “those who are about to rebel, their words are ashamed, and those who are doubtful in their hearts, their words are branching”. The Ten Wings pursue the effect of “doubtful in their hearts” for the diviner. The Book of Changes has many paragraphs with clear meaning, but when viewed as a whole, it is fragmented, mysterious and without key points. The result is that it encompasses everything and covers all possibilities of the evolution of events. The result of using the Eight Trigrams to encompass everything can only be natural inaction; only with focus and direction can there be action. The *Xici* (Appended Remarks) is not without the mystical language of the *Tao Te Ching*, such as: “Therefore, changes and transformations bring good fortune and auspiciousness; observing phenomena reveals the means, and predicting the future. Heaven and Earth establish positions, sages achieve ability, human schemes and ghostly schemes, the common people possess ability.” This has a distinctly Lao Tzu-like tone. Another example: “Treading with harmony; humility with propriety; returning with self-knowledge; constancy with one virtue; loss with avoiding harm; gain with promoting benefit; distress with reducing resentment; the well with discerning righteousness; and yielding with exercising power.” The author selected nine trigrams—Treading, Humility, Return, Constancy, Loss, Benefit, Distress, Well, and Yi—and paired them with different human experiences, listing them three times, encompassing everything. Who in the world can know why the author proposed these nine trigrams and selected those twenty-seven human experiences to match them? The effect can only be profoundly mysterious.

Traditionally, the Ten Wings are attributed to Confucius, but in reality, they were written by multiple authors, some of whom were Confucian disciples during the Warring States period. As a result, the *I Ching* incorporated Confucian thought and was included in the Confucian classics. The authors of the Ten Wings could hardly have broken away from the original *I Ching*’s ideological system to create their own, and thus could not have altered its original framework. Although Confucianism and Taoism have complementary aspects, Taoism, with its comprehensive view of nature and history, advocates non-action (wuwei), while Confucianism focuses on society and has a strong moralistic and world-saving character. The life and thought reflected in the *I Ching* lack any sense of social crisis; its broad vision, free-flowing mind, and emphasis on the cyclical nature of fortune and misfortune, without any sense of constraint, are closer to Taoism than to Confucianism. The *I Ching* was used for divination after encountering problems, naturally reflecting a sense of anxiety, but this anxiety was merely for avoiding immediate misfortune, unlike the Confucian concern for the nation and its people.

II. Primary Society and Secondary Society

Different lifestyles of human beings are directly related to different social forms. According to Wang Yuzhe’s research, Marx and Engels changed their view that ancient Chinese society was a primitive society in their later years. They believed that the peasants of the Asian rural communes were still slaves, not slaves of slave owners, but slaves of despotic monarchs. [4] Karl A. Wittfogel (1896-1988) further developed Marx’s theory of the Asiatic mode of production and proposed the theory of Oriental despotism. Like Marx, Wittfogel believed that politics could not replace economics and that a despotic monarch who could turn the members of the rural commune into slaves must have an economic foundation to give him this ability. He believed that this social transformation in China was accompanied by the transformation from labor rent to tax rent, which occurred at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States Period. [5] It was during the Warring States Period that the military power of the state developed to the point that it could control the territory and monopolize all the land. It was also at this time that the state began to distribute land to peasants and the land became privately owned. Confucius mentioned many times in the Analects the use of virtuous governance to attract farmers from afar to join him, meaning that farmers had the ability to migrate freely. Although Shang Yang also formulated policies to attract farmers from various states in the Central Plains to Qin to cultivate wasteland, most farmers lost this ability to migrate freely during the Warring States period. [6]

After dividing all human societies throughout history into genetically encoded primitive societies and artificial secondary societies, the author found that Western civilization began in secondary societies, while Chinese civilization began in primitive societies. The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were quite similar to the United Nations today, with the function of maintaining peace. People still lived at the primitive society level, that is, the primitive society-type superpower. [7] Daoist philosophy is actually a philosophization and idealization of ancient primitive society life, and is a summary of the main ideas and lifestyles of the primitive society-type superpower during the Three Dynasties. The social model of this period was:

The Imperial Family: Quasi-Primitive Society + Scholars

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Feudal families, quasi-primitive society, and literati

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Village Family Primitive Society

In the aforementioned model, the military power of the emperor and the feudal lords was balanced and mutually constrained at each level, while their social power was constrained by the free migration of peasants, preventing them from becoming slaves to the government. Under such political circumstances, the ruling class could hardly act as the centralized government of the Qin and Han dynasties. Instead, it could only act like a prehistoric primitive society, complying with the wishes of the lower classes in all matters, be cautious in its own conduct, adhere to the virtue of moderation, and avoid extremes—the Daoist principle of non-action. When this social model encountered social conflict, facing turmoil and violence, the Confucian school, as its precursor, stepped forward to advocate morality and benevolence to stabilize society, while Daoism emphasized non-action and returning to simplicity. The result was the same: preventing the emergence of a secondary society.

The second-level society finally emerged during the Warring States period, hence the Mohist school, which arose in the early Warring States period, aimed to “promote the benefit of the world and eliminate its harms.” The original society was a natural society, existing in only one form; the second-level society was a man-made society with its own goals and corresponding ideological system. How to deal with the newly emerging reality of the second-level society led to a split between Confucianism and Taoism: one faction adhered to the ideals of the original society, while the other compromised with the reality of the second-level society. In Confucianism, these two factions were represented by Mencius and Xunzi; in Taoism, they were the reclusive school of Zhuangzi and the Huang-Lao school of Jixia. The author’s research found that the overall thought of the *I Ching* is closest to that of Laozi.

Third, the ruling class in the early Han Dynasty adopted Daoist philosophy as its official ideology out of necessity.

The dominant position of the pioneering Daoist school in the era of the Book of Changes can be derived from the dominant position of Daoist philosophy in the early Han Dynasty. According to Chen Guying’s research, in the late Warring States period, from the perspective of the broader cultural background, it was precisely the era in which Daoist thought was dominant. [8] That is to say, although the escalating wars forced various countries to pursue the Legalist path of enriching the country and strengthening the army, the cruel reality of war made people nostalgic for the good past, and people’s thoughts and lifestyles were still largely in the original social superpower model. The social reform of Chu was backward, and its social form was still close to the above model. The tyranny of Qin was not only maintained by power, but also detached from the social life reality at that time. The short life of Qin led to the restoration of Daoist philosophy. After power and war, the social form at that time could only accommodate the Daoist lifestyle of following the natural way.

Sima Qian wrote in the “Records of the Grand Historian”: “In the period between Qin and Chu, the order changed three times in five years. Since the beginning of mankind, there has never been such a rapid change of the order.” In 207 BC, Chen Sheng started an uprising. A year later, Xiang Yu defeated the main force of the Qin army. Two years later, Qin was destroyed. Such a change of dynasty can be compared with the revolution of Tang and Wu. King Wu of Zhou sent three thousand soldiers. The war may have only lasted one day. [4] The result was that Xiang Yu enfeoffed the princes like the Duke of Zhou. They lived in peace. Their administrative management ideas were close to those of Daoism.

The early Han dynasty differed from the Three Dynasties period in two ways: the ideology and model of a two-tiered society had been established, and the peasants’ ability to migrate freely had been lost. The establishment of a centralized system, as described by Marx’s Eastern production model, made it possible to turn all peasants into slaves of the dynasty. If Xiang Yu truly wanted to implement a higher-level social model, he would have needed to make an agreement with the other lords: guaranteeing the peasants’ freedom of migration, forming a check on the lords’ power; and ensuring a balance of military strength among the various factions. Anyone who violated this agreement would be punished by the entire nation. Xiang Yu lacked understanding of the new social situation; his thinking remained stuck in the aforementioned primitive superpower model.

Liu Bang’s uprising against Xiang Yu had entirely different objectives. His aim wasn’t to oppose the tyrannical Qin rule, but to break down the existing social model and establish a new centralized system. He sought to disrupt the balance of local power and enslave peasants to increase his own strength. This artificial centralized system, established by Liu Bang, could only be achieved through the brutal warfare of the Warring States period; it couldn’t be built in a short time. People wouldn’t quickly change their primal societal habits of individualism, adapt to the norms of a secondary society, or consciously obey discipline. The three-year Chu-Han Contention created powerful groups like Liu Bang, Han Xin, and Ying Bu, forcing Liu Bang to enfeoff various vassal states. Afterwards, Liu Bang and Empress Lü carried out a large-scale purge of meritorious officials—unprecedented in the Three Dynasties period. While the total area of ​​the vassal states of Liu Bang’s own clan was larger than that of the Han Dynasty after his death, they hadn’t experienced the devastation of war, and their centralized systems were far less mature than the Han Dynasty’s. They were no match for the Han Dynasty. Therefore, when the Han Dynasty gradually eroded their power, they lacked the actual ability to resist. In reality, the first seventy years of the Han Dynasty were a process of gradually reducing local power and achieving a highly centralized system. Even so, the numerous vassal states still served as an internal check and balance, making the Han Dynasty act cautiously and adhere to the Daoist principle of non-action for a long time, especially during the forty years of the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, there were 59 commanderies in the country, of which 42 were controlled by ten vassal states. This number exceeded the number of commanderies directly under the central government, and the vassal states possessed more than half of the country’s land. The national population was approximately 13 million, with the vassal states accounting for over 8.5 million. (From *Chronological Table of Vassal States Since the Rise of the Han Dynasty* in the *Records of the Grand Historian*). During the Rebellion of the Seven States, Emperor Jing of Han executed Chao Cuo at the request of the seven states. However, Zhou Yafu, who was in charge of suppressing the rebellion, dared to disregard Emperor Jing’s repeated imperial edicts and order him to rescue Emperor Jing’s own brother. This illustrates the balance and checks and balances between the emperor’s military power and the vassal states. The dynasty lacked the absolute power to act and demonstrate political ambition, and could only practice the Daoist principle of non-action. The Western and Eastern Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties following the fall of the Han Dynasty also lacked a strong power center, leading to the fragmentation of local forces and a resurgence of Lao-Zhuang thought. This supports the conclusion above: after the advent of power and war, the social structure of the time could only accommodate a Daoist lifestyle like that of Lao-Zhuang. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, wars were frequent and the social environment was undeniably harsh, but without the frequency and intensity of warfare seen in the Warring States period, and without the Qin state’s militarized organization, a situation where everyone struggled for survival could not have emerged. Legalist philosophy was most effective in this struggle for survival. The popularity of Daoist philosophy during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period demonstrates the tenacity of human nature, like a seed sprouting unexpectedly from a crack in a rock, inspiring awe. Unfortunately, the crack in the rock was too small to accommodate the ambitions and actions of Confucianism.

Compared with the early Han dynasty, the small state of Zhou, which had just seized power from the large state of Shang, had no ability to centralize power. At that time, Chinese and Rong people lived together and farmers migrated freely. [4] The rulers of the early Han dynasty still had to implement the Daoist principle of non-action, while the ruling class of the early Zhou dynasty could only adopt the Daoist thought of the predecessors. On the other hand, they did not have the idea and model of a two-tiered society at that time, so they had no desire for centralization and no utilitarian thought of a two-tiered society. They also had the living habits of the original society, were good at coexisting peacefully with different groups and forces, and had the magnanimity to tolerate local conflicts, so that the conflicts could not be escalated. That is, the Daoist idea of ​​natural non-action. The Book of Changes reflects the characteristics of such social life.

Fourth, the ideological system expressed in the *I Ching* is close to that of Taoism.

A fundamental difference between Confucianism and Taoism lies in the fact that the former advocates active action, while the latter advocates inaction. However, Confucianism also advocates inaction in certain special circumstances. One is when the world is governed by the Way. The *Xici* (Appended Remarks) states, “The Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun wore robes, and the world was at peace.” The *Analects* (Wei Ling Gong) records Confucius saying, “Was it not Shun who governed through inaction? What did he do? He simply sat respectfully facing south.” In this state of perfect order, where governance is achieved through inaction, Confucianism will not pursue active action. Therefore, after being ridiculed by hermits, Confucius sighed and said, “I cannot associate with birds and beasts. If I am not with these people, with whom shall I associate? When the world is governed by the Way, I will not change my ways.” (Analects 18:6, verse 6). Confucius directly states here that if the world is governed by the Way, he will do nothing. Confucianism and Taoism complement and connect with each other; Confucian inaction can transform into Taoism. Historically, there is no universally recognized school of thought called “Confucianism of inaction.” The Western Zhou Dynasty, represented by the Book of Changes, was a model for Confucius, a time when the Great Way was in operation. If Confucius had been born in that era, he would have certainly practiced non-action.

Another instance is when the world is in chaos, after the failure of the Confucian ideal of a moderately prosperous society. Confucian figures also pursued inaction, a passive and unavoidable form of non-action. Confucius said, “When the Way is not practiced, I will float on a raft on the sea” (5:7), “When the Way prevails, I will appear; when the Way does not prevail, I will hide” (8:13). Mencius also said, “The ancients, when they achieved their ambitions, bestowed blessings upon the people; when they did not achieve their ambitions, they cultivated themselves and made their virtues known to the world. In poverty, they cultivated their own virtue; in prosperity, they benefited all under heaven” (Mencius, Gaozi II). In Chinese history, once Confucian politicians retired to their homes, they converted to Taoism, using its spirit to uphold their beliefs, pursuing personal well-being, and using the highest ideal of a harmonious society to criticize society. This is similar to how modern critics use the ideal of an egalitarian society as a weapon.

Confucius wandered for fourteen years without finding suitable employment. Even after returning to China in his old age, he was still not employed and could only organize documents and teach, essentially living a life of seclusion. It was during this time that Confucius developed a fondness for the *I Ching*, which was imbued with Daoist thought, and he annotated and elaborated upon it. However, Confucius did not publicly criticize society; his mindset was close to natural non-action. This shift in Confucius’s thought is typical of later Confucian officials who retired, not an isolated case. It is also a direct result of the shared origins and mutual complementarity of Confucianism and Daoism, both arising from the aforementioned primitive social model of a superpower.

Mr. Guo Yi wrote a long discussion on the possible origins of the Ten Wings and their relationship with Confucius. Mr. Guo Yi divided Confucius’s life’s thought process into three stages: the study of rites, the study of benevolence, and the study of the Book of Changes. He believed that Confucius began to like the Book of Changes when he was fifty-six or fifty-seven years old. [9] Mr. Guo said that the Ten Wings showed that Confucius established a metaphysical system with the Book of Changes as the highest category in his later years. Mr. Guo said that “the Book of Changes has the Taiji, which gives birth to the two polarities”, thus creating heaven and earth and all things. (Pages 330 and 590 of the book) In fact, the ultimate entity of the highest category is explained more clearly in the Tuan and Tuan texts of the Qian and Kun hexagrams: “Great is the Qian Yuan, from which all things originate, and thus it governs heaven and earth. It rides the dragon to govern heaven. Great is the Kun Yuan, from which all things are born, and thus it follows the heaven. It is very clear here that the Qian Yuan and Kun Yuan created all things in the universe, but only the Qian Yuan can govern heaven and earth. Mr. Guo believed that the Tuan and Tuan texts were documents that existed before Confucius. At that time, people possessed a more primitive simplicity, with gods and humans on the same level, as Zhuangzi said: “Ghosts and gods do not interfere with human affairs.” Therefore, they could speak of the concept of “Qian Yuan” (乾元) governing the heavens. Confucius held heaven in higher esteem, and his “Appended Remarks” (系辞) only went as far as “The Book of Changes (易) is in accordance with the principles of Heaven and Earth.”

It’s not important that we call this creator of the universe “Yi” or “Qian Yuan” here. The Ten Wings of the *I Ching* propose a concept of a creator of the universe. This doctrine of Yi or Qian Yuan creating the universe is no different from the Daoist doctrine of the Dao creating the universe. We shouldn’t classify them as different doctrines just because they use different terms. The universe they create includes the natural world, the human world, and the inner world of humans, but it doesn’t include the world of artificial secondary societies, which deviate from the Dao. At that time, people didn’t have a clear understanding of artificial secondary societies and couldn’t propose a rejection of them. However, Daoism emphasizes returning to simplicity and takes ancient society as the ideal. The *I Ching* uses fragmented descriptions to depict a picture of ancient, primordial social life. The author of the *I Ching* neither criticizes the existing society nor proposes any high ideal society. The society of the early Zhou Dynasty is precisely the primordial superpower represented by the aforementioned social model. Lao Tzu said, “Man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows nature” (*Tao Te Ching*, Chapter 25). This can almost be considered a hallmark of Daoist thought. The fundamental idea of ​​the *I Ching* is to derive a natural phenomenon from the hexagrams and then apply it to the human world as a guide for human behavior, which is consistent with Lao Tzu’s words mentioned above. Such examples abound, filling the entire text of the *I Ching*. For instance, the “Image says” of each of the sixty-four hexagrams invariably begins by describing a natural phenomenon, followed by a discussion of the proper conduct of a virtuous person or other ruler. Examples include: “The movement of heaven is strong; the superior man makes himself strong and untiring”; “The nature of earth is receptive; the superior man carries the world with virtue,” and so on. The conclusion is that both texts share the same philosophical system, both being Daoist thought systems that idealize life in a primitive society, differing only in their names.

The *Book of Han, Treatise on Literature* states that Confucianism originated from the Minister of Education, who was in charge of moral education; Legalism from the Minister of Justice, who was in charge of punishments; Military Strategists from the Minister of War, who was in charge of warfare; and the School of Names from the Minister of Rites. They all governed specific matters. Only Daoism and Yin-Yang School differed; the former originated from historians, who could survey human history, while the latter originated from the official Xihe, who was in charge of astronomy and the calendar, and could observe celestial phenomena and changes in the heavens and earth. The *Book of Changes, Appended Remarks* says that Xihe created the Eight Trigrams. The combination of astronomy and divination was not accidental; it was a common practice throughout history and across cultures: astronomical changes were believed to foreshadow human fortune and misfortune. At least from the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty, China began preserving divination records, and the *Book of Changes* is a summary and crystallization of these long-term records. As a result, historians and diviners, from different perspectives, surveyed and summarized the essence of the lifestyle of human society during the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. The philosophical manifestation of this lifestyle essence was singular: Daoism, not Confucianism.

Western philosophy, built upon pure logical reasoning, differs from the Confucian and Taoist philosophical systems of the unity of heaven and humanity. The latter, in essence, is a philosophy of life, representing a way of life. Zhuangzi believed: “Man and Heaven are one.” “Man is Heaven; Heaven is also Heaven.” Therefore, the Taoist unity of heaven and humanity is grounded in Heaven, with man being part of nature. Mencius said, “Knowing one’s nature, one knows Heaven. Preserving one’s heart and nourishing one’s nature is how one serves Heaven.” (Mencius, Jin Xin Shang) He also said, “That which does without being done is Heaven.” (Mencius, Wan Zhang Shang) The Confucian unity of heaven and humanity is grounded in man; Confucian Heaven is a cultural construct, a man-made concept. The *I Ching* uses 226 characters for “Heaven,” with the Qian and Kun hexagrams representing Heaven and Earth. The meaning of “Heaven” is broad. Generally speaking, in the *I Ching*, Heaven represents the external world, including the natural and human world, but not the level of human moral ideals, unless human moral ideals are part of Heaven, i.e.: “The great man is one whose virtue is in harmony with Heaven and Earth.” Therefore, the concept of the unity of Heaven and humanity in the *I Ching* is similar to that of Taoism. Humans should emulate Heaven, understanding Heaven to understand humanity; that is, humanity is part of nature. The *I Ching* uses sixty-four hexagrams to represent all things in the natural and human world. Due to divination purposes, these sixty-four hexagrams are also applied to human life, representing another layer of the unity of Heaven and humanity. This kind of life is derived from natural phenomena and returns to nature; that is, “The great man is one whose virtue is in harmony with Heaven and Earth.”

Both Mencius’s philosophy of mind and the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties possess the characteristics of different ideological systems within a secondary society. They can only represent the ideal pursuits of a segment of that society and cannot encompass the entire nation and society. The idea of ​​using human concepts, mind or reason, as the highest essence to summarize all things in the universe is fundamentally different from the Daoist Dao, which is external to humanity. Both Mencius’s philosophy of mind and the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties have a religious function within the secondary society: using ideal pursuits that transcend reality to alleviate the spiritual suffering caused by the secondary society—the so-called opium effect of religion. Zhuangzi lived in the Warring States period, when the secondary society had already been established. He dealt with the surrounding secondary society through detached fantasies and a reclusive life, representing a broad aesthetic pursuit, which differs from the opium effect of religion. According to Mr. Guo Yi’s research, Confucius was fond of the *I Ching* in his later years, achieving a success rate of 70 out of 100 divinations. The *Appended Remarks* also mentions appreciating the *I Ching*. Confucius’s appreciation of the *I Ching* is close to artistic appreciation, representing Zhuangzi’s aesthetic pursuit, rather than the religious anesthesia of Mencius’s philosophy of mind and the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties.

V. A Glimpse into the Social Life of the Primitive Zhou Dynasty’s Super-Large Domestic Community from the Perspective of the *I Ching*: Internal Conflicts

A common misconception is that Confucianism advocates a strict hierarchical system, representing a perfectly orderly society. In the early societies of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, which were essentially superpowers, much like the world today under the United Nations, small conflicts were constant. Only when these conflicts escalated to major disruptions affecting the entire society did pioneering Confucian figures emerge to advocate for order through morality and hierarchy. The *I Ching* reveals many descriptions that disrespect this Confucian system of ritual and hierarchy, indicating that the stabilizing force in early societies was human nature, and the Confucian ritual and hierarchy system was merely a supplementary force, only necessary to be emphasized during times of social chaos.

The original text of the Book of Changes is a work from the early Zhou Dynasty, while the Ten Wings, although written by later generations, mainly interpret the original text. Therefore, the Book of Changes provides us with a reliable way to understand the social life of early Zhou China, and it presents a picture of life in the original society.

Humans descended from apes, who, like humans, were social animals. Their societies, like prehistoric human societies, were primitive societies. Scientists have shown that apes spent most of their time acting independently, but even when acting alone, they remained close to other apes, maintaining a deep-seated social cohesion, much like early human societies. People in primitive societies lacked a unified goal at a secondary social level and lacked cooperative norms and discipline. The hexagram “Sun” (损) in the I Ching states, “When three people walk together, one will be lost; when one person walks alone, the opposite will be achieved.” This means that even three people traveling together for a short distance struggle to reach a consensus, leading to a split along the way. When walking alone, one feels the deep-seated cohesion of primitive society, constantly thinking of others and hoping for companionship. Modern human marriages are between two people, and homosexual relationships are also limited to two; relationships involving three people are many times more complex and difficult to maintain. However, three people traveling together for a short distance, or even running the same company, would not pose a problem for people today because we are accustomed to the behavioral norms of secondary societies.

The ninth line of the Kui hexagram says: “Kui is alone. He sees a pig carrying mud and a cart full of ghosts. He first draws his bow and then puts it away. It is not a bandit but a wedding procession. If it rains, it will be auspicious.” The gist is that a person is walking and encounters a cart full of people dressed as ghosts. He is afraid and quickly draws his bow and puts it away, because they are not bandits but a wedding procession. If it rains, it will be auspicious, because the rain will wash away the people’s decorations and they will not be as scary as ghosts. Putting aside the fact that this custom of dressing up as ghosts to welcome a bride is rarely recorded elsewhere, this story is consistent with the social situation in the early Zhou Dynasty. According to Wang Yuzhe’s research, from the Three Dynasties to the Spring and Autumn Period, the Huaxia people, as Chinese, were scattered in various places, with various ethnic minorities mixed in. [4] In such a situation, it was not safe to go far from the settlement, so a person would carry a bow and arrow. However, the violent conflicts in the original society, which was a super country, were small-scale, so one person carrying a bow and arrow was enough.

Ancient Chinese superpowers were similar to the modern United Nations, functioning as peacekeepers but unable to completely eliminate small-scale conflicts. They merely kept these conflicts at the level of isolated incidents, preventing escalation. The Cold War era after World War II can be compared to the rebellion of Guan and Cai in the early Zhou Dynasty. The *I Ching* contains no mention of this three-year-long Eastern Expedition of the Duke of Zhou. While the *I Ching* frequently mentions warfare—nearly twenty times—this does not imply frequent warfare, but rather that warfare was a primary image in people’s minds during divination. The wars mentioned in the *I Ching* are all isolated events, without any escalation requiring the alliance of various states. Many instances simply use the two characters “**征 (zheng), 吉 (ji)** or “**征 (zheng), 凶 (xiong)**. The sixth line of the *Shi* hexagram mentions, “**師 (shi) or 輩尸 (yu shi), 凶 (xiong)**.” Bringing back corpses from battle is considered unlucky, suggesting limited conflict. Violent conflicts between prehistoric societies, like conflicts between animals of the same species, were often conducted according to fixed rituals and rarely resulted in casualties. In ancient Greece, cremation was a method used when there were too many corpses to transport back to their original locations. Qu Yuan’s condemnation of post-war corpses left to rot in the wilderness, where the number of bodies was so great that they could not be buried, represents the scale of a secondary social war. The sixth line of the Fu hexagram mentions a defeat due to getting lost, followed by a ten-year hiatus from war. The third line of the Zhong Fu hexagram states, “Upon encountering the enemy, some beat drums, some retreat, some weep, some sing.” Only wars in primitive societies would produce such chaotic scenes, and only people in primitive societies could record such chaotic warfare without judgment. The first hexagram of the I Ching says, “The first to emerge among all things, all nations are at peace,” indicating that only such a unified situation could produce wars where weeping and singing coexist. Chapter 69 of the Tao Te Ching says that when two armies face each other, one should “bow without arms, hold without weapons,” meaning neither carrying weapons nor rolling up sleeves, showing no intention of fighting. The Book of Changes and the Tao Te Ching both discuss wars of the same era, which is very rare in both world and Chinese history.

We can insert Confucius’s personal actions as evidence here. Confucius dedicated his life to restoring the ritual and music system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, advocating “the ruler should act as a ruler, the minister as a minister, the father as a father, and the son as a son,” but he did not realize his ideals through the official power center, the Zhou Dynasty. When the ministers of the various states rebelled and invited Confucius, he said, “Those who summon me, are they doing so for no reason? If someone would employ me, I would restore the Eastern Zhou!” (17:5). Confucius clearly wanted to emulate the revolution of Tang and Wu, which is no different from contemporary Western democracy allowing open political parties to replace the existing regime. The *Records of the Grand Historian: The Hereditary House of Confucius* records that, dissatisfied with the actions of Ji Kangzi and others, Confucius, as a high-ranking official of Lu, left without saying goodbye. Ji Kangzi had to send someone to inquire about the reason for Confucius’s displeasure under the guise of seeing him off. Confucius traveled through various states with his students for fourteen years without finding a suitable position, yet he was still able to return to Lu and be respected. This also reflects the high degree of individual freedom and the underdeveloped social power structure at that time. The economic level at the time was very low, yet Confucius and his companions had no problems with food and lodging for fourteen years. For example, when Duke Ling of Wei met them, he said he would maintain Confucius’s treatment in Lu. Duke Ling was merely fulfilling his duties as host; he had no intention of employing Confucius. He was simply providing food and lodging for free, demonstrating that people’s freedom of movement at that time was economically guaranteed. Using modern Western democratic analogy, it’s like a government providing food and lodging to its electors.

All sixty-four hexagrams in the *I Ching* are addressed to the ruling class, including gentlemen, kings, queens, superiors, and high-ranking officials; not a single hexagram is for the sake of the state or society. This reflects the lack of a secondary social hierarchy in early society, where even kings and feudal lords considered their own interests. In the early superpower-like society of ancient China, power was balanced at each level, with no absolute power. While the interests of a feudal lord were connected to those of the people within his territory, the people had the freedom to migrate to other states. Therefore, feudal lords could view their people from the perspective of personal gain. For example, the commentary on the hexagram *Gu* says, “There is wind beneath the mountain, *Gu*. The superior man, in this way, rouses the people and cultivates virtue.” *Gu* means trouble or misfortune. While the superior man’s rousing the people and cultivating virtue seems to consider the people and morality, its purpose is to avoid personal misfortune. The *Zhuangzi: The Way of Heaven* records that Confucius, upon meeting Laozi, said, “Universal love and selflessness are the essence of benevolence and righteousness.” Laozi replied, “…” ° Selflessness is, in fact, selfishness. ¡ ± The era of the Book of Changes was one before the distinction between public and private interests had emerged, thus it accommodated feudal lords and rulers who considered matters from a personal perspective.

VI. A Glimpse into the Social Life of the Primitive Zhou Dynasty’s Super-Large Domestic Community Through the Perspective of the *I Ching*: Equal Society and Anarchism

Lao Tzu said, “When Heaven and Earth unite, sweet dew falls; the people are not commanded, yet it is distributed evenly.” (Tao Te Ching, Chapter 32) Confucius said, “With equality, there is no poverty,” meaning that people are not worried about poverty but about inequality. (16:1) During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the Han Chinese and ethnic minorities lived together, with vast wastelands and farmers migrating freely. Anthropological research concludes that a society where people cannot control land and other means of production can only be an egalitarian society. Therefore, the words of Lao Tzu and Confucius were spoken in response to the specific economic and geographical conditions of these three dynasties.

The aforementioned ideas of a egalitarian society were only occasionally mentioned by Lao Tzu and Confucius, but they are indeed ubiquitous in the short text of the *I Ching*. In the late Spring and Autumn period, although the foundations of an egalitarian society still existed, class distinctions had already become widespread. Lao Tzu and Confucius, with their preference for the past over the present, thus idealized the egalitarian society of antiquity. In the early Zhou dynasty, during the era of the *I Ching*, an egalitarian society was prevalent; it was a social reality, a part of life’s tapestry, and did not require the deliberate promotion of it by Lao Tzu and Confucius.

The ideas of social equality from Lao Tzu and Confucius are evident throughout the *I Ching*. For example: “Benefiting the lower and benefiting the higher, the people rejoice without bounds; from top to bottom, the Way shines brightly” (Hexagram 42); “Benefiting the lowly with the noble, one greatly gains the people’s favor” (Hexagram 3); “The superior, by enriching the inferior, secures the home” (Hexagram 23); “The superior man, by reducing the abundance, benefits the scarcity, distributing things fairly” (Hexagram 15). These all refer to Lao Tzu’s “Way of Heaven.” Lao Tzu said, “The Way of Heaven is like stretching a bow. It lowers the high and raises the low; it diminishes the surplus and supplements the deficiency. The Way of Heaven diminishes the surplus and supplements the deficiency. The Way of Man is not so; it diminishes the deficiency to serve the surplus. Who can have surplus to serve the world? Only the one who possesses the Way.” (*Tao Te Ching*, Chapter 77). Lao Tzu’s Way of diminishing the deficiency to serve the surplus was not yet fully developed in the *I Ching* era.

Modern readers of the *Analects* perceive Confucius’s world as a male-dominated one, devoid of a place for women. This explains the condemnation from his disciples when he met Nanzi, a powerful female figure. While Taoism may not necessarily advocate gender equality, it emphasizes a return to simplicity and authenticity, which women are closer to because they are less influenced by civilization. The *I Ching*, however, displays ideas of gender equality, a valuable perspective in a context where men have dominated Chinese history for millennia. The *Da Guo* hexagram mentions an old man marrying a young wife, followed immediately by: “An old woman marrying a young husband, without blame or praise.” The author’s thinking resembles that of modern feminists; given the term “chairman,” they immediately create “chairwoman” to correspond with it. The *I Ching* author clearly felt that simply mentioning an old man and a young wife lacked balance; the use of “old woman and young husband” aligns with the reality of gender equality. The *Jia Ren* hexagram states: “The woman is in the inner position, the man is in the outer position.” In ancient times, marital relationships lacked the legal guarantees of modern times, allowing for relative freedom. This resulted in close relationships between children and their mothers. While men and women were equal in early ancient societies, the elderly grandmother may have served as the social cohesive unit, while interactions with other clans were primarily handled by men. This reflects the traditional concept of “woman in the inner circle, man in the outer circle.” The 44th hexagram states, “A strong woman, do not marry her,” implying that men had the freedom not to marry strong women, further demonstrating gender equality. Nanzi of Wei was a powerful and influential strong woman; Confucius, clearly lacking the freedom not to marry her, was forced to meet her.

The sixth line of the Kun hexagram says, “Dragons fight in the wild, their blood is black and yellow.” The commentary explains, “Their path has reached its end,” meaning that the endless war between the incredibly powerful dragons has reached its limit. The first hexagram of the *I Ching* uses the number nine to say, “A group of dragons without a head, auspicious.” The commentary says, “Heavenly virtue cannot be a leader.” If we say that wars throughout human history have primarily been men’s affairs, wars before the emergence of states were small-scale, as discussed in the previous section, while wars after the emergence of states escalated continuously, like the wars of the Warring States period. It is better for the dragons and heavenly virtue of men to be without a leader; the appearance of a leader signifies their impending doom and endless bloodshed. The war scenes mentioned above, “sometimes drumming, sometimes ceasing, sometimes weeping, sometimes singing,” represent a group of dragons without a leader; such wars will not escalate to “their blood is black and yellow.”

The social landscape depicted in the *I Ching* is one of widespread chaos and leaderlessness, reflecting the ideal state of anarchy in early Daoist society. As mentioned above, Wittfogel argued, a dictatorial ruler capable of enslaving members of a rural commune must possess an economic foundation to grant him this power. The lack of this economic foundation leads to egalitarianism and a lack of leadership. The ninth line of the *Bo* hexagram states, “The large fruit is not eaten; the superior man obtains the carriage; the inferior man strips away his possessions.” This means that when a superior man obtains a carriage, the inferior man takes away his possessions, resulting in the larger the fruit, the less he can eat it. This violent act of the inferior man forcibly seizing the property of the wealthy and powerful must be vigorously stopped in a highly class-divided society to prevent a cascading effect, where the flow becomes uncontrollable. The *I Ching* makes no judgment on this behavior: the *I Ching* era possessed a social stability that could accommodate such violence, reflecting the natural human nature under conditions of total anarchy. The *I Ching* also shows resistance to the concentration of power, as stated in the third line of the *Dui* hexagram, “Coming to Dui, misfortune.” The original meaning is that you feel joy when people come to you, but also when it is ominous. The fourth line of the hexagram Huan (涣) says, “The people around you are scattered, great fortune!” Here, “scattered” does not refer to others, but to the diviner himself, because the fifth line of this hexagram uses “scattered,” such as “scattered in his body” and “scattered in his blood,” both referring to the diviner. “The people around you are scattered, great fortune!” means that it is best if those around you are scattered and disorganized.

The eleventh and twelfth hexagrams are Tai and Pi, representing success and failure respectively. Their images are composed of Heaven and Earth; Heaven above Earth is considered a barrier, while Earth below Heaven is considered a path to success. Therefore, the change of position between Heaven and Earth is seen as auspicious. This illustrates that in the social model listed in the second section, although the emperor and feudal lords held high positions, they possessed little real power. Their power stemmed from following the natural way, conforming to human nature, and like the chieftains of primitive societies, constantly flattering their subordinates. The sixth line of the Lin hexagram says, “Approaching with reluctance, there is no benefit. Having felt guilty, there is no blame.” “Approaching” refers to the ruling class, such as feudal lords, personally inspecting the lower classes. They were forced to say insincere flattering words to appease their subordinates. Knowing that such flattery was pointless, they felt guilty, and thus no harm was done. These words vividly depict the lack of absolute authority in the social model.

The sixth hexagram in the *I Ching* is the *Song* hexagram, which represents the existence of a government. However, a government that is merely a figurehead can be embroiled in numerous lawsuits, much like the United Nations today. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Soviet Union complained to the UN, demanding the return of its UN seat from Taiwan. This resulted in a quagmire of anarchism within the UN, with endless arguments. Because the Soviet Union considered the opposing side’s complaints unreasonable, it deliberately withdrew from these seemingly pointless meetings as a form of protest. The United States and others immediately shifted their focus to South Korea’s complaint, reaching a UN resolution to send troops to Korea, thus bypassing the Soviet veto. The litigation depicted in the *I Ching* is quite similar to how the UN handles litigation today; whether the litigation itself is justifiable is irrelevant to upholding justice, and its success depends entirely on chance. The *I Ching* hexagram *Song* doesn’t mention the reasons or nature of the litigation itself, but instead says, “There is sincerity, but caution is necessary; the middle is auspicious, but the end is inauspicious.” The first line of the hexagram says, “Not lasting in this matter, minor disputes, but ultimately auspicious.” All these words suggest that the lawsuit will be protracted and the outcome uncertain, meaning that the litigant’s judgment is worthless. The commentary on the second line of the hexagram says, “From below to above, trouble will surely follow.” This is the author’s deduction based on the text, suggesting that the lower-level accusation against the higher-level is likely related to the escape of the three hundred households of the subordinate town—the lower-level accusation directly led to the town’s escape. Generally, after the establishment of centralized power in the Qin and Han dynasties, it was almost impossible for a lower-level person to accuse a higher-level person without the oversight of the supervisory organs, and the defendant’s superior would never resort to direct confrontation: instigating the town’s escape. It’s conceivable that the town’s escape was within the plaintiff’s expectations, hence, “No great calamity.” In short, the lawsuit here is unrelated to right or wrong, but rather to the balance and confrontation of social power. Therefore, the commentary on the ninth line of the hexagram says, “To be subdued through litigation is not worthy of respect.” Only when the lawsuit is unrelated to right or wrong is winning not worthy of respect. The record of 300 households of villagers fleeing is direct evidence of the free migration ability of farmers in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

VII. A Glimpse into the Social Life of the Primitive Zhou Dynasty’s Super-Large Domestic Community from the Perspective of the Book of Changes: Lacking a Unified Ideological System Apart from Following the Way of Nature

The Book of Changes includes divination records from the early Zhou Dynasty and writings by scholars from the Warring States period. Given this vast span, some of its statements may resemble Confucian thought, but this article focuses on an overall analysis of its ideas.

The previous section mentioned that litigation is unrelated to right and wrong, so even a victory is not something to be proud of. This illustrates that a system of thought external to human beings had not yet been established at that time, and there was no concept of objective truth in litigation; that is, there was no objective standard for who was right and who was wrong, nor was there a state-recognized legal procedure to make a decision, as was the case with the death sentence of Socrates in ancient Greece. The pillar of the early society was human nature itself, and everything was based on emotion and intuition. There was neither social power nor absolute divine authority, which is what Zhuangzi meant by “ghosts and gods do not interfere with human affairs.” Here, we remind the reader that emotion and intuition would lead to a consensus in the early society regarding those who commit murder without cause, but this is not an example. This article first points out that the *I Ching* lacks the necessary concepts of right and wrong, and then argues that the *I Ching* does not contain the core concepts of Confucianism such as benevolence, righteousness, and propriety.

The second hexagram, Kun, says: “The superior man, when he goes forth, will first be lost, but later finds his lord. It is advantageous to travel southwest, gaining friends; to travel northeast, losing friends. Ultimately, peace and perseverance bring good fortune.” (Translation: The superior man, when he goes forth, will first be lost, but later finds his ideal lord. Traveling southwest is advantageous, gaining friends; traveling northeast, losing friends. Ultimately, peace and perseverance bring good fortune.) These words reflect the personal journey of the mind, that is, viewing things from the perspective of personal psychological feelings, interpreting human experience—the starting point of early Daoist thought. This runs throughout the entire *I Ching*. Although it occasionally uses terms like benevolence, righteousness, and virtue, it does not exceed the scope of personal psychological journey in using these terms. These terms in the book lack the conceptual color of transcending emotion.

The sixth line of the Yi hexagram says, “The tiger is watching intently, its desires are rampant, but there is no blame.” The sixth line of the fifteenth hexagram says, “It is not good to enrich one’s neighbor, but it is advantageous to invade and attack, and there is no disadvantage.” One version of the interpretation is: Taking advantage of the neighbor’s lack of vigilance, one can attack the neighbor and there is no disadvantage. [10] Excluding the ten wings, the Book of Changes has only more than 4,900 characters, but it uses one word for war, four words for attack, and 19 words for expedition. Among the 19 words for expedition, 10 are ominous and 5 are auspicious. According to the Image Commentary, 53 of the 64 hexagrams are for the gentleman, that is, for the gentleman to divine, and the gentleman includes officials at the level of the feudal lords. Therefore, the initiators of these wars were mainly feudal states, and the targets of the wars were other feudal states, including ethnic minorities living together. From the above-mentioned “The tiger is watching intently, its desires are rampant,” it can be seen that most of these proactive wars against neighboring states were unjust wars, with the aim of plundering neighboring states. Such plunder could be the plunder of a rich nation by a poor nation, and even so, it is still an unjust war. The Ten Wings made no criticism of these wars, but regarding the “petty man stripping the lu,” they said, “It is ultimately unusable.” Logically, after the petty man stripped the lu, he moved in, and it’s possible that several petty men lived together, thus expanding the lu’s utility. Saying “It is ultimately unusable” is actually a criticism of the petty man. That is: those who steal hooks die, those who steal states become kings. Like Legalism, Confucianism was overly proactive in regulating individual behavior and insufficient in regulating the behavior of states, leading to the anarchy of international relations during the Warring States period. It needs to be emphasized that the anarchy of the Warring States period meant the absence of any restrictions on social power, which is fundamentally different from the lack of governmental legal restrictions on individuals in earlier societies.

The original text of the *I Ching*, excluding the Ten Wings, uses four instances of the character “Dao” and five instances of “De,” but none of the characters for “Ren,” “Yi,” or “Li.” If “Dao” and “De” are terms from Daoist philosophy, while “Ren,” “Yi,” and “Li” are Confucian terms, the differences are statistically significant. In the original *I Ching*, “Dao” refers to a road, while “De” carries the connotation of morality. Since the Ten Wings refrain from criticizing the *I Ching*’s unjust conquests, they wouldn’t make any substantial changes to the original text’s emphasis on morality without mentioning “Ren,” “Yi,” and “Li,” thus directly conflicting with Confucian thought.

The *Shuogua* (Explanation of the Trigrams) records, “In ancient times, the sages created the *Yi* (Book of Changes) to accord with the principles of nature and destiny. Therefore, they established the way of Heaven, which is Yin and Yang; the way of Earth, which is softness and strength; and the way of Man, which is benevolence and righteousness. Combining the three powers (Heaven, Earth, and Man) and doubling them, the *Yi* is formed by six lines. Dividing Yin and Yang, alternating between softness and strength, (and considering benevolence and righteousness), the *Yi* is formed by six positions.” The phrases “combining the three powers and doubling them” and “the *Yi* is formed by six positions” clearly refer to Yin and Yang, softness and strength, and benevolence and righteousness. The original author deliberately omitted benevolence and righteousness. I added “considering benevolence and righteousness” in parentheses in the above quote to highlight the original author’s intentional oversight. The author of this article speculates that the Yin and Yang of Heaven and the softness and strength of Earth are represented by the Qian and Kun trigrams respectively, but benevolence and righteousness are not represented in the sixty-four hexagrams. The author of the *Shuogua* dared not openly tamper with the original text and thus deliberately made this oversight.

The Confucian concept of benevolence (仁) is simply a part of human nature and nothing special. Nevertheless, the *Xici* (系辞) offers an explanation of benevolence and righteousness, but this explanation differs significantly from the concepts of benevolence and righteousness held by Confucius and Mencius. The *Xici* states, “The greatest virtue of Heaven and Earth is life; the greatest treasure of the sage is position. How does one maintain this position? Through benevolence. How does one gather people? Through wealth. Managing wealth, rectifying speech, and prohibiting people from wrongdoing are called righteousness.” Here, benevolence is described as the sage’s method of preserving his position; more specifically, it’s managing wealth to gather people, that is, putting benevolence into practice through material possessions—precisely what Confucius and Mencius despised as “the petty man’s greed.” As for righteousness, the author of the *Xici* proposes three standards: managing wealth, rectifying speech, and prohibiting people from wrongdoing. This kind of righteousness is no different from the Legalist doctrine, merely labeled as such. While Xunzi considered both righteousness and profit, he advocated prioritizing righteousness over profit, placing righteousness as the primary principle. The author of the *Xici* clearly differs from Xunzi, directly advocating replacing righteousness with profit. However, in the early Zhou Dynasty, there was no absolute authority. Substituting profit for righteousness was merely a way for the powerless ruling class to please their subordinates. Righteousness was inherent in this, unlike the Legalists who used profit to organize society during the Warring States period.

Chapter 38 of the *Tao Te Ching* states, “After losing the Tao, there comes virtue; after losing virtue, there comes benevolence; after losing benevolence, there comes righteousness; after losing righteousness, there comes propriety.” As mentioned above, the original text of the *I Ching* contains the words “Tao” and “virtue,” but not “benevolence,” “righteousness,” or “propriety.” This indicates that the *I Ching* lived in an era before the loss of virtue and before the distinction between righteousness and profit was established, allowing profit to substitute for righteousness. The blurring of public and private interests, and the indiscriminate distinction between righteousness and profit, can only exist within the framework of Taoist thought.

8. The image of the gentleman in the Book of Changes does not reflect Confucian thought.

After removing all the text from the Ten Wings, the *I Ching* contains over four thousand characters, with the character “王” (king) appearing 19 times and “君子” (gentleman) appearing 20 times. In the early Zhou Dynasty, “君子” was a title for rulers other than the king, indicating that the *I Ching* primarily served the king, and secondarily other rulers such as feudal lords. It is said that Confucius and others were the first to associate the term “君子” with morality, meaning that even virtuous commoners could be called “君子.” In the current version with the Ten Wings added, the character “王” appears 47 times, and “君子” appears 122 times. The *Xiang Ci* (Image Commentaries) of the sixty-four hexagrams seem to have been written for the divination subjects. Among them, 53 hexagrams are for “君子,” seven for “先王” (former kings), two for “后王” (later kings), one for “上王” (upper king), and one for “大人” (great man). This directly illustrates the popularity of the image of the “君子” associated with morality and the rise in the status of the “君子.” It can be understood that the *Xiang Ci* are less judgments obtained through divination and more admonitions and requirements regarding the morality and behavior of the “君子.” Reading all fifty-three *Xiang Ci* together undoubtedly presents a more complete image of the “君子.” Unfortunately, this image of the gentleman in the Book of Changes is far inferior to the images of the gentleman depicted by Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi.

If Confucius sanctified the gentleman’s character, Confucius and his students mainly used the sanctified gentleman’s character to demand of themselves, which meant being strict with themselves, and did not separate themselves from others. Here we can say that Confucius artisticized the image of the gentleman, and this image itself became a value independent of politics and society. For example, “When you see profit, think of righteousness; when you see danger, accept the mission.” “How can a gentleman gain fame if he abandons benevolence?” “Be calm and not arrogant.” “Be slow to speak but quick to act.” “A gentleman is sociable but not partisan.” “Be refined and courteous, then you are a gentleman.” Such a gentleman is an infinitely beautiful image of personality. [11]

Mencius infinitely elevated the self-image of the gentleman and Confucian scholars, making them radiant and shining through the ages. If Mencius also spoke of equality, it could only be a gift from sages and kings, as expressed in the saying, “Where a gentleman goes, he transforms; where he dwells, he becomes divine. He flows with heaven and earth; how can this be considered a small contribution?” (Mencius, Book 7, Part 1). In other words, when a gentleman walks the earth, the surrounding villagers are immediately transformed into people who are in communion with the divine. A petty person walking the streets ten thousand times would not have a similar effect. Such a gentleman possesses supernatural abilities, almost like a god. This reflects Mencius’s adaptation to the social requirement of a super idol in a secondary society. We can also say that Mencius religiously idealized the image of the gentleman, representing a transcendent pursuit in a secondary society; the gentleman is a glorious and lofty figure.

Xunzi represented Confucian scholars who compromised with the secondary society, therefore he emphasized that a gentleman should respect the king and abide by the law, and overcome selfish desires with public righteousness. He said, “A gentleman is cautious in seeking profit, avoids harm early, fears humiliation, and is courageous in practicing reason. A gentleman is poor yet has broad aspirations, rich yet remains respectful, at ease yet his energy is not sluggish, weary yet his appearance is not withered, his anger does not exceed taking away, and his joy does not exceed giving away. A gentleman is poor yet has broad aspirations, which is to uphold benevolence; rich yet remains respectful, which is to resist power; at ease yet his energy is not sluggish, which is to be reasonable; weary yet his appearance is not withered, which is to be sociable; his anger does not exceed taking away, and his joy does not exceed giving away—this is how the law overcomes selfishness. The Book of Documents says: ‘Do not do good, but follow the king’s way. Do not do evil, but follow the king’s path.’ This speaks of how a gentleman can overcome selfish desires with public righteousness.” (Xunzi: Self-Cultivation)

The image of the gentleman in the Book of Changes lacks the noble spirit of Mencius, the benevolence and righteousness of Confucius, and is far from respecting the king and abiding by the law. The pillar of the early society was human nature. People were guided by their feelings and intuition. Although everything started from the individual, there was a strong emotional and psychological connection between the individual and those around them, and they would not go too far astray.

The followers of Xihe observed the changes in heaven and earth to predict good and bad fortune for virtuous men, but they also provided ways to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune, representing a kind of admonition to virtuous men. This may involve morality, but this morality is merely a means to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune, occupying a subordinate position. Therefore, the main behavior of virtuous men in the *I Ching* revolves around avoiding misfortune and seeking good fortune; it does not emphasize benevolence, righteousness, morality, or a righteous spirit, nor does it consider the law or public/private matters. The *Shuogua* section of the Ten Wings lists the symbolic things of different hexagrams. For example, the Li hexagram is recorded as: “Li represents fire, the sun, lightning, a middle-aged woman, armor, and weapons. In humans, it represents a large belly, the Qian hexagram, a turtle, a clam, and a tortoise. In wood, it represents withered branches and a female ox.” Of the fourteen things listed here, only the middle-aged woman and the large belly are directly related to humans; armor, weapons, and the Qian hexagram are man-made; the rest are all natural things, none of which involve the human inner world or moral consciousness. For example, the commentaries on the hexagrams in the Sixty-Four Hexagrams interpret the hexagrams as different natural phenomena, and then admonish the superior man of proper conduct, such as the hexagram “Fellow Man”: “The image says: Heaven and fire, Fellow Man. The superior man distinguishes things by their categories.” The commentary on the first hexagram of the *I Ching*, “The movement of heaven is strong; the superior man strives unceasingly,” has always been praised and considered a Confucian ideal, contrary to the Daoist principle of non-action. In fact, this is the best interpretation of the Daoist principle of emulating nature. The sun and moon move unceasingly in the heavens, and the seasons alternate; the superior man should also emulate this, striving unceasingly. If the superior man’s self-strengthening were as cyclical as the sun, moon, and seasons, the result would be the Daoist principle of non-action: remaining stagnant. As will be explained below, this is precisely the original social life reflected in the *I Ching*.

Among the Ten Wings, the *Xici* and *Shuogua* are longer, giving Confucian authors the opportunity to elaborate on their own doctrines. Judging from their content, the authors of the *Xici* and *Shuogua* were not only limited by the original Daoist thought of the *I Ching*, preventing them from fully promoting Confucianism, but they were also simultaneously influenced by Daoist thought within the *I Ching*. Just as later scholars believed in Confucianism while in office but converted to Daoism after retiring, the Confucian scholars who wrote the *Xici* and *Shuogua* subtly converted to Daoism while studying the *I Ching*. This clearly demonstrates the complementary and interconnected nature of Confucian and Daoist thought in the pre-Qin period.

Dao is the highest concept in Daoism, while Ren and Yi are the core concepts in Confucianism. We can deduce that Daoist texts use the character “Dao” more frequently, while Confucian texts use “Ren” and “Yi” more often. The author statistically analyzed the frequency of these characters in the *Analects*, *Xunzi*, *Laozi*, and *Zhuangzi*, which aligns with this estimate: the frequency of “Ren” and “Yi” is higher in the former than in the latter; conversely, the frequency of “Dao” is higher in the latter than in “Ren” and “Yi.” The *I Ching*, including the Ten Wings, contains over 20,000 characters, and its character frequency is similar to that of Daoist texts but different from that of Confucian texts. The frequency ratios of “Dao” to “Ren” plus “Yi” in the five books—*Analects*, *Xunzi*, *I Ching*, *Laozi*, and *Zhuangzi*—are 0.508, 0.679, 2.07, 5.85, and 1.49, respectively.

The *Xici* (Appended Remarks) states, “Therefore, what the superior man finds peace and comfort in is the order of the *I Ching*. What he delights in and contemplates are the words of the hexagrams. Therefore, when the superior man is at rest, he observes its images and contemplates its words; when he is in motion, he observes its changes and contemplates its divinations.” In just a few sentences, the word “contemplate” is used three times and “delight” is used, sufficiently depicting the superior man’s mindset of repeatedly studying and contemplating the *I Ching*. Legend has it that Confucius, in his old age, loved the *I Ching* so much that the leather thongs binding his robes broke three times, and he correctly predicted seventy out of a hundred divinations, similarly demonstrating Confucius’s leisurely state of mind in his later years, finding pleasure in reading the *I Ching*.

The Book of Songs (Shijing) is a Confucian classic, and reading it inevitably evokes emotions conveyed in the poems. Poetry with a Daoist, leisurely style, such as Tao Yuanming’s pastoral poems, had not yet emerged, and other works of art for appreciation and contemplation were extremely rare. Confucian scholars of that time found pleasure in reading the Book of Changes (Yijing). The emotions conveyed by the Book of Changes are balanced, best represented by the word “tranquility.”

The *Xici* (Appended Remarks) quotes Confucius as saying: “The superior man secures his own body before acting, calms his mind before speaking, and establishes his relationships before seeking anything. The superior man cultivates these three things, and thus he is complete.” This is strikingly similar to Zhuangzi’s philosophy of preserving the body and spirit, and directly contradicts the Confucian ideal of compassion and salvation. Confucius and Mencius, throughout their lives of constant striving, when would they ever think of securing their own bodies before acting? On the contrary, they advocated sacrificing oneself for righteousness and upholding justice. Confucius continues in the *Xici*: “If one acts in danger, the people will not support him.” Consider Confucius’s experiences of running out of food in Chen and Cai, being besieged in Kuang, and being threatened with having trees cut down in Song; his disciples did not “not support him” but fled. How many of Confucius’s sayings in the *Analects* are based on “calming one’s mind before speaking”? For example, “If the Way is not practiced, I will take a raft and float on the sea”—how resolute that statement is! (5:7) When Confucius met Nanzi in the State of Wei, it was out of necessity due to circumstances. Zilu was unhappy, and Confucius swore, “May Heaven punish me for what I have said! May Heaven punish me!” Practitioners of Confucianism and Mencius’ teachings were emotionally invested, unlike later Taoists who would speak only after achieving a state of self-forgetfulness and meditation. Forgetting the clamor of the world and restoring humanity’s original peaceful state of mind through prayer and meditation is a common method used in religions to understand the will of the Tao, gods, or Buddhas. The *I Ching* is no exception; one must “change one’s heart” before speaking.

The *Xici* (Appended Remarks) says, “The alternation of yin and yang is called the Way; that which continues it is goodness; that which completes it is nature. The benevolent see it and call it benevolence; the wise see it and call it wisdom; but the common people use it daily without knowing it; therefore, the Way of the superior man is rare!” This Way, as described here, is the Daoist Way, existing within all things, the basis for their existence and operation, causing all things to exhibit their inherent nature—the wisdom of the wise, the benevolence of the benevolent, but the common people use it daily without knowing it. The universe and all things operate naturally, including humanity; what need is there for the Way of the superior man? Therefore, the Way of the superior man is rare! This Way is far removed from the Confucian Way, which represents universal harmony under the rule of a sage-king. Therefore, Confucius said, “If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening.” (4:8)

In contrast to the strict hierarchical system advocated by Confucianism—”the ruler should act like a ruler, the minister like a minister, the father like a father, and the son like a son”—the *I Ching* of the early Zhou Dynasty embraced more egalitarian ideas. The eighteenth hexagram is the *Gu* hexagram, which means “to rectify disorder.” Of the six lines in this hexagram, four are about rectifying the father’s disorder, one is about rectifying the mother’s disorder, and the last line says, “Not serving kings and nobles, yet upholding high principles,” and “Not serving kings and nobles, yet having a virtuous will.” Among the pre-Qin philosophers, only Laozi and Zhuangzi disregarded all authority, acting independently, which is why Laozi is revered by Western scholars as the founder of anarchism. This hexagram precisely embodies this anarchist thought of primordial society.

People in primitive societies could also have abstract thinking and moral concepts, but their moral concepts were based on human nature—that is, human emotions and intuition—without the backing of law. We are accustomed to the moral life of secondary societies and believe that morality truly originates from human nature forever. If one day the law becomes ineffective, and robbers and murderers go to work and shop in supermarkets with us, we might immediately throw morality to the winds and use bayonets and guns to protect our existing food in order to survive a few more days. As mentioned above, three hundred households in a village could suddenly flee; the law under such free migration is extremely limited. The morality discussed in the *I Ching* is close to the morality of primitive societies.

Generally, animals do not exhibit suicidal behavior, but they may concede death under certain circumstances, indicating a loss of motivation to live. People in primitive societies might engage in suicidal behavior, making the choice based on their understanding of reality, but they would not sacrifice themselves for a societal ideal. We, living in secondary societies, can make such a choice. In societies where suicide exists, people often use it to express a resolute emotion, using death to emphasize their stance. This is evident in texts like the *I Ching*, the *Analects*, and *Mencius*. The different motivations for suicide between primitive and secondary societies lead to different ways of expressing their will through death, illustrating that the moral values ​​of the *I Ching* era in primitive societies differed from those of later generations.

As mentioned above, the *I Ching: Image Commentary* was written before Confucius. The *Image Commentary* for the *Kun* hexagram states, “The superior man is willing to sacrifice his life to achieve his will,” meaning he is willing to give his life to realize his personal aspirations. Like the entire *I Ching*, this hexagram offers no lofty ambitions beyond daily life; it speaks of dedicating oneself to a simple existence, demonstrating how much the people of the early Zhou dynasty loved life. All six lines of this hexagram describe predicaments, three of which are related to “food and drink,” “golden carriages,” and “red robes,” indicating that this superior man is weary of the bureaucratic life of wine, meat, golden carriages, and red robes, and yearns for a simple life. We should not confuse this with Tao Yuanming’s resignation from his official post and subsequent rural life; Tao Yuanming was a self-righteous scholar-official. This hexagram speaks of a love and dedication to human life itself.

Confucius spoke of “sacrificing oneself for righteousness” in the *Analects*, meaning to dedicate oneself to love. In today’s materialistic world, the passionate first love of young people is seen by many writers as the only remaining form of human love, pure and sacred, with self-sacrifice for love considered a divine act. Mencius said, “Renye (benevolence) is humanity” (*Jin Xin Xia*). Confucius’s “sacrificing oneself for righteousness” thus becomes “sacrificing oneself to become a person.” Only when humanity is threatened is it necessary for someone to sacrifice themselves to preserve the purity of humanity. Undoubtedly, Confucius clearly saw that humanity’s innate benevolence was being lost.

Mencius advocated sacrificing one’s life for righteousness. By Mencius’s time, a two-tiered society had been firmly established, and people had become human beings, which is what Xunzi called “falsehood”. [7] The righteousness that Mencius spoke of was neither a personal desire for life nor the inherent nature of humanity itself, but rather a kind of human cultural construction external to people. Although Mencius said that human nature is inherently good, the concept and norms of righteousness were purely human creations. Just as the houses we build can exist independently of us, the concept system of righteousness established by Mencius will last forever and will not disappear because of Mencius’s death. Therefore, righteousness is a kind of cultural construction external to people.

To inspire self-sacrifice and willingness to dedicate oneself is a noble moral act. In the era of the *I Ching*, this referred to the fulfillment of personal aspirations, or will; in the era of Confucius, it was about preserving the innate benevolence of humanity; and in the era of Mencius, a radiant system of external moral principles had been established, sufficient to inspire reverence and self-sacrifice. In other words, the moral concepts of the *I Ching* era differed from those of later periods.

The great Confucian scholar Zhang Zai of the Northern Song Dynasty once said: “To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations.” Such grand Confucian words have inspired scholars throughout history. This passage points out that China achieved what Zhang Zai described in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, but lost it after the Warring States and Qin-Han periods, and has never recovered it since. The idea of ​​regaining it is almost an impossible fantasy, hence the need for Zhang Zai to speak with such grandeur and conviction.

Confucius also admired the primitive society: he opposed executions and lawsuits, advocating virtuous governance (12:19, 13:11, 2:3). Confucius modeled his society on the Western Zhou Dynasty. Both the *Records of the Grand Historian* and the ancient *Bamboo Annals* record that “during the reigns of King Cheng and King Kang, the world was at peace, and punishments were not used for forty years.” This sufficiently demonstrates that Confucius truly desired to establish a society without lawsuits, a society where “cruelty and killing are eliminated,” and this was achieved during the Western Zhou Dynasty. At that time, China’s population must have been at least several million. Forty years without the use of punishments can only be attributed to the immense power of human nature and social stability inherent in the aforementioned primitive social system. In human history, a secondary society of this scale, without punishments, or even with lenient punishments, would have descended into chaos.

Mencius said that King Wu of Zhou only used three thousand men to conquer King Zhou of Shang. It is generally believed that the war to overthrow the Shang dynasty lasted only one day, resulting in King Zhou’s suicide. This is not much different from the electoral systems of contemporary Western societies that peacefully transfer power. For example, electing a US president costs hundreds of millions of dollars, two presidents have been assassinated, and a single presidential election can lead to a national civil war. We can imagine that the original social superpowers of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties relied on human nature as the pillar of their social operation. When functioning well, they could go decades without punishment, a feat unattainable in many ways by modern Western democracies.

Anthropological research has found that the invention of agriculture and the establishment of Middle Eastern states both led to a shortening of human lifespan. Agriculture, which emerged 10,000 years ago, marked the beginning of human civilization, leading to localized population increases and the development of secondary societies. Humans began building altars, and megalithic cultures appeared along the coast. The invention of agriculture resulted in a high-carbohydrate diet, and the reduced need for mothers to raise children shortened the breastfeeding period, leading to a dramatic increase in birth rates. However, contact between humans and livestock resulted in large-scale infectious diseases, such as smallpox, which persisted for millennia until modern times when advanced medicine brought them under control. After the emergence of Western civilization, under the supervision of the leisure class, people worked day and night to support wars. Those wiped out by war were not necessarily genetically or culturally inferior. On the contrary, they were misled by their inherent human conscience and died before they could betray their humanity. Before the invention of agriculture, humans, like other animals, did not work. After the invention of agriculture, they began to work, resulting in increased populations and the deaths of children due to infectious diseases. After the emergence of civilization, the relentless work to support an even larger population led to the deaths of adults due to war and famine. There is no insurmountable gap between the original society and the secondary society; civilized humans are trapped in the chasm between them, making futile struggles.

Confucius mentioned three times in the *Analects* the need to attract farmers from afar to his domain through virtuous governance. He once said that farmers would come carrying their infants, and another time he explained that Confucianism advocated a three-year filial piety period because infants are not separated from their parents for the first three years. This suggests that farmers were highly mobile at the time, and the existence of vast wastelands allowed for a degree of hunter-gatherer lifestyle. We can imagine that during the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the land was vast and sparsely populated, and there was no rapid population growth typical of civilized societies. These early superpowers maintained relative peace, avoiding the later cycles of dramatic population fluctuations. Large-scale wars and famines after the Qin and Han dynasties often led to sudden population declines, such as the recorded halving of the population during the reigns of Emperor Wu and Empress Wu Zetian. We cannot deny the effectiveness of Confucianism in reducing suffering after the Qin and Han dynasties, but it failed to curb the ambition and extravagance of Emperor Wu and Empress Wu Zetian, leading to nationwide catastrophes. “To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations”—this remains an eternally unattainable goal. It is precisely because of this that there was a social demand for Confucianism after the Qin and Han dynasties, and a need for true gentlemen. In the era of the *I Ching*, the Great Way was in operation, and there was no need for true gentlemen; therefore, the *I Ching* could hardly depict the image of a true gentleman.

IX. The Ten Wings’ remedies for the Book of Changes are actually a manifestation of the complementarity between Confucianism and Taoism.

After Emperor Wu of Han, Confucianism held a dominant official position, while Daoism existed outside the government, complementing it. Daoism, by upholding the banner of primordial society, made the negligence and flaws of Confucian officials in governing the country readily apparent. Daoism not only provided a kind of opium-like painkiller for psychological trauma but also offered refuge to those who had offended the government. Furthermore, Daoism encouraged peasant rebellions to overthrow the inadequate, moderately prosperous government. The *I Ching* leads us to believe that the official ideological system during the Three Dynasties period was pioneered by Daoism, while pioneering Confucianism existed outside the government, complementing it. The pioneering Confucianism not only advocated order under the banner of benevolence and righteousness but also used ritual systems to examine the negligence and flaws of Daoist governance. Whether the original text of the *I Ching* was entirely a work of early Daoism is impossible to verify. Surprisingly, the *I Ching* does not use any terms like benevolence, righteousness, or propriety. This seems to contradict the historical view that the Duke of Zhou established the system of rites and music, but it aligns with the anarchic state reflected in the *I Ching*. The Ten Wings clearly incorporated Confucian concepts such as benevolence, righteousness, and propriety. If complementarity implies coexistence of opposites, then the meaning of the Ten Wings differs from, or is even the opposite of, the original text in many places.

The Dao gives birth to all things, which is the universe and all things; Heaven and Earth give birth to all things, which can refer only to the biological world born from the mating of male and female. The sixth line of the Sun hexagram says, “When three people walk together, one will be lost; when one person walks alone, the opposite will be achieved.” This article interprets it as the individual independence of the original society, while the Xici says, “When men and women unite their essences, all things are born,” which means that there should be no third party in the mating of male and female. This is a far-fetched interpretation, but it still criticizes the lack of social cooperation norms in the Yijing era. The sixth line of the Yi hexagram says, “The middle way tells the duke to follow, which is useful for moving the country.” The traditional interpretation is that the diviner tells the feudal lords to obey the emperor so that they can take the opportunity to move the country. [10] If the feudal lords do not obey the emperor, it would be difficult for the diviner to move the country. It is obviously manipulating others with words for personal gain. The Xiangci says, “The duke tells the duke to follow, which is to increase the feudal lords’ will to obey the emperor.” The Xiangci makes a morally acceptable modification. The author clearly doesn’t understand that the establishment of centralized power is the root of social chaos. The hexagram *Da Guo* mentions an old man marrying a young wife, “No disadvantage,” but immediately follows with: “An old woman getting a young husband, “No blame, no praise.” This reflects how the lack of absolute authority in the early Zhou dynasty allowed prehistoric ideas of gender equality to be preserved. Later commentaries on the hexagram *Xiang Ci* (Image Commentary) morally criticize both, saying that an old man marrying a young wife is excessive, while condemning an old woman getting a young husband as “ugly.” *Xiang Ci* conveys Confucian ideas of male superiority and female inferiority. From a sociobiological perspective, male and female sexual intercourse has many essential differences, but even if polygamy is tolerated, gender equality cannot be ignored. The hexagram *Sun* says, “With sincerity, great good fortune, no blame, perseverance is possible, it is advantageous to have a destination.” However, the commentary on the hexagram *Tuan Ci* says: “Losing the lower to benefit the upper, its way is upward,” while the commentary on the hexagram even goes so far as to say, “The superior man uses this to restrain anger and suppress desires.” Because the *I Ching* rarely speaks of diminishing the lower to benefit the upper, it later adds: “Diminishing the strong and benefiting the weak has its times; diminishing and benefiting, fullness and emptiness, move with the times.” The second line of the *Jie* hexagram says, “Carrying a load and riding in a carriage invites thieves.” Logically, people are uneasy leaving valuables in a carriage, so they carry them in their arms, thus attracting thieves. Therefore, the *Xiang* commentary says, “It is also shameful.” The *Xici* commentary, however, interprets this as the upper being arrogant and the lower being violent, and a petty person riding in the vessel of a virtuous person. Although there are not many examples of this kind of criticism and correction of the *I Ching* by the Ten Wings, there are others, which will not be listed here.

Confucianism and Taoism have complementary and interconnected aspects, yet they also represent slightly different attitudes towards life. A person can easily switch between the two schools of thought. Lu Xun’s writing of “retreating into a small building to become a unified whole, regardless of winter, summer, spring, or autumn” reflects a mindset close to Zhuangzi’s philosophy, not Lu Xun’s original fighting spirit. Confucius, in his later years, showed a tendency towards seclusion and, favoring the *I Ching*, uttered some words close to Taoism; we cannot categorize him as Confucian simply because of his words. Similarly, if Laozi had served as acting prime minister of the State of Lu, he might have spoken words close to Confucianism; we cannot categorize him as Taoist simply because of his words. Some of Confucius’s sayings recorded in the *I Ching* are closer to Taoism, but it’s difficult to draw conclusions about the Confucian-Taoist debate based on just one or two sentences. The conclusion is that the main idea presented in the *Ten Wings* is still Taoist, even though its author may have been a Confucian scholar, quoted many of Confucius’s words, and some chapters may be posthumous writings of Confucius.

The silk manuscript *Yao* records Confucius saying, “Those who doubt me in later generations, perhaps because of the *I Ching*? I seek only its virtue; I follow the same path as historians and shamans, but our destinations differ. A gentleman seeks blessings through virtuous conduct, therefore he offers sacrifices sparingly; he seeks good fortune through benevolence and righteousness, therefore he consults divination rarely.” Confucius noticed that the *I Ching* would leave many questions for later generations regarding him, namely, the similarities and differences between his thought and that of the *I Ching*, and also with that of Daoism. Confucius was instructed by Laozi in his youth, and Zhuangzi, the second most important figure in Daoism, regarded Confucius as his predecessor. Zhuangzi frequently quotes Confucius in his book, so Confucius himself cannot be said to be unrelated to Daoism.

In his later years, Confucius became fond of the *I Ching*, finding solace and enjoyment in it—a broad pursuit of aesthetics. This didn’t conflict with his own philosophy; he valued the entertaining aspect of ritual and music. This attitude of Confucius, forgetting the surrounding world and focusing solely on the aesthetic meaning of the *I Ching*, can only be summarized as Daoist, especially since he was appreciating a book that conveyed Daoist thought. This leisurely state of mind broadened Confucius’s horizons, allowing him to place human joys and sorrows within the vast universe, just as Daoists do. Thus, the loss of his personal ideals became insignificant. In 506 BC, the State of Wu sent 30,000 troops, trekking over a thousand miles, to conquer the capital of the powerful State of Chu. Their centralized power and discipline far surpassed the warfare of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Confucius’s ideal era—”When the enemy is defeated, some beat drums, some stop, some weep, some sing”—incomparable to this. Humanity was entering a cruel, artificial secondary society, and Confucius was powerless to change it, finding solace only in Daoist thought.

X. Conclusion

Both Confucianism and Taoism can be seen as philosophies of life, representing slightly different lifestyles. These lifestyles encompass individual, social, and national levels—a philosophical blueprint for a nation’s way of life. Dividing all human societies throughout history into genetically encoded primordial societies and artificially constructed secondary societies reveals that Western civilization began in the secondary society, while Chinese civilization began in the primordial society. The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were somewhat like the United Nations today, serving a function of maintaining peace. People still lived at the primordial society level, essentially a primordial society-style superpower. Taoist philosophy is, in effect, a philosophization and idealization of ancient primordial society life, a summary of the core ideas and lifestyles of the primordial society-style superpower during the Three Dynasties. Due to the free migration of peasants and the gradual balancing of social power, the ruling class could hardly act like the centralized governments of the Qin and Han dynasties. Instead, like prehistoric primordial societies, they had to comply with the wishes of the lower classes, act cautiously and adhere to the virtue of moderation, avoiding extremes—the Taoist principle of non-action. When this social model experiences social conflict and faces turmoil and violence, the Confucian school, as a precursor, calls for morality and benevolence to stabilize society, while the Daoist school emphasizes non-action and returning to simplicity. Their goal is the same: to prevent the emergence of a secondary society. From this theory, it can be deduced that the ideology of the ruling class at that time, as reflected in the *I Ching*, should be close to Daoism.

This article, starting from the psychology of divination, points out that the Ten Wings aimed to enhance the mystique and ambiguity of the *I Ching*, but were insufficient to alter its original ideological system. Confucius, in his later years, favored the *I Ching*, his mindset resembling Zhuangzi’s aesthetic pursuits, but differing from Mencius’s philosophy of self-transcendence. The emergence of centralized power during the Warring States period allowed for land control and the enslavement of peasants, but this was contingent on the brutality of war and the militarization of the Qin state. The loss of these conditions, coupled with the fragmentation of the Han dynasty and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, created a political situation similar to the Three Dynasties, leading to a revival of Daoist philosophy. This, in turn, suggests that the overall thought of the *I Ching* is close to Daoism.

This article further discusses the content and text of the *I Ching* to demonstrate its overall Daoist essence: 1) Confucius explicitly stated that when the Great Dao is in operation or when the world is without the Dao, one should retreat into inaction. The *I Ching* era and Confucius’s later years represent these two situations. Confucius’s inaction did not make him a Confucian, as there is no historically recognized school of thought advocating inaction within Confucianism. 2) The *I Ching*’s doctrine of *Yi* (易) or *Qian Kun* (乾坤) giving rise to all things in the universe is not significantly different from the Dao giving rise to all things; therefore, it should be classified as Daoist. 3) Western scholars regard Lao Tzu as the founder of anarchism. The *I Ching* demonstrates the anarchist tendency of individualism in early society. 4) The *I Ching*’s concept of the unity of heaven and man is similar to Zhuangzi’s, but different from Mencius’s. 5) The *I Ching*’s concept of a egalitarian society is widespread and natural, similar to Lao Tzu’s teachings. 6) A close reading of the entire *I Ching* reveals little beyond the Dao’s natural way of thinking; it is difficult to discern any other complete philosophical system. 7) Although later additions to the *Xici* (Appended Remarks) discuss the gentleman and morality, the gentleman here is the object of divination. Their morality is about seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, more like the Daoist principle of overcoming strength with gentleness. 8) The Ten Wings made many critical corrections to the original text of the *I Ching*. Furthermore, the *I Ching* itself is the culmination of centuries of additions, resulting in many contradictions and conflicts, reflecting the inclusive thought of the original society’s natural way. 9) Chapter 38 of the *Tao Te Ching* says, “After losing the Way, there is virtue; after losing virtue, there is benevolence; after losing benevolence, there is righteousness; after losing righteousness, there is propriety.” Aside from the Ten Wings’ original text of the *I Ching* which uses the words “Way” and “Virtue,” it doesn’t use any words for benevolence, righteousness, or propriety. This indicates that the *I Ching* era was in a time when the Way had been lost but not yet virtue, and the concepts of benevolence and righteousness hadn’t been used. Only in the original society, where the Way followed nature, was there no distinction between righteousness and profit, no distinction between public and private. 10) Confucianism and Daoism complement and interact with each other. A person can be fond of Confucianism in their youth and Daoism in their old age. Confucianism and Daoism should be distinguished by their ideas, not by the person. The Book of Changes records some of Confucius’s sayings, which are more like those of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and are fundamentally different from the thoughts of Confucius and Mencius.

literature

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[2] Liu Baocai, Qian Xun, Zhou Suping (2001): Chinese History: Pre-Qin Volume. Beijing: Higher Education Press. p. 123.

[3] Peng Xian (2003): Jung and the Book of Changes. Journal of Zhouyi Studies, No. 2, 2003.

[4] Wang Yuzhe (2004): Ancient Chinese History. Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, pp. 278-291, 490-496.

[5] Gordon Marshall (1994): The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology: oriental despotism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p373.

[6] You Sheng (2009): On Confucius’s Idea of ​​a Fair and Equal Society. Xue Deng, No. 12, http://www.confucius2000.com.

[7] Yu Sheng (2008): A New Perspective on Examining the Differences Between Eastern and Western Cultures. Xue Deng, No. 7, http://www.confucius2000.com.

[8] Chen Guying (1992): On the fact that the Commentary on the Appended Phrases is a work of the Jixia Daoists: Fifth Discussion on the Commentary on the Book of Changes not being a Confucian classic. Journal of Zhouyi Studies, No. 2, 1992.

[9] Guo Yi (2001): Guodian Bamboo Slips and Pre-Qin Academic Thought. Shanghai: Shanghai Century Publishing Group and Shanghai Education Press. pp. 267-332, 554-593.

[10] Confucian classics: the Book of Changes. Yanbian University Press, December 2002.

[11] Chen Sheng (1997): Biography of Confucius. Hebei People’s Publishing House. pp. 88-120.

author By Dr. You-Sheng Li

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