Unearthing the Changes · Unearthing the changes : recently discovered manuscripts of the y i Jing (I Ching) and related texts / Edward L. Shaughnessy. p. cm. — (Translations from

Edwa r d l. sh aughnEssy

Unearthing

the

Changes

recently discovered

manUscr ip ts

of the yi j ing ( i Ching )

and rel at e d texts

Unearthing t h e

Changes

T r a n s l at i o n s fro m t h e A s i a n C l a ss i c s

Translations from the Asian Classics

Editorial Board

Wm. Theodore de Bary, Chair

Paul Anderer

Donald Keene

George A. Saliba

Wei Shang

Haruo Shirane

Burton Watson

EDWArD L. SHAUG HnESSy

Unearthing t h e

Changes

Recently Discovered Manuscripts

of the Yi Jing (I Ching)

and Related Texts

Columbia

University

Press

New York

Columbia University PressPublishers Since 1893new york Chichester, West Sussexcup.columbia.eduCopyright © 2014 Columbia University PressAll rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataShaughnessy, Edward L., 1952-Unearthing the changes : recently discovered manuscripts of the yi Jing (I Ching) and related texts / Edward L. Shaughnessy. p. cm. — (Translations from the Asian classics)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBn 978-0-231-16184-8 (cloth : acid-free paper) — ISBn 978-0-231-53330-0 (electronic)1. yi jing—Criticism, Textual. I. Title.PL2464.Z6S466 2013299.5'1282—dc232012023286

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.This book is printed on paper with recycled content.Printed in the United States of Americac 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cover image: Shanghai Museum Zhouyi stripCover design: Lisa Hamm

references to websites (UrLs) were accurate at the time of writing. neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for UrLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.

Columbia University Press wishes to express its appreciation for assistance given by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange and Council for Cultural Affairs in the preparation of the translation and in the publication of this series.

For

David Keightley Michael Loewe David Nivison

三人行必有我師焉

Where three people walk, there will certainly be my teacher among them.

—Analects 7/22

List of Illustrations ix

List of Tables xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xxi

1. Divining the Past Divining the Future: Archaeology and the rediscovery of the Changes 1

2. The Context, Content, and Significance of the Shanghai Museum Manuscript of the Zhou Yi 37

3. Translation of the Shanghai Museum Manuscript of the Zhou Yi 67

4. The Wangjiatai Bamboo-Strip Manuscripts of the Gui cang 141

5. Translation of the Gui cang Fragments 171

6. The Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript 189

7. Translation of the Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript 213

Conclusions and Conjectures 281

Notes 285

Works Cited 317

Index 327

C o n t e n t s

1.1. Line drawing of Zhouyuan oracle bone H11:85 12

1.2. Line drawing of Qijia Village oracle bone A3H90:79 13

1.3. CHX 採集: 1 Pottery paddle 15

1.4. CHX 採集: 1 Inscription 15

1.5. CHX 採集: 2 Pottery paddle 17

1.6. CHX 採集: 2 rubbing 17

1.7. CHX 採集: 2 Line drawing 17

2.1. Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi strip no. 7: Shi hexagram 42

2.2. Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi strip no. 8: Shi hexagram 42

2.3. Sun Peiyang’s initial reconstruction of the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manuscript 52

2.4. Sun Peiyang’s final reconstruction of the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manuscript 53

6.1. Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 277 194






I l lu s t r at I o n s

x Illustrations

6.7. Fuyang Zhou Yi strips 125, 126 197

6.8. Fuyang Zhou Yi strips 151, 152 199

6.9. Fuyang Zhou Yi strips 133–37 200

1.1. Sequence of Hexagrams in the Mawangdui Zhou Yi Manuscript 7

2.1. Comparison of Hexagram names in the Shanghai Museum Manuscript and the received Text of the Zhou Yi 40

2.2. Distribution of red and/or Black Symbols in the Shanghai Museum Manuscript 44

2.3. Physical Circumstances and Textual Contents of the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi Manuscript Bamboo Strips 49

4.1. Zhou Yi and Gui cang Hexagram names and numbers Compared 167

5.1. Hexagram names in the Gui cang and Zhou Yi Compared 172

6.1. Characters per Hexagram in the received Text of the Zhou Yi 203

ta b l e s

In China, the Yi jing 易經, or Classic of Changes, also known as the Zhou Yi 周易, or Zhou Changes, or, more simply (and as I refer to it here), as the Yi 易, or Changes,1 has traditionally been regarded as the most pro-

found expression of human wisdom. It is supposed to have been created by four of China’s greatest sages: Fuxi 伏羲, who is credited with the establishment of marriage, among many other cultural institutions; Wen Wang 文王 (ca. 1110–1050 b.c.), the founder of the great Zhou dynasty (1056–256); Zhou Gong 周公 (ca. 1090–1032 b.c.), a son of Wen Wang and the person credited in large part with the consolidation of the Zhou founding; and Kongzi 孔子, or Confucius (551–479 b.c.), perhaps the greatest sage of all, born five hundred years after the death of Wen Wang. Early accounts of the text’s history hold that the basic text origi-nated in the performance of divination—the attempt to determine the future—one of the pre-dominant aspects of religious life in ancient China; both the earliest attested uses of the text and the enigmatic images contained in it do seem to reflect this origin. However, by no later than the Warring States period (5th c.–221 b.c.), the Changes was regarded as one of the Six Classics and understood as a repository of wisdom about the nature of the universe. Over the following two millennia, this understanding came to be ever more elaborated, with the great neo-Confucian scholars of the Song dynasty (960–1278), in particular, finding in it a guide to living an ethical life. In the West, on the other hand, aside from Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s (1646–1716) supposed discovery of binary mathematics in the numerological structure of the sixty-four six-line pictures (the so-called hexagrams) upon which the text is based, the Changes has received rather less attention—especially from professional scholars.2

P r e faC e

xiv • Preface

The Changes is a famously difficult text. Herrlee G. Creel (1905–1994), once the Western world’s foremost authority on early Chinese cultural history, exclaimed in exasperation:

The language of this book is very concise, even cryptic. This has given rise to various theories that it contains a secret language or an occult symbolism. It makes one wonder if it was writ-ten at a time when the Zhous had not yet learned to write very clear Chinese.3

Even Li Xueqin 李學勤, the leading scholar in this field today and someone who has devoted considerable time to studying the Changes, warns,

I often feel that studying the Zhou Changes is very “dangerous.” The text of the Zhou Changes is arcane and simple, but subtle and abstruse; you can explain it this way, but it is also not hard to explain it that way. It’s bad enough if you borrow the terminology of the Yi to express your own thoughts, but if you want to find the original meaning of the Yi, it is really too difficult. One very common result is that one constructs upon the foundation of one’s own imagina-tion a seven-story pagoda, the soaring eaves and complex structure of which give the architect the sense that it is entirely natural.4

Despite this “danger” in studying the Changes, Professor Li goes on to advise that through study of the text’s historical development, it is nevertheless possible to gain an objective under-standing of it. As he also states, in this regard archaeology can play a key role.

As recently as 1997, when Professor Li was writing these remarks, the only direct archaeo-logical evidence pertaining to the Changes available to the scholarly public was the early Han-dynasty (202 b.c.–a.d. 220) Mawangdui 馬王堆 manuscript (the manuscript was buried in 168 b.c.), which had been discovered in 1973 in Changsha 長沙, Hunan.5 In the years since then, “the earth has not cherished its treasure,” as the Chinese saying puts it; three different ancient manuscripts of or related to the Changes have been published in China. In the year 2000 came the first comprehensive, even if still informal, reports on two very different kinds of manuscripts: another Han-dynasty manuscript of the Changes, discovered in 1977 at Shuang-gudui 雙古堆 in Fuyang 阜陽, Anhui,6 and two third-century b.c. manuscripts thought to be of the ancient Gui cang 歸藏, or Returning to Be Stored, that had been unearthed in 1993 at Wangjiatai 王家台, Hubei.7 This latter text is reputed to have been an alternative divination manual to that of the Changes but one that had been lost—at least for the most part—since no later than the fourth century a.d. These two manuscripts were formally published in 2004. In the same year came the publication of a still earlier manuscript, this one of the Changes itself, that had been robbed some years earlier from a tomb and then purchased by the Shanghai Museum; physical and paleographic evidence suggests that this manuscript was copied in the late fourth century b.c.8 Inspired by Li Xueqin’s advice that archaeology can play a key role in

Preface • xv

understanding the historical development of the Changes, I present these three manuscripts as the focus of the present book.

THE FOr MAT OF THE ChANGeS

Although Herrlee Creel was certainly correct in saying of the Changes that “the language of this book is very concise, even cryptic,” he was exaggerating more than a little when he went on to wonder whether “it was written at a time when the Zhous had not yet learned to write very clear Chinese.” The text is certainly open to multiple interpretations; indeed, this openness is one of the great hallmarks of the text, in some ways what makes it the unique classic that it is.9

nevertheless, it is understandable—so long as one is clear about the historical context within which it is to be understood. One of the greatest problems in dealing with the Changes is that it is two (or more) different books subsumed under a single title. As most readers will know, the core of the text is organized around sixty-four graphs or “pictures” (known in Chinese as gua hua 卦畫), each of which is composed of six lines, either solid (⚊) or broken (⚋); these have come to be known in the West as hexagrams (gua 卦).10 Each of these sixty-four hexagrams is supplied with a name and seven brief texts: a “hexagram statement” (gua ci 卦辭) under-stood to represent the entire hexagram, and “line statements” (yao ci 爻辭) for each of the six lines.11 The hexagram statement is usually quite formulaic, often including little more than the hexagram name and one or more injunctions for (or against) certain actions.12 The statement for Xian 咸, ䷞, “Feeling,” the thirty-first hexagram in the traditional sequence, is more or less representative:

咸亨利貞取女吉

Feeling: receipt. Beneficial to determine. Taking a woman: auspicious.13

This is not the place to try to explain the kinds of meanings that have been attached to the vari-ous phrases of this statement, or to explain how they have been understood in the context of this hexagram. For now, it will have to suffice to note the formal structure of the text.

The line statements are counted from the bottom of the hexagram to its top, each one introduced by a sort of tag identifying its place within the hexagram and the nature of the line (whether solid or broken) to which it is attached: the bottom line is called “First” (chu 初), the top line “Top” (shang 上), and the intervening lines are simply numbered “Second” (er 二), “Third” (san 三), “Fourth” (si 四), and “Fifth” (wu 五); solid lines, understood to be yang (i.e., “sunny,” understood in the traditional Chinese worldview to be one of the two basic attributes of all things), are referred to as “nine” (jiu 九) and broken lines, understood to be yin (i.e., “shady”), are referred to as “Six” (liu 六). The combination of these two features

xvi • Preface

gives such tags as “First Six” (chu liu 初六), “nine in the Third” (jiu san 九三), and “Top Six” (shang liu 上六). The line statement proper, on the other hand, is often built around an omen or “image” (xiang 象) describing some thing or activity in either the natural or human realms. It is these omens that strike readers as “secret” (à la Herrlee Creel) or even “dangerous” (à la Li Xueqin); they are certainly enigmatic. The omens are often followed by terms associated with divinatory prognostications: ji 吉, “auspicious,” xiong 凶, “ominous,” lin 吝, “distress,” wu hui 无悔, “there are no regrets,” and so on. Far from clarifying the text, these determinations often provoke the greatest discussion of its meaning.

The six line statements attached to Xian hexagram are again more or less representative of line statements in general, although one hastens to add that any single representation is bound to be misleading; in the words of the Xi ci zhuan 繫辭傳, or Tradition of Attached Statements, one of the early commentaries on the text that eventually came to be incorporated into the classic itself, the Changes “cannot be codified or essentialized” (bu ke wei dian yao 不可為典要).

初六咸其拇

First Six: Feeling its toe.

六二咸其腓凶居吉

Six in the Second: Feeling its calf. Ominous. residing: auspicious.

九三咸其股執其隨往吝

nine in the Third: Feeling its thigh, grasping its torn flesh. Going: distress.

九四貞吉悔亡憧憧往來朋從爾思

nine in the Fourth: Determining: auspicious. regrets gone. Tremblingly going and coming, the friend follows you in thought.

九五咸其脢无悔

nine in the Fifth: Feeling its back. There are no regrets.

上六咸其輔頰舌

Top Six: Feeling its cheek, jowls, and tongue.

As noted above, and contra Herrlee Creel, there is nothing particularly difficult about the language of the text. To be sure, the hexagram name here, Xian咸, and especially the way the word is used in the line statements, is unusual. Xian means “completely” or “throughout” and typically cannot be used as a verb. However, the early canonical commentaries Tuan zhuan 彖

Preface • xvii

傳, or “Judgment Commentary,” and Xiang zhuan 象傳, or “Image Commentary,” both sug-gest that 咸 should be read as the protograph for the word gan 感, “to feel; to cause to feel” (i.e., adding a “heart” signific to the graph). This is entirely possible within traditional Chinese reading practice; the two words were closely homophonous in antiquity (*grəm for xian 咸 vs. kəm? for gan 感)14 and were surely cognate. I follow this gloss in the translation offered above. On the other hand, other interpretations are also possible. For instance, the modern scholar Gao Heng 高亨 (1900–1986) suggested that the original meaning of xian was “to cut” (zhan 斬), a suggestion reflected in at least a pair of other recent English-language translations.15

Whatever the word xian might originally have meant, it is easy to trace the omen’s gradual progression up the lines of the hexagram, from the “toe” in the First Six line up to the “cheek, jowls, and tongue” of the Top Six line statement. Although most other hexagram texts have a less-explicit structure than does Xian, throughout the text there is a pronounced tendency to differentiate the image according to the line’s placement within the hexagram. Thus, words that describe or can be associated with low or low-lying features tend to appear in the bottom line or lines, whereas words that describe high features tend to appear in the top lines.16 To a great extent, it is the changes that these omens go through as they progress through the lines of the hexagrams that make the Changes the unique text that it is.

Perhaps the most fundamental divergence in the reading of Changes line statements in-volves the divinatory prognostications; should they be read as integral to the image proper, or are they more or less ad hoc appendages or accretions to the text? If they are to be interpreted as integral to the image proper, then why does “feeling its thigh” in the nine in the Third line statement give rise to the prognostication “going: distress,” whereas for “feeling its back” in the nine in the Fifth statement there should be “no regrets”? And how are we to explain the seeming contradiction in the single Six in the Second line statement in which “feeling its calf ” is followed by both prognostications “ominous” and “residing: auspicious”? Much of the long commentarial tradition devoted to the Changes has sought to explain how and why indi-vidual images should be either auspicious or ominous, or—as in this case—both. Many of the exegetical principles employed in these explanations are anticipated already in the earliest ca-nonical commentaries and were then made explicit in the commentary of Wang Bi 王弼 (a.d. 226–249), which in turn became the foundation for the orthodox commentarial tradition of the Zhou Yi zheng yi 周易正義, or Correct Meaning of the Zhou Changes. richard Lynn has provided a succinct account of these principles:

yin lines are soft and weak; yang lines are hard and strong. The positions of a hexagram are calculated from bottom to top. The odd number places—first (bottom), third, and fifth—are strong yang positions, and the even number places—second, fourth, and sixth (top)—are weak yin positions. yin and yang lines form resonate pairs; yin and yin or yang and yang lines form discordant pairs: the unlike attract; the like repel. Proper resonate relationships

xviii • Preface

can take place between lines of the lower and upper trigrams—one with four, two with five, three with six—but each must pair with its opposite: yin with yang or yang with yin. Second-ary harmonious relationships can also occur between contiguous lines when “yang rides atop yin” or “yin carries yang” but never when the reverse occurs, for this is an unnatural, discor-dant relationship—as, for example, when a superior supports or “carries” his subordinate. The sixty-four combinations of yin and yang lines and yin and yang positions schematically represent all the major kinds of situations found in life.17

According to these principles, the Six in the Second line is correctly positioned (a yin line in a yin position) and has an appropriate relationship with the equally well positioned nine in the Fifth line (forming what Lynn refers to as a resonate pair). In traditional Changes ex-egesis, the second line corresponds to the place of the minister in society, whereas the fifth line corresponds to the ruler. This might explain why in this line “residing” should be “auspi-cious”; within the distinctively conservative social and political worldview that produced these exegetical principles, a “soft” minister was expected to keep to his place and not make any movement toward usurping the place of the ruler. So long as this was the case, the nine in the Fifth line should have “no regrets.” Similar explanations can be offered for the other determina-tions, though none of these principles explains particularly well why the Six in the Second line should first be “ominous.”

Scholars who attempt to recover the original meaning of the Changes as a divination manual are less troubled by the apparent contradictions of the determinations. They tend to regard these terms as prognostications produced at different times by different diviners, some of whom may have interpreted the text of the Changes—and even the nature of divination—differently.18 To these scholars, attempting to derive consistent principles to explain why a par-ticular line should be either “auspicious” or “ominous” is anachronistic, owing more to later philosophical perspectives than to the early divinatory context.

A similar divergence is seen in how to understand the sequence of the sixty-four hexa-grams. The text is traditionally organized around pairs of hexagrams, related either by inver-sion of a single hexagram picture, such that the top line of one hexagram becomes the first line of the next hexagram, the fifth line the second, the fourth the third, and so on ( e.g., Ji Ji 既濟, “Already Completed,” ䷾, and Wei Ji, 未濟, “not yet Completed,” ䷿, the sixty-third and sixty-fourth hexagrams in the traditional sequence), or, in the cases where this would produce the same hexagram picture, changing all lines to their opposite (e.g., Qian 乾, “Vigorous,” ䷀, and Kun 坤, “Compliant,” ䷁, the first and second hexagrams). One of the canonical commentar-ies traditionally attributed to Confucius, the Xu gua 序卦, or “Sequencing the Hexagrams,” explains the sequence as a natural progression through time. Each hexagram necessarily results from the preceding hexagram and gives rise in turn to the hexagram following it. The sequence begins with Qian and Kun, generally thought to represent “heaven” and “earth,” respectively:

Preface • xix

有天地然後萬物生焉盈天地之間者唯萬物故受之以屯屯者盈也屯者物之始

生也物生必蒙故受之以蒙蒙者蒙也物之稺也……有過物者必濟故受之以既

濟物不可窮也故受之以未濟終焉

There being heaven and earth, only then are the ten thousand beings born in it. What fills the interstice between heaven and earth is only the ten thousand beings. Therefore, it follows it with Zhun. Zhun means “filling,” when beings are first born. When beings are born they are necessarily ignorant, therefore it follows it with Meng. Meng means “ignorance,” the im-maturity of beings. . . . When there is passing, beings are necessarily completed. Therefore, it follows it with Ji Ji. Since beings cannot be exhausted, therefore it follows it with Wei Ji, ending there.19

There is no need to quote this commentary at greater length. Its reasoning never becomes any more compelling. Indeed, even within the canonical commentaries there is evidence that the Changes could be arranged in a different sequence: the Za gua 雜卦, or “Mixed Hexagrams,” commentary reflects one such different sequence of hexagrams. When the Mawangdui manu-script from the early Han dynasty was discovered in 1973 and revealed yet another radically dif-ferent sequence,20 it called into question again the antiquity of the received sequence. Despite Li Xueqin’s suggestion that archaeology can play a key role in gaining an objective understand-ing of the historical development of the Changes, at least in terms of this particular question, the archaeological evidence that has surfaced to date has been more effective in raising new questions than in resolving old ones.21 But for those of us who appreciate new questions just as much—if not more than—new answers, archaeology can indeed play a key role in understand-ing the early history of the Changes.

THE FOr MAT OF THIS B OOK

The purpose of the present book is to introduce recently discovered archaeological evidence pertaining to the Changes, especially the three manuscripts mentioned in the preceding sec-tion: the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi, the Wangjiatai Gui cang, and the Fuyang Zhou Yi. Each of these manuscripts is presented in two separate chapters: the first chapter provides a narrative description of the discovery of the manuscript, its nature, and its significance for the history of the Changes, and the second chapter provides a more or less complete translation of the manuscript.22 For both the Shanghai Museum and Fuyang manuscripts, I also provide transla-tions of the corresponding portions of the received text. These translations are not intended to be definitive in any sense of the term; they are provided for comparison’s sake, to illustrate, however modestly, how the manuscripts differ from the received text and how these differences might help to understand the development of the Changes.

xx • Preface

Before these six chapters devoted to the three recently discovered manuscripts, I provide also an overview of some of the other archaeologically discovered materials that either relate to the Changes or to its historical context. These materials, which range from oracle-bone inscrip-tions of the Shang (ca. 1200–1045 b.c.) and especially Western Zhou (1045–771 b.c.) periods to various other manuscripts of the Warring States, Qin (221–207 b.c.), and Han periods, show that divination was practiced constantly by people of all walks of life. Even though these materials do not reveal when or how the Changes was transformed from an everyday divination manual into a classic for the ages, they are bringing into better focus the origins of the text.

The book concludes with a brief consideration of what this evidence shows about the history of the Changes. I am well aware just how tentative these conclusions are. In 1913, when richard Wilhelm (1873–1930) began his now celebrated translation of the Changes, he and his mentor, Lao naixuan 勞乃宣 (1843–1921), could approach the text with the confidence that it not only encapsulated all the world but that it was moreover intelligible. now, a hundred years later, we are still learning just how little we really know about the Changes and the world that produced it. Paradoxically, each new discovery both adds a little bit to what we know and also undermines a little bit of what we knew. nevertheless, I still look forward to more such discoveries.

I began my study of the Zhou Yi, or Zhou Changes, in 1976 with Aisin-gioro yuyun 愛新覺羅毓鋆 (1906–2011). yu Lao insisted that we begin the study with the commentary of Lai Zhide 來知德 (1525–1604), a scholar

who claimed in the preface to his own study of the Changes to have spent thirty years studying the text. At the time, thirty years seemed almost unfathomable to me, and I wondered what could have taken Lai so long. Thirty-five years have now passed in my own study of the text, off and on though it has been, and I have now come to a better appreciation of Lai’s efforts. Indeed, it is humbling to realize just how little progress I have made in this field, in spite of be-ing the beneficiary of numerous advantages over the years.

Among those advantages, surely the most important have been my teachers and men-tors, beginning with yu Lao and continuing with the three scholars to whom I dedicate this book: David Keightley, Michael Loewe, and David nivison, each of whom has contributed in important ways to my understanding of the Changes, but more than that, each of whom has contributed in countless other ways to my growth as a scholar. With all three of them, it is easy to follow Confucius’s admonition to “select what they do well and to follow it.”

Among others who have contributed to my understanding of the Changes, I wish to ac-knowledge in particular richard Smith. The Western world’s leading authority on all aspects of the Changes, Professor Smith has produced a long series of books and articles, culminating in his magisterial Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The yijing (I-Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its evolution in China (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008). He has always been encouraging to me but never more so than when he served as one of the

aC k n ow l e d g m e n t s

xxii • Preface

referees Columbia University Press asked to evaluate the present book. Within a matter of days, he produced a detailed and extraordinarily valuable report on the manuscript, not only pointing out its flaws but also suggesting several positive ways in which it might be improved. I hope I have corrected most of the mistakes, and I have certainly tried to incorporate all the suggestions for improvement. I am sure that the book is much better for them.

I am grateful also to Tiziana Lippielo, Attilio Andreini, and Maurizio Scarpari, who host-ed me at the Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice during academic year 2007–2008, when I com-pleted much of the basic research and writing for this book. I am grateful too to the national Endowment for the Humanities for support during that year, and to the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, the Humanities Visiting Committee at the University of Chicago, and the Creel Center for Chinese Paleography of the University of Chicago for subventions toward the pub-lication of the book.

I am grateful to the Shanghai Guji Chubanshe, to Cao Wei 曹瑋, and to Sun Peiyang 孫沛陽 for permission to reproduce images and figures. Sun Peiyang also assisted in designing the cover.

I am grateful also to Jennifer Crewe and her team at Columbia University Press, Lisa Hamm, Leslie Kriesel, and Kathryn Schell, and especially to Mike Ashby. Mike has edited with great care an extremely complicated manuscript. I am delighted as well that CUP invited my old friend David Goodrich of Birdtrack Press to typeset the book. David’s work, which he has done with his typical consummate skill, included creating numerous archaic characters, as well as various versions of Changes hexagram symbols.

Back home in Chicago, I am particularly grateful to my student Jeffrey Tharsen, who has patiently resolved various computing problems, and to yuan Zhou, curator of the regenstein Library’s East Asian Collection, who has provided unfailing support over the years. In retro-spect, I am grateful too that after returning to Chicago in 2008, with a nearly complete first draft in hand, other matters conspired to keep me from finishing it straightaway; the Uni-versity of Chicago, my scholarly home for almost as long as Lai Zhide studied the Changes, has always provided intellectual temptations to explore other topics. And for exploring the changes that we go through in life, which after all inform everything about my understanding of the Changes, I couldn’t have asked for better teachers—or more wonderfully fun compan-ions—than Elena, Giulia, and Maria.

Unearthing t h e

Changes

In the West, the Changes, or Classic of Changes (hereafter simply Changes), is best known through the translation done by the German missionary rich-ard Wilhelm (1873–1930).1 Wilhelm lived in China for twenty years at the

end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, witnessing firsthand the fall of China’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing (1644–1911), and the fledgling creation of a new republican government. During this time, he came to be a fervent admirer of China’s native tra-ditions, especially Confucian thought, and established the Confucian Society in his adopted city of Qingdao 青島 in eastern China’s Shandong province. In 1913, Wilhelm began to work with the Chinese scholar Lao naixuan 勞乃宣 (1843–1921) on his translation of the Changes. Lao had been an official under the Qing dynasty, which had been overthrown just two years before, and had sought refuge in the German protectorate.2 There he taught Wilhelm the dominant Song-dynasty interpretation of the Changes as a guide to life, an interpretation that Wilhelm succeeded brilliantly in translating into German. The famous first words of Qian 乾 ䷀ hexagram, the first of the text, yuan heng li zhen 元亨利貞, which literally mean some-thing like “first enjoy benefit divination,” became in Wilhelm’s German “Das Schöpferische wirkt erhabenes Gelingen, fördernd durch Beharrlichkeit,” or, in the English translation by Cary F. Baynes, “The Creative works sublime success, Furthering through perseverance.”3 The English translation, in particular, furnished with an introduction by Wilhelm’s friend C. G. Jung (1875–1961) explaining the Changes as a product of the collective unconscious, became something of a bible for the postwar counterculture generation. It is said that until the vogue of professors becoming television personalities in the 1980s, Wilhelm’s translation of the Changes was the best-selling book by any university press in America.

id I v I n I n g t h e Pa s t d I v I n I n g

t h e f u t u r e : a r C h a e o l o g y a n d

t h e r e d I s C o v e ry o f t h e C h A N Ge S

2 • Divining the Past Divining the Future

At the same time that Wilhelm was working on his Changes translation in Qingdao, a few hundred miles to the west another Western missionary interested in traditional Chinese culture was very much involved in work that would also come to transform our understand-ing of the Changes. James M. Menzies (1885–1957), a Canadian Presbyterian missionary liv-ing in Anyang 安陽, Henan, began collecting “dragon bones” that peasants there were busily unearthing.4 According to at least one tradition, these bones—actually pieces of the scapula bones of oxen and plastrons of turtles—had first come to the attention of the Chinese epigra-pher Wang yirong 王懿榮 (1845–1900) in 1899, the year that richard Wilhelm had arrived in China, when Wang purchased them in a Beijing apothecary. He is supposed to have noticed writing on the bones similar to the inscriptions on ancient bronze vessels with which he was familiar, but still more ancient. He quickly purchased all the other bones that he could find in Beijing. When his collection was subsequently published, it set off a chase to find the source of the bones, which led within a few years to Anyang.5 This was significant because Anyang was known to have been the site of the last capital of the Shang dynasty (16th c.–1045 b.c.), the dynasty immediately preceding the Zhou dynasty of Wen Wang, Zhou Gong, and Confucius. Antiquarians and scholars alike descended on Anyang, setting off a digging craze among the peasants living there. For his part, Menzies explored particularly the village of Xiaotun 小屯 near Anyang, which, excavations would subsequently show, was the site of the Shang royal palace and cemeteries; during his time at Anyang, Menzies collected well over ten thousand pieces of oracle bone.6 When these and others were published,7 paleographers determined that the bones did indeed come from the Shang dynasty and that their inscriptions were records of divinations performed on behalf of the last kings of that dynasty.

One of the most important early interpretive breakthroughs came with the identification of the character , which appeared among the first words of almost every inscription. Scholars noted that the character was sometimes written in a more rounded form as , the pictograph of a cauldron, and that the word for cauldron, ding 鼎, was closely homophonous in ancient times with the word zhen 貞, ding pronounced something like *têŋ and zhen something like *treŋ.8 The Shuo wen jie zi 說文解字, or Discussing Pictographs and explaining Characters, the first dictionary in China, had defined zhen as “to inquire by crack making” (bu wen ye 卜問也).9 This was the same word found in the first line of the Changes, translated by Wilhelm as Beharrlichkeit, or “perseverance.” Wilhelm’s translation accorded with almost all traditional commentaries, which tended to gloss the word with yet another homophone, zheng 正, which means “upright” or “correct.” Indeed, we now know that all three of these words, zhen as well as ding, “cauldron,” and zheng, “upright,” are part of a larger word family that also includes words such as ding 丁, “nail” (originally written or , the pictographic form of a character now written 釘), ding 定, “settled” or “definite,” zheng 政, “government,” zheng 征, “punitive mili-tary campaign,” and ding 訂, “to correct a text.” All of these words share the sense of being (or making) upright, firmly placed, secure, correct. Even zhen, “to inquire by crack making,” shares

Divining the Past Divining the Future • 3

this sense since divination in ancient China was not an open-ended inquiry into the future but more an assertion that one’s proposal for a future action was correct and deserving of divine as-sistance in its realization.10 Thus, Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (a.d. 127–200), one of the best informed of the early commentators on the classics, combined these senses in his definition: “to inquire into the correctness” of some activity.11 The connection through this word between the Shang oracle-bone inscriptions and the text of the Changes would come to revolutionize our under-standing of this most important of all Chinese texts.

The discovery of divination records from the Shang dynasty also stimulated in very large measure the development of modern archaeology in China. In 1928, the Institute of History and Philology of the newly established Academia Sinica began the first scientific excavations at Xiaotun. Continuing for a decade, these excavations turned up tens of thousands of more oracle bones and decisively confirmed that this was indeed the Shang capital.12 In addition to this general historical significance, the continued discovery of inscribed oracle bones also showed much more about Shang-dynasty divination practices. The following inscription, on a turtle shell unearthed in June 1936 from a large refuse pit at Xiaotun, includes all four parts of a complete Shang divination record: a “preface,” indicating the day of the divination and the name of the official presiding over it; the “charge” or topic being addressed to the turtle; the king’s “prognostication”; and a “verification” indicating, after the fact, what actually did happen.

癸丑卜爭貞自今至于丁巳我𢦏王曰丁巳我毋其𢦏于來甲子𢦏旬又一日

癸亥弗𢦏之夕甲子允𢦏

Crack making on guichou [day 50], Zheng determining: “From today until dingsi [day 54], we will slash Xi.” The king prognosticated and said: On dingsi we will not slash [them]; on the coming jiazi [day 1], we will slash [them].” On the eleventh day guihai [day 60], Che did not slash them. That evening cleaving into jiazi he really did slash [them].13

In this case, the divination was one of several on guichou 癸丑, the fiftieth day in the Chinese cycle of sixty, or the preceding day, renzi 壬子 (day 49), and conducted either by Zheng 爭 or another, related diviner.14 The divination proposed a Shang attack five days later, on the day dingsi 丁巳, against an enemy state named Xi . related inscriptions suggest that this state was located to the west of Anyang in the area of present-day Shanxi province. The Shang king, in this case King Wu Ding 武丁 (r. ca. 1200 b.c.), intervened personally to give his own inter-pretation of the crack that had been made in the turtleshell: that an attack on dingsi would not be successful but that one several days later, on jiazi 甲子, the first day of a new cycle of sixty, would be successful. After this follows a record verifying that the king’s prognostication was indeed correct: the Shang really did “slash” (zai 𢦏) the enemy Xi. not all Shang divination records are as complete as this (indeed, most are much less complete), and it is rarer still that


we can reconstruct their historical context even to the degree possible here. nevertheless, by piecing together all the many tens of thousands of divination inscriptions that have been dis-covered to date, it is now possible to understand at least the rationale and much of the working of Shang divination.15 As will become evident, although there were numerous developments in the conduct of divination, certain features remained constant throughout ancient Chinese history and across the various media used to divine.

At the same time that Academia Sinica was conducting the first systematic excavations at Anyang, evidence in the divination records there that the word zhen in the Changes originally meant something like “to divine” stimulated an entirely new approach to the Changes. In 1929, Gu Jiegang 顧頡剛 (1893–1980), already famous as the editor of the iconoclastic journal Gu shi bian 古史辨, or Discriminations of Ancient history, published an article entitled “Zhou yi gua yao ci zhong de gushi” 周易卦爻辭中的故事, or “Stories in the Hexagram and Line Statements of the Zhou Changes,” in which he used oracle-bone inscriptions and other ancient records to reinterpret the historical context of several images in the Changes.16 Several more such studies followed over the next two decades, culminating in some sense with the publica-tion in 1947 of Zhou Yi gu jing jin zhu 周易古經今注, or New Notes on the Ancient Classic “Zhou Changes” by Gao Heng 高亨 (1900–1986).17 These “new Changes Studies,” as they have come to be known, viewed the Changes not as the timeless wisdom text that it eventually be-came after the time of Confucius but attempted instead to determine how it may have been used in the actual practice of divination and what it may have meant at the time of Wen Wang and Zhou Gong.

In 1973, archaeology and the Changes intersected again with the excavation of the Han-dynasty Tomb 3 at Mawangdui 馬王堆 in Changsha 長沙, Hunan, and its famous library of ancient texts written on bamboo and silk. The manuscripts found there, including one of the Changes together with a number of early commentaries, most of them previously unknown, and also two copies of the Laozi 老子, or Dao De Jing 道德經, among many other texts, made Ma wang dui a name known around the world. Some of these manuscripts, especially those of the Laozi, were published very quickly.18 Unfortunately, formal publication of the Changes manuscript has been stalled for a variety of reasons; it has still not been formally published, forty years after its discovery. nevertheless, a preliminary report on the contents of the hexa-gram and line statements of the classic was released in 1984, photographs of this portion of the manuscript as well as the portion bearing the most important of the commentaries, the Xi ci 繫辭, or “Appended Statements,” were published in 1992, and complete transcriptions of the rest of the manuscript were published in quasi samizdat form in 1993 and 1995.19 Each of these publications stimulated flurries of excitement concerning the Changes, first because the classic portion of the text was arranged in a very different order from that of the received text and then because the new commentary material provides new perspectives on the development of the Changes tradition.


The sequence of the sixty-four hexagrams in the received text of the Changes shows no discernible logic other than that pairs of hexagrams sharing a single invertible hexagram pic-ture—or in the eight cases where inversion produces the same hexagram picture by the con-version of all lines to their opposite—are always grouped together. Thus, Sun 損, “Decrease,” the forty-first hexagram in the received sequence, has the hexagram picture ䷨, whereas the hexagram picture of Yi 益, “Increase,” the forty-second hexagram, is its inverse: ䷩. To give another example, the twenty-third hexagram in the traditional sequence, Bo 剝, “Paring,” ䷖, is paired with the twenty-fourth hexagram, Fu 復, “return,” ䷗. With hexagrams such as Qian 乾, “Vigorous,” ䷀, or Kan 坎, “Pit,” ䷜, the first and twenty-ninth hexagrams, respectively, the inversion of which would produce exactly the same picture, the pairs are Kun 坤, “Compliant,” ䷁ and Li 離, “Fasten,” ䷝, in which all lines change aspect. As many readers have noted over the millennia, the texts of these hexagram pairs are also often related, whether by complemen-tarity or by inversion. not only are Sun, “Decrease,” and Yi, “Increase,” obviously related by topic, but the Six in the Fifth line statement of Sun is virtually identical with the line statement of Yi’s Six in the Second line, which is the line that the fifth line of Sun becomes when inverted.

損六五或益之十朋之龜弗克違元吉

Sun, “Decrease,” Six in the Fifth: Someone increases it, ten double strands of turtle shells. you cannot go against them. Prime auspiciousness.20

益六二或益之十朋之龜弗克違

Yi, “Increase,” Six in the Second: Someone increases it, ten double strands of turtle shells. you cannot go against them.

Similarly, the line statements of Qian, “Vigorous,” which is usually interpreted as referring to the heavens, and Kun, “Compliant,” understood to refer to the earth, seem to complement each other as an almanac of a full year.21

By contrast, the Mawangdui manuscript is arranged according to systematic combinations of the hexagrams’ constituent three-line graphs, usually referred to in the West as trigrams. Each of the eight trigrams forms a set of eight hexagrams all sharing the same top trigram, ac-cording to the following order (using the names of the trigrams as given in the manuscript):

☰ ☶ ☵ ☳ ☷ ☱ ☲ ☴

Jian Gen Gan Chen Chuan Duo Luo Suan 鍵根贛辰川奪羅筭

They combine in turn with trigrams of the bottom trigram in the following order (except that each of the top trigrams first combines with its same trigram):


☰ ☷ ☶ ☱ ☵ ☲ ☳ ☴

Jian Chuan Gen Duo Gan Luo Chen Suan 鍵川根奪贛羅辰筭

This gives a hexagram sequence completely different from that of the received text, as seen in table 1.1. When this sequence was first published, there was a vigorous debate as to whether the hexagram sequence of the manuscript or that of the received text represented the original or, at least, an earlier sequence.22 There is still no definitive evidence with which to resolve this debate,23 though there does seem to be a growing consensus that the Mawangdui manu-script represents primarily a sequence used by diviners of the Han dynasty (202 b.c.–a.d. 220).24

Ten years after the first publication of the hexagram and line statements portion of the manuscript, bare transcriptions of the remaining portions of the manuscript—five or six com-mentaries, depending on how one counts—were finally published. Only one of these commen-taries, that of the Xi ci, or “Appended Statements,” was previously known, and even its contents were somewhat different from those of the received text. This publication again brought the Changes to the forefront of scholarly interest and touched off yet another vigorous debate, this one over whether this particular commentary reflects more Confucian or Daoist thought.25

The Xi ci, like the other canonical commentaries found in the received text, was traditionally supposed to have been written by Confucius. Even though the Mawangdui manuscript, like the received version of the Xi ci, includes numerous sayings explicitly attributed to Confucius, several passages of the received text were not found in the manuscript but rather in one or an-other of the manuscript’s other commentaries. Some scholars argued that these were precisely the passages with the strongest Confucian message and that they must have been introduced into the received text of the Xi ci some time after the imperial recognition of Confucianism in 136 b.c., thirty years after the date of the Mawangdui burial. This too is a debate for which no definitive evidence has surfaced; indeed, it is hard to imagine what sort of evidence might re-solve it. Fortunately, in the years following the excavation of the Mawangdui tomb, there have been numerous other discoveries that have kept scholars occupied with other issues.

Already between the time of the opening of the Mawangdui tomb in 1973 and the first publication of the hexagram and line statements portion of its Changes manuscript in 1984, archaeologists had discovered several other sorts of textual materials that have perhaps even more bearing on the original nature of the Changes (as opposed to how the text came to be un-derstood). First, in 1975 a tomb was opened at Shuihudi 睡虎地, yunmeng 雲夢, Hubei, with 1,235 bamboo strips (of which fully 1,155 were intact) on which were written records of various sorts. This would prove to be but the first of many significant discoveries of tombs with texts

Table 1.1 sequence of hexagrams in the mawangdui Zhou Yi manuscript

(The sequence number and name above each hexagram picture refer to the mawangdui manuscript; those below refer to the received text.)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Jian Fu Yuan Li Song Tong Ren Wumeng Gou

鍵婦掾禮訟同人无孟狗

䷀ ䷋ ䷠ ䷉ ䷅ ䷌ ䷘ ䷫

乾否遯履訟同人无妄姤

Qian Fou Dun Lü Song Tong Ren Wu Wang Gou

1 12 33 10 6 13 25 44

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Gen Tai Xu Bo Sun Meng Fan Yi Gu

根泰畜剝損蒙繁頤箇

䷳ ䷙ ䷖ ䷈ ䷃ ䷕ ䷚ ䷑

艮大畜剝損蒙賁頤蠱

Gen Da Chu Bo Sun Meng Ben Yi Gu

52 26 23 41 4 22 27 18

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Gan Ru Bi Jian Jie Ji Ji Zhun Jing

贛襦比䞿節既濟屯井

䷜ ䷄ ䷇ ䷦ ䷻ ䷾ ䷂ ䷮

坎需比蹇節既濟屯井

Kan Xu Bi Jian Jie Ji Ji Zhun Jing

29 5 8 39 60 63 3 48

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Chen Tai Zhuang Yu Shao Guo Gui Mei Jie Feng heng

辰泰壯余少過歸妹解豐恆

䷲ ䷡ ䷏ ䷽ ䷵ ䷧ ䷶ ䷟

震大壯豫小過歸妹解豐恆

Zhen Da Zhuang Yu Xiao Guo Gui Mei Xie Feng heng

51 34 16 62 54 40 55 32

Table 1.1 (continued)

33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Chuan Tai Qian Lin Shi Ming Yi Fu Deng

川泰嗛林師明夷復登

䷁ ䷊ ䷎ ䷒ ䷆ ䷣ ䷗ ䷭

坤泰謙臨師明夷復升

Kun Tai Qian Lin Shi Ming Yi Fu Sheng

2 11 15 19 7 36 24 46

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

Duo Guai Zu Qin Kun Le Sui Tai Guo

奪訣卒欽困勒隋泰過

䷹ ䷪ ䷬ ䷞ ䷮ ䷰ ䷐ ䷛

兌夬萃咸困革隨大過

Dui Guai Cui Xian Kun Ge Sui Da Guo

58 43 45 31 47 49 17 28

49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56

Luo Da You Jin Lü Guai Wei Ji Shi Ke Ding

羅大有溍旅乖未濟筮嗑鼎

䷝ ䷍ ䷢ ䷷ ䷥ ䷿ ䷔ ䷱

離大有晉旅睽未濟噬嗑鼎

Li Da You Jin Lü Kui Wei Ji Shi Ke Ding

30 14 35 56 38 64 21 50

57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

Xun Shao Shu Guan Jian Zhong Fu huan Jia Ren Yi

算少觀漸中復涣家人益

䷸ ䷈ ䷓ ䷴ ䷼ ䷺ ䷤ ䷩

巽小畜觀漸中孚涣家人益

Xun Xiao Chu Guan Jian Zhong Fu huan Jia Ren Yi

57 9 20 53 61 59 37 42


in the present-day province of Hubei, which was the homeland of the great southern state of Chu 楚 and which, by chance, has a high water table that serves to preserve organic materials, such as bamboo-strip manuscripts, buried in ancient tombs. The texts in the tomb at Shuihudi included a hybrid public-private annals chronicling significant events in the state of Qin 秦 beginning in 305 b.c. and in the life of the deceased, a man named Xi 喜, from his birth in 262 until the last entry in 217, presumably the year of his death.26 The private entries in this annals indicate that Xi was a local magistrate, so it is fitting that the tomb also contained law codes of the state of Qin, which had previously conquered the region, as well as a text entitled Wei li zhi dao 為吏之道, or The Way of Being a Public Servant.27 However, the lengthiest single texts are two copies of a rishu 日書, or daybook or almanac that indicates auspicious days for the performance of such actions as making sacrifices, giving birth to children, digging wells, marrying, and going on military campaign, among many other specific and general topics.28

The following passages covering six different types of days give a fair indication of the nature of these texts:29

結日作事不成以祭閵生子毋弟有弟必死以寄人必奪主室

On Knot days, starting affairs will not be successful; for making sacrifices, distress; in giving birth to a son, it ought not be a younger brother, for if it is a younger brother, he will certainly die; in entrusting to others, the one entrusted will certainly take over the host’s house.

陽日百事順成邦君得年小夫四成以蔡上下羣神鄉之乃盈志

On Sunny days, the hundred affairs will all be successful; the country and district will get their harvests, and the common people will be successful all around; in sacrificing, all the higher and lower spirits will receive it and then fulfill one’s intent.

交日利以實事鑿井吉以祭門行水吉

On Intersecting days, beneficial for solid affairs; digging a well will be auspicious; sacrificing, moving gates, and moving water will be auspicious.

害日利以除凶厲兌不羊祭門行吉以祭最眾必亂者

On Harmful days, beneficial to dispel the ominous and danger and to get rid of what is not lucky; sacrificing and moving gates will be auspicious; sacrificing in great number will cer-tainly be disorderly.

陰日利以家室祭祀家子取婦入材大吉以見君上數達毋咎

On Shady days, beneficial to marry and start a household; sacrificial offerings, marrying a son, taking a wife, and contributing resources will be greatly auspicious; in seeing the lord or superiors, if you arrive several times, there will be no trouble.


達日利以行帥出正見人以祭上下皆吉生子男吉女必出於邦

On Arriving days, beneficial to set the army in motion and go out on campaign and to see others; in sacrificing, the high and low will all be auspicious; in giving birth to children, males will be auspicious, for females will certainly leave the country.

not only are these the same sorts of topics addressed by the hexagram and line statements of the Changes but also several of the prognostications and injunctions seen here, such as “benefi-cial to dispel the ominous and danger” (li yi chu xiong li 利以除凶厲), “beneficial to marry and start a household” (li yi jia shi 利以家室), or “beneficial to set the army in motion and go out on campaign” (li yi xing shi chu zheng 利以行帥出正),30 share specific vocabulary with certain hexagram and line statements in the Changes (not to mention such common formulas as “nothing not beneficial” [wu bu li 无不利], “beneficial to have someplace to go” [li you you wang 利有攸往], etc.), as the following examples show.

謙六五不富以其鄰利用侵伐无不利

Qian, “Modesty,” Six in the Fifth: not enriched by his neighbor. Beneficial herewith to in-vade and attack. There is nothing not beneficial.

謙上六鳴謙利用行師征邑國

Qian, “Modesty,” Top Six: Calling modesty. Beneficial herewith to set in motion the army and correct the city and kingdom.

大畜初九有厲利已

Da Chu, “Greater Livestock,” First nine: There is danger. Beneficial to sacrifice.

大過九二枯楊生稊老夫得其女妻无不利

Da Guo, “Greater Surpassing,” nine in the Second: The withered poplar grows shoots, the old man gets his woman wife. There is nothing not beneficial.

蹇利西南不利東北利見大人貞吉

Jian, “Lame”: Beneficial to the southwest, not beneficial to the northeast. Beneficial to see the great man. Determining: auspicious.

益初九利用為大作元吉无咎

Yi, “Increase,” First nine: Beneficial herewith to undertake a great action. Prime auspicious-ness. There is no trouble.

困九二困于酒食朱紱方來利用亨祀征凶无咎


Kun, “Bound,” nine in the Second: Bound by wine and food. The country of the scarlet kneepads comes. Beneficial herewith to make offering and sacrifice. Campaigning: ominous. There is no trouble.

鼎初六鼎顛趾利出否得妾以其子无咎

Ding, “Cauldron,” First Six: The cauldron’s overturned legs. Beneficial to expel the bad, to get a wife together with her children. There is no trouble.

These examples from both the daybook and the Changes could be multiplied many times over. It seems clear that both texts derived from much the same sort of cultural context.

Two years after the discovery of the Shuihudi bamboo-strip texts, in 1977, archaeologists unearthed a very different sort of divination texts at Fengchu 鳳雛, Qishan 岐山, Shaanxi, in the middle of an area referred to as the Zhouyuan 周原, or “Plain of Zhou,” traditionally regarded as the homeland of the Zhou people (from whom the other name of the Changes, Zhou Yi 周易, or Zhou Changes, derives).31 Buried within the confines of a midsize temple or residential structure was a cache of seventeen thousand pieces of turtle shell, about three hun-dred of them inscribed.32 This was the first major discovery of oracle-bone inscriptions outside the Shang capital at Anyang and demonstrated beyond any doubt that turtle-shell divination was by no means practiced only by the Shang people. Although most of these inscriptions are quite fragmentary, they seem to concern activities undertaken by the first kings of the Zhou dynasty, probably in the eleventh century b.c. The following, H11:1, is a rare example of a complete divination prayer.

癸子彝文武帝乙宗貞王其祭成唐鼎禦𠬝二女彝血三甶又正

On guisi [day 30], performing the yi sacrifice at the temple of the accomplished and martial Di yi, determining: “The king will sacrifice to Cheng Tang, performing a cauldron exorcism of the two surrendered women and a yi sacrifice with the blood of three rams and three sows; would that it be correct.”

Although the content of this inscription, seemingly indicating that the Zhou king directed at least some of his sacrifices to the high ancestor of the Shang kings (with whom he seems to have been related by blood), remains unique in the inventory of Zhou divination records,33

it displays a format that would remain standard for centuries to come. Like the Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, it begins with a preface indicating the time and place of the divination ritual, followed by the topic of the divination, in this case proposing the sacrifice of two women and six domesticated animals. Somewhat different from the Shang inscriptions, the divination then concludes with a formulaic prayer stating the hope that the spirits to whom the divination was directed would regard the action as correct.34


Another feature of the Zhouyuan oracle-bone inscriptions, as these divination records are usually called, bears perhaps even more directly on the origin of Changes divination. Sev-eral pieces contain sets of six numerals, which scholars now almost universally agree reflect an early form of the six-lined graphs—the hexagrams—so famous from the Changes. Since the first identification of these sets of numerals, by the Chinese scholar Zhang Zhenglang 張政烺 (1912–2005),35 scores of other examples have been discovered on various media. Zhang suggested, in line with traditional Chinese numerology, that odd numbers in these sets should be regarded as yang, and thus correspond with solid lines of Changes hexagrams, whereas even numbers should be regarded as yin, and thus correspond with broken lines. For instance, on the fragment H11:85, we find the following text:

七六六七一八曰其…

既漁…

7-6-6-7-1-8 says: It . . . ‥having already fished . . .36

According to Zhang, the two numbers “7” and the “1” should convert to yang, or solid lines, and the two numbers “6” and the “8” would convert to yin, or broken lines, producing the hexagram picture ䷑, which in the Changes tradition corresponds with Gu 蠱, “Parasites,” hexa-gram (hexagram 18 in the traditional Changes sequence). Unfortunately, this—and all other

Figure 1.1 Line drawing of Zhouyuan oracle bone H11:85; after Xu Xitai 徐錫臺, Zhouyuan jiaguwen zongshu 周原甲骨文綜疏述 (Xi’an: San Qin chubanshe, 1986), 60


Zhouyuan oracle bones with these numerical symbols—is fragmentary and provides little or no context for understanding what role it played in the divination. For example, although oth-ers read the two columns of characters together, treating the words ji yu 既漁, “having already fished,” in the second column as something akin to a line statement, not only is there no similar line statement in the received text of the Changes, but also it is not even clear that this belongs to the same divination or what the missing characters might be.37

Archaeological work has continued to the present day in the vicinity of the 1977 discov-ery. A pair of discoveries made in the opening years of the new millennium both bear—rather differently—on these numerical symbols. One of these discoveries is once again a piece of in-scribed turtle shell that was certainly used in divination. Excavated in 2003 very near Qijia 齊家 village, just to the east of the Fengchu temple or residence that produced the first great discovery of Zhou oracle bones, it is but one of numerous new Zhou oracle-bone inscriptions that have been unearthed in recent years.38 This piece contains three separate divinations, all concerning an illness of someone apparently unnamed. Unfortunately, one of two main verbs of the inscriptions has never before been seen and is not readily interpreted, and the other verb has also been interpreted in two quite different ways; although the translations offered here should be regarded as tentative, the overall sense seems clear: these are divinations regarding someone who is ill, proposing rituals that the diviner(s) hope will bring improvement in his condition.

Figure 1.2 Line drawing of Qijia Village oracle bone A3H90:79; after Cao, “Zhouyuan xin chu Xi Zhou jiagu wen yanjiu,” 45


翌日甲寅其甶廖

八七五六八七

On the next day, jiayin [day 51], we will make offering; would that he improve.8-7-5-6-8-7

其甶又廖

八六七六八八

We will pray; would that there be improvement.8-6-7-6-8-8

我既甶又

八七六八六七

We have already made offering and prayed; would that he be blessed.8-7-6-8-6-7

There are three things to note about the inscriptions on this single oracle bone.First, as in the example from Fengchu translated above, all three of the divination records

here are phrased as prayers to the spirits, the final formulaic phrase being initiated with the word si 甶 (i.e., 思), “to wish; would that.” As mentioned above, the realization that ancient Chinese divination, in all its forms, was phrased in the form of a prayer and conceived of as a purposeful expression of the diviner’s intention is a key to understanding how these divina-tions functioned. This is as true of divination with the Changes as it is of turtle-shell divination.

Second, the three records are obviously related, with the first two apparently proposing two contrasting propitiatory rituals (one, the never before seen character , plausibly being a form of sacrifice,39 and the other , a character for which two different transcriptions have been proposed, apparently indicating a form of prayer40), whereas the third seems to have been produced after the first two (as shown by the word ji 既, “after; having done”). As I show below (p. 21 and n. 56), this two-step procedure seems to have been a regular feature of Zhou-dynasty turtle-shell divination and may well also have influenced Changes divination.

And third, each of the records is paired with one of these sets of six numerals. There is now a scholarly consensus that these sets of numerals express the result of some sort of divina-tion by sortilege, such as the sorting of milfoil stalks traditionally used in Changes divination, even if it is still unclear how the results of this sortilege divination came to be related either to those of the oracle-bone divination or to the solid and broken lines of the Changes hexagrams.41


The second discovery was actually made two years earlier than that at Qijia village. In 2001, in Xiren 西仁 village, Chang’an 長安 county, Shaanxi, archaeologists from the Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology excavated the remains of a Western Zhou pottery workshop. They recovered from it several pottery paddles, pestle-shaped pottery tools used in the making of pottery vessels. On two of these, there were numerical symbols, in one case (CHX 採集: 1) two such symbols lined up vertically next to each other and in the other case (CHX 採集: 2) four symbols arranged in a sort of ring, with two oriented vertically and two horizontally.42 The numbers on CHX 採集: 1 are particularly easy to see:

Figure 1.3 CHX 採集: 1 Pottery paddle; after Cao, “Tao pai shang de shuzi gua yanjiu,” 66

Figure 1.4 CHX 採集: 1 Inscription; after Cao, “Tao pai shang de shuzi gua yanjiu,” 66


They read (from right to left) 六一六一六一, or 6-1-6-1-6-1, and 一六一六一六, or 1-6-1-6-1-6 (note that the numbers are upside down in the photograph of the paddle). Converting these numbers to the solid and broken lines of a hexagram would produce the two hexagram pictures ䷾ and ䷿, which in the Changes are the hexagrams Ji Ji 既濟, “Already Across,” and Wei Ji 未濟, “not yet Across,” the sixty-third and sixty-fourth hexagrams in the traditional se-quence. Cao Wei 曹瑋, the lead excavator of the site, interprets this pair of hexagram pictures to represent the result of a single divination performed in conjunction with the production of this or some other pottery piece, one of the symbols being the “base hexagram” (ben gua 本卦) result and one being the “changing hexagram” (zhi gua 之卦), known from later divina-tion practice. This is unlikely, not only because there is no other early evidence that divination resulted in such changing hexagrams,43 and certainly none in which all six lines “change,” as would be the case here, but also because of the groupings of numerals on the second pottery paddle.

The numerical symbols engraved on the second pottery paddle are by no means as easy to see or to read as those on the first. Indeed, it is only in a line drawing that the numbers become more or less clear. What is clear is that there are four sets of six numerals (though one number of the far left-hand set has been effaced): two oriented vertically (in the rubbing) and two oriented horizontally, though the two horizontally oriented sets seem to run in opposite direc-tions from each other (based on the orientation of the number “6” [∧, i.e., liu 六]). reading these from right to left produces the following “hexagrams”:

八八六八一八 ䷆ Shi 師, “Army” 8-8-6-8-1-8

八一六六六六 ䷇ Bi 比, “Alliance”8-1-6-6-6-6

一一六一一一 ䷈ Xiao Chu 小畜, “Lesser Livestock”1-1-6-1-1-1

一一一六一[一] ䷉ Lü 履, “Stepping”1-1-1-6-1-[1]

These are the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth hexagrams in the traditional sequence of the Changes. As Li Xueqin 李學勤 has pointed out, even if one or another of these symbols was the result of an actual divination, it is almost inconceivable that a pair of divinations could produce “changing hexagrams” in exactly this sequence.44 He argues instead that both this grouping and that on the first paddle (which produces the two hexagrams Ji Ji and Wei Ji)

Figure 1.5 CHX 採集: 2 Pottery paddle; after Cao, “Tao pai shang de shuzi gua yanjiu,” 67

Figure 1.6 CHX 採集: 2 rubbing; after Cao, “Tao pai shang de shuzi gua yanjiu,” 68

Figure 1.7 CHX 採集: 2 Line drawing; after Cao, “Tao pai shang de shuzi gua yanjiu,” 68


must reflect a deliberate selection of hexagram pictures. He argues, as well, that if this is so, it provides strong evidence that the traditional sequence of the sixty-four hexagrams in the Changes was already in existence no later than the late Western Zhou, the date of the latest pieces found in this pottery workshop.

As Li says, “this kind of discovery ought to be regarded as astounding,”45 if the transcrip-tion and analysis are correct. There are reasons for skepticism: it is unclear why two of the groupings should be oriented vertically and two horizontally; it is even more unclear why the two horizontally oriented groupings of numbers should run in reverse directions; the sixth number of the last grouping of numbers has been effaced and has to be supplied by inference;46

the pieces seem to have been “collected” (caiji 採集) at the site rather than excavated in situ; and finally, it is difficult to understand why hexagram pictures should appear on the handle of a pottery paddle. nevertheless, these two pieces do represent hard archaeological evidence of these numerical hexagram pictures that has to be taken into account in any history of the development of the Changes.

To return to the year 1977, when the first Zhouyuan oracle bones were being discovered in western China’s Shaanxi province, it was a time of other important archaeological discoveries also very much related to the Changes. In that same year, archaeologists in the eastern province of Anhui excavated a pair of Han-dynasty tomb mounds at a site called Shuanggudui 雙古堆 in the city of Fuyang 阜陽. The larger of the two mounds turned out to be the tomb of the lord of the state of ruyin 汝陰, who is known from historical records to have died in 165 b.c. This is just three years later than the date of the Mawangdui tomb, which had been discovered four years earlier. Like the Mawangdui tomb, this tomb too was furnished with a veritable library of ancient texts, these all written on bamboo strips: an early dictionary called the Cang Jie pian 倉頡篇, a copy of the Shi jing 詩經, or Classic of Poetry, a medical text called Wan wu 萬物, or Ten Thousand Things, two different sorts of historical annals, and a daybook, as well as a text of the Zhou Yi.47 Unfortunately, the bamboo strips on which these texts were written were very badly preserved. Thus, even though a brief report of the discovery was published in 1983, with a surprisingly accurate description of most of the texts, it was not until the year 2000 that a complete transcription of the Fuyang Zhou Yi, as this text is now usually called, was finally published.48

The eight hundred fragments of which this text was constituted still represent only a small portion of the entire text,49 but they suffice to show the original nature of this manuscript. It is composed first of all of the individual hexagram and line statements of the Changes, matching the received text rather closely. Then, to each of these hexagram and line statements is attached at least one and often several formulaic divination statements of the type seen in the daybook from Shuihudi. These formulas concern personal topics, administrative topics, work-related topics, and also, of course, the weather. Even a thumbnail description such as this should suf-fice to suggest how important the Fuyang Zhou Yi manuscript is for understanding how the


text was used in a divination context as late as the Han dynasty. In chapter 6, I describe the text in much more detail, discussing as well its significance for the history of the Changes, and in chapter 7, I provide a complete translation of the manuscript.

The archaeological discoveries of the 1970s, of which those mentioned constitute only a portion (among other notable discoveries, doubtless the best known are the terra-cotta army unearthed near the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi 秦始皇帝, the First Emperor [r. 246/221–210 b.c.], and the Shang-dynasty tomb of Fu Hao 婦好 [d. ca. 1195 b.c.], consort of the Shang king Wu Ding), were so astounding in both their number and quality and so unprecedented compared even with the previous excavations at Anyang that scholars often use the decade as a dividing line in the study of ancient China: prior to that time studies of early China were based almost exclusively on the received literature; since then, there have been increasing calls to “rewrite” early Chinese history based on unearthed evidence.50 Fortunately, the end of the decade did not bring an end to archaeological discoveries. Indeed, with respect to manuscripts and other textual materials, the pace of discovery seems only to have accelerated.

Almost all the manuscript materials discovered in the 1970s, whether written on bamboo or silk, derived from the Han dynasty. Only the Shuihudi tomb, the occupant of which died in 217 b.c., dates to before this period, and even it came four years after the Qin unification of China in 221 b.c. Whether in terms of institutional or intellectual history, the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 b.c.) has long marked the foremost dividing line in ancient Chinese history. In short order, the Qin government instituted a centralized bureaucracy marked by unified standards for all the states that it had conquered. One of these standardizations was a unifica-tion of the writing styles that had been used in those states during the preceding centuries, known as the period of the Warring States. Another Qin attempt at intellectual unification was the infamous “burning of the books” in 213. It is now much debated just how much effect this imperial decree actually had,51 but it does seem that a great deal of China’s ancient literary heritage disappeared about this time (perhaps due as much, if not more, to the destruction caused by the civil war that brought the Qin dynasty to an end a few years later). Scholars and rulers alike in the subsequent Han dynasty made great efforts to reconstitute this literary heritage, searching among the populace for copies of ancient texts, editing them, and produc-ing fair copies for the imperial library, rewritten in the new clerical script of the time. Despite the great debt that the Chinese literary tradition owes to these editors, modern historians have long suspected that their editorial activities had the effect of “rewriting” the texts in ways more important than just changing the style of script used.52 Thus, despite the great discoveries of the 1970s, scholars still yearned for manuscripts that came from the Warring States period. They did not have long to wait.

The first significant discovery of textual material from the Warring States period came in January 1987, from tomb 2 at Baoshan 包山, in Hubei province near the former capital of the southern state of Chu 楚. The 288 bamboo-strip documents in the tomb show that this was


the tomb of one Shao Tuo 召, a local magistrate who died in 316 b.c.53 The greater part of the strips record court cases over which he presided and thus provide rare information about the history of law in ancient China.54 However, there is also a considerable corpus, fifty-four strips, that record divinations that were performed and prayers that were offered on behalf of Shao Tuo during the last years of his life. Although many of these divinations used turtle shells, five of them used some method that produced a result expressed as a pair of hexagrams. With both methods, the record of the divination is essentially identical, beginning with the date of the divination, the name of the diviner presiding, and the divination material he used. This was followed by the topic, or “charge,” of the divination proper, expressed as a desire that the matter would result in success. The divination officer then prognosticated the result, invariably inter-preting the auspices as indicating that though the long-term prognosis was auspicious, in the short term there were problems requiring sacrificial propitiation. The record of these sacrifices was accompanied by yet another prayer for their success and a final prognostication, invariably “auspicious,” offered by a different person. The following example is illustrative:

大司馬悼愲將楚邦之師以救郙之歲荆尸之月己卯之日陳乙以共命為左尹

貞出入侍王自荆尸之月以就集歲之荆尸之月盡集歲躬身尚毋有咎一六六八

六六一　六六一一六占之恒貞吉少有憂于宫室以其故敚之舉禱宫行一白犬

酉飤甶攻敘于宫室五生占之曰吉

In the year that the Great Supervisor of the Horse Dao Hua led the army of the Chu state to relieve Fu, in the Jingshi month, on the day jimao, Chen yi used the Proffered Command to divine on behalf of Commander of the Left Tuo: “Coming out and going in to serve the king, from the Jingshi month all the way until the next Jingshi month throughout the entire year, would that his person not have any trouble.” 1-6-6-8-6-6 1-6-6-1-1-6 He prognosticated it: “The long-term divination is auspicious, but there is a little worry in the palace chamber. For this reason propitiate it, raising up prayers in the palace, moving one white dog and ale to drink; would that this dispel the trouble in the palace chamber.” Wu Sheng prognosticated it, saying: “Auspicious.”55

This divination record reveals much: again that divination was phrased as a prayer to the spirits seeking their aid in arriving at some desired result; that the results could be expressed in the form of hexagrams known from the Changes tradition; and that the results required prognos-tication. On the other hand, there is also much about which this record does not inform us. Why was the result expressed in the form of a pair of hexagrams? And why was it necessary, as it seems to have been, to perform two divinations and two prognostications, and how and why did the second differ from the first? And did the diviner consult a book in arriving at his prog-nostication, and if so did it bear any resemblance to the received Changes? Elsewhere I have


offered certain hypotheses that may help to answer the first two of these questions, but since the evidence remains unclear, it seems desirable for now to leave them as open questions.56

However, with respect to the final pair of questions, some evidence has recently become avail-able that might point the way to some answers.

In July 1994, a cache of more than fifteen hundred bamboo strips was unearthed from a large tomb at Geling 葛陵 village, fifteen miles northwest of Xincai 新蔡, Henan. The first report on the tomb was released only in 2002, followed quickly by the formal site report in 2003.57 It shows that this was the tomb of a local lord named Cheng, Lord of Pingye 平夜君成, many of the records in the tomb recording divinations about him. The date of his death is still under debate, but the most probable date seems to be 398 b.c.,58 more than half a century earlier than even the Baoshan strips and thus reaching back near the early stage of the Warring States period. Among the texts are the following bamboo strips, unfortunately all fragmentary, that share common physical characteristics and the same handwriting. Song Huaqiang 宋華強, who has studied these strips in detail, believes that they derive from a single act of divina-tion, apparently concerning a trip by Cheng to the Chu capital of ying 郢, perhaps to respond to some rumor or allegation against him.59 The first two strips begin like the divination records from Baoshan, but the latter two seem to quote material very similar to line statements that we find in the Changes. Indeed, the word in the last strip translated here as “oracle” (zhou 繇) is the same word used to refer to the hexagram lines and line statements of the Changes.60

齊客陳異致福于王之歲獻馬之月乙丑之日. . . The year that the Qi envoy Chen yi presented blessings to the king, the Xianma month, the yichou day . . .

. . . 衤筮為君貞居郢還返至于東陵尚毋有咎占曰兆无咎有祟 . . .

. . . X divining by milfoil on behalf of the lord, determined: “residing in ying and returning as far as Dongling, would that there not be any trouble.” Prognosticating, he said: In the result there is no trouble, [but] there is a curse . . .

. . . (䷌ ䷇) 是而口亦不為大訽毋卹无咎 . . .

. . . (䷌ ䷇) This is to stab and wound your mouth. Still this is not a great shame. Don’t worry; there is no trouble. . . .

. . . 其繇曰氏日末兑大言䜝小言惙若组若结终以 . . .

. . . its oracle says: This day’s end is Dui: major sayings so sincere, minor sayings so worrisome. Orderly and knotlike, in the end use to . . .61


It would seem that the text of the third strip translated above represents the divination official’s extemporaneous prognostication of the hexagram result, beginning with a rhyming couplet that first describes the omen of the result and then provides his assessment of its significance. This is followed by his advice to the person for whom the divination was being performed: “don’t worry” (wu xu 毋卹62) and “there is no trouble” (wu jiu 无咎). Both these phrases oc-cur formulaically in the received text of the Changes (wu jiu, “there is no trouble,” occurring ninety-three times); indeed, they both occur in both the nine in the Third line statement of Tai 泰, “Greatness,” and the First Six of Cui 萃, “Assembled,” hexagrams:

泰九三无平不陂无往不復艱貞无咎勿恤其孚于食有福

Tai, “Greatness,” nine in the Third: There is no flat that does not slope, there is no going that does not return. Determining about difficulty: there is no trouble. Don’t worry about his trust; in food there are blessings.

萃初六有孚不終乃亂乃萃若號一握為笑勿恤往无咎

Cui, “Assembled,” First Six: There is trust unending, then disordered then assembled, like a scream once grasped becomes a laugh. Don’t worry. Going: there is no trouble.

I suspect that we see in this Xincai divination record something of the process by which the Changes line statements were originally produced.63 This is a topic that I explore in more detail in chapter 6 in the context of the Fuyang Zhou Yi manuscript.

On the other hand, as Song Huaqiang 宋華強 has argued, the “oracle” quoted on the fourth strip,

氏日末兑大言䜝小言惙若组若结终以 . . .This day’s end is Dui: major sayings so sincere, minor sayings so worrisome. Orderly and knotlike, in the end use to . . . ,

may have been taken from a divination manual similar to, though obviously not the same as, the Changes.64 It begins with a phrase introducing the omen followed by a couplet that indicates its auspices for the situation being divined, differentiated by being “greater” (da 大) and “lesser” (xiao 小), and then perhaps followed by a sort of verification (initiated by the word zhong 终, “in the end”). Although this oracle is not found in the received text of the Changes, its format is more or less similar to some line statements of that text, as in the following examples:

坎六三來之坎坎險且枕入于坎窞勿用

Kan, “Pit,” Six in the Third: Bringing it bam-bam: Steep and deep, entering into the pit open-ing. Do not use it.


遯九四好遯君子吉小人否

Dun, “Piglet,” nine in the Fourth: A good piglet. For a nobleman auspicious, for a little man not.

家人九三家人嗃嗃悔厲吉婦子嘻嘻終吝

Jia Ren, “Family People,” nine in the Third: Family people ha-ha. regret; danger; auspicious. Wives and children, hee-hee. In the end, distress.

夬九三壯于頄有凶君子夬夬獨行遇雨若濡有慍无咎

Guai, “resolute,” nine in the Third: Wounded on the forehead. It is ominous. The noble-man is so resolute: Moving alone and meeting rain, if wet he will get steamed up. There is no trouble.

節六三不節若則嗟若无咎

Jie, “Moderation,” Six in the Third: If not moderately, then sighingly. There is no trouble.

It is worth noting that Dui 兑, the omen mentioned, is the name of one of the eight trigrams (☱) and sixty-four hexagrams (䷹). In the Changes tradition at least, this trigram is associated with the mouth and speech.65 This perhaps explains why “sayings” (yan 言) are men-tioned here, and perhaps also why this oracle might give rise to the extemporaneous prognos-tication given in the third of the Xincai strips: “This is to stab and wound your mouth” (shi ce chuang er kou 是而口).

Even though these Xincai bamboo strips were discovered in 1994, they became available to the scholarly world only in 2002 with the publication of the excavation’s first site report. In the years between their discovery and first publication, several other sites in Hubei, near where the Baoshan strips had been found, were excavated and the texts in them published, truly launching the study of Warring States bamboo strips. Indeed, the year before, 1993, was a year of very great significance in the study of ancient Chinese texts and thought. There were three discoveries of texts from the fourth and third centuries b.c., all three astounding in dif-ferent ways.

The first of the discoveries to come to widespread public attention came from a tomb in the village of Guodian 郭店, like that of Baoshan just outside the Warring States capital of the southern state of Chu. In August 1993, tomb robbers dug down to the wooden planks cover-ing the outer coffin of the tomb before apparently giving up their efforts. Archaeologists from the nearby Jingmen 荊門 City Museum went to the site, determined that no harm had been done, and filled in the tomb. However, two months later, robbers struck the tomb again, this time opening a shaft into the tomb chamber itself and taking out some of the grave goods and damaging many of the rest. Fortunately, the archaeologists returned to the tomb and were able


to salvage much of its contents, including a large cache (804 strips) of bamboo strips, most of which were intact, even if at first blackened and rather in a jumble.66 Unlike the Baoshan strips discovered six years earlier, these strips bore philosophical texts, including what was announced first to be three early copies of the Laozi, after the Changes probably the next most studied and discussed text in the Chinese philosophical tradition. An international conference greeted the publication of these strips less than five years later,67 and for two or three years it seemed that every scholar in China and many also in the West thought of nothing else. Even from the vantage point of ten years’ distance, that enthusiasm does not seem to have been misplaced, even though the Guodian strips probably raised more new questions than they answered old ones. When the strips had been published, it turned out that whereas the Laozi texts were indeed interesting,68 most scholars focused more on the other fifteen or so texts that seem to provide evidence of the development of the Confucian tradition during the crucial period be-tween the death of Confucius (479 b.c.) and the time of Mencius 孟子 (ca. 320–310 b.c.).69 Although none of the Guodian texts quotes the Changes directly,70 two of them do mention it in important ways. The text Liu de 六德, or Six Virtues, lists the Yi along with the Shi 詩 (Poetry), Shu 書 (Documents), Li 禮 (Rites), Yue 樂 (Music), and Chun qiu 春秋 (Springs and Autumns), obviously understanding them as the “six classics,” and the text known as Yu cong I 語叢 (Thicket of Sayings), apparently in a similar context, says of the Yi that it “is that by which the way of heaven and the way of man are brought together” (Yi suo yi hui tian dao ren dao ye 易所以會天道人道也).71 It is clear from this that already by the late fourth century b.c., the Changes was regarded by some at least as an integral part of the classics.

At about the same time the archaeologists were salvaging the Guodian tomb, tomb rob-bers apparently struck at another tomb, probably in the same general area. One can only say “apparently” and “probably” because archaeologists seem never to have found the tomb. In-stead, the bamboo strips from it appeared early in 1994 in the Hong Kong antique market, where they were purchased on behalf of the Shanghai Museum. The Shanghai Museum is the oldest and arguably the most important museum in China and was led at the time by a particu-larly vibrant director, Ma Chengyuan 馬承源 (1927–2004). The museum organized a team of scholars to edit these strips, which turned out to be similar to but even more extensive than the Guodian strips. nine volumes have been published to date, at the rate of about one a year, each volume touching off a new spate of studies.72 Among the strips published in the third volume, in 2003, was a copy of the Changes.73 Although the manuscript is fragmentary, with only about a third of the received text available, it is clear that the hexagram and line statements portion of the text was complete—essentially in the form in which we know it today.

As is the case with virtually all early manuscripts of texts with transmitted counterparts, there are in the Shanghai Museum manuscript a great many graphic variants vis-à-vis the re-ceived text. There is still no consensus as to what value to assign to these variants. Many of the earliest studies of the text have taken the position that the readings of the received text are


“correct,” and that most of the manuscript differences are tantamount to spelling errors. Oth-ers would argue that as the earliest text of the Changes that we have, the manuscript’s readings should always have priority. Probably the correct approach lies somewhere between these two extremes, with the received text sometimes superior, the manuscript sometimes superior, and very often with both versions having something to recommend them. As I argue in chapter 2, in which I give a detailed presentation of the manuscript and its historical significance, the enigmatic images of the Changes may not be amenable to traditional textual criticism, the di-viners and exegetes responsible for its creation and transmission having reveled in the multiple possibilities inhering in the early form of the Chinese script.

Much of the interest in the Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Changes to date has concerned one of two questions, which may well be interrelated. First is the question of the sequence of hexagrams in it, a question that has loomed large in Changes studies ever since the Mawangdui manuscript was discovered with its radically different arrangement. A crucial feature of the Shanghai Museum manuscript is that each hexagram begins on a new bamboo strip, with the text then continuing onto one or two (or in one case three) more strips, with any space leftover on the last strip left blank. Given this format it would have been difficult to de-termine the original sequence of the hexagrams even under ideal archaeological circumstances. As noted, the circumstances of the Shanghai Museum manuscripts were far from ideal. By the time the strips had passed from the hands of the tomb robbers to the Hong Kong antiques merchants and finally to the Shanghai Museum, not only were they completely disordered but also many of them had been lost or broken. nevertheless, I have suggested, and suggest again in chapter 2, that it may be possible to use the physical characteristics of the manuscript to gain some idea of its original arrangement and have concluded that the sequence of hexagrams in this manuscript was probably very similar to, if not identical with, that of the received text.74

Indeed, with one notable exception, there seems to be a growing consensus that this was the case.

The exception to this consensus is the editor of the manuscript, Pu Maozuo 濮茅左, a se-nior curator at the Shanghai Museum. He has presented a totally different arrangement of the text based on a feature of the manuscript never before seen in the Changes tradition: red and/or black symbols found at the beginning and end of the hexagram texts. There appear to be six such symbols: a solid red square ; a three-sided hollow red square (by which I mean a right-facing U shape, similar to 匚) with an inset smaller solid black square ; a solid black square ; a three-sided hollow black square with an inset smaller solid red square ; a solid red square with an inset hollow black square ; and a three-sided hollow black square . In most cases in which both the first and last strips of a hexagram survive in the manuscript, the symbols at the beginning and end of the text are identical. However, in three cases, the symbol at the end is different from that at the beginning. In the Shanghai Museum publication of the manuscript, Pu Maozuo devotes a special appendix to explaining the significance of the symbols, suggesting


that red is a manifestation of the yang, or “sunny,” characteristic and black that of the yin, or “shady,” characteristic.75 With respect to the hexagrams in which the symbols differ, he suggests that they mark transitional stages in the respective growth and decline of the yin and yang. Inge nious though this explanation is, it has now been demonstrated conclusively that the strips that display this difference were written in a different hand from that of the other strips of the manuscript.76 This would seem to obviate any comparison between the symbols in the two dif-ferent groups. At this point, it seems still premature to say just what these symbols were meant to represent and what, if anything, they suggest about the sequence of the hexagrams. It does seem safe to say, though, that the Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Changes will command the attention of people interested in the Changes for years to come. Chapter 2 presents, first, a detailed overview of the manuscript’s discovery and editing, its physical nature, and a compari-son of its text with that of the received text; in chapter 3, I give a complete transcription and translation of the text, together with the received text and a translation of it as well.

The third of the great textual discoveries of 1993 was actually made before those of Guo-dian and the Shanghai Museum tombs, and a brief report of it was issued in short order.77 In March 1993, peasants digging a fishpond in the village of Wangjiatai 王家台, also in Hubei province, exposed a group of sixteen ancient tombs. Unlike Guodian, which lies to the north of the site of Jinan Cheng 紀南城, the Warring States capital of Chu, Wangjiatai lies just to the north of the site of ying 郢, a new city established after 278 b.c. when Jinan Cheng was razed after being conquered by the northwestern state of Qin; the tombs uncovered there date to the half century or so after this date. The peasants immediately summoned archaeologists from the nearby Jingzhou Museum to conduct a salvage excavation of the tombs. In one of them, numbered M15, the archaeologists found inside its single coffin a wooden diviner’s board, bam-boo sorting stalks placed in a bamboo canister, a number of dice, the haft of a dagger-axe, and, perhaps most important of all, a heap of bamboo strips with writing on them. Among the texts discovered were another daybook similar to that found in the contemporary tomb at Shuihudi; a text, to which the excavators gave the title Zai yi zhan 災異占, or Prognostications of Disasters and Anomalies; and two copies, apparently similar in content though written on bamboo strips of different sizes, of a text that the excavators first described simply as a divina-tion text similar to but different from the Changes. When the brief report of this discovery was issued, in 1995, other scholars immediately identified this latter text as the long-lost Gui cang 歸藏, or Returning to Be Stored, traditionally supposed to have been the milfoil divination manual of the Shang dynasty and thus a precursor to the Changes.

The Gui cang was first mentioned in several Han-dynasty texts, though even then the im-perial library apparently did not have a copy of it, and it is doubtful that many, if any, scholars of the time had actually seen it; certainly none ever quoted it, at least by name. This situation changed suddenly toward the end of the third and beginning of the fourth centuries, when first


Zhang Hua 張華 (232–300) and then several other scholars quoted numerous passages from the text. Interestingly, Zhang Hua, probably the most erudite scholar of his day, did not attach a title to his quotations, and the quotations reveal a number of mistakes of the sort made by people unfamiliar with ancient script, suggesting perhaps that he was working with an ancient manuscript. Indeed, there is good reason to suspect that the text had just been unearthed in the first of the great Chinese discoveries of texts in tombs. In a.d. 279, a tomb in Jijun 汲郡, present-day Jixian 汲縣, Henan province, was broken into by tomb robbers. It is said that these robbers used some of the bundles of bamboo strips they found in the tomb as torches to light their way in quest of the tomb’s valuables.78 nevertheless, when the imperial authorities arrived, they found that the tomb still contained “several tens of cartloads” of texts written on bamboo strips. These were taken to the imperial capital at Luoyang 洛陽, where a committee headed by Xun Xu 荀勖 (d. 289), the director of the imperial library, set to work transcribing them and trying to reconstitute the original texts. Of the eighteen or nineteen different texts in the tomb, only one was surely known to the editors: a copy of the hexagram and line state-ments of the Changes, said by one eyewitness to have been “just the same” (zheng tong 正同) as the received text. Three other texts were related to the Changes. One was called by one group of early editors Yi yao yin yang gua 易繇陰陽卦, or Yin-Yang hexagrams of Yi Oracles. This text is described in the standard historical account of the discovery in almost the same terms used in the initial Wangjiatai site report for its text: “rather similar to the Zhou Yi but with different line statements” (yu Zhou Yi lüe tong yao ci ze yi 與周易略同繇辭則異).79 This is almost certainly the text that Zhang Hua quoted just a few years later, and which by the early fourth century would be identified as the Gui cang.

As shown in chapter 4, the Wangjiatai manuscripts are remarkably similar to the medi-eval quotations of the Gui cang; there can be no doubt that they come from the same book. Even though these texts are fragmentary, in this case even less well preserved than is typically the case with unearthed manuscripts, nevertheless by combining the Wangjiatai fragments with the medieval quotations, it is possible to arrive at a good sense of what the original text must have looked like. The text for Shi 師, “Army,” hexagram provides a good example of the Gui cang’s format.

䷆ 師曰昔者穆天子卜出師西征而枚占于禺强禺强占之曰不吉龍降于天而道里修遠飛而冲天蒼蒼其羽

䷆ Shi, “Army,” says: In the past Son of Heaven Mu divined about sending out the army to campaign westwardly and had the stalks prognosticated by yu Qiang. yu Qiang prognosti-cated them and said: not auspicious. The Dragon descends from heaven, but the road is long and far; flying and piercing heaven, so green its wings.80


Several points arise from even this single example. First, the names of the hexagrams in the Gui cang are, for the most part, identical to those in the Changes.81 Second, unlike the Changes, in which there are both hexagram statements and line statements for each of the six lines of a hexagram, the Gui cang includes only a single hexagram text. Most of these hexagram texts be-gin with the record of a divination conducted upon some occasion in history, as here in which King Mu of the Zhou dynasty (r. 956–918 b.c.) divined about sending his army on campaign. It is worth noting that this particular record shows that the traditional ascription of the Gui cang to the Shang dynasty is certainly erroneous; indeed, there are even later personages men-tioned in the text, suggesting that its final redaction could not date any earlier than the middle of the Spring and Autumn period. The results of this divination are then prognosticated by some named diviner, often, as here in the case of yu Qiang 禺强,82 a figure from high antiquity. As here, the prognostications in this text are often “not auspicious” (bu ji 不吉). Finally, also as here, comes a rhyming oracle, quite similar in format to some line statements of the Changes.

As an alternative divination manual to the Changes, the Gui cang not only provides still further information about the nature of divination in ancient China but also may well help to explain something of the development of the Changes itself. It too is a text that will surely com-mand increasing attention in the years to come.83 I fully expect that the complete translation of the Gui cang fragments that I offer in chapter 5 will be but the first of numerous attempts to recover the text.

One of the most important things about the Gui cang is that it reminds us forcefully that the Changes was not the only divination text available in ancient China. In this respect, it is perhaps interesting to note that another text discovered in the tomb in Jijun in the late third century a.d., the Mu tianzi zhuan 穆天子傳 or Biography of Son of heaven Mu, preserves a complete account of one divination with wording strikingly similar to several of the texts studied here. Although it is not explicitly related to the Gui cang, it mentions a milfoil divina-tion that results in a hexagram, Song 訟, “Lawsuit,” the name of which is common to both the Changes and the Gui cang. The oracle quoted (and referred to as a zhou 繇) is not found in the received text of the Changes but does more or less resemble texts from the Gui cang. Whether it actually derives from the Gui cang or not, it may still help us to understand further the full con-text of divination and its interpretation, including how the final prognostications were made.

丙辰天子南遊于黃室之丘以觀夏侯啟之所居乃□于啟室天子筮獵苹澤其卦

遇訟䷅逢公占之曰訟之繇藪澤蒼蒼其中□宜其正公戎事則從祭祀則熹田獵

則獲□飲逢公酒賜之駿馬十六絺紵三十箧逢公再拜稽首賜筮史狐 . . .On bingchen, the Son of Heaven traveled southwards to the Mound of yellow Chamber in order to view where Xia Hou Qi had resided, and then .. in Qi’s chamber. The Son of Heaven divined by milfoil about hunting at Duckweed Swamp; the hexagram he met was Song ䷅. Feng Gong prognosticated it, saying: “Song’s oracle is: ‘The swamp is doubly green [cang <


*tshâŋ], Its midst .. , appropriate for its upright duke [gong < *klôŋ].’ In military affairs there will be accord [cong < *dzoŋ], in sacrifices there will be happiness, and in hunting there will be a catch.” .. toasted Feng Gong with wine, and awarded him sixteen fine horses and thirty chests of gauze. Feng Gong twice bowed and touched his head to the ground, and awarded the milfoil divination secretary a fox . . .84

This account is especially interesting for the prognostications “In military affairs there will be accord, in sacrifices there will be happiness, and in hunting there will be a catch,” which are so similar to those of the Shuihudi Ri shu and Fuyang Zhou Yi divination texts. Its oracle, “The swamp is doubly green, Its midst .. , appropriate for its upright duke,” seems to have the same three-phrase format as the most fully developed oracles of Changes line statements. Whenever the Mu tianzi zhuan may have been written, this account in it of a divination seems to point to the way that both the Changes and Gui cang were originally produced.

Conclusions

What do these newly discovered texts show us about the practice of divination in general and about the development of the Changes tradition in particular? First, they certainly demon-strate that divination in all its various manifestations was an important feature of daily life in ancient China. Whether making cracks in turtle shells or sorting through milfoil stalks or just consulting a daybook to determine an auspicious day for one undertaking or another, people from all walks of life used divination to entreat aid from the spirit world. It was once thought, on the basis of a misreading of the Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, that divination constituted a more or less objective inquiry into future events: “Will it rain tomorrow?” “Will we be suc-cessful in our attack on such and such a state?” “Will the child about to be born be a boy?” It is now clear that these were not at all questions but prayers seeking a specific outcome: “Would that it rain tomorrow,” “Would that we defeat such and such a state,” “Would that the baby be a boy.” It was also once thought, again on the basis of the Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, that turtle-shell divination, at least, was a prerogative of the king alone; indeed, despite mention of divination with turtle shells in texts as late as the Han dynasty,85 some thought that turtle-shell divination was unique to the Shang dynasty, having been replaced in the Zhou dynasty by the milfoil divination tradition of the Changes. Although turtle-shell divination may have been more or less the prerogative of the king and the royal family during the Shang dynasty, its use was not at all restricted during the subsequent Zhou dynasty. The Zhou kings and rulers of the independent states continued to use it, but so did local magistrates and, if we can believe one of the Mawangdui manuscripts concerning the Changes, so too did Confucius.86 Sometimes peo-ple used both turtle-shell and milfoil divination in tandem, perhaps figuring that they thereby doubled their chances of getting the spiritual aid they wished for.


In order to suggest how understanding the way divination was practiced in antiquity can inform our understanding of how the Changes was created, allow me in closing to return to the very first line of the text, which consists of the four simple characters yuan heng li zhen 元亨利貞. At the beginning of this survey, I quoted richard Wilhelm’s translation of this line, “The Creative works sublime success, Furthering through perseverance,” which reflects well one standard interpretation at the end of China’s imperial period. Some decades after Wilhelm completed his translation, the Chinese scholar Gao Heng, one of the foremost proponents of the “new Changes Studies” of the twentieth century that sought to interpret the Changes in the context of its original composition, offered a radically different interpretation: “For a great sacrifice a beneficial prognostication.”87 As the preceding survey of ancient divination texts shows, Gao Heng’s sense that this line originally pertained to divination is doubtless correct. nevertheless, just about everything else about his interpretation is mistaken.

At the beginning of the chapter, I focused on the word zhen as meaning “to divine” or “to determine,” superficially similar to Gao Heng’s interpretation of “prognostication.” In fact, the similarity is only superficial. The records of divination surveyed here clearly show that the “prognostication”—the interpretation of the divination result—was indicated by another word, zhan 占, and that this word was strictly differentiated from zhen 貞, which was a general term for divination but referring specifically to the announcement of the charge to the turtle or milfoil. This difference has important implications for our understanding of this first line of the Changes and for the use of the Changes in divination. To see why, we need to consider the other words in the line.

Gao Heng seems also to have misunderstood the word before zhen, li 利, “benefit,” ren-dering it as an adjective, “a beneficial prognostication.” In this case, richard Wilhelm’s sense of the word’s usage was surely better. He rendered it as a verbal complement or modal auxil-iary, “furthering through perseverance,” which is parallel with other uses of the word in the Changes, as the following formulaic examples suggest: li jian da ren 利見大人, “beneficial to see a great man” (Wilhelm’s “It furthers one to see the great man”); li she da chuan 利涉大川, “beneficial to cross the great river” (Wilhelm’s “It furthers one to cross the great water”); li you you wang 利有攸往, “beneficial to have someplace to go” (Wilhelm’s “It furthers one to have somewhere to go”); and so on. It is also similar to uses seen in, for example, the daybooks examined above:

害日利以除凶厲兌不羊 . . . On Harmful days, beneficial to dispel the ominous and danger, and to get rid of what is not lucky; . . .

陰日利以家室 . . . On Shady days, beneficial to marry and start a household; . . .


達日利以行帥出正見人 . . . On Arriving days, beneficial to set the army in motion and go out on campaign and to see others; . . .

The grammar suggests that the straightforward reading of li zhen should be “beneficial to di-vine” or “beneficial to determine.” However, for a divination manual to advise one that it is “beneficial to divine” would seem to be counterintuitive; surely one arrives at this formula in the hexagram statement only as a result of a divination. Why would it then be beneficial to per-form still another divination? I argued almost thirty years ago that there is some evidence, cir-cumstantial to be sure, that early divinations with the Changes involved a two-step procedure, the first step producing a single hexagram (and its respective hexagram statement) and the second step then specifying one of that hexagram’s six lines (and its respective line statement).88 Since that time, some of the newly excavated Western Zhou oracle-bone inscriptions and es-pecially the Baoshan and other Warring States divination records seem to show clearly that in the Zhou dynasty divination did indeed involve a two-step procedure, the first step producing a general or preliminary prognostication and the second a further specification or confirma-tion.89 Although none of this archaeological evidence is directly related to the Changes, I still believe that it shows this explanation to be entirely plausible.90

Turning now to the first part of the first line of the text, yuan heng 元亨, and particularly to the second word, heng 亨, I think that the divinatory context is just as instrumental for understanding its original meaning. In the Changes commentarial tradition, heng is routinely glossed as tong 通, “to penetrate, to communicate,” which richard Wilhelm rendered as “suc-cess.” Although this translation would seem to be only very loosely related to the meaning of “communicate,” it does point in the right direction. On the other hand, it is now possible to say with considerable assurance that Gao Heng’s interpretation of the graph as equivalent with the word xiang 享, which generally means “to offer a sacrifice,” is simply wrong. There is no doubt that the two words heng 亨 and xiang 享 are very closely related, both deriving from the single character 亯. However, there is also no doubt that the two characters are strictly differentiated in the Changes. Decisive evidence of this is now available in both the Mawangdui and Shanghai Museum manuscripts.

In the received text of the Changes (in the Shisan jing zhushu 十三經注疏 edition), the character heng 亨 occurs forty-seven times, forty of which are in hexagram statements, all of these apparently a technical divination term (it invariably appears either in the phrase yuan heng 元亨 [ten times] or alone [thirty times], this latter usage doubtless an abbrevia-tion of yuan heng). Of the seven occurrences in line statements, four occur in contexts similar to the context of the hexagram statements (i.e., in either the phrase yuan heng or in heng by itself ). However, in three cases, the graph appears where we would expect a verb meaning “to sacrifice”:


大有九三公用亨于天子

Da You, Great Offering, nine in the Third: The duke makes offering to the Son of Heaven.

随上六拘係之乃從維之王用亨于西山

Sui, Pursuit, Top Six: Arresting and tying them, and then further trussing them. The king herewith makes offering on the western mountain.

升六四王用亨于岐山吉无咎

Sheng, Ascending, Six in the Fourth: The king herewith makes offering on Forked Mountain. Auspicious. There is no trouble.

The graph xiang 享, on the other hand, occurs only three times, always clearly in the sense “to make offering”:

損有孚元吉无咎可貞利有攸往曷之用二簋可用享

Sun, Decrease: There is trust. Prime auspiciousness. There is no trouble. One can determine. Beneficial to have someplace to go. How to use two serving bowls? They can be used to make offering.

益六二或益之十朋之龜弗克違永貞吉王用享于帝

Yi, Increase, Six in the Second: Someone increases it, ten double strands of turtle shells. you cannot go against them. Long-term determination: auspicious. The king herewith makes of-fering to Di.

困九二:困于酒食朱紱方來利用享祀征凶无咎Kun, Bound, nine in the Second: Bound by wine and food. The country of the scarlet knee-pads comes. Beneficial herewith to make offering and sacrifice. Campaigning: ominous. There is no trouble.

Although the three examples in which heng occurs in the sense “to make offering” would ap-pear to lend support to Gao Heng’s interpretation, the Mawangdui manuscript shows that these cases are simple “spelling” mistakes. In the Mawangdui manuscript, heng 亨 is consistent-ly written as 亯, whereas the three cases of xiang 享 are all written as 芳. It is significant that in the nine in the Third line of Da You and the Top Six line of Sui (i.e., where the received text writes heng 亨 in the sense of “to make offering”), the graph is also written in the manuscript as 芳 (the Six in the Fourth line of Sheng, the only other case in which the received text uses heng as a verb meaning “to make offering,” is missing because of a break in the silk). The Shanghai Museum manuscript, although quite fragmentary, reflects the same differentiation: whereas


the manuscript consistently writes the heng of the received text as 鄕, it writes the character in the Top Six line of Sui as 享 (all three of the places in which the received text writes xiang 享 are missing because of breaks in the text).

However the word heng or xiang may have been written during the earliest stage of the Changes’ writing—亨, 享, 亯, 鄕, or 饗—I feel certain that the form given in the Shanghai Museum manuscript points toward the original meaning of the word in the context of the ear-liest Changes divination. Xiang 鄕, originally a pictograph of two kneeling figures facing each other over a pot of grain, doubtless stands for the word xiang 饗, which means both “to offer” and “to receive” or “to enjoy.”91 In ancient China it was used formulaically to conclude prayers (including divinatory prayers): shang xiang 尚饗, “would that (the spirit world) receive (our prayer),” which might be compared to the roman Catholic formula “Lord, hear our prayer.”

It is perhaps ironic that confirmation of this comes not from another recently unearthed text but from one of China’s earliest received texts, the Mozi 墨子. The passage in question purports to recount a still more ancient divination, at the beginning of the Xia dynasty (ca. 2100–1600 b.c.). The importance of this passage for the understanding of divination has long been masked by numerous variant characters, including both of those for this formulaic prayer.

巫馬子謂子墨子曰鬼神孰與聖人明智子墨子曰鬼神之明智於聖人猶聰耳明

目之與聾瞽也昔者夏后開使蜚廉折金於山川而陶鑄之於昆吾是使翁難雉乙

卜於白若之龜曰鼎成三足而方不炊而自烹不舉而自臧不遷而自行以祭於昆

吾之虚上鄕乙又言兆之由曰饗矣逢逢白雲一南一北一西一東九鼎既成遷于

三國夏后氏失之殷人受之殷人失之周人受之夏后殷周之相受也數百歲矣使

聖人聚其良臣與其桀相而謀豈能智數百歲之後哉而鬼神智之是故曰鬼神之

明智於聖人也猶聰耳明目之與聾瞽也

Magician Mazi addressed Master Mozi saying, “Who is more intelligent, the ghosts and spir-its or the sages?” Master Mozi said, “The intelligence of the ghosts and spirits vis-à-vis the sages is just like those with perceptive ears and bright eyes vis-à-vis the deaf and blind. In antiquity, Qi, the lord of Xia, sent Fei Lian to dig metal out of the hills and streams, and to cast a cauldron at Kun Wu. This one sent Engnan Zhi yi to divine about it with the turtle of White Approval, saying: ‘Completing three legs the cauldron will be square, will cook of itself without being roasted, will store of itself without being raised, and will move of itself without being transferred, in sacrificing on the mound of Kun Wu; would that it be received.’ yi then spoke of the crack’s oracle, saying: ‘It is “received” indeed. “So billowing the white clouds, now south now north, now west now east: The nine cauldrons being completed, Will be transferred to the three kingdoms.” ’ “The lords of Xia lost them, and the men of yin got them; the men of yin lost them, and the men of Zhou got them. The lords of Xia and yin and Zhou having gotten them from one another has taken several hundred years. Even if we caused the sages to assemble their best ministers and their finest advisers, could it be that they


would be able to know what would happen after several hundred years! And yet the ghosts and spirits knew it. This is why I say that the intelligence of the ghosts and spirits vis-à-vis the sages is just like those with perceptive ears and bright eyes vis-à-vis the deaf and blind.”92

There is much of interest in this story, which purports to describe the origin of the legend of the “nine Cauldrons” of yu 禹 and the legitimacy they gave to the three dynasties Xia, Shang, and Zhou. Whatever the antiquity of this legend may be, the story’s account of divina-tion is consistent with the archaeological evidence surveyed above. Like the Baoshan records of divination, it begins with a preface indicating the name of the diviner, Engnan Zhi yi 翁難雉乙, and the name of the turtle he used: White Approval, 白若之龜. It then records what must have been the charge of the divination, ending with the formulaic prayer “would that it be received” (adding punctuation):

是使翁難雉乙卜於白若之龜，曰： ‘鼎成三足而方，不炊而自烹，不舉而自臧，不遷而自行，以祭于昆吾之虚，上鄕’！This one sent Engnan Zhi yi to divine about it with the turtle of White Approval, saying: “Completing three legs the cauldron will be square, will cook of itself without being roasted, will store of itself without being raised, and will move of itself without being transferred, in sacrificing on the mound of Kun Wu; would that it be received.”

The charge is obviously idealized, with its rhymed listing of self-contradictory statements (how could the cauldron be “square” [fang 方] if it has only three legs, how could it “cook of itself ” [zi peng 自烹] without being roasted [reading fan 炊 as 燔]?),93 and yet the use that it pro-poses and especially the final prayer mark it as the divinatory charge. This has been largely overlooked because of the form in which the final prayer is written: shang xiang 上鄕, which is essentially meaningless in this context. However, already in the eighteenth century, Bi yuan 畢沅 (1730–1797) indicated his suspicion that this should be read as 尚饗, a suggestion later accepted and elaborated upon by Sun yirang 孫詒讓 (1848–1908).94

The story then follows with the diviner’s prognostication, the technical vocabulary again masked by a variant character (you 由 for zhou 繇, “oracle”).95

乙又言兆之由曰：‘饗矣！’yi then spoke of the crack’s oracle, saying: “It is ‘received’ indeed.”

The word xiang 饗 Engnan Zhi yi uses to begin his prognostication is almost certainly the same word as the heng 亨 of the Changes. This passage shows well how it is to be understood: it is the announcement by the diviner that the wish expressed in the divination has been “re-ceived” and “enjoyed” by the spirits, thereby also constituting the divination’s response. In the


hexagram statements of the Changes, the first two words yuan heng 元亨 announce the “initial receipt” of the spirits’ favor, and this is why richard Wilhelm’s translation as “success” points in the right direction. It is this initial receipt of the spirits’ favor that makes possible all the other words and images of the Changes, many of which are like the rhymed oracle that this account goes on to quote:96

逢逢白雲，一南一北，一西一東，九鼎既成，遷於三國。

So billowing the white clouds, now south now north, now west now east: The nine caul-drons being completed, Will be transferred to the three kingdoms.

It is unclear, at least to me, why “white clouds” should be mentioned at the beginning of this oracle,97 but the rhyming pair of couplets that are suggested by them—like oracles in other accounts of divination and indeed like the line statements of the Zhou Yi—provide an ambigu-ous but still intelligible prediction concerning the topic of the divination: whether east or west, north or south, the cauldrons once completed would be passed down through three dynasties. As the story goes, this prediction came to be verified: cast by the first king of the Xia dynasty, over the next millennium and more the cauldrons passed first to the kings of the Shang dynasty and then finally to the kings of the Zhou dynasty. The divination thus revealed a knowledge of human events far beyond the perception of even the sages; in the words of Mozi, by compari-son the sages are as “deaf and blind.”

I suspect that many readers of the Changes feel deaf and blind in the face of the enigmatic images in the text, despite the best efforts of richard Wilhelm, Gao Heng, and thousands of others, excellent scholars if not necessarily sages, to explicate them. Shorn of their original divinatory contexts, the oracles of the Changes still await verification. nevertheless, with the ancient manuscripts of the Changes and other materials related to divination surveyed here coming to light for the first time in more than two thousand years, we now have a unique op-portunity to see and hear something of the original text—and to consider afresh how it was first produced and what it may have meant to its earliest users.

In contrast with the remarkable archaeological discoveries of the 1970s, the 1980s were relatively uneventful. This was as true of discoveries of bamboo-strip manuscripts as it was of other types of artifacts and texts. However, as

described briefly in chapter 1, toward the end of the decade a discovery was made that would usher in a new field—and virtually a new era—in the study of early Chinese paleography and texts. In January 1987, a tomb was discovered at Baoshan 包山, Hubei, with 288 bamboo strips containing records of court cases and divinations, as well as an inventory of the goods con-tained in the grave. Unlike so many bamboo strips found in tombs, these were remarkably well preserved, and the archaeologists published them very expeditiously in 1991.1 What was especially noteworthy about these bamboo strips is that they showed beyond question that the person in whose tomb they were found, one Shao Tuo 召, died in 316 b.c. Dating almost one hundred years before the Qin unification of China, a political event famed for the con-sequences it brought for the nature of writing and the transmission of books from ancient China, the Baoshan tomb texts were the first substantial body of writing on bamboo strips from China’s Warring States period, the period of the classical philosophers.2

Just two years after the publication of the Baoshan bamboo strips, two other tombs in the same general area—that of the capital of the important southern state of Chu 楚—were opened, eventually revealing many more bamboo strips from the Warring States period. More important, the strips from these tombs, now generally known as the Guodian 郭店 and Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan 上海博物館, or Shangbo 上博 for short) bamboo strips, were primarily of philosophical and historical texts. The Guodian strips were the first of

iit h e C o n t e x t, C o n t e n t, a n d

s I g n I f I C a n C e o f t h e s h a n g h a I

mu s eu m m a n u s C r I P t o f t h e ZhOu YI

38 • The Shanghai Museum Manuscript of the Zhou Yi

these to be published, immediately prompting international acclaim.3 First to draw attention were three different texts composed entirely of passages found in the received text of the Laozi 老子.4 Other texts mentioning Confucius or deriving from his followers, including the Zi yi 緇衣, or Black Jacket, corresponding to a chapter in the Li ji 禮記, or Record of Ritual, soon attracted even more attention.5 Since the other grave goods in the Guodian tomb were similar to those in the Baoshan tomb, and since the calligraphy on its bamboo strips was similar to that on the Baoshan strips, the archaeologists concluded that the tomb must date to about the same time, toward the end of the middle Warring States period, or roughly 300 b.c. now, just over ten years after their first publication, the Guodian bamboo strips have already taken their place alongside the Mawangdui silk manuscripts as the best known of all Chinese excavated texts.

The Shanghai Museum bamboo strips have taken a more circuitous route to their public acclaim. Unlike other archaeological discoveries in China, which are generally known by the name of the village in which they were discovered, the Shanghai Museum strips are of more or less unknown provenance. They arrived on the Hong Kong antiques market early in 1994, apparently still bearing the mud of the tomb from which they had been robbed. Shortly after learning of their availability, the late Ma Chengyuan 馬承源 (1927–2004), then the director of the Shanghai Museum, arranged to buy them, first purchasing a batch of some four hundred strips in early March of that year and then, a month later, purchasing a second batch of some eight hundred strips.6 Over the next several years, the museum undertook the task of organizing these strips for publication. The first publication came at the end of 2001, a volume containing three texts: the Kongzi Shi lun 孔子詩論, or Confucius’s essay on the Poetry, as well as two texts also found at Guodian: another copy of the Zi yi and another text variously known as Xing zi ming chu 性自命出, or The Inborn Nature Comes from the Man-date, or as Xing qing lun 性情論, essay on the Inborn Nature and the emotions.7 Succeeding volumes, issued at the rate of about one a year, have regularly presented five or six different texts, including additional texts found in the Li ji,8 a narrative of China’s earliest history (en-titled Rong Cheng shi 容乘氏);9 a cosmological treatise (entitled heng Xian 恆先);10 a text presenting dialogue between several disciples of Confucius (e.g., Zai Wo 宰我, yan Hui 顏回, Zi Gong 子貢, et al.) and their “master” (zi 子), more or less similar to the Analects (Lun yu 論語) of Confucius (entitled by the editors Dizi wen 弟子問, or The Disciples Asked);11 as well as the text that concerns us in the remainder of this chapter: the earliest manuscript of the Zhou Yi 周易, or Zhou Changes, presently extant.12 Although the Shanghai Museum manuscripts are thus far more numerous and potentially much richer in content than either the Baoshan or even the Guodian bamboo-strip texts,13 their lack of a known archaeological context, combined with the fragmentary nature of many of the texts, presents many more problems of interpretation. Unfortunately, this is true also in the case of the Zhou Yi manu-script included in this corpus.

The Shanghai Museum Manuscript of the Zhou Yi • 39

The Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi: Physical Description

The Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Zhou Yi was edited by Pu Maozuo 濮茅左, a senior curator at the museum.14 It includes fifty-eight strips, counting fragments that can be rejoined as a single strip (there is also one fragment in the possession of the Chinese University of Hong Kong that can be rejoined with strip no. 32 of the Shanghai Museum manuscript15). Forty-two of these strips are complete or nearly so, with an average length of 43.5 cm (the strips are 0.6 cm wide and 0.12 cm thick). The strips were originally bound with three binding straps (none of which survives, though vestiges of the silk can be seen on the bamboo strips) pass-ing through notches cut into the right side of the strips: the top one 1.2 cm from the top, the middle one 22.2 cm from the top (21 cm from the top binding strap), and the bottom 1.2 cm from the bottom (20.5 cm from the middle notch). The first character of each strip begins just below where the first binding strap passed, and the last character ends just above where the last binding strap passed, with an average of forty-two to forty-four characters per complete strip. Each hexagram text begins on a new strip: first comes the hexagram picture (gua hua 卦劃; with yang lines written as ⚊ and yin lines written as ⚋), with the six lines segregated into two groups of three lines each, an apparent indication of trigrams that is unique among early manu-scripts; the hexagram name, many of which represent variants as opposed to those found in the received text (see table 2.1 for a listing of these and their correlates in the received text); one of several different symbols (a solid red square ; a solid black square ; a three-sided hollow red square with an inset smaller solid black square ; a three-sided hollow black square with an inset smaller solid red square ; as well, perhaps, as a solid red square with an inset hollow black square ; and a three-sided hollow black square ) never before seen in connection with Yi jing hexagrams;16 the hexagram statement; the six line statements, beginning with chu liu 初六 or chu jiu 初九 and continuing through liu er 六二, jiu san 九三, and so forth until either shang liu 上六 or shang jiu 上九; and finally the same type of symbol found after the hexagram name. After this second symbol, the remainder of the final strip of any given hexa-gram is left blank. The fifty-eight strips include text from thirty-four different hexagrams, with 1,806 characters, as opposed to the sixty-four hexagrams and 5,012 characters of the received text. This constitutes just over one-third (36 percent) of the text. I estimate that eighty-four complete strips of the original manuscript are missing.

An important feature of the manuscript, not mentioned in either the formal publication, Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhan guo Chu zhu shu 上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書, or in my own preliminary introduction to it, is that it was obviously copied by at least two different copyists. Of the fifty-eight extant strips, forty-five (nos. 2–4, 6–7, 9–19, 28–36, 38–48, 50–58) share the same calligraphy and method of writing common graphs; we might term this Group A. How-ever, as first pointed out by Fang Zhensan 房振三, the other thirteen strips (nos. 1, 5, 8, 20–27, 37, and 49) have a very different calligraphy and different ways of writing common graphs; we

Table 2.1 Comparison of hexagram names in the shanghai museum manuscript and the received text of the Zhou Yi

Number Shanghai Museum ms. Received text

4 Mang 尨, “The Shaggy Dog” Meng 蒙, “Shrouded”

5 Ru 乳, “Suckling” Xu 需, “Awaiting”

6 Song 訟, “Lawsuit” Song 訟, “Lawsuit”

7 Shi 帀, “Army” Shi 師, “Army”

8 Bi 比, “Alliance” Bi 比, “Alliance”

15 Qian , “Modesty” Qian 謙, “Modesty”

16 Yu 余, “Excess” Yu 豫, “relaxed”

17 Sui , “Following” Sui 隨, “Following”

18 Gu 蛊, “Parasite” Gu 蠱, “Parasite”

24 Fu , “returning” Fu 復, “returning”

25 Wang Wang 亡忘, “Forget-Me-not” Wu Wang 无妄, “nothing Foolish”

26 Da Du 大, “Greater Enlargement” Da Chu 大畜, “Greater Livestock”

27 Yi 頤, “Jaws” Yi 頤, “Jaws”

31 Qin 欽, “Careful” Xian 咸, “Feeling”

32 heng , “Constant” heng 恆, “Constant”

33 Dun , “Piglet” Dun 遯, “Piglet”

38 Kui 楑, “Looking Cross-Eyed” Kui 睽, “Strange”

39 Jie 訐, “Criticized” Jian 蹇, “Lame”

40 Jie 繲, “Disentangled” Jie 解, “released”

43 Guai 夬, “resolute” Guai 夬, “resolute”

44 Gou 敂, “Hitting” Gou 姤, “Meeting”

45 Cui , “roaring” Cui 萃, “Gathering”

47 Kun 困, “Bound” Kun 困, “Bound”

48 Jing 汬, “Well Trap” Jing 井, “Well”

49 Ge 革, “rebellion” Ge 革, “rebellion”

52 Gen 艮, “Stilling” Gen 艮, “Stilling”

53 Jian 漸,“ Progressing” Jian 漸 , “Progressing”

55 Feng 豐, “Fullness” Feng 豐, “Fullness”

56 Lü , “Traveling” Lü 旅, “Traveling”

59 huan , “Dispersing” huan 渙, “Dispersing”

62 Shao Guo 少, “Lesser Surpassing” Xiao Guo 小過, “Lesser Surpassing”

63 Ji Ji 既淒, “Already Across” Ji Ji 既濟, “Already Across”

64 Wei Ji 未淒, “not yet Across” Wei Ji 未濟, “not yet Across”


might term them Group B.17 This difference in calligraphy is particularly manifest between strip no. 48, which belongs to Group A, and strip no. 49, which belongs to Group B. As can be seen in figure 2.1, Group A features angular, narrow brush strokes, with little or no modulation in the thickness of the strokes, even at their ends. By contrast, Group B shows a bolder, more fluent calligraphic style, with rounded strokes that vary in thickness where the brush begins or stops. Differences in the writing of common graphs are also apparent in just these two strips, as for instance in the writing of qi 丌 (i.e., 其): (no. 48) versus (no. 49), and liu 六: (no. 48) versus (no. 49). Elsewhere, systematic differences can be seen in the writing of bu 不: (Group A) versus (Group B); li 利: (Group A) versus (Group B); and jiu 九: (Group A) versus (Group B). Indeed, as He Zeheng 何澤恒 has further pointed out, within Group B there also seem to be some differences of handwriting. For instance, strips 26–27, which contain the text of Qin 欽 hexagram (which corresponds to Xian 咸 hexagram in the received text of the Zhou Yi), both feature the bold, curving calligraphy of Group B, but closer inspection reveals certain important differences, especially in the writing of the name of the hexagram: (no. 26, with six vertical strokes separated between top and bottom regis-ters) versus (no. 27, with three vertical strokes each running through a central horizontal stroke), and also in the difference between (no. 26, i.e., with an added horizontal stroke) and (no. 27) for the writing of qi 丌 (i.e., 其; though note that no. 26 includes both forms on a single strip); see figure 2.2.18

As will become clear, the distinction between these two copyists has important implica-tions for the analysis of the red and/or black symbols found at the beginning and end of the hexagram texts. It also raises interesting questions as to how and why the two or more different copyists worked. Were all the strips copied at the same time, with the two different copyists di-viding the task of copying between them? Or were the copies made at two different times, the second copyist perhaps recopying portions of the text that had been lost or damaged? There is of course no way to be certain about either of these two possible scenarios. However, evi-dence that the second copyist either did not understand the nature of the red and/or black symbols or else had a different understanding of them from the first scribe perhaps suggests some temporal separation between the work of the two scribes. This of course has important implications for the question of whether the manuscript was copied expressly to be placed in the tomb or, as seems more likely, was used for some period of time before eventually being buried together with the occupant of the tomb, its likely owner.

The red and/or Black Symbols and Their Significance

As mentioned, the most peculiar feature of the Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Zhou Yi is the symbols found immediately after the hexagram name and again after the last character of the last line statement of each hexagram. Pu Maozuo, the editor of the manuscript, contributed

Figure 2.1 Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi strip no. 7: Shi 帀 hexagram; after Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chuzhu shu, 3:19Figure 2.2 Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi strip no. 8: Shi 帀 hexagram; after Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu Zhu Shu, 3:20

2.1 2.2


an appendix to explain the significance of these symbols, and several of the most detailed dis-cussions of the manuscript published to date have also sought to find some logic behind their use.19 For this reason, it seems necessary to review here their presentations in some detail, even if such a review will almost inevitably be more or less confusing (especially without access to color printing) and even if there are serious deficiencies in the evidence available and flaws in most of the analyses. It is perhaps reasonable to begin by presenting the analysis given by Pu Maozuo.

Pu identifies six symbols. Without access to color printing, it is possible only to describe them and to use a gray scale to substitute for the red symbols in the following discussion (the order here being that used by Pu): , a solid red square; , a three-sided hollow red square (i.e., 匚) with an inset smaller solid black square; , a solid black square; , a three-sided hollow black square with an inset smaller solid red square; , a solid red square with an inset hol-low black square; and , a three-sided hollow black square. In all, there are seventeen hexa-grams with symbols at both the beginning and end (in fourteen cases the symbols are identical, whereas in three cases they differ) and thirteen other hexagrams in which one or the other is visible (in all these cases, the part of the hexagram text where the other symbol would appear is missing because of a broken or missing strip). The distribution of these symbols is illustrated in table 2.2.

There is a decided (though not invariable) tendency to group these symbols with hexa-grams in the sequence of the received text. Thus, Ru 孠,20 Song 訟, Shi 帀, and Bi 比 hexa-grams, which correspond to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth hexagrams in the received sequence, are all marked with a solid red square at both the head and tail, whereas Da You 大有 through Gu 蛊, the fourteenth through eighteenth hexagrams in the received sequence, all feature a solid black square at the head and tail (though only the final portion of Da You and the opening portion of Gu are extant). There are three exceptions to this pattern: the three cases with mixed symbols (Da Chu 大, Yi 頤, and Qin 欽, which correspond to hexagram numbers 26, 27, and 31 in the received sequence); hexagrams Ge 革 through Lü , numbers 49 through 56 in the received sequence, which have the same symbol—a hollow three-sided black square with an inset solid red square —as hexagrams heng through Kui 楑, numbers 32 through 38; and Shao Guo 少 hexagram, number 62 in the received sequence (hereafter indicated as r62), which also has this same three-sided black square with an inset solid red square symbol, even though in the received sequence of hexagrams it comes between hexagrams huan (r59) and Ji Ji 既淒 (r63), both of which have a different symbol (a solid red square with an inset hollow three-sided black square ). Pu suggests that the hexagrams with mismatched symbols must mark a transition between two different groups; thus, Da Chu (r26) with a solid black square at the head and a hollow three-sided black square at the tail must follow immediately after a group with solid black squares and

Table 2.2 distribution of red and/or black symbols in the shanghai museum manuscript

Number Hexagram name Head Tail

4 Mang 尨, “The Shaggy Dog” (faded)

5 Ru 乳, “Suckling”

6 Song 訟, “Lawsuit”

7 Shi 帀, “Army” (faded)

8 Bi 比, “Alliance”

14 Da You 大有, “Great Offering”

15 Qian , “Modesty”

16 Yu 余, “Excess”

17 Sui , “Following”

18 Gu 蛊, “Parasite”

25 Wang Wang 亡忘, “Forget-Me-not”

26 Da Du 大, “Greater Enlargement”

27 Yi 頤, “Jaws”

31 Qin 欽, “Careful”

32 heng , “Constant”

33 Dun , “Piglet”

38 Kui 楑, “Looking Cross-Eyed”

39 Jie 訐, “Criticized”

40 Jie 繲, “Disentangled”

43 Guai 夬, “resolute”

44 Gou 敂, “Hitting”

45 Cui , “roaring”

47 Kun 困, “Bound”

48 Jing 汬, “Well Trap”

49 Ge 革, “rebellion”

52 Gen 艮, “Stilling” (faded)

53 Jian 漸, “Progressing”

55 Feng 豐, “Fullness”

56 Lü , “Traveling”

59 huan , “Dispersing”

62 Shao Guo 少, “Lesser Surpassing”

63 Ji Ji 既淒, “Already Across”


come immediately before a group with hollow three-sided black squares (or, as he puts it, this hexagram simultaneously belongs to both groups). Similarly, Qin (r31), with a hollow three-sided black square at the head and a hollow three-sided black square with an inset solid red square at the tail must follow after the group and come before the group. On the basis of this premise, Pu concludes that there must be a sequence in which the hollow three-sided black square symbol precedes that of the hollow three-sided black square with an inset solid red square, and thus that Qin must follow after Da Chu.21 From this, he concludes that the

group, including hexagrams from Da You (r14) through Wang Wang (r25), is concluded by Da Chu (r26), which serves as a transition to Qin (r31), which then is followed by the

group, represented in the extant manuscript by hexagrams from heng (r32) through Shao Guo (r62). Pu explains this distribution by noting that the Zhou Yi has traditionally been divided into two scrolls (pian 篇), the first containing hexagrams Qian 乾 (r1) through Li 離 (r30) and the second Xian 咸 (r31) through Wei Ji 未濟 (r64). Since Xian is the first hexagram in this second scroll, Pu surmises that the symbol at the head of Qin (i.e., Xian) hexagram in the manuscript indicates a new scroll. By the same token, the symbol at the tail of Da Chu should indicate that it comes at the end of the first scroll. Pu further suggests that the four intervening hexagram texts in the received sequence, Yi 頤 no. 27, Da Guo 大過 no. 28, Kan 坎 no. 29, and Li, must have come at some other point in the text.

Pu proposes that the interplay between the black and the red in the symbols corresponds with the interplay between yin and yang in the hexagrams, black corresponding with yin and red with yang. According to Pu, when solid yang ( ) has spent its force, it gives rise to yin ( ) within it. When yin matures, it reaches solidity ( ), but then begins to wane and gives way to an incipient yang ( ). The symbol , a solid red square with an inset hollow three-sided black square, represents, according to Pu, “a transitional process, simultaneously indicating that events are turning within the transformation of yin and yang, that events are developing within the transformation of yin and yang, that events are entering a new cycle within the transformation of yin and yang.”22 He concludes his analysis by saying, “Because of missing strips in the Chu bamboo-strip Zhou Yi, I have made only an exploration and hypothesis of the circumstances presently available; if this is reasonable, then the Chu bamboo-strip Zhou Yi had a different sequence of hexagrams.”23 The sequence that he proposes is, as mentioned, in two scrolls: the first, Mang 尨 (r4); Ru 孠 (r5); Song 訟 (r6); Shi 帀 (r7); Bi 比 (r8); Jie 訐 (r39); Jie 繲 (r40); Guai 夬 (r43); Gou 敂 (r44); Cui (r45); Kun 困 (r47); Jing 汬 (r48); Yi 頤 (r27); Da You 大有 (r14); Qian (r15); Yu 余 (r16); Sui (r17); Gu 蛊 (r18); Fu (r24); Wang Wang 亡忘 (r25); and Da Chu 大 (r26); and the second, Qin 欽 (r31); heng (r32); Dun (r33); Kui 楑 (r38); Ge 革 (r49); Gen 艮 (r52); Jian 漸 (r53); Feng 豐 (r55); Lü (r56); Shao Guo 少 (r62); huan (r59); Ji Ji 既淒 (r63); and Wei Ji 未淒 (r64).


We owe Pu Maozuo a great deal for his careful editing and presentation of the manuscript. He was faced with an entirely new type of symbol, never before seen in the long tradition of Yi jing exegesis, and it was of course his responsibility as editor of the text to try to determine what meaning it might hold. However, it seems to me that the caution expressed in his conclusion is well warranted. It is plain to see that any of the missing strips could contain evidence that would overturn, or at least complicate, Pu’s analysis. not only are both symbols missing for thirty-four hexagrams (middle portions of some of these hexagrams are available in the manuscript) but also there are thirteen cases in which either the head or tail symbol is missing (because of a broken or missing strip); in his analysis of these symbols, Pu seems to assume that in all thir-teen of these cases the symbol must match that of the surviving symbol. The three cases with mismatched symbols might suggest that other hexagrams also had symbols that did not match.

A second systematic analysis of these red and black symbols is that of Li Shangxin 李尚信. Li begins by pointing out flaws in Pu Maozuo’s presentation, including several discrepan-cies between descriptions given in his study of the text (shiwen 釋文) and in the appendix devoted to the symbols. He also notes that although Pu argues for a hexagram sequence dif-ferent from that of the received text, the sequence he suggests is thoroughly influenced by the received sequence. Li observes simply that there is too little evidence to support Pu’s re-construction. In its place, he proposes that the manuscript’s sequence is essentially the same as that of the received text and further suggests a model for the sequence of the symbols. According to Li, hexagrams paired by virtue of their hexagram pictures (usually by inversion of the hexagram picture, as, for example, in the case of Shi 師 ䷆ r7 and Bi 比 ䷇ r8, or in the eight cases in which such inversion results in the same hexagram picture by conversion of all six lines to their opposite form, as in the case of Qian 乾 ䷀ r1 and Kun 坤 ䷁ r2) always share the same symbol. On the other hand, Li goes on to suggest that different symbols must be given to hexagrams created by converting those hexagram pictures that can be inverted (i.e., changing all six lines to their opposite form; for example, Shi 師 ䷆ can be considered to convert into Tong Ren 同人 ䷌ r13, whereas Bi 比 ䷇ would convert into Da You 大有 ䷍ r14) or by exchanging top and bottom trigrams of hexagram pairs that cannot be inverted (e.g., Qian 乾 ䷀ r1 and Kun 坤 ䷁ r2 exchange trigrams to produce Tai 泰 ䷊ r11 and Pi 否 ䷋ r12). Unfortunately, other than the pairs Shi and Bi and Tong Ren and Da You, there are only five hexagrams in the manuscript for which the convertible hexagram is present. In three cases (Mang 尨 ䷃ r4 and Ge 革 ䷰ r49; Da Chu 大 ䷙ r26 and Cui ䷬ r45; and Kui 楑 ䷥ r38 and Jie 訐 ䷦ r39), Li’s analysis is accurate as stated. However, a fourth case, Sui ䷐ r17 and Gu 蛊 ䷑ r18, is unusual in that the hexagram pictures are both invertible and con-vertible; that both hexagrams feature symbol , would support the first of Li’s premises while negating the second. In the last of the cases, Feng 豐 ䷶ r55, which features the symbol , and huan ䷺ r59, the symbol of which both Pu Maozuo and Li Shangxin describe as , the symbol on huan is very similar to the symbol and may just represent a slight deformation


of it.24 However we interpret this particular case, Li’s analysis would seem to be susceptible to the same sort of criticism as Pu Maozuo’s: the manuscript is simply too fragmentary to allow these sorts of fine distinctions.

It seems to me that the most reasonable analysis of these symbols published to date is also the simplest. That is the analysis of He Zeheng, whom I mentioned regarding the attention he has paid to different calligraphic hands in the production of the manuscript. He suggests that in the forty-five strips that make up what I term Group A, there are only four different symbols (following Pu Maozuo’s ordering), , , , and . He suggests reordering these, such that the group of hexagrams with symbol , the solid black square, would follow immediately after the group with , the solid red square, and those with , the three-sided hollow red square with an inset smaller solid black square, would precede those with symbol , the three-sided hollow black square with an inset smaller solid red square. Then, somewhat along the lines of Pu’s nod to the traditional division of the Zhou Yi into two scrolls, He further suggests that and , the solid red and black squares, would belong exclusively to the first scroll, and and would belong exclusively to the second scroll. In saying this, paradoxically, He comes to the same general conclusion as Li Shangxin: that these symbols suggest that the sequence of hexagrams in the manuscript was essentially the same as found in the received text.

The Hexagram Sequence in the Shanghai Museum Manuscript

The considerable interest evinced in these analyses of the manuscript’s red and black symbols is due in large part to the radically different sequence of hexagrams found on the Mawangdui silk manuscript vis-à-vis that of the received text. In the received text, the only apparent order in the sequence of hexagrams is that they are invariably grouped in pairs. In the twenty-eight cases in which a hexagram picture can be inverted to create a different hexagram picture, the two invertible hexagrams are paired together, as in the case of Shi 師 ䷆ r7 and Bi 比 ䷇ r8 men-tioned above in the discussion of Li Shangxin’s analysis of the red and black symbols. In the eight cases in which such inversion would result in the same hexagram picture (Qian 乾 ䷀ r1, Kun 坤 ䷁ r2, Yi 頤 ䷚ r27, Da Guo 大過 ䷛ r28, Kan 坎 ䷜ r29, Li 離 ䷝ r30, Zhong Fu 中孚 ䷼ r61, and Xiao Guo 小過 ䷽ r62), the hexagram is paired with the hexagram created by the conversion of all lines to their opposite.25 Many of these hexagram pairs are also related by their names (often being opposites of each other) and/or similar line statements. As explained in chapter 1, in the Mawangdui silk manuscript, on the other hand, the hexagrams are arranged in groups of eight, with all hexagrams in a single group sharing the same top three lines, or trigram. Thus, the first eight hexagrams of the Mawangdui manuscript are built around the trigram Qian 乾 ☰ (called Jian 鍵 in the Mawangdui manuscript). In the illustration below, above the hexagram picture I give the names and sequence numbers found in the manuscript; below it I give the names and sequence numbers found in the received text):26


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jian Fu Yuan Li Song Tong Ren Wumeng Gou 鍵婦掾禮訟同人无孟狗

䷀ ䷋ ䷠ ䷉ ䷅ ䷌ ䷘ ䷫

乾否遯履訟同人无妄姤

Qian Pi Dun Lü Song Tong Ren Wuwang Gou 1 12 33 10 6 13 25 44

As mentioned in chapter 1, the initial publication of this manuscript touched off a furious debate over which sequence may have been the original sequence of the Zhou Yi. Although the Mawangdui manuscript constituted the earliest physical evidence, many scholars held that its mechanical arrangement disrupted the pairs of hexagrams, which they regarded as one of the fundamental organizing features of the text.

Thus it was that people heard with excitement the news that the Shanghai Museum had obtained a manuscript more than a century older than the Mawangdui manuscript and looked forward to its publication to resolve this debate. Alas, the physical nature of the Shanghai Mu-seum manuscript—being copied on bamboo strips—has frustrated this hope. As noted, each hexagram begins at the top of a new strip, with the text then continuing on a second, or in some cases a third strip, with any remnant of the final strip left blank after the final red and/or black symbol. There is clear evidence that all the strips were then bound together and thus that the hexagrams certainly had a fixed sequence when the manuscript was put into the tomb. However, by the time the manuscript reached the Shanghai Museum, the binding straps had long since decomposed, and the individual strips had become jumbled. For this reason, it is now generally assumed that, with the possible exception of the evidence of the red and/or black symbols, it is impossible to determine the original sequence of the bamboo-strip manu-script and consequently that the manuscript does not provide any evidence for the original sequence of hexagrams in the Zhou Yi.

This is certainly a reasonable assumption in principle. However, several years ago I pro-posed that it may be possible to use some aspects of the physical nature of the bamboo strips to come to some very provisional conclusions about the sequence of the manuscript.27 If we assume that the strips were buried in a bound bundle or bundles, as the traces of the binding straps on the bamboo strips would suggest, we might also assume a greater than average possi-bility that contiguous strips would be preserved or lost together. Table 2.3 presents the physical circumstances and contents of the fifty-eight strips presently known.

Some observations are possible from table 2.3. First, whenever there is a break, either at the beginning or the end of a given hexagram text, the hexagram preceding or following it in the received sequence of hexagrams is missing. For instance, the manuscript includes the final strip of Mang 尨, hexagram r4 in the received sequence, but not its first strip; it does not

Table 2.3 Physical Circumstances and textual Contents of the shanghai museum Zhou Yi manuscript bamboo strips

Strip no. Length (cm) Hex. name No. in R. Contents

1 16.7 + 12.4 + 9.6 Mang 尨 4 Liu san to end

2 23.1 + 20.4 Ru 孠 5 Beginning to liu si

3 gap—20.8 Ru 5 Last character plus symbol

4 23.2 + 20.6 Song 訟 6 Beginning to jiu er

5 43 Song 6 Liu san to shang jiu

6 43.3 Song 6 Shang jiu to end

7 43.6 Shi 帀 7 Beginning to liu si

8 34.7 Shi 7 Liu si to end

9 43.5 Bi 比 8 Beginning to liu san

10 43.7 Bi 8 Liu san to end

11 43.8 (Da You 大有) 14 Liu si to end

12 12.4 + 8.7—gap—10.8 Qian 15 Beginning to liu wu

13 43.8 Qian 15 Liu wu to end

14 43.3 Yu 余 16 Beginning to liu wu

15 43.8 Yu 16 Liu wu to end

16 42.7—gap Sui 17 Beginning to jiu si

17 43.5 Sui 17 Jiu si to end

18 43.5 Gu 蛊 18 Beginning to jiu san

19 gap—7—gap Fu 24 Liu wu

20 29.1—gap Wang Wang 亡忘 25 Beginning to liu er

21 22.1 + 6.7 + 15 Wang Wang 25 Liu san to end

22 43.7 Da Du 大 26 Beginning to liu si

23 43.7 Da Du 26 Liu si to end

24 43.4 Yi 頤 27 Beginning to liu san

25 43.7 Yi 27 Liu san to end

26 36.5—gap Qin 欽 31 Beginning to jiu si

27 43.6 Qin 31 Jiu wu to end

28 43.6 heng 32 Beginning to liu wu

29 43.8 heng 32 Liu wu to end

30 31.5 + 12 Dun 33 Beginning to jiu si

31 31.1—gap Dun 33 Jiu si to end

32 21.8 + 9.2—gap Kui 楑 38 Beginning to liu san

32a* ? Kui 38 Liu san to jiu si


33 30.8—gap Kui 38 Jiu si to shang jiu

34 43.5 Kui 38 Shang jiu to end

35 43.6 Jie 訐 39 Beginning to jiu wu

36 36—gap Jie 39 Shang liu to end

37 43.5 Jie 繲 40 Beginning to jiu si

38 43.7 Guai 夬 43 Jiu er to jiu si

39 43.7 Guai 43 Jiu si to end

40 13 + 30.5 Gou 敂 44 Beginning to jiu san

41 43.8 Gou 44 Jiu san to end

42 43.6 Cui 45 Beginning to chu liu

43 43.8 Kun 困 47 Jiu wu to end

44 43.7 Jing 汬 48 Beginning to jiu er

45 43.6 Jing 48 Jiu er to shang liu

46 43.5 Jing 48 Shang liu to end

47 43.7 Ge 革 49 Beginning to jiu san

48 13.4—gap—23.8 Gen 艮 52 Beginning to jiu san

49 43.8 Gen 52 Jiu san to end

50 12.6 + 31.1 Jian 漸 53 Beginning to jiu san

51 23.1 + 20.5 Feng 豐 55 Jiu san to shang liu

52 43.5 Feng 55 Shang liu to end

53 43.8 Lü 56 Beginning to jiu si

54 43.5 huan 59 Beginning to liu si

55 gap—42.7 huan 59 Liu si to end

56 31.6—gap Shao Guo 少 62 Liu wu to end

57 43.6 (Ji Ji 既淒) 63 Jiu san to end

58 gap—21—gap Wei Ji 未淒 64 Chu liu to jiu si

* This fragment is stored in the Chinese University of Hong Kong; exact measurements are not available.


include any of Zhun 屯 (r3). Similarly, it includes the final strip of Da You 大有 (r14) but not its beginning strip; neither does it include any text of Tong Ren 同人 (r13). It includes the first strip of Gu 蛊 (r18) but not its last strip; neither does it include any text of Lin 臨 (r19). This is true in every case in which a hexagram text is incomplete, except for the single case of Shao Guo 少 (r62) and Ji Ji 既淒 (r63); the second strip of Ji Ji is present but not its first strip, while the third of what must originally have been three strips of Shao Guo is present. As already noted, it is also the case that the symbol that comes at the end of Shao Guo seems to be out of sequence with the hexagrams that precede and follow it in the received sequence (see table 2.2).

By the same token, when the beginning or final strip of a hexagram text is present, there is a much better than average chance that the preceding or following hexagram in the received sequence is also present. For example, the manuscript includes both the beginning and end of Ru 孠 (r5); it also includes the final strip of Mang 尨 (r4) and the first strip of Song 訟 (r6). The manuscript includes both the beginning and end of Qian (r15); it also includes the end of Da You 大有 (r14) and the beginning of Yu 余 (r16). In fifty such cases, there are only ten cases in which the text that would be contiguous in the received sequence is not present. De-spite the problem of double counting here (the single correlation between the end of Qian and the beginning of Yu gets counted twice, once for Qian and once for Yu), these statistics suggest to me the probability that these bamboo strips were indeed contiguous.

refining this analysis somewhat, noting that many of the bamboo strips in the manuscript were broken at some point during their burial, we might also assume that these strips would have been broken in much the same place with other strips that were contiguous in the bundle or bundles. Evidence of this is to be seen, for instance, in the case of strips 20 and 21, the first of which is broken 29.1 cm from the top and the second of which is broken at 28.8 cm from the top (and also at 22.1 cm from the top)—these two strips contain the entirety of Wang Wang 亡忘 (r25), the contents of which show that the two strips must have been contiguous. Similar evidence can be seen in the cases of strips 30 and 31, the first of which is broken at 31.5 cm from the top and the second at 31.1 cm from the top—these two strips contain the entirety of Dun (r33), and strips 32 and 33, the first of which is broken at 31 cm from the top and the second at 30.8 cm from the top—these are the first two strips of Kui 楑 (r38).28 In these two cases as well, the content of the strips shows that they must have been contiguous, and so the similar points of breakage are perhaps understandable.

More important, strips pertaining to more than a single hexagram might be susceptible to the same type of analysis. Thus, we might note that strips 2, 3, and 4 were all broken in roughly the same place, at about the point of the middle binding notch: strip 2 being broken 20.4 cm from the bottom, strip 3 20.8 cm from the bottom, and strip 4 20.6 cm from the bottom. The first two of these three strips would have contained the entirety of the text of Ru 孠 (r5),29

while the third contains the opening of Song 訟 (r6). The similar points of breakage suggest


that these strips, and thus the two hexagrams, were contiguous in the manuscript sequence, just as they are in the received sequence.30

Thus, both the distribution of extant strips among the hexagrams and especially this last example of similar points of breakage of strips belonging to two different hexagrams sug-gested to me that the Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Zhou Yi may well have been more or less in the same sequence as that of the received text. More recently, Sun Peiyang 孫沛陽 of Peking University’s Institute of Archaeology and Museology (Kaogu Wenbo Xueyuan 考古文博學院) has proposed a much more audacious—and to my mind—much more con-vincing demonstration that the original sequence of hexagrams of the Shanghai Museum manuscript was the same as that of the received text.31 Sun assumes that the text of the Zhou Yi was written on 142 bamboo strips, which agrees with my own reconstruction of the origi-nal manuscript. He has reproduced these in cardboard strips 45 cm long by 0.6 cm wide and with a thickness of 0.11–0.12 cm, pasting onto 58 of these strips full-size photographs of the surviving text. He colored these strips gray and used white for the strips entirely missing from the manuscript. He then bound these all together, with thin silk thread, in the order of the received text, and rolled them into a scroll, rolling from back (i.e., what would correspond to Wei Ji 未濟 [r64] hexagram) to front, so that Qian 乾 (r1) would be the last hexagram on the outside of the scroll. This initial experiment produced a scroll that can be depicted as in figure 2.3.

This diagram is immediately suggestive, with the surviving strips (in gray) all segregated on one side of the scroll. However, Sun has proposed a slight modification. He notes that the seventy-seven strips of the Yongyuan qiwu pu 永元器物簿 discovered at Juyan about 1930, one of the only early scrolls that has survived intact, included two blank strips that mark divi-

Figure 2.3 Sun Peiyang’s initial reconstruction of the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manuscript; after Sun Peiyang, “Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhan guo Chu zhu shu Zhou Yi de fuyuan yu gua xu yanjiu,” 31


sions within the text.32 If the Zhou Yi manuscript were divided—as the Zhou Yi has been tra-ditionally—into two sections, then perhaps it would have included one or more blank strips bound into the scroll. Since the Zhou Yi has traditionally been divided between Li 離 r30 and Xian 咸 r31 hexagrams, Sun placed four extra strips at that point in the scroll. This produces the schematic diagram (the four blank strips indicated in black) shown in figure 2.4.

In his discussion of this reconstruction, Sun is very careful to note its hypothetical nature. Especially problematic is the insertion of four blank strips into the middle of the scroll. nev-ertheless, the result is particularly satisfying, suggesting forcefully not only that the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manuscript was indeed bound in the order of the received text but also that it was divided into two separate sections (though bound as a single text).

The Manuscript Text as Compared with the received Text of the Zhou Yi

As mentioned, the manuscript contains text from thirty-four different hexagrams, with 1,806 characters, as opposed to the sixty-four hexagrams and 5,012 characters of the received text. For the one-third of the text for which there are parallels, the manuscript and received text match to a quite remarkable extent. Consider, for example, its text of Shi 帀 hexagram, which corresponds with the received text’s Shi 師, “Army,” hexagram (the seventh hexagram in the received sequence), which is written on the seventh and eighth strips of the manuscript (see figures 2.1 and 2.2). I give here the text as written on the two strips and as presented in Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu and beneath this (in gray) the received text (as found in the Shisan jing zhushu 十三经注疏 edition, minus punctuation):

Figure 2.4 Sun Peiyang’s final reconstruction of the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manuscript; after Sun Peiyang, “Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhan guo Chu zhu shu Zhou Yi de fuyuan yu gua xu yanjiu,” 32


7. ䷆帀貞丈人吉亡咎初六帀出以聿不𪺞凶九二才帀吉亡咎王晶賜命六晶

帀或凶六四帀左亡咎六

䷆師貞丈人吉无咎初六師出以律否臧凶九二在師中吉无咎王三錫命六三師或輿尸凶六四師左次无咎六

8. 五畋又利𡠗言亡咎長子帀弟子貞凶上六大君子又命啟邦丞

勿用

五田有禽利執言无咎長子帥師弟子輿尸貞凶上六大君有命開國承家小人勿用

With the exception of the red symbol found at the beginning of the manuscript text ( ; the complementary symbol that we would expect to find at the end of the text seems to have faded entirely), it can be seen that the two texts coincide almost character for character, the only obvious differences being that the received text does not have the suffix zi 子 after da jun 大君 in the Top Six line statement, and in the same line statement the manuscript writes xiao ren 小人 as the combined character (hewen 合文) . When we look more closely, we see that of the seventy-three other characters in the hexagram and line statements forty are exact matches.33

Of the variations, 亡 : 无 (four times), 帀: 師 (five times), 聿 : 律, 不 : 否, 𪺞: 臧, 才 : 在, : 中, 晶 : 三 (two times), 賜 : 錫, : 輿 (two times), : 尸 (two times), : 次, 畋 : 田, 又 : 有 (two times), : 禽, 𡠗: 執, : 帥, 啟 : 開, 邦 : 國, 丞 : 承, : 家, most are clearly just graphic variants, different ways of writing the same word, not much different from the differ-ence between English “theater” and “theatre.” For instance, in Warring States manuscripts, 帀 is the standard way of writing the word shi, “army, regiment,” the conventional form of which came first to be written as 師, though it is now simplified as 师; the difference between 帀 and 師 is of the same order as the difference between 師 and 师. The same is true of the differences between at least 才 and 在 and 又 and 有. The difference between 晶 and 三 is of a similar na-ture; although in conventional Chinese orthography 晶 would ordinarily represent the word jing, “crystal,” in Warring States Chu manuscripts the word for “three” is often written with three repeated elements, such as the three “suns” (日) here. Most of the other variants are well attested in other paleographic materials or in later dictionaries as alternative forms, different spellings so to speak, for the characters found in the received text.34

The difference between 畋 and 田 might point to a different nuance, since 畋 conven-tionally represents the word tian, “to hunt,” whereas 田 is obviously in the same word family but usually stands specifically for tian, “fields.” However, as early as the oracle-bone inscrip-tions of the Shang dynasty, 田 was also used in the sense “to hunt,” perhaps derived from “to take to the fields.” The variation between the manuscript’s 亡, usually read as wang, “to die, not to exist,” and the received text’s wu 无, “not to have, not to be,” might well point to a change in the use of negatives at some point between the Warring States period and the Han dynasty, but many grammarians simply read 亡 as wu and equate the two words. Only the received text’s kai


開, “to open,” for the manuscript’s qi 啟, “to initiate,” and guo 國, “state,” for the manuscript’s bang 邦, “country,” are clearly lexical variants, and these are well-known in all ancient texts as being due to editorial changes in the Han dynasty to avoid taboos on the names of the early Han emperors Liu Bang 劉邦 (r. 202–195 b.c., posthumously known as Gao Di 高帝) and Liu Qi 劉啓 (r. 157–141 b.c., posthumously known as Jing Di 景帝).35

This is not to say, by any means, that the manuscript text is exactly the same as the received text of the Zhou Yi. Most of the variants are, of course, of the nature seen above in the case of Shi hexagram—“ancient script” (gu wen 古文) forms versus “clerical script” (li shu 隸書) forms or variants that are phonetically related, essentially different spellings of the same word (which, however, can sometimes also suggest different words). However, there are quite a few cases where we find two clearly different words. In several of these cases, it is possible to use the reading of the Shanghai Museum manuscript, especially in conjunction with other early evidence (especially the Mawangdui and Fuyang 阜陽 manuscripts), to suggest different read-ings from those of the received text. Here I introduce just two representative cases; others are addressed in the notes to the translation presented in the following chapter.36

Some of the most interesting differences are clearly a result of miscopying or mistranscrip-tion of archaic forms of characters. For example, the Six in the Fifth line of Kui 楑, “Look Cross-Eyed” (r38), hexagram reads as follows in the Shanghai Museum manuscript and in the received text (the received text in gray):

六五𢘓亡陞宗肤可咎

Six in the Fifth: regrets gone. Ascend the ancestral temple and eat the meat offering. In going what trouble.

六五悔亡厥宗噬膚往何咎

Six in the Fifth: regrets gone. At their ancestral temple eating flesh. In going what trouble.

Disregarding for the moment all other variants (which are possibly just graphic variants),37 let us focus just on the difference between the 陞 of the manuscript, clearly an embellished form of sheng 升, “to ascend,” and the jue 厥, “his, its” of the received text. It is hard to construe the grammar of the received text, in which it would seem that the “ancestral temple” eats the “flesh,” a difficulty not apparent in the manuscript text; in “ascend the ancestral temple and eat the meat offering,” there is no need to specify, with a pronoun, who is to perform the action. The preferability of the manuscript reading is shown by that of the Mawangdui manuscript, which reads here deng zong 登宗, “go up the ancestral temple,” sheng 升, “to ascend,” and deng 登, “to go up,” being close synonyms. As Qin Jing 秦倞 has pointed out, there is probably a graphic explanation for the reading of the received text: the archaic form of jue 厥, “his, its,” was 氒, very similar to 升, the original form of sheng, “to ascend.”38


The Shanghai Museum manuscript version of the nine in the Fourth line of Guai 夬, “resolute,” hexagram (r43) contains numerous variants vis-à-vis the received text.

九四誫亡肤丌行緀疋羊𢘓亡𦖞言不冬

nine in the Fourth: The raw meat offering has no sliced meat. His movement is belabored. Losing a sheep. regrets gone. Hearing words that are unending.

四臀无膚其行次且牽羊悔亡聞言不信

nine in the Fourth: Buttocks without flesh. His movement is labored. Leading a sheep. regrets gone. Hearing words that are not believable.

Let us once again focus only on a single variant. This is the variation between the 羊 of the manuscript and qian yang 牽羊, “to lead a sheep,” of the received text. Pu Maozuo does not comment here on the graph , but at another occurrence of it (at the First nine line state-ment of Kui 楑, “Look Cross-Eyed,” hexagram [r 38]), he suggests, without any elaboration, that it should be read as sang 喪, “to lose,” as does the received text.39

初九𢘓馬勿由自見人亡咎

First nine: regrets gone. Losing a horse; do not follow, it will return of itself. Seeing an ugly man; there is no trouble.

初九悔亡喪馬勿逐自復見惡人无咎

First nine: regrets gone. Losing a horse; do not chase it, it will return of itself. Seeing an ugly man; there is no trouble.

In the nine in the Fourth line of Guai hexagram, both readings, sang yang 喪羊, “to lose a sheep,” and qian yang 牽羊, “to lead a sheep,” are intelligible in the context. In this case, the Mawangdui manuscript seemed to support the reading of the received text, published tran-scriptions of the manuscript rendering this phrase as qian yang 牽羊.40 However, Fan Changxi 范常喜 has recently challenged this reading, suggesting on the basis of the Shanghai Mu-seum Zhou Yi manuscript and other early manuscript materials that the Mawangdui manu-script should actually be transcribed as sang yang 桑羊 but read as sang yang 喪羊, “to lose a sheep,” sang 桑, “mulberry,” and sang 喪, “to lose,” being homophonous.41 More than just homophonous, paleographic materials have long since shown that the graph for sang, 喪, “to lose,” was originally written with sang 桑, “mulberry,” as the phonetic component, adding wang 亡, “to die, not to have,” as the etymonic component. In the case of the graph in question in the Shanghai Museum manuscript, it would seem that the component transcribed as 九 by Pu Maozuo is, in fact, a simplified form of 桑, displaying only the “trunk” of the tree and leaving


off the “berries.”42 Thus, it is clear here that the character should be read as sang 喪, “to lose.” However, it is likely that some sort of variant writing of the character form eventually led to the received text’s qian 牽, “to lead.”43

In addition to variations in individual characters, it is worth noting also that the manu-script occasionally differs from the received text in its use of technical divination terminology. There are six places where the manuscript contains an additional word or phrase as compared with the received text: ji 吉, “auspicious,” in the hexagram statement of Bi 比 (r8); wang bu li 亡不利, “there is nothing not beneficial,” in the Six in the Fourth line of Bi; zhen 貞, “to divine,” in the Top Six line of heng (r32); li jian da ren, “beneficial to see the great man,” in the hexagram statement of huan hexagram (r57); hui wang 悔亡, “regrets gone,” in the First Six line of huan; and li she da chuan 利涉大川, “beneficial to ford the great river,” in the nine in the Third line of Wei Ji 未淒 (r64). There are also almost twice as many places in which the received text includes similar technical divination terms or phrases of which the manuscript shows no trace.44 This may reflect a sort of process of composition for the text of the Zhou Yi as seen, for instance, in the additional divination terms in the Fuyang Zhou Yi manuscript,45 though it must also be admitted that the great majority of the received text’s divination phrases are seen in the Shanghai Museum manuscript, showing that even in this perhaps most fluid of aspects, the text was already more or less fixed by no later than 300 b.c.

Toward a new Way of reading the Zhou YiThe text of Shi hexagram examined above is generally representative of the Shanghai Museum manuscript and of its relationship with the received text of the Zhou Yi. nevertheless, before coming to the conclusion that the manuscript offers nothing new in terms of how to read and understand the Zhou Yi, especially in its earliest contexts, it would be well to consider a few other portions of the manuscript as well. For instance, the very first strip in the manuscript (ac-tually composed of three separate fragments, 16.7 cm, 12.4 cm, and 9.6 cm long, with another section about 5 cm long at the top of the strip missing) carries the text that corresponds to the top four line statements of Meng 蒙 hexagram, the third hexagram in the received text. Let us once again place the manuscript text above the received text, in gray.

六晶勿用取女見金夫不又躳亡卣𥝢六四困尨吝六五僮尨吉上九𣪠尨不𥝢為𥝢御

六三勿用取女見金夫不有躬无攸利六四困蒙吝六五童蒙吉上九擊蒙不

利為寇利禦寇

As one can see at a glance, the manuscript contains a character for every one of the thirty-six characters in the received text, of which twenty are either identical or essentially so. There are


also eleven variants: 晶 : 三, 又 : 有, 躳 : 躬, 亡 : 无, 卣 : 攸, 𥝢: 利 (three times), 尨 : 蒙 (three times), 僮 : 童, 𣪠: 擊, : 寇 (two times), and 御: 禦. Of these, 晶 as opposed to san 三, “three,” 又 as opposed to you 有, “to have,” and 亡 as opposed to wu 无, “not to have,” have already been seen above in the case of Shi hexagram. 躳 : 躬, 卣 : 攸, 𥝢: 利, 僮 : 童, and : 寇 are simple graphic variants, essentially different ways of spelling the same words: gong, “body, person”; you, a preverbal nominalizing particle; li, “benefit”; tong, “youth”; and kou, “bandit,” respectively.46 The variants 𣪠 as opposed to ji 擊 and 御 as opposed to yu 禦 may well also be simple graphic variants, in both cases the character of the received text having an additional classifier or signific, specifying the meaning of the characters (thus, ji, “to hit,” and yu, “to drive off, to resist,” respectively). However, in these cases, it would also be possible to imagine other meanings for the manuscript. Thus, 御 can be understood per-fectly well without any additional signific, writing the word yu, “to drive, to control,” while 𣪠 might also be expanded to xi 繫, “to tie” (i.e., adding a “silk” signific, 糹). nevertheless, these sorts of variation are of the same order as seen in the case of Shi hexagram and probably would not cause us to reconsider how to read the received text of this hexagram. However, the final variation, that between 尨 and 蒙, is of a different nature. In conventional script, 尨 is the standard graph for the word mang, “long-haired dog,” whereas 蒙 is used to write a series of words pronounced meng: “type of plant, dodder”; “lush, luxuriant”; “to cover”; “to wear on the head”; “to trick”; “occluded”; “ignorant”; “confused”; “youth.” In the Zhou Yi tradition, the character, which is also the name of this hexagram,47 is variously explained as “youth” or “ignorance,” with many commentators combining the two meanings (i.e., “the ignorance of youth” or “youthful Folly”).48 What could a “long-haired dog” have to do with “the ignorance of youth”?

Pu Maozuo notes that the Jingdian shiwen 經典釋文 of Lu Deming 陸德明 (556–627) indicates meng 蒙 as an alternative pronunciation of 尨49 and thus assumes that both 尨 and 蒙 stand for the same word, which he regards as meng, “youth, ignorance.” There is no question that mang 尨 and meng 蒙 were sufficiently similar in pronunciation that 尨 could be used to write meng 蒙,50 no different from writing “red” for “read” in “she read the book.”51 If so, de-spite this variation in the character, the manuscript should be understood as writing the same word as the received text. nevertheless, despite the long-standing tradition that in this hexa-gram of the Zhou Yi that word should be meng, “youth, ignorance, youthful Folly,” it stands to reason that the opposite could also be true; that is, 蒙 might also be used to write mang 尨. In fact, this is an argument that has been made recently by Ōno yūji 大野裕司.52 He notes that in line statements of this hexagram such as kun mang/meng 困尨/蒙 and ji mang/meng 擊尨/蒙, “long-haired dog” makes better sense as an object of the verbs kun 困, “to latch, to bind,” and ji 擊, “to hit,” than does “the ignorance of youth.” Even in the Six in the Fifth line statement, tong mang/meng 僮尨/蒙, tong 僮, “young, youth,” could describe a long-haired


puppy just as well as a child, ignorant or otherwise. Examining the other line statements in the received text of this hexagram, which, however, have not survived in the manuscript, the case for reading meng 蒙 as “the ignorance of youth” becomes even more strained. The First Six and the nine in the Second lines read as follows:

發蒙利用刑人用說桎梏以往吝

Lifting [literally, “shooting”] the meng. Beneficial herewith to punish a man, and herewith to remove the fetters in order to go. Distress.

包蒙吉納婦吉子克家

Wrapping the meng. Auspicious. Taking a wife: auspicious; a son can marry.

Later commentators have naturally read the fa發, literally, “to shoot, to propel,” of the first line in its extended sense of “to develop” and thus interpret the image as an injunction in favor of education (“develop the ignorant youth”).53 Although this makes good sense in a Confucian context, does it make sense in the context of the rest of the line statement, with its injunctions regarding punishment? Another variation in the early textual history of the Zhou Yi with re-spect to the second of these line statements might well bring us back to reading mang or meng as a hairy dog: instead of bao meng 包蒙, “to wrap the meng,” the Jingdian shiwen quotes the text of Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200) as reading biao meng 彪蒙, the original meaning of biao 彪 being “stripes (of a tiger).”54 Although this line is missing from the Shanghai Museum manuscript, if it too were to read biao mang 彪尨, might we then read it as “a striped long-haired dog”?

I do not wish to insist on any necessary difference in meaning between the manuscript’s mang 尨 and the received text’s meng 蒙, but by the same token I think it would be wrong to gloss over the variation and treat it as if it were a meaningless difference of “spelling.” Might a single word, or at least a single word root or even a single sound, be used in different senses? If we consider another hexagram whose name is also written with a different character in the manuscript from that in the received text, I think we will see that the difference literally ripples through the text of the hexagram. This is the case of Jing hexagram (r48), the name of which is written 汬 in the manuscript and 井 in the received text. In this case, the manuscript preserves the complete text of the hexagram. Again placing the manuscript text above the received text, we again see considerable similarity between the two texts, within which there is again a cer-tain amount of variation, some of which may be insignificant but some of which may be very significant indeed. The manuscript text is found on three complete bamboo strips, numbers 44, 45, and 46. For ease of comparison, I place the corresponding text of the received text of the Zhou Yi’s Jing 井 hexagram immediately under that of each strip.


44. ䷏汬改邑不改汬亡亡𠭁汬气至亦毋汬丌缾凶初六汬暜不飤

舊汬亡九二汬浴矤隹襒

䷏井改邑不改井无喪无得往來井井汔至亦未繘井羸其瓶凶初六井泥不食舊井无禽九二井谷射鮒瓮敝

45. 縷九晶汬朻不飤為我心可以汲王明並受丌福六四汬亡咎九五汬寒

泉飤上六汬朻勿寞又孚元

漏九三井渫不食為我心惻可用汲王明并受其福六四井甃无咎九五井冽寒泉食上六井收勿幕有孚元

46. 吉吉

Again, it is easy to see that the text of the manuscript is extremely similar to that of the received text. The received text contains eighty-five characters in all (including the hexagram name), as does the text of the manuscript (not counting the two red and black symbols, here represented as ), each and every phrase corresponding exactly. To take just the hexagram statement as an example, as in the case of Mang or Meng hexagram above, the difference be-tween 亡 of the manuscript and the wu 无 of the received text is textually insignificant (even if interesting for grammatical history), and the differences between the manuscript’s 𠭁, , and and the received text’s de 得, wang 往, and lai 來 are certainly just a matter of orthog-raphy, as are doubtless also those between and lei 羸 and 缾 and ping 瓶.55 The difference between the manuscript’s 气 and the received text’s qi 汔 is essentially the addition of a sig-nific, which probably spells out the intended sense of the manuscript. I have already discussed the manuscript’s and shown that it is a simplified way of writing the word sang 喪, “to lose,” seen in the received text, while wu 毋 of the manuscript and the corresponding wei 未 of the received text are both negatives, even if they do have different nuances.56 Indeed, in a published transcription of the manuscript text, Li Ling 李零, professor of Chinese at Peking University and the first scholar to have worked with the Shanghai Museum manuscripts, has dismissed almost all these differences, in almost every case simply transcribing the manuscript with the corresponding character of the received text.57

井改邑不改井，无亡无得，往来井井，汽至，亦毋井，羸缾，凶。

Even with respect to one of the two characters that he transcribes directly, , which he ren-ders slightly differently, , still he “suspects that it should be read as yu 繘, the graph used in the received text.58 Since yu 繘 means “a rope used to draw water from a well” or, as an extended sense, “to draw from,” it is clear that this latter “suspicion” is based on the premise that this hexagram text is entirely concerned with a “well” (i.e., jing 井), the name of the hexagram in the received text. It is therefore not surprising that Professor Li also transcribes


the corresponding character in the manuscript, 汬, directly as jing 井, the character used in the received text.

Since a “well” is “a place where the earth is excavated to produce water,” the additional “water” component (i.e., 水) in the manuscript’s graph would seem to be entirely consistent with this sense. This would also be consistent with the explanation of the hexagram’s mean-ing in the canonical Tuan zhuan 彖傳 commentary, based on the constituent trigrams of the hexagram picture ䷯, xun ☴, “wind” or “motion,” under kan ☵, “water”: “when there is mo-tion on water causing the water to rise, this is a well” (xun hu shui er shui shang, jing 巽乎水而上水，井).59 There would also seem to be good evidence in support of this sense in the hexagram and line statements of the received text. For example, in the line statement of the First Six line, for the jing ni bu shi, jiu jing wu qin 井泥不食，舊井无禽 of the received text, it is very easy to interpret jing ni 井泥 as meaning that the well water is dirty and, of course, should not be drunk. Despite this, the jing 井 of this line statement’s second phrase, jiu jing wu qin 舊井无禽, cannot be quite so unproblematically interpreted as “a place where the earth is excavated to produce water.” In their Jing yi shu wen 經義述聞, Wang niansun 王念孫 (1744–1832) and Wang yinzhi 王引之 (1766–1834) gave the following discussion of this phrase:

Whenever the Yi line statements have tian you qin 田有禽, “in the hunt there is a catch,” tian wu qin 田无禽, “in the hunt there is no catch,” or shi qian qin 失前禽, “losing the forward catch,” it is always in reference to wild animals. The qin 禽 in this phrase should not be any different. Hence, jing 井 should be read as jing 阱, “trap,” which has 井 as its phonetic. The Shuo wen says: “A trap [jing 阱] is a large hole in the ground. The character is based on ‘hill’ and ‘well’ [jing 井], with jing 井 also serving as phonetic.” Therefore, jing 阱, “trap,” is often written as jing 井, “well,” and this is different from the jing 井, “well,” of “the well is muddy and not edible.” “The well is muddy and not drinkable” has one mean-ing, and “the old trap does not have a catch” has another meaning. Jing 阱, “trap,” and jing 井, “well,” are similar, and that is why they are both written with jing 井.60

The Wangs’ explanation is very astute, but their quotation of the Shuo wen 說文 is incomplete. After the entry for jing 阱, which indeed reads as they say it does, the Shuo wen includes anoth-er character, 汬, for which it states, “The archaic form of jing 阱, ‘trap,’ is based on ‘water’ ” (Gu wen jing cong shui 古文阱从水).61 now that we see that in the Shanghai Museum manuscript the name of this hexagram is written as 汬, we should ask whether this character should always be transcribed as 井 or as 阱, or perhaps sometimes as 井 and sometimes as 阱. Based on the Wangs’ interpretation, it seems to make good sense that at least the 井 or 汬 of the phrase jiu jing wu qin 舊井无禽, or, in the Shanghai Museum manuscript, jiu jing wang qin 舊汬亡, should be read as a “trap” (i.e., jing 阱) to catch wild animals.


Other than this phrase jiu jing wang qin 舊汬亡, the following line statement should perhaps be read in the same way. In the received text of the Zhou Yi, the nine in the Second line statement reads jing gu she fu 井谷射鮒, which seems consistent in meaning with the reading of jing 井 as “a place where the earth is excavated to produce water,” even if it is hard to construe.62 The word fu 鮒 is the key to the line. If we look in a dictionary such as the han yu da cidian 漢語大詞典, fu 鮒 has two different senses: one is “carp,” a relatively large fish, while the other is “frog.”63 Whereas the Zi Xia zhuan 子夏傳 commentary, ostensibly the old-est commentary on the Zhou Yi, credited to Confucius’s disciple Zi Xia 子夏 (b. 507 b.c.), is quoted as explicitly defining fu as “frog” (hama 蝦蟆),64 later commentaries have tended to agree that the word should refer to “a small fish.”65 At least one early poet sensed the difficulty inherent in this interpretation; in his Wu du fu 吳都賦, or Wu Capital Rhapsody, Zuo Si 左思 (ca. 250–ca. 305) wrote, “Although you return to the side of the river and angle for a bream, it is no different from shooting ‘sardines’ at the bottom of a well” (Sui fu lin he er diao li, Wu yi she fu yu jing gu 雖復臨河而釣鯉，無異射鮒於井谷),66 obviously alluding to this line state-ment and just as obviously portraying it as something nonsensical. Different from the received text, in the Shanghai Museum manuscript this line reads 汬浴矤. It is unclear what the character , seen here for the first time, might mean; Pu Maozuo simply states that it “awaits further study.”67 Li Ling disagrees with Pu’s careful attitude, stating, “In fact, the phonetic 丰 belongs to the dong 東 rhyme class with a bing 并 initial, while fu 鮒 belongs to the hou 侯 rhyme class also with a bing 并 initial, and so they can be loan characters.”68 Though I have no reason to question the possibility that the phonetics 丰, archaic *phoŋ, and 付, *poh, might be sufficiently homophonous to serve as loans for each other, this does not explain at all the 豕 component of the character, generally indicative of “pigs” or porcine animals, which should be its signific. Unless we were to say that this signific is entirely without significance, it would seem to imply that the copyist of the Shanghai Museum manuscript imagined that what was in the 汬 was a type of animal, not a type of fish. This would be entirely in line with understand-ing 汬 as a trap to catch wild animals, but not as a water well.

I have no idea what the original reading of the Zhou Yi may have been here; perhaps it was 井谷射丰 or 井谷射付 (which is to say that none of the characters was supplied with a signific). We should not assume that just because the Shanghai Museum manuscript is the most ancient manuscript of the Zhou Yi currently available that it therefore represents the original reading, or even that it is necessarily closer to the original reading than any other text. However, neither should we assume, as Li Ling seems to do, that the received text, edited as it was during the Han dynasty, represents some sort of “correct” interpretation. As far as mean-ing is concerned, “to shoot a wild pig in a trap” does not seem to me any less sensible than “to shoot sardines at the bottom of a well.” I can well imagine that the copyist of the Shanghai Museum manuscript (or some other copyist at some point before him), thinking that in the phrase 舊汬亡 (or in 舊井无禽) in the First Six line statement the character 汬 (or 井)


should be read as “trap” (i.e., 阱), might have understood the phrase 井谷射丰 in the fol-lowing nine in the Second line to refer to a wild pig at the bottom of that trap. To put this differently, the reading 井谷射鮒 in the received text of the Zhou Yi also represents the same sort of interpretive process, being simply the interpretation of one scribe or another. Since he understood the 井 or 汬 to be a water well (i.e., 井), he very reasonably assumed that the thing in it should be some sort of fish and therefore added a “fish” signific (魚) to the phonetic 丰 or 付. His reading was perhaps based on some teaching tradition, but even so I suspect that this was still nothing more than a guess. Textual variants and different commentarial explanations in the early history of the Zhou Yi clearly show that there were different, sometimes appar-ently even wildly different, teaching traditions. In trying to understand the Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Zhou Yi, I do not think we should regard the received reading as having primary importance.69

Another case is the Six in the Fourth line statement, which reads in the manuscript 汬亡咎 and in the received text as jing zhou wu jiu 井甃无咎, “The well is bricked. There is no trouble.” Pu Maozuo says of this,

has shu 鼠, “rat,” as signific and fu 膚 as phonetic and should be read as fu, 扶, “to support.” In the Shuo wen, fu is defined as “to be to the left” [zuo ye 左也], whereas the Fang yan 方言 gives “to help, to protect” [hu ye 護也] and the Shi ming 釋名 “to assist, assistingly nearing it, to bring aid to it” [fu, fu ye, fu jin zhi ye, jiang jiu hu zhi ye 扶，傅也，傅近之也，將救護之也]. 汬 means the well is repaired and preserved. Thus, the Xiang 象 commentary says, “ ‘The well is bricked. There is no trouble’ means to repair the well” [“Jing zhou wu jiu” xiu jing ye ‘井甃无咎’修井也].70

Li Ling has a completely different transcription and explanation.

As for , in the manuscript characters with fu 膚 in them are often yu 魚 rhyme-class words with lai 來 (or bang 幫) initials. Since Pu transcribes it as zhou 甃 and in his note explains it as fu 扶, there is no way of knowing just how it should be understood. I suspect that the character corresponds to xie 渫, “to leak,” which is in the yue 月 rhyme class with a xin 心 initial.71

This is based on another idea of Li’s, that the 汬朻 of the manuscript’s nine in the Third line statement should correspond with the jing zhou 井甃 in the received text’s Six in the Fourth line statement, and that the 汬 (or 汬 in his own transcription) of the manuscript’s Six in the Fourth line statement should instead correspond with the jing xie 井渫, “the well leaks,” of the received text’s nine in the Third line statement; that is, he believes that the images of the nine in the Third and Six in the Fourth line statements have been “exactly reversed.” It is not at


all impossible that line statements of the Zhou Yi might be reversed in this way, but one would like to see more direct evidence than is presented here.

I do not know whether this character should be transcribed with a shu 鼠, “rat,” signific or with a bao 豸, “wild animal,” signific,72 nor do I know how 汬 or 汬 should be un-derstood. However, in either case the signific would be consistent with reading 汬 as a trap to catch animals, and it is entirely possible that the Shanghai Museum manuscript’s scribe had a completely different understanding of the line. I also do not know what character the received text’s source text might have had here, but it is clear that the reading given in the received text, zhou 甃, “brick, bricked well,” was profoundly influenced by the premise that 井 or 汬 refers to a water well. In this case, we can perhaps call on archaeology to understand the context in which this reading developed. Thousands of wells from all periods of China’s ancient history have been excavated over the past several decades, and they display certain clear technologi-cal advances over the course of that history. Most important for our purposes here, until the Spring and Autumn period, wells invariably had only dirt walls. It was not until the end of the Spring and Autumn period and beginning of the Warring States period (i.e., the fifth century b.c.) that wells began to be lined with brick or earthenware tiles.73 Therefore, if the Zhou Yi were first composed in the Western Zhou period (1045–771 b.c.), as traditions regarding it affirm, then the received reading “the well is bricked” would necessarily be anachronistic based on the cultural awareness of teachers and scribes many centuries later.74 Of course, if the line statement refers to a “pig” (or some other animal) in a “trap,” as the reading of the Shanghai Museum manuscript suggests, then this archaeological evidence, interesting as it is for the de-velopment of the text and its exegesis, tells us nothing about the original context of the line.

In the received text of Jing hexagram, there are other images that seem to be just as clear as this Six in the Fourth line statement, and yet in the Shanghai Museum manuscript even these are not unproblematic. To consider just one last example, as we have seen, the first phrase in the received text’s First Six line statement reads jing ni bu shi 井泥不食, “the well is muddy and not drinkable”; it would seem that the meaning could only be concerned with a water well. The corresponding phrase in the manuscript reads 汬暜不飤. We can disregard the difference between shi 食 (conventionally meaning “to eat”) and 飤 (conventionally read as si and mean-ing “to feed”); in Warring States Chu orthography, 飤 was the most common way to write shi, “to eat.”75 However, the relationship between ni 泥, “mud, muddy,” and 暜 is difficult to construe. Pu Maozuo transcribes the manuscript’s 暜 as the original form of pu 普 and refers to the Guang yun 廣韵 by way of interpreting it as “broad, great, extensive” (bo ye, da ye, bian ye 博也、大也、徧也) but does not give any further explanation.76 Since pu 普 and ni 泥 do not have any apparent relationship, either in terms of meaning or phonetically, other scholars have sought to come up with a different reading. Li Ling simply says that this character should be transcribed as ti 替 and read as ni 泥:


Ni 泥 is written on the strips as 暜, which Pu takes as the original form of pu 普, but this is not right; it should be transcribed as ti 替. The Shuo wen gives ti 替 in chapter 10B under the 竝 classifier and pu 普 in chapter 7A under the 日 classifier; both characters include 竝, the only difference being the bottom signific. Ti 替 follows 白 (or 曰), while pu 普 follows 日. In fact, no example of pu 普 has yet been found in paleographic materials. The large cauldron of the king of Zhongshan has the character 竝, written with two 立 components, one higher and one lower, and this is the character ti 替. The character 暜 here is also ti 替. Ti is in the zhi 質 rhyme class with a tou 透 initial, whereas ni 泥 is in the zhi 脂 rhyme class with a ni 泥 initial; they are corresponding-turn-rhyme [duizhuan 對轉]77 characters. Both the Mawangdui manuscript and the current text read ni 泥.78

It would seem that this explanation of Li Ling’s is quite forced. The character on the bamboo strips is certainly written with a ri 日, “sun,” component; since Li says “ti 替 follows 白 (or 曰), while pu 普 follows 日” and yet nonetheless transcribes the graph as ti, this would seem to be a contradiction. Chen Wei 陳偉 also suspects that this graph should be read as ti, but noticing this contradiction, he notes that the han jian 汗簡 and the Guwen sisheng yun 古文四聲韵 both list ti 替 characters composed of 並 over ri 日.79 As for how such a ti 替 should be un-derstood, he cites the commentary by Cheng Xuanying 成玄英 (fl. 630–660) to the sentence yu shi xie xing er bu ti 與世偕行而不替 in the Zhuangzi 莊子: “Ti is to discard, to block up” (ti fei ye, yin sai ye 替，廢也，堙塞也) and says that “this is similar” to the meaning of ni 泥.80 Frankly, I do not see anything “similar” at all in the meanings of ni 泥, “mud,” and ti 替, whether understood as “to discard” or as “blocked up.” I suspect that this reading is also first based on the premise that 井 or 汬 should be read as a water well and then necessarily seeking to relate 暜 and ni 泥. If, however, 汬 should be read as a trap to catch wild animals, then pu 普 might well be more appropriate. The Shuo wen defines pu as “the sun being without color” (日無色也), but the word also has related meanings of “to expose” and “to parch”; perhaps a wild animal in a trap that has been in the sun too long should not be eaten. This is of course nothing more than a guess, but it is no more far-fetched than insisting that ti 替 be read as ni 泥.

Therefore, my preliminary conclusion can only be the following: in the line statements of this hexagram, some of the words jing (whether written as 井 or as 汬) should be interpreted as “a trap” (i.e., jing 阱) to catch wild animals, and others should be interpreted as a water well (i.e., jing 井). The characters associated with jing in the hexagram and line statements are also all influenced by these readings; when jing is read as “a water well,” they often include a “water” (i.e., 水) or “fish” (i.e., 魚) signific, whereas when jing is read as “a trap,” they often include some sort of wild animal signific. What sort of exegetical principle can we derive from this discussion of the word jing in the Zhou Yi? I believe the fundamental philosophical thought of the Zhou Yi lies in change. The linguistic usage of the text would seem to be no exception. The


diviners who created the hexagram and line statements seem to have very much appreciated the different senses of individual words, in the different line statements of a single hexagram often emphasizing different aspects of a single word family. In his 1985 doctoral dissertation, richard Kunst highlighted this polysemous quality of the text.

In the case of the Yi, it may often be the case that a given word in a single context or in several adjacent contexts was meant from the beginning to be ambiguous. Or rather, put differently, it was the polysemy inherent in a word which gave it a numinous quality and led to its incorporation in the text in contexts capable of more than one reading.81

In the Western Zhou or Spring and Autumn periods, when the Zhou Yi was being composed, the words of these word families were often written with a single character. I suspect the an-cient diviners were already well aware that words are variable, changeable, and that in creating the Yi, the Changes, they sought to exploit this feature of their language. However, later in the process of the transmission of the Changes, different schools of interpretation, which is to say the scribes of different times and places, were able to choose only a single one of these meanings to understand any given character; moreover, based on the writing conventions of their times, they were able to use only a single “correct” character to write it.

Whether in terms of Chinese editorial principles or Western textual criticism, this read-ing practice is quite reasonable.82 However, the Zhou Yi is not just any text. It is unique in all of world literature. Because of this, we should ideally adopt a different exegetical method to read it. I believe we should admit that the variant characters in all the different manuscripts and texts of the Changes are not necessarily mistaken, but neither are they necessarily correct; often they reflect just one aspect of the original word and neglect other aspects. If we hope to find a relatively complete understanding of the Changes, we ought not adopt any invariant exegetical principle. It would seem that the most appropriate reading method would be to preserve the variants of the different texts and to consider how the scribes of the different texts understood the original text.83 Then our understanding of both the original and the early development of the Changes might be more complete.

I present herewith a transcription and translation of the Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Zhou Yi, the text and a translation of the received text of the Changes, together with notes intended primarily to point out

variations between the manuscript and the received text. I present the manuscript according to the sequence of bamboo strips given in the publication Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu (san) 上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書 (三 ),1 which is the sequence of the received text. As does the manuscript, I treat the text of each hexagram as an independent unit. On facing pages, I present, on the left-hand page, the manuscript, and on the right-hand side, for comparative purposes only, the received text. At the top of the left-hand page, I provide, at the far left, the hexagram picture as it appears in the manuscript, followed by the name of the hexagram in pinyin, the Chinese character(s), and then its English translation. After this, in parentheses, I indicate the number of the strip(s) in the sequence of the Shanghai Museum publication. In cases where the hexagram picture is missing because of a missing or broken strip, I do not provide the hexagram picture. In cases where the hexagram name is missing for the same reason, but it is possible to infer the name from one or more line statements, I supply that name. In cases where a fragment of hexagram text is available but neither the hexagram name nor any indication of it has been preserved, I give the name as found in the received text, marked with an asterisk. At the top of the right-hand page, I provide the hexagram picture as found in the received text, then the name of the hexagram in the received text in pinyin, the

iiit r a n s l at I o n o f t h e s h a n g h a I

mus eu m m a n us C r I P t o f t h e ZhOu YI

1 Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu (san), 13–70 (photographs), 133–260 (transcription and notes).

68 • Translation of the Shanghai Museum Manuscript of the Zhou Yi

Chinese character, and English translation. In parentheses, I indicate the number of the hexa-gram in the sequence of the received text.

Below the title line on the left-hand page follows the transcription of whatever portion of the hexagram text is available in the Shanghai Museum manuscript, divided by the individual strips on which it is written (numbered to the left of the transcription). When the entire text is present, it therefore begins with the hexagram picture, followed by the hexagram name, and then the red and/or black symbol unique to this manuscript, as described in the preceding chapter (I present these symbols with the stylized marks described in the preceding chapter). To the extent possible, the transcription presents component-by-component equivalents for the characters as seen on the bamboo strips. Thus, the word li, “benefit,” is written consistently throughout the manuscript as 𥝢 (i.e., with “grain” 禾 and 勿),2 as is common in paleographic materials, instead of 利 (i.e., “grain” 禾 and “knife” 刀), as is now conventional; I transcribe it as 𥝢, though I read the word unproblematically as li, “benefit.” On the other hand, I generally do not try to reproduce the calligraphic differences of the two or more different scribes respon-sible for copying the manuscript (for which, see p. 40), nor do I systematically differentiate the orientation of each and every component. For instance, in the case of the word ming, “to call out,” written on the twelfth strip of the manuscript with the tail of the “bird” (鳥) component facing to the right (i.e., ) and on the fourteenth strip with the tail facing to the left (i.e., ), and in both cases with the “mouth” (口) component placed to the right of the bird, I tran-scribe the character as 鳴 (i.e., with the “mouth” component to the left and a left-facing “bird” component to the right), as the word is now conventionally written. With the exception of the mark “” that occurs occasionally in the manuscript, sometimes to indicate that two characters have been written together (a so-called hewen hao 合文號) and sometimes to indicate that a single character (or portion of a character) is to be read twice (a so-called chongwen hao 重文號), the manuscript does not display any punctuation marks, and I do not introduce any. If there is a break in the strip but it can be rejoined without loss of any text, I indicate this with the symbol “/” at the point of the break; “. . .” indicates a broken strip that has resulted in the loss of some text.

On the right-hand page beneath the title line, I provide the complete text of the hexa-gram as found in the Shisan jing zhu shu 十三經注疏 edition (though without the added traditional Chinese punctuation mark “。” that comes at the end of phrases and sentences), separated into the constituent hexagram statement and line statements.3 This text is presented

2 There has been considerable discussion about the proper transcription of this element; see, for instance, Li Xiao ding 李孝定, Jiagu wenzi jishi 甲骨文字集釋. Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo zhuankan 中央研究院歷史語言研究所專刊 50 (Taipei: Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo, 1965), 4.1515–20.

3 Zhou Yi zheng yi, vol. 1, juan 1–6 (pp. 13–73).

Translation of the Shanghai Museum Manuscript of the Zhou Yi • 69

primarily for ease of comparison with the manuscript text; therefore, no text is provided for hexagram texts wholly missing from the manuscript.

On the left-hand page, below the transcription of the manuscript text, I present an Eng-lish translation of the manuscript text, in this case divided according to hexagram and line statements. On the right-hand page, I provide a translation of the complete hexagram text as it appears in the received Changes. In the translation of the manuscript, I try to reflect what I think the scribe intended by the way in which he wrote individual graphs. Often, even where there appears to be graphic variation vis-à-vis the received text, this produces a translation more or less similar to what I provide for the received text. However, in cases where a lit-eral reading of a variation present in the manuscript produces reasonable sense, I have tried to maintain this sense. I do not make any attempt to translate portions of the received hexagram text that are missing in the manuscript, though I do indicate with the symbol “. . .” that text is missing because of damage.

I should reiterate that the translation of the received text provided on the right-hand page is intended primarily as a convenient comparison with the manuscript text. I have rendered the text in as neutral and literal a fashion as possible and have not sought to reflect the interpreta-tion of any particular commentary or time.

Below the translation of the manuscript text (and occasionally running onto the bottom of the facing page), I provide notes, keyed to corresponding words in the English translation. In these notes, I indicate where the text of the manuscript differs from that of the received text (abbreviated as r). When available, I also note variants in the Mawangdui 馬王堆 silk manu-script (M), buried in 168 b.c., and the Fuyang 阜陽 bamboo-strip manuscript (F), buried in 165 b.c. (I do not mention them when their text is not available because of damage to the manuscript). When relevant I also mention variants in the Xiping 熹平 Stone Classics text, engraved between a.d. 175 and 183, and sources quoted in the Jingdian shiwen 經典釋文 of Lu Deming 陸德明 (556–627), the Zhou Yi zheng yi 周易正義 of Kong yingda 孔穎達 (574–648), or the Zhou Yi ji jie 周易集解 of Li Dingzuo 李鼎祚 (8th c.). However, my focus here is on the Shanghai Museum manuscript; this translation is not intended to present a criti-cal edition of the Zhou Yi, and so when the manuscript agrees with the received text, I do not note each and every variant in these other sources.4 For those variants in this manuscript that I determine to be merely graphic in nature (i.e., another way of writing the same word as found in the received text), I do not attempt in all cases to reproduce the evidence demonstrating this equivalence, often simply referring to the detailed discussion given by Pu Maozuo 濮茅左

4 For convenient compendia of variants in different texts of the Changes, see Xu Qinting 徐芹庭, Zhou Yi yiwen kao 周易異文考 (Taipei: Wu zhou chubanshe, 1975), and Wu Xinchu 吳新楚, Zhou Yi yiwen jiaozheng 周易異文校證 (Guangzhou: Guangdong renmin chubanshe, 2001).


in Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhushu (san); since that discussion is presented in the same order as the text here, I cite it simply as “Pu Maozuo.” This is true also of citations of traditional editions of the Zhou Yi, which are all arranged in the same order. I cite other schol-arship on the manuscript only where it provides a persuasive interpretation different from that of Pu Maozuo or provides particularly relevant new information. I make no attempt to cite all the studies that suggest different readings from those proposed here,5 nor do I attempt to give a full explanation for each and every reading adopted.6

5 Convenient compilations of these, through early 2007, are available in Li Jing 李静, “Shang bo (san) Zhou Yi ji shi” 上博 (三) 周易集釋 (M.A. thesis, Wuhan Daxue, 2007), and Qin, “Liyong chutu wenxian jiaodu Zhou Yi jing wen.”

6 A good beginning at this in English is available in Park, “Shanghai Museum Zhouyi Manuscript.”


1 Here and elsewhere throughout the Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Zhou Yi, and as often in the script of the Warring States state of Chu, the word san, “three,” written 三 in conventional script (as in the received text of the Zhou Yi), is written as 晶; this should not be confused with the character for jing, “crystal,” which in conventional script is written as 晶.

2 Here and throughout the manuscript, for you 又, “right hand; to have,” the received text (hereafter r) as well as both the Mawangdui (hereafter M) and Fuyang (hereafter F) manuscripts read you 有, “to have.” Except in cases where there is the potential for another meaning (e.g., the word you, “again”), I do not note this further.

3 For gong 躳, “body,” r reads gong 躬, “body,” whereas both M and F read . 4 Here and throughout the manuscript, the standard existential negative is written as wang or wu 亡, whereas in

r as well as in both M and F it is written as wu 无. Also here and throughout the manuscript, the nominalizing agent you 卣 is written in both r and M as you 攸.

5 For mang 尨, “shaggy dog,” r and all other available sources read meng 蒙, variously understood as “covered,” “dim, dark,” or “(unenlightened) youth.” Ōno, “Shū eki Mō ka shinkai,” argues that the context of the line state-ments, with adjectives such as “tied” and “hit,” suggests that “shaggy dog” should indeed have been the original reading. Possible support in the Yi jing tradition for this reading is to be seen in the nine in the Second line, missing from the manuscript, for which the Jingdian shiwen 經典釋文 quotes the text of Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (121–194) as reading biao 彪, “stripes of a tiger,” instead of bao 包, “to wrap.” Since there has been no consensus as to the meaning of meng 蒙, even though I have no great conviction that mang 尨, “shaggy dog,” is in any way the “original” or “correct” reading of the word, it seems just as well here to interpret the manuscript literally, regarding it as one among several possible meanings.

6 For tong 僮, “youth,” both r and M give tong 童, “youth.” 7 For ji 𣪠, r reads ji 擊, “to hit.” Pu Maozuo provides evidence that 𣪠 is in fact the archaic form for ji, “to hit.” 8 Pu Maozuo provides evidence that in paleographic materials, is an attested alternative writing of kou 寇,

“robber,” the reading of both r and M. 9 For yu 御, “to drive a chariot, to manage,” r reads yu 禦, “to resist,” whereas M gives the nominalizing agent suo

所.

Mang 尨, “The Shaggy Dog” (Strip 1)

1. 六晶勿用取女見金夫不又躳亡卣𥝢六四困尨吝六五僮尨吉上九𣪠尨/不𥝢為𥝢御

Six in the Third:1 Do not herewith take a woman. Seeing the metal man, who does not have2 a body.3 There is nothing4 beneficial.

Six in the Fourth: Blocking the shaggy dog.5 Distress.

Six in the Fifth: young6 shaggy dog. Auspicious.

Top nine: Hitting7 the shaggy dog. not beneficial to be a robber;8 beneficial to drive off9

robbers.


䷃ Meng 蒙, “Shrouded” (Hexagram 4)

蒙亨匪我求童蒙童蒙求我初噬告再三瀆瀆則不告利貞

初六發蒙利用刑人用說桎梏以往吝

九二包蒙吉納婦吉子克家

六三勿用取女見金夫不有躬无攸利

六四困蒙吝

六五童蒙吉

上九擊蒙不利為寇利禦寇

Shrouded: receipt. It is not we who seek the young shroud; the young shroud seeks us. The first milfoil divination reports; a second and third is excessive; excessive then it does not report. Beneficial to determine.

First Six: Lifting the shroud. Beneficial to use a punished man, and herewith to remove the fetters in order to go. Distress.

nine in the Second: Wrapping the shroud. Auspicious. Taking a wife: auspicious; a son can marry.

Six in the Third: Do not herewith take in marriage a woman. Seeing the metal man, who does not have a body. There is nothing beneficial.

Six in the Fourth: Blocking the shroud. Distress.

Six in the Fifth: young shroud. Auspicious.

Top nine: Hitting the shroud. not beneficial to be a robber; beneficial to resist robbers.


1 There has been a great deal of discussion about how this graph should be transcribed. It would seem that the most literal transcription would be 孠, understood as the archaic form of ru 乳, “to suckle,” for which see He Linyi 何琳仪, “Hu jian Zhou Yi xuanshi” 沪简周易选释, 1, http://www.jianbo.org/admin3/list.asp?id=1194 (pub-lished May 16, 2004). However, for evidence that in Warring States manuscripts a variant of the graph for ru 乳, “to suckle,” was written virtually identically, see Chen yao 陳爻 (i.e., Chen Jian 陳劍), “Zhu shu Zhou Yi Xu gua gua ming zhi zi jie” 竹書周易需卦卦名之字解, http://www.jianbo.org/showarticle.asp?articleid=911. r reads xu 需, “to await,” whereas M reads ru 襦, “short jacket, fine net,” or ru 嬬, “weak” (in its text of the Xici 繫辭). Since ru *no? 乳 was cognate with ru *noh 孺, “suckling child” and essentially homophonous with xu *sno or non? 需, providing contact between the graph of the manuscript and r, the graph here should probably be understood as ru 乳.

2 For xiang 鄉, both r and M read heng 亨, variously understood as “communication, receipt (tong 通)” or as “to make an offering” (usually written as xiang 享). However, whereas in other contexts (such as the Top Six line of Sui hexagram, strip no. 17 below), r seems to confuse these two senses of the word (which are closely related in any event), the Shanghai Museum manuscript, like M, strictly differentiates them, always writing “communi-cation, receipt” as 鄉 and “to make an offering” as 亯. For a study discussing the implications of these distinc-tions for Zhou Yi divination, see Xia, “Zhou Yi ‘Yuan heng li zhen’ xin jie.”

3 For hao 蒿, “artemisia,” r reads jiao 郊, “suburbs,” while M reads jiao 茭, “fodder.” 4 In Warring States Chu script, is the standard way to write heng 恆, “constant; to persevere,” which is the read-

ing of both r and M.

䷄ Ru 乳, “Suckling” (Strips 2–3)

2. ䷄ 孠又孚光鄉貞吉𥝢涉大川初九孠于蒿𥝢用亡咎九/二孠于少又

言冬吉九晶孠于至[]至六四孠于血出

3. ...吉

䷄ Suckling1 : There is trust. radiant receipt.2 Determining: auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.

First nine: Suckling in the artemisia.3 Beneficial herewith to persevere.4 There is no trouble.

nine in the Second:5 Suckling in the sand.6 There is a little talk, in the end auspicious.

nine in the Third: Suckling in the mud.7 Brings8 robbers to come.

Six in the Fourth: Suckling in the blood, going out

. . .

auspicious.9


䷄ Xu需, “Awaiting” (Hexagram 5)

需有孚光亨貞吉利涉大川

初九需于郊利用恆无咎

九二需于沙小有言終吉

九三需于泥致寇至

六四需于血出自穴

九五需于酒食貞吉

上六入于穴有不速之客三人來敬之終吉

Awaiting: There is trust. radiant receipt. Determining: auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.

First nine: Awaiting in the suburbs. Beneficial herewith to persevere. There is no trouble.

nine in the Second: Awaiting in the sand. There is a little talk, in the end auspicious.

nine in the Third: Awaiting in the mud. Brings robbers to come.

Six in the Fourth: Awaiting in the blood, going out from a pit.

nine in the Fifth: Awaiting in the wine and food. Determining: auspicious.

Top Six: Entering into a pit: there are three unwelcome guests who come. respect them. In the end auspicious.

5 There is a break in the strip at this point, with only a portion of the bottom stroke of er 二, “two,” visible on the second fragment.

6 For , both r and M read sha 沙, “sand.” Pu Maozuo provides evidence that in Warring States Chu script, was a standard way to write sha 沙, as in the place-name Changsha 長 (i.e., 長沙); the addition of a tu 土, “earth,” component in would seem to write the same word.

7 For , both r and M read ni 泥, “mud.” Pu Maozuo provides evidence that in Warring States Chu script 匚 was routinely written for 尼, and evidence from the Ji yun 集韻 that ni 泥, “mud,” was written with a tu 土, “earth,” component, such that can be read as ni, “mud.”

8 For zhi 至, “to arrive,” both r and M read zhi 致, “to bring, to cause to arrive.” 9 Whereas complete bamboo strips of the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manuscript are generally about 45.5 cm

long, only the bottom 20.8 cm of strip no. 3 survives. The twenty-six characters that r includes between xu yu xue chu 需于血出 of the Six in the Fourth line and the final ji 吉, “auspicious,” of the Top Six line would have fit exactly into the missing 24.7 cm, assuring that this strip should follow strip no. 2. In addition, the hexagram-tail symbol here, a solid red square, matches the hexagram-head symbol on strip no. 2, also suggesting that the two strips form a pair.


䷅ Song 訟, “Lawsuit” (Strips 4–5–6)

4. ䷅ 訟又孚中吉冬凶𥝢用見大人不𥝢涉大川初六/不出御事少又言

冬吉九二不克訟䢜肤其邑人晶

5. 四戶亡六晶飤舊㥁貞礪冬吉或從王事亡成九四不克訟即令愈安貞吉

九五訟元吉上九或賜𦄂冬

6. 朝晶𪊬之

䷅ Lawsuit : There is trust. Fearful.1 In the middle auspicious, in the end ominous. Beneficial herewith2 to see the great man; not beneficial to ford the great river.

First Six: not going out3 to manage4 service. There is a little talk, in the end auspicious.

nine in the Second: One cannot sue. return the raw meat offering,5 the people of their city, three or four households.6 There is no curse.

Six in the Third: Eating7 the old virtue. Determining: danger, in the end auspicious. And now following the king’s service, there is no completion.

nine in the Fourth: One cannot sue. returning to assume the command, it improves.8

Determining about peace: auspicious.

nine in the Fifth: Lawsuit. Prime auspiciousness.

Top nine: Someone awards9 a great sash,10 to the end of the morning thrice stripping it.11

1 For , r reads zhiti 窒惕, “fearful,” whereas M (perhaps) reads xuning 洫寧. In early manuscripts, binomes such as this are particularly susceptible to different ways of writing, even more than usual the sound carrying the meaning.

2 The manuscript here has an extra yong 用, “to use; herewith,” as compared with r. M agrees with the Shanghai manuscript.

3 For chu 出, “to go out,” both r and M read yong 永, “permanent, to make permanent.” 4 For yu 御, “to manage,” both r and M give the nominalizing particle suo 所. 5 For gui fu 歸肤, “return the raw meat offering,” both r and M read gui er bu 歸而逋, “return and flee.” 6 For san si hu 晶四戶, “three or four households,” both r and M read san bai hu 三百戶, “three hundred house-

holds.” 7 In standard orthography, 飤 is used to write si, “to feed.” However, in Chu script, it is the standard way to write

shi, “to eat,” conventionally written 食, which is the reading of both r and M.


䷅ Song 訟, “Lawsuit” (Hexagram 6)

訟有孚窒惕中吉終凶利見大人不利涉大川

初六不永所事小有言終吉

九二不克訟歸而逋其邑人三百戶无眚

六三食舊德貞厲終吉或從王事无成

九四不克訟復即命渝安貞吉

九五訟元吉

上九或錫之鞶帶終朝三褫之

Lawsuit: There is trust. Fearful. In the middle auspicious, in the end ominous. Beneficial to see the great man; not beneficial to ford the great river.

First Six: not perpetuating that which he serves. There is a little talk, in the end auspi-cious.

nine in the Second: One cannot sue. returning and fleeing, the people of their city, three hundred households. There is no curse.

Six in the Third: Eating the old virtue. Determining: danger, in the end auspicious. And now following the king’s service, there is no completion.

nine in the Fourth: One cannot sue. returning to assume the command, it changes. De-termining about peace: auspicious.


Top nine: Someone awards him a leather belt, to the end of the morning thrice stripping it.

8 For yu 愈, “joyful; to improve, cure,” r reads yu 渝, “to change (for the worse); to flood,” whereas M reads yu 俞, “small boat.”

9 After the verb ci 賜 (written xi 錫 in r and ci 賜 in M), “to award,” both r and M have the pronoun zhi 之, “it.” 10 For 𦄂, r reads ban dai 鞶帶, “leather belt and sash,” whereas M reads ban dai 般帶. contains two pos-

sible phonetic elements, 半, suggesting ban 絆, “fetters,” and 田, suggesting shen 紳, “sash.” Although the pho-netic similarity of the received text’s ban 鞶 might argue in favor of reading ban 絆, the combination with dai 𦄂 or 帶, “belt,” almost certainly favors the reading shen 紳.

11 For 𪊬, composed of lu 鹿, “deer,” over yi 衣, “clothes,” r reads chi 褫, “to take off, to strip,” whereas M gives . Chi 褫 is composed of hu 虎, “tiger,” han 厂, “cliff,” and yi 衣, “clothes.” Since in early orthography the components lu 鹿, “deer,” and hu 虎, “tiger,” were often interchangeable, it would seem that this graph is simply an alternative form of chi 褫.


䷆ Shi帀, “Army” (Strips 7–8)

7. ䷆帀貞丈人吉亡咎初六帀出以聿不𪺞凶九二才帀吉亡咎王晶賜命六

晶帀或凶六四帀左亡咎六

8. 五畋有𥝢𡠗言亡咎長子帀弟子貞凶上六大君子又命啟邦

丞勿用

䷆ Army1 : Determining: for an older man auspicious. There is no trouble.

First Six: The army going out in ranks.2 It is not good.3 Ominous.

nine in the Second: In the army’s midst.4 Auspicious. There is no trouble. The king thrice awards command.

Six in the Third: Someone in the army carting5 corpses.6 Ominous.

Six in the Fourth: The army camping7 to the left. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Hunting8 there is a catch. Beneficial to grasp words. There is no trouble. The eldest son leads the army, the younger son carts corpses. Ominous.

Top Six: The great lord-son9 has a mandate, to open the country10 and relieve11 the fami-lies. The petty man12 ought not be used.

1 Here and elsewhere throughout the manuscript, shi, “army” (written 師 in standard orthography), is written as 帀, as is common in early paleographic materials.

2 For 聿, both r and M give lü 律, “measure, rank.” 3 For 𪺞, both r and M read zang 臧, “good,” for which the Yu pian 玉篇 gives the archaic form 匨. 4 For , both r and M read zhong 中, “center, midst.” Elsewhere in the manuscript, zhong, “center, midst” is writ-

ten without the “roof,” 宀, component; whether this carries semantic sense here deserves further study. 5 For , r reads yu 輿, “cart, to cart,” whereas M reads yu 與, “and, together with.” 6 For , r reads shi 尸, “corpse,” whereas M gives . 7 For , both r and M read ci 次, “to overnight, to camp.” As Liao Mingchun has pointed out, yu Xingwu 于省

吾, Jiagu wenzi shilin 甲骨文字釋林 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1979), 417, has already demonstrated that is the original form of ci 次.

8 For tian 畋, “to hunt,” both r and M read tian 田, “fields.” However, in early texts, tian 田 had an extended meaning of “to take to the fields”; i.e., “to hunt.”

9 For junzi 君子, “lord-son, nobleman,” r reads jun 君, “lord,” whereas M reads ren jun 人君 “lord of men.” 10 For qi bang 啟邦, “to open the country,” r reads kai guo 開國, kai 開 replacing qi 啟 to avoid a Han-dynasty

taboo on the name of Liu Qi 劉啟, Emperor Jing 景 (r. 156–141 b.c.), and guo 國, replacing bang 邦 to avoid a taboo on the name of Liu Bang 劉邦, Emperor Gaozu 高祖 (r. 202–195 b.c.). M reads qi guo 啟國, observing the taboo on the name of Liu Bang but not on that of Liu Qi, whereas F reads as does the Shanghai Museum manuscript.

11 For zheng 丞, “to aid, to rescue, to relieve,” both r and M read cheng 承, “to receive.” 12 Xiao ren 少人, “petty man” (written in both r and M as 小人), is here written together as a hewen 合文, or

“combined character,” with a small duplication mark written beside it.


䷆ Shi師, “Army” (Hexagram 7)

師貞丈人吉无咎

初六師出以律否臧凶

九二在師中吉无咎王三錫命

六三師或輿尸凶

六四師左次无咎

六五田有禽利執言无咎長子帥師弟子輿尸貞凶

上六大君有命開國承家小人勿用

Army: Determining: for an older man auspicious. There is no trouble.

First Six: The army going out in ranks. It is not good. Ominous.

nine in the Second: In the army’s midst. Auspicious. There is no trouble. The king thrice awards command.

Six in the Third: Someone in the army carting corpses. Ominous.

Six in the Fourth: The army camping to the left. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Hunting there is a catch. Beneficial to grasp words. There is no trouble. The eldest son leads the army, the younger son carts corpses. Determining: ominous.

Top Six: The great lord has a mandate, to open the kingdom and receive the families. The petty man ought not be used.


䷇ Bi 比, “Alliance” (Strips 9–10)

9. ䷇比备筮元𣴎貞吉亡咎不方逨夫凶初六又孚比之亡咎又孚缶冬

逨又它吉六二比之自內吉六晶比之

10. 非人六四外𢻹之亡不𥝢九五顯比王晶驅前邑人不戒吉上六比之亡首

凶

䷇ Alliance :1 The original2 milfoil divination: prime. Determining about the long-term:3

auspicious. There is no trouble. The unpeaceful land comes. For the latter one ominous.

First Six: There is trust. Allying with them. There is no trouble. There is trust. roiling4 the pitcher. In the end there will come to be harm. Auspicious.

Six in the Second: Allying with them from within. Auspicious.5

Six in the Third: Allying with them, who are not men.

Six in the Fourth: Outside allying6 with them. There is nothing not beneficial.7

nine in the Fifth: Manifestly allying. The king8 thrice races, losing9 the forward catch. The city people are not warned. Auspicious.

Top six: Allying with them without a head. Ominous.

1 Both r and M include the word ji 吉, “auspicious,” after the name of the hexagram. 2 备 should not be confused with the modern simplified form of bei 備, “complete, prepared”; instead, it is an

abbreviated form of yuan 邍, “high plain; initial,” now commonly written as 原. 3 Here and elsewhere throughout the manuscript, yong, “long-term, permanent” (written 永 in standard orthog-

raphy, as in r), is written 𣴎. 4 For , the editors read hai 海, “sea.” I follow Huang Xiquan 黄锡全, “Du Shangbo Zhanguo Chu zhushu san

zhaji shuze” 讀上博戰國楚竹書三札記數則, 1, http://www.jianbo.org/admin3/html/huangxiquan01.htm (published September 8, 2004), in reading ying 瀴, usually understood as “the appearance of water,” especially at a distance, but also with an attested usage in the sense of “turbulent or roiling water.” Both r and M read ying 盈, “full,” which is phonetically close to ying 瀴, and I suspect a case of lectio facilior (盈 being a more common character than 瀴).

5 For ji 吉, “auspicious,” both r and M read zhen ji 貞吉, “determining: auspicious.” 6 For 𢻹, r, M, and F all read bi 比, “to ally,” as in all other cases in this hexagram. It is not clear if or how the added

攴 signific changes the sense of the word here. 7 Wang bu li 亡不利, “there is nothing not beneficial,” is not present in either r or M, which at this place both

read instead zhen ji 貞吉, “determining: auspicious,” which in turn is not present in the manuscript. On the other hand, F has the optative negative wu 毋, “do not” (after which the fragment is broken).

8 After wang 王, “king,” both r and M include the word yong 用, “to use; herewith.” 9 Pu Maozuo provides conclusive evidence that in Warring States Chu script shi, “to lose” (written 失 in conven-

tional script, as in r and M), was written as .


䷇ Bi 比, “Alliance” (Hexagram 8)

比吉原筮元永貞无咎不寧方來後夫凶

初六有孚比之无咎有孚盈缶終來有它吉

六二比之自內貞吉

六三比之匪人

六四外比之貞吉

九五顯比王用三驅失前禽邑人不誡吉

上六比之无首凶

Alliance: Auspicious. The original milfoil divination: prime. Determining about the long-term: there is no trouble. The unpeaceful land comes. For the latter one ominous.

First Six: There is trust. Allying with them. There is no trouble. There is trust. Filling the pitcher. In the end there will come to be harm. Auspicious.

Six in the Second: Allying with them from within. Determining: auspicious.


Six in the Fourth: Outside allying with them. Determining: auspicious.

nine in the Fifth: Manifestly allying. The king herewith thrice races, losing the forward catch, the city people are not warned. Auspicious.

Top Six: Allying with them without a head. Ominous.


Da You 大有, “Great Offering”* (Strip 11)

11. 亡咎六五厥孚洨如愇如吉上九自天右之吉亡不𥝢

. . . There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Their captives are linked together,1 are cowed.2 Auspicious.

Top nine: From heaven blessing3 it. Auspicious. There is nothing not beneficial.

1 For xiao 洨, attested only as a place-name, r reads jiao 交, “crosswise; interrelated,” whereas the Mawangdui manuscript text er san zi wen 二三子問 reads jiao 絞, “to braid” (or xiao, “green”), and provides the gloss ri ye 日也, “the sun, sunny.”

2 For wei 愇, attested as a variant form of wei 韙, “correct; fine government; to agree,” r reads wei 威, “awesome, awe-inspiring, awed,” whereas M reads wei 委, “impressive.”

3 For you 右, “right-hand,” which is also the reading of M, r reads you 祐, “blessing.”


䷍ Da You 大有, “Great Offering” (Hexagram 14)

大有元亨

初九无交害匪咎艱則无咎

九二大車以載有攸往无咎

九三公用亨于天子小人弗克

九四匪其彭无咎

六五厥孚交如威如吉

上九自天祐之吉无不利

Great Offering: Prime receipt.

First nine: There is no exchanging harm that is not trouble. If difficult then there is no trouble.

nine in the Second: The great cart is used to carry. There is someplace to go. There is no trouble.

nine in the Third: The duke herewith sacrifices to the Son of Heaven. The petty man is not capable of it.

nine in the Fourth: not its side-offering. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Their captives are linked together, are awed. Auspicious.

Top nine: From heaven blessing it. Auspicious. There is nothing not beneficial.


䷎ Qian , “Modesty” (Strips 12–13)

12. ䷎ 鄉君子又初六君子用涉大川吉六二鳴…四亡不𥝢六

五不以

13. 其𥝢用伐亡不𥝢上六鳴可用行帀征邦

䷎ Modesty1 : receipt. The lord-son has an end.2

First Six: A modest3 lord-son. Herewith ford the great river. Auspicious.

Six in the Second: Calling modesty. . . .

. . . in the Fourth: There is nothing not beneficial. Encouraging4 modesty.

Six in the Fifth: not enriched by his neighbor.5 Beneficial herewith to invade and attack. There is nothing not beneficial.

Top Six: Calling modesty. Can6 be used to set in motion the army and correct the country.7

1 For , r reads qian 謙, “modesty,” the difference between the graphs being essentially that the manuscript uses an “earth” 土 signific, whereas the received text uses a “language” 言 signific.

2 The graph , for which both r and M read zhong 終, “end,” is unattested in standard dictionaries, but in my translation I try to reflect its “heart” 心 signific.

3 Both r and the various Mawangdui manuscript texts duplicate the word qian here; it seems likely that the manu-script copyist inadvertently neglected to add a duplication mark beside the graph.

4 For , r reads hui 撝, which has such various meanings as “to split open,” “to withdraw,” and “to encourage,” whereas M gives the word as 譌, and in the Xiping Stone Classics it is written hui 揮. Since huo 貨 and wei 為 were anciently near homophones, it seems that the manuscript’s character is just another way of writing the same word, probably hui, “to encourage.”

5 In Warring States Chu script, lin, “neighbor” (written 鄰 in conventional script, as in r and M), is written . 6 For ke 可, “can, be able to,” r reads li 利, “benefit.” The Xiang zhuan 象傳 commentary to this line seems to

quote it as ke yong xing shi 可用行師, corroborating the reading of the manuscript. 7 For bang 邦, “country,” r reads yi guo 邑國, “city and kingdom.” This is an interesting case of textual deforma-

tion. Bang 邦 would have been changed to guo 國 in the Han dynasty to avoid a taboo on the name of Liu Bang 劉邦, Emperor Gaozu. It would seem, in addition, that the right-hand component of bang (actually the left-hand component as the graph is written in the Shanghai manuscript), 邑 (the form 阝 is a modern simplifica-tion), was preserved as the independent character yi 邑, “city.”


䷎ Qian謙, “Modesty” (Hexagram 15)

謙亨君子有終

初六謙謙君子用涉大川吉

六二鳴謙貞吉

九三勞謙君子有終吉

六四无不利撝謙

六五不富以其鄰利用侵伐无不利

上六鳴謙利用行師征邑國

Modesty: receipt. The lord-son has an end.

First Six: Double modesty. The lord-son herewith fords the great river. Auspicious.

Six in the Second: Calling modesty. Determining: auspicious.

nine in the Third: Belabored modesty. The lord-son has an end. Auspicious.

Six in the Fourth: There is nothing not beneficial. Waving modesty.

Six in the Fifth: not enriched by his neighbor. Beneficial herewith to invade and attack. There is nothing not beneficial.

Top Six: Calling modesty. Beneficial herewith to set in motion the army and correct the city and kingdom.


䷏ Yu余, “Excess” (Strips 14–15)

14. ䷏ 余𥝢建侯行帀初六鳴余凶六二于石不冬日貞吉六晶可余𢘓

𨒈又𢘓九四猷余大又𠭁毋𩓎㰦六五

15. 貞疾不死上六榠余成又愈亡咎

䷏ Excess1 : Beneficial to establish a lord and set in motion the army.

First Six: Calling excess. Ominous.

Six in the Second: Strengthening2 by stone. not to the end of the day. Determining: auspicious.

Six in the Third: Singing3 excess. regret,4 and slowly5 again6 regret.

nine in the Fourth: Hestitant.7 Great will be the obtaining.8 Do not doubt friends dispensing9 criticism.10

Six in the Fifth: Determining: illness will be long-term, but you will not die.

Top Six: Dark excess. Completion again improves. There is no trouble.

1 For 余, r reads yu 豫, usually understood to mean “relaxed, happy,” whereas M reads yu 餘, “excess.” Liao Mingchun 廖名春, in “Shanghai Bowuguan cang Chu jian Zhou Yi guankui” 上海博物馆藏楚简周易管窥, Zhou Yi yanjiu 周易研究 2000, no. 3:22–27, and “Chu jian Zhou Yi Yu gua zai shi” 楚简周易豫卦再释, http://www.confucius2000.com/qhjb/cjzyyuguazs.htm (published June 1, 2004), has argued convincingly that the manuscript points to an early meaning of this hexagram as “excess.” In this sense, it serves as the counterpoint to the preceding hexagram Qian , understood in the sense of “modesty.”

2 For , r reads jie 介, which has a wide range of meanings, including “limit,” “separation,” “reliable,” “to aid,” “intermediary,” and “firm,” the last of which is usually given for this usage. M gives the word as 疥, whereas the Jingdian shiwen mentions 砎 as the archaic form of the character. This suggests that the original graph was 介, variously understood by different readers.

3 For 可, r reads xu 盱, “to look up; expansive, relaxed,” whereas M gives 杅, and the Jingdian shiwen offers 紆, 汙, and 紆 as variants. On the other hand, F gives ge 歌, “to sing,” the archaic form of which was 訶. It seems that these two textual traditions derived from a misreading of an original graph, 可 and 于 being graphically similar. As Liao, “Chu jian Zhou Yi Yu gua zai shi,” points out, the Mawangdui manuscript er san zi wen 二三子問 quotes Confucius as saying of this line, “This speaks of drumming music and not being warned of concern” (Ci yan gu yue er bu jie huan ye 此言鼓樂而不戒患也), which seems to speak in favor of the reading ge, “to sing” (even though the er san zi wen line itself gives xu 盱).

4 Here and throughout the manuscript, for hui 𢘓, “regret,” r reads hui 悔. M gives the graph in the same form as the Shanghai manuscript.


䷏ Yu豫, “relaxed” (Hexagram 16)

豫利建侯行師

初六鳴豫凶

六二介于石不終日貞吉

六三盱豫悔遲有悔

九四由豫大有得勿疑朋盍簪

六五貞疾恆不死

上六冥豫成有渝无咎

relaxed: Beneficial to establish a lord and set in motion the army.

First Six: Calling relaxation. Ominous.

Six in the Second: Strengthening by stone. not to the end of the day. Determining: auspicious.

Six in the Third: Open-eyed relaxation. regret, and slowly there will be regret.

nine in the Fourth: Hesitant. Great will be the obtaining. Do not doubt friends putting on hairpins.


Top Six: Dark relaxation. Completion will have a change. There is no trouble.

5 In Warring States Chu script, chi, “slow” (written 遲 in conventional script, as in r and M), is routinely written 𨒈. 6 For you 又, both r and M read you 有, “to have.” Although this is a standard transformation, and although the

expression you hui 有悔, “to have regret,” is also standard in the Zhou Yi, the previous mention in this line state-ment of hui 悔, “regret,” followed by this one, perhaps suggests that this you 又 should be interpreted as “again.”

7 For you 猷, r reads you 由, though the Jingdian shiwen quotes Ma rong 馬融 (79–166) as giving you 猶 and understanding it as part of the word youyu 猶豫, “to doubt, to hesitate.” (M reads, apparently anomalously, as yun 允, “really.”) Since you 猷 and you 猶 are essentially identical, and since no good sense has ever been sug-gested for the received text’s reading, it would seem that youyu is the best reading here, even though it requires a different reading for yu 余 from that which I have given for the hexagram name and in the other line statements.

8 Here and throughout the manuscript, as is common in Warring States Chu script, de, “to obtain” (written 得 in conventional script, as in r and M), is written 𠭁.

9 For qu 㰦, which the han jian 汗簡 gives as an ancient form of qu 去, “to leave; to get rid of,” r reads he 盍, variously interpreted as “to join” or as a question word. M reads jia 甲, phonetically similar to he 盍 but no more obvious in meaning.

10 For , r reads zan 簪, usually meaning “hairpin” but in the context of this usage in the Zhou Yi traditionally understood as “pain, to pain” (ji 疾), a reading that seems to be paralleled by M, which reads chan 讒, “to criti-cize.” Liao, “Chu jian Zhou Yi Yu gua zai shi,” suggests that be read as shang 謫, which the Shuo wen 說問 defines as “to punish, to criticize” (fa 罰).


䷐ Sui , “Following” (Strips 16–17)

16. ䷐ 元鄉𥝢貞亡咎初九官又愈貞吉出門交有工六二係少子丈夫六晶

係丈夫少子求有𠭁𥝢凥貞九四又

17. 巂貞工又孚才道已明可咎九五孚于嘉吉上六係而敂之從乃㽯之王用亯于西山

䷐ Following1 : Initial receipt. Beneficial to determine. There is no trouble.

First nine: The office again improves.2 Determining: auspicious. Going out the gate to exchange has results.

Six in the Second: Tie the little son, lose the elder man.

Six in the Third: Tie the elder man, lose the little son. Following and seeking, one obtains. Beneficial to determine about residence.3

nine in the Fourth: Following there is a capture.4 Determining: ominous.5 There is trust on the road, already6 showing that there can7 be trouble.

nine in the Fifth: Trust in joy. Auspicious.

Top Six: Tying and arresting8 them, and further then trussing9 them. The king herewith makes offering10 on the western mountain.

1 For , r reads sui随, “to follow,” and M reads 隋. note that the word is written slightly differently in the nine in the Third of Qin 欽 (Xian 咸) hexagram, strip no. 26. However, whereas this strip was copied by the first copyist, that strip was copied by the second; the different forms of the graph probably represent only their individual writing styles.

2 For yu愈, “to improve,” r reads yu渝, “to change (for the worse),” whereas M reads yu諭, “to proclaim.” 3 For 凥, which is the Chu-script form of chu 處, “place; to reside,” both r and M read ju居, “to reside.” 4 For sui qiu you de 求又得, “in following and seeking there is getting,” both r and M read sui you qiu de隋有

求得, “in following there is seeking to get.” 5 For xiong凶, “ominous,” which is the reading of both r and M, the Shanghai manuscript reads gong工, “result,”

which would seem clearly to be a graphic error, the phrase zhen gong 貞工 making no ready sense.


䷐ Sui 隨, “Following” (Hexagram 17)

隨元亨利貞无咎

初九官有渝貞吉出門交有功

六二係小子失丈夫

六三係丈夫失小子隨有求得利居貞

九四隨有獲貞凶有孚在道以明何咎

九五孚于嘉吉

上六拘係之乃從維之王用亨于西山

Following: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. There is no trouble.

First nine: The office will have a change. Determining: auspicious. Going out the gate to exchange has success.


Six in the Third: Tie the elder man, lose the little son. Following there will be seeking to obtain. Beneficial to determine about residence.

nine in the Fourth: Following there is a capture. Determining: ominous. There is trust on the road. With brightness what trouble is there!


Top Six: Arresting and tying them, and then further trussing them. The king herewith sacrifices on the western mountain.

6 For yi已, “to stop; already,” which is also the reading of M, r reads yi以, “to use; for the purpose of.” These two words are often interchangeable, but since it is possible to make equally good sense of the manuscript’s reading, I translate as it is written.

7 For ke可, “to be able to, can,” both r and M give the question particle he何, “what.” 8 For kou敂, “to hit,” both r and M read ju拘, “to arrest; to bind.” 9 For 㽯, which almost certainly should be read as zui纗, “to tie up, to truss,” r reads wei 維, the original meaning

of which is “rope,” with an extended meaning of “to tie up.” M reads 蒦. 10 For xiang享, “to make offering,” r reads heng亨, here also understood as “to make offering” but usually used

in the Zhou Yi in the sense “receipt.” It is worthwhile noting that the Shanghai manuscript, like the Mawangdui manuscript, which reads fang 芳, strictly differentiates these two uses.


䷑ Gu 蛊, “Parasite” (Strip 18)

18. ䷑ 蛊元鄉𥝢涉大川选甲晶日甲晶日初六父之蛊又子考亡咎礪冬吉

九二母之蛊不可貞九晶父之蛊少又

䷑ Parasite : Prime receipt. Beneficial to ford the great river. Before1 jia three days, after jia three days.

First Six: The active father’s parasite. There is a son and deceased father. There is no trou-ble. Danger, in the end auspicious.

nine in the Second: The active mother’s parasite. One cannot determine.

nine in the Third: The active father’s parasite. There is a little . . .

1 选 here ought not to be read as the modern simplified form of xuan 選, “to select,” but rather as an elaborated form of xian 先, “first, prior.”


䷑ Gu 蠱, “Parasite” (Hexagram 18)

蠱元亨利涉大川先甲三日後甲三日

初六幹父之蠱有子考无咎厲終吉

九二幹母之蠱不可貞

九三幹父之蠱小有悔无大咎

六四裕父之蠱往見吝

六五幹父之蠱用譽

上九不事王侯高尚其事

Parasite: Prime receipt. Beneficial to ford the great river. Before jia three days, after jia three days.

First Six: The stem father’s parasite. There is a son and deceased father. There is no trouble. Danger, in the end auspicious.

nine in the Second: The stem mother’s parasite. One cannot determine.

nine in the Third: The stem father’s parasite. There is a little regret; there is no great trouble.

Six in the Fourth: The prosperous father’s parasite. Going: you will see distress.

Six in the Fifth: The stem father’s parasite. Herewith praised.

Top nine: not serving the king and lord, elevates on high his service.


Fu , “returning” (Strip 19)

19. ...亡𢘓上六迷

. . . Attacking1 return.2 There are no regrets.

Top Six: Confused . . .

1 For dun , “to ram, to attack,” both r and M read dun 敦, which has come to mean “generous, pure, rich” but which originally also had a meaning of “to attack.” In fact, is usually regarded as the archaic form of 敦. note that the right-hand portion of this character is missing because of a vertical break in the bamboo strip.

2 In Warring States Chu script, routinely represents the word fu, “to return,” conventionally written as 復, as in both r and M.


䷗ Fu 復, “returning” (Hexagram 24)

復亨出入无疾朋來无咎反復其道七日來復利有攸往

初九不復遠无祗悔元吉

六二休復吉

六三頻復厲无咎

六四中行獨復

六五敦復无悔

上六迷復凶有災眚用行師終有大敗以其國君凶至于十年不克征

returning: receipt. Exiting and entering without illness, friends coming without trouble. Again returning to its path, in seven days it comes in return. Beneficial to have someplace to go.

First nine: not returning in the distance. There are no blessings or regrets. Prime auspi-ciousness.

Six in the Second: Successful return. Auspicious.

Six in the Third: repeated returns. Danger. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fourth: In the middle of the road returning alone.

Six in the Fifth: Generous return. There are no regrets.

Top Six: Confused return. Ominous. There are disasters and curses. Using this to set in motion the army, in the end there will be a great defeat, together with its kingdom’s ruler. Ominous. reaching to ten years you cannot go on campaign.


䷘ Wang Wang 亡忘, “Forget-Me-not” (Strips 20–21)

20. ䷘ 亡忘元鄉𥝢貞其非又不𥝢又卣初九亡忘吉六二不而穫不畜

之…

21. 人之𠭁邑人之九四可貞亡咎九五亡忘又疾勿藥有菜上九亡忘行有亡

卣𥝢

䷘ Forget-Me-not1 : Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. His not returning2 has curses. not beneficial to have someplace to go.3

First nine: Forget-Me-not.4 Auspicious.

Six in the Second: not plowing and yet reaping,5 not rearing it . . .6

. . .

. . . person’s gain, the city person’s disaster.

nine in the Fourth: One can determine. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: Forget-Me-not has illness: do not medicate, there are herbs.7

Top nine: Forget-Me-not travels. There is a curse. There is nothing beneficial.

1 For wang wang 亡忘, “nothing forgotten, forget-me-not,” r reads wu wang 无妄, variously understood as “nothing stupid” or as “no hope.” There are several other variants: M reads wu meng 无孟, F reads wu wang 无亡, and the Wangjiatai Gui cang manuscript, wu wang 毋亡.

2 For qi fei fu 其非, “his not returning,” r reads qi fei zheng 其匪正, “his not being upright,” whereas M reads fei zheng 非正, “it is not upright,” and F reads qi fei zheng 其非𨒌, “his not going on a correction campaign.” Although the Shanghai manuscript’s fu, “to return,” is probably a scribal error, since it makes sense I retain it in the translation. note that the Chu-script form of the “heart” component 心 is quite similar in appearance to the later clerical script form of the “female” component 女, especially as seen here in the hexagram name (as opposed to its form in the Top nine line below).

3 Here and throughout the manuscript, and as is common in Warring States Chu script, wang, “to go” (written conventionally as 往, as in the received text), is written .

4 After wang wang 亡忘 here, all other texts have wang 往, “to go.” 5 For bu geng er huo 不而穫, “not plowing and yet reaping,” all other texts read bu geng huo 不耕穫, which

almost certainly means the same thing, though the Mawangdui manuscript text Zhao Li 昭力 also quotes the phrase with the copula er 而.

6 For bu chu zhi 不畜之, “not rearing it,” r reads bu zi yu 不葘畬, “not breaking new ground or plowing old fields,” and M reads bu zi yu 不葘餘, “not breaking new ground in excess.”

7 For cai 菜, “vegetation, herbs,” both r and M read xi 喜, “happiness.”


䷘ Wu Wang 无妄, “nothing Foolish” (Hexagram 25)

无妄元亨利貞其匪正有眚不利有攸往

初九无妄往吉

六二不耕獲不菑畬則利有攸往

六三无妄之災或繫之牛行人之得邑人之災

九四可貞无咎

九五无妄之疾勿藥有喜

上九无妄行有眚无攸利

nothing Foolish: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. His not being correct has curses. not beneficial to have someplace to go.

First nine: nothing Foolish going. Auspicious.

Six in the Second: not plowing or reaping, not fallowing or replanting, then it is beneficial to have someplace to go.

Six in the Third: nothing Foolish’s disaster, someone ties it to an ox; the traveling person’s gain is the city person’s disaster.


nine in the Fifth: nothing Foolish’s illness; do not medicate, there is happiness.

Top nine: nothing Foolish traveling. There is a curse. There is nothing beneficial.


䷙ Da Du 大, “Greater Enlargement” (Strips 22–23)

22. ䷙ 大𥝢貞不而飤吉𥝢涉大川初九又𥝢已九二車敓复九晶良馬由𥝢堇貞曰班車𥝢又卣六四僮牛之橭元

23. 吉六五芬豕之牙吉上九天之鄉

䷙ Greater Enlargement1 : Beneficial to determine. not at home and eating.2 Auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.

First nine: There is danger.3 Beneficial to sacrifice.4

nine in the Second: The cart drops5 a strut.

nine in the Third: A fine horse following.6 Beneficial to determine about difficulty.7 This is called “Circling8 the carts to defend.”9 Beneficial to have someplace to go.

Six in the Fourth: A young ox’s thwart.10 Prime auspiciousness.

Six in the Fifth: A gelded11 pig’s tooth. Auspicious.

Top nine: Holding up12 heaven’s crossroads.13 receipt.

1 For du , which probably means “to enlarge” (now written as du 篤), r reads chu 畜, “to rear, to raise,” and M reads xu 蓄, “to store; to grow.” Although these two words are phonetically similar, that the manuscript else-where twice gives the graph chu 畜 (at the Six in the Second line of Wang Wang 亡忘 [strip no. 20] and in nine in the Third line of Dun [strip no. 30]) suggests the different graph here should be understood differently.

2 For bu jia er si 不家而飤, both r and M read bu jia shi 不家食. The variation between si 飤 and shi 食 here is similar to that elsewhere in the manuscript (noted above in the Six in the Third line of Song hexagram, strip no. 5). As for the presence of the copula er 而, “and,” it might suggest that jia 家 should be understood as a verb; Liao, “Chu jian Zhou Yi Dachu gua zai shi,” 4, points out one possible such meaning would be “to marry” (modern 嫁); i.e., “not married.”

3 For li , “danger,” the manuscript elsewhere gives 礪 (i.e., without the added “earth” 土 component). This might otherwise be significant, but since this strip belongs to the group copied by the second copyist, it seems best to regard this simply as one of his idiosyncrasies.

4 The graph here is used to write both yi 已, “to stop,” and si 巳, the sixth of the earthly stems, which is also prob-ably the protograph for si 祀, “to sacrifice.” There is support for both readings in the Yi jing tradition, such that it seems impossible to determine which may have been the reading intended here.


䷙ Da Chu 大畜, “Greater Livestock” (Hexagram 26)

大畜利貞不家食吉利涉大川

初九有厲利已

九二輿說輻

九三良馬逐利艱貞曰閑輿衛利有攸往

六四童牛之牿元吉

六五豶豕之牙吉

上九何天之衢亨

Greater Livestock: Beneficial to determine. not eating at home. Auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.

First nine: There is danger. Beneficial to sacrifice.

nine in the Second: The cart drops a strut.

nine in the Third: A fine horse being chased. Beneficial to determine about difficulty. This is called “Arranging the carts to defend.” Beneficial to have someplace to go.

Six in the Fourth: A young ox’s thwart. Prime auspiciousness.

Six in the Fifth: A gelded pig’s tooth. Auspicious.

Top nine: Holding up heaven’s crossroads. receipt.

5 For duo 敓, “to overtake; to lose,” both r and M read tuo 説, “to remove.” 6 For you 由, “to derive from, to come from,” r reads zhu 逐, “to chase,” whereas both M and F read sui 遂, “to

follow.” 7 For qin 堇, “difficult,” r reads jian 艱, “difficult,” whereas M reads gen 根, “root.” 8 For ban 班, usually “rank; to array,” but in the Zhou Yi usually understood as “to tarry; to turn around,” r reads

xian 閑, and M reads lan 闌, both meaning “door divide.” 9 For , the meaning of which is unclear, both r and M read wei 衛, “to defend.” 10 For 橭, r reads gu 牿, “corral; head board (for oxen),” whereas M reads ju 鞫, “to interrogate.” 11 For fen 芬, literally, “fragrant; concordant,” but attested as a loan for fen 墳, “mound,” r reads fen 豶, “to castrate

to geld,” whereas M seems to read ku 哭, “to cry” (though the bottom portion of the graph closely resembles 分). 12 For , the received text reads he 何, “what, how.” 13 For , r reads qu 衢, “highway, byway, crossroad; intertwined tree branches,” whereas M reads ju 瞿, “startled.”

The meaning of the received text has never been very clear, and unfortunately the manuscript does not help to clarify the line.


䷚ Yi,頤 “Jaws” (Strips 24–25)

24. ䷚ 頤貞吉觀頤自求口實初九尔霝龜觀我𢼸頤凶六二曰頤經于北

洍征凶六晶頤貞凶十年勿

25. 用亡卣六四頤吉虎視融其猷攸亡咎六五經處貞吉不可涉大川上

九䌛頤礪吉𥝢涉大川

䷚ Jaws: Determining: auspicious. Look up at the jaws, oneself seeking the mouth’s sub-stance.

First nine: Giving1 you the numinous turtle, look up at our moving2 jaws. Ominous.

Six in the Second: Say3 “Overturned4 jaws.” Aiding5 the management at the northern6

stream.7 Campaigning: ominous.

Six in the Third: Aiding the jaw. Determining: ominous. For ten years do not use it. There is nothing beneficial.

Six in the Fourth: Overturning the jaws. Auspicious. A tiger watches so warmly,8 its plans9

so distant.10 There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Aiding the jaw. Determining about residence: auspicious. One cannot ford the great river.

Top nine: Chanting11 jaws. Danger. Auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.

1 For , which perhaps should be read as yu 豫, both r and M read she 舍, “to give.” I suspect that 豫 is an elabo-ration of yu 予 in its sense “to give.”

2 For wei 𢼸, r reads duo 朵, “to hang down; to move,” whereas M reads duan 𢵦, F reads duan 端, and the Jing-dian shiwen quotes Jing 京 (Fang 房) as writing duo 揣. All these latter words are phonetically related and share at least extended senses of “to move,” the traditional reading of the line. The phonetic component of 𢼸 is very similar to that of duan 端, and may suggest a copyist’s error in one direction or the other.

3 The word yue 曰, “to say,” is not found in r but is found in M. 4 For zhen , both r and M read dian 顛, “to overturn.” The same variation holds true for the Six in the Fourth

line. 5 For , which probably has the phonetic element bi 弜, r reads fu 拂, “to cut, to scrape,” but also read bi (i.e.,

弼), “to aid,” M reads 柫, and F has the simple negative fu 弗. The same variation holds true for the Six in the Third line.


䷚ Yi 頤, “Jaws” (Hexagram 27)

頤貞吉觀頤自求口實

初九舍爾靈龜觀我朵頤凶

六二顛頤拂經于丘頤征凶

六三拂頤貞凶十年勿用无攸利

六四顛頤吉虎視眈眈其欲逐逐无咎

六五拂經居貞吉不可涉大川

上九由頤厲吉利涉大川

Jaws: Determining: auspicious. Look up at the jaws, oneself seeking the mouth’s substance.

First nine: Discarding your numinous turtle, look up at our drooping jaws. Ominous.

Six in the Second: Overturned jaws; scraping vertically on the mounded jaws. Campaign-ing: ominous.

Six in the Third: Scraping the jaw. Determining: ominous. For ten years do not use it. There is nothing beneficial.

Six in the Fourth: Overturning the jaws. Auspicious. A tiger watches fearsomely, its de-sires so persistent. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: not passing it through. Determining about residence: auspicious. One cannot ford the great river.

Top nine: From the jaws. Danger. Auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.

6 For bei 北, “north,” r reads qiu 丘, “mound,” whereas M reads bei 北, and F reads qiu 丘. It seems clear that one of these words is a graphic error for the other, and that the mistake entered the Yi jing tradition at an early stage. Since no one has ever made much sense of qiu, “mound,” and the manuscript’s bei, “north,” makes sense, I translate it here.

7 For si 洍, “a branch stream,” both r and M read yi 頤, “jaw,” as elsewhere in the hexagram. 8 For rongrong 融融, “steaming, warm; contented; bright,” r reads dandan 眈眈, usually “love-struck” but oc-

casionally understood as “fierce,” and M reads chenchen 沈沈, “deep, profound; submerged.” 9 For you 猷, “plans,” r reads yu 欲, “wish, desire,” whereas M reads rong 容, “appearance,” and F, , perhaps

graphically combining elements of all these readings. 10 For youyou 攸攸, “far off,” the Yi jing gives a wide range of variants: r reads zhuzhu 逐逐, M, didi 笛笛, F, suisui

遂遂, the Zi Xia zhuan 子夏傳, youyou 攸攸, and Xun Shuang 荀爽, youyou 悠悠. 11 For yao 𢼸, “musical chant,” r reads you 由, “from.”


䷞ Qin 欽, “Careful” (Strips 26–27)

26. ䷞ 欽鄉𥝢貞取女吉初六欽其拇六二欽其凶處吉九晶欽其執其隓吝

九四貞吉亡𢘓憧...

27. 志九五欽其拇亡𢘓上六欽夹䏦

䷞ Careful1 : receipt. Beneficial to determine. Taking a woman: auspicious.

First Six: Careful of its toe.

Six in the Second: Careful of its thigh.2 Ominous. Being located: auspicious.

nine in the Third: Careful of its thigh, grasping its torn flesh.3 Distress.4

nine in the Fourth: Determining: auspicious. There are no regrets.5 Pitter-6 . . . will.7

nine in the Fifth: Careful of its hand. There are no regrets.

Top Six: Careful of the8 cheeks, jowls, and tongue.

1 For qin 欽, “sound of metal; to yawn; respectful, careful, serious,” which is also the reading of M, r reads xian 咸, usually understood as “to feel, to sympathize” but sometimes as “to cut, to injure.”

2 For , Pu Maozuo proposes three possibilities: tun 臋, “haunches, thigh,” gu 股, “thigh,” and qi , “the tendon in the calf,” the last of which he suggests is perhaps most likely. r reads fei 腓, “lower leg, calf,” and M reads fei . Ji, “Shangbo San Zhou Yi jian 26, suggests another possibility for the graph in question: that the top elements 㢭, which consist of a bow and a hand holding a stick, are used in oracle-bone inscriptions for the word fa 發, “to shoot (an arrow),” which could serve as a phonetic element for the word fei, “lower leg, calf.” The word is repeated in the nine in the Third line, for which the received text reads gu 股, “thigh.” It seems clear that one of these occurrences represents a copyist’s error, probably this one in the Six in the Second line.

3 For sui 隓, both r and M read sui 随, here understood as “torn flesh.” note also the different writing style of the graph in Sui (随) hexagram (hexagram no. 17), strip no. 16, as mentioned in n. 1 there.

4 Before lin 吝, “distress,” r (but not M) includes the word wang 往, “to go.” 5 For wang hui 亡𢘓, “there are no regrets,” both r and M read hui wang 𢘓亡, “regrets gone.” 6 Only the top portion of this character survives, the bamboo strip having broken in the middle of the character.

The corresponding character in r is chong 憧, “uneasy; pitter-pat,” which the top of this character does resemble. 7 For zhi 志, “will, ambition,” both r and M read si 思, “to think; to desire; thoughts” (as part of the phrase peng

cong er si 朋從爾思, “the friend follows your thoughts” or “the friend follows you in thought”). 8 Both r and M include here, as in other lines of this hexagram, the pronoun qi 其, “his.”


䷞ Xian 咸, “Feeling” (Hexagram 31)

咸亨利貞取女吉

初六咸其拇






Feeling: receipt. Beneficial to determine. Taking a woman: auspicious.




nine in the Fourth: Determining: auspicious. regrets gone. Tremblingly going and coming, the friend follows you in thought.




䷟ heng , “Constant” (Strips 28–29)

28. ䷟ 鄉𥝢貞亡咎初六㪫貞凶亡卣鄉九二𢘓亡九晶不緪其㥁或丞其憂

貞吝九四畋亡六五緪其㥁貞婦人吉夫

29. 子凶上六㪫貞凶

䷟ Constant receipt. Beneficial to determine. There is no trouble.

First Six: Perceptive1 constancy. Determining: ominous. There is nothing beneficial.

nine in the Second: regrets gone.

nine in the Third: not making constant2 his virtue, someone relieves3 his concern.4 Determining: distress.

nine in the Fourth: Hunting5 there is no catch.

Six in the Fifth: Making constant his virtue. Determining: for a wife auspicious, for a husband ominous.

Top Six: Perceptive constancy. Determining: ominous.

1 For rui 㪫, “perceptive, perspicacious,” r reads jun 浚, “deep, profound; open,” whereas M reads xiong 夐, “dis-tant; deep.” The Jingdian shiwen quotes Zheng (Xuan) as reading jun 濬, “creek; open; profound.”

2 Here and in the Six in the Fifth line, for geng 緪, “thick rope,” written with a “silk” (糹) component, both r and M read heng 恆, as in the name of the hexagram and in the First Six and Top Six lines. Perhaps the added component marks some differentiation between verbal and nominative uses of the word.

3 For zheng 丞, “to aid, to rescue, to relieve,” both r and M read cheng 承, “to receive.” 4 For you 憂, “worry; sadness; concern,” both r and M read xiu 羞, “sacrificial offering; to present; shame,” though

the Mawangdui manuscript ersanzi wen 二三子問 reads you 憂, like the Shanghai manuscript. 5 For tian 畋, “to hunt,” both r and M read tian 田, “fields, to take to the fields” (i.e., “to hunt”).


䷟ heng 恆, “Constant” (Hexagram 32)

恆亨无咎利貞利有攸往

初六浚恆貞凶无攸利

九二悔亡

九三不恆其德或承之羞貞吝

九四田无禽

六五恆其德貞婦人吉夫子凶

上六振恆凶

Constant: receipt. There is no trouble. Beneficial to have someplace to go.

First Six: Deep constancy. Determining: ominous. There is nothing beneficial.

nine in the Second: regrets gone.

nine in the Third: Inconstant his virtue, someone presents him disgrace. Determining: distress.

nine in the Fourth: In the fields there is no catch.

Six in the Fifth: Constant his virtue. Determining: for a wife auspicious, for a husband ominous.

Top Six: Shaken constancy. Ominous


䷠ Dun , “Piglet” (Strips 30–31)

30. ䷠ 鄉少𥝢貞初六其尾礪勿用又卣六二用黃牛之革莫之九晶

係又疾礪畜臣妾吉九四好君

31. 子吉否九五嘉吉上九肥亡不𥝢

䷠ Piglet1 receipt. A little beneficial to determine.

First Six: Piglet’s2 tail. Danger. Do not herewith have anywhere to go.

Six in the Second: Decorate3 using the hide of a yellow ox, nothing will succeed in taking it off.4

nine in the Third: Tying the piglet. There is illness. Danger. rearing servants and concu-bines: auspicious.

nine in the Fourth: A good piglet. For a nobleman auspicious, for a little man not.

nine in the Fifth: A fine piglet. Auspicious.

Top nine: A fat piglet. There is nothing not beneficial.

1 For , probably to be read as tun 豚, “piglet,” r reads dun 遯, “to retreat, withdraw.” Both M and F give 椽, whereas the Wangjiatai Gui cang manuscript gives the hexagram name as 𨔵. This latter writing is also attested in the Jingdian shiwen, as well as dun 遁, “to move, to flee, to hide.”

2 The pronoun qi 其 here is unique to this manuscript, not appearing in r, M, or F. 3 For , probably to be read as shi 饰, “to scrape; to decorate,” or chi, “to put in order,” r reads zhi 執, “to grasp,”

whereas M reads gong 共, “public, shared; to proffer.” 4 For , which perhaps should be read as, or similar to, ba 拔, “to pull out,” r reads tuo 説, “to remove, to take

off,” and M reads duo 奪, “to remove; to overcome.”


䷠ Dun 遯, “Piglet” (Hexagram 33)

遯亨小利貞

初六遯尾厲勿用有攸往

六二執之用黃牛之革莫之勝說

九三係遯有疾厲畜臣妾吉

九四好遯君子吉小人否

九五嘉遯貞吉

上九肥遯无不利

Piglet: receipt. A little beneficial to determine.

First Six: Piglet’s tail. Danger. Do not herewith have anywhere to go.

Six in the Second: Grasp it using the hide of a yellow ox, nothing will succeed in getting it off.


nine in the Fourth: A good piglet. For a noble son auspicious, for a petty man not.

nine in the Fifth: A fine piglet. Determining: auspicious.



䷥ Kui 楑, “Looking Cross-Eyed” (Strips 32–32a–33–34)

32. ䷥ 楑少事吉初九𢘓馬勿由自見人亡咎九二遇宔于亡咎六晶

見車遏其

32a.牛其人天劓亡初又冬九

33. 四楑𠇗遇元夫交孚礪亡咎六五𢘓亡陞宗肤可咎上九楑𠇗見豕𡌆載…

34. 昏佝遇雨則吉

䷥ Looking Cross-Eyed1 Minor service: auspicious.

First nine: regrets gone. Losing2 a horse; do not follow,3 it will return of itself. Seeing an ugly man. There is no trouble.

nine in the Second: Meeting the host in the lane. There is no trouble.

Six in the Third: Seeing the cart stopped,4 its ox5 pulling,6 its man branded on the fore-head and7 with his nose cut off. There is no beginning but there is an end.

nine in the Fourth: Looking cross-eyed at the orphan,8 meeting the prime man. Exchang-ing trust. Danger. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: regrets gone. Ascend9 the ancestral temple and eat10 the meat offering.11 In going what12 trouble?

Top nine: Looking cross-eyed at the orphan. Seeing a pig with mud on its back;13 carry-ing . . . robbers in marriage relations.14 In going if you meet rain then it is auspicious.

1 For kui 楑, r reads kui 睽, which the Shuo wen defines as “the eyes not following each other” but which in the Yi jing tradition is usually understood as “weird, strange” (guai 怪), which is in turn the reading of M.

2 is either an elaboration of wang 亡, “not; disappear,” or an abbreviation of sang 喪, “to lose.” In this manu-script, its three uses (strips 32, 44, and 53) are all as a transitive verb, and so the latter interpretation seems to be correct. The duplication mark after the graph indicates that the 亡 portion of the graph is to be read twice, first as the semantic component of sang 喪 and then as wang, “to lose.” The received text reads sang 喪, “to lose.”

3 For you 由, “to derive from; to follow,” r reads zhu 逐, “to chase,” whereas M reads sui 遂, “to follow.” 4 For e 遏, “to stop, to cover up, to repress,” r reads ye 曳, “to pull,” whereas M gives the otherwise unattested 恝. 5 Strip no. 32a is in the possession of the Institute for Chinese Culture of the Chinese University of Hong Kong;

it was first published in rao, “Zai kaituo zhong de xunguxue, 1–5. It fits together with strip no. 32 to make a complete strip.

6 For , r reads che 掣, usually “to pull” but in this line often interpreted as the horns of an ox, one upturned and one downturned. M reads , F, xie 絜, “to measure,” whereas the Zhou Yi jijie 周易集解 gives shi 觢, “two horns up-turned,” and the Jingdian shiwen cites such variants as 㸷, 𢍆, and ji 觭, the last of which means “one horn upturned and one downturned.” Although the phonetic component of (i.e., jie 介) is reasonably similar to the phonetic components of the received variants, the character itself does not give any support to the “horn” interpretation.


䷥ Kui 睽, “Strange” (Hexagram 38)

睽小事吉


九二遇主于巷无咎

六三見輿曳其牛掣其人天且劓无初有終

九四睽孤遇元夫交孚厲无咎


上九睽孤見豕負涂載鬼一車先張之弧後說之弧匪寇婚媾往遇雨則吉

Strange: Minor service. Auspicious.

First nine: regrets gone. Losing a horse; do not follow, it will return of itself. Seeing an ugly man. There is no trouble.


Six in the Third: Seeing the cart dragged, its ox with one horn upturned and one down-turned, its man branded on the forehead and with his nose cut off. There is no beginning but there is an end.

nine in the Fourth: A strange orphan, meeting the prime man. Exchanging trust. Danger. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: regrets gone. At their ancestral temple eating flesh. In going what trouble?

Top nine: A strange orphan. Seeing a pig with mud on its back, one cart carrying ghosts. A bow first drawn, later a bow released. It is not robbers in marriage relations. In going if you meet rain then it is auspicious.

7 For , r reads qie 且, “and.” 8 Here and at the Top nine line, for 𠇗, r reads gu 孤, “orphan,” whereas M gives gu 苽. 9 For sheng 陞 (i.e., 升), r reads jue 厥, “his, its,” whereas M reads deng 登, “to go up.” The Shanghai manuscript

finally provides an explanation for this anomalous reading of the received text, for which the tradition seems to offer no variants: the phonetic component of sheng (i.e., 升) is graphically very similar to the ancient form of the graph for jue 厥, which now should be seen as a later miscopying.

10 For evidence that should be read as shi 噬, “to bite, to eat,” which is the reading of r (M reads shi 筮), see Li Ling, “Du Shangbo Chu jian Zhou Yi,” 61.

11 For fu 肤, “meat offering,” both r and M read fu 膚, “skin.” 12 For ke 可, “can, to be able to,” both r and M read he 何, “what.” 13 For , both r and M read fu 負, “to carry on the back.” 14 For hun 昏, “evening,” and gou 佝, “hunchback,” r reads hun 婚, “marriage” and gou 媾, “marital relations,

sexual intercourse,” whereas M reads meng (?) [], “dusk” (?), and hou 厚, “thick.”


䷦ Jie 訐, “Criticized” (Strips 35–36)

35. ䷦ 訐𥝢西南不𥝢東北𥝢見大人初六訐譽六二王臣訐非今之古九

晶訐反六四訐連九五大訐不

36. 上六訐碩吉𥝢見大人

䷦ Criticized1 Beneficial to the southwest, not beneficial to the northeast. Beneficial to see the great man.2

First Six: Going criticized, coming praised.

Six in the Second: The king’s ministers so criticized, it is not today’s3 reason.

nine in the Third: Going criticized, coming back.

Six in the Fourth: Going criticized, coming in succession.

nine in the Fifth: Great criticism does not4 come.5

Top Six: Going criticized, coming firmly. Auspicious. Beneficial to see the great man.

1 For jie 訐, “to criticize,” r reads jian 蹇, “lame; in difficulty,” and both M and F read . However, both the Shuo wen and the commentary to the Chu ci 楚辭 by Wang yi 王逸 (2nd c.) indicate that jian 謇, “to criticize, to remonstrate,” was a popular variant in the Han dynasty. The text would seem to provide some support for both readings.

2 In r and both M and F, the hexagram statement ends with the words zhen ji 貞吉, “determining: auspicious.” 3 For jin 今, r reads gong 躬, “oneself.” Although M is defective at the place of this character, the Mawangdui

ersanzi wen manuscript quotes the phrase as fei jin zhi gu 非今之故. 4 For bu 不, “not,” r reads peng 朋, “friend,” whereas M reads . 5 Lai, “to come,” is here written as , not only differently from elsewhere in this hexagram (where it is written

) and differently from both r and M (where it is written simply 來) but also different from elsewhere in the manuscript (where it is also written 逨). It is not clear to me what difference, if any, these different forms signify.


䷦ Jian 蹇, “Lame” (Hexagram 39)


初六往蹇來譽

六二王臣蹇蹇匪躬之故

九三往蹇來反

六四往蹇來連

九五大蹇朋來

上六往蹇來碩吉利見大人

Lame: Beneficial to the southwest, not beneficial to the northeast. Beneficial to see the great man. Determining: auspicious.

First Six: Going lame, coming praised.

Six in the Second: The king’s ministers so lame, it is not their person’s fault.

nine in the Third: Going lame, coming back.

Six in the Fourth: Going lame, coming in succession.

nine in the Fifth: Greatly lame, friends come.

Top Six: Going lame, coming firmly. Auspicious. Beneficial to see the great man.


䷧ Jie 繲, “Disentangled” (Strip 37)

37. ䷧ 繲𥝢西南亡所其吉又卣𠈇吉初六亡咎九二畋蒦晶𠭁黃矢

貞吉六晶𨍱至至九四繲其拇

䷧ Disentangled1 Beneficial to the southwest. There is no place to go. His coming in return. Auspicious. There is someplace to go. Early2 auspiciousness.

First Six: There is no trouble.

nine in the Second: Hunting capturing three foxes and obtaining a yellow arrowhead. Determining: auspicious.

Six in the Third: Carrying3 on the back and riding,4 brings robbers to arrive.5

nine in the Fourth: Disentangling his6 thumb.

1 For jie 繲, “to wash,” both r and M read jie/xie 解, “to cleave apart, to separate,” or xie, “node.” 2 The Shuo wen gives 𠈇 as the ancient form of su , now usually written 夙, “early,” the reading of r. M, on the

other hand, gives su 宿, “to overnight.” 3 For , r reads fu 負, “to carry on the back.” 4 For 𨍱, both r and M read cheng 乘, “to drive (a chariot); to ride in, on.” 5 In both r and M, this line ends with the words zhen lin 貞吝, “determining: distress” (in M, lin is written, as

commonly in that manuscript, 閵). 6 For qi 其, “his,” r reads er 而, “your,” whereas M also reads qi, “his.”


䷧ Jie 解, “released” (Hexagram 40)

解利西南无所往其來復吉有攸往夙吉

初六无咎

九二田獲三狐得黃矢貞吉

六三負且乘致寇至貞吝

九四解而拇朋至斯孚

六五君子維有解吉有孚于小人

上六公用射隼于高墉之上獲之无不利

released: Beneficial to the southwest. There is no place to go. His coming in return: auspicious. There is someplace to go. Early auspiciousness.



Six in the Third: Carrying on the back and riding, brings robbers to arrive. Determining: distress.

nine in the Fourth: releasing your thumb. Friends bring this trust.

Six in the Fifth: It is the nobleman who is released. Auspicious. There is trust in the petty man.

Top Six: The duke herewith shoots a hawk at the top of the high wall, bagging it. There is nothing not beneficial.


Guai 夬, “resolute” (Strips 38–39)

38. 啻唬莫譽又戎勿卹九晶藏于頄又凶君子夬蜀行遇雨女雺又礪亡咎九四

誫亡肤其行緀疋羊𢘓亡𦖞

39. 言不冬九五莧𦬩夬中行亡咎上六忘中又凶

An apprehensive scream.1 There are none to praise,2 there are enemies. Do not worry.3

nine in the Third: Wounded4 on the forehead. Again ominous. The nobleman is so reso-lute; moving alone5 he meets rain like6 a mist.7 There is danger.8 There is no trouble.

nine in the Fourth: The raw meat offering9 has no sliced meat.10 His moving is belabored.11 Losing12 a sheep. regrets gone. Hearing words that are unending.13

nine in the Fifth: Purslane14 so resolute, in the middle of the road. There is no trouble.

Top Six: Forgetting15 to scream.16 In the middle17 it is again ominous.

1 For chihu 啻唬, perhaps “to scream,” perhaps “to babble,” r reads tihao 惕號, “nervously cry out,” whereas M reads yihao 㑥號.

2 For yu 譽, “praise,” both r and M read ye 夜, “night.” 3 Here and elsewhere in the text, for 卹, r reads xu 恤, “to worry; to sympathize” (M has xue 血). 4 For cang 藏, “to store; good,” r reads qiang 壯, “to injure,” whereas M reads chuang 牀, “bed.” 5 For 蜀, both r and M read du 獨, “solitary, alone.” 6 For ru 女 (i.e., 如), “to resemble,” r reads ruo 若, “to be like,” whereas M reads ru 如. 7 For 雺, which dictionaries give variously as wu, “fog, mist” (i.e., 霧), or as meng or mao, “dark” (i.e., 霿), both r

and M read xu 濡, “wet.” 8 For li 礪, “danger,” both r and M read yun 慍, “anger, resentment.” 9 For zhen 誫, given in dictionaries as a variant of zhen 震, “thunder; to shake, to move,” r reads tun 臀, “haunch-

es, thigh,” whereas M reads shen 脤, “raw meat offering.” 10 For fu 肤, “meat offering,” both r and M read fu 膚, usually “skin” but variously defined by Zheng Xuan as

“sacrificial pork” or “sliced sacrificial meat.” 11 For 緀疋, the received text reads ciqie 次且, usually understood as the unelaborated form of ziju 趑趄, “dif-

ficulty in walking.” M reads qixu 郪胥. 12 For sang (i.e., 喪), “to cause to disappear; to lose,” both r and M read qian 牽, “to lead with a rope, to draw.” 13 For zhong 冬 (i.e., 終), “end,” both r and M read xin 信, “to trust, to believe, trustworthy.” 14 For xianlu 莧𦬩, “purslane,” r reads xianlu 莧陸, clearly the same word (六 and 陸 are interchangeable) but

which has been variously interpreted. The Shanghai manuscript, adding a “grass” (艹) signific as it does, would seem now to show the antiquity of the meaning “purslane.”

15 For wang 忘, “to forget,” both r and M read the simple negative wu 无, “not to have,” an obvious transformation of the more ancient negative wang 亡.

16 For hu , “to call out, to scream,” both r and M read hao 號, “to call out, to yell.” 17 For zhong 中, “middle,” r reads zhong 終, “end,” whereas M gives 冬, read there as zhong, “end.”


䷪ Guai 夬, “resolute” (Hexagram 43)

夬揚于王庭孚號有厲告自邑不利即戎利有攸往

初九壯于前趾往不勝為吝

九二惕號莫夜有戎勿恤

九三壯于頄有凶君子夬夬獨行遇雨若濡有慍无咎

九四臀无膚其行次且牽羊悔亡聞言不信

九五莧陸夬夬中行无咎

上六无號終有凶

resolute: raised up in the king’s courtyard. A captive screams. There is danger, announced from the city. not beneficial to approach enemies; beneficial to have someplace to go.

First nine: Wounded in the front foot. Going: not victorious. It is distress.

nine in the Second: An apprehensive scream. In the evening and night there are enemies. Do not worry.

nine in the Third: Wounded on the forehead. It is ominous. The nobleman is so resolute: Moving alone and meeting rain, if wet he will get steamed up. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fourth: Buttocks without flesh. His movement is halting, pulling a sheep. regrets gone. Hearing words that are not believable.

nine in the Fifth: Purslane so resolute, in the middle of the road. There is no trouble.

Top Six: There is no scream. In the end it is ominous.


䷫ Kou 敂, “Hitting” (Strips 40–41)

40. ䷫ 敂女藏勿用取女初六繫于金柅貞吉又卣見凶豕孚是蜀九二橐又

魚亡咎不𥝢𡧊九晶誫亡

41. 肤其行緀疋礪亡大咎九四橐亡魚已凶九五以芑橐苽章又㥑自天上九敂

其角吝亡咎

䷫ Hitting1 A woman is wounded.2 Do not use to take a woman.

First Six: Tied to a metal brake. Determining: auspicious. There is someplace to go. See-ing: ominous. A skinny pig is captured, pacing nervously.3

nine in the Second: The sack4 has fish. There is no trouble. not beneficial to have audi-ence.5

nine in the Third: The raw meat offering has no sliced meat.6 His motion is belabored.7

Danger. There is no great trouble.

nine in the Fourth: The sack does not have fish. Stopping:8 ominous.

nine in the Fifth: With white millet plant9 ensacking a gourd,10 containing11 a pattern. There is concern12 from heaven.

Top nine: Hitting their horns. Distress. There is no trouble.

1 For kou 敂, “to hit,” r reads gou 姤, in the received Yi jing tradition usually understood as “to meet.” Elsewhere in the hexagram text, M reads gou 狗, “dog” (at the place of the hexagram name, the manuscript is defective), whereas the Mawangdui manuscript Xi ci 繫辭 reads variously gou 坸, “dust, dirt,” or simply gou 句, “hook.” This last character was doubtless the original character, which was then later elaborated differently by different scribes.

2 For cang 藏, “to store; good,” both r and M read qiang 壯, “to wound, to injure.” 3 For shi shu 是蜀, r reads zhizhu 蹢躅, “to pace back and forth nervously,” whereas M gives shishu 適屬. 4 Here and elsewhere throughout this hexagram, for tuo 橐, “sack,” r reads bao 包, “to wrap” (M gives fu 枹,

“drumstick”). 5 𡧊 is an archaic form of the graph 賓, which is the reading of both r and M. 6 For this phrase, see notes 9 and 10 of Guai 夬, “resolute” hexagram (p. 112). 7 For [緀]疋, r reads ciqie 次且, usually understood as the unelaborated form of ziju 趑趄, “difficulty in walk-

ing.” 8 For yi 已, “to stop,” r reads qi 起, “to arise,” whereas M reads zheng 正, “upright.” 9 For qi 芑, “white millet,” r reads qi 杞, “willow,” whereas M gives ji 忌, “jealous.” 10 For 苽, which is also the reading of M and for which dictionaries give two readings, gu, “Zizania latifolia, an

edible water plant,” and gua, “gourd, melon” (i.e., 瓜), the received text reads gua 瓜, “gourd, melon.” 11 For , both r and M read han 含, “to contain, to enclose, to hold within.” 12 For you 㥑 (i.e., 憂), “worry, concern,” r reads yun 隕, “to fall,” whereas M gives xun 塤.


䷫ Gou 姤, “Meeting” (Hexagram 44)

姤女壯勿用取女

初六系于金柅貞吉有攸往見凶羸豕孚蹢躅

九二包有魚无咎不利賓

九三臀无膚其行次且厲无大咎

九四包无魚起凶

九五以杞包瓜含章有隕自天

上九姤其角吝无咎

Meeting: A girl is strong. Do not use to take a girl.

First Six: Tied to a metal brake. Determining: auspicious. There is someplace to go. See-ing: ominous. A skinny pig is captured, pacing nervously.

Second nine: The wrapper has fish. There is no trouble. not beneficial to have audience.

nine in the Third: Buttocks without flesh, his motion is stopped up. Danger. There is no great trouble.

nine in the Fourth: The wrapper has no fish. Arising: ominous.

nine in the Fifth: With willow leaves wrapping a gourd, containing a pattern. Something falls from heaven.

Top nine: Locking their horns. Distress. There is no trouble.


䷬ Cui , “roaring” (Strip 42)

42. ䷬ 王于𥝢見大人鄉𥝢貞用大牲𥝢又卣初六又孚不冬

乃廼若一斛于笑勿卹亡咎

䷬ roaring1 The king enters2 into the temple.3 Beneficial to see the great man. receipt. Beneficial to determine. Using the great ox sacrifice.4 Beneficial to have someplace to go.

First Six: There is trust, unending. you are disordered5 and then6 roaring like a tiger, once grappling7 it in8 laughter. Do not worry. Going: there is no trouble.

1 For cui (i.e., 啐), “to drink; to scream,” r reads cui 萃, “to gather together,” and M reads zu 卒, “to end; to die.” After the hexagram name, r includes the word heng 亨, “receipt,” though according to the Jingdian shiwen the texts of Ma rong, Zheng Xuan, Lu Ji 陸績, and yu Fan 虞翻 did not include it. neither does it appear in M.

2 For ge (i.e., 格), “to enter,” r reads 假 (M gives the unelaborated form jia 叚), usually read jia but in contexts such as this read ge, “to enter.”

3 For , both r and M read miao 廟, “temple”; the Shuo wen gives 庿 as an ancient form of miao, and 宀 and 广 are functionally equivalent.

4 After “use a great ox sacrifice,” both r and M include the word ji 吉, “auspicious.” 5 For , which the Ji yun 集韵 gives as an ancient form of luan 亂, “disorderly, chaotic,” r reads luan 亂, whereas

M gives ru 乳, “to suckle.” 6 For nai 廼, both r and M read nai 乃, “your; then.” Ordinarily, this substitution would be entirely unproblem-

atic, but since this phrase contains two instances of the word, written differently, it may well mean that the scribe intended them to be understood differently.

7 For 斛, r reads wo 握, “to grasp, to grapple” (M gives the unelaborated form wu 屋). 8 For yu 于, “in,” r reads wei 為, “to do; to be,” though M also reads yu 于.


䷬ Cui 萃, “Gathering” (Hexagram 45)

萃亨王假有廟利見大人亨利貞用大牲吉利有攸往

初六有孚不終乃亂乃萃若號一握為笑勿恤往无咎

六二引吉无咎孚乃利用禴

六三萃如嗟如无攸利往无咎小吝

九四大吉无咎

九五萃有位无咎匪孚元永貞悔亡

上六齎咨涕洟无咎

Gathering: receipt. The king enters into the temple. Beneficial to see the great man. receipt. Beneficial to determine. Using the great ox sacrifice: auspicious. Beneficial to have someplace to go.

First Six: There is trust, unending, then disordered and then gathered. A scream once grasped becomes laughter. Do not worry. Going: there is no trouble.

Six in the Second: Prolonged auspiciousness. There is no trouble. Trusting then it is ben-eficial therewith to make a vegetarian offering.

Six in the Third: Gathered, sighing. There is nothing beneficial. Going: there is no trou-ble. A little distress.

nine in the Fourth: Greatly auspicious. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: Gathered in positions. There is no trouble. not trusting. Prime long-term determination: regrets gone.

Top Six: Sobbing, snivel and snot. There is no trouble.


Kun 困, “Bound” (Strip 43)

43. 𥝢用祭祀上六困于䔞蘲于㓷□曰迖𢘓又𢘓征吉

. . . beneficial herewith to sacrifice.

Top Six: Bound by wild grapevines,1 by cut2 . . .3 This is called “Slipping.4 regrets and again regrets.” Campaigning: auspicious.

1 For 䔞蘲, r reads gelei 葛藟 (M gives helei 褐纍), “Vitis flexuosa, wild grape.” 2 For yi 㓷 (i.e., 劓), “to cut off the nose; to cut,” r reads nie 臲, understood as part of a compound word niewu

臲卼, “to rock, to sway.” 3 The character at this point on the bamboo strip has been effaced and cannot be read. The corresponding charac-

ter in r is wu 卼, part of the compound niewu 臲卼, “to rock, to sway.” M reads er tuan 貳掾, the meaning of which is not immediately evident.

4 For 迖, “slippery, to slip,” r reads dong 動, “to move.” In M, the corresponding character, though placed after, rather than before, the word hui 悔, “regret,” is yi 夷, “calm, even.”


䷮ Kun 困, “Bound” (Hexagram 47)

困亨貞大人吉无咎有言不信

初六臀困于株木入于幽谷三歲不覿

九二困于酒食朱紱方來利用享祀征凶无咎

六三困于石據于蒺藜入于其宮不見其妻凶

九四來徐徐困于金車吝有終

九五劓刖困于赤紱乃徐有說利用祭祀

上六困于葛藟于臲卼曰動悔有悔征吉

Bound: receipt: Determining: for the great man auspicious. There is no trouble. There are words that are not believable.

First Six: The buttocks bound by the tree trunk: entering into the dark valley, for three years not seeing him.

nine in the Second: Bound by wine and food. The country of the scarlet kneepads comes. Beneficial herewith to make offering and sacrifice. Campaigning: ominous. There is no trouble.

Six in the Third: Bound by stone, stuck in the brambles: entering into his palace, and not seeing his wife. Ominous.

nine in the Fourth: Coming so slowly, bound by a bronze cart. Distress. There is an end.

nine in the Fifth: Cutting off the nose and foot. Bound by the crimson kneepads, and then slowly having release. Beneficial herewith to sacrifice.

Top Six: Bound by wild grapevines, tripping. This is called “Moving, regrets.” There are regrets. Campaigning: auspicious.


䷯ Jing 汬, “Well-Trap” (Strips 44–45–46)

44. ䷯ 汬改邑不改汬亡亡𠭁汬气至亦毋汬其缾凶初六汬暜不

飤舊汬亡九二汬浴矤隹襒

45. 縷九晶汬朻不飤為我心可以汲王明並受其福六四汬亡咎九五汬寒

泉飤上六汬朻勿寞又孚元

46. 吉

䷯ Well-Trap1 Changing the city, not changing the well. There is no loss, there is no gain. Going and coming in succession. Almost2 arrived, still do not3 dip4 from the well, break-ing its pitcher. Ominous.

First Six: The trap is exposed5 and not edible. The old trap is without a catch.

nine in the Second: The trap is watery,6 shooting the boar.7 They are8 tattered9 to shreds.10

nine in the Third: The well is shaded11 and not edible. It makes my heart stopped up.12 It can be used13 to draw from. The king is bright, together receiving its blessings.

Six in the Fourth: Trapped wild animal.14 There is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: The well is clean;15 the cold spring is drinkable.

Top Six: The well is shaded.16 Do not cover17 it. There is trust. Prime auspiciousness.

1 Here and throughout this hexagram, for 汬, which the Shuo wen gives as the ancient form of jing 阱 (also writ-ten as 穽), “trap,” both r and M give jing 井, “well.”

2 For 气, which should not be confused with the simplified form of qi 氣, “air,” the received text gives qi 汔, “ex-hausted; almost.” M gives 𣱡.

3 For the imperative negative wu 毋, “do not,” both r and M give the declarative negative wei 未, “not yet.” 4 For , the meaning of which is unclear, r writes yu 繘, “rope of a well, to dip water from a well,” whereas M

gives ji 汲, “to dip water.” 5 For 暜, for which Pu Maozuo suggests pu 普, “bright; to expose,” whereas Chen Wei, “Shangbo jian Cong zheng

Zhou Yi jiaodu,” 5–6, suggests ti 替, “discarded, defiled, dirty,” both r and M give ni 泥, “muddy.” 6 For yu 浴, the primary meaning of which now is “to bathe” but which seems in Warring States manuscripts to

have a special meaning of a “watercourse,” r reads gu 谷, “valley,” whereas M reads du 瀆, “canal, river.” 7 For , which is unattested but the “pig” or “boar” signific of which is clearly evident, r reads fu 鮒, “sardine,

silver fish,” and M gives just the phonetic element fu 付. Since it does not make sense to me how one would “shoot” tiny silver fish at the bottom of a well, it seems to me that here 汬 should best be understood as jing 阱 or 穽, “trap,” the contents of which are a type of animal that could be shot, such as a wild boar.

8 For the simple copula wei 隹, “to be,” r reads weng 甕, “water pitcher,” whereas M also gives the copula wei, written as 唯.


䷯ Jing 井, “Well” (Hexagram 48)

井改邑不改井无喪无得往來井井汔至亦未繘井羸其瓶凶

初六井泥不食舊井无禽

九二井谷射鮒甕敝漏

九三井渫不食為我心惻可用汲王明并受其福

六四井甃无咎

九五井冽寒泉食

上六井收勿幕有孚元吉

The Well: Changing the city, not changing the well. There is no loss, there is no gain. Going and coming in succession. Upon arrival, also not yet dipping the well, breaking its pitcher. Ominous.

First Six: The well is muddy and not drinkable. The old well is without a catch.

nine in the Second: The well is deep, shooting the silverfish. The pitcher is battered and leaking.

nine in the Third: The well leaks and is not drinkable. It makes my heart pained. It can be used to draw from. The king is bright, together receiving its blessings.

Six in the Fourth: The well is bricked. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: The well is frigid; the cold spring is drinkable.

Top Six: The well is received; do not cover it. There is trust. Prime auspiciousness.

9 For bie 襒, “tattered (clothes),” both r and M read bi 敝, “broken, battered.” 10 For lü 縷, “yarn; worn to shreds,” r reads lou 漏, “to leak,” whereas M reads gou 句, “hooked, hooked imple-

ment,” and F reads lü 屢, “frequent, quickly.” 11 For jiu 朻, “drooping tree,” the received text reads xie 渫, “to clean; to disperse; to leak,” whereas M gives . 12 For , r reads ce 惻, “pained, sorrowful,” and M reads sai 塞, “to block up, dam.” 13 For yi 以, “to use,” both r and M read yong 用, “to use.” 14 For , the meaning of which is unclear, r reads zhou 甃, “brick well wall, to brick,” whereas M reads jiao 椒,

“pepper tree, pepper.” As noted in chapter 2, Park, “Shanghai Museum Zhouyi Manuscript,” 238, suggests that words written in Chu script with the “rat” signific (shu 鼠) are typically written in Qin script (and thus in the received script) with the 豸 signific, usually indicative of some sort of wild animal. Although this meaning would be anomalous within the line statements of this hexagram, which seem to describe the nature of the well or trap, it strikes me as a possible interpretation, and I therefore present it for comparative purposes.

15 For , r reads lie 洌, “clean water, cold water,” whereas M reads li 戾, “curved, transverse, perverse,” or lie, “broken.”

16 For jiu 朻, “drooping tree,” both r and M read shou 收, “to collect, to gather.” 17 For mo 寞, “silent, still,” both r and M read mu 幕, “cover; to cover.”


䷰ Ge 革, “rebellion” (Strip 47)

47. ䷰ 革攺日廼孚元羕貞𥝢貞𠳨亡初九用黃牛之革六二攺日乃革之征吉

亡咎九晶征凶革言晶就又孚

䷰ rebellion On an exorcism1 day then trust. Prime long-term determination.2 Benefi-cial to determine. regrets3 gone.

First nine: Strengthening4 using a yellow ox’s hide.

Six in the Second: On an exorcism day then overthrow it. Campaigning: auspicious. There is no trouble.

nine in the Third: Campaigning: ominous.5 Overturning the words thrice approached, there is trust.

1 Here and in the Six in the Second line, for yi 攺, which Pu Maozuo says means “to drive off ghosts and dispel curses,” r reads si 巳, “the sixth of the earthly branches.”

2 For yong zhen 永貞, “determination about the long-term,” both r and M read, as formulaic in hexagram state-ments, heng 亨, “receipt.”

3 For 𠳨, both r and M read, as does the manuscript in all other cases of this formula, hui 悔, “regret.” 4 For , which is the standard ancient form of gong 巩, “to enclose,” the received text reads gong 鞏, “to strength-

en,” whereas M reads gong 共, “joint, together.” 5 After zheng xiong 征凶, “campaigning: ominous,” r includes the formula zhen li 貞厲, “determining: danger”

(M also includes zhen 貞 but is defective thereafter).


䷰ Ge 革, “rebellion” (Hexagram 49)

革巳日乃孚元亨利貞悔亡

初九鞏用黃牛之革

六二巳日乃革之征吉无咎

九三征凶貞厲革言三就有孚

九四悔亡有孚改命吉

九五大人虎變未占有孚

上六君子豹變小人革面征凶居貞吉

rebellion: On a si day then trust. Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. regrets gone.

First nine: Strengthening using a yellow ox’s hide.

Six in the Second: On a si day then overthrow it. Campaigning: auspicious. There is no trouble.

nine in the Third: Campaigning: ominous. Determining: danger. Overturning words thrice approached, there is trust.

nine in the Fourth: regrets gone. There is trust. Changing the mandate: auspicious.

nine in the Fifth: The great man changes like a tiger. not yet prognosticating, there is trust.

Top Six: The nobleman changes like a leopard, the petty man overturns his face. Cam-paigning: ominous. Determining about residence: auspicious.


䷳ Gen 艮, “Stilling” (Strips 48–49)

48. ䷳ 艮其伓不蒦其身行其廷不…其止亡咎𥝢羕貞六二艮其足不陞其其

心不悸九晶艮其

49. 其礪同心六四艮其躳六五艮其言又𢘓亡上九艮吉

䷳ Stilling his back,1 not capturing his body; walking into his court, not . . . . . . his toe. There is no trouble. Beneficial to determine about the long-term.

Six in the Second: Stilling his foot:2 not raising3 his cut flesh, his heart is not racing.4

nine in the Third: Stilling his eyes,5 splitting her pregnancy.6 Danger. It pains7 the heart.

Six in the Fourth: Stilling his torso.8

Six in the Fifth: Stilling his cheeks.9 Words have sequence.10 regrets gone.

Top nine: Generous stilling. Auspicious.

1 For pi 伓, “very,” r reads bei 背, “back,” whereas M reads bei 北, “north.” 2 For zu 足, “foot,” r reads fei 腓, “shin,” whereas M reads fei 肥, “fat.” 3 For sheng 陞, “to ascend,” r reads zheng 拯, “to hold aloft; to rescue,” whereas M reads deng 登, “to raise.” 4 For ji 悸, “to be startled, for the heart to race,” both r and M read kuai 快, “happy, at ease; fast.” 5 For , which the Yu pian 玉篇 reads as “to open the eyes,” r reads xian 限, “waist, midsection.” 6 For , which perhaps should be read as yin 胤, “inheritance; pregnancy; continuous,” r reads yin 夤, “respect-

ful; continuous; spinal meat,” whereas M reads 𦘺, which may be a miswritten form of fei 肥, “fat.” 7 For tong 同, “same,” r and both M and F read xun 薰, “Coumarouna odorata; fragrant; to smoke; to warm.”

Perhaps the manuscript’s tong 同 should be understood as tong 恫, “sadness, to pain the heart.” 8 For gong 躬, “body,” r reads shen 身, “torso, body,” whereas M also reads gong, “body.” In r, this line includes the

formula wu jiu 无咎, “no trouble,” though M does not include it. 9 For , r reads fu 輔, “cheek,” whereas M reads 輔 and F reads fu 父. 10 For , both r and M read xu 序, “sequence.”


䷳ Gen 艮, “Stilling” (Hexagram 52)

艮其背不獲其身行其庭不見其人无咎

初六艮其趾无咎利永貞

六二艮其腓不拯其隨其心不快

九三艮其限列其夤厲薰心

六四艮其身无咎

六五艮其輔言有序悔亡

上九敦艮吉

Stilling his back, not capturing his body; walking into his court, not seeing his person. There is no trouble.

First Six: Stilling his foot. There is no trouble. Beneficial to determine about the long-term.

Six in the Second: Stilling his calf: not grasping his cut flesh, his heart is not happy.

nine in the Third: Stilling his midsection, carving his spinal meat. Danger. Smoking the heart.

Six in the Fourth: Stilling his torso. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Stilling his cheeks. Words have sequence. regrets gone.



䷴ Jian漸, “Progressing” (Strip 50)

50. ䷴ 漸女䢜吉𥝢貞初六䲨漸于少子礪有言不冬六二䲨漸于酓飤

吉九晶䲨漸于陸夫征不婦孕而

䷴ Progressing A woman returning. Auspicious. Beneficial to determine.

First Six: The wild goose progressing to the bank.1 For the young son: danger. There are words unending.2

Six in the Second: The wild goose progressing to the slope,3 drinking and eating so hap-pily.4 Auspicious.

nine in the Third: The wild goose progressing to the hill: the husband campaigning does not return, the wife is pregnant but5

1 For , which depicts water flowing between two banks, r reads gan 干, usually understood as a shortened form of an 岸, “bank (of a stream)” but which is sometimes understood as “creek” (i.e., jian 澗), whereas M reads yuan 淵, “whirlpool, watery depths.”

2 For bu zhong 不冬 (i.e., 終), both r and M read wu jiu 无咎, “there is no trouble.” 3 For ban , “slope (of a hill),” r reads ban 磐, “boulder,” whereas M reads ban 坂, “slope (of a hill).” 4 For , almost certainly an elaboration of kan 侃, “happy, carefree,” r reads kan 衎, “happy, contented,” whereas

M reads yan 衍, “extensive, large.” 5 For er 而, “and,” both r and M read bu 不, “not.” I suspect that the scribe here has mistakenly added an extra line

to this graph, changing 不 to 而, two graphs that in Chu script are very similar and often confused.


䷴ Jian漸, “Progressing” (Hexagram 53)

漸女歸吉利貞

初六鴻漸于干小子厲有言无咎

六二鴻漸于磐飲食衎衎吉

九三鴻漸于陸夫征不復婦孕不育凶利御寇

六四鴻漸于木或得其桷无咎

九五鴻漸于陵婦三歲不孕終莫之勝吉

上九鴻漸于陸其羽可用為儀吉

Progressing: A woman returning. Beneficial to determine.

First Six: The wild goose progressing to the bank. For the young son: danger. There is talk, there is no trouble.

Six in the Second: The wild goose progressing to the boulder: drinking and eating honk-honk. Auspicious.

nine in the Third: The wild goose progressing to the hill: the husband campaigning does not return, the wife is pregnant but does not give birth. Ominous. Beneficial to ward off bandits.

Six in the Fourth: The wild goose progressing to the tree, and now getting its roost. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: The wild goose progressing to the mound: the wife for three years is not pregnant, in the end nothing defeats her. Auspicious.

Top nine: The wild goose progressing to the hill, its feathers can be used for the headdress. Auspicious.


Feng 豐, “Fullness” (Strips 51–52)

51. 九晶豐其芾日中見芖折其右肱亡咎九四豐其坿日中見遇其夷主吉六

五章又慶懙吉上六豐其芾

52. 坿其閨其㦿其亡人晶歲不覿凶

nine in the Third: Full is its lushness:1 In the middle of the day seeing herbs,2 breaking his right arm. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fourth: Full is its increase:3 In the middle of the day seeing the Dipper, meet-ing his yi ruler. Auspicious.

Six in the Fifth: A grassy4 pattern. There is celebration and praise.5 Auspicious.

Top Six: Full is its lushness:6 Increasing his house, guarding7 his gate.8 Empty9 its being without a person, for three years not visible. Ominous.

1 For 芾, read either as fu, “lush,” or fei, “tiny,” r reads pei 沛, “large; fast; marshland,” whereas M reads fan 薠, “a type of wild grass,” and the Jingdian shiwen cites several other variants: pei 旆, “pennant, flag”; wei 韋, “a flaying knife; hide”; and the Zi Xia zhuan as also giving 芾, understood as “small” (i.e., fei).

2 For zhi 芖, r reads 沬, “small star,” whereas M reads 茉, perhaps wei, “spice herbs.” 3 Here and in the Top Six line, for fu 坿, “mound, to mound, to increase,” r reads bu 蔀, “reed curtain, thatch

roof,” whereas M gives pou 剖, “to cut.” 4 For lai , the received text reads lai 來, “to come.” 5 For yu 懙, “to stroll,” r reads yu 譽, “to praise,” whereas M reads ju 舉, “to elevate, to recommend.” 6 For fu 芾, “lush,” both r and M read wu 屋, “room.” 7 For gui 閨, “doorway, room, to guard a door,” r reads kui 闚, “to peer (through a door),” whereas M also reads

gui 閨. 8 For hu 㦿, which is the ancient form of hu 戶, “window; gate,” both r and M read hu 戶. 9 For , for which Pu Maozuo suggests the reading que 䆕, “empty,” r reads qu 闃, “empty,” whereas M gives .


䷶ Feng 豐, “Fullness” (Hexagram 55)

豐亨王假之勿憂宜日中

初九遇其配主雖旬无咎往有尚

六二豐其蔀日中見斗往得疑疾有孚發若吉

九三豐其沛日中見沬折其右肱无咎

九四豐其蔀日中見斗遇其夷主吉

六五來章有慶譽吉

上六豐其屋蔀其家闚其戶闃其无人三歲不覿凶

Fullness: receipt. The king approaches it. Do not worry. It is appropriate for the middle of the day.

First nine: Meeting his mate’s ruler. Though it be a week, there is no trouble; Going: there is elevation.

Six in the Second: Full is his curtain: In the middle of the day seeing the Dipper. Going one gets suspicion and illness. There is trust propelling approval. Auspicious.

nine in the Third: Full are his thickets: In the middle of the day seeing the darkness, breaking his right arm. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fourth: Full is his curtain: In the middle of the day seeing the Dipper, meeting his yi ruler. Auspicious.

Six in the Fifth: A coming pattern. There is celebration and praise. Auspicious.

Top Six: Full is his room: Curtained his house, peering into his gate. Lonely that there is no person, for three years not visible. Ominous.


䷷ Lü , “Traveling” (Strip 53)

53. ䷷ 少鄉貞吉初六此其所取懙六二即褢其㳄𠭁僮僕之貞九

晶焚其其僮僕貞礪九四

䷷ Traveling Little receipt. Determining about traveling: auspicious.

First Six: The traveler is emaciated.1 This2 is the praise3 that he has taken.

Six in the Second: The traveler approaches the camp:4 Embracing his goods,5 and obtain-ing a young servant’s determination.6

nine in the Third: The traveler burns his camp, losing his young servant. Determining:7 danger.

nine in the Fourth: The traveler

1 For lei , “sick, emaciated, broken,” both r and M read suosuo 瑣瑣, “shredded; small, humble.” 2 For ci 此, “this,” r reads si 斯, “this,” whereas M also reads ci 此. 3 For yu 懙, to stroll; praise,” r reads zai 災, “disaster,” whereas M reads huo 火, “fire” (doubtless short for zai 災). 4 For , both r and M read ci 次, “to lodge, to overnight, camp.” 5 For 㳄, perhaps the archaic form of xian 涎, “to drool,” r reads zi 資, “goods,” whereas M reads ci 茨, “thatch, to

build a house of thatch.” 6 neither r nor M includes the possessive particle zhi 之 before the word zhen 貞, “to determine.” 7 The manuscript includes a duplication mark after the character zhen 貞, but it must be extraneous here.


䷷ Lü旅, “Traveling” (Hexagram 56)

旅小亨旅貞吉

初六旅瑣瑣斯其所取災

六二旅即次懷其資得童僕貞

九三旅焚其次喪其童僕貞厲

九四旅于處得其資斧我心不快

六五射雉一矢亡終以譽命

上九鳥焚其巢旅人先笑後號啕喪牛于易凶

Traveling: Little receipt. Determining about traveling: auspicious.

First Six: The traveler so hesitant. This is the disaster that he has taken.

Six in the Second: The traveler approaches the camp: Embracing his goods, and obtaining a young servant’s determination.

nine in the Third: The traveler burns his camp, losing his young servant.

Determining: danger.

nine in the Fourth: The traveler in place: Obtaining his goods and axe, our hearts are not happy.

Six in the Fifth: Shooting a pheasant, one arrow misses. Ending with a praising mandate.

Top nine: The bird burns its nest: The traveling man first laughs and later screams, losing an ox at yi. Ominous.


䷺ huan , “Dispersing” (Strips 54–55)

54. ䷺ 鄉王叚于𥝢見大人𥝢涉大川初六馬藏吉𢘓亡九二走其凥𢘓亡六晶其躳亡咎六四其群元吉

55. 其丘非台所思九五其大其凥亡咎上九其血㰦易出

䷺ Dispersing1 receipt. The king enters into2 the temple.3 Beneficial to see the great man.4 Beneficial to ford the great river.5

First Six: Whipping6 the horse,7 strongly.8 Auspicious. regrets gone.9

nine in the Second: Dispersing and running10 from his place.11 regrets gone.

Six in the Third: Dispersing his person. There is no trouble.12

Six in the Fourth: Dispersing his crowds. Prime auspiciousness. Dispersing his13 mounds. It is not what I14 had thought.

nine in the Fifth: Dispersing his great scream. Dispersing his place. There is no trouble.15

Top nine: Dispersing his blood, ridding16 and changing17 it out.

1 For , the main element of which would seem to be yuan 爰, “to change,” r reads huan 渙, “to disperse,” whereas the Mawangdui Xici manuscript reads huan 奂, “numerous; colorful.” Other occurrences of the graph in this hexagram do not include the bottom 廾 element.

2 For yu 于, “at, in,” r reads you 有, “to have,” whereas M also reads yu 于. 3 As on strip no. 42, for , both r and M read miao 廟, “temple.” 4 neither r nor M includes the phrase li jian da ren 利見大人, “beneficial to see the great man.” 5 Both r and M end the hexagram statement with the formula li zhen 利貞, “beneficial to determine.” 6 For , which is somewhat unclear, r reads zheng 拯, “to raise up; to help,” whereas M gives zheng 撜. It should

be noted that Pu Maozuo reads the manuscript’s graph directly as zheng 拯, whereas Li Ling reads it as zheng 整, “to make orderly,” seeing zheng 正 where I see zhi 止 and taking it as the phonetic element of the graph, so as to read the word as a phonetic loan for zheng, “to help.”

7 r begins this line statement with the word yong 用, “to use,” though, like the Shanghai manuscript, M does not have it either.

8 For zang 藏, “good,” r reads zhuang 壯, “strong, firm.” M does not have any graph here. 9 The received text does not include this phrase hui wang 悔亡, “regrets gone.” 10 For zou 走, “to run,” r reads ben 奔, “to flee,” whereas M reads ben 賁, an alternative writing of ben 奔. 11 For 凥, which in Chu script represents the word chu 處, “place,” r reads ji 機, “trigger,” whereas M reads jie 階,

“stairway; to ascend; rank.” The reading of r probably derives from an original ji 机, “table” (not to be confused with the modern simplified writing of ji 機, “trigger,”), or ji 几, “armrest.”


䷺ huan 渙, “Dispersing” (Hexagram 59)

渙亨王假有廟利涉大川利貞

初六用拯馬壯吉

九二渙奔其机悔亡

六三渙其躬无悔

六四渙其群元吉渙有丘匪夷所思

九五渙汗其大號渙王居无咎

上九渙其血去逖出无咎

Dispersing: receipt. The king enters the temple. Beneficial to ford the great river. Benefi-cial to determine.

First Six: Use to help with a horse’s strength. Auspicious.

nine in the Second: Dispersing and racing to his support. regrets gone.

Six in the Third: Dispersing his person. There are no regrets.

Six in the Fourth: Dispersing his crowds. Prime auspiciousness. Dispersing, there are mounds. It is not what the yi think.

nine in the Fifth: Dispersing sweat, he greatly cries out. Dispersing the king’s residence. There is no trouble.

Top nine: Dispersing his blood, departing far out. There is no trouble.

12 For jiu 咎, “trouble,” here, which is also the reading of M, r reads hui 悔, “regret.” It should be noted that this jiu was added between the characters for wang 亡, “there is no,” and liu 六, “six,” doubtless in the course of proof-reading the manuscript.”

13 For qi 其, “its, their,” r reads you 有, “to have” (M is defective). 14 For tai 台, which in Spring and Autumn and Warring States documents has a meaning of “I, my,” r reads yi

夷, “man of the east; even, calm,” and M reads di 娣, “younger sister; secondary consort,” whereas the Jingdian shiwen quotes the text of Xun (Shuang) as reading di 弟, “younger brother.”

15 The main portion of this line statement reads rather differently in both r and M; to illustrate the differences, I herewith show the three texts:

r: 涣汗其大号涣王居无咎 Dispersing sweat, he greatly cries out, dispersing the king’s residence; there is no trouble. M: 涣其肝大号涣王居无咎 Dispersing his liver, a great cry, dispersing the king’s residence; there is no trouble. S: 其大唬其凥 Dispersing his great roar, dispersing his place.

16 For qu 㰦, the han jian gives as an ancient form for qu 去, “to leave; to get rid of,” the reading of both r and M. 17 For yi 易, “to change,” r reads ti 逖, “distant; fearful,” whereas M reads the otherwise unattested .


Shao Guo 少, “Lesser Surpassing” (Strip 56)

56. 取皮才坹上六弗遇之飛鳥羅之凶是胃亦

taking that1 in a pit.2

Top Six: not meeting it but surpassing3 it. The flying bird is netted.4 Ominous. This is called also5 disaster and a curse.

1 For 皮, probably not to be read directly as pi, “skin,” r reads bi 彼, “that,” whereas M also reads 皮. 2 Xue 坹 is the ancient form of xue 穴, “pit,” which is the reading of both r and M. 3 is the standard Chu-script form for guo 過, “to pass by, to surpass; mistake,” which is the reading of both r

and M. 4 For luo 羅, “net,” r reads li 離, “net,” whereas M also reads luo 羅. 5 neither r nor M includes this word yi 亦, “also.”


䷽ Xiao Guo 小過, “Lesser Surpassing” (Hexagram 62)

小過亨利貞可小事不可大事飛鳥遺之音不宜上宜下大吉

初六飛鳥以凶

六二過其祖遇其妣不及其君遇其臣无咎

九三弗過防之從或戕之凶

九四无咎弗過遇之往厲必戒勿用永貞

六五密雲不雨自我西郊公弋取彼在穴

上六弗遇過之飛鳥離之凶是謂災眚

Lesser Surpassing: receipt. Beneficial to determine. One can perform minor service, but cannot perform great service. The note left by the flying bird, is not appropriate for above but is appropriate for below. Greatly auspicious.

First Six: The flying bird brings ominousness.

Six in the Second: Surpassing his grandfather, and meeting his grandmother; not reaching to his lord, but meeting his minister. There is no trouble.

nine in the Third: not surpassing it but defending against it, following and now hurting it. Ominous.

nine in the Fourth: There is no trouble. not surpassing it but meeting it. Going: danger. One must take warning. Do not use to determine about the long-term.

Six in the Fifth: Dense clouds do not rain from our western suburbs. The duke shoots a stringed arrow, taking that in a pit.

Top Six: not meeting it but surpassing it. The flying bird fastens in it. Ominous.

This is called disaster and a curse.


Ji Ji 既淒, “Already Across”1 (Strip 57)

57. 勿用六四需又衣冬日戒九五東殺牛不如西之酌祭是受福吉上六需

其首礪

Ought not use it.

Six in the Fourth: Awaiting2 having a jacket in rags.3 To the end of the day be warned.

nine in the Fifth: The eastern neighbor’s killing of an ox is not as good as the western neighbor’s wine libation,4 this5 receives blessings. Auspicious.6

Top Six: Awaiting7 his head. Danger.

1 For the name of the hexagram, although it does not occur in the fragment of the hexagram text preserved in the manuscript, in the Six in the Third line of Wei Ji 未淒, “not yet Across,” hexagram (strip no. 58), the companion hexagram to this one, the word that features as the name of the hexagram reads 淒, which in r reads ji 濟, “to ford; across.” By analogy, the name of this hexagram should use the same otherwise unattested character, which probably should be read as the same word ji, “to ford; across.”

2 For xu 需, “to await,” r reads ru 繻, “colored silk; silk token,” whereas M gives ru 襦, “shirt.” 3 For , which perhaps should be read as xu 絮, “coarse silk; lining of clothes,” r reads ru 袽, “rags, tatters,”

whereas M reads 茹, “vegetables, roots; soft.” 4 For zhuo 酌, “wine toast, libation,” r reads yue 禴, “vegetarian offering,” whereas M reads zhuo 濯, “to wash;

great.” 5 For shi 是, “this,” both r and M read shi 實, “really.” 6 Both r and M also include the pronoun qi 其, “his; its,” after the verb shou 受, “to receive.” On the other hand,

M agrees with the Shanghai manuscript in including the word ji 吉, “auspicious,” at the end of the line, whereas the received text does not include it.

7 For xu 需, “to await,” both r and M read ru 濡, “wet, damp.”


䷾ Ji Ji 既濟, “Already Across” (Hexagram 63)

既濟亨小利貞初吉終亂

初九曳其輪濡其尾无咎

六二婦喪其茀勿逐七日得

九三高宗伐鬼方三年克之小人勿用

六四繻有衣袽終日戒

九五東鄰殺牛不如西鄰之禴祭實受其福

上六濡其首厲

Already Across: receipt. A little beneficial to determine. At first auspicious, in the end chaotic.

First nine: Dragging its wheel, wetting its tail. There is no trouble.

Six in the Second: The wife loses her screen: Don’t chase it, and in seven days you will get it.

nine in the Third: The High Ancestor attacked the Devil-Land, in three years conquering it. The little man ought not use it.

Six in the Fourth: The clothing has a jacket in tatters. To the end of the day be warned.

nine in the Fifth: The eastern neighbor’s killing an ox is not as good as the western neigh-bor’s meager offering in fully receiving its blessing.

Top Six: Wetting its head. Danger.


Wei Ji 未淒, “not yet Across” (Strip 58)

58. 閵九二其輪貞吉𥝢涉大川六晶未淒征凶𥝢涉大川九四貞吉

Distress.1

nine in the Second: Sinking2 its wheel. Determining: auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.3

Six in the Third: not yet across.4 Campaigning: ominous. Beneficial to ford the great river.

nine in the Fourth: Determining: auspicious. . . .

1 For lin 閵, the name of a bird, r reads lin 吝, “distress,” whereas M also reads lin 閵 (its standard way of writing lin, “distress”). Of four other instances of the word lin, “distress,” in the manuscript, all are written as 吝, and this instance would not seem to be due to the idiosyncrasy of one scribe or the other since those other four cases divide evenly between the two copyists (on strips 1 and 26, copied by the second copyist, and strips 28 and 41, copied by the first copyist).

2 For , which is otherwise unattested and here only partially preserved (the strip is split in half lengthwise here) but which seems to be composed of a “stone” and “meat” over “water,” r reads ye 曳, “to pull, to drag,” whereas M reads tuo 扡, “to pull, to drag.”

3 neither r nor M includes this phrase. 4 For 淒, both r and M read ji 濟, “to ford, to cross.”


䷿ Wei Ji 未濟, “not yet Across” (Hexagram 64)

未濟亨小狐汔濟濡其尾无攸利

初六濡其尾吝

九二曳其輪貞吉

六三未濟征凶利涉大川

九四貞吉悔亡震用伐鬼方三年有賞于大國

六五貞吉无悔君子之光有孚吉

上九有孚于飲酒无咎濡其首有孚失是

not yet Across: receipt. The little fox completes the crossing, wetting his tail. There is nothing beneficial.

First Six: Wetting his tail. Distress.

nine in the Second: Dragging its wheel. Determining: auspicious.

Six in the Third: not yet across. Campaigning: ominous. Beneficial to ford the great river.

nine in the Fourth: Determining: auspicious. regrets gone. Zhen herewith attacks the Devil Country, in three years having an award in the great kingdom.

Six in the Fifth: Determining: auspicious. There are no regrets. The nobleman’s radiance. There is trust. Auspicious.

Top nine: There is trust in drinking wine. There is no trouble. Wetting his head. There is trust losing this.

In March 1993, peasants digging a fishpond in the village of Wangjiatai 王家台 in Hubei province exposed a group of sixteen ancient tombs. This village is in the very heartland of the ancient state of Chu 楚, which was

the largest and one of the most powerful states of China for several centuries in the first mil-lennium b.c., controlling most of what is now central China. Wangjiatai is about three miles to the south of the site of Jinan Cheng 紀南城, the longtime capital of Chu, and just half a mile north of the site of ying 郢, established in the years after 278 b.c., when Jinan Cheng was conquered and razed by the increasingly powerful northwestern state of Qin. Over the course of the past several decades, hundreds of tombs from the fourth and third centuries b.c. have been discovered scattered outside these capitals, and residents of the area are well familiar with archaeological discoveries. The peasants immediately summoned archaeologists from the nearby Jingzhou 荊州 Museum to conduct a salvage excavation of the tombs at Wangjiatai. In one of them, numbered M15, a relatively small tomb (2.9 m x 1.8 m at the mouth, just 2.3 m x 1.2 m at the bottom), the archaeologists found inside its single coffin a wooden diviner’s board, bamboo sorting stalks placed in a bamboo canister, a number of dice, the haft of a dagger-axe, and, perhaps most important of all, a heap of bamboo strips with writing on them.1 The predominant style of writing on these bamboo strips as well as features of the associated grave goods found in the tomb allowed the archaeologists to date the tomb to the mid-third century b.c.,2 after the initial Qin conquest of the area but prior to the Qin unification of all the inde-pendent states. The contents of the tomb also suggested to them that the deceased had been a diviner, a relatively low-ranking official responsible for determining the outcome of future events. This identification was made in large part because the writing on the bamboo strips

ivt h e wa n g j I ata I b a m b o o -s t r I P

m a n u s C r I P t s o f t h e GuI CANG

142 • The Wangjiatai Bamboo-Strip Manuscripts of the Gui cang

would eventually reveal, among other texts, one of the most important divination manuals from ancient China, the Gui cang 歸藏, or Returning to Be Stored, a text that fully deserves comparison with the better-known Zhou Yi.

The archaeologists lifted the entire coffin section out of the tomb in a single block and took it back to their research station at the museum. There they took more than eight hundred fragments of bamboo strips out of the mud,3 preserving them in distilled water. Because the strips were coated with mud, the archaeologists and museum staff subjected them to a weak vinegar bath until the mud began to dissolve, and then cleaned them with a soft brush, until the written characters could be read. They found that even though the bamboo strips had be-come thoroughly jumbled during their more than twenty-two hundred years in the tomb, they could be divided into five discrete types of texts: a daybook (rishu 日書), which, as mentioned in chapter 1, is a sort of almanac that has been found in a great number of ancient tombs from throughout the fourth through second centuries b.c. and from all over China;4 a legal code containing rules for the pricing of merchandise and regulations for scales (referred to as Xiao lü 效律);5 a text that the archaeologists refer to as Zheng shi zhi chang 政事之常, or The Norms of Government Service, written in the form of a chart with the title in the middle surrounded by three concentric squares of text, each quadrant of which elaborates the significance of the quadrant inside it;6 a Zai yi zhan 災異占, or Prognostications of Disasters and Anomalies, which is very similar to the “Wu xing zhi” 五行志, or “record of the Five Phases,” chapters in early dynastic histories;7 and two copies, apparently similar in content though written on bam-boo strips of different sizes, of a text first referred to simply as a Yi jing–like divination text but subsequently identified as the long-lost Gui cang 歸藏,8 traditionally supposed to have been the milfoil divination manual of the Shang dynasty and thus a precursor to the Zhou Yi. This last text has attracted considerable interest from the scholarly community.

In a later section of this study, I provide a detailed analysis of the entire contents of these two copies of the Gui cang, insofar as we can know of them at the present time, and in the fol-lowing chapter I provide a translation of all the transcriptions that have been published to date, as well as quotations of the text preserved in medieval sources. For the moment, I quote just two fragments in order to illustrate the nature of at least a significant portion of the texts. The first is number 194; the second one is unnumbered.9

䷻节曰昔者武王卜伐殷而攴占老占曰吉□ (194)䷻ Jie “Moderation” says: In the past King Wu divined about attacking yin and had the stalks prognosticated by Lao Qi.10 Lao Qi prognosticated and said: Auspicious . . .

䷣ 明夷曰昔者夏后启卜乘飞龙以登于天而攴占□□

䷣ Ming Yi “Brightness Obscured” says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about flying on a dragon to rise into heaven and had the stalks prognosticated .. .. . . .

The Wangjiatai Bamboo-Strip Manuscripts of the Gui cang • 143

As seems to be normative in the text, these fragments begin with a hexagram picture, with the yin lines written as ∧ and the yang lines as ━. Here, the hexagram picture ䷻, that is, ䷻, cor-responds with the hexagram known in the Yi jing tradition as Jie 節 (i.e., 节, “Moderation”), whereas that of ䷣, that is, ䷣, corresponds with Ming Yi 明夷 (usually understood as “Bright-ness Obscured”), and these are the names given to the hexagrams here as well (as will be seen, this is not always the case). After the hexagram picture and the hexagram name, there then follows the text proper of the hexagram statement. In many cases, as in both cases here, this text reports a divination performed upon the occasion of some important event in early Chinese history or mythology. Here, the first records a divination by King Wu of Zhou proposing to attack yin or Shang, and the second concerns a divination by Qi 启 (i.e., 啓), the first king of the Xia dynasty, proposing to fly on a dragon to ascend into heaven. The divinations were then prognosticated by someone, often a legendary figure known from ancient times; in the case of the first fragment here, the prognosticator is someone named Lao Qi 老, who announces the prognostication “auspicious” (more often in this text, the prognostication is “not auspi-cious”). As will become evident later in this study, in other fragments this prognostication is followed by a rhyming oracle, more or less similar to line statements of the Zhou Yi.

What makes these texts particularly fascinating is that they match to a very considerable extent quotations in early medieval texts, for the most part attributed to the Gui cang. In the case of the two fragments quoted above, we have almost exact matches. The first, unattributed, was first found in the Bo wu zhi 博物志, or Record of Things at Large, of Zhang Hua 張華 (232–300), and the second in the commentary by Guo Pu 郭璞 (276–324) to the Shan hai jing 山海經, or Classic of Mountains and Seas.

武王伐殷而牧占耆老耆老曰吉

Wu Wang attacked yin and [shepherded:] had the stalks prognosticated by Qi Lao. Qi Lao said: Auspicious.11

歸藏鄭母經曰夏后啟筮御飛龍登于天吉

The “Zheng mu jing” of the Gui cang says: “Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about driving a flying dragon to rise into heaven: Auspicious.”12

Although the full text of the Gui cang has long been lost, Qing-dynasty scholars reconstituted it to some extent on the basis of these medieval quotations.13 nevertheless, even this reconsti-tuted text was generally neglected or, worse, regarded as a late forgery. now, with the discovery of the Wangjiatai bamboo strips, it is clear that the Gui cang, if indeed this is the name that should be given to this text,14 is not only an authentic pre-Qin text but was also an important alternative to the Zhou Yi in interpreting the results of milfoil divination.15


The Gui Cang: Textual History

The earliest mention of the Gui cang comes in the “Tai bu” 大卜 (Great Diviner) section of the “Zong bo” 宗伯 (Elder of the Ancestral Temple) chapter of the Zhou li 周禮, or Rites of Zhou. It states simply,

[大卜]掌三易之法一曰連山二曰歸藏三曰周易其經卦皆八其别皆六十有四(The great diviner) is in charge of the methods of the three Changes; the first is called Lian shan [Linked Mountains], the second is called Gui cang [Returning to Be Stored], and the third is called Zhou Yi [Zhou Changes]; in all three cases their prime trigrams are eight, and their derivative hexagrams are sixty-four.16

Throughout the Eastern Han period, a few prominent scholars mentioned the Gui cang in very general, and sometimes contradictory, terms, presumably prompted by this mention in the Zhou li. Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (a.d. 127–200), probably the most erudite scholar of the period, seems to state that the book was available at his time.17 At other places, both Wang Chong 王充 (a.d. 27–ca. 100) and Zheng Xuan associated the Lian shan 連山 with the Xia dynasty and the Gui cang with the Shang, a natural “Three Dynasties” deduction based on the pre-sumed Zhou-dynasty origins of the Zhou Yi (often understood to mean Changes of the Zhou Dynasty), but neither seems to have been very confident of these attributions.18 In his typical fashion, Wang Chong ridiculed contemporary scholars, pointing out that they could not even explain the origins of the Yi jing.

先問易家易本何所起造作之者為誰彼將應曰伏羲作八卦文王演為六十四孔

子作彖象繫辭三聖重業易乃具足問之曰易有三家一曰連山二曰歸藏三曰周

易伏羲所作文王所造連山乎歸藏周易也

Let us first ask the experts on the Changes: “How did the Changes first come about; who was it that created it?” They would then respond: “Fuxi made the eight trigrams, King Wen expanded them into sixty-four, and Confucius made the Judgment, Image, and Appended Statements commentaries. Through the combined effort of the three sages, the Changes was then complete.” But if you ask them, “There are three schools of the Changes, the first called Lian shan, the second called Gui cang, and the third Zhou Yi. Was what Fuxi made and King Wen expanded the Lian shan? What about the Gui cang and Zhou Yi?”19

The only more specific information concerning the Lian shan and Gui cang comes from the Xin lun 新論 of Huan Tan 桓譚 (ca. 43 b.c.–a.d. 28), saying that the Lian shan was stored in the Orchid Terrace (Lantai 蘭台) and included eighty thousand characters, and the Gui cang was stored with the Grand Diviner (Tai bu 太卜) and included the perhaps more believable


total of forty-three hundred characters.20 Despite the precision of these locations and numbers, they are open to question. Huan Tan was a high official during the period that Wang Mang 王莽 was in power (a.d. 8–25), the only time that he would have had access to the Orchid Ter-race and Grand Diviner libraries. Just before this time, his contemporaries Liu Xiang 劉向 (79–8 b.c.) and Liu Xin 劉歆 (46 b.c.–a.d. 23) were charged with organizing the imperial library. notably, they did not include either the Lian shan or Gui cang in their catalogue, Qi lüe 七略, nor were these two texts included in the subsequent “yi wen zhi” 藝文志 bibliographic monograph of the han shu 漢書, or history of the han Dynasty, which was based on the Qi lüe. Moreover, throughout the entirety of the Han dynasty, and indeed until early in the fourth century, there is not a single explicit quotation of either of these texts extant.21 As late as 282, there is some evidence to suggest that even Du yu 杜預 (a.d. 224–284), the great commenta-tor of the Chun qiu 春秋, or Spring and Autumn (Annals), and Zuo zhuan 左傳, or Mr. Zuo’s Tradition, had never seen the Gui cang.22

The next official bibliography, the “Jing ji zhi” 經籍志 of the Sui shu 隋書, or history of the Sui, compiled by Wei Zheng 魏徵 (a.d. 580–643), mentions the Gui cang twice.23 The first of these mentions is rather ambiguous concerning the contemporary status of the book:

歸藏漢初已亡案晉中經有之

The Gui cang was already lost at the beginning of the Han dynasty. The Central Classics of the Jin dynasty has/had it.

The Zhong jing 中經, or Central Classics, of the Jin dynasty, first completed in the 270s under the editorship of Xun Xu 荀勖 (d. 289), with the assistance of Zhang Hua, and then added to in the 280s, was a massive compendium with fair copies of all the texts in the imperial library. It established the four-part division of Chinese literature that remained normative there after: classics (jing 經), philosophers (zi 子), histories (shi 史), and belles lettres (ji 集). Unfor-tunately, much of this compendium was lost in the civil wars at the end of the Western Jin dynasty (in 304 and especially in 310);24 it is not clear whether this mention in the “Jing ji zhi” of the Sui shu was based on an existing copy of the Zhong jing text of the Gui cang or, as is per-haps more likely, on a listing of the contents of the Zhong jing or some other sort of secondary reference. The second record is less ambiguous, citing a text of the Gui cang in thirteen scrolls, with a commentary by one Xue Zhen 薛貞, identified as a general (Taiwei can jun 太尉参軍) of the Jin dynasty.25 Although I can find no other mention of this figure, given the completion of the Zhong jing shortly after the establishment of the Jin dynasty it seems likely that his com-mentary must have been based on the Zhong jing text.

It seems likely too that the Zhong jing text of the Gui cang was based on a bamboo-strip text discovered in a tomb in a.d. 279—the Jizhong 汲塚 tomb of Zhushu jinian 竹書紀年 (Bamboo Annals) and Mu tianzi zhuan 穆天子傳 (Biography of Son of heaven Mu) renown.


When the “tens of cartloads” of bamboo strips found in this tomb were transported to the capital at Luoyang 洛陽, the emperor, Jin Wudi 晉武帝 (r. 265–289), commanded Xun Xu, the director of the imperial library and the editor of the just completed Zhong jing, to lead a committee to put these texts in order. Among the texts found in the tomb were several divina-tion texts, including an apparently complete manuscript of the hexagram and line statements of the Yi jing. The inventory of these texts included in the extant biography of Shu Xi 束皙 (261–300), a later editor of the Jizhong texts and perhaps the last person to work with the original bamboo strips, includes the following mention of one of these texts:

易繇陰陽卦二篇與周易略同繇辭則異

Yin Yang hexagrams of the Lines of the Changes, in two bundles, rather similar with the Zhou Changes but with different line statements.26

An earlier biography of Shu Xi, written by Wang yin 王隱 (284–354), seems to describe this same text but somewhat differently, stating, “Among the ancient texts there were hexagrams of the Changes, similar to the Lianshan and Gui cang” (Gu shu you Yi gua, si Lian shan Gui cang 古書有易卦似連山歸藏).27 At just about the time that Wang yin was writing this,28 the first explicit quotations of the Gui cang begin to appear in extant literature. These are found in the commentaries to ancient literature written by Guo Pu. For instance, with respect to a refer-ence to Qi 啟, the first ruler of the Xia dynasty, in the Shan hai jing, Guo Pu’s commentary, completed after a.d. 321, reads,

歸藏鄭母經曰夏侯啟筮御飛龍登于天吉明啟亦仙也

The “Zheng mu jing” of the Gui cang says: “Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about driving a flying dragon to rise into heaven: Auspicious. This shows that Qi was also an immortal.”29

A few decades before Guo Pu composed his commentaries, quotations similar to this were included in Zhang Hua’s Bo wu zhi:

武王伐殷而牧占耆老耆老曰吉桀莖伐唐而牧占營惑曰不吉

Wu Wang attacked yin and [shepherded:] had the stalks prognosticated by Qi Lao. Qi Lao said: Auspicious. Jie [ Jing:] divined by milfoil about attacking Tang and [shepherded:] had the stalks prognosticated by ying Huo, who said: not auspicious.30

The Bo wu zhi, probably the most famous literary compilation of its age, was presented to Jin Wudi late in his life, probably in the late 280s. Although Zhang Hua had not participated in the editing of the Jizhong bamboo-strip texts that had been taking place in the years immedi-ately before this, he was in the capital by about 285 and doubtless had some access to the tran-


scriptions; indeed, the Bo wu zhi includes quotations that could have come only from these texts.31 What is more, as Wang Mingqin, the editor of the Wangjiatai texts has shown, these Bo wu zhi quotations include transcription errors that could have come only from misinterpreta-tions of archaic manuscripts. Some suggestion of this is seen even in the quotations above, with mu 牧, “to shepherd,” and jing 莖, “shaft,” obvious mistranscriptions of mei 枚, “(bamboo) stalk,” and shi 筮, “to divine (by milfoil).”32

As several scholars have argued in recent years, all this shows quite convincingly that the Gui cang, or at least a text that was subsequently identified by that name, was among the texts unearthed from the Jizhong tomb.33 In the centuries after Zhang Hua and Guo Pu first quoted it, many more passages of the text were quoted, especially in the encyclopedias that were popu-lar in the Tang and northern Song dynasties. For example, the Taiping yulan 太平御覽, or Imperial Conspectus of the Great Peace Reign era, includes at least nineteen explicit quotations of the Gui cang, as well as a few other mentions of the text and at least one misattributed quo-tation.34 The edition and commentary of Xue Zhen is still listed as being in thirteen scrolls as late as the “yi wen zhi” 藝文志 bibliographic treatise of the Jiu Tang shu 舊唐書, or Older history of the Tang Dynasty (compiled in 945).35 However, later bibliographies of the north-ern Song dynasty, such as the Zhongxing guange shumu 中興館閣書目 (of 1178) and the “yi wen zhi” of the Song shi 宋史, or history of the Song Dynasty, suggest that the text was by then much attenuated, listing it as being extant in three scrolls.36 Contemporary sources indicate that these three scrolls were named: “Qi mu jing” 齊母經, “Chu jing” 初經, and “Ben shi” 本蓍.37 However, not only are these names never mentioned in pre-Song sources but also the quotations attributed to them in later sources are invariably anomalous within the Gui cang tradition. Perhaps more important, not one of these quotations is at all similar to anything in the Wangjiatai manuscripts. It would seem that by then the Gui cang had been mostly lost, and that these three scrolls, whatever their origin may have been, were substituted for it.

Thus, it is not strange that during the Song dynasty scholars began to express doubts about the authenticity of the Gui cang. Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007–1072) had this to say about the text extant in the northern Song:

周之末世夏商之易已亡漢初雖有歸藏已非古經今書三篇莫可究矣

By the end of the Zhou, the Changes of the Xia and Shang were already lost. Although at the beginning of the Han there was the Gui cang, it already was not the ancient classic. There is nothing that can be found of it in the present text in three scrolls.38

It is possible that some portion of the text remained available for quotation. As noted above (n. 11), the Lu shi 路史, or Revealed history, of Luo Ping 羅萍 and Luo Bi 羅秘, completed in 1170, includes several passages attributed to the Gui cang, including one description of the contents of the text, though both this description and some of the quotations suggest that the


text was either badly garbled or badly understood by the Luos.39 After this time, there is no evidence that the text survived in any form at all until scholars in the Qing period reconsti-tuted it on the basis of quotations in earlier literature.40 Even then, what little attention these reconstituted texts attracted from scholars was for the most part to argue that the Gui cang was a medieval forgery.41

The Wangjiatai Gui Cang Texts: Physical Considerations

Although the bamboo strips of the Wangjiatai texts have developed a moldy covering that has prevented the Jingzhou Museum from making formal photographs and none of the texts has yet been fully published, nevertheless enough details about the Gui cang text have been provided to demonstrate that this is indeed a remarkably important discovery. According to the detailed overview of the discovery by the museum’s Wang Mingqin, the scholar responsible for the editing of the texts, 394 fragments have been identified as belonging to the two copies of the Gui cang, 164 of them numbered and 230 unnumbered.42 Unfortunately, according to Wang Mingqin, no single bamboo strip of this text has survived intact,43 and it has apparently not been possible to reconstruct a single complete strip. Wang states that the longest fragment has twenty-eight characters, though his transcription includes one strip, no. 213, with thirty-five characters as well as a hexagram picture and a duplication mark, and two others with more than thirty characters (no. 302 with thirty-one, and no. 560 with thirty-two). Another strip, no. 214, has twenty-nine transcribed graphs, as well as a space for one unreadable graph, the hexagram picture, three duplication marks, and a final or 乙-shaped mark, usually indica-tive in these manuscripts of the end of a section or text. This would seem to suggest that this latter strip, which carries the hexagram picture and text of Zi 鼒, “The Small-Mouthed Caul-dron,” hexagram (equivalent to Ding 鼎, “Cauldron,” hexagram in the Zhou Yi tradition), is complete, at least in terms of the text on it. This perhaps also suggests that, as in the case of the Shanghai Museum bamboo-strip manuscript of the Zhou Yi, each hexagram text began at the top of a new bamboo strip.44 Since the Gui cang hexagram texts are relatively short, it should have been possible in most cases to copy each such text on a single bamboo strip.

The two copies of the Gui cang text are differentiated by the width and thickness of the bamboo strips, one set being relatively wide and thin and the other narrower but thicker. Un-fortunately, the partial transcriptions published to date provide no indication which strips be-long to which text. Wang Mingqin mentions redundancies among the hexagram pictures (the fragments include a total of seventy hexagram pictures, sixteen of them duplicates, giving a total of fifty-four different hexagram pictures)45 and the hexagram names (there are seventy-six in all, with twenty-three redundancies, for a total of fifty-three different hexagram names).46 In a few cases, it is possible to compare two different versions of the same hexagram text.47


䷇比曰比之荣比之苍生子二人或司阴司阳不□姓□ (216)Bi “Alliance48” says: Ally with them so lush, ally with them so green. Giving birth to two sons, one in charge of shade and one in charge of sunlight, not .. surname .. . . .

比曰比之筞竹比之苍生子二人或司阴司阳 (563)Bi “Alliance” says: Ally with them so lush, ally with them so green. Giving birth to two sons, one in charge of shade and one in charge of sunlight . . .

䷬ [卒]曰昔者□卜出云而攴占□

䷬ [Zu “Complete”] says: In the past .. divined about exiting the clouds, and had the stalks prognosticated .. . . .

□卒曰昔者卜出云而攴占囷京占之曰不吉卒 (305).. Zu “Complete” says: In the past Xian divined about exiting the clouds, and had the stalks prognosticated by Qun Jing. Qun Jing prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. Com-plete . . .

䷞ [咸]曰

䷞ [Xian “Feeling”] says . . .

□咸曰

.. Xian “Feeling” says . . .

䷢ 曰昔者//卜帝之虚作为□

䷢ Jin “Jin” says: In the past . . . . . . divined about making offering to Di at Jin’s Mound, to make it into .. . . .

曰昔者夏后启卜帝 (336)[Jin “Jin”] says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about making offering at Jin . . .

䷑ 亦曰昔者北□ (343)䷑ Ye “night49” says: In the past Bei .. . . .

䷑ 夜曰昔者北□ [敢] 夫卜逆女

䷑ Ye “night” says: In the past Great Officer Bei .. divined about welcoming nü . . .

䷡ 大□曰昔者 (408)隆卜将云雨而攴占囷京占之曰吉大山之云

(196)


䷡ Da .. “Greater [Strength]” says: In the past . . . . . . Long divined about leading the clouds and rain and had the stalks prognosticated by Qun Jing. Qun Jing prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. The great mountain’s clouds, [?] . . .

䷡ 壮曰昔者丰隆 (320)䷡ Zhuang “Strength” says: In the past Feng Long . . .

Based on these transcriptions, it would appear that the two texts are very similar, differing only occasionally in the graphic shape with which a word is written. For instance, in the case of Bi 比, “Alliance,” hexagram, the word rong is written 荣 (i.e., with a “grass” signific) in one text (no. 216) and 筞 (i.e., with a “bamboo” signific) in the other (no. 563); in the case of Ye 夜, “night,” hexagram (which corresponds with Gu 蠱, “Parasite,” hexagram of the Zhou Yi), one text has the hexagram name as 亦 (no. 343), whereas the other gives it fully as 夜 (un-numbered). Only in the case of Da Zhuang 大壮, “Greater Strength,” hexagram is there a difference of more than orthographic significance: although there is a lacuna in the published transcription, it would appear that one text has the hexagram name written as Da Zhuang 大壯 or some variation of it (no. 408),50 whereas the other gives the name simply as Zhuang 壯, “Strength” (no. 320). Unfortunately, these examples are too isolated to allow any far-reaching conclusions to be drawn about the natures of the two texts (indeed, the transcription never even indicates to which text, that with narrow strips or that with thick strips, any given strip belongs).

It should perhaps be possible to use the registration numbers of the strips to gain some idea to which text they belong. Wang Mingqin says that in the process of excavating the block of mud containing the bamboo strips, three different strata were clearly observable. Moreover, even though the binding straps of the different texts had decomposed and the strips had be-come disordered, concentrations of different bundles of strips were nonetheless still visible. The archaeologists divided the 813 numbered strips into eight different groups (A–H), as follows:

A: nos. 1–180: containing primarily portions of the daybook, with occasional strips of the Gui cang

B: nos. 181–304: containing mainly strips of the Gui cang and the Xiao lü, with some other portions of the daybook

C: nos. 305–42: containing exclusively strips of the Gui cangD: nos. 343–401: containing primarily portions of the daybook, with occasional strips of the

Gui cangE: nos. 402–538: strips of the Gui cang and the Xiao lüF: nos. 539–620: containing primarily strips of the Gui cang and Zheng shi zhi chang, with

occa sional strips from the “Taboos” (Ji 忌) portion of the daybook


G: nos. 621–729: discrete portions of the daybookH: nos. 730–813: composed exclusively of the Zai yi zhan

Although Wang Mingqin says that these groups are listed in descending stratigraphic se-quence, the top stratum usually being the latest in the tomb, it is clear from this description that individual strips had moved around a great deal in the tomb prior to their excavation. This is apparent too from the rejoining of two fragments for Da Zhuang hexagram noted above: fragments no. 408 and no. 196 seem originally to have been (part of ) a single strip; neverthe-less, according to their entry numbers, they were in groups B and E, surely from two entirely different strata of the tomb. Thus, although the entry numbers may eventually prove to be helpful in understanding the contents of the various manuscripts,51 any firm conclusions will have to await the formal detailed archaeological report of the tomb. Even then, any conclusions will probably be sketchy at best.

The Gui Cang: Textual Contents

The Qing-dynasty reconstitutions of the Gui cang typically divide it into five different texts or chapters: “Qi shi” 啟筮, or “Milfoil Divinations of Qi [Lord of Xia],” “Zheng mu jing” 鄭母經, or “Classic of the Mother of Zheng,” “Qi mu jing” 齊母經, or “Classic of the Mother of Qi,” “Chu jing” 初經, or “Initial Classic,” and “Ben shi” 本蓍, or “Original Milfoil.” The first two of these names occur already in Guo Pu’s quotations of the Gui cang. Although many state-ments in the Gui cang, whether in the medieval quotations or in the Wangjiatai bamboo strips, concern Qi 啟, the first king of the Xia dynasty,52 and so “Milfoil Divinations of Qi” might be a natural section title, it is curious that not one of the dozen or so quotations attributed to this section concerns him at all; if there is any feature common to them, it is perhaps that they concern legendary events even before the time of this very early ruler. Ironically, one of two quotations explicitly attributed to the “Zheng mu jing” section does concern a divination of Qi. It has already been quoted above, together with a corresponding fragment from Wangjiatai (pp. 142–43). Perhaps worthy of note, the second of these quotations, also found in Guo Pu’s commentary on the Shan hai jing, is also found in the Wangjiatai bamboo strips.

歸藏鄭母經云昔者羿善射彃十日果畢之

The “Zheng mu jing” of the Gui cang says: “In the past yi was good at shooting, shot at the ten suns and really netted them.”53

囗曰昔者羿卜毕十日羿果毕之思十日并出以 (470).. says: In the past yi divined about netting the ten suns. yi really did net them, hoping that the ten suns that came out together be taken . . .


The format of these statements is perhaps the prototypical format of the Gui cang and especial-ly of the Wangjiatai texts. Some twenty-eight of forty hexagram statements that have enough content to determine their structure are of this sort. This has caused some to suggest that the Wangjiatai texts represent just the “Zheng mu jing” section.54 Though there seems to be little basis for this identification, this format certainly constitutes an important part of the Gui cang text.

The format begins with a hexagram name, saying that “in the past” (xizhe 昔者) some-one divined (the Wangjiatai fragments consistently use the word bu 卜, which originally referred to turtle-shell divination but later could be used for any type of divination, whereas the medieval quotations of the Gui cang consistently use the word shi 筮, “milfoil divina-tion”) about undertaking some action and then having that divination prognosticated by someone, who would pronounce it “auspicious” (ji 吉) or “not auspicious” (bu ji 不吉). After this general prognostication, there usually follow several phrases, sometimes suggesting what it would be “beneficial” (li 利) to do, sometimes a rhyming couplet or pair of couplets somewhat similar to the line statements of the Zhou Yi. Since in the following chapter I provide a complete translation of all Gui cang fragments, both those of the Wangjiatai texts and those of medieval quotations, I do not examine all the examples of this sort of statement here.

The persons said to perform the divinations include Shang Di 上帝, the god on high (Feng 丰, “Abundance”); Chi you 蚩尤, the legendary adversary of the yellow Emperor 黄帝 (Lao 劳, “Belabored”); nü Wa 女娲 (here written 女过), the sister/wife of Fuxi 伏羲 (heng e 恒我); Heng E 恒我 (i.e., 姮娥), famous in mythology for having stolen the elixir of immortal-ity from Xi Wang Mu 西王母, or the Western Queen Mother (Gui Mei 归妹, “returning Maiden”); Jie 桀, the last king of the Xia dynasty; King Wu 武王 (Jie 节, “Moderation”), the first actual king of the Zhou dynasty; King Mu of Zhou 周穆王 (Shi 师, “Army”); the King of Chu 陼王 (Fu 复, “returning”); the Lord of Song 宋君 (Zi 鼒, “The Small-Mouthed Caul-dron”); Ping Gong 平公, presumably Song Ping Gong 宋平公 (r. 575–532 b.c.; You 右, or “Having,” or Da You 大有, “Great Having”); as well as several examples involving Xia Hou Qi, such as that in Ming Yi, “Brightness Obscured,” seen above.55 Most topics of divination concern particular events, whether legendary or historical, some well-known, such as Chi you’s “casting of the five weapons” (zhu wu bing 铸五兵), Heng E’s flight to the moon, King Wu’s attack on yin, or King Mu’s sending out his army; others, such as the King of Chu’s “returning a white pheasant” (fu bai zhi 复白雉) or “making offering to Di” (shang Di 帝), either less well attested or less specific; and some topics having to do with nature, such as “leading the clouds and rain” (jiang yun yu 将云雨) or “exiting (or sending out) the clouds” (chu yun 出云; Zu 卒, “Complete”). The diviners are often figures known from early history, such as Wu Cang 巫苍, Gao yao 皋陶, or ying Huo 荧惑, but occasionally, as in the case of Da Ming 大明, they


seem not to be known elsewhere. A notable feature is the propensity for their prognostications to be “not auspicious” (bu ji 不吉), though this is by no means always the case. The phrases that follow the general prognostication seem often to be related to the name of the hexagram or topic of the divination, but unfortunately there are very few complete hexagram statements that allow this relationship to be examined.

In the Wangjiatai texts, there seems to be only one hexagram statement that has been pre-served more or less in its entirety, that for Zi 鼒, “The Small-Mouthed Cauldron,” hexagram.

䷱ 鼒曰昔者宋君卜封□而攴占巫苍占之曰吉鼒之鼒之初有吝

后果述 (214)䷱ Zi “The Small-Mouthed Cauldron” says: In the past the Lord of Song divined about in-stalling .. and had the stalks prognosticated by Wu Cang. Wu Cang prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. The small-mouthed cauldron’s grass snakes, the small-mouthed cauldron’s fragments. At first there is distress, later it is really in accord.

As noted, the mark at the end of this statement is doubtless equivalent to the 乙 mark often used in early manuscripts to indicate the end of a particular segment of text. This suggests that with the exception of the single lacuna for the name of the person to be “installed” (feng 封), this statement is complete. It is not particularly intelligible for that completeness, but at least it shows both some relationship between the final omen statement and the hexagram name and the rhyming nature of the oracle (shu/*m-lut 述, “accord,” presumably meant to rhyme with zu/*tsût , “completion”).

There are at least three other hexagram statements that can be reconstituted on the basis of the Wangjiatai texts combined with quotations in various medieval works.56 For instance, the hexagram statement of Shi 師, “Army,” hexagram can be reconstituted on the basis of three different Wangjiatai fragments and two different quotations in medieval literature. Wang Ming qin has rejoined the Wangjiatai fragments as follows:

䷆ 师曰昔者穆天子卜出师而攴占□□□ (439) 龙降于天而□远飞而

中天苍

䷆ Shi “Army” says: In the past Son of Heaven Mu divined about sending out the army and had the stalks prognosticated .. .. .. . . . . . . the dragon descended from heaven and .. . . . . . . distant; flying and piercing heaven; so green . . .

The Taiping yulan contains a quotation that matches several parts of these fragments from Wangjiatai (indeed, it is doubtless the existence of the Taiping yulan quotation that has allowed Wang Mingqin to rejoin the three fragments) and completes the concluding oracle.


昔穆王天子筮出于西征不吉曰龍降于天而道里修遠飛而冲天蒼蒼其羽

In the past Son of Heaven King Mu divined by milfoil about going out on western campaign. not auspicious. It said: The dragon descends from heaven [tian < *thin], but the road is long and far [yuan < *gwjanh]; flying and piercing heaven [tian < *thin], so green its wings [yu < *gwjagx].57

There is another point of considerable interest regarding this quotation. Wang Mingqin notes that it almost certainly includes a transcription error, showing that it derived ultimately from a paleographic original. Whereas Wangjiatai fragment no. 439 states that King Mu divined about “sending out the army” (chu shi 出师), the Taiping yulan quotation reads “going out on western campaign” (chu yu xi zheng 出于西征). The intriguing variant here is between shi 师, “army,” and yu 于, “on.” As Wang Mingqin argues, in Warring States paleographic materi-als, shi was usually written 帀, which is very similar in shape to yu 于. Syntactically, chu yu xi zheng 出于西征 is as reasonable a reading as chu shi xi zheng 出师西征 “send out the army to campaign westwardly,” likely the correct reading of its source text, but it loses the connection between the topic of the divination and the hexagram name.

Finally, the Jingdian shiwen 經典釋文 commentary of Lu Deming 陸德明 (556–627) to the Zhuangzi 莊子 cites the Gui cang by way of explaining the mention of a figure named yu Qiang 禺强, the god of the north Pole.

歸藏曰昔穆王子筮卦于禺强

The Gui cang says: “In the past King-Son Mu divined the hexagram with yu Qiang.”58

Although this quotation does not specify the hexagram to which it belongs, since Shi seems to be the only hexagram in the Gui cang that mentions King Mu, it is very likely this one. Piecing all these fragments together, and knowing the format of this type of statement, we arrive at the following complete hexagram statement:

䷆師曰昔者穆天子卜出師（西征）而枚占于禺强，禺强占之曰：不吉。龍

降于天，而道里修遠，飛而冲天，蒼蒼其羽。

䷆ Shi “Army” says: In the past Son of Heaven Mu divined about sending out the army (to campaign westwardly) and had the stalks prognosticated by yu Qiang. yu Qiang prognosti-cated them and said: not auspicious. The dragon descends from heaven, but the road is long and far; flying and piercing heaven, so green its wings.

Another statement that can be reconstituted by piecing together different fragments from Wangjiatai together with quotations in early and medieval texts is that of the hexagram Gui Mei 归妹, “returning Maiden.” Two fragments from Wangjiatai read as follows:


□归妹曰昔者恒我窃毋死之 [药] (307)□□奔月而攴占□□□ (201).. Gui Mei “returning Maiden” says: In the past Heng E stole the [medicine] of immortal-ity . . . . . . and fled to the moon and had the stalks prognosticated . . .

In his commentary to the Wen xuan 文選, Li Shan 李善 (d. 689) twice quotes what is appar-ently the same passage from the Gui cang.

歸藏曰昔常娥以不死之藥奔月

The Gui cang says: “In the past Chang E took the medicine of immortality and fled to the moon.”59

周易歸藏曰昔常娥以西王母不死之藥服之遂奔月為月精

The Gui cang of the Zhou Yi says: “In the past Chang E took the Western Queen Mother’s medicine of immortality and ate it, and subsequently fled to the moon, becoming the essence of the moon.”60

It is clear that the Heng E 恒我 of Wangjiatai fragment no. 307 is identical with the mytho-logical figure more commonly (though not invariably) known from the Han dynasty on as Chang E 常娥 (the “Heng,” 恒 or 姮, having been changed to “Chang,” 常 or 嫦, to avoid a taboo on the name of Liu Heng 劉恒, Han Wendi 漢文帝 [r. 179–157 b.c.]). Although it is understandable that the Wangjiatai fragments would not observe the later Han taboo, it is not clear what its observance or avoidance in these later quotations might mean. For example, “Heng E” in a Six Dynasties quotation might suggest an archaeological source, such as the Jizhong texts, that was not edited during the Han dynasty. The most complete citation of the Heng E or Chang E divination, almost surely quoted from the Gui cang, is found in the “Ling xian” 靈憲, or “numinous Model,” of Zhang Heng 張衡 (78–139); curiously, even though this text dates to the Han dynasty, it does not observe the taboo on Liu Heng’s name, writing the protagonist’s name as Heng E, whereas a slightly later quotation of the same passage found in the Sou shen ji 搜神集, or Seeking the Spirits Collection, of Gan Bao 干寶 (fl. 320) writes her name as Chang E.

羿請不死之藥于西王母姮娥窃之以奔月將往枚筮之于有黄有黄占之曰吉翩

翩歸妹獨將西行逢天晦芒毋惊毋恐後且大昌恒娥遂托身于月是為蟾蠩

yi requested the medicine of immortality from the Western Queen Mother. Heng E stole it to flee to the moon. When she was about to go, she had the stalks divined by milfoil by you Huang. you Huang prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. So soaring the returning maiden, alone about to travel westward. Meeting heaven’s dark void; do not tremble, do not fear. Afterwards there will be great prosperity. Heng E subsequently consigned her body to the moon, and this became the frog.61


羿請无死之藥于西王母嫦娥窃之以奔月將往枚筮之于有黄有黄占之曰吉翩

翩歸妹獨將西行逢天晦芒毋恐毋惊後且大昌嫦娥遂托身于月是為蟾蠩

yi requested the medicine of immortality from the Western Queen Mother. Chang E stole it to flee to the moon. When she was about to go, she had the stalks divined by milfoil by you Huang. you Huang prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. So soaring the return-ing maiden, alone about to travel westward. Meeting heaven’s dark void; do not fear, do not tremble. Afterwards there will be great prosperity. Chang E subsequently consigned her body to the moon, and this became the frog.62

Aside from the inversion of the words jing 惊, “to tremble,” and kong 恐, “to fear,”63 the only difference in these two quotations is in the name Heng E or Chang E. Strangely enough, it is the putative Han-dynasty source that does not avoid the taboo on the word heng 恒, whereas the Jin-dynasty source does. What this might mean is unclear. However, Zhang Heng’s poem certainly suggests that a text of the Gui cang, or at least some portion of the materials in it, was extant to be quoted in the second century a.d. Putting all these fragments and quotations together, we thus arrive at something like the following hexagram statement for the Gui cang’s Gui Mei hexagram.

䷵ 歸妹曰昔者姮娥窃毋死之藥于西王母以奔月將往枚筮之于有黄有黄占之曰吉翩翩歸妹獨將西行逢天晦芒毋恐毋惊後且大昌

䷵ Gui Mei “returning Maiden” says: In the past Heng E stole the medicine of immortality from the Western Queen Mother to flee to the moon. When she was about to go, she had the stalks divined by you Huang. you Huang prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. So soaring the returning maiden, alone leading along the western road. Meeting heaven’s dark void; do not fear, do not tremble, later there will be great prosperity.

Here, the relationship between the concluding oracle and the topic of the divination is rela-tively clear: it begins with a mention of the name of the hexagram, alludes to both the western peregrination of Heng E and her flight to the moon, and ends with a prediction. Although this prediction would seem to be somewhat anomalous, the rhyme suggests that it is an integral part of the oracle.

翩翩歸妹， So soaring the returning maiden,獨將西行 (*grângh)。 Alone leading along the western road.逢天晦芒 (*mâng)， Meeting heaven’s dark void;毋恐毋惊 (*krang)， Do not fear, do not tremble,後且大昌 (*thang)。 Later there will be great prosperity.


To conclude this examination of complete hexagram statements, the Wangjiatai manu-script hexagram statement for Ming Yi, “Brightness Obscured,” has already been examined at the beginning of this study (p. 142).

䷣ 明夷曰昔者夏后启卜乘飞龙以登于天而攴占□□

䷣ Ming Yi “Brightness Obscured” says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about flying on a dragon to rise into heaven and had the stalks prognosticated .. .. . . .

There I mention that it coincides neatly with a quotation of the Gui cang contained in Guo Pu’s commentary on the Shan hai jing.

歸藏鄭母經曰夏后啟筮御飛龍登于天吉

The “Zheng mu jing” of the Gui cang says: “Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about riding a flying dragon and ascending to heaven: Auspicious.”

In its chapter on dragons (scroll 929), the Taiping yulan also quotes this passage, adding the name of the hexagram, the diviner’s name, and the general prognostication, even if it does introduce certain obvious errors.

明夷曰昔夏啟上乘龍飛以登飛天皋陶占之曰吉

Ming Yi “Brightness Obscured” says: In the past Xia Qi went up riding a dragon flying in order to rise flying to heaven. Gao yao prognosticated it and said: Auspicious.64

In another chapter, devoted to quotations concerning the founders of the Xia dynasty, the Taiping yulan contains the following two quotations:

歸藏曰昔夏后啟筮享神于大陵而上鈞台枚占皋陶曰不吉

The Returning to Be Stored says: “In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about making offering to the spirits at the Great Mound and ascending the Equalizing Terrace, and had the stalks prognosticated by Gao yao, who said: not auspicious.”

史記曰昔夏后啓筮乘龍以登于天枚占于皋陶皋陶曰吉而必同與神交通以身

為帝以王四鄉

The Records of the historian says: “In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about riding a dragon in order to rise to heaven, and had the stalks prognosticated by Gao yao. Gao yao said: Auspicious. yet it must be the same, communicating with the spirits, with his body being Di, to rule over the four directions.”65


It is clear from its format that the first quotation is properly attributed to the Gui cang.66 On the other hand, it is also clear that the second quotation is misattributed. not only does the Shi ji 史記, or Records of the historian, not contain any passage remotely similar to this, but its similarity with the quotation in scroll 929 of the Taiping yulan as well as its format show that this quotation must come from the Gui cang; presumably the attribution was simply mistaken, either in the original compilation of the Taiping yulan or in some subsequent copying and publication.67

Though the format seen in the above complete hexagram statements, beginning with a divination about some event in the past, having it divined by some named diviner, who pro-nounces it either “auspicious” or “not auspicious,” and then a rhyming oracle that relates more or less directly to the topic of the divination, is certainly the most characteristic type of Gui cang hexagram statement, it is not the only type. In the Wangjiatai fragments, at least two other formats appear a few times apiece. The first of these begins with a generic divination prayer by the ruler of a state (e.g., Xia Hou Qi, the King of yin [three times], [Song] Ping Gong) that there be no troubles or distress in his country (qi bang shang wu you jiu 亓邦尚毋有咎). Then, as in the preceding type of hexagram statement, this is followed with a prognostication in which a named diviner first pronounces the divination either “auspicious” or “not auspi-cious,” and finally an oracle that relates at least to the name of the hexagram. In the Wangjiatai fragments, there are at least seven such hexagram statements, of which three are relatively com-plete and bear scrutiny here.68

䷍ 右曰昔者平公卜亓邦尚毋[有]咎而攴占神老占曰吉有子亓□间𪤗四

旁敬□风雷不 (302)䷍ You “Having” says: In the past Ping Gong divined about his country: Would that there be no trouble, and had the stalks prognosticated by Shen Lao. Shen Lao prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. There is a son, his .. midst [?]. The four sides respected .. , and wind and thunder did not . . .

Although the name of this hexagram is written as you 右, “right,” the oracle makes clear that at least the diviner here, Shen Lao 神老, interpreted the word to mean the cognate you 有, “to have,” as it does in the name of the corresponding hexagram in the Zhou Yi (i.e., Da You 大有, “Great Having”). Unfortunately, even at some thirty-two characters, the second longest of all the Wangjiatai fragments, this statement is still too fragmentary to make good sense of it.

The second example seems to be almost complete.

䷾ 曰昔者殷王贞卜亓邦尚毋有咎而攴占巫咸占之曰不吉亓席投之在北为□ (213)


䷾ Teng “Teng Snake” says: In the past the King of yin determined the divination about his country: Would that there be no trouble, and had the stalks prognosticated by Wu Xian. Wu Xian prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. Teng snake in his mat, throw it in the stream; the teng snake in the north turns into a female dog .. . . .

At thirty-five characters, this is the longest of all Wangjiatai fragments. Unfortunately, it is not much more intelligible than the preceding statement, in part because of the hexagram name.69 The name of the hexagram here is a graph, , unknown from any other context, and the corresponding hexagram in the Zhou Yi, Ji Ji 既濟, “Already Across,” would not seem to bear any relation to it. In the first phrase of the oracle, teng qi xi 亓席, the word would seem to be acting as a verb, whereas in the third phrase, teng zai bei 在北, it would seem to be a noun. nevertheless, it is easy to see that the format of the oracle resembles line statements of the Zhou Yi.

The third example is also incomplete and, since it is missing the hexagram name, is not even included in Wang Mingqin’s fullest account of the Wangjiatai manuscripts.70

邦尚毋有咎而攴占囗父占之曰吉唯山于田得其囗鹿如囗如屋王用囗

. . . country: Would that there be no trouble, and had the stalks prognosticated by .. fu. .. fu prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. Only the mountains in the fields, get its .. deer, like .. like a room. The king herewith .. . . .

One would like to know whether the final fragmentary phrase, which begins wang yong 王用, “the king herewith,” is part of the oracle or if it has some other use, such as a verification or statement of what the king did as a result of the divination. Unfortunately again, because of the broken strip at the end of the statement, there simply is not enough evidence to make a determination.

In addition to these fragments in the Wangjiatai bamboo strips, the Zhou li zhu shu 周禮注疏 quotes Jie 節, “Moderation,” hexagram of the Gui cang as reading 殷王其國常毋谷, the last three characters of which are an obvious deformation of shang wu you jiu 尚毋有咎, “would that there be no trouble” (or perhaps shang wu you lin 尚毋有吝, “would that there be no distress”). More important than anything this shows about transcription errors, it is worth noting that, as seen above, the Wangjiatai manuscripts contain a different version of Jie hexagram:

䷻ 节曰昔者武王卜伐殷而攴占老占曰吉□ (194)䷻ Jie “Moderation” says: In the past King Wu divined about attacking yin and had the stalks prognosticated by Lao Qi. Lao Qi prognosticated and said: Auspicious. .. . . .


There is unfortunately no way of knowing whether the Zhou li zhu shu quotation misattributes its statement to Jie hexagram, or if perhaps a single hexagram could have two different types of statement, perhaps in different sections of the Gui cang.71 We can only hope that future discov-eries will shed light on this question.

The third type of hexagram statement found in the Wangjiatai Gui cang manuscripts seems not to include the introductory narrative about a topic of divination. Instead, in sev-eral cases, after the hexagram picture and hexagram name, there comes immediately a series of phrases similar to the oracles of the other two types of hexagram statements. The following two statements are examples of this format:72

䷀ 天目朝不利为草木賛偁下□ (181)䷀ Tian Mu “The Heavenly Eye” so dawning, not beneficial for grasses or trees; so bright, raising those below .. . . .

䷪ 曰昔者赤乌止木之遽初鸣曰鹊后鸣曰乌有夫取妻存归亓家 (212)䷪ Ji “Fishnet” says: In the past a red crow stopped on a tree’s perch. When it first sang out, it was said: A magpie. When it later sang out, it was said: A crow. There was a man who took a wife, but caringly returned her to her family . . .

Tian Mu 天目, “Heavenly Eye,” corresponds to Qian 乾 hexagram of the Zhou Yi, often un-derstood to symbolize heaven. It seems possible that the adjectives associated with it here, zhao 朝, “dawn,” and zan 賛, “bright,” pertain to some heavenly apparition and so relate to the name of the hexagram, but it is difficult to say more than this. In the case of no. 212, if, as seems likely, the hexagram name is related to ji 罽, which the Shuo wen defines as “fishnet,” it might also be possible to relate the symbolism of the oracle to the name of the hexagram, since fish and fishing were common symbols for marriage and fertility.73 However, I see no connection between this hexagram name and statement and the hexagram name and line statements of the corresponding hexagram in the Zhou Yi, Guai ䷪, “resolute.”

Based on the transcriptions published to date, there is one statement that appears to be anomalous. In the Gui cang tradition, this is an especially important hexagram, since it cor-responds to Kun 坤 hexagram in the Zhou Yi and is supposed to have been the first hexagram in the Gui cang sequence. Unfortunately, not only is its format anomalous but also there are two characters that have not yet been identified with any confidence, including that for the hexagram name: .74

䷁ 曰不仁昔者夏后启是以登天啻弗良而投之渊寅共工以□江□ (501)䷁ Gua “Orphan” says: not humane. In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about rising


into heaven. Di did not regard him as good and threw him into the abyss, leading Gong Gong to .. river .. . . .

Traditions concerning the Gui cang are unanimous in saying that this hexagram came at the head of the text. Some later sources write the name of the hexagram as , others as shi 奭, which may reflect a different transcription of , though it is also possible, as Liao Ming-chun 廖名春 has suggested, that it is instead an attempted transcription of the character 寅, mistaken for the hexagram name.75 Whatever the case may be in terms of the hexagram name, unless the graph 是 is to be read as shi 筮, “to divine by milfoil,” as I give here, in which case the statement would match almost all quotations of the Gui cang, the nature of the hexagram statement is different from all the other hexagram statements in the manuscripts.

The Gui Cang: Historical Significance

Even without taking into account the intrinsic interest of its contents, just the textual history of the Gui cang would suffice to make it one of the most interesting texts from early China. Lost, discovered, lost again, and rediscovered (and perhaps lost again), the Gui cang has now finally achieved a celebrated place in the process of rewriting early Chinese history. This status is all the more enhanced because of its relationship with the Zhou Yi, the first of the Chinese classics. I discuss in a preliminary way this relationship elsewhere,76 but it seems appropriate to consider it again here.

The other texts and divination materials found in the Wangjiatai tomb together with the two manuscripts of the Gui cang suggest that this manual was used by a practicing diviner. Even though they do not serve to explain how he might have used the text, much less when and how it was first composed, given what we now know about the early history of divination we can draw certain inferences about it. First, and perhaps most obvious, the Gui cang, like the Zhou Yi, is organized around the sixty-four combinations of solid and broken lines usually referred to in the West as hexagrams.77 Moreover, the names associated with these hexagrams are, for the most part, similar to those in the Zhou Yi tradition. When the Mawangdui manu-script of the Zhou Yi was discovered, scholars noticed that among its many variant hexagram names were several that were the same as or similar to names said to be found in the Gui cang.78

As mentioned, the Wangjiatai manuscripts contain fifty-four different hexagram pictures and fifty-three different hexagram names. As can be seen in table 4.1 (pp. 167–69), twenty-two of the hexagram names are identical to those of the corresponding hexagrams in the Zhou Yi, and another fifteen are either phonetically or graphically extremely similar. If we add the names of hexagrams mentioned in received sources for the Gui cang, we have another ten names that are identical. Some of the different names are probably synonymous, or at least partake of the same


range of symbolic meanings.79 Although the Wangjiatai fragments often provide too little con-text to understand even the general meaning of the hexagram statement, something of this symbolic meaning can be seen in the four cases where I have been able to reconstruct com-plete or nearly complete statements. In at least three of these, some relationship seems possible between the Gui cang statement and the corresponding hexagram text in the Zhou Yi.80 The first of these is Zi 鼒, “The Small-Mouthed Cauldron,” hexagram, the only statement that is complete in the Wangjiatai manuscripts alone. This hexagram, which corresponds to Ding 鼎, “Cauldron,” hexagram of the Zhou Yi, records a divination concerning the establishment (feng 封) of someone (there is a lacuna in the text at the place of the recipient’s name). In the case of the Zhou Yi’s Ding hexagram, and indeed in early China in general, the cauldron was regarded as the symbol par excellence of governmental authority and thus perhaps carried the same sym-bolism as in the Gui cang. In the second case, Shi 師, “Army,” the Gui cang records a divination by King Mu of Zhou about sending out his army on campaign. not surprisingly, perhaps, the hexagram of the same name in the Zhou Yi also has as its primary imagery a military cam-paign or campaigns. The third hexagram with a complete hexagram statement is Gui mei 歸妹, “return ing Maiden.” This too is the same name as found for the corresponding hexagram in the Zhou Yi. As seen in the reconstructed Gui cang hexagram statement, it concerns Heng E’s stealing the medicine of immortality from Xi Wang Mu 西王母, or the Western Queen Mother, and then fleeing to the moon, presumably without her husband, the archer yi 羿, who had first requested the medicine. In the Zhou Yi, the various line statements of Gui mei all concern marriage, but the last of them, the Top Six line, strongly suggests a failed marriage.81

上六女承筐无實士刲羊無血无攸利

Top Six: The woman raises a basket without fruit, the man stabs the sheep without blood. There is nothing beneficial.

Could this sense also have informed the understanding of the diviner responsible for the Gui cang hexagram of the same name?

In at least two other cases, it seems that the name of a hexagram might have been original to the Gui cang, and that the similar name for the corresponding hexagram in the Zhou Yi may have been borrowed from it. In the Zhou Yi, the hexagram ䷢ is called Jin 晋, the name tradi-tionally being understood as meaning “to advance” (perhaps as a phonetic loan for the word jin 進, “to advance”), though there is virtually no context in the hexagram text itself to support this understanding. In the Gui cang, on the other hand, the hexagram is called Jin , and it clearly refers to a place of that name.

曰昔者夏后启卜帝 (336)Jin “Jin” says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about making offering to Di at Jin . . .


Another case of a hexagram in the Gui cang bearing a proper name is the name for ䷟: heng e 恒我, the name of the legendary figure famed for stealing the medicine of immortality.

□恒我曰昔者女过卜作为缄而 (476).. heng e “Heng E” says: In the past nü Wa divined about making a binding and . . .

In the Zhou Yi, the corresponding hexagram is called simply heng 恒. By no later than the time of Confucius, this hexagram of the Zhou Yi was already interpreted in the word’s abstract sense of “constancy.” The nine in the Third line statement of the hexagram states,

九三不恒其德或承之羞貞吝

nine in the Third: Inconstant his virtue, someone presents him disgrace. Determining: dis-tress.

In the Analects, Confucius is quoted as saying,

子曰南人有言曰人而无恒不可以作巫醫善夫不恒其德或承之羞子曰不占而

已矣

The Master said: “The people of the south have a saying, which says: ‘Someone without con-stancy cannot serve as a magician or a healer.’ Well put! ‘Inconstant his virtue, someone pres-ents him disgrace.’ ” The Master said: “One does not just prognosticate and nothing else.”82

Assuming that it is more likely for an abstract meaning to be derived from a particular concrete reference than the other way around, the Gui cang might have given the name—heng e in reference to the mythological figure—to this hexagram, and Confucius, or someone else, to have derived from a part of the name a general notion of “constancy.” Unfortunately, as is all too often the case, the manuscript text here is too fragmentary to allow for anything more than just a suggestion in this regard.

I have also suggested, above and in my earlier study of the Wangjiatai manuscripts, that the oracles that conclude the Gui cang hexagram statements are similar in format and func-tion to the line statements of the Zhou Yi. If we consider just two of the statements examined above that are complete, I think this will be clear. As noted, the one complete statement in the Wangjiatai manuscripts is that for Zi 鼒 hexagram.


后果述 (214)䷱ Zi “The Small-Mouthed Cauldron” says: In the past the Lord of Song divined about in-stalling .. and had the stalks prognosticated by Wu Cang. Wu Cang prognosticated them and


said: Auspicious. The small-mouthed cauldron’s grass snakes, the small-mouthed cauldron’s fragments. At first there is distress, later it is really in accord.

Although the two characters and are unknown, and my translations something of an educated guess, the overall format is clear enough. It would be natural to compare the final couplet, chu you lin hou guo shu 初有吝后果述, “at first there is distress, later it is really in accord,” with such phrases in the Zhou Yi as wu chu you zhong 无初有終, “there is no begin-ning but there is an end” (both the Six in the Third line of Kui 睽 and nine in the Fifth line of Xun 巽) or chu ji zhong luan 初吉終亂, “at first auspicious, in the end disordered” (hexagram statement of Ji Ji 既濟), or even with the line statement of the Top Six line of Mingyi:

上六不明晦初登于天後入于地

Top Six: not bright or dark: At first rising into the heavens, later entering into the earth.

As noted (p. 153), this oracle portion of Zi’s hexagram statement, unclear as it is, was obvi-ously intended to rhyme:

鼒之 (*m-lai) The small-mouthed cauldron’s grass snakes,鼒之 (*m-tsut) the small-mouthed cauldron’s fragments.初有吝 (*rəns) At first there is distress,后果述 (*m-lut) later it is really in accord.

This is a feature that marks many of the oracles of the Gui cang. Above (pp. 154, 156) I have reconstructed the hexagram statements for Shi and Gui Mei hexagrams in their entirety. Their oracles also seem to feature rhyming couplets, with the statement for Gui Mei adding a fifth phrase that shares in the same rhyme.

龍降于天 (*thîn)， The dragon descends from heaven,而道里修遠 (*wan?)， but the road is long and far;飛而冲天 (*thîn)， flying and piercing heaven,蒼蒼其羽 (*wa?)。 so green its wings.

翩翩归妹 (*məs)， So soaring the returning maiden,独将西行 (*grâŋ)。 alone leading along the western road.逢天晦芒 (*maŋ)， Meeting heaven’s dark void;毋恐毋惊 (*raŋ)， do not fear, do not tremble,后且大昌 (*thaŋ)。 later there will be great prosperity.


Pairs of rhyming couplets can also be found occasionally in the Zhou Yi, most notably in the nine in the Second line of Zhong fu 中孚, or “Inner Sincerity,” hexagram, which I display in the same way:

鳴鶴 (*gâuk) 在陰， A calling crane in the shade,其子和 (*wâi) 之。 Its young harmonize with it.我有好爵 (*tsiauk)， We have a fine chalice,吾與爾靡 (*mai) 之。 I will together with you drain it.

The nine in the Third line statement of Ding hexagram has also sometimes been seen to have this structure because of the near rhyme between hui 悔, *hməh, “regret,” and the end words of the first three lines (ge 革, *krək, “leather; to strip,” sai 塞, *sək, “to block,” and shi 食, *m-lək, “to eat”).

九三鼎耳革其行塞雉膏不食方雨虧悔終吉

nine in the Third: The cauldron’s ears are stripped [*krək]: Its movement blocked [*sək], The pheasant fat inedible [*m-lək], The region’s rains diminished; regret [*hməh], in the end auspicious.

However, as I indicate with the punctuation in my translation of this line statement, hui, “re-gret,” is a technical divination term that has been attached to—but is not formally part of—the oracle, which in its fullest form in the Zhou Yi comprises just a single couplet resuming and commenting on a single (usually) four-character phrase that describes an omen. Several excel-lent examples are to be found in other line statements of Ding hexagram.83

初六鼎顛趾利出否得妾以其子无咎

First Six: The cauldron’s overturned legs [*drə?]: Beneficial to expel the bad [*prə?], to get a wife with her children [*tsə?]. There is no trouble.

九二鼎有實我仇有疾不我能即吉

nine in the Second: The cauldron has substance [*m-lit]: My enemy has an illness [*dzit], that cannot approach me [*tsit]. Auspicious.

九四鼎折足覆公餗其形渥凶

nine in the Fourth: The cauldron’s broken leg [*tsok]: Overturns the duke’s stew [*sôk], its form glossy [*?rôk]. Ominous.


The two-couplet format of the Gui cang oracles, though apparently serving the same function as these line statements of the Zhou Yi, is actually structurally more reminiscent of poems in the Guo Feng 國風, or Airs of the States, section of the Shi jing. In these poems, an opening couplet describing some natural portent evokes (xing 興) a corresponding couplet describing the consequences for the poet. The final stanza of Tao yao 桃夭, or “Juicy Is the Peach” (Mao 6), or the first stanza of Que chao 鵲巢, or “The Magpie’s nest” (Mao 12), are just two of scores of similar examples:

桃之夭夭其葉蓁蓁 The peach is so very juicy, Its leaves they are so very lush [*tsrin].

之子于歸宜其家人 This child on her way to marry, Is right for her family’s man [*nin].

維鵲有巢維鳩居之 It’s the magpie that has a nest, It’s the cuckoo that dwells [*ka?] in it.

之子于歸百兩御之 This child on her way to marry, A hundred carts are driving [*ŋah] her.

As much as the xing motif can help us to understand how the Gui cang’s oracles function, so too, I would contend, can the Gui cang oracles help us better to understand how these Shi jing poems should be understood. But that, perhaps, is a topic for another book.

Especially in the very incomplete form in which they have been published to date, the Wangjiatai texts of the Gui cang perhaps raise more questions than they answer about the per-formance of divination in the past and the production and nature of divination texts. But by providing indubitable evidence that there were available systems of divination alternative to the system of the Zhou Yi, they dramatically enrich the sorts of questions that we can ask, not only of the Gui cang itself but, and perhaps especially, of the Zhou Yi as well.84

Table 4.1 Zhou Yi and Gui cang hexagram names and numbers Compared (where available; i.e., received Zhou Yi, mawangdui Zhou Yi, and ma guohan Gui cang)

Hex.

Received Zhou Yi

Shanghai Zhou Yi

Mawangdui Zhou Yi

Fuyang Zhou Yi

Wangjiatai Gui Cang

Ma Guohan Gui Cang

䷀ 乾 1 Qian 键 1 Jian 天目 Tian mu

乾 2 Qian

䷁ 坤 2 Kun 川 33 Chuan 寡 Gua 1 Kun

䷂ 屯 3 Zhun 屯 23 Zhun 肫* Zhun 肫 Zhun 屯 3 Zhun

䷃ 蒙 4 Meng 尨 Mang 蒙 13 Meng 蒙* Meng 蒙 4 Meng

䷄ 需 5 Xu 孠 Ru 襦 18 Ru 溽 5 Ru

䷅ 訟 6 Song 訟 Song 訟 5 Song 訟 Song 訟 6 Song

䷆ 師 7 Shi 帀 Shi 師 37 Shi 帀* Shi 帀 Shi 師 7 Shi

䷇ 比 8 Bi 比 Bi 比 19 Bi 比* Bi 比 Bi 比 8 Bi

䷈ 小畜 9 Xiao Chu

少 58 Shao Shu

少督 Shao Du

小毒畜 9 Xiao Du Chu

䷉ 履 10 Lü 禮 4 Li 履* Lü 履 Lü 履 10 Lü

䷊ 泰 11 Tai 泰 34 Tai 柰 Nai 泰 11 Tai

䷋ 否 12 Pi 婦 2 Fu 㫘 Pei 否 12 Pi

䷌ 同人 13 Tong Ren

同人 6 Tong Ren

同人 Tong Ren

同人 Tong Ren

同人 13 Tong Ren

䷍ 大有 14 Da You

大有 50 Da You

大有 Da You

右 You 大有 14 Da You

䷎ 謙 15 Qian Qian 嗛 35 Qian 陵 Ling 兼 50 Jian

䷏ 豫 16 Yu 余 Yu 余 27 Yu 豫* Yu 介 Jie 分 51 Fen

䷐ 隨 17 Sui Sui 隋 47 Sui 隋* Sui 規 44 Gui

䷑ 蠱 18 Gu 蛊 Gu 箇 16 Gu 夜 Ye 夜 45 Ye

䷒ 臨 19 Lin 林 36 Lin 林 Lin 臨 Lin 林禍 26 Lin huo

䷓ 觀 20 Guan 觀 59 Guan 觀* Guan 灌 Guan 觀 27 Guan

䷔ 噬嗑 21 Shike 筮嗑 55 Shike 筮閘 Shike 筮 Shi


Hex. Received

Zhou YiShanghai

Zhou YiMawangdui

Zhou YiFuyang Zhou Yi

Wangjiatai Gui Cang

Ma Guohan Gui Cang

䷕ 賁 22 Ben 繁 14 Ben 賁 Ben 岑𩃟 56 Jinyi

䷖ 剝 23 Bo 剝 11 Bo 僕* Pu 僕 30 Pu

䷗ 復 24 Fu Fu 復 39 Fu 復* Fu 復 Fu 復 31 Fu

䷘ 无妄 25 Wu Wang

亡忘 Wang Wang

无孟 25 Wumeng

无亡 Wu Wang

毋亡 Wu Wang

毋亡 32 Wu Wang

䷙ 大畜 26 Da Chu

大 Da Du

泰畜 10 Tai Chu

大毒畜 26 Da Du Chu

䷚ 頤 27 Yi 頤 Yi 頤 15 Yi 頤* Yi 亦 Yi 頤 18 Yi

䷛ 大過 28 Da Guo

泰過 48 Tai Guo

大過 Da Guo

大過 Da Guo

大過 17 Da Guo

䷜ 坎 29 Kan 贛 17 Gan 劳 Lao 犖 49 Lao

䷝ 離 30 Li 羅 49 Luo 離 Li 丽 Li 離 48 Li

䷞ 咸 31 Xian 欽 Qin 欽 44 Qin 咸 Xian 欽 42 Qin

䷟ 恆 32 heng heng 恆 32 heng 恒我 heng e 恆 43 heng

䷠ 遯 33 Dun Dun 掾 3 Yuan 椽* Chuan 𨔵 Dun 𨔵 58 Dun

䷡ 大壯 34 Da Zhuang

泰壯 26 Da Zhuang

大壯 34 Da Zhuang

䷢ 晉 35 Jin 溍 51 Jin Jin 晉 54 Jin

䷣ 明夷 36 Mingyi

明夷 38 Mingyi

明𡰥 55 Mingyi

䷤ 家人 37 Jia Ren

家人 63 Jiaren

散 San

散家人 34 San Jia Ren

䷥ 睽 38 Kui 楑 Kui 乖 53 Guai 䂂 Ju 瞿 34 Ju

䷦ 蹇 39 Jian 訐 Jie 䞿 20 Jian 䞿* Jian 蹇 38 Jian

䷧ 解 40 Jie 繲 Jie 解 30 Jie 茘 39 Xie

䷨ 損 41 Sun 損 12 Sun 損 Sun 損 Sun 員 40 Yuan

䷩ 益 42 Yi 益 42 Yi 諴 41(?) Xian


Hex. Received

Zhou YiShanghai

Zhou YiMawangdui

Zhou YiFuyang Zhou Yi

Wangjiatai Gui Cang

Ma Guohan Gui Cang

䷪ 夬 43 Guai 夬 Guai 訣 42 Guai 罽 Ji

䷫ 姤 44 Gou 敂 Gou 狗 8 Gou

䷬ 萃 45 Cui Cui 卒 43 Zu 卒 Zu 萃 28 Cui

䷭ 升 46 Sheng 登 40 Deng 登* Deng 升 Sheng 稱 29 Cheng

䷮ 困 47 Kun 困 Kun 困 45 Kun 囷 Qun 困 19 Kun

䷯ 井 48 Jing 汬 Jing 井 24 Jing 井* Jing 井 Jing 井 20 Jing

䷰ 革 49 Ge 革 Ge 勒 46 Le 革 21 Ge

䷱ 鼎 50 Ding 鼎 50 Ding 鼎* Ding 鼒 Zi 鼎 22 Ding

䷲ 震 51 Zhen 辰 25 Chen 釐 16 Li

䷳ 艮 52 Gen 艮 Gen 根 9 Gen 艮* Gen 狠 15 Gen

䷴ 漸 53 Jian 漸 Jian 漸 60 Jian 漸 Jian 漸 53 Jian

䷵ 歸妹 54 Gui Mei

歸妹 29 Gui Mei

歸妹 Gui Mei

歸妹 52 Gui Mei

䷶ 豐 55 Feng 豐 Feng 豐 31 Feng 豐 Feng 豐 24 Feng

䷷ 旅 56 Lü Lü 旅 52 Lü 旅* Lü 旅 Lü 旅 23 Lü

䷸ 巽 57 Xun 算 57 Suan 巽 46 Xun

䷹ 兌 58 Dui 奪 41 Duo 兌 Dui 兌 47 Dui

䷺ 渙 59 huan huan 渙 62 huan 渙 huan 奐 37 huan

䷻ 節 60 Jie 節 21 Jie 節* Jie 節 Jie 節 36 Jie

䷼ 中孚 61 Zhong Fu

中復 61 Zhong Fu

中𫃠 Zhong Bao

䷽ 小過 62 Xiao Guo

少 Shao Guo

少過 62 Shao Guo

小過 25 Xiao Guo

䷾ 既濟 63 Ji Ji

既淒 Ji Ji

既濟 22 Ji Ji

Teng?

䷿ 未濟 64 Wei Ji

未淒 Wei Ji 未濟 54 Wei Ji

未濟 57 Wei Ji

The following translation presents both all published fragments from the Wangjiatai 王家台 Gui cang 歸藏 manuscripts and those quota-tions in medieval sources that have been identified as coming from

the Gui cang. The Wangjiatai fragments are presented as given in the various studies by Wang Mingqin 王明钦, the lead excavator of the Wangjiatai tomb and the current director of the Jingzhou Museum.1 Quotations from medieval sources were collected by various scholars in the Qing dynasty; the most complete of these is the collection found in the Yuhan shanfang jiyi shu 玉函山房輯佚書 of Ma Guohan 馬國翰 (1794–1857).2 Ma Guo han’s listing of these quotations follows the sequence of hexagrams given in Xi xi Yi shuo 西溪易說 of Li Guo 李過 (Song period), which presents a listing of sixty hexagram names, thought to represent the sequence of the text.3 In addition to these sixty hexagram names, Ma Guohan adds three oth-ers: Ying huo 熒惑, Qi Lao 耆老, and Da Ming 大明. However, fragments in the Wangjiatai manuscripts have now shown that these are names of diviners mentioned in the text and are not hexagram names. On the other hand, the following three hexagram names can be added to the list in Xi xi Yi shuo: Da Zhuang 大壯, Zhong Fu 中, and Shi 筮. I add these at the end of table 5.1. Several of the correspondences and hexagram names in the table, both for the Xi xi Yi shuo Gui cang and for the Wangjiatai manuscripts, are uncertain, and there is no reason to think that the Xi xi Yi shuo sequence of hexagrams is correct. nevertheless, for want of any other evidence, it is now generally accepted as the Gui cang sequence.

The translation below follows the Xi xi Yi shuo sequence of Gui cang hexagrams, whether or not the hexagram name in the Wangjiatai manuscripts is identical with that given by it. When available, I present first any fragment from the Wangjiatai manuscripts; these fragments

Vt r a n s l at I o n o f

t h e GuI CANG f r ag m e n t s

Table 5.1 hexagram names in the Gui cang and Zhou Yi Compared

Li Guo Xixi Yi shuo Wangjiatai Received text of Gui cang Gui cang Zhou Yi

Kun Gua寡 Kun 坤 (1)

Qian 乾 Tian Mu 天目 Qian 乾 (2)

Zhun 屯 Zhun 肫 Zhun 屯 (3)

Meng 蒙 Meng 蒙 (4)

Ru 溽 Xu 需 (5)

Song 訟 Song 訟 Song 訟 (6)

Shi 師 Shi 帀 Shi 師 (7)

Bi 比 Bi 比 Bi 比 (8)

Xiao Du Chu 小毒畜 Shao Du 少督 Xiao Chu 小畜 (9)

Lü 履 Lü 履 Lü 履 (10)

Tai 泰 Nai 柰 Tai 泰 (11)

Pi 否 Pei 㫘 Pi 否 (12)

Tong Ren 同人 Tong Ren 同人 Tong Ren 同人 (13)

Da You 大有 You 右 Da You 大有 (14)

hen 佷 Gen 艮 (52)

Li 釐 Zhen 震 (51)

Da Guo 大過 Da Guo 大過 Da Guo 大過 (28)

Yi 頤 Yi 亦 Yi 頤 (27)

Kun 困 Qun 囷 Kun 困 (47)

Jing 井 Jing 井 Jing 井 (48)

Ge 革 Ge 革 (49)

Ding 鼎 Zi 鼒 Ding 鼎 (50)

Lü 旅 Lü 旅 Lü 旅 (56)

Feng 豐 Feng 豐 (55)

Xiao Guo 小過 Da Guo 大過 (?) Xiao Guo 小過 (62)

Lin huo 林禍 Lin 臨 Lin 臨 (19)

Guan 觀 Guan 灌 Guan 觀 (20)

Cui 萃 Zu 卒 Cui 萃 (45)

Cheng 稱 Sheng 升 Sheng 升 (46)

Pu 僕 Bo 剝 (23)

Fu 復 Fu 復 Fu 復 (24)

Wu Wang 毋亡 Wu Wang 毋亡 Wu Wang 无妄 (25)

Da Du Chu 大毒畜 Da Chu 大畜 (26)

Ju 瞿 Ju 䂂 Kui 睽 (38)

San Jia Ren 散家人 San 散 Jia Ren 家人 (34)

Jie 節 Jie 節 Jie 節 (60)

huan 奐 huan 渙 huan 渙 (59)

Jian 蹇 Jian 蹇 (39)

Xie 茘 Jie 解 (40)

Yuan 員 Sun 損 Sun 損 (41)

Cheng 誠

Qin 欽 Xian 咸 Xian 咸 (31)

heng 恆 heng e 恒我 heng 恆 (32)

Gui 規

Ye 夜 Ye 夜, Yi 亦 Gu 蠱 (18)

Xun 巽 Xun 巽 (57)

Dui 兌 Dui 兌 Dui 兌 (58)

Li 離 Li 丽 Li 離 (30)

Lao 犖 Lao 劳 Kan 坎 (29)

Jian 兼 Ling 陵 Qian 謙 (15)

Fen 分 Jie 介 Yu 豫 (16)

Gui Mei 歸妹 Gui Mei 歸妹 Gui Mei 歸妹 (53)

Jian 漸 Jian 漸 Jian 漸 (53)

Jin 晉 Jin Jin 晉 (35)

Ming Yi 明夷 Ming Yi 明夷 (36)

Jin Yi 岑𩃟 Ji Ji 既濟 (63)

Wei Ji 未濟 Wei Ji 未濟 (64)

Dun 𨔵 Dun 𨔵 Dun 遯 (33)

Shu 蜀

Ma Xi 馬徙

Da Zhuang 大壯, Zhuang 壯 Da Zhuang 大壯 (34)

Zhong Fu 中 Zhong Fu 中孚 (61)

Shi 筮 Shi Ke 噬嗑 (21)


174 • Translation of the Gui cang Fragments

are presented flush left and are indicated, when available, with the entry number given by Wang Mingqin. Medieval quotations are interspersed with the Wangjiatai fragments whenever it is possible to correlate them, but they are indented. If two or more quotations pertain to the same hexagram and present different information, I present them in chronological order of their sources; thus, quotations found in the Beitang shu chao 北堂書鈔 of yu Shinan 虞世南 (558–638) come before those in the Taiping yulan 太平御覽 of Li Fang 李昉 (925–996). I provide, in notes, references to the earliest sources for these quotations. I provide the quo-tations as found in the earliest sources. I do not provide subsequent quotations of the same passage that do not offer substantive new information, nor do I attempt to collate various quotations of the same statement into a single entry.

After all fragments that can be identified with individual hexagrams are presented, I then provide first fragments from the Wangjiatai manuscripts that cannot be identified with any particular hexagram, in the order of their accession number (if any), and, following that, medi-eval quotations in the chronological order of the works in which they appear, though congre-gating any that bear identical or similar text. I have not included every quotation that has ever been identified as deriving from the Gui cang, regarding some such identifications as mistaken.

As in chapter 4, quotations from the Wangjiatai manuscripts are perforce presented in simplified characters, since the only authoritative transcriptions of these manuscripts are in simplified-character format. Quotations from medieval sources reflect the orthography of the source quoted, even if other quotations of the same fragment reveal minor differences (such as writing 台 for 臺 or 侯 for 后). I also do not correct any obvious mistakes (such as the consistent writing of shi 筮 as jing 莖 and mei 枚 as mu 牧 in the Bo wu zhi 博物志 of Zhang Hua 張華 [232–300]), though my English translation reflects the correct reading. Finally, as in chapter 4 and elsewhere throughout this book, Chinese texts are presented without any punctuation.

Identifiable Hexagram Statements

䷁ 曰不仁昔者夏后启是以登天啻弗良而投之渊寅共工以□江□ (501)䷁ Gua “Orphan” says: not humane. In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about rising into heaven. Di did not regard him as good and threw him into the abyss, leading Gong Gong to .. river .. . . .

帝堯降二女為舜妃

The emperor yao sent down his two daughters to be Shun’s wives.4

䷀ 天目朝不利为草木賛偁下□… (181)䷀ Tian Mu “The Heavenly Eye” so dawning, not beneficial for grasses or trees; so bright,

Translation of the Gui cang Fragments • 175

raising those below .. . . .

乾者積石風穴之琴亭之者弗亭终身不瘳5

Qian, piling up stone wind-pit zithers; those who erect it do not erect it, to the ends of the life not cured.

□肫曰昔者效龙卜为上天而攴… (323).. Zhun “Cheekbones” says: In the past Scaly Dragon divined about going up to heaven and . . .

䷃ [蒙]曰昔者□□卜□…䷃ Meng “Shrouded” .. says: In the past .. .. divined .. . . .

䷄ 讼曰昔者□□卜讼启□□□…䷄ Song “Lawsuit” says: In the past .. .. divined about suing Qi .. .. .. . . .

䷆师曰昔者穆天子卜出师而攴占□□□/(439)/龙降于天而□//远飞而中天苍/䷆ Shi “Army” says: In the past Son of Heaven Mu divined about sending out the army and had the stalks prognosticated.. .. .. . . . . . . the dragon descended from heaven and .. . . . . . . distant; flying and piercing heaven; so green . . .

昔穆王子筮卦于禺强

In the past King-Son Mu divined the hexagram with yu Qiang.6

昔穆王天子筮出于西征不吉曰龍降于天而道里修遠飛而中天蒼蒼其羽

In the past Son of Heaven King Mu divined by milfoil about going out on western cam-paign. not auspicious. It said: The dragon descends from heaven, but the road is long and far; flying and piercing heaven, so green its wings.7

䷇ 比曰比之荣比之苍生子二人或司阴司阳不□姓□… (216)䷇ Bi “Alliance” says: Ally with them so lush, ally with them so green. Giving birth to two sons, one in charge of shade and one in charge of sunlight, not .. surname .. . . .

/比曰比之筞比之苍生子二人或司阴司阳… (563)Bi “Alliance” says: Ally with them so lush, ally with them so green. Giving birth to two sons, one in charge of shade and one in charge of sunlight . . .


䷈ 少督曰昔者□小子卜亓邦尚毋有吝而攴… (206)䷈ Shao Du “Lesser Examination” says: In the past .. Xiaozi divined about his country: Would that it have no distress, and had the stalks . . .

䷉ 履曰昔者羿射陼比莊石上羿果射之曰履□… (461)䷈ Lü “Walking” says: In the past yi shot from on top of the stone in the field next to the mound. yi really shot it. It is called Lü “Walking” .. . . .

囗曰昔者羿卜毕十日羿果毕之思十日并出以… (470).. says: In the past yi divined about netting the ten suns. yi really did net them, hoping that the ten suns that came out together be taken . . .8

昔者羿善射彃十日果畢之

In the past yi was good at shooting, shot at the ten suns and really netted them.9

借者起射羿而賊其家久有其奴

In the past Qi shot yi and stole his family, for a long time having his slave.10

䷊ 柰曰昔者𢎼龙卜□□而攴占囷京占之曰不吉柰之□… (2)䷊ Nai “Jasmine” says: In the past the Shooting Dragon divined about .. .. and had the stalks prognosticated by Qun Jing. Qun Jing prognosticated them saying: not auspicious. Nai [ Jasmine]’s .. . . .

䷋ 㫘曰昔者□□□…䷋ Pei “negation” says: In the past .. .. .. . . .

䷍ 同人曰昔者黄啻与炎啻战/ (182)/□咸占之曰果哉而有吝□… (189)䷍ Tong Ren “Fellow Men” says: In the past the yellow Emperor and the red Emperor battled / [Wu] Xian. [Wu] Xian prognosticated them and said: It really is, but there is distress. .. . . .

昔黄神與炎神争斗涿鹿之野將戰筮于巫咸巫咸曰果哉而有咎

In the past the yellow Spirit and the red Spirit fought in the wilds of Zhuolu. When they were about to battle, he divined it with Wu Xian. Wu Xian said: It really is indeed, but there is trouble.11

䷍ 右曰昔者平公卜亓邦尚毋[有]咎而攴占神老占曰吉有子亓□间𪤗四

旁敬□风雷不… (302)䷍ You “Having”: says: In the past Ping Gong divined about his country: Would that there be no trouble, and had the stalks prognosticated by Shen Lao. Shen Lao prognosticated them


and said: Auspicious. There is a son, his .. midst [?]. The four sides respected .. , and wind and thunder did not . . .

䷛ 大过曰昔者日月卜望□…䷛ Da Guo “Greater Passing” says: In the past the sun and moon divined about the full moon .. . . .

䷚ 亦曰昔…䷚ Yi “Jaws” says: In the past . . .

䷮ 囷曰昔者夏后启卜亓邦尚毋有吝而攴占… (208)䷮ Qun “Bundled” says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined: Would that his country not have any distress, and had the stalks prognosticated . . .

□井曰昔者夏后启贞卜… (319).. Jing “Well” says: In the past Xia Hou Qi determined the divination . . .


后果述 (214)䷱ Zi “The Small-Mouthed Cauldron” says: In the past the Lord of Song divined about in-stalling .. and had the stalks prognosticated by Wu Cang. Wu Cang prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. The small-mouthed cauldron’s grass snakes, the small-mouthed cauldron’s fragments. At first there is distress, later it is really in accord.

鼎有黄耳利得鱣鯉

The cauldron has yellow ears, beneficial to get a sturgeon or carp.12

䷶ 丰曰昔者上帝卜处□□而攴占大明占之曰不吉□臣𦡊牝□雉… (304)䷶ Feng “Abundance” says: In the past Di on High divined about residing .. .. and had the stalks prognosticated by Da Ming. Da Ming prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. .. ministers so meaty, the female .. so pheasanty . . .

䷽ 大过曰昔者□小臣卜逃唐而攴占中虺占之曰不吉过亓门言者□… (523)䷽ Da Guo “Greater Passing”13 says: In the past .. Minor Minister divined about fleeing to Tang and had the stalks prognosticated by Zhong Hui. Zhong Hui prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. Passing his gate those who speak .. . . .


䷒ 临曰：…䷒ Lin “Look Down” says: . . .

䷓ 灌曰昔者夏后启卜 …

䷓ Guan “Libation” says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about making offering . . .

昔夏后啟筮饗神于大陵而上鈞台枚占皋陶曰不吉

In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about making offering to the spirits at the Great Mound and ascending the Equalizing Terrace, and had the stalks prognosticated by Gao yao, who said: not auspicious.14

䷬ [卒]曰昔者□卜出云而攴占□…䷬ Zu “Complete” says: In the past .. divined about exiting the clouds, and had the stalks prognosticated .. . . .

□卒曰昔者卜出云而攴占囷京占之曰不吉卒… (305).. Zu “Complete” says: In the past Xian divined about exiting the clouds, and had the stalks prognosticated by Qun Jing. Qun Jing prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. Com-plete . . .

剥良人得其玉小人得其粟

Bo: A good man gets his jade, the little man gets his grain.15

䷗ 复曰昔者陼王卜复白雉□…䷗ Fu “returning” says: In the past the King of Chu divined about returning the white pheas-ant .. . . .

䷘ 毋亡出入汤室安处而安藏毋亡… (471)䷘ Wuwang “not Lost”: Exiting and entering so bubbling: at home peacefully situated, and in the wilds peacefully hidden. not lost . . .

䷥ 䂂曰昔者殷王贞卜亓□尚毋有咎…䷥ Ju “Frightened” says: In the past the King of yin determined the divination: Would that his [country] not have any trouble. . . .

瞿有瞿有魚瓜宵梁為酒尊于兩壺兩羭飲之二日後稣士有澤我取其魚

Frightened, frightened, fish scales are brewed into wine, raised up in two vases and two pots; drink it and then two days later you revive. The sire has a marsh, and we take its fish.16


䷤ 散曰昔者 / /□卜□散实而攴占大…

䷤ San “Scattering” says: In the past . . . . . . .. divined about .. scattering the goods and had the stalks prognosticated by Da [Ming]. Da [Ming] . . .

/囗曰昔者禹卜食散实而攴占大明占之曰不吉散其… (333).. says: In the past yu divined about eating the Dispersed Substance and had the stalks prog-nosticated by Da Ming, who prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. Disperse its . . .

䷻ 节曰昔者武王卜伐殷而攴占老占曰吉□… (194)䷻ Jie “Moderation” says: In the past King Wu divined about attacking yin and had the stalks prognosticated by Lao Qi. Lao Qi prognosticated and said: Auspicious. .. . . .

武王伐殷而牧占蓍老蓍老曰吉

Wu Wang attacked yin and had the stalks prognosticated by Qi Lao. Qi Lao said: Auspicious.17

節卦云殷王其國常毋若谷

Jie hexagram says: The King of yin, would that his state not have any trouble.18

䷺ 涣曰昔者高… (328)䷺ huan “Dispersal” says: In the past Gao . . .

䷦ [蹇]□□…19

䷦ [Qian “Lame”] .. .. . . .

䷈ 损曰…䷈ Sun “Decrease” says . . .

䷞ [咸]曰…䷞ [Xian “Feeling”] says . . .

□咸曰…

.. Xian “Feeling” says . . .

□恒我曰昔者女过卜作为缄而… (476).. heng e “Heng E” says: In the past nü Wa divined about making a binding and . . .


昔者女娲筮張雲幕而枚占神明占之曰吉昭昭九州日月代極平均土地和合

萬國

In the past nü Wa divined by milfoil about spreading the Cloud Curtain and had the stalks prognosticated by Shen Ming, who prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. So radiant the nine regions, the sun and the moon replace each other at the extreme. Flat and equal is the earth, concordantly uniting the ten thousand states.20

䷪ 曰昔者赤乌止木之遽初鸣曰鹊后鸣曰乌有夫取妻存归亓家… (212)䷪ Ji “Fishnet” says: In the past a red crow stopped on a tree’s perch. When it first sang out, it was said: A magpie. When it later sang out, it was said: A crow. There was a man who took a wife, but caringly returned her to her family . . .

䷹ □曰昔者… (5)䷹ [Dui “removal”] says: In the past . . . □兑曰兑黄衣以生金日月并出兽□ … (334).. Dui “removal” says: remove the yellow jacket to give birth to metal; the sun and moon together come out, and animals .. . . .

䷝ 丽曰昔者上…䷝ Li “netting” says: In the past Shang . . .

䷜ 劳曰昔者蚩尤卜铸五兵而攴占赤□… (536)䷜ Lao “Belabored” says: In the past Chi you divined about casting the five weapons and had the stalks prognosticated by Chi .. . . .

䷎ 陵曰昔者赤乌卜浴水通而见神为木出焉是啻… (503)䷎ Ling “Mound” says: In the past a red crow divined about the watercourse water breaking through and saw a spirit as a tree coming out of it. This was Di . . .

䷏ 介曰北黄鸟杂彼秀虚有梺者□□有□□人民… (207)䷏ Jie “Strengthened” says: To the north the yellow bird, mixed in that budding mound; there are bushes .. .. there are .. .. ; the people . . .

□归妹曰昔者恒我窃毋死之 [药]/ (307)……奔月而攴占□□□… (201).. Gui Mei “returning Maiden” says: In the past Heng E stole the [medicine]) of immortal-ity . . . . . . and fled to the moon and had the stalks prognosticated .. .. .. . . .


羿請不死之藥于西王母姮娥竊之以奔月將往枚筮之于有黄有黄占之曰吉

翩翩歸妹獨將西行逢天晦芒毋驚毋恐後且大昌恒娥遂托身于月是為蟾蠩

yi requested the medicine of immortality from the Western Queen Mother. Heng E stole it to flee to the moon. When she was about to go, she had the stalks divined by milfoil by you Huang. you Huang prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. So soaring the return-ing maiden, alone about to travel westward. Meeting heaven’s dark void; do not tremble, do not fear. Afterwards there will be great prosperity. Heng E subsequently consigned her body to the moon, and this became the frog.21

䷴ 渐曰昔者殷王贞卜亓邦尚毋有咎而攴占巫咸占之曰不吉不渐于… (335)䷴ Jian “Advancing in Stages” says: In the past the King of yin determined the divination about his country: Would that there be no trouble, and had the result prognosticated by Wu Xian. Xian prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. not advancing in stages in . . .

䷢ 曰昔者//卜帝之虚作为□…

䷢ Jin “Jin” says: In the past . . . . . . divined about making offering to Di at Jin’s Mound, to make it into .. . . .

曰昔者夏后启卜帝 … (336).. [Jin “Jin”] Jin says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about making offering to Di at Jin . . .

昔者夏后啓筮享神于晋之墟作為璿臺於水之陽

In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about making offering at Jin’s Mound, to make it into the Jade Terrace, on the sunny side of the river.22

䷣ 明夷曰昔者夏后启卜乘飞龙以登于天而攴占□□…䷣ Ming Yi “Brightness Obscured” says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about flying on a dragon to rise into heaven and had the stalks prognosticated .. .. . . .

明夷曰昔夏后莖乘飛龍而登于天而牧占四華陶陶曰吉

Ming Yi says: In the past Xia Hou divined by milfoil about riding a flying dragon and rising into heaven and had the stalks prognosticated by [Si Hua Tao Tao:] Gao yao. Gao yao said: Auspicious.23

夏后啓筮御飛龍登于天吉

Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about driving a flying dragon to rise into heaven: Auspi-cious.24


嵩高山啓母在此山化為石而子啓亦登仙

On Mount Songgao, Qi’s mother on this mountain was transformed into stone, and her son Qi also ascended to immortality.25

昔夏后啓筮乘龍以登于天枚占于皋陶皋陶曰吉而必同與神交通以身為帝

以王四鄉

In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about riding a dragon in order to rise into heaven, and had the stalks prognosticated by Gao yao. Gao yao said: Auspicious. yet it must be the same, communicating with the spirits, with his body being Di, to rule over the four directions.26

䷾ 曰昔者殷王贞卜亓邦尚毋有咎而攴占巫咸占之曰不吉亓席投之在北为□ … (213)䷾ Teng “Teng Snake” says: In the past the King of yin determined the divination about his country: Would that there be no trouble, and had the stalks prognosticated by Wu Xian. Wu Xian prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. Teng snake in his mat, throw it in the stream; the teng snake in the north turns into a female dog .. . . .

䷿ [未济]□□□□□攴卜□□□…䷿ [Wei Ji “not yet Across”].. .. .. .. .. result divined .. .. .. . . .

䷠ 𨔵曰𨔵𦬹以入为羽不高不下即利初事有利□… (463)䷠ Dun “Withdrawing” says: Withdraw at dusk in order to enter; as wings neither high nor low then it is beneficial; at the beginning affairs will have benefit .. . . .

䷑ 亦曰昔者北□… (343)䷑ Ye “night” says: In the past Bei .. . . .

䷑ 夜曰昔者北□ [敢]夫卜逆女…

䷑ Ye “night” says: In the past Great Officer Bei .. divined about welcoming nü . . .

䷐ □曰昔者北敢夫逆女过而攴占□…

䷐ .. says: In the past Great Officer Bei Gan welcomed nü Wa and had the stalks prognosti-cated .. . . .

䷔ 筮曰筮□之□筮盍之□□… (537)䷔ Shi “Biting” says: Biting .. it .. , biting and chewing it .. .. . . .


䷕ [贲] 曰：昔…䷕ [Ben “Ornamented”] says: In the past . . .

䷼ 中曰啻□卜… (317)䷼ Zhong Fu “Inner Trust” says: Di .. divined . . .

䷡ 大□曰昔者/(408)/ 隆卜将云雨而攴占囷京占之曰吉大山之云 … (196)䷡ Da [Zhuang “(Greater) Strength”] says: In the past . . . . . . Long divined about leading the clouds and rain and had the stalks prognosticated by Qun Jing. Qun Jing prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. The great mountain’s clouds, [?] . . .

䷡ 壮曰昔者丰隆… (320)䷡ Zhuang “[Greater] Strength” says: In the past Feng Long . . .

豐隆筮御雲得大莊卦遂為雲師

Feng Long divined by milfoil about driving the clouds, getting Da Zhuang hexagram and subsequently becoming the Cloud Master.27

昔者豐隆筮將雲氣而吉核之也

In the past Feng Long divined by milfoil about leading the clouds and vapor and it was auspicious. Investigate [sic] it and so on.28

Miscellaneous Fragments from the Wangjiatai Manuscripts (and Corresponding Quotations)

淮伐之折戈 (204). . . Huai, attacking them, breaking the dagger-axe.

囗父夕为母朝卜及日中吉日中吉夕凶… (215) . . . .. father in the evening, for mother in the morning, divined: reaching midday it is auspi-cious, at midday it is auspicious, in the evening it is ominous. . . .

陈众龙之嚣群神伏匿大臣不朝 (259). . . arraying the clamor of the flock of dragons. The many spirits hide away, and the great ministers do not come to court.


桀卜伐唐而攴占荧惑占之曰不吉… (339). . . Jie divined about attacking Tang and had the stalks prognosticated by ying Huo. ying Huo prognosticated them and said: not auspicious . . .

桀莖伐唐而枚占營惑曰不吉

Jie divined by milfoil about attacking Tang and had the stalks prognosticated by ying Huo, who said: not auspicious.29

昔桀伐唐而枚占于營營或曰不吉不利出征惟利安處彼為狸我為鼠

In the past Jie attacked Tang and had the stalks prognosticated by ying. ying Huo said: not auspicious. not beneficial to go out on campaign, only beneficial to stay put. They are foxes, we are mice.30

昔者桀筮伐唐而枚占于營惑曰不吉彼為狸我為鼠勿用作事恐傷其父

In the past Jie divined by milfoil about attacking Tang and had the stalks prognosticated by ying Huo, who said: not auspicious. They are foxes, we are mice. Do not use to do any service, fearing to wound his father.31

既成其陈困其士女 (455). . . having completed his alignment, troubling his men and women.

不利开事唯利伏匿 (473). . . not beneficial to start affairs, only beneficial to hide away.

囗下以求不得以田伤马… (482). . . .. below to seek, not getting it in hunting, wounding the horse . . .

乘筞黄以游嚣风之阳而攴占夷鸟占之曰不吉不偁于室而偁于野… (491). . . about riding ronghuang to travel to the sunny side of Xiaofeng, and had the stalks prog-nosticated by yi niao. yi niao prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. not raised up in the room, but raised up in the wilds. . . .

囗于溥唯花作不初而利后之亡羊得牛 (538). . . .. in spreading out, only the flowers arise. It is not at the beginning but it benefits to put it later; losing a sheep, getting an ox.


大明占之曰不吉有初而无后… (550). . . Da Ming. Da Ming prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. There is a beginning but not an aftermath. . . .

昔鲧莖注洪水而枚占大明曰不吉有初無後

In the past Gun divined by milfoil about filling the floodwaters and had the stalks prog-nosticated by Da Ming, who said: not auspicious. There is a beginning, not an aftermath.32

昔者夸父卜囗为河囗而攴占尚父占之曰不吉侯囗而不涉谋而不囗囗齐

而不阴兴事不当囗… (560). . . In the past Kuafu divined about .. for the river .. and had the stalks prognosticated by Shangfu. Shangfu prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. The lord .. but does not ford, plots but does not .. , .. evenly but does not shade, undertakes affairs not proper .. . . .

邦尚毋有咎而攴占囗父占之曰吉唯山于田得其囗鹿如囗如屋王用囗…

. . . country: Would that there be no trouble, and had the stalks prognosticated by .. fu. .. fu prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. Only the mountains in the fields, get its .. deer, like .. like a room. The king herewith .. . . .

昔者河伯筮與洛戰而枚占昆吾占之不吉

In the past the Elder of the river divined by milfoil about battling with the Luo river, and had the stalks prognosticated by Kun Wu, who prognosticated them: not auspicious.33

Miscellaneous Fragments from Medieval Quotations

昔夏啟莖徙九鼎啟果徙之

In the past Qi of Xia divined by milfoil about transferring the nine cauldrons. Qi really transferred them.34

昔舜莖登天為神牧占有黄龍神曰不吉

In the past Shun divined by milfoil about ascending to heaven to become a spirit and prognosticated them with the yellow Dragon Spirit, who said: not auspicious.35

空桑之蒼蒼八極之既張乃有夫羲和是主日月職出入以為晦明

The Hollow Mulberry so green, the eight extremes being already spread out. Then there is Xi He, who rules the sun and moon, regulating their coming out and going in to make darkness and brightness.36


瞻彼上天一明一晦有夫羲和之子出于陽谷

Gaze at that high heaven, now bright now dark. There are Xi He’s sons, who come out from Sunny Valley.37

共工人面蛇身朱髮也

Gong Gong had a human face, a snake’s body, and red hair.38

滔滔洪水無所止極伯鯀乃以息石息壤以填洪水

So gushing were the floodwaters, with no place to stop the extremes. Elder Gun then used the expanding stone and the expanding soil to stop up the floodwaters.39

鯀死三歲不腐剖之以吳刀化為黄熊

Gun left and for three years did not decompose. They cut him open with a knife from Wu and he transformed into a yellow bear.40

麗山之子青羽人面馬身

The child of Majestic Mountain had green wings, a human face, and a horse’s body.41

羽民之狀鳥喙赤目而白首

The shape of the Winged People is a bird’s beak, crimson eyes, and a white head.42

金水之子其名曰羽蒙乃占之曰羽民是生百鳥

The child of Gold river, his name is Winged youth, then prognosticated them and said: The Winged People gave birth to the white bird.43

蚩尤出自羊水八肱八趾疏首登九淖以伐空桑黄帝殺之于青丘

Chi you came out from the Sheep river, with eight arms and eight legs and a sparse head, ascending the nine Bogs in order to attack the Hollow Mulberry. The yellow Emperor killed him on the Green Mound.44

有白雲出自倉梧入于大梁

There are white clouds that come out from the Green Catalpa and enter into Daliang.45

有鳧鴛鴦有雁鷫鷞

There are wild ducks and mandarin ducks, there are wild geese and kingfisher ducks.46

君子戒車小人戒徒

The nobleman takes warning of carts, the petty man takes warning of walking.47


上有高台下有雍池以此事君其貴若化若以賈市其富如河漢

Above there is a high terrace, below there is the dammed pond. Using this to serve the lord, his dignity is like a flower. If he uses it to buy and sell, his wealth will be like the rivers.48

有人將來遺我貨貝以至則徹以求則得有喜則至

There is a person about to come, bequeathing me property and money. If one arrives then one breaks through, if one seeks then one gets, and having joy then one arrives.49

有人將來遺我錢財日夜望之

There is a person about to come, bequeathing me money and goods. night and day I watch for him.50

Tomb 1 at Shuanggudui 雙古堆, Fuyang 阜陽, Anhui, ranks as one of the more important among the many notable discoveries in the 1970s of tombs containing texts.1 Excavated in 1977, the tomb has many par-

allels with the better-known Tomb 3 at Mawangdui 馬王堆, Changsha 長沙, Hunan, dis-covered just four years earlier.2 The two tombs are very close in date and both were tombs of local rulers, Tomb 1 at Shuanggudui being the tomb of Xia Hou Zao 夏侯竈, the second-generation Lord of ruyin 汝陰, who died in 165 b.c. Although much less well preserved than Tomb 3 at Mawangdui, which contained the famous trove of manuscripts written for the most part on silk rolls, Tomb 1 at Shuanggudui also contained numerous manuscripts, almost all of which were written on bamboo strips.3 The manuscripts include at least portions of the fol-lowing texts:

• Zhou Yi 周易, or Zhou Changes4

• Shi jing 詩經, or Classic of Poetry5

• Zhuangzi 莊子6

• Lü shi chunqiu 呂氏春秋7

• Fragmentsofpoetry,including Chu ci 楚辭, or Verses of Chu • Cang jie pian 倉頡篇, or Scroll of Cang jie9

• Wan wu 萬物, or Ten Thousand Things10

• twodifferentannalsextendingfromtheWesternZhouuntiltheHan11

• divinationmaterialssimilartotheXingde 刑德, or Punishment and Virtue, and rishu 日書, or daybook texts known from other tombs12

vit h e f u ya n g ZhOu YI m a n u s C r I P t

190 • The Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript

• atextsimilartotheChun qiu shi yu 春秋事語, or Stories and Sayings of the Spring and Autumn text from Mawangdui13

• atextforofficialsthattheexcavatorsrefertoasZuo wu yuan cheng 作務員程, or Per Capita Rate for Work Duties

• a text forassessingthequalitiesofdogsentitledXiang gou jing 相狗經, or Classic for Physiognomizing Dogs

• aphysiologicaltextreferredtoasXing qi 行氣, or Moving the Vapors • andthreewoodenboards(du 牘) that seem to be the tables of contents of three separate

works, the most complete among them being a text entitled Ru jia zhe yan 儒家者言, or Sayings of the Ru School, that seems to have much in common with the received text Kongzi jia yu 孔子家語, or School Sayings of Confucius, and another being that of the Chun qiu shi yu 春秋事語, or Stories and Sayings of the Spring and Autumn14

Unfortunately, only fragments of most of these texts survived their long burial and the tomb’s excavation; fortunately, for our purposes, the best-preserved manuscript is that of the Zhou Yi.

Excavation and Initial Organization Work

At the time of its excavation, Shuanggudui was located about two miles southwest of what was then downtown Fuyang, within the perimeter of the municipal airport. As the name im-plies, literally, “paired ancient tumuli,” the site featured two ancient tomb mounds, similar to the tumuli at Mawangdui. The entire site constituted a rise of more than 20 meters high and about 100 meters east-west by 60 to 70 meters north-south, with the two mounds protruding in the middle. During the first week of July 1977, with the airport undergoing expansion, local archaeologists from the Anhui Provincial Archaeological relics Work Team were called on to excavate the two tombs. The mounds were each found to cover the mouth of a tomb, Tomb 1 (M1) being to the east and Tomb 2 to the west. When opened, M1 turned out to be 9.2 meters long north-south at the mouth, 7.65 meters wide east-west, with a tomb ramp 4.1 meters wide; this is just about half as large as Tomb 3 at Mawangdui. The tomb chamber, 6.2 meters long by 3.8 meters wide, was divided into several compartments, the coffin chamber being to the east. The tomb had been burgled in antiquity, causing the massive beams of the chamber’s ceiling (it is worth noting that markings on these beams, left 1, left 2, right 3, etc., show that they had been prepared off-site and assembled in situ) to collapse into the tomb chamber itself. Although many of the grave goods in the tomb must have been looted at this time, there nonetheless remained numerous lacquer vessels and implements, bronze weapons, a bronze lamp, bronze mirror and bronze cauldron, a few iron weapons, and pottery musical instruments. Perhaps the most important of the grave goods were two well-preserved diviner’s boards (shi pan 式盤),

The Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript • 191

both composed of a square “earth board” (di pan 地盤) and round “heaven board” (tian pan 天盤), one depicting the twenty-eight lunar lodges and the other used for a type of divination referred to as liu ren 六壬 (the six ren days).15

Many of the artifacts in the tomb were inscribed with the name ruyin Hou 女 (汝) 陰侯, “Lord of ruyin.” The first Lord of ruyin was Xia Hou ying 夏侯嬰 (d. 172 b.c.), a close confederate of Liu Bang’s 劉邦 (r. 202–1995 b.c.), founder of the Han dynasty. The second-generation lord was Xia Hou Zao, who ruled the state for seven years (r. 171–165 b.c.).16 Zao was followed by Xia Hou Si 夏侯賜 (164–134 b.c.), then Xia Hou Po 夏侯頗 (r. 133–115 b.c.), who was forced to commit suicide, bringing the state to an end. Since the contents of the tomb can be dated roughly to the first half of the second century b.c., and since several pieces are dated to years of reign, presumably referring to the reign of one or another of the Han emperors, the latest date notation being shiyi nian 十一年 (eleventh year), the excavators concluded that this was the tomb of Xia Hou Zao, who died in the fifteenth year of Emperor Wen 文 of Han (r. 179–157 b.c.), that is, 165 b.c.

The excavation of the Shuanggudui tombs was beset by numerous difficulties. There are conflicting reports as to whether it was planned in advance or was an emergency salvage opera-tion; that the tumuli were well-known to be ancient tombs would presumably support the for-mer possibility. In any event, when M1 was opened, not only was it found to have been looted in antiquity but also it was filled with groundwater.17 The collapse of the ceiling beams had caused considerable damage, in particular to the bamboo strips. The strips had originally been placed in a lacquer container in the eastern coffin chamber, but this container was destroyed and the strips damaged when the ceiling beams collapsed on top of them. The archaeologists retrieved three clumps of bamboo material, fused together by the pressure of the ceiling beams on them. Since there are no complete bamboo strips, it seems clear that the beams broke the scrolls lengthwise in one or more places. Other isolated fragments of bamboo strips were pumped out of the tomb with the groundwater that had filled it.

The bamboo strips, including especially these three clumps of bamboo material, were shipped to Beijing, where Han Ziqiang 韓自強, director of what was then called the Fuyang Local Museum (Fuyang Diqu Bowuguan 阜陽地區博物館) and the local archaeologist in charge of the excavation, and the late yu Haoliang 于豪亮 (1917–1982), the head of the An-cient Documents research Office of the Bureau of Cultural relics, were assigned responsibil-ity for “organizing” (zhengli 整理) them. Although as far as I know no measurements of these clumps have been published, Hu Pingsheng 胡平生, who joined the organization efforts after the death of yu Haoliang in 1982, has reported to me that the largest of the three, the one con-taining the Zhou Yi text, was approximately 25 cm long by about 10 cm wide and 10 cm high; he described the other two clumps as being “rather smaller.” It seems apparent from the dimen-sions that the clumps were originally scrolls or bundles of bamboo strips, though probably not discrete bundles, since each clump contained strips of different texts.


Once in Beijing, the clumps were soaked in a weak vinegar solution to remove any mud adhering to them and then baked in an oven to remove the excess moisture. Han Ziqiang then began the effort of peeling off individual strips. Unfortunately, no record was made of where the individual pieces came from or in what order they were taken. Hu Pingsheng has described to me that the clumps were held in the hand and twisted and turned to get at whichever strip it might next be possible to pry free. There are reports that this painstaking process took the better part of two years, and that the bamboo had become so thin and so brittle that it would occasionally crumble into dust at the merest touch.18 Occasionally (though apparently not in the case of the Zhou Yi manuscript), the ink of the record would adhere to the back of the strip immediately above it and would then have to be read as a mirror image. Finally, each of the individual strips was photographed. Hu Pingsheng has told me that although every effort was made to make full-size photographs, because of different lighting needs the photographer occasionally moved the camera slightly, rendering some pieces slightly not to scale. Unfortu-nately again, no record was made of which pieces are not to scale. nevertheless, Hu informs me that in no case would the discrepancy be very great.

Given all these circumstances it is miraculous that anything at all has survived. As it is, the editorial efforts of Han Ziqiang and Hu Pingsheng have produced a good, if still incomplete, idea of what the Zhou Yi manuscript looked like. Han Ziqiang has identified 752 fragments as belonging to the Zhou Yi text,19 with a total of 3,119 characters. Of these, 1,110 characters belong to the basic text (i.e., the received text of the Zhou Yi), including three different hexagram pic-tures (gua hua 卦畫),20 with passages from 170 or more hexagram or line statements in fifty-two different hexagrams.21 The remaining 2,009 characters belong to divination statements appended to each hexagram and line statement of the basic text.22 These divination statements, which concern such personal topics as someone who is ill (bingzhe 病者), one’s residence (ju jia 居家), marriage (qu fu 取婦 or jia nü 家女), someone who is pregnant (yunzhe 孕者), and births (chan zi 產子); administrative topics such as taking an office (lin guan 臨官 or ju guan 居官), criminals (zuiren 罪人), jailings (xi qiu 繫囚), someone who has fled (wangzhe 亡者), and military actions (gong zhan 攻戰 or zhandou 戰斵); general topics such as under-taking some business (ju shi 舉事) or trying to get something (you qiu 有求) or traveling (xing 行) and hunting and fishing (tian yu 田漁); and, of course, the weather: whether it will be fine (xing 星, i.e., qing 晴), rain (yu 雨), or if the rain will stop (qi 齊), as well as other more oc-casional topics, are perhaps the most interesting feature of the manuscript. Later in the chapter I discuss their general implications for the history of the Zhou Yi. Before doing so, however, it is perhaps useful to describe as carefully as possible the physical characteristics of the Fuyang Zhou Yi manuscript.23


Physical nature of the Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript

We can try to go further to get some sense of the physical nature of the manuscript. Han Zi-qiang reports simply that the longest fragment (he does not indicate which fragment, but it is presumably no. 126) is 15.5 cm long, 0.5 cm wide, and bears twenty-three characters.24 Hu Ping-sheng has been more conclusive, saying that the strips were “possibly about 26 cm long.”25 I sus-pect that Hu was influenced in this conjecture by the work he had done earlier with the Fuyang Shi jing manuscript, the strips of which he demonstrated to be about 26 cm long, bound with only two binding straps, one at the top and one at the bottom.26 In fact, there is clear evidence that the bamboo strips of the Zhou Yi manuscript were considerably longer than this, even if there is not a single strip intact and it is still unclear exactly how long they were.

It seems clear first of all that, like the subsequently discovered Shanghai Museum manu-script, each of the sixty-four discrete hexagram texts begins on a new strip, with the text of the hexagram copied on consecutive strips until completed, with the remainder of the last strip left blank, as can be seen clearly in no. 277 and no. 354 (see figure 6.1). The hexagram text begins with the hexagram picture, with yang lines drawn as 一 and yin lines drawn more or less as ハ, coming at the very top of a strip (for evidence of this, see strips 64 and 151, and especially no. 86; figure 6.2). Under this, but separated by a space large enough to accommodate the top binding strap, comes the hexagram name, as can be seen in strip no. 86. In subsequent strips, the area above the top binding strap was left blank, as can be seen, for instance, in strip no. 141 (figure 6.3), leaving a blank area of 1.5 cm from the top of the strip to the top of the first char-acter. A similar border was created by the bottom binding strap, also leaving an area of 1.5 cm from the bottom of the last character to the bottom of the strip, as can be seen, for example, in strip no. 140 (figure 6.4).

It is also clear that the strips of the Zhou Yi manuscript were bound with three binding straps, including one at the middle as well as those at the top and bottom. Evidence of this can be seen, for instance, on strip no. 58 (figure 6.5), on which a gap between the tenth and eleventh characters, zhe 者 and bu 不, was left to accommodate such a middle binding strap. I give the text according to the transcription of Han Ziqiang, labeled according to his entry numbers.27

58. 戰斵遆强不得志卜病者　不死乃𤵸・九四乘高唐弗克58. . . . battling: the enemy will be strong but will not obtain its will; divining about someone who is sick: if they do not die then they will get better.・nine in the Fourth: riding on a high platform, you cannot . . .

By estimating the distance between the top and middle or middle and bottom binding straps, it should be possible to come to some idea as to the length of the original strip. Unfortunately,

Figure 6.1 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 277, showing bottom of strip left blank; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 20

Figure 6.2 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 86, showing hexagram picture; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 8

Figure 6.3 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 141, showing top margin of bamboo strips left blank; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 8

Figure 6.4 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 140, showing bottom margin of bamboo strips; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 12

Figure 6.5 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 58, 19 cm long, showing evidence of middle binding strap; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 6

6.1

6.2

6.36.4

6.5


Figure 6.6 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 57; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 6

both the top and bottom of strip no. 58 have been broken. However, strip no. 58 can almost certainly be rejoined with strip no. 57.

57. 興卜有罪者兇57. . . . arise. Divining about a guilty one: ominous . . .

Strip no. 57 contains the last character of the nine in the Third line statement of Tong Ren 同人, “Fellow Men,” hexagram,28 and no. 58 contains the beginning of the nine in the Fourth line of the same hexagram, that is, the line immediately following it in the received text of the Zhou Yi. Strip no. 57 is clearly the top of a strip (see figure 6.6), with the top 1 cm of the strip blank. As mentioned, evidence from other strips indicates that the blank area at the top of strips was 1.5 cm long, and indeed it is clear from the photograph that the tip of this strip has broken off, presumably losing about 0.5 cm. At the bottom of this fragment, only the very top portion of the character xiong 兇, “ominous,” is extant, the strip having been broken in the middle of the character. Strip no. 57 is 5.1 cm long. Strip no. 58 is 19 cm long in all, though, as I said, it is broken at both ends. The top of this fragment breaks right in the middle of the character zhan 戰, “battling.” Combining the two strips gives the following text:

57. 興卜有罪者兇58. 戰斵遆强不得志卜病者　不死乃𤵸・九四乘高唐弗克57. . . . . . . arise. Divining about a guilty one: ominous . . . 58. . . . battling: the enemy will be strong but will not obtain its will; divining about someone who is sick: if they do not die then they will get better.・nine in the Fourth: riding on a high platform, you cannot . . .


From the top of no. 58 to the space left for the middle binding strap is 9.5 cm. Adding this to the 5.1 cm of no. 57 (actually, at least 5.5. cm, allowing for the breakage at the top of the strip), would suggest that the original strip was at least 30 cm long (9.5 + 5.5 = 15 x 2 = 30). However, it is also clear that the two fragments cannot be rejoined neatly. not only have the characters xiong 兇 and zhan 戰, the last and first characters of the two fragments, been broken off in the middle, but also it would seem from the phrasing of the divination statements that at least the one character bu 卜, “divining,” must have come at the head of the phrase zhan dou di qiang bu de qi zhi 戰斵遆强不得志, “battling: the enemy will be strong but will not obtain its will.” By comparison with the characters zhi bu bing 志卜病, “will; divining about sick,” farther down on fragment no. 58, the length of this fragment would have been at least 1.5 cm. This would make the entire strip at least 33 cm long and possibly longer if there were other intervening text.

A second case is fragments 125 and 126 (figure 6.7):

125. 无亡元亨利貞其匪𨒌有眚不利有攸往卜雨不雨不□

126. 齊不吏君不吉田魚不得・初九无亡往吉卜田魚得而125. nothing Gone: Prime receipt; beneficial to determine; his not going to correct has curses; not beneficial to have someplace to go. Divining about rain: it will not rain; it will not . . . 126. . . . about clearing: it will clear; about not serving the lord: not auspicious; about hunting and fishing: you will not obtain anything.・First nine: nothing Gone goes; auspicious. Di-vining about hunting and fishing: you will obtain something and . . .

Fragment 125, which is 15.5 cm long, begins with the Wu Wang 无亡, “nothing Gone,” hexa-gram name, followed by its hexagram statement. Comparison with other hexagram texts shows that this hexagram name would have come immediately below the top binding strap, above which would have been the hexagram picture, unfortunately broken off here. As already pointed out, these heads of strips were 1.5 cm long. The bottom of the strip is also broken. Fragment 126, which is also 15.5 cm long, begins with divination statements before continu-ing with the nine in the First line statement of Wu Wang hexagram, that is, the line state-ment immediately following the hexagram statement on no. 125. It seems certain that these two strips can be rejoined, the only questions being whether there were any intervening fragments between them and whether the blank space visible after the “・” symbol indicating the divi-sion between line statements was intentionally left to accommodate a middle binding strap. The answer to the second question is probably negative. Although there is a distinct space after the “・” symbol, it is not as pronounced as the spaces that were surely meant to accommodate a binding strap (such as on fragment 58). Moreover, if this were the place where the middle binding strap passed, and if fragments 125 and 126 were originally a single strip, as seems clearly to be the case, then that binding strap would have been placed at least 24.5 cm from the top of


the strip, suggesting that the entire strip was almost 50 cm long; there is no other evidence that the Fuyang strips were so long. However, with respect to the first question, whether any other fragment or fragments might have intervened between no. 125 and no. 126, the answer would probably have to be “probably.” The divination statement that ends no. 125 concerns whether it will rain (bu yu 卜雨, “divining about whether it will rain”), with the predicted result being that it will not (bu yu 不雨, “it will not rain”),29 followed by the upper left-hand portion of the character bu 不, “not,” and the upper left-hand portion of two horizontal lines. Fragment 126 begins with what the editors transcribe as qi 齊, “to clear,” though the photograph fails to register any character at all here and even the hand copy is incomplete. Whether or not

Figure 6.7 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 125, 15.5 cm long, and no. 126, 15.5 cm long; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 11


this character should in fact be transcribed as qi (and it is not at all certain that it should be; the character qi certainly occurs on fragment 631, where the bottom right-hand portion—all that survives of the character on no. 126—is rather different from what is seen here), it seems unlikely that the two horizontal lines at the bottom of no. 125 are part of this character. It seems likely that there was at least the bottom portion of this one character here on no. 125, perhaps followed by a space. As for the character on no. 126 transcribed as qi, it is followed by a repeti-tion mark (), indicating that the character is to be read twice, presumably the first time as the topic of the divination and the second time as the predicted result, that is, “[divining about] whether it will not .. clear; it will clear.” Since the divination topic concerning rain that comes at the end of no. 125 and this one about it “clearing” are clearly related, it seems likely that no. 126 would have immediately followed no. 125. The most likely scenario for these two fragments is that they were broken at or about the top and bottom binding straps and also at the middle binding strap. This is consistent with what is seen elsewhere with bamboo-strip manuscripts. The bamboo strips were routinely notched at the points where the binding straps passed in order to keep the silk or hemp strap from sliding up and down the strip. Unfortunately, these notches tended to weaken the strips at these points, often causing them to break. If this is the case here, then the middle binding strap would have come at about 17 cm or 17.5 cm from the top of the strip, suggesting a total length for the strip of 34 cm or 35 cm, fairly close to the result obtained from the analysis of fragments 57 and 58.

There are other cases that suggest that the strips were slightly longer. Fragments 151 and 152 contain the opening of Li 離, “Fastening,” hexagram and can probably be directly rejoined (see figure 6.8).30

151. ䷝離利貞亨畜牝牛吉居官及家不吉罪人152. 不解・初九履然

151. ䷝ Fastening: Beneficial to determine; receipt. rearing a female bovine: auspicious. Resid-ing in office and the family: not auspicious; about a guilty man: . . . 152. . . . he will not be released.・First nine: Stepping crosswise;

The last character of fragment 151 seems to be the top portion of ren 人, “man,” consistent with the wording of other fragmentary divination statements (as, for instance, no. 421 and no. 422), and this is how the editors have transcribed it. At the very top of fragment 152, one can just barely make out what might be the lower right-hand portion of the character ren 人; if so, then the fragments should surely be rejoined. In any event, the phrase zui ren bu jie 罪人不解 understood as “[divining about] a guilty man: he will not be released” would seem to con-stitute a discrete divination topic and result, again suggesting that the two fragments should be rejoined. However, if they are rejoined in this way, given that no. 151 is 12.7 cm long and no. 152 is 5.7 cm long and that neither of them reveals any space for a middle binding strap (no.


151 shows clear evidence of a top binding strap), then the middle binding strap could not have come less than about 18.5 cm from the top of the strip, suggesting that the entire strip would have been at least 37 cm long.

The final case to examine includes five fragments that almost certainly constituted por-tions of two successive bamboo strips, nos. 133–37, including text from the Six in the Second through the Six in the Fifth line statements of Yi 頤, “Jaws,” hexagram (see figure 6.9).

133. 囗吏・六二奠頤弗經于丘頤政凶求不得134. 弗頤貞凶[十]135. 囗囗囗囗十年之後乃復・六四顛頤吉虎視眈其

136. 遂无咎卜此大

137. ・六五不經133. . . . serve. Six in the Second: Placing the jaws; not passing it through the mounded jaws; governing: ominous. Seeking: one will not obtain; . . .

Figure 6.8 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 151, 12.7 cm long, and no. 152, 5.7 cm long; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 13


134. . . . not jawing it; determining: ominous. For ten …135. .. .. .. .. after ten years then it will return.・Six in the Fourth: Overturning the jaws: auspi-cious. A tiger watches fearsomely, its . . . 136. appearance so compliant; there is no trouble. Divining about this: there will be great . . . 137. . . .・Six in the Fifth: not vertical; . . .

Although there is no question that these five fragments go together in this order, there is con-siderable uncertainty about how they do so, and this renders the following analysis more prob-lematic than the analyses above. nevertheless, there is enough evidence to suggest that the analysis is worthwhile. One begins with evidence for three different binding straps: at the top

Figure 6.9 Fuyang Zhou Yi strip no. 133, 11.8 cm long, no. 134, 3.4 cm long, no. 135, 14.6 cm long, no. 136, 5.1 cm long, and no. 137, 5.1 cm long; after Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou yi” yanjiu, 11–12


of fragment 133, which could reflect either a top or, as I suggest more likely, middle binding strap; a middle binding strap on no. 135; and a bottom binding strap on no. 137. In addition to this evidence of spaces for binding straps, it is also noteworthy that the bottom of no. 133 is broken obliquely from right to left, as is the top of no. 134; this may well suggest that they were broken with the same directional force, even if it is clear that a fragment bearing at least a “・” symbol and the two characters liu san 六三 “Six in the Third,” would have come between no. 133 and no. 134. Although this would mean that the only divination statement attached to the Six in the Second line would be qiu bu de 求不得 “Seeking: one will not obtain,” there are other cases in which only a single divination statement is attached to a given line statement. If this is the case, and if no. 134 was broken at the notch for the bottom binding strap (this is a very big “if,” but not without its justification), then this bottom half of a strip would be at least 11.4 cm (no. 133) + 1.5 cm (・六三; for which, see fragment 249) + 3.0 cm (no. 134) + 1.5 cm (the foot of the strip), or 17.4 cm. That this result is more or less consistent with the results obtained above in the case of strips 151 and 152 might encourage us to accept it. Fragments nos. 135–136–137 seem almost certainly to constitute a separate single strip. Fragment no.135 is about 15.2 cm long, with space for a middle binding strap at about 12 cm; no. 136 bears text that follows immediately upon this; and, as mentioned, no. 137 is clearly the bottom of a strip. It is unfortunate that there is no comparable text for the partial divination statement found on no. 136: bu ci da 卜此大, “Divining about this: there will be great . . .” Combining the 3.2 cm from the point of the middle binding strap of no. 135 to its end with the 5.1 cm of no. 136 and the 5.1 cm of no. 137 gives 13.4 cm, 4 cm less than the proposed length of fragments no. 133 and no. 134; 4 cm would be roughly the length of four to five characters on these particular strips, perhaps about the right number to complete this divination statement. Unfortunately, we will probably never know what these characters were, and so the reconstruction remains conjectural.

Though none of the analyses presented above can be regarded as definitive, they all point to bamboo strips of about 36 cm in length. This is roughly one foot (chi 尺), six inches (cun 寸), in Han-dynasty measure. Although this is considerably shorter than Eastern Han reports that “classics” such as the Zhou Yi were to be written on strips of two feet, four inches (roughly 48 cm), and is considerably longer than Hu Pingsheng’s reconstruction of the bamboo strips at Fuyang bearing the Shi jing (again, 26 cm), that it is more or less similar to some Warring States strips bearing similar sorts of texts perhaps suggests that it is credible.31 In any event, this is what the evidence seems to suggest.

We can also try to move beyond the level of the individual strip to imagine how the entire manuscript may have looked. As I mentioned, Han Ziqiang reports that 752 or more fragments belong to the Zhou Yi manuscript, with a total of 3,119 characters. Of these, 1,110 characters be-long to the basic text, and 2,009 characters belong to the divination statements. Since the total number of characters in the 450 hexagram and line statements of the Zhou Yi is 5,012, a simple


proportion would suggest that the divination statements originally included upward of 10,000 characters, for an average of about 22 characters per hexagram or line statement. It would be desirable to check this average against actual cases. Unfortunately, because of the extremely fragmentary nature of the manuscript, and because of the more or less generic quality of the divination statements, making it difficult to join together fragments bearing only divination statements, it is only in extraordinary cases that such statements have been preserved or can be reconstructed in their entirety. Indeed, as far as I can tell, there are only three cases in all. I have already examined two of them: on strips 57 and 58, which pertain to the nine in the Third line statement of Tong Ren hexagram, and strips 125 and 126, which pertain to the hexagram statement of Wu Wang hexagram. In addition to these two cases, only strips 50 and 51, which doubtless pertain to the Six in the Second line of Pi 否, “negation,” hexagram, preserve what appears to be a complete divination statement.

50. 亨以卜大人不吉小51. 人吉・六三枹羞卜雨50. . . . receipt. In divining about a great man: not auspicious; about a little . . . 51. . . . man auspicious.・Six in the Third: Wrap the meat offering. Divining about rain . . .

Of these divination statements, the statement of nos. 57–58 includes 18 characters, that of nos. 125–26, 17 characters, and that of nos. 50–51, only 9 characters, for an average of 14.6 charac-ters per line. Somewhat discounting the case of nos. 50–51 as an outlier, assuming an average of about 17 characters per statement would give a total of 7,650 characters in all, or about 120 characters per hexagram in the divination statements.

Strips 125 and 126, which probably constitute a complete strip except for the areas above and below the top and bottom binding straps, suggest that a complete strip would include about 45 characters. This is by no means an absolute figure, because the writing on some strips is clearly larger than that on others. However, it would seem to be a reasonable rough estimate. Combining this estimate with that above for the divination statements and also the number of characters per hexagram in the received text of the Zhou Yi (see table 6.1), which ranges from a low of 42 characters (for Dui 兑 hexagram) to a high of 107 characters (for Kun 困 hexagram), with a median number of 77 characters, would suggest the manuscript would contain some-where between 160 and 225 characters per hexagram (42–107 characters of the basic text + 120 characters of divination statements). Divided by 45 characters per strip, this would suggest that most hexagram texts were copied on either four or five bamboo strips. Multiplying this by the sixty-four hexagrams of the text would give a total number of strips of about 290. needless to say, this is a very rough estimate, but it is probably not too far off. If it is more or less accurate, then since the individual strips were 0.5 cm wide, if they were all bound into a single scroll, it would have been about 1.5 m long (allowing for a minimum amount of space to accommodate


Table 6.1 Characters per hexagram in the received text of the Zhou Yi

Hexagram Chars.

1 乾 Qian 65

2 坤 Kun 88

3 屯 Zhun 100

4 蒙 Meng 85

5 需 Xu 72

6 訟 Song 89

7 師 Shi 76

8 比 Bi 77

9 小畜 Xiao Chu 73

10 履 Lü 69

11 泰 Tai 94

12 否 Pi 71

13 同人 Tong Ren 74

14 大有 Da You 64

15 謙 Qian 63

16 豫 Yu 57

17 隨 Sui 78

18 蠱 Gu 77

19 臨 Lin 59

20 觀 Guan 63

21 噬嗑 Shike 64

22 賁 Ben 63

Hexagram Chars.

23 剝 Bo 62

24 復 Fu 83

25 无妄 Wu wang 79

26 大畜 Da Chu 61

27 頤 Yi 81

28 大過 Da guo 70

29 坎 Kan 62

30 離 Li 79

31 咸 Xian 58

32 恆 heng 57

33 遯 Dun 62

34 大壯 Dazhuang 68

35 晉 Jin 83

36 明夷 Mingyi 84

37 家人 Jiaren 58

38 睽 Kui 96

39 蹇 Jian 59

40 解 Jie 79

41 損 Sun 101

42 益 Yi 99

43 夬 Guai 86

44 姤 Gou 67

Hexagram Chars.

45 萃 Cui 95

46 升 Sheng 59

47 困 Kun 107

48 井 Jing 85

49 革 Ge 76

50 鼎 Ding 82

51 震 Zhen 96

52 艮 Gen 62

53 漸 Jian 89

54 歸妹 Gui mei 84

55 豐 Feng 98

56 旅 Lü 82

57 巽 Xun 81

58 兌 Dui 42

59 渙 huan 70

60 節 Jie 63

61 中孚 Zhong fu 77

62 小過 Xiao guo 103

63 既濟 Ji ji 78

64 未濟 Wei ji 83

silk binding straps). Performing a simple experiment with modern bamboo strips of 0.5 cm in width suggests that this many strips rolled together would produce a scroll of roughly 11–12 cm in diameter, more or less similar to Hu Pingsheng’s description of the dimensions of the largest block of bamboo material from the Fuyang tomb, the one apparently containing the Zhou Yi manuscript. However, though it is an intriguing experiment to try to reconstruct the original scroll or scrolls, the fragmentary nature of the evidence would surely render any conclusion entirely hypothetical.32


The Textual nature of the Fuyang Manuscript

Although the bamboo strips are too fragmentary to allow any single hexagram text to be recon-structed in its entirety, much less any two hexagrams in sequence (and, thus, these materials do not provide any information regarding the sequence of the sixty-four hexagrams), by piecing together various of the fragments it is possible to determine the basic structure of the text. As demonstrated above, each hexagram text begins at the top of a strip with the hexagram picture, with yang lines drawn as 一 and yin lines drawn as ハ. Three such hexagram pictures survive (Da You 大有, “Great Offering,” no. 64, Lin 林, “Forest” [i.e., 臨, “Looking Down”], no. 86, and Li 離, “Fastening,” no. 151). The hexagram picture is followed, after a brief space apparently allowing for the top binding strap to pass, by the hexagram name, usually agreeing quite closely with the name in the received text of the Zhou Yi, though there are also the sorts of allographs and loan graphs we have come to expect from Western Han paleographic materials.33 A good example is the fragment for Lin hexagram, the hexagram name of which is written as 林 (see figure 6.2).

86. ䷒林86. ䷒ “Forest”

The hexagram name is followed immediately by the hexagram statement, again usually cor-responding quite closely with the received text.34 A good example of this is strip 64, which contains the hexagram picture, hexagram name, and hexagram statement of Da You, “Great Offering,” hexagram.

64. ䷍大有元亨卜雨不[雨]64. ䷍ “Great Offering”: Prime receipt. Divining about rain: it will not [rain]. . . .

As can be seen in this example, at the end of the hexagram statement comes a more or less protracted divination statement (distinguished in the English translation from the text that corresponds to the received text of the Zhou Yi by writing it in italics), often, as here—though not invariably—introduced with the word bu 卜, “divining.”35 The divination statement con-cerns whether it will rain and includes the prognostication that it will not.36 A more developed example of these divination statements is to be seen in the hexagram statement of Wu Wang 无亡, “nothing Lost,” hexagram, examined in the previous section for what it shows concerning the physical nature of the strips.

125.无亡元亨利貞其匪𨒌有眚不利有攸往卜雨不雨不囗

126. 齊不吏君不吉田魚不得・初九无亡往吉卜田魚得而


125. nothing Gone: Prime receipt; beneficial to determine; his not going to correct has curses; not beneficial to have someplace to go. Divining about rain: it will not rain; it will not . . . 126. . . . about clearing: it will clear; about not serving the lord: not auspicious; about hunting and fishing: you will not obtain anything.・First nine: nothing Gone goes; auspicious. Di-vining about hunting and fishing: you will obtain something and . . .

There are at least four different divination statements appended to this single hexagram state-ment: two different statements concerning the weather (whether it will rain and whether it will clear), one about serving one’s lord, and one about hunting and fishing. As I discuss toward the end of this chapter, the nature of these divination statements would seem to be more or less analogous with many of the phrases found in the hexagram and line statements of the Zhou Yi itself, such as “his not going to correct has curses” (qi fei zheng you sheng 其匪𨒌有眚)37 and “not beneficial to have someplace to go” (bu li you you wang 不利有攸往) here (and perhaps also the “beneficial to determine” [li zhen 利貞], though this is perhaps a special case),38 and may provide some indication as to how the hexagram and line statements came into being.

The last phrase in these divination statements associated with the hexagram statement is followed, as here in the case of Wu Wang hexagram, by the symbol “・,” which divides it from the following line statement of the Zhou Yi proper, in this case the First nine (chujiu 初九) line of Wu Wang. The six line statements of the hexagram then all follow the same pattern: line statement + divination statement(s) followed by the symbol “・” (though this symbol does not appear after the completion of the final “Top” [shang 上] line statement).

The Fuyang manuscript is too fragmentary to illustrate the entirety of even a single hexagram text. However, the general structure can be shown by the eleven strips that pertain to the hexagram statement and five of the six line statements of Tong Ren 同人, “Fellow Men” (hexagram 13 in the traditional sequence of the text), hexagram. To give some sense of the process involved in reconstructing the text, I first present as individual lines all eleven strips in Chinese and then follow that with an English translation that is separated into the hexagram and various line statements of the Zhou Yi (in the translation supplying missing text from the received text as needed in parentheses), and highlighting the divination state-ments in italics.

53. 同人于壄亨54. 君子之貞55. ・六二同人于宗吝卜子産不孝吏56. 三伏戎于57. 興卜有罪者兇58. 戰斵遆强不得志卜病者不死乃𤵸・九四乘高唐弗克


59. 有爲不成・九五同60. 人先號61. 後笑大師62. 相卜𣪠囚

63. 九同人于鄗无𠧩卜居官法免

53. . . . Fellow men in the wilds; receipt. (Beneficial to cross the great river; beneficial for a)54. nobleman’s determination.(First nine: Fellow men at the gate; there is no trouble.)55. . . .・Six in the Second: Fellow men at the ancestral temple; distress. Divining about a child: you will give birth, but it will not be filial; about serving . . . 56. (nine in the) Third: Crouching enemies in (the grass: ascending the high mound, for three years not)57. . . . arising. Divining about a guilty one: ominous . . . 58. . . . battling: the enemy will be strong but will not obtain its will; divining about someone who is sick: if they do not die then they will get better.・nine in the Fourth: riding on a high wall, you cannot (be attacked; auspicious.) . . . 59. . . . something will be done but not finished.・nine in the Fifth: Fellow60. men, first shouting,61. later laughing; the great armies .. (can)62. meet each other. Divining about tying a prisoner: . . . 63. . . . (Top) nine: Fellow men in the suburbs; there is no regret. Divining about residing in office: you will be dismissed. . . .

Despite the fragmentary nature of these bamboo-strip texts, two things are clear: first, the text of the Zhou Yi itself corresponds very closely with that of the received text;39 and sec-ond, each hexagram and line statement is furnished with at least one divination statement, and some (such as the nine in the Third line here) have multiple divination statements. The relationship between the Zhou Yi text and the divination statements is less clear, but their pairing was probably not random. Thus, it seems appropriate that the apparently omi-nous but inconclusive nine in the Third line statement “Crouching belligerents in the grass: Ascending its high hillock, For three years not arising” should give rise to an ambivalent divination statement such as “in divining about doing battle, the enemy will be strong but will not get its way.” In the following section, I examine several more examples of Fuyang Zhou Yi line statements and divination statements, and on the basis of this examination try to draw some implications for the appearance of similar divination statements in the text of the Zhou Yi itself.


The nature of the Divination Statements and Their relationship to the Hexagram and Line Statements of the Zhou Yi

As demonstrated above, the divination statements in the Fuyang Zhou Yi text are usually dif-ferentiated from the Zhou Yi text itself by the introductory verb bu 卜, “to divine.”40 However, the contents of the statements are often sufficiently similar to those of the hexagram or line statement to which they are attached that if we did not have a received text against which to compare them, it would be difficult to differentiate between them. Consider, for instance, the following several examples, which illustrate different types of relationships. I again supply in parentheses the missing text from the received text of the Zhou Yi when it is relevant to the understanding.

98.・初九屢校威 (趾无咎)99. 𣪠囚者桎梏吉不兇・六二筮膚威98. . . .・First nine: Frequently fettered and cutting off (a foot; there is no trouble).99. . . . Tying a prisoner in fetters and handcuffs: auspicious, not ominous.・Six in the Second: Biting flesh and cutting off . . .

This divination statement is attached to the First nine line of Shi zha筮閘 (written Shi ke噬嗑 in the received text), “Biting and Chewing,” hexagram (number 21 in the received se-quence). It is easy to see that the divination statement about shackling prisoners corresponds exactly with the contents of the line statement.

120.六二休復吉卜121. 出妻皆復・六三頻120. . . . Six in the Second: Successful return; auspicious. Divining . . . 121. . . . departing wives all return.・Six in the Third: repeated . . .

In this case, the Six in the Second line of Fu復, “returning,” hexagram (number 24 in the received sequence), whatever the specific meaning of “Successful return” may have been, the prognostication that “departing wives all return” is obviously related to the major theme of “returning.”

151.䷝離利貞亨畜牝牛吉居官及家不吉罪人152. 不解・初九履然

151. ䷝ Fastening: Beneficial to determine; receipt. rearing a female bovine; auspicious. Re-siding in office and the family: not auspicious; about a guilty man: he will152. not be released.・First nine: Stepping crosswise;


In this case, which is the hexagram statement of Li 離, “Fastening,” hexagram, the divina-tion statement does not begin with bu 卜, “divining.” Although there is no necessary correla-tion between the hexagram statement proper and either of the attached divination statements (though it would perhaps not to be too hard to see an association between the sense of “fasten-ing,” the original sense of which is “to be caught in a net,” and the guilty man not being released [zui ren bu jie 罪人不解]), neither is there any obvious correlation with the phrase “rearing a female bovine; auspicious” (chu pin niu ji 畜牝牛吉), which is part of the original hexagram statement, and the hexagram name or the rest of the hexagram text. Indeed, it would be easy to imagine that this phrase was produced in the same context as the phrases about “residing in office and the family” (ju guan ji jia 居官及家) not being “auspicious” (bu ji 不吉) or about the “guilty man” not being “released.”

If we now consider one final example, I think it may be possible also to draw some infer-ences about how the original line statements of the Zhou Yi came to be formed. Fuyang strips 18 and 19 correspond to the nine in the Second line of Meng 蒙, “Shrouded,” hexagram (num-ber 4 in the received sequence).41

18. (九二包蒙吉納婦) 老婦吉子克19. 家利嫁18. (nine in the Second: Wrapping the shroud. Auspicious. Taking a wife:) an old wife:42

auspicious; a son can19. marry. Beneficial to marry off (a daughter) . . .

Given the relationship between the divination statements and hexagram or line statements suggested above it is easy to see a relationship between the divination statement “beneficial to marry off (a daughter)” (li jia 利嫁) and the line statement “the son can make a family” (zi ke jia 子克家). Indeed, if, as in the case of the hexagram statement of Li hexagram examined immediately above, there were no “divining about” here to divide the two statements, it would be easy to read the divination statement as part of the line statement. One of the most frequent formulas in the line statements of the Zhou Yi begins with the word “beneficial” (li 利): the phrases “beneficial to see the great man” (li jian da ren 利見大人), “beneficial to ford the great river” (li she da chuan 利涉大川), “beneficial to have someplace to go” (li you you wang 利有攸往) each occur numerous times, while “beneficial herewith to punish the man” (li yong xing ren 利用刑人), “beneficial to ward off robbers” (li yu kou 利禦寇), “beneficial herewith to invade and attack” (li yong qin fa 利用侵伐), “beneficial herewith to set in motion the army” (li yong xing shi 利用行師), “beneficial herewith to make an offering” (li yong ji si 利用祭祀), and numerous others each occur once or twice. The divination statement “beneficial to marry off (a daughter)” would seem to be no different in kind from all these “beneficial” formulas of


the Zhou Yi. It is easy to imagine that, but for a different divination official responsible for the final editing of the Zhou Yi, this Fuyang phrase, or one much like it, could have come to be at-tached at the end of the nine in the Second line statement of Meng hexagram.

It is also easy to imagine that the formulas that did make their way into the Zhou Yi de-rived originally from the same sort of divination context as that which produced the Fuyang text. In an important study first published in 1947, Li Jingchi 李鏡池 (1902–1975) suggested that Zhou Yi line statements are typically composed of different sorts of textual materials.43 He identified three different types or components of complete line statements: “image prognosti-cations” (xiang zhan zhi ci 象占之辭), by which he meant such images as the various dragons (long 龍) of Qian 乾, “Vigor,” hexagram or the phrase “The withered poplar grows a sprout” (ku yang sheng ti 枯楊生稊) of the nine in the Second line of Da Guo 大過, “Greater Sur-passing,” hexagram; “narratives” (xu shi zhi ci 敘事之辭), by which he seems to have meant especially such statements involving human action as “beneficial to see the great man” of the nine in the Second line of Qian hexagram or “The old man gets a maiden wife” (lao fu de qi nü qi 老夫得其女妻) of that same nine in the Second line of Da Guo hexagram; and “divina-tions and portents” (zhen zhao zhi ci 貞兆之辭), by which he meant the various formulaic divination terms so ubiquitous in the Zhou Yi: ji 吉, “auspicious”; xiong 凶, “ominous”; li 厲, “dangerous”; lin 吝, “distress”; hui 悔, “regret”; hui wang 悔亡, “regret gone”; wu jiu 无咎, “there is no trouble”; wu you li 无攸利, “there is nothing beneficial”; wu bu li 无不利, “there is nothing not beneficial”; li zhen 利貞, “beneficial to divine,” and so on.

Although some of Li’s examples need revision,44 and the names he gave to his three cat-egories could probably be improved, nevertheless his insight that line statements were the result of a multistep process seems to find corroboration in the Fuyang Zhou Yi divination statements. Consider the following line statements taken from the received text of the Zhou Yi, all of which contain one or more phrases strikingly similar to the divination statements of the Fuyang Zhou Yi manuscript.

屯六二屯如邅如乘馬班如匪寇婚媾女子貞不字十年乃字

Zhun “Blocked” Six in the Second: Stick-stuck, carts and horses lined up; not bandits in mar-riage relations. Determining about a woman: not pregnant, in ten years then she is pregnant.

豫六五貞疾恆不死

Yu “Excess” Six in the Fifth: Determining: illness will be long-term, but you will not die.

隨初九官有渝貞吉出門交有功

Sui “Following” First nine: The office will have a change. Determining: auspicious. Going out the gate to exchange has success.


隨六三係丈夫失小子隨有求得利居貞

Sui “Following” Six in the Third: Tie the elder man, lose the little son. Following there will be seeking to obtain. Beneficial to determine about residence.

復上六迷復凶有災眚用行師終有大敗以其國君凶至于十年不克征

Fu “returning” Top Six: Confused return. Ominous. There are disasters and curses. Using this to move the army, in the end there will be a great defeat, together with its kingdom’s ruler. Ominous. reaching to ten years you cannot go on campaign.

遯九三係遯有疾厲畜臣妾吉

Dun “Piglet” nine in the Third: Tying the piglet. There is illness. Danger. rearing servants and concubines: auspicious.

If we proceed from these rather obvious cases to one final example taken from the Fuyang Zhou Yi manuscript, we might be able to hazard a guess as to why some such divination formulas were incorporated into the received text of the Zhou Yi. Text on four separate fragments cor-responds to the nine in the Second line statement of Da Guo 大過, “Greater Surpassing,” hexagram, two parts of which were mentioned above in the discussion of Li Jingchi’s analysis of the constituent parts of a Zhou Yi line statement.

140. 不死・九二枯楊141. 生𦯔老夫得

142. 女妻无不利卜病者不死戰鬭143. 適强而有勝有罪而𠨧徙

140. . . . will not die.・nine in the Second: The withered poplar141. grows shoots, the old man gets ..142. woman wife. There is nothing not beneficial. Divining about someone who is sick: he will not die; about warfare: . . . 143. the enemy will be strong and will have victory; about having guilt and moving away. . . . 45

It is easy to see how the image of this line, a withered tree growing a new sprout and an old man taking a young bride, would suggest the formula “nothing not beneficial.” There is nothing intrinsically different about that formula and the three Fuyang divination statements except perhaps their degree of specificity; it may have been nothing more than its all-encompassing generality that won “there is nothing not beneficial” inclusion in the final text of the Zhou Yi. But perhaps there was one other feature about the phrase that made it especially appropri-ate: the rhyme (or near rhyme) between ti/*dî 𦯔 (written 稊 in the received text), “sprout,”


qi/*tshəih 妻, “wife,” and li/*rih 利, “beneficial.”46 A comparison of this line with the parallel nine in the Fifth line of the same hexagram supplies further evidence of this literary quality.47

九五枯楊生華老婦得士夫无咎无譽

nine in the Fifth: The withered poplar grows a flower, The old wife gets a young man. There is no trouble, there is no praise.

Whether the equivocation of this prognostication is only incidental or if it perhaps reflects some gendered criticism of an older woman who takes on a young lover is hard to say. How-ever, especially in comparison with the nine in the Second line it seems likely that part of the prognostication’s appeal lay in the rhyme between hua/*wrâ 華, “flower,” fu/*pa 夫, “man,” and yu/*la 譽, “praise.”48

In conclusion, the Fuyang Zhou Yi manuscript allows us to see how the Zhou Yi as we know it was used as a divination manual in the second century b.c. by at least one particular user. Perhaps more important, the divination statements attached to it also suggest some of the ways in which divination may have produced the manual itself, and through that how the Zhou Yi came to be the text that it is.

I present here the Fuyang manuscript of the Zhou Yi in the traditional order of the received text, minus the eleven hexagrams for which no portion of the manuscript text can be shown to correspond. However, I have not in-

cluded the 531 fragments (numbers 222–752) that bear only divination statements; although these are informative regarding the nature of the manuscript (and some have been cited in the introduction to the manuscript given in chapter 6), they are too fragmentary and too lacking in context to make their translation meaningful.

For the fifty-three hexagrams to which at least some portion of the manuscript corre-sponds, I present the manuscript text, in boldface, in both Chinese transcription and English translation, with the number of the strip indicated at the left. The divination formulas that are a special feature of this manuscript, following each hexagram and line statement, are indicated in boldface italics in the English translation. To provide some context for these fragments, I also provide, in ordinary type, the entirety of the received text, again in both Chinese and simple English translation. I have made every effort to correlate the grammar of the manuscript fragments with the more complete grammar of the received text, but it has not always been possible to do so without sinking into gibberish. I have also strived to indicate in the English translation whenever the manuscript contains a possibly meaningful variation; other varia-tions that I deem to be strictly graphic are indicated only in the Chinese transcription. Except in a very few cases, the Chinese transcription follows that of Han Ziqiang 韓自強, Fuyang han jian Zhou yi yanjiu 阜陽漢簡《周易》研究.1

viit r a n s l at I o n o f t h e f u ya n g

ZhOu YI m a n u s C r I P t

214 • Translation of the Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript

䷀ Qian 乾, “Vigor” (Hexagram 1)

乾元亨利貞

初九潛龍勿用

1. 九二見

九二見龍在田利見大人

九三君子終日乾乾夕惕若厲无咎

九四或躍在淵无咎

九五飛龍在天利見大人

上九亢龍有悔

用九見群龍无首吉

Vigor: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine.

First nine: Submerged dragon. Do not use.

1. . . . Nine in the Second: See . . .

nine in the Second: See the dragon in the fields. Beneficial to see the great man.

nine in the Third: The nobleman to the end of the day is so vigorous; in the evening is fearful as if there is danger. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fourth: And now jumping in the depths. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: Flying dragon in the sky. Beneficial to see the great man.

Top nine: Throated dragon. There is regret.

Use the nine: See the flock of dragons without heads. Auspicious.

Translation of the Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript • 215

䷁ Kun坤, “Compliant” (Hexagram 2)

2. 朋東

3. 貞吉卜

坤元亨利牝馬之貞君子有攸往先迷后得主利西南得朋東北喪朋安貞吉

初六履霜堅冰至

4. 大不習无

六二直方大不習无不利

六三含章可貞或從王事无成有終

六四括囊无咎无譽

六五黃裳元吉

5. 事上六龍戰於壄其

6. 玄黃

上六龍戰於野其血玄黃

用六利永貞

2. . . . friend, to the east . . .

3. . . . determining: auspicious. Divining . . .

Compliant: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine about a mare. The nobleman has some-place to go, is first lost and then gains his ruler. Beneficial to the west-south to gain a friend, to the east-north to lose a friend. Determining about being settled: auspicious.

First Six: Stepping on frost: the hard ice will arrive.

4. . . . great; not repeated. There is nothing . . .

Six in the Second: Straight, square and great; not repeated. There is nothing not beneficial.

Six in the Third: Containing a pattern. One can determine. And now following the king’s service. There is no completion, there is an end.

Six in the Fourth: Tying the sack. There is no trouble, there is no praise.

Six in the Fifth: yellow dragon. Prime auspiciousness.

5. . . . service. Top Six: The dragon battles in the wilds, its . . .

6. . . . black and yellow. . . .

Top Six: The dragon battles in the wilds, its blood is black and yellow.

Use the Six: Beneficial to determine about the long-term.


䷂ Zhun屯, “Blocked” (Hexagram 3)

屯元亨利貞勿用有攸往利建侯

7. 家・初九般

初九磐桓利居貞利建侯

8. 貞不字

9. 十年廼字六二屯如邅如乘馬班如匪寇婚媾女子貞不字十年乃字

10. 六三畟鹿毋吳惟入于

11. 子幾不如舍往吝卜有求不

六三即鹿无虞惟入于林中君子幾不如舍往吝

12. 吉无不利六四乘馬班如求婚媾往吉无不利

13. 九五肫其膏小

14. 貞吉大

15. 貞凶

九五屯其膏小貞吉大貞凶

上六乘馬班如泣血漣如

Blocked: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. Do not use to have anywhere to go. Ben-eficial to establish a lord.

7. . . . family.・First Nine: Around . . .

First nine: Around in circles. Beneficial to determine about a residence; beneficial to establish a lord.

8. . . . determining: Not pregnant, . . .

9. . . . ten years then pregnant. . . .

Six in the Second: Stick-stuck, carts and horses lined up. not bandits in marriage rela-tions. Determining about a woman: not pregnant, in ten years then she is pregnant.

10. Six in the Third: Pointing toward a deer, do not hunt; it is entering into . . .

11. . . . -man is just about not as good as leaving off. Going: distress. Divining about seek-ing: not . . .


Six in the Third: Approaching a deer, without hunting; it is entering into the forest’s midst. The nobleman is just about not as good as leaving off. Going: distress.

12. . . . auspicious. There is nothing not beneficial. . . .

nine in the Fourth: Carts and horses in formation. Seeking marriage relations. Going: auspicious. There is nothing not beneficial.

13. Nine in the Fifth: Hoarding its fat. Little . . .

14. . . . determining: auspicious. Great . . .

15. . . . determining: ominous. . . .

nine in the Fifth: Gathering its fat. Determining about the little: auspicious, determining about the great: ominous.

Top Six: Carts and horses in formation, crying blood streamingly.


䷃ Meng蒙, “Shrouded” (Hexagram 4)16. 我求童蒙求我

17. 三瀆則不

蒙亨匪我求童蒙童蒙求我初噬告再三瀆瀆則不告利貞

初六發蒙利用刑人用說桎梏以往吝

18. 老婦吉子克

19. 家利嫁

九二包蒙吉納婦吉子克家

20. 人不吉・六三勿用取女見金

21. 有无攸利

六三勿用娶女見金夫不有躬无攸利

六四困蒙吝

六五童蒙吉

上九擊蒙不利為寇利禦寇

16. . . . we who seek the young shroud; the young shroud seeks us. . . .

17. . . . third is excessive; excessive then it does not . . .

Shrouded: receipt. It is not we who seek the young shroud; the young shroud seeks us. The first milfoil divination reports; a second and third is excessive; excessive then it does not report. Beneficial to determine.

First Six: Lifting the shroud. Beneficial to use a punished man, and herewith to remove the fetters in order to go. Distress.

18. . . . an old wife: auspicious; a son can

19. marry. Beneficial to marry off (a daughter) . . .

nine in the Second: Wrapping the shroud. Auspicious. Taking a wife: auspicious; a son can marry.

20. . . . man not auspicious.・Six in the Third: Do not use to take a woman. Seeing the metal . . .

21. . . . have a body. There is nothing beneficial. . . .

Six in the Third: Do not herewith take in marriage a woman. Seeing the metal man, who


does not have a body. There is nothing beneficial.

Six in the Fourth: Blocking the shroud. Distress.

Six in the Fifth: young shroud. Auspicious.

Top nine: Hitting the shroud. not beneficial to be a robber; beneficial to resist robbers.


䷄ Xu需, “Awaiting” (Hexagram 5)

需有孚光亨貞吉利涉大川

初九需于郊利用恆无咎

22. 小有

九二需于沙小有言終吉

九三需于泥致寇至

23. 自穴卜以

六四需于血出自穴

九五需于酒食貞吉

上六入于穴有不速之客三人來敬之終吉

Awaiting: There is trust. radiant receipt. Determining: auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.

First nine: Awaiting in the suburbs. Beneficial herewith to persevere. There is no trouble.

22. . . . there is a little . . .

nine in the Second: Awaiting in the sand. There is a little talk, in the end auspicious.

nine in the Third: Awaiting in the mud. Brings robbers to come.

23. . . . from a pit. Divining about . . .

Six in the Fourth: Awaiting in the blood, going out from a pit.

nine in the Fifth: Awaiting in the wine and food. Determining: auspicious.

Top Six: Entering into a pit: there are three unwelcome guests who come. respect them. In the end auspicious.


䷅ Song訟, “Lawsuit” (Hexagram 6)24. 不利涉大

訟有孚窒惕中吉終凶利見大人不利涉大川

初六不永所事小有言終吉

九二不克訟歸而逋其邑人三百戶无眚

25. 厲冬吉

六三食舊德貞厲終吉或從王事无成

九四不克訟復即命渝安貞吉

九五訟元吉

上九或錫之鞶帶終朝三褫之

24. . . . not beneficial to ford the great . . .

Lawsuit: There is trust. Fearful. In the middle auspicious, in the end ominous. Beneficial to see the great man; not beneficial to ford the great river.

First Six: not perpetuating that which he serves. There is a little talk, in the end auspi-cious.

nine in the Second: One cannot sue. returning and fleeing, the people of their city, three hundred households. There is no curse.

25. . . . dangerous; in the end auspicious. . . .

Six in the Third: Eating the old virtue. Determining: danger; in the end auspicious. And now following the king’s service, there is no completion.

nine in the Fourth: One cannot sue. returning to assume the command, it changes. De-termining about peace: auspicious.


Top nine: Someone awards him a leather belt, to the end of the morning thrice stripping it.


䷆ Shi師, “Army” (Hexagram 7)

師貞丈人吉无咎

26. 師出

初六師出以律否臧凶

九二在師中吉无咎王三錫命

27. ・六三師或

六三師或輿尸凶

六四師左次无咎

28. 田有禽

29. 尸貞凶

六五田有禽利執言无咎長子帥師弟子輿尸貞凶

30. 不吉・上六大君有命啟邦

上六大君有命開國承家小人勿用

Army: Determining: for an older man auspicious. There is no trouble.

26. . . . The army going out . . .

First Six: The army going out in ranks. It is not good. Ominous.

nine in the Second: In the army’s midst. Auspicious. There is no trouble. The king thrice awards command.

27. . . .・Six in the Third: Someone in the army . . .

Six in the Third: Someone in the army carting corpses. Ominous.

Six in the Fourth: The army camping to the left. There is no trouble.

28. . . . Hunting there is a catch. . . .

29. . . . corpses; determining: ominous. . . .

Six in the Fifth: Hunting there is a catch. Beneficial to grasp words. There is no trouble. The eldest son leads the army, the younger son carts corpses. Determining: ominous.

30. . . . not auspicious.・Top Six: The great lord has a mandate, to initiate the country . . .

Top Six: The great lord has a mandate, to open the kingdom and receive the families. The petty man ought not be used.


䷇ Bi比, “Alliance” (Hexagram 8)

比吉原筮元永貞无咎不寧方來後夫凶

31. 比之毋

初六有孚比之无咎有孚盈缶終來有它吉

六二比之自內貞吉

六三比之匪人

六四外比之貞吉

32. 不獲・九五顯比王用三驅失前禽邑人不

九五顯比王用三驅失前禽邑人不誡吉

33. 六比毋首

上六比之无首凶

Alliance: Auspicious. The original milfoil divination: prime. Determining about the long-term: there is no trouble. The unpeaceful land comes. For the latter one ominous.

31. . . . allying with them. Do not . . .

First Six: There is trust. Allying with them. There is no trouble. There is trust. Filling the pitcher. In the end there will come to be harm. Auspicious.

Six in the Second: Allying with them from within. Determining: auspicious.


Six in the Fourth: Outside allying with them. Determining: auspicious.

32. . . . not bagging it.・Nine in the Fifth: Manifestly allying. The king herewith thrice races, losing the forward catch; the city people are not . . .

nine in the Fifth: Manifestly allying. The king herewith thrice races, losing the forward catch. The city people are not warned. Auspicious.

33. . . . Six: Allying, do not have a head . . .

Top Six: Allying with them without a head. Ominous.


䷈ Xiao Chu小畜, “Lesser Livestock” (Hexagram 9)34. 雨自我西鄗卜

小畜亨密雲不雨自我西郊

35. 得也・初九復自道何其咎吉有

初九復自道何其咎吉

九二牽復吉

36. 妻反目

九三輿說輻夫妻反目

37. 四有復血去易

六四有孚血去惕出无咎

38. 五有復攣如不富以其鄰卜家

九五有孚攣如不富以其鄰

39. 得戴婦貞

40. 厲月幾望君子正

上九既雨既處尚德載婦貞厲月幾望君子征凶

34. . . . rain from our western suburbs. Divining . . .

Lesser Livestock: receipt. The dense clouds do not rain from our western suburbs.

35. . . . obtain it. First Nine: Returning from the road; what trouble is it! Auspicious. There . . .

First nine: returning from the road; what trouble is it! Auspicious.

nine in the Second: Dragging in return. Auspicious.

36. . . . wife cross eyes.

nine in the Third: The cart loses a strut, the husband and wife cross eyes.

37. . . . Fourth: There is a return. Blood departs and fear . . .

Six in the Fourth: There is trust. Blood departs and fear comes out. There is no trouble.

38. Fifth: There is a return, strung out; not enriched through their neighbors. Divining about the family . . .

nine in the Fifth: There are captives strung out; not enriched through their neighbors.


39. . . . get to be carried on high. Determining for the wife:

40. danger. The moon is just about full. The nobleman to make correct:

Top nine: Having rained, having put it in place, raise the virtue and cart it. Determin-ing for the wife: danger. The moon is just about full. For the nobleman campaigning: ominous.


䷉ Lü履, “Stepping” (Hexagram 10)履履虎尾不咥人亨

初九素履往无咎

41. ・九二履道坦幽人

九二履道坦坦幽人貞吉

42. 能視跛能

43. 尾實人凶武人為

六三眇能視跛能履履虎尾咥人凶武人為于大君

九四履虎尾愬愬終吉

九五夬履貞厲

44. 視履

上九視履考祥其旋元吉

Stepping: Stepping on a tiger’s tail, it does not eat the man. receipt.

First nine: Plain stepping, going. There is no trouble.

41. . . .・Nine in the Second: Stepping on the road so smooth. About the somber man . . .

nine in the Second: Stepping on the road so smooth. Determining about the somber man: auspicious.

42. . . . can see, the lame can . . .

43. . . . tail, it eats the man. Ominous. A military man acts . . .

Six in the Third: The blind can see, the lame can walk. Stepping on a tiger’s tail, it eats the man. Ominous. A military man acts on behalf of the great lord.

nine in the Fourth: Stepping on a tiger’s tail, fearful. In the end auspicious.

nine in the Fifth: resolute stepping. Determining: danger.

44. . . . Looking at the stepping . . .

Top nine: Looking at the stepping and examining the auspices; they swirl. Prime auspi-ciousness.


䷊ Tai泰, “Greatness” (Hexagram 11)泰小往大來吉亨

45. 拔茅茹

初九拔茅茹以其彙征吉

九二包荒用馮河不遐遺朋亡得尚于中行

九三无平不陂无往不復艱貞无咎勿恤其孚于食有福

六四翩翩不富以其鄰不戒以孚

46. ・六五帝乙

六五帝乙歸妹以祉元吉

47. 自邑告命貞吝

上六城復于隍勿用師自邑告命貞吝

Greatness: The little go, the great come. Auspicious. receipt.

45. . . . Pluck the cogongrass stems . . .

First nine: Pluck the cogongrass stems together with their roots. Campaigning: auspi-cious.

nine in the Second: Wrapping the waste, use it to ford the river. It is not to be left behind. Friends are lost, getting to be elevated to the middle of the rank.

nine in the Third: There is no flat that does not slope, there is no going that does not return. Determining about difficulty: there is no trouble. Do not worry about his trust. In food there are blessings.

Six in the Fourth: Fleetingly not wealthy, through his neighbor; not warned about trust.

46. . . .・Six in the Fifth: Di Yi . . .

Six in the Fifth: Di yi marries his daughter with felicitations. Prime auspiciousness.

47. . . . from the city announce the command. Determining: distress.

Top Six: The city wall returns to the moat; don’t use the army; from the city announce the command. Determining: distress.


䷋ Pi否, “negation” (Hexagram 12)48. 貞大往小來[卜]

否之匪人不利君子貞大往小來

初六拔茅茹以其彙貞吉亨

49. 吉大人不

50. 亨以卜大人不吉小

六二包承小人吉大人否亨

51. 人吉・六三枹羞卜雨

六三包羞

九四有命无咎疇離祉

九五休否大人吉其亡其亡繫于苞桑

52. 先伓後喜卜

上九傾否先否後喜

48. . . . determine. The great go, the little come. Divining . . .

negation’s nonhuman. not beneficial to determine about a nobleman. The great go, the little come.

First Six: Pluck the cogongrass stems together with their roots. Determining: auspicious. receipt.

49. . . . auspicious, for the great man not . . .

50. . . . Receipt. In divining about a great man: not auspicious; about a petty . . .

Six in the Second: Wrapping what you have received. For a petty man, auspicious, for a great man not. receipt.

51. . . . man auspicious.・Six in the Third: Wrapping the meat offering. Divining about rain . . .

Six in the Third: Wrapping the meat offering.

nine in the Fourth: There is a command. There is no trouble. The field divisions are fas-tened with felicitations.

nine in the Fifth: Success is negated. For the great man, auspicious. It is gone, it is gone, tied to a bushy mulberry.

52. . . . first not, later happy. Divining . . .

Top nine: Declining negation: first not, later happy.


䷌ Tong Ren同人, “Fellow Men” (Hexagram 13)53. 同人于壄亨

54. 君子之貞

同人于野亨利涉大川利君子貞

初九同人于門无咎

55. ・六二同人于宗吝卜子產不孝吏

六二同人于宗吝

56. 三伏戎于

57. 興卜有罪者兇

九三伏戎于莽升其高陵三歲不興

58. 戰斲遆強不得志卜病者不死乃𤵸・九四乘高唐弗克

九四乘其墉弗克攻吉

59. 有為不成・九五同

60. 人先號

61. 後笑大師

62. 相卜𣪠囚

九五同人先號啕而後笑大師克相遇

63. 九同人于鄗无𠧩卜居官法免

上九同人于郊无悔

53. . . . Fellow men in the wilds. Receipt. . . .

54. . . . nobleman’s determination. . . .

Fellow men in the wilds. receipt. Beneficial to ford the great river; beneficial to determine about a nobleman.

First nine: Fellow men at the gate. There is no trouble.

55. . . .・Six in the Second: Fellow men in the ancestral temple. Distress. Divining about a child: you will give birth, but it will not be filial; about serving . . .

Six in the Second: Fellow men in the ancestral temple. Distress.

56. . . . Third: Crouching enemies in . . .


57. . . . arising. Divining about a guilty one: ominous . . .

nine in the Third: Crouching enemies in the grass: ascending the high mound, for three years not arising.

58. . . . battling: the enemy will be strong but will not obtain its will; divining about someone who is sick: if they do not die then they will get better.・Nine in the Fourth: Riding on a high platform, you cannot . . .

nine in the Fourth: riding on its wall, you cannot be attacked. Auspicious.

59. . . . something will be done but not finished.・Nine in the Fifth: Fellow

60. men, first shouting

61. later laughing. The great armies ..

62. meet each other. Divining about tying a prisoner: . . .

nine in the Fifth: Fellow men, first shouting, later laughing. The great armies can meet each other.

63. . . . Nine: Fellow men at Hao. There is no regret. Divining about residing in office: you will be dismissed. . . .

Top nine: Fellow men in the suburbs. There is no regret.


䷍ Da You大有, “Great Offering” (Hexagram 14)64. ䷍ 大有元亨卜雨不雨

大有元亨

65. 无交害非咎艱則

初九无交害匪咎艱則无咎

九二大車以載有攸往无咎

九三公用亨于天子小人弗克

九四匪其彭无咎

六五厥孚交如威如吉

上九自天祐之吉无不利

64. ䷍ Great Offering: Prime receipt. Divining about rain: it will not rain. . . .

Great Offering: Prime receipt.

65. . . . There is no exchanging harm that is not trouble. If difficult then . . .

First nine: There is no exchanging harm that is not trouble. If difficult then there is no trouble.

nine in the Second: The great cart is used to carry. There is someplace to go. There is no trouble.

nine in the Third: The duke herewith sacrifices to the Son of Heaven. The petty man is not capable of it.

nine in the Fourth: not its side-offering. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Their captives are linked together, are awed. Auspicious.

Top nine: From heaven blessing it. Auspicious. There is nothing not beneficial.


䷏ Yu 豫, “relaxed” (Hexagram 16)豫利建侯行師

66. 六鳴豫兇卜求有得也後必

初六鳴豫凶

六二介于石不終日貞吉

67. ・六三歌豫悔夷

68. 有悔卜

六三盱豫悔遲有悔

九四由豫大有得勿疑朋盍簪

六五貞疾恆不死

上六冥豫成有渝无咎

relaxed: Beneficial to establish a lord and set in motion the army.

66. . . . Six: Calling excess. Ominous. Divining about seeking something: you will obtain it, but later will necessarily . . .

First Six: Calling relaxation. Ominous.

Six in the Second: Strengthening by stone. not to the end of the day. Determining: auspi-cious.

67. . . .・Six in the Third: Singing excess. Regret; if even

68. there will be regret. Divining . . .

Six in the Third: Open-eyed relaxation. regret, and slowly there will be regret.

nine in the Fourth: Hesitant. Great will be the obtaining. Do not doubt friends putting on hairpins.


Top Six: Dark relaxation. Completion will have a change. There is no trouble.


䷐ Sui隨, “Following” (Hexagram 17)69. 貞无咎卜病者

隨元亨利貞无咎

70. 九官有

71. 貞吉出門交有

初九官有渝貞吉出門交有功

73. 失丈夫卜

六二係小子失丈夫

72. 吉・六三係小

74. 丈夫失

75. 小子隨有求

76. 得利虛貞卜家

六三係丈夫失小子隨有求得利居貞

九四隨有獲貞凶有孚在道以明何咎

77. 罪・九五復嘉吉卜

九五孚于嘉吉

78. 有患難者解・上六拘

79. 亨於支山卜有求

上六拘係之乃從維之王用亨于西山

69. . . . to determine. There is no trouble. Divining about someone who is sick . . .

Following: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. There is no trouble.

70. . . . Nine: The office will have . . .

71. . . . determining: auspicious. Going out the gate to exchange there has . . .

First nine: The office will have a change. Determining: auspicious. Going out the gate to exchange has success.

73. . . . lose the elder man. Divining . . .



72. . . . auspicious.・Six in the Third: Tie the little . . .

73. . . . elder man, lose

74. the little son. Following there will be seeking

75. to obtain. Beneficial to determine about emptiness. Divining about the family . . .

Six in the Third: Tie the elder man, lose the little son. Following there will be seeking to obtain. Beneficial to determine about residence.

nine in the Fourth: Following there is a capture. Determining: ominous. There is trust on the road. With brightness what trouble is there!

77. . . . guilt.・Nine in the Fifth: Return joyfully. Auspicious. Divining . . .


78. . . . there will be anxiety; those in difficulty will be released.・Top Six: Arresting . . .

79. . . . sacrifice on the Forked Mountain. Divining about seeking . . .

Top Six: Arresting and tying them, and then further trussing them. The king herewith sacrifices on the western mountain.


䷑ Gu蠱, “Parasite” (Hexagram 18)80. 日後甲三日

蠱元亨利涉大川先甲三日後甲三日

81. 六幹

82. 咎厲冬吉卜有

初六幹父之蠱有子考无咎厲終吉

83. 幹母之

九二幹母之蠱不可貞

84. 小有悔

九三幹父之蠱小有悔无大咎

六四裕父之蠱往見吝

六五幹父之蠱用譽

85. 侯高上其事卜事

上九不事王侯高尚其事

80. . . . days, after jia three days. . . .

Parasite: Prime receipt. Beneficial to ford the great river. Before jia three days, after jia three days.

81. . . . Six: The Stem . . .

82. . . . trouble; danger, in the end auspicious. Divining about having . . .

First Six: The stem father’s parasite. There is a son and deceased father. There is no trouble. Danger, in the end auspicious.

83. . . . stem mother’s . . .

nine in the Second: The stem mother’s parasite. One cannot determine.

84. . . . there is a little regret. . . .

nine in the Third: The stem father’s parasite. There is a little regret; there is no great trouble.

Six in the Fourth: The prosperous father’s parasite. Going: you will see distress.

Six in the Fifth: The stem father’s parasite. Herewith praised.

85. . . . lord, elevates on high his service. Divining about serving . . .

Top nine: not serving the king and lord, elevates on high his service.


䷒ Lin 林 [臨], “Forest” [Looking Down] (Hexagram 19)86. ䷒ 林

87. 至于

臨元亨利貞至于八月有凶

初九咸臨貞吉

九二咸臨吉无不利

88. 憂之无咎

六三甘臨无攸利既憂之无咎

六四至臨无咎

89. 大君之義吉

六五知臨大君之宜吉

上六敦臨吉无咎

86. ䷒ Forest . . .

87. . . . arriving at . . .

Looking Down: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. Arriving at the eighth month, it will be ominous.

First nine: Completely looking down. Determining: auspicious.

nine in the Second: Completely looking down. Auspicious. There is nothing not benefi-cial.

88. . . . concerned about it, there is no trouble. . . .

Six in the Third: Sweetly looking down. There is nothing beneficial. Having been con-cerned about it, there is no trouble.

Six in the Fourth: Arriving at looking down. There is no trouble.

89. . . . the great lord’s propriety. Auspicious. . . .

Six in the Fifth: Knowingly looking down. The great lord’s propriety. Auspicious.

Top Six: Sincerely looking down. Auspicious. There is no trouble.


䷓ Guan觀, “Looking Up” (Hexagram 20)

觀盥而不薦有孚顒若

90. 六童觀

91. 小人无咎

92. 君子吝卜次

初六童觀小人无咎君子吝

93. 利女子

六二窺觀利女貞

94. 三觀我產進退吏君先進而後退復

六三觀我生進退

95. 之光利用

六四觀國之光利用賓于王

九五觀我生君子无咎

96. 觀其

上九觀其生君子无咎

Looking Up: Making libation but not presenting it. There is trust, respectfully.

90. . . . Six: The youth looking up.

91. for a petty man there is no trouble,

92. for a nobleman there is distress. Divining about camping . . .

First Six: The youth looking up. For a petty man there is no trouble, for a nobleman there is distress.

93. . . . beneficial about a woman. . . .

Six in the Second: Peeringly looking up. Beneficial to determine about a woman.

94. . . . Third: Looking up at our birth, advancing and retreating. In serving the lord, first advance and afterwards retreat, and return . . .

Six in the Third: Looking at our life, advancing and retreating.

95. . . . ’s radiance; beneficial herewith . . .


Six in the Fourth: Looking up at the kingdom’s radiance. Beneficial herewith to have audi-ence with the king.

nine in the Fifth: Looking up at our life. For a nobleman there is no trouble.

96. . . . Looking up at his . . .

Top nine: Looking up at his life. For a nobleman there is no trouble.


䷔ Shike筮閘[噬嗑], “Biting and Chewing” (Hexagram 21)97. 筮閘亨利用獄訟者

噬嗑亨利用獄

98. ・初九屢校威

初九履校滅趾无咎

99. 𣪠囚者桎梏吉不兇・六二筮膚威

六二噬膚滅鼻无咎

100. 六三筮腊肉

六三噬腊肉遇毒小吝无咎

101. 金矢利貞吉卜有求也求

九四噬乾胏得金矢利艱貞吉

102. 後吉・六五筮乾肉得

103. 黃金貞厲

六五噬乾肉得黃金貞厲无咎

104. 何校威耳

上九何校滅耳凶

97. Biting and Chewing: Receipt. Beneficial herewith to contest. For a plaintiff . . .

Biting and Chewing: receipt. Beneficial herewith to contest.

98. . . .・First Nine: Frequently fettered and cutting off . . .

First nine: Walking in fetters with a foot cut off. There is no trouble.

99. . . . Tying a prisoner in fetters and handcuffs: auspicious, not ominous.・Six in the Second: Biting flesh and cutting off . . .

Six in the Second: Biting flesh and cutting off the nose. There is no trouble.

100. . . . Six in the Third: Eating dried meat . . .

Six in the Third: Eating dried meat and meeting poison. A little distress. There is no trouble.

101. . . . a bronze arrowhead. Beneficial to determine about difficulty: auspicious. Divining about seeking: you will seek . . .


nine in the Fourth: Eating dry bone-in meat and obtaining a bronze arrowhead. Benefi-cial to determine about difficulty: auspicious.

102. . . . later auspicious. Six in the Fifth: Eating dry meat and obtaining

103. yellow bronze. Determining: danger. . . .

Six in the Fifth: Eating dry meat and obtaining yellow bronze. Determining: danger. There is no trouble.

104. . . . Carrying fetters and cutting off an ear. . . .

Top nine: Carrying fetters and cutting off an ear. Ominous.


䷕ Ben賁, “Ornamented” (Hexagram 22)105/ ䷕ 賁亨小利有攸往卜 [two pieces split lengthwise]106. 賁亨小利有所往

107. 初九賁

108. 其趾舍

初九賁其趾舍車而徒

109. 六二賁

六二賁其須

九三賁如濡如永貞吉

110. 皤如白馬翰如匪寇

六四賁如皤如白馬翰如匪寇婚媾

六五賁于丘園束帛戔戔吝終吉

111. 後吉・上九白賁无

上九白賁无咎

105/ ䷕ Ornamented: Receipt. A little beneficial to have someplace to go. Divining . . . 106. Ornamented: receipt. A little beneficial to have someplace to go.

107. . . . First Nine: Ornamenting

108. his feet, discarding . . .

First nine: Ornamenting his feet, discarding his cart and moving.

109. . . . Six in the Second: Ornamenting . . .

Six in the Second: Ornamenting his beard.

nine in the Third: Ornamented, damp. Determining about the long-term: auspicious.

110. . . . snowy white, the white horse is winged. It is not robbers . . .

Six in the Fourth: Ornamented, snowy white: the white horse is winged. It is not robbers in marriage relations.

Six in the Fifth: Ornaments in the mound park, the bolt of silk so narrow. Distress, in the end auspicious.

111. . . . later auspicious.・Top Nine: White ornaments. There is no . . .

Top nine: White ornaments. There is no trouble.


䷖ Pu 僕 [Bo 剝], “Hitting” [Paring] (Hexagram 23)

剝不利有攸往

112. 終得不喜罪人不吉・初六僕

113. 足蔑貞凶卜

初六剝牀以足蔑貞凶

114. 僕牀以辨蔑貞六二剝牀以辨蔑貞凶

六三剝之无咎

115. 四僕牀以父凶六四剝牀以膚凶

六五貫魚以宮人寵无不利

116. 九碩果不食君子

上九碩果不食君子得輿小人剝廬

Paring: not beneficial to have someplace to go.

112. . . . in the end obtaining unhappiness; for a guilty man not auspicious.・First Six: Hit-ting . . .

113. . . . foot. Determining about losses: ominous. Divining . . .

First Six: Paring and wounding with the foot. Determining about losses: ominous.

114. . . . Hitting and wounding with the knee. Determining about losses: . . .

Six in the Second: Paring and wounding with the knee. Determining about losses: omi-nous.

Six in the Third: Paring it. There is no trouble.

115. . . . Fourth: Hitting and wounding with the skin. Ominous. . . .

Six in the Fourth: Paring and wounding with the skin. Ominous.

Six in the Fifth: Strung fish, enjoyed with the people of the palace. There is nothing not beneficial.

116. . . . Nine: Big fruit, not edible. The nobleman . . .

Top nine: Big fruit, not edible. The nobleman gets to ride, the petty man pares the furnace.


䷗ Fu復, “returning” (Hexagram 24)117. 馮來无咎

復亨出入无疾朋來无咎反復其道七日來復利有攸往

118. 九不遠

119. 智悔元吉卜

初九不復遠无祗悔元吉

120. 六二休復吉卜

六二休復吉

121. 出妻皆復・六三頻

六三頻復厲无咎

122. 中行獨復

六四中行獨復

123. 五敦復无悔

六五敦復无悔

124. 得・上六迷復凶有囗

上六迷復凶有災眚用行師終有大敗以其國君凶至于十年不克征

117. . . . friends coming without trouble. . . .

returning: receipt. Exiting and entering without illness, friends coming without trouble. Again returning to its path, in seven days it comes in return. Beneficial to have someplace to go.

118. . . . Nine: Not distance . . .

119. . . . knowledge regrets; prime auspiciousness. Divining . . .

First nine: not returning in the distance. There are no blessings or regrets. Prime auspi-ciousness.

120. . . . Six in the Second: Successful return. Auspicious. Divining . . .

Six in the Second: Successful return. Auspicious.

121. . . . departing wives all return.・Six in the Third: Repeated . . .

Six in the Third: repeated returns. Danger. There is no trouble.


122. . . . In the middle of the road returning alone. . . .

Six in the Fourth: In the middle of the road returning alone.

123. . . . Fifth: Generous return. There are no regrets. . . .

Six in the Fifth: Generous return. There are no regrets.

124. . . . obtain.・Top Six: Confused return. Ominous. There are . . .

Top Six: Confused return. Ominous. There are disasters and curses. Using this to set in motion the army, in the end there will be a great defeat, together with its kingdom’s ruler. Ominous. reaching to ten years you cannot go on campaign.


䷘ Wu Wang无亡 [无妄], “nothing Gone” [nothing Foolish] (Hexagram 25)125. 无亡元亨利貞其匪𨒌有眚不利有攸往卜雨不雨不□

无妄元亨利貞其匪正有眚不利有攸往

126. 齊不吏君不吉田魚不得・初九无亡往吉卜田魚得而

初九无妄往吉

127. 不耕獲不

六二不耕獲不菑畬則利有攸往

六三无妄之災或繫之牛行人之得邑人之災

128. ・九四可貞无咎

九四可貞无咎

九五无妄之疾勿藥有喜

上九无妄行有眚无攸利

125. Nothing Gone: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. His not going to correct has curses. Not beneficial to have someplace to go. Divining about rain: it will not rain; it will not . . .

nothing Foolish: Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. His not being correct has curses. not beneficial to have someplace to go.

126. . . . about clearing: it will clear; about not serving the lord: not auspicious; about hunting and fishing: you will not obtain anything.・First Nine: Nothing Gone going. Auspi-cious. Divining about hunting and fishing: you will obtain something and . . .

First nine: nothing Foolish going. Auspicious.

127. . . . Not plowing or reaping, not . . .

Six in the Second: not plowing or reaping, not fallowing or replanting, then it is benefi-cial to have someplace to go.

Six in the Third: nothing Foolish’s disaster, someone ties it to an ox; the traveling person’s gain is the city person’s disaster.

128. . . .・Nine in the Fourth: It can be divined about. There is no trouble. . . .


nine in the Fifth: nothing Foolish’s illness; do not medicate, there is happiness.

Top nine: nothing Foolish traveling. There is a curse. There is nothing beneficial.


䷙ Da Chu大畜, “Greater Livestock” (Hexagram 26)

大畜利貞不家食吉利涉大川

初九有厲利已

九二輿說輻

129. 也・九三良馬遂利

九三良馬逐利艱貞曰閑輿衛利有攸往

130. 四童

六四童牛之牿元吉

六五豶豕之牙吉

上九何天之衢亨

Greater Livestock: Beneficial to determine. not eating at home. Auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.

First nine: There is danger. Beneficial to sacrifice.

nine in the Second: The cart drops a strut.

129. . . .・Nine in the Third: A fine horse following. Beneficial . . .

nine in the Third: A fine horse being chased. Beneficial to determine about difficulty. This is called “Arranging the carts to defend.” Beneficial to have someplace to go.

130. . . . in the Fourth: A young . . .

Six in the Fourth: A young ox’s thwart. Prime auspiciousness.

Six in the Fifth: A gelded pig’s tooth. Auspicious.

Top nine: Holding up heaven’s crossroads. receipt.


䷚ Yi 頤, “Jaws” (Hexagram 27)

頤貞吉觀頤自求口實

131. □吉・初九舍而靈龜觀我

132. 端頤凶濟

初九舍爾靈龜觀我朵頤凶

133. 吏・六二奠頤弗經于丘頤政凶求不得

六二顛頤拂經于丘頤征凶

134. 弗頤貞凶[十]

六三拂頤貞凶十年勿用无攸利

135. □□□□十年之後乃復・六四顛頤吉虎視眈二其

136. 遂无咎卜此大

六四顛頤吉虎視眈眈其欲逐逐无咎

137. ・六五不經

六五拂經居貞吉不可涉大川

上九由頤厲吉利涉大川

Jaws: Determining: auspicious. Look up at the jaws, oneself seeking the mouth’s substance.

131. . . . auspicious. First Nine: Discarding your numinous turtle, look up at our

132. ending jaws. Ominous. Helping . . .

First nine: Discarding your numinous turtle, look up at our drooping jaws. Ominous.

133. . . . serve. Six in the Second: Setting the jaws; not passing it through the mounded jaws. Governing, ominous. In seeking: one will not obtain; . . .

Six in the Second: Overturned jaws; scraping vertically on the mounded jaws. Campaign-ing: ominous.

134. . . . not jawing it. Determining: ominous. For ten . . .

Six in the Third: Scraping the jaw. Determining: ominous. For ten years do not use it. There is nothing beneficial.

135. . . . after ten years then it will return.・Six in the Fourth: Overturning the jaws. Auspi-cious. A tiger watches fearsomely, its . . .


136. appearance so compliant. There is no trouble. Divining about this: there will be great . . .

Six in the Fourth: Overturning the jaws. Auspicious. A tiger watches fearsomely, its de-sires so persistent. There is no trouble.

137. . . .・Six in the Fifth: Not vertical; . . .

Six in the Fifth: not passing it through. Determining about residence: auspicious. One cannot ford the great river.

Top nine: From the jaws. Danger. Auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river.


䷛ Da Guo 大過, “Greater Surpassing” (Hexagram 28)138. ䷛ 大過橦橈利用攸往亨卜病者不死妻夫不相去

大過棟橈利有攸往亨

139. 不死・初六□用白

初六藉用白茅无咎

140. 不死・九二枯楊

141. 生𦯔老夫得

142. 女妻无不利卜病者不死戰鬭

143. 適強而有勝有罪而𠨧徙

九二枯楊生稊老夫得其女妻无不利

九三棟橈凶

144. □吉有它吝卜邑及

九四棟隆吉有它吝

九五枯楊生華老婦得士夫无咎无譽

145. ・上六過涉

上六過涉滅頂凶无咎

138. ䷛ Greater Surpassing: The rafter sags. Beneficial herewith to go someplace. Receipt. Divining about someone who is sick: he will not die; about a wife and husband: they will not leave each other; . . .

Greater Surpassing: The rafter sags. Beneficial to have someplace to go. receipt.

139. . . . will not die.・First Six: .. using white . . .

First Six: For the offertory mat using white cogongrass. There is no trouble.

140. . . . will not die.・Nine in the Second: The withered poplar

141. grows shoots, the old man gets ..

142. woman wife. There is nothing not beneficial. Divining about someone who is sick: he will not die; about warfare: . . .

143. the enemy will be strong and will have victory; about having guilt and moving away. . . .

nine in the Second: The withered poplar grows shoots, the old man gets his woman wife.


There is nothing not beneficial.

nine in the Third: The rafter sags. Ominous.

144. .. auspicious. There is harm. Distress. Divining about the city and . . .

nine in the Fourth: The rafter bows up. Auspicious. There is harm. Distress.

nine in the Fifth: The withered poplar grows a flower, the old wife gets a young man. no trouble, no praise.

145. ・Top Six: Surpassing the ford . . .

Top Six: Passing the ford and cutting off the crown of the head. Ominous. There is no trouble.


䷜ Xikan 習坎 [Kan坎], “Doubled Pit” [Pit] (Hexagram 29)146. 復雟心亨

習坎有孚維心亨行有尚

初六習坎入于坎窞凶

147. 有險

九二坎有險求小得

六三來之坎坎險且枕入于坎窞勿用

148. 自牖終无咎卜病

六四樽酒簋貳用缶納約自牖終无咎

九五坎不盈祗既平无咎

149. 咎卜百吏盡吉・上六係用徽纆寘于叢棘

150. 歲不得凶卜齊不齊卜田不得利中

上六係用徽纆寘于叢棘三歲不得凶

146. . . . return, binding the heart. Receipt. . . .

Doubled Pit: There is trust, binding the heart. receipt. In traveling there is elevation.

First Six: Doubled Pit: entering into the pit opening. Ominous.

147. . . . has a precipice . . .

nine in the Second: The pit has a precipice. Seeking you will obtain a little.

Six in the Third: Bringing it bam-bam: Steep and deep; entering into the pit opening. Do not use it.

148. . . . from the window. In the end there is no trouble. Divining about [someone who is] sick: . . .

Six in the Fourth: A chalice of wine and two grain servers: use earthenware. Bringing it in from the window. In the end there is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: The pit is not filled, the blessings being calm. There is no trouble.

149. . . . trouble. Divining about the hundred affairs: they are all auspicious.・Top Six: Tying it using thick rope, and placing it in the thicket of thorns . . .

150. .. years will not obtain it. Ominous. Divining about clearing: it will not clear; divining about hunting: you will not obtain anything; beneficial to the middle . . .

Top Six: Tying it using thick rope, and placing it in the thicket of thorns, for three years you will not obtain it. Ominous.


䷝ Li 離, “Fastening” (Hexagram 30)151. ䷝ 離利貞亨畜牝牛吉居官及家不吉罪人

離利貞亨畜牝牛吉

152. 不解・初九履然

153. 敬之无咎卜臨官立眾

154. 敬其下乃吉

初九履錯然敬之无咎

六二黃離元吉

155. 之上吉非則凶・九三日昃之離

156. 歌則大

九三日昃之離不鼓缶而歌則大耋之嗟凶

157. 九四其出如其來如紛如棄

九四突如其來如焚如死如棄如

158. 差若吉卜

六五出涕沱若戚嗟若吉

上九王用出征有嘉折首獲匪其醜无咎

151. ䷝ Fastening: Beneficial to determine. Receipt. Rearing a female bovine: auspicious. Residing in office and the family: not auspicious; about a guilty man: he will

Fastening: Beneficial to determine. receipt. rearing a female bovine: auspicious.

152. not be released.・First Nine: Stepping crosswise.

153. Respect it. There is no trouble. Divining about approaching office and establishing the masses:

154. respect their inferiors and then it will be auspicious.

First nine: Stepping crosswise. respect it. There is no trouble.

Six in the Second: yellow net. Prime auspiciousness.

155. on top, auspicious; if not, then ominous.・Nine in the Third: The net of the sun’s de-scent . . .

156. . . . singing, and then the great . . .


nine in the Third: The net of the sun’s descent: not drumming on the pot and singing, then the great elder’s sighing. Ominous.

157. . . . Nine in the Fourth: As if exiting, as if coming; as if tangled, as if discarded . . .

nine in the Fourth: As if sudden, as if coming; as if burning, as if dying, as if discarded.

158. . . . wailingly. Auspicious. Divining . . .

Six in the Fifth: Shedding tears streamingly, fearful wailingly. Auspicious.

Top nine: The king herewith goes out on campaign, and has joy, cutting off heads and capturing one who is not their chief. There is no trouble.


䷞ Xian 咸, “Feeling” (Hexagram 31)

咸亨利貞取女吉;

初六咸其拇





159. 其父


Feeling: receipt. Beneficial to determine. Taking a woman: auspicious.




nine in the Fourth: Determining: auspicious. regrets gone. Tremblingly going and com-ing, the friend follows you in thought.


159. . . . his father . . .



䷠ Chuan 椽 [Dun 遯], “Beam” [Piglet] (Hexagram 33)

遯亨小利貞

160. 之以吉居事不吉・初六椽

161. 厲勿用有攸初六遯尾厲勿用有攸往

162. 莫之勝說

六二執之用黃牛之革莫之勝說

九三係遯有疾厲畜臣妾吉

163. 吉小

九四好遯君子吉小人否

164. 吉・九五嘉椽貞吉卜病不死行作之

九五嘉遯貞吉

上九肥遯无不利

Piglet: receipt. A little beneficial to determine.

160. . . . it with auspiciousness; about residing and serving: not auspicious.・First Six: Beam . . .

161. . . . Danger; do not herewith have anyplace . . .

First Six: Piglet’s tail. Danger. Do not herewith have anywhere to go.

162. . . . nothing will succeed in getting it off. . . .

Six in the Second: Grasp it using the hide of a yellow ox, nothing will succeed in getting it off.


163. . . . auspicious, for a petty . . .

nine in the Fourth: A good piglet. For a nobleman auspicious, for a petty man not.

164. . . . auspicious.・Nine in the Fifth: A fine beam. Determining: auspicious. Divining about sickness: they will not die; about traveling or doing: . . .

nine in the Fifth: A fine piglet. Determining: auspicious.



䷡ Da Qiang大壯, “Greater Wound” (Hexagram 34)

大壯利貞

165. □・初九壯

166. 有復卜

初九壯于趾征凶有孚

167. 二貞吉

九二貞吉

168. 羊觸藩羸其

九三小人用壯君子用罔貞厲羝羊觸藩羸其角

九四貞吉悔亡藩决不羸壯于大輿之輹

六五喪羊于易无悔

上六羝羊觸藩不能退不能遂无攸利艱則吉

Greater Wound: Beneficial to determine.

165. . . .・First Nine: Wounded . . .

166. . . . there is a return. Divining . . .

First nine: Wounded in the foot. Campaigning: ominous. There is trust.

167. . . . Second: Determining: auspicious. . . .

nine in the Second: Determining: auspicious.

168. . . . ram butts a hedge, breaking its . . .

nine in the Third: A petty man uses strength, a nobleman uses naught. Determining: danger. A ram butts a hedge, breaking its horn.

nine in the Fourth: Determining: auspicious. regrets gone. A hedge opened but not bro-ken, wounded by the strut of a great cart.

Six in the Fifth: Losing a sheep in yi. There are no regrets.

Top Six: A ram butts a hedge, and is not able to withdraw and is not able to advance. There is nothing beneficial; difficult and then auspicious.


䷂ Jin晉, “Advancing” (Hexagram 35)

晉康侯用錫馬蕃庶晝日三接

初六晉如摧如貞吉罔孚裕无咎

169. 福于其王母

六二晉如愁如貞吉受茲介福于其王母

六三眾允悔亡

九四晉如鼫鼠貞厲

六五悔亡失得勿恤往吉无不利

上九晉其角維用伐邑厲吉无咎貞吝

Advancing: The Lord of Kang herewith awards horses in multiples, during the day there were three engagements.

First Six: As if advancing, as if pulling back. Determining: auspicious. There is no trust. Abundance. There is no trouble.

169. . . . blessings from his king’s mother. . . .

Six in the Second: As if advancing, as if sad. Determining: auspicious. receiving these strong blessings from his king’s mother.

Six in the Third: Massed truly. regrets gone.

nine in the Fourth: As if advancing, a large rat. Determining: danger.

Six in the Fifth: regrets gone. Losing or obtaining, do not worry. Going: auspicious. There is nothing not beneficial.

Top nine: Advancing its horns, they are used to attack the city. Danger. Auspicious. There is no trouble. Determining: distress.


䷃ Mingyi明夷, “Calling Pheasant” (Hexagram 36)

明夷利艱貞

170. 九明

171. 于飛垂其囗

初九明夷于飛垂其翼君子于行三日不食有攸往主人有言

六二明夷夷于左股用拯馬壯吉

九三明夷于南狩得其大首不可疾貞

六四入于左腹獲明夷之心于出門庭

六五箕子之明夷利貞

上六不明晦初登于天後入于地

Calling Pheasant: Beneficial to determine about difficulty.

170. . . . Nine: Calling

171. . . . in flight, dips its . . .

First nine: Calling pheasant in flight, dips its wing; the nobleman on the road, for three days does not eat. There is someplace to go. The principal man has words.

Six in the Second: Calling pheasant injured in the left thigh. Use this to relieve the horse’s wound. Auspicious.

nine in the Third: Calling pheasant in the southern hunt, obtains its great head. One can-not determine about sickness.

Six in the Fourth: Entering into the left abdomen, capturing the calling pheasant’s heart, going out of the gate and court.

Six in the Fifth: Jizi’s calling pheasant. Beneficial to determine.

Top Six: not bright or dark: At first rising into the heavens, later entering into the earth.


䷤ Jia Ren家人, “Family People” (Hexagram 37)

家人利女貞

172. 閒有家悔亡

初九閑有家悔亡

173. ・六二无

174. 中貴貞

六二无攸遂在中饋貞吉

九三家人嗃嗃悔厲吉婦子嘻嘻終吝

六四富家大吉

九五王假有家勿恤吉

175. 如終吉卜

上九有孚威如終吉

Family People: Beneficial to determine about a woman.

172. . . . A separation in the family. Regrets gone.

First nine: A divider in the family. regrets gone.

173. . . .・Six in the Second: There is no . . .

174. . . . middle of the food service; determining: . . .

Six in the Second: There is no place to follow, in the middle of the food service. Determin-ing: auspicious.

nine in the Third: Family people ha-ha. regret; danger; auspicious. Wives and children hee-hee. In the end, distress.

Six in the Fourth: A wealthy family. Greatly auspicious.

nine in the Fifth: The king enters into the family. Do not worry. Auspicious.

175. . . . as if [fearful]. In the end, auspicious. Divining . . .

Top nine: There is trust, as if fearful. In the end, auspicious.


䷅ Kui睽, “Strange” (Hexagram 38)

睽小事吉

176. 吉大事敗・初九悔亡喪馬


九二遇主于巷无咎

177. 厲不得・六三見

178. 車𣷞其牛絜其人天且劓

179. 无初有

六三見輿曳其牛掣其人天且劓无初有終

九四睽孤遇元夫交孚厲无咎

180. □筮膚往何


181. 見豕負塗載

182. 一車

183. 兌之壺非寇昏媾

上九睽孤見豕負涂載鬼一車先張之弧後說之弧匪寇婚媾往遇雨則吉

Strange: Minor service. Auspicious.

176. . . . auspicious; about great affairs: defeat.・First Nine: Regrets gone. Losing a horse. . . .

First nine: regrets gone. Losing a horse; do not follow, it will return of itself.

Seeing an ugly man. There is no trouble.


177. . . . danger, not obtain it.・Six in the Third: Seeing . . .

178. . . . cart dragged, its ox with one horn upturned and one downturned, its man branded on the forehead and with his nose cut off.

179. There is no beginning but there is . . .

Six in the Third: Seeing the cart dragged, its ox with one horn upturned and one down-turned, its man branded on the forehead and with his nose cut off. There is no beginning but there is an end.


nine in the Fourth: A strange orphan, meeting the prime man. Exchanging trust. Danger. There is no trouble.

180. . . . eating flesh. In going what . . .

Six in the Fifth: regrets gone. At their ancestral temple eating flesh. In going what trouble?

181. . . . seeing a pig with mud on its back; carrying . . .

182. . . . one cart . . .

183. . . . a bow released. It is not robbers in marital relations. . . .

Top nine: A strange orphan. Seeing a pig with mud on its back, one cart carrying ghosts. A bow first drawn, later a bow released. It is not robbers in marriage relations. In going if you meet rain then it is auspicious.


䷆ Jian蹇, “Lame” (Hexagram 39)184. 利西南

185. 利東北利見

186. 人貞吉卜


初六往蹇來譽

六二王臣蹇蹇匪躬之故

187. 往來反卜病不死

九三往蹇來反

六四往蹇來連

九五大蹇朋來

上六往蹇來碩吉利見大人

184. . . . Beneficial to the southwest . . .

185. . . . beneficial to the northeast; beneficial to see ..

186. .. man. Determining: auspicious. Divining . . .

Lame: Beneficial to the southwest, not beneficial to the northeast. Beneficial to see the great man. Determining: auspicious.

First Six: Going lame, coming praised.

Six in the Second: The king’s ministers so lame, it is not their person’s fault.

187. Going lame, coming back. Divining about sickness: they will not die; . . .

nine in the Third: Going lame, coming back.

Six in the Fourth: Going lame, coming in succession.

nine in the Fifth: Greatly lame, friends come.

Top Six: Going lame, coming firmly. Auspicious. Beneficial to see the great man.


䷇ Jie解, “released” (Hexagram 40)188. 吉有攸往

解利西南无所往其來復吉有攸往夙吉

初六无咎

九二田獲三狐得黃矢貞吉

六三負且乘致寇至貞吝

九四解而拇朋至斯孚

六五君子維有解吉有孚于小人

上六公用射隼于高墉之上獲之无不利

188. . . . auspicious. There is someplace to go . . .

released: Beneficial to the southwest. There is no place to go. His coming in return: auspi-cious. There is someplace to go. Early auspiciousness.



Six in the Third: Carrying on the back and riding, brings robbers to arrive. Determining: distress.

nine in the Fourth: releasing your thumb. Friends bring this trust.

Six in the Fifth: It is the nobleman who is released. Auspicious. There is trust in the petty man.

Top Six: The duke herewith shoots a hawk at the top of the high wall, bagging it.

There is nothing not beneficial.


䷈ Sun 損, “Decrease” (Hexagram 41)

損有孚元吉无咎可貞利有攸往曷之用二簋可用享

初九已事遄往无咎酌損之

九二利貞征凶弗損益之

六三三人行則損一人一人行, 則得其友

189. 四損其

六四損其疾使遄有喜无咎

六五或益之十朋之龜弗克違元吉

上九弗損益之无咎貞吉利有攸往得臣无家

Decrease: There is trust. Prime auspiciousness. There is no trouble. One can determine. Beneficial to have someplace to go. How to use two serving bowls? They can be used to make offering.

First nine: Ending the service and quickly going. There is no trouble. In toasting, decreas-ing it.

nine in the Second: Beneficial to determine. Campaigning: ominous. not decreasing it but increasing it.

Six in the Third: If three men travel, then they lose one man; if one man travels, then he obtains his friend.

189. . . . Fourth: Decreasing his . . .

Six in the Fourth: Decreasing his illness, causing him quickly to have happiness.

There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Someone increases it, ten double strands of turtle shells. you cannot go against them. Prime auspiciousness.

Top nine: not decreasing it but increasing it. There is no trouble. Determining: auspi-cious. Beneficial to have someplace to go. Obtaining a servant without a family.


䷊ Guai夬, “resolute” (Hexagram 43)

夬揚于王庭孚號有厲告自邑不利即戎利有攸往

190. 勝為咎

初九壯于前趾往不勝為吝

九二惕號莫夜有戎勿恤

九三壯于頄有凶君子夬夬獨行遇雨若濡有慍无咎

九四臀无膚其行次且牽羊悔亡聞言不信

九五莧陸夬夬中行无咎

上六无號終有凶

resolute: raised up in the king’s courtyard. A captive screams. There is danger, announced from the city. not beneficial to approach enemies; beneficial to have someplace to go.

190. . . . victorious; it is trouble. . . .

First nine: Wounded in the front foot. Going: not victorious. It is distress.

nine in the Second: An apprehensive scream. In the evening and night there are enemies. Do not worry.

nine in the Third: Wounded on the forehead. It is ominous. The nobleman is so resolute: Moving alone and meeting rain, if wet he will get steamed up. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fourth: Buttocks without flesh. His movement is halting, pulling a sheep. regrets gone. Hearing words that are not believable.

nine in the Fifth: Purslane so resolute, in the middle of the road. There is no trouble.

Top Six: There is no scream. In the end it is ominous.


䷌ Cui萃, “Gathering” (Hexagram 45)

萃亨王假有廟利見大人亨利貞用大牲吉利有攸往

191. 吉・初六有□

初六有孚不終乃亂乃萃若號一握為笑勿恤往无咎

六二引吉无咎孚乃利用禴

六三萃如嗟如无攸利往无咎小吝

九四大吉无咎

九五萃有位无咎匪孚元永貞悔亡

上六齎咨涕洟无咎

Gathering: receipt. The king enters into the temple. Beneficial to see the great man. re-ceipt. Beneficial to determine. Using the great ox sacrifice: auspicious. Beneficial to have someplace to go.

191. . . . auspicious.・First Six: There is . . .

First Six: There is trust, unending, then disordered and then gathered. A scream once grasped becomes laughter. Do not worry. Going: there is no trouble.

Six in the Second: Prolonged auspiciousness. There is no trouble. Trusting then it is ben-eficial therewith to make a vegetarian offering.

Six in the Third: Gathered, sighing. There is nothing beneficial. Going: there is no trou-ble. A little distress.

nine in the Fourth: Greatly auspicious. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: Gathered in positions. There is no trouble. not trusting. Prime long-term determination: regrets gone.

Top Six: Sobbing, snivel and snot. There is no trouble.


䷭ Deng 登 [Sheng 升], “Ascending” (Hexagram 46)

升元亨用見大人勿恤南征吉

初六允升大吉

九二孚乃利用禴无咎

192. ・九三登虛邑卜病

九三升虛邑

193. 亨于枝山吉

六四王用亨于岐山吉无咎

六五貞吉升階

上六冥升利于不息之貞

Ascending: Prime receipt. Use to see the great man. Do not worry. Campaigning to the south: auspicious.

First Six: Truly ascending. Greatly auspicious.

nine in the Second: Trusting then it is beneficial herewith to make vegetarian offering. There is no trouble.

192. . . .・Nine in the Third: Ascending the mound and city. Divining about illness . . .

nine in the Third: Ascending the mound and city.

193. . . . makes offering on Forked Mountain, auspicious. . . .

Six in the Fourth: The king herewith sacrifices on Forked Mountain. Auspicious. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fifth: Determining: auspicious. Ascending the stairs.

Top Six: Darkly ascending. Beneficial with respect to unending determination.


䷎ Kun困, “Bound” (Hexagram 47)194. 言不

困亨貞大人吉无咎有言不信

195. 三歲不□

初六臀困于株木入于幽谷三歲不覿

196. 于酒食

九二困于酒食朱紱方來利用享祀征凶无咎

六三困于石據于蒺藜入于其宮不見其妻凶

九四來徐徐困于金車吝有終

九五劓刖困于赤紱乃徐有說利用祭祀

上六困于葛藟于臲卼曰動悔有悔征吉

194. . . . words that are not . . .

Bound: receipt. Determining: for the great man auspicious. There is no trouble. There are words that are not believable.

195. . . . three years not . . .

First Six: The buttocks bound by the tree trunk: entering into the dark valley, for three years not seeing him.

196. . . . by wine and food: . . .

nine in the Second: Bound by wine and food. The country of the scarlet kneepads comes. Beneficial herewith to make offering and sacrifice. Campaigning: ominous. There is no trouble.

Six in the Third: Bound by stone, stuck in the brambles: entering into his palace, and not seeing his wife. Ominous.

nine in the Fourth: Coming so slowly, bound by a bronze cart. Distress. There is an end.

nine in the Fifth: Cutting off the nose and foot. Bound by the crimson kneepads, and then slowly having release. Beneficial herewith to sacrifice.

Top Six: Bound by wild grapevines, tripping. This is called “Moving, regrets.” There are regrets. Campaigning: auspicious.


䷐ Jing井, “The Well” (Hexagram 48)197. 邑不

井改邑不改井无喪无得往來井井汔至亦未繘井羸其瓶凶

初六井泥不食舊井无禽

198. 敝屢卜半及家彼半

九二井谷射鮒甕敝漏

九三井渫不食為我心惻可用汲王明并受其福

六四井甃无咎

199. ・九五井厲□

九五井冽寒泉食

上六井收勿幕有孚元吉

197. . . . city, not . . .

The Well: Changing the city, not changing the well. There is no loss, there is no gain. Going and coming in succession. Upon arrival, also not yet dipping the well, breaking its pitcher. Ominous.

First Six: The well is muddy and not drinkable. The old well is without a catch.

198. . . . battered often. Divining about the division reaching the family: that division . . .

nine in the Second: The well is deep, shooting the silverfish. The pitcher is battered and leaking.

nine in the Third: The well leaks and is not drinkable. It makes my heart pained. It can be used to draw from. The king is bright, together receiving its blessings.

Six in the Fourth: The well is bricked. There is no trouble.

199. . . .・Nine in the Fifth: The well is dangerous; . . .

nine in the Fifth: The well is frigid; the cold spring is drinkable.

Top Six: The well is received; do not cover it. There is trust. Prime auspiciousness.


䷐ Ge革, “rebellion” (Hexagram 49)

革巳日乃孚元亨利貞悔亡

初九鞏用黃牛之革

六二巳日乃革之征吉无咎

九三征凶貞厲革言三就有孚

九四悔亡有孚改命吉

九五大人虎變未占有孚

200. 豹便小人革

201. 面征凶

上六君子豹變小人革面征凶居貞吉

rebellion: On a si day then trust. Prime receipt. Beneficial to determine. regrets gone.

First nine: Strengthening using a yellow ox’s hide.

Six in the Second: On a si day then overthrow it. Campaigning: auspicious. There is no trouble.

nine in the Third: Campaigning: ominous. Determining: danger. Overturning words thrice approached, there is trust.

nine in the Fourth: regrets gone. There is trust. Changing the mandate: auspicious.

nine in the Fifth: The great man changes like a tiger. not yet prognosticating, there is trust.

200. . . . changes like a leopard, the petty man overturns

201. his face. Campaigning: ominous.

Top Six: The nobleman changes like a leopard, the petty man overturns his face. Cam-paigning: ominous. Determining about residence: auspicious.


䷱ Ding鼎, “The Cauldron” (Hexagram 50)

鼎元吉亨

初六鼎顛趾利出否得妾以其子无咎

九二鼎有實我仇有疾不我能即吉

九三鼎耳革其行塞雉膏不食方雨虧悔終吉

九四鼎折足覆公餗其形渥凶

六五鼎黃耳金鉉利貞

202. 大事凶・上九鼎

203. 大吉无不

上九鼎玉鉉大吉无不利

The Cauldron: Prime auspiciousness. receipt.

First Six: The cauldron’s overturned legs: Beneficial to expel the bad, to get a wife with her children. There is no trouble.

nine in the Second: The cauldron has substance: My enemy has an illness, that cannot approach me. Auspicious.

nine in the Third: The cauldron’s ears are changed: Its movement is blocked, the pheasant fat is not edible; the borderland rains diminish. regret, in the end auspicious.

nine in the Fourth: The cauldron’s broken leg: Overturns the duke’s stew, its form glossy. Ominous.

Six in the Fifth: The cauldron has yellow ears and a bronze bar. Beneficial to determine.

202. . . . great service, ominous. Top Nine: The cauldron . . .

203. . . . greatly auspicious. There is nothing not . . .

Top nine: The cauldron has a jade bar. Greatly auspicious. There is nothing not beneficial.


䷓ Gen艮, “Stilling” (Hexagram 52)

艮其背不獲其身行其庭不見其人无咎

初六艮其趾无咎利永貞

六二艮其腓不拯其隨其心不快

204. 厲薰

九三艮其限列其夤厲薰心

六四艮其身无咎

205. 艮其輔

六五艮其輔言有序悔亡

上九敦艮吉

Stilling his back, not capturing his body; walking into his court, not seeing his person. There is no trouble.

First Six: Stilling his foot. There is no trouble. Beneficial to determine about the long-term.

Six in the Second: Stilling his calf: not grasping his cut flesh, his heart is not happy.

204. . . . Danger. Smoke . . .

nine in the Third: Stilling his midsection, carving his spinal meat. Danger. Smoking the heart.

Six in the Fourth: Stilling his torso. There is no trouble.

205. . . . Stilling his cheeks . . .

Six in the Fifth: Stilling his cheeks. Words have sequence. regrets gone.



䷕ Gui Mei歸妹, “returning Maiden” (Hexagram 54)

歸妹征凶无攸利

初九歸妹以娣跛能履征吉

206. 幽人之貞

九二眇能視利幽人之貞

六三歸妹以須反歸以娣

九四歸妹愆期遲歸有時

六五帝乙歸妹其君之袂不如其娣之袂良月幾望吉

上六女承筐无實士刲羊无血无攸利

returning Maiden: Campaigning: ominous. There is nothing beneficial.

First nine: The returning maiden together with her younger sisters. The lame are able to step. Campaigning: auspicious.

206. . . . a dark man’s determination . . .

nine in the Second: The blind are able to see. Beneficial for a dark man’s determination.

Six in the Third: The returning maiden together with her maids, going back in return together with her younger sisters.

nine in the Fourth: The returning maiden postpones the date, slowly returning, there is a time.

Six in the Fifth: Di yi marries his daughter: her lord’s sleeves are not as fine as her younger sisters’ sleeves. The moon is almost full. Auspicious.

Top Six: The woman raises a basket without fruit, the man stabs a sheep without blood. There is nothing beneficial.


䷗ Lü旅, “Traveling” (Hexagram 56)

旅小亨旅貞吉

初六旅瑣瑣斯其所取災

207. ・六二旅即其次

六二旅即次懷其資得童僕貞

九三旅焚其次喪其童僕貞厲

九四旅于處得其資斧我心不快

六五射雉一矢亡終以譽命

上九鳥焚其巢旅人先笑後號啕喪牛于易凶

Traveling: Little receipt. Determining about traveling: auspicious.

First Six: The traveler so hesitant. This is the disaster that he has taken.

207. . . .・Six in the Second: The traveler approaches his camp. . . .

Six in the Second: The traveler approaches the camp: Embracing his goods, and obtaining a young servant’s determination.

nine in the Third: The traveler burns his camp, losing his young servant. Determining: danger.

nine in the Fourth: The traveler in place: Obtaining his goods and axe, our hearts are not happy.

Six in the Fifth: Shooting a pheasant, one arrow misses. Ending with a praising mandate.

Top nine: The bird burns its nest. The traveling man first laughs and later screams, losing an ox at yi. Ominous.


䷻ Jie 節, “Moderation” (Hexagram 60)

節亨苦節不可貞

初九不出戶庭无咎

九二不出門庭凶

208. 不節若則

六三不節若則嗟若无咎

六四安節亨

九五甘節吉往有尚

上六苦節貞凶悔亡

Moderation: receipt. Bitter moderation. One cannot determine.

First nine: not going out of the window or court. There is no trouble.

nine in the Second: not going out of the gate or court. Ominous.

208. . . . not moderately, then . . .

Six in the Third: If not moderately, then sighingly. There is no trouble.

Six in the Fourth: Peaceful moderation. receipt.

nine in the Fifth: Sweet moderation. Auspicious. Going: there is elevation.

Top Six: Bitter moderation. Determining: ominous. regrets gone.


䷼ Zhong Fu 中孚, “Internal Trust” (Hexagram 61)

中孚豚魚吉利涉大川利貞

209. 大谷・初九吳

初九虞吉有它不燕

210. 我有好爵吾與

九二鳴鶴在陰其子和之我有好爵吾與爾靡之

六三得敵或鼓或罷或泣或歌

211. 六四月幾望

六四月幾望馬匹亡无咎

九五有孚攣如无咎

212. 取婦嫁女不吉田不得・上九翰音

上九翰音登于天貞凶

Internal Trust: Pigs and fishes. Auspicious. Beneficial to ford the great river. Beneficial to determine.

209. . . . great valley.・First Nine: The gamekeeper . . .

First nine: The gamekeeper. Auspicious. There is another who is not at ease.

210. . . . We have a fine chalice; I will together . . .

nine in the Second: A calling crane in the shade, its young harmonize with it. We have a fine chalice, I will together with you drain it.

Six in the Third: Obtaining the enemy, now drumming, now quitting, now crying, now singing.

211. . . . Six in the Fourth: The moon is almost full; . . .

Six in the Fourth: The moon is almost full; the horses are lost. There is no trouble.

nine in the Fifth: There is a captive trussed up. There is no trouble.

212. . . . about obtaining a wife and marrying off a daughter: not auspicious; about hunting: you will not obtain anything.・Top Nine: Soaring notes . . .

Top nine: Soaring notes ascend into the heavens. Determining: ominous.


䷽ Xiao Guo 小過, “Lesser Surpassing” (Hexagram 62)213. 不可大吏飛鳥遺音不宜上宜下

214. 大吉

小過亨利貞可小事不可大事飛鳥遺之音不宜上宜下大吉

215. 六非鳥

初六飛鳥以凶

216. 六二過

217. 其君遇

六二過其祖遇其妣不及其君遇其臣无咎

218. 弗過

九三弗過防之從或戕之凶

219. 之往厲

九四无咎弗過遇之往厲必戒勿用永貞

220. 密雲不雨自我西

六五密雲不雨自我西郊公弋取彼在穴

上六弗遇過之飛鳥離之凶是謂災眚

213. . . . cannot perform great service. The note left by the flying bird, is not appropriate for above but is appropriate for below.

214. Greatly auspicious. . . .

Lesser Surpassing: receipt. Beneficial to determine. One can perform minor service, but cannot perform great service. The note left by the flying bird, is not appropriate for above but is appropriate for below. Greatly auspicious.

215. . . . Six: It is not a bird . . .

First Six: The flying bird brings ominousness.

216. . . . Six in the Second: Surpassing . . .

217. . . . his lord, but meeting . . .

Six in the Second: Surpassing his grandfather, and meeting his grandmother; not reaching to his lord, but meeting his minister. There is no trouble.


218. . . . Not surpassing it . . .

nine in the Third: not surpassing it but defending against it, following and now hurting it. Ominous.

219. . . . it. Going: danger . . .

nine in the Fourth: There is no trouble. not surpassing it but meeting it. Going: danger. One must take warning. Do not use to determine about the long-term.

220. . . . Dense clouds do not rain from our western . . .

Six in the Fifth: Dense clouds do not rain from our western suburbs. The duke shoots a stringed arrow, taking that in a pit.

Top Six: not meeting it but surpassing it. The flying bird fastens in it. Ominous. This is called disaster and a curse.


䷿ Wei Ji 未濟, “not yet Across” (Hexagram 64)

未濟亨小狐汔濟濡其尾无攸利

初六濡其尾吝

九二曳其輪貞吉

六三未濟征凶利涉大川

221. 大國

九四貞吉悔亡震用伐鬼方三年有賞于大國

六五貞吉无悔君子之光有孚吉

上九有孚于飲酒无咎濡其首有孚失是

not yet Across: receipt. The little fox completes the crossing, wetting his tail. There is nothing beneficial.

First Six: Wetting his tail. Distress.

nine in the Second: Dragging its wheel. Determining: auspicious.

Six in the Third: not yet across. Campaigning: ominous. Beneficial to ford the great river.

221. . . . great kingdom . . .

nine in the Fourth: Determining: auspicious. regrets gone. Zhen herewith attacks the Devil Country, in three years having an award in the great kingdom.

Six in the Fifth: Determining: auspicious. There are no regrets. The nobleman’s radiance. There is trust. Auspicious.

Top nine: There is trust in drinking wine. There is no trouble. Wetting his head. There is trust losing this.

In the preface to this book, I quoted Li Xueqin 李學勤, the leading con-temporary authority on all aspects of the cultural history of early China, as stating that he finds the Changes to be a “dangerous” book, one susceptible

to manifold individual interpretations, and that if we are to have any hope of determining what the book meant in its earliest contexts it will almost certainly come from archaeological discoveries. We have been fortunate over the past several decades that China has produced archaeological discovery after archaeological discovery, some of them bearing directly on the Changes, and many others either tangentially related or providing evidence of the life and lan-guage of the time. It is this evidence that I have sought to introduce in this book. In chapter 1, I provided an overview of the sorts of discoveries that have been made, from oracle-bone inscriptions of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1200–1045 b.c.) down to the daybooks (rishu 日書) of the Qin (221–207 b.c.) and Western Han (202 b.c.–a.d. 8) periods. I also briefly mentioned the three manuscripts that would become the focus of the next six chapters: the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi, dating to about 300 b.c.; the Wangjiatai 王家台 Gui cang 歸藏, or Re-turning to Be Stored, dating to the mid-third century b.c.; and the Fuyang 阜陽 Zhou Yi with divination statements, buried in 165 b.c. Having provided detailed introductions to and also complete translations of each of these three manuscripts, it is now worth asking what we may have learned about the early history of the Changes and whether Li Xueqin’s confidence in the value of archaeology is warranted or not.

It seems to me that each of the three manuscripts has something different to teach us about the development of the Changes and its tradition. The Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi re-veals, at the very least, that the text of the Changes had achieved virtually its definitive shape

C o n C lu s I o n s a n d C o n j e C t u r e s

282 • Conclusions and Conjectures

by no later than 300 b.c.1 Of course, the manuscript reveals nothing about how much earlier than this the text may have been written, or anything about the process by which it may have been written. But 300 b.c. is already quite significant. It takes us back well into the Warring States period of the classical philosophers, more than a century earlier than the previously ear-liest manuscript, the Mawangdui 馬王堆 manuscript discovered in 1973. Perhaps even more important, even though this is but a single manuscript and, as described in chapter 2, one unfortunately brought to light not by archaeologists but by tomb robbers, that it is written in the script of the southern state of Chu 楚 might suggest that the Changes was widely available throughout the various kingdoms of China’s Warring States period. Although some evidence in the traditional historical record has been understood to suggest that the Changes was avail-able only in the northern state of Lu 魯, the home of Kongzi 孔子, or Confucius (551–479 b.c.), this impression is surely due just to the sample of literary evidence; the Chunqiu 春秋, or Springs and Autumns of Lu and its commentary, Zuo zhuan 左傳, the primary historical source for the Spring and Autumn period, cause Lu to loom larger in the history of this period than would otherwise be warranted.2 There is good reason to conclude that the Changes was not the exclusive preserve of any single state or even social class.

Unfortunately, the manuscript reveals little or nothing about just how widespread the text’s circulation may have been in Chu itself, or indeed how it may have been used.3 Clear evi-dence that at least two hands were responsible for the copying of the manuscript is susceptible to two radically different hypotheses in this regard. On the one hand, the more or less random inclusion of some 20 percent of the bamboo strips with different handwriting from that of the bulk of the manuscript (forty-five of the fifty-eight strips are in one consistent hand, and thirteen are in another) might suggest that the manuscript had become defective over time and required repair. It would perhaps be possible to interpret this as evidence of a relative paucity of copies of the text at the time, akin to the darning of old socks in times of scarcity. On the other hand, the very same evidence might suggest that the manuscript was copied in a scriptorium of some sort, with multiple scribes working on the same text, almost as on an assembly line. Such a view might lead one to conclude that copies could be produced in relatively great num-ber. That all of the surviving bamboo strips or fragments share a uniform physical appearance, without any obvious difference in wear, perhaps favors the latter of these two hypotheses. nev-ertheless, it must be admitted that the evidence is far from conclusive, and both hypotheses are weak in any event.

Whether the Shanghai Museum manuscript suggests that the Changes was in relatively widespread circulation by 300 b.c. or not, the Wangjiatai Gui cang manuscripts do show con-clusively that the Changes was by no means the only divination text in existence at the time. Classical sources had provided mention of not only the Gui cang but also other alternative divination texts, but it would seem that these texts had all been lost by the Han period. To be sure, the Gui cang was quoted in a number of medieval sources, but I have suggested that these

Conclusions and Conjectures • 283

quotations may have derived from yet another discovery of texts in a tomb: China’s first such recorded discovery, the tomb in Jijun 汲郡, present-day Henan province, opened by tomb robbers in a.d. 279. Unfortunately, virtually all the manuscripts from this tomb—including still another copy of the Changes—were lost soon after their discovery. Although some portion of the Gui cang must have survived and been available for quotation, it attracted little popular interest, and many scholars eventually came to regard the text as a late forgery. The Wangjiatai manuscripts, which, as we have seen, are strikingly consistent with the medieval quotations, in some cases matching them almost word for word, show that those suspicions of the text’s authenticity were entirely unfounded. True, the manuscripts show that the Gui cang does not date to the Shang dynasty, as the classical sources affirmed, but instead includes material from as late as the Spring and Autumn period. nevertheless, the Wangjiatai manuscripts are proof positive that the Changes was not the only divination text in use during this crucial period.

The Fuyang manuscript of the Changes, probably copied in the very first years of the Han dynasty and put into its tomb in 165 b.c., is the latest of the three manuscripts studied in this book, and yet ironically enough it may reveal the most about how the Changes came to be produced. The portion of the manuscript that contains the hexagram and line statements of the Changes shows once again not only that the Changes was widely available in early China but also that its text was remarkably stable. However, it is the divination statements, attached to each line of the canonical text, that have properly attracted the greatest attention. In the preface to this book, I suggested that perhaps the crucial divergence in the understanding of how the Changes came to be produced and how it should now be read concerns the role played by the technical divination terms found in most line statements: ji 吉, “auspicious,” xiong 凶, “ominous,” li jian da ren 利見大人, “beneficial to see the great man,” li she da chuan 利涉大川, “beneficial to cross the great river,” and so forth. Are these necessary and intrinsic judgments on the omens of the text, as most traditional commentators would hold, or were they added to the text randomly over time in the course of divinations, as some contemporary scholars have argued? That many of the Fuyang manuscript’s divination statements are virtu-ally indistinguishable from the divinatory terms seen in the Zhou Yi line statements themselves would seem to support the modern historical understanding of the text’s development. Of course, this manuscript was produced at a time when the text of the Changes was already in a final form, which the appended divination statements did nothing to alter. nevertheless, it is easy to imagine that at an earlier time (how much earlier is still impossible to say), when the text of the Changes was still in the process of composition, similar divination statements could have been incorporated directly into the hexagram and line statements.

regardless of when the hexagram and line statements of the Changes were written or when the text achieved its final form, the Fuyang manuscript—as, indeed, the other archaeologically discovered materials described in chapter 1—confirms the traditional view that the Changes originated and developed in the context of divination. In early China, the various methods that

284 • Conclusions and Conjectures

we subsume under the general rubric of divination were more than simply the narrow attempt to foretell future events, though they certainly included that purpose as well. In the broadest sense, they were attempts to communicate with the spirits, and especially with the ancestral spirits, apprising the spirits of the diviner’s intentions, enlisting their aid in the real ization of these intentions, and interpreting the spirits’ response. As far as we can tell, people of all walks of life in early China, from kings down to the lowest-level scribes in whose tombs daybooks have been found, engaged in some version of these practices on a regular basis.4 Over time, the Changes came to have pride of place among these divination methods, being used by even one such as Confucius. If we can believe our traditional literary sources, Confucius and his fol-lowers provided a humanistic rationale for this essentially spiritual practice and succeeded in transforming the Changes into an explanation of the cosmos and a guide for human behavior. However, aside from the Mawangdui manuscript, discovered forty years ago, archaeology has not yet provided much evidence of these later developments,5 which are, in any event, the topic for another book. For now, it suffices that in at least one sense of the word, we have held in our hands the hands of the ancients, and thereby come to a better understanding of the role they played in crafting the Changes.

PrEFACE

1. In chapters 2 and 6, when introducing the Shanghai Museum and Fuyang manuscripts, I follow the prac-tice of the editors of those manuscripts and refer to them as the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi and Fuyang Zhou Yi, respectively.

2. I should hasten to qualify this statement. There have been many Western scholars who have produced excellent studies of the Changes, the pace of publication seemingly increasing in recent years. For an excel-lent overview of the Changes from its origins to modern times, see Smith, Fathoming the Cosmos. The book includes a twenty-five page bibliography of Western-language works.

3. Creel, Birth of China, 268. I have converted the original romanization to pinyin. 4. Li Xueqin, “Xu,” 2. 5. For this text, see Shaughnessy, I Ching. In addition to this manuscript, there was of course also a consider-

able amount of other archaeological evidence indirectly relevant to the study of the Changes; much of this evidence is surveyed in chapter 1.

6. Han Ziqiang, “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi shiwen.” This was subsequently reissued as a monograph, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu. This manuscript is the topic of chapters 6 and 7.

7. Wang Mingqin 王明欽, the excavator of the tomb in which these two manuscripts were discovered, pre-sented a detailed report on them to an international conference held at Peking University in August 2000. The report was subsequently published as “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu.” These manuscripts are the topic of chapters 4 and 5.

8. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu, 3:13–70 (plates), 133–215 (transcription). This manu-script is the topic of chapters 2 and 3.

9. For a recent reading of the Changes as an “open” classic, see Ming Dong Gu, “Zhouyi (Book of Changes) as an Open Classic.”

10. These sixty-four hexagrams are usually understood to have developed from the doubling of eight graphs or pictures made up of three solid and/or broken lines each. Somewhat confusingly, the Chinese word gua can refer either to the eight three-line graphs, known in the West as “trigrams,” or to the sixty-four six-line “hexagrams.”

n ot e s

286 • Preface

11. In the cases of Qian 乾, ䷀, “Vigorous,” and Kun 坤, ䷁, “Compliant,” hexagrams, the first two hexagrams of the text and the only two “pure” hexagrams (i.e., composed purely of either solid lines or broken lines), there is an additional “use” (yong 用) line attached after the final line statement.

12. The hexagram name always comes at the beginning of the hexagram statement and is typically separate from the rest of the statement. However, in four cases (Lü 履, ䷉, “Stepping” [hexagram 10 in the tra-ditional sequence]; Pi 否, ䷋, “negation” [hexagram 12]; Tong Ren 同人, ䷌, “Fellow Men” [hexagram 13]; and Gen 艮, ䷳, “Stilling” [hexagram 52]), the hexagram name is grammatically linked to the words following it. For a suggestion that these four cases are the result of misplaced line statements, see Shaugh-nessy, “Composition of the Zhouyi,” 120–23.

13. Here and throughout this book, the text of the received Changes is that of Zhou Yi zheng yi 周易正義, in ruan, Shisan jing zhushu, juan 1–6 (pp. 13–75), with the exception that I omit punctuation in the Chinese text (the Shisan jing zhushu edition provides the traditional small circle [judou 句讀] after each clause). I do this for convenience in comparing the received text with the text of the various manuscripts introduced in this book, none of which includes punctuation. The text of Xian hexagram is found at 4.34–35:46–47.

14. For these reconstructions of the archaic pronunciation, see Schuessler, Minimal Old Chinese and Later han Chinese, 361.

15. Gao, Zhou Yi gu jing jin zhu, 108. See also Kunst, “Original ‘yijing,’ ” 300–301; rutt, Zhouyi, 254. 16. Kunst, “Original ‘yijing,’ ” 38–43, provides a particularly clear discussion of this feature, including tables

illustrating the distribution of words with “low” and “high” meanings. 17. Lynn, Classic of Changes, 16. 18. The work of Gao Heng has been particularly influential in this context, especially his Zhou Yi gu jing jin

zhu. See also Gao, Zhou Yi gu jing tong shuo. Gao’s influence is readily seen in the translations of Kunst, “Original ‘yijing,’ ” and rutt, Zhouyi.

19. Zhou Yi zheng yi, 9.82–84 (pp. 94–96). 20. For the Mawangdui sequence, see pp. 7–8. 21. In both chapters 1 and 2, I introduce different sorts of archaeological evidence bearing on this question.

Most of this evidence seems to support the traditional sequence of hexagrams, but none of it can be re-garded as conclusive.

22. The Wangjiatai Gui cang manuscripts have never been published in their entirety, and there is little rea-son to expect that they will be in the near future; I have translated all passages that have been published to date. For the Fuyang manuscript, I have translated all passages bearing text of the Zhou Yi. I have not translated the 531 fragments that bear only divinatory terms and that cannot be related with individual line statements of the Zhou Yi.

1. DIVInInG T HE PA ST DIVInInG T HE FU TUrE

1. Wilhelm, I ging: erstes und zweites Buch, I ging: Drittes Buch; subsequently reprinted (many times) as I ging: Das Buch der Wandlungen. Wilhelm’s German translation was in turn translated into English as The I Ching; or, Book of Changes. For a recent appraisal of Wilhelm’s translation, see Hon, “Constancy in Change.”

2. For an intellectual biography of Lao naixuan, see Molino, “Study in Late Ch’ing Conservatism.” 3. Wilhelm, I ging: Das Buch der Wandlungen, 25; Wilhelm, I Ching; or, Book of Changes, 4. 4. For an account of Menzies’s life and his time in China, see Dong, Cross Culture and Faith. 5. Upon Wang’s death in 1900, his collection of oracle bones was purchased by his friend Liu E 劉顎 (1857–

1909) and published as Tieyun cang gui 鐵雲藏龜 (n.p., 1903). For an extensive account of the discovery and first studies of the oracle bones, see Lefeuvre, “Les inscriptions des Shang.” Lefeuvre holds (18–19) that

1. Divining the Past Divining the Future • 287

the first scholar to recognize the writing on the “dragon bones” was actually Wang Xiang 王襄 (1876–1965), who had bought fragments brought by antiquarians in 1898 to his home in Tianjin 天津.

6. Dong, Cross Culture and Faith, 117–18, 133, notes that early on Menzies had collected 8,080 fragments, 3,668 of them inscribed, that reverted to the collection of Cheeloo University (Qi Lu Daxue 齊魯大學), where he taught, and that later another 5,000 pieces entered the collection of the royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

7. Ming, Yinxu buci. Prior to the publication of Menzies’s collection, the still more important collection of Luo Zhenyu 羅振玉 (1866–1940) was published, in several installments: Yinxu shuqi (1913); Yinxu shuqi jinghua (1914); and yinxu shuqi houbian (1916).

8. For both these reconstructions of archaic pronunciations, see Schuessler, Minimal Old Chinese and Later han Chinese, 138.

9. Duan, Shuo wen jie zi Duan zhu, 3B.39a. As the Shuo wen goes on to note, the character zhen 貞 was originally written 鼑, in which the 鼎 component served to indicate the pronunciation.

10. The demonstration of this prayerful aspect of early Chinese divination has been one of Western Sinology’s greatest contributions to the study of early Chinese civilization. It was first announced, more or less simul-taneously, by David n. Keightley and Paul L-M Serruys (1912–1999); see Keightley, “Shih cheng”; Serruys, “Studies in the Language of the Shang Oracle Inscriptions,” 21–23.

11. Zheng Xuan, Zhou li Zheng zhu, 24.7b. Throughout this book, I attempt to reflect both the divination and moral nuances by translating zhen 貞 as “to determine” (or some variant thereof ).

12. For an overview of this early archaeological work, written by the then director of the Institute of History and Philology, see Li Chi, Anyang.

13. Guo and Hu, Jiaguwen heji, vol. 3, no. 6834A. 14. Zheng also conducted a divination performed on renzi and recorded on the same plastron, no. 6834A,

whereas on plastron no. 6830 a divination concerning the same topic was conducted by the diviner Ke 𣪊. For a study of these and related inscriptions, see Shaughnessy, “Micro-Periodization.”

15. For still the finest Western-language introduction to all aspects of Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, see Keightley, Sources of Shang history.

16. Gu Jiegang, “Zhou Yi gua yao ci zhong de gushi.” 17. Gao, Zhou Yi gu jing jin zhu. 18. Mawangdui han mu bo shu (yi). 19. Mawangdui Han Mu Boshu Zhengli Xiaozu, “Mawangdui boshu Liushisi gua shiwen”; Mawangdui han

mu wenwu, 416–35; Chen Songchang, “Boshu Xi ci shiwen”; Chen Songchang and Liao Mingchun, “Boshu ersanzi wen Yi zhi yi”; Chen Songchang, “Mawangdui boshu Mu he Zhao Li shiwen.” Photo-graphs of the entire manuscript, together with a posthumous facsimile edition of the draft transcription done by the editor of the manuscript, Zhang Zhenglang 張政烺 (1912–2005), have now been published; see Zhang, Mawangdui bo shu Zhou Yi zhuan jiao du. For translations of the Mawangdui manuscripts, see Hertzer, Das Mawangdui-Yijing; Shaughnessy, I Ching.

20. Throughout this book, quotations of the received text of the Changes are taken from the Shisan jing zhushu 十三經注疏 edition; see ruan, Zhou Yi zheng yi. Although the Shisan jing zhushu text is sup-plied with rudimentary punctuation (the traditional Chinese circle, “。”), because much of this book involves comparisons between the received text and ancient manuscripts, which are generally not punctu-ated, I present the Chinese text without any punctuation. My own understanding of the punctuation will be clear from the punctuation given in the English translation, which in all cases is my own.

21. For a discussion of the complementarity of Qian and Kun hexagrams, explaining them as an almanac of a full year, see Shaughnessy, “Composition of ‘Qian’ and ‘Kun’ Hexagrams.”

22. It is actually not nearly so simple as deciding between just two different sequences. Even among the ca-nonical commentaries of the Changes regarded as a “classic,” the Za gua 雜卦, or “Mixed Hexagrams,”

288 • 1. Divining the Past Divining the Future

commentary presents a different sequence from that found in the received text printed above it, and the opening of the Shuo gua 說卦, or “Discussing the Hexagrams,” commentary at least hints at a different sequence. In the Mawangdui manuscript as well, there is evidence of different sequences; for example, the discussion of the hexagrams in the er san zi wen 二三子問, or “The Two or Three Disciples Asked,” commentary follows, for the most part, the sequence of the received text, and none of the other commen-taries discusses the hexagrams in the sequence given by the manuscript itself. In the Han dynasty, several other sequences of hexagrams are also attested: the most influential of these were those of Meng Xi 孟喜 (ca. 90–40 b.c.), which correlates the hexagrams with the twenty-four fortnightly periods of the year and the five noble titles, and Jing Fang 京房 (77–37 b.c.), which organizes the sixty-four hexagrams into “eight palaces” (ba gong 八宫), more or less similar to the arrangement of the Mawangdui manuscript (the sequence is different, but the mechanical arrangement is similar). For a thorough presentation of these dif-ferent sequences and an analysis of the sequence of the Mawangdui manuscript, with citations of studies published in the 1980s, see Xing Wen, Bo shu Zhou Yi yanjiu, 65–93. See also Smith, Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World, 62–77.

23. As I discuss in chapter 2, there is some evidence, albeit quite tenuous, that the Shanghai Museum manu-script of the Zhou Yi, copied about 300 b.c., had the same sequence of hexagrams as the received text.

24. For two of the most recent discussions of this topic, both arguing in favor of the antiquity of the received sequence, see Liao, Boshu Zhou Yi lunji, 13–14; Li Shangxin, Gua xu yu jie gua lilu, 103–23.

25. For a brief summary of this debate, see Shaughnessy, “First reading of the Mawangdui Yijing Manuscript.” 26. This text has been given the title Bian nian ji 編年紀, or Annals Stringing Years, by the editors of the

Shuihudi manuscripts; see Shuihudi Qin mu zhu jian, 1–7 (plates), 3–10 (transcription). See also Mittag, “Qin Bamboo Annals of Shuihudi.”

27. There are five different sorts of legal texts among the Shuihudi manuscripts; for a study and translation of them, see Hulsewé, Remnants of Ch’in Law.

28. The second of these two texts, which are very similar in content, bears the title Ri shu. The first text, which is more complete, includes 166 bamboo strips with text on both sides; see Shuihudi Qin mu zhu jian, 87–116 (plates), 177–228 (transcription). The second text includes 257 strips, with text on only one side (117–40 [plates], 229–55 [transcription]).

29. See Shuihudi Qin mu zhu jian, Ri shu jia zhong, nos. 2–7, 正貳, 89 (plates), 181 (transcription). 30. The editors of the Shuihudi Qin mu zhu jian indicate (181), almost certainly correctly, that 帥 here is a

mistake for shi 師, “troops, army.” 31. Throughout history, Chinese readers and writers have referred to the Changes as either Zhou Yi or Yi jing

almost indiscriminately. In current practice in China, there is some tendency to reserve the title Yi jing for just the “classic” portion of the text, i.e., the hexagram and line statements, and to use the title Zhou Yi to refer to the entire text, inclusive of the canonical commentaries, the so-called Ten Wings. In my own writ-ings in English, I have consistently done the reverse, using the title Zhou Yi to refer to the hexagram and line statement portion of the book, especially as understood in its Zhou-dynasty context, and reserving the title Yi jing for the received text in general, especially as understood as one of the Chinese classics. In this book, which deals with manuscripts of the text at the time when it was just in the process of becoming a classic, I try to avoid this distinction by referring to the text simply as the Changes.

32. For the initial report of this discovery, see Shaanxi Zhouyuan Kaogudui, “Shaanxi Qishan Fengchu cun faxian Zhou chu jiaguwen”; for the most recent and most thorough presentation of this and other, similar discoveries in the Zhouyuan area, see Cao, Zhouyuan jiaguwen.

33. For some discussion of this feature, see Shaughnessy, “Western Zhou Oracle-Bone Inscriptions.” 34. These formulaic prayers are introduced with the character si 甶 (i.e., si 思), “to wish for; would that.” Since

I first proposed this interpretation of this character, the proposal has generated a great deal of discussion among Chinese scholars, with some agreeing and others disagreeing. For my latest statement on the mat-


ter, including references to most of the relevant literature, see Xia, “Zai lun Zhouyuan.” 35. Zhang, “Shishi Zhou chu qingtongqi mingwen zhong de yi gua,” translated into English by Huber, yates,

et al. as “An Interpretation of the Divinatory Inscriptions on Early Zhou Bronzes.” 36. In quotations of Chinese paleographic materials, an ellipsis (. . .) indicates an indeterminate number of

characters missing, and a box (囗) indicates either that a single character is missing or—as is the case here—cannot be read.

37. See, for instance, Xu Zhongshu, “Shu zhan fa yu Zhou Yi de ba gua,” 383. Xu also reads the lines immedi-ately above ji 既, “having already,” which no one else can decipher, as the character 文, understood as the protograph for lin 吝, “distress,” a divinatory term commonly used in the Changes.

38. Cao, “Zhouyuan xin chu Xi Zhou jiaguwen yanjiu.” 39. Ibid., 45, though noting that the graph in question here, , has never before been seen, suggests that it

should be a verb meaning something like “to divine.” Li Xueqin, “Xin faxian Xi Zhou shi shu de yanjiu,” 6, suggests more plausibly that it should mean “to sacrifice, to make offering.”

40. Cao, “Zhouyuan xin chu Xi Zhou jiaguwen yanjiu,” transcribes the graph, , as shen 神, “spirit,” whereas Li Xueqin, “Xin faxian Xi Zhou shi shu de yanjiu,” suggests dao 禱, “to pray.” In fact, it is very difficult to determine, just from the graphic shape, which of these two transcriptions is more likely correct; however, the context, especially that of the second divination, does seem to require a verb, thus making dao, “to pray,” preferable.

41. For the most thorough surveys of these hexagram symbols, all taking very different approaches, see Cai, “Shang Zhou shi shu yi gua shili”; Li Zongkun, “Shuzi gua yu yin yang yao”; Xing Wen, “Hexagram Pic-tures and Early Yi Schools.”

42. Cao, “Tao pai shang de shuzi gua yanjiu.” 43. For my own view on this, see Xia, “Zhou Yi shifa yuan wu zhi gua kao.” 44. Li Xueqin, “Xin faxian Xi Zhou shi shu de yanjiu.” 45. Ibid., 5. 46. Both Cao Wei, the excavator, and Li Xueqin argue that the only number that would fit in the space avail-

able would be the number “1” (━; i.e., yi 一); see Cao, “Tao pai shang de shuzi gua yanjiu,” 68; Li Xueqin, “Xin faxian Xi Zhou shi shu de yanjiu,” 4.

47. For the initial report of this discovery, see Anhui Sheng Wenwu Gongzuodui, Fuyang Diqu Bowuguan, and Fuyang Xian Wenhuaguan, “Fuyang Shuanggudui Xi Han ruyin Hou mu fajue jianbao”; for the texts in the tomb, see Wenwu Ju Wenxian Shi and Fuyang Diqu Bowuguan Zhenglizu, “Fuyang Han jian jian-jie.” For information concerning these various texts, see chapter 6. For a valuable overview of the materials in the tomb related to divination, see Hu, “Fuyang Shuanggudui Han jian shushu shu jianlun.”

48. Han, “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi shiwen.” This was subsequently reissued as a separate monograph: Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu.

49. Of the 3,119 characters on the strips, 1,110 belong to the Zhou Yi itself, with passages from 170 or more hexagram or line statements in 52 different hexagrams (there are 4,161 characters in the 386 line statements and 64 hexagram statements of the received text). The remaining 2,009 characters belong to divination formulas. Thus, about one-quarter of the Zhou Yi text is represented in the Fuyang manuscript.

50. This call to “rewrite” early Chinese history is most commonly associated with Li Xueqin 李學勤; see, for example, his Chongxie xueshu shi, or Rewriting the history of Scholarship.

51. For one influential discussion of this question, see Petersen, “Which Books Did the First Emperor of Ch’in Burn?”

52. For a study of this question, see Shaughnessy, Rewriting early Chinese Texts. 53. For these strips, see Baoshan Chu jian. For an overview of this tomb and the deceased buried in it, see

Constance Cook, Death in Ancient China. 54. For a study of these court cases in English, see Weld, “Chu Law in Action.”


55. Baoshan Chu jian, nos. 228–29. For more detailed discussion of these divination records, including (in the first case) another translation of this same record, see Harper, “Warring States natural Philosophy,” 852–56, esp. 855; Kalinowski, “Diviners and Astrologers under the Eastern Zhou,” 381–84.

56. See Shaughnessy, “Composition of the Zhouyi,” 81–97. 57. The first site report was Henan Sheng Wenwu Kaogu yanjiusuo, “Henan Xincai Pingye jun Cheng mu de

fajue.” The formal site report was by the same team: Xincai Geling Chu mu. 58. For this date, see Song Huaqiang, Xincai Geling Chu jian chutan, 135. 59. Ibid., 61–62, 165–85. 60. In the context of the lines and line statements of the Changes, the word is usually written yao 爻, but the

two different characters (i.e., 爻 and 繇) certainly refer to the same word. 61. See Henan Sheng Wenwu Kaogu yanjiusuo, Xincai Geling Chu mu, 187–231 (nos. 甲三 217, 乙四 100 零

532+678, 零 115+22, and 甲三 31), respectively. 62. In the Zhou Yi, this is written 勿恤. Compare the following examples:

家人九五王假有家勿恤吉Jia Ren, “Family People,” nine in the Fifth: The king enters into the family. Do not worry. Auspi-cious.

夬九二惕號莫夜有戎勿恤Guai, “resolute,” nine in the Second: An apprehensive scream. In the evening and night there are enemies. Do not worry.

63. This is not necessarily to say that the line statements of the Changes were not produced until the fourth century b.c. but only that they must have been produced in similar contexts. The dates of the original composition and final redaction of the Changes are still very much open questions. I see no reason to mod-ify, at least very much, my earlier conclusion that the text of the hexagram and line statements achieved more or less the form it now has toward the end of the Western Zhou period, about 800 b.c.; see Shaugh-nessy, “Composition of the Zhouyi,” 27–49.

64. Song Huaqiang, Xincai Geling Chu jian chutan, 180–81. 65. The Shuo gua 說卦 commentary says of Dui:

兌為澤、為少女、為巫、為口舌、為毀折、為附決。其於地也，為剛鹵、為妾、為羊。Dui is a swamp, is the youngest daughter, is a magician, is the mouth and tongue, is breakage, is to add to or burst open. With respect to the earth, it is hard and salty, it is the consort, it is the sheep.

The hexagrams and line statements associated with Dui hexagram in the Zhou Yi (no. 58 in the re-ceived sequence) are by far the briefest of all the hexagrams in the text (only thirty characters in total, whereas the next briefest has forty-five, and the median is sixty-five) and give very little indication as to the original meaning of the word dui 兑. Of the canonical commentaries, the Xiang 象, or “Image,” com-mentary does seem to associate it with speech, saying, Junzi yi peng you jiang xi 君子以朋友講習, “The nobleman with friends speaks about and practices it.” On the other hand, it should also be pointed out that neither of the two hexagram pictures indicated for this divination, ䷌ and ䷇, is either the hexagram Dui or even contains the trigram Dui.

66. For an account of the excavation of the Guodian tomb, see Hubei Sheng Jingmen Shi Bowuguan, “Jing-men Guodian yihao Chu mu.” For the bamboo strips, see Guodian Chu mu zhu jian.

67. The proceedings of this conference were published as The Guodian Laozi. 68. For some of my own views on the importance of the Guodian Laozi manuscript, see Shaughnessy, “Guo-

dian Manuscripts.”


69. The interest has been more pronounced in China than in the West. In China there has been a boom in studies of the Si 思 (i.e., Zi Si 子思 [483–402 b.c.]) Meng 孟 (i.e., Mengzi) lineage of Confucian teaching. For some evidence of interest in these topics in the West, see Goldin, “Xunzi in the Light of the Guodian Manuscripts”; Scott Cook, “Debate over Coercive rulership.”

70. One of the Guodian texts, the Zi yi 緇衣, or Black Jacket, has a received counterpart in the Li ji 禮記, or Record of Ritual. Among the differences between the manuscript version of the text and the received version, a quotation of the Changes in the received text is missing in the manuscript version; it is unclear what significance should be given to this difference.

71. For the Liu de text, see Guodian Chu mu zhu jian, 70–71 (strips 24–25), 188 (transcription); for the Yu cong, see 79–80 (strips 36–37), and 194 (transcription).

72. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu. 73. Ibid., 3:13–70 (plates), 133–215 (transcription). 74. I have published this view elsewhere: Shaughnessy, “First reading of the Shanghai Museum Bamboo-

Strip Manuscript of the Zhou Yi,” 16–21; Xia, “Shilun Shangbo Zhou Yi de gua xu.” See also, in the present volume, page 48.

75. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu, 3:251–60. 76. He, “Lun Shangbo Chu Zhu shu.” 77. Jingzhou Diqu Bowuguan, “Jiangling Wangjiatai 15 hao Qin mu.” This discovery is the topic of chapter 3,

where full documentation of the scholarship on it can be found. 78. Fang Xuanling et al., Jin shu, 51, “Shu Xi zhuan” 束皙傳, 1432–33; for a detailed account of this discovery

and the editing of the texts from it, in English, see Shaughnessy, Rewriting early Chinese Texts, 131–53. 79. Fang Xuanling et al., Jin shu 51, 1432. 80. For the reconstitution of this Gui cang hexagram statement, see pages 153–54. 81. For a comprehensive comparison of hexagram names from all the different sources of the Gui cang with

those of the Changes, see table 4.1. 82. yu Qiang is said, in the Shan hai jing 山海經, or Classic of Mountains and Seas, to have been the god (or

goddess) of the north Sea (Bei Hai); see Shan hai jing jiao zhu, 425. 83. It is interesting to note that whereas a comprehensive Chinese bibliography published in 1989 listed only

seven scholarly articles that had discussed the Gui cang in the preceding ninety years (see Lin, Jing xue yanjiu lunzhu mulu, 1:86), in the years since the first notice of the Wangjiatai manuscripts in 1995 there have been scores of articles devoted to the text.

84. Guo Pu, Mu tianzi zhuan zhu, 5.4a–4b. 85. One chapter of the Shi ji 史記, or Records of the historian, of Sima Qian 司馬遷 (ca. 145–90 b.c.) is

devoted almost exclusively to turtle-shell divination; see Sima, Shi ji, 128, “Gui ce lie zhuan” 龜策列傳, 3223–51.

86. The Mawangdui text “yao” 要, or “The Essentials,” quotes Confucius as claiming to his disciple Zi Gong 子贑 that when he performed divinations, 70 percent of his prognostications were correct; see Chen Song chang and Liao Mingchun, “Boshu ersanzi wen Yi zhi yi,” 435; Shaughnessy, I Ching, 241.

87. Gao Heng, Zhou Yi gu jing jin zhu, 1. 88. Shaughnessy, “Composition of the Zhou Yi,” 95–97. 89. For a study addressing this issue, see Li Ling, “Formulaic Structure of Chu Divinatory Bamboo Slips,”

77–78. 90. For my most recent study on this point, see Xia, “Zhou Yi ‘Yuan heng li zhen’ xin jie.” 91. A special feature of the Chinese language is that in many cases the give-and-take of communication be-

tween two persons or two parties was originally expressed with a single word. Thus, both “to give” and “to take” were written as shou 受 (“to give” was later differentiated in speech with a change of tone and in writing as shou 授); “to buy” and “to sell” were both written as mai 買 (“to sell” was later differentiated as


mai 賣); jie 借 is still used for both “to lend” and “to borrow,” and ming 明 can mean either “to explain” or “to understand.” Even the word family deriving from you 有, “to have,” seems to display this feature: the word you 侑 means “to give offering (to the spirits),” whereas the word you 祐 means “to receive blessings (from the spirits)”; in Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, both senses, as well as that of you, “to have,” could be written simply as you 又. The word family that includes both heng 亨 and xiang 饗 reveals this same sort of bidirectional sense of communication.

92. Sun yirang, Mozi xian gu, 14a–17a. Sun’s emendations to the 1445 Ming-dynasty Dao zang 道藏, or Daoist canon text of the Mozi (this passage is found in that text at 11.9a–b) are based on medieval quotations of the passage, all of which he copiously cites.

93. In his exhaustive commentary, Sun yirang goes to great lengths to try to rationalize these contradictions, quoting numerous editions to suggest, for instance, that the “three legs” (san zu 三足) of the cauldron should actually read “four legs” (si zu 四足). I suspect that the contradictions were inherent to the prayer made in the divination, pointing toward the supernatural qualities the cauldron was to have. In this re-spect, it might not be entirely irrelevant to compare the Witches’ Chant from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which also combines prayer and prediction. Just the first chorus reads:

round about the cauldron go:In the poison’d entrails throw.Toad that under cold stoneDays and nights has thirty-oneSweated venom sleeping got,Boil thou first in the charmed pot.Double, double toil and trouble;Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

94. Bi, Mozi zhu, 11.8b. Sun yirang, Mozi xian gu, 11.16a, specifically differentiates this “command to the turtle” (ming gui zhi ci 命龜之辭) from the “prognostication” (zhan ci 占辭) below.

95. Early quotations of this sentence in both the Yi wen lei ju 藝文類聚 and Yu hai 玉海 give the character as 繇, a variation that Sun yirang notes is common in early texts; see Sun yirang, Mozi xian gu, 11.16b.

96. The rhyme of the oracle is again masked by textual variants. Bi yuan suggests that bei 北, “north,” and guo 國, “kingdom,” rhyme, which is true (*pək vs. *kwək) but also irrelevant since the characters are not in cor-rect rhyme position. Instead, the true rhyme is between dong 東, “east” (*tông), and bang 邦, “country” (*prong), which must have been the original reading of the final character before it was changed to guo 國, “kingdom,” to avoid a Han-dynasty taboo on the name of Liu Bang 劉邦 (r. 202–195 b.c.), the founder and first emperor of the dynasty.

97. Peng peng 逢逢 is evidently to be read as peng peng 蓬蓬, “luxuriant,” as in the Shi jing poem “Cai shu” 采菽 (Mao 222): Qi ye peng peng 其葉蓬蓬, “Its leaves are luxuriant.” In another context (though still with respect to this extended passage, Mozi xian gu, 11.17a), Sun yirang quotes a passage from the “Jiao si zhi” 郊祀志 chapter of the han shu 漢書 (Zhonghua shuju ed., 25A.1225) describing how during the reign of Han Wu Di (r. 140–87 b.c.) a bronze cauldron, larger and different from ordinary cauldrons, was discovered in Fenyin 汾陰. When the cauldron was brought to the capital and presented to the emperor, “yellow clouds” (huang yun 黃雲, later described as “yellowish-white clouds” [huang bai yun 黃白雲]) appeared, the emperor’s officials regarding them as an auspicious portent. Of course, this may be sheer coincidence, but it may also indicate some symbolic connection between the cauldrons of yu 禹 and the appearance of clouds. In this account, the officials recount how yu cast the nine cauldrons and used them to make offering (xiang xiang 鬺享, 鬺 being yet another variant of xiang 饗 or 享) to Di on High and the ghosts and spirits (shang di gui shen 上帝鬼神), thereby “receiving heaven’s blessings” (xiang cheng tian gu 饗承天祜), well illustrating again the bidirectionality of the word xiang 饗.

2. The Shanghai Museum Manuscript of the Zhou Yi • 293

2. T HE COnT E X T, COnT EnT, AnD SIG nIFICAnCE OF T HE SHAnG HAI MUSEUM MAnUSCrIP T OF T HE ZhOu Y I

1. Baoshan Chu jian. 2. There had previously been a few piecemeal discoveries of Warring States bamboo-strip texts, the most im-

portant being the 148 strips found in a tomb at Changtaiguan 長臺關, Xinyang 信陽, Henan, for which, see Henan Sheng Wenwu Gongzuodui Di yi Dui, “Wo guo kaogu shi shang de kongqian faxian”; see also Zhongguo Shehui Kexueyuan Kaogu yanjiusuo, Xinyang Chu mu, for a detailed report on the discovery. See Shang, Zhanguo Chu zhu jian huibian, for photographs, tracings, and transcriptions of the bamboo strips. Unfortunately, the most important of these strips were very badly preserved and, given the state of the field at the time, also very badly understood.

3. For the formal publication of the manuscripts, see Guodian Chu mu zhu jian. The discovery immediately prompted at least two different international conferences, one held in the United States and the other in China; see Guodian Laozi; Guodian Chu mu guoji xueshu yantaohui lunwenji.

4. See, for example, Henricks, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. 5. For some discussion of these texts, including especially the Zi yi, see Shaughnessy, Rewriting early Chinese

Texts, 9–61, 63–93. 6. For an account of the purchase of these strips and related issues, see “Ma Chengyuan xiansheng tan Shang

bo jian,” 1–8. 7. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu, vol. 1. 8. For example, Min zhi fumu 民之父母, or The Parents of the People, the title assigned to the text by the

editors, which corresponds to the “Kongzi xian ju” 孔子閒居, or “Confucius at rest,” chapter of the Li ji; Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu, 2:15–30 (plates), 149–80 (transcription). In addition, much of the content of the text Nei li 內豊, or “Internal ritual,” corresponds to the chapter “Zengzi li xiao” 曾子立孝, or “Zengzi Establishes Filiality,” of the Da Dai Li ji 大戴禮記; see Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu, 4:69–81 (plates), 217–230 (transcription).

9. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu, 2:91–146 (plates), 249–93 (transcription). 10. Ibid., 3:103–118 (plates), 287–99 (transcription). 11. Ibid., 5:97–123 (plates), 265–83 (transcription). 12. Ibid., 3:11–70 (plates), 133–260 (transcription). For a preliminary study of this manuscript in English, see

Shaughnessy, “First reading of the Shanghai Museum Bamboo-Strip Manuscript of the Zhou Yi.” Much of the information presented in this earlier study is repeated here, though I also introduce a considerable amount of new material.

13. For this reason, I make no attempt here to provide even a complete listing of the texts published to date, much less a thorough description of their contents.

14. Pu Maozuo subsequently also published a two-volume study of the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manu-script and its context: Chu zhushu “Zhou Yi” yanjiu. The book is divided into two parts, the first pre-senting the Shanghai Museum manuscript and the second comprising a conspectus of materials for the development of the Yi jing tradition through the Eastern Han dynasty. The first part reproduces several portions of the Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu volume 3 presentation of the manuscript: the color photographs of the individual strips; the strip-by-strip discussions of the text; and the compari-son of the Shanghai Museum manuscript, the Mawangdui manuscript, and the received text. It also in-cludes a discussion of the red and black symbols found on the manuscript, somewhat differently organized from the organization of Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu volume 3 but with no apparent difference in interpretation. In addition to these sections, this first part of the book adds a lengthy general introduction to the manuscript (“Chu zhushu Zhou Yi gaikuang yu yanjiu” 楚竹書《周易》概況與研究) and three new appendices: a bare transcription of the manuscript (“Chu zhushu Zhou Yi yuanwen”

294 • 2. The Shanghai Museum Manuscript of the Zhou Yi

楚竹書《周易》原文), a glossary of phrases in the manuscript (“Chu zhushu Zhou Yi cimu jieshi” 楚竹書《周易》詞目解釋), and a concordance of characters in the manuscript (“Chu zhushu Zhou Yi zhu zi suoyin” 楚竹書《周易》逐字索引). The second part of the book is divided into two chapters. The first surveys archaeological materials related to the Yi jing. These include hexagram symbols found in oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions and on other implements and hexagram symbols and related texts found in bamboo-strip texts, including those from Baoshan 包山, Xincai 新蔡, Tianxingguan 天星觀, Guodian 郭店, and Fuyang 阜陽; and all Yi jing–related texts from Mawangdui, the Xiping 熹平 Stone Classics, as well as the Guicang 歸藏 texts from Wangjiatai 王家台. The second chapter presents quota-tions and uses of the Yi in transmitted literature, together with a complete text of the received version of the Yi jing. Despite the redundancies with Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu volume 3, the book serves as a convenient source for the early development of the Yi jing tradition in China.

15. For this strip, see rao, “Zai kaituo zhong de xunguxue,” 1–5; Zeng, “Zhou Yi Kui gua ji liusan yaoci xin-quan.”

16. The identification of these six different symbols follows that of Pu Maozuo; Shanghai Bowuguan cang Chu zhu shu (san), 134, 251–60. Li Shangxin, “Chu zhushu Zhou Yi,” 24, suggests that there is a seventh sym-bol, which he describes as a large solid red square with a smaller solid black square set inside it. The only example of this comes at the end of Yi 頤 hexagram, strip no. 24. Pu treats it as a three-sided hollow red square with an inset smaller solid black square. However, as discussed on p. 40, it is clear that this strip was copied by a different copyist from that of the great majority of the strips, and the analysis of the symbol on it ought to be strictly segregated from that of the other strips. Indeed, the last two symbols identified by Pu, the solid red square with an inset hollow black square and the three-sided hollow black square, also occur exceptionally only on strips copied by this second copyist. For further discussion of these symbols, see pages 40–45.

17. Fang Zhensan, “Zhu shu Zhou Yi caise fuhao chutan,” 22. 18. He, “Lun Shangbo Chu Zhu shu.” Other differences between these two strips include the ways of writing

the “heart” signific in hu 𢘓: (no. 26) vs. (no. 27), and the “meat” signific in: (no. 26) vs. she (no. 27). It is unclear whether these differences indicate a different scribe or rather mere calligraphic flour-ishes by a single scribe. He Zeheng argues for as many as seven different scribes responsible for the thirteen strips of Group B. However, except in the case of these two strips, I see little or no difference in most of the character forms he indicates.

19. In addition to Li, “Chu zhushu Zhou Yi,” and He, “Lun Shangbo Chu Zhu shu,” see also Jiang, “Shangbo cang Chu zhushu Zhou Yi”; Chen renren, “Shang bo Yi teshu fuhao.” This last study is an exhaustive cri-tique of the previous attempts by Pu Maozuo, Jiang Guanghui, and Li Shangxin to detect some principle behind the placement and nature of these symbols, concluding not only that all three attempts are seri-ously flawed but—especially given the fragmentary nature of the Shanghai Museum manuscript—that no consistent explanation is likely to be persuasive.

20. When referring to the hexagrams of the manuscript, I refer to them by the names used for them in the manuscript. Here Ru 孠 corresponds with Xu 需 hexagram of the received text. Conversely, when refer-ring to the hexagrams of the received text, I refer to them by the names used for them in the received text. For a complete listing of the correspondences, see table 2.1.

21. However, he uses only three brief sentences to explain away the third hexagram with mismatched symbols, Yi, which intervenes between these in the received sequence of hexagrams. Since this hexagram has a symbol at the head and a symbol at the tail, Pu says that it must follow after a group and come before a group.

22. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu (san), 259. 23. Ibid., 260. 24. This is suggested, for instance, in He, “Lun Shangbo Chu zhu shu,” 29.


25. This contrast between invertible and convertible hexagrams probably explains the otherwise unbalanced division of the traditional text of the Zhou Yi into two separate scrolls, the first with thirty hexagrams and the second with thirty-four. If one treats the invertible pairs as a single hexagram picture, simply viewed from two different perspectives, then in the first scroll there are eighteen hexagram pictures (twelve in-vertible pairs and six hexagrams that are only convertible) and also eighteen in the second scroll (sixteen invertible pairs and only two hexagram pictures that are only convertible). For an extended discussion of this distribution, see richard Cook, Classical Chinese Combinatorics.

26. Table 1.1 compares all sixty-four hexagrams in the Mawangdui sequence with the received sequence; see pp. 7–8.

27. The presentation that follows here is essentially identical with that in Xia, “Shilun Shangbo Zhou Yi gua xu,” and in Shaughnessy, “First reading of the Shanghai Museum Bamboo-Strip Manuscript of the Zhou Yi,” 17–21.

28. It may be wondered whether the consecutive numbering of these four strips in the publication of the Shanghai Museum manuscript (30, 31, 32, 33) and the more or less similar breakage points of all four strips (between 30.8 cm and 31.5 cm from the top of the strips) are merely fortuitous or if perhaps they suggest that the strips were contiguous or nearly so in the original manuscript, which would suggest a sequence in which hexagrams Dun (r33) and Kui 楑 (r38) were consecutive (or nearly so). However, given that the reconstruction of strip no. 32 requires a fragment in the possession of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, it may well be that other strips belonging between these two hexagrams were lost in the robbery or transport of the strips to Hong Kong.

29. The top of strip no. 3, about 23 cm long, is missing. Presumably it would have carried the last two char-acters of the Six in the Fourth line, the eight characters of the nine in the Fifth line, and the first sixteen characters of the Top Six line.

30. A similar analysis might hold for strips 48 and 50, the first of which is broken at 13.4 cm from the top and the second at 12.6 cm from the top—the beginnings of Gen 艮 (r52) and Jian 漸 (r53) hexagrams (the intervening strip no. 49 is intact and contains the final portion of Gen).

31. Sun Peiyang, “Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu.” 32. For this scroll of seventy-seven strips, written between a.d. 140 and 142, see Lao, Juyan han jian, 570–75. 33. A stricter transcription than that offered by Pu Maozuo would result in a slightly lower number of exact

matches. For instance, where Pu transcribes yi 以, others would transcribe yi (or simply 厶), and where he transcribes directly as li 利 (i.e., 禾 + 刀), a more exact transcription would be 𥝢. In the transcription that I give in the following chapter, I have tried to be as exact as possible, for which reason that transcrip-tion differs slightly from that of Pu.

34. Pu Maozuo adduces evidence that 𪺞 is found in seal inscriptions for cang 藏, “to conceal,” which is writ-ten with the same character as zang, the usual reading for the corresponding character in the received text (though cang may well be the proper reading); in any event, the two graphs both share the same phonetic element (qiang 爿) and thus can readily be read for each other.

35. The Mawangdui manuscript, probably copied in the 170s b.c., that is, after the death of Liu Bang and be-fore the accession of Liu Qi, presents this phrase as 啓國承家, whereas the Fuyang 阜陽 Zhou Yi manu-script, buried in 165 b.c., gives 啓邦承家, more or less identical with the Shanghai Museum manuscript; for the Mawangdui manuscript, see Mawangdui han mu wenwu, 113, and for the Fuyang manuscript, see Han, “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi shiwen,” 20, and, in the present volume, p. 222. Whether this means that the copying of the Fuyang manuscript predates Liu Bang’s reign or death or that it simply failed to observe the taboo on his name is unclear.

There is another occurrence of the word bang 邦 in the Shanghai Museum manuscript, and this provides not only evidence for the same sort of editorial emendation in the received text but also an even further deformation. This occurs in the Top Six line of Qian (r15, written 謙 in the received text)


hexagram. I again place the received text immediately beneath the transcription of the manuscript text.

上六：鳴可用行帀征邦上六：鳴謙可用行師征邑國。

Here too it is clear that the guo 國 of the received text was originally written as bang 邦. Moreover, as seen from the different number of characters in the two different versions of the text, it would seem that the “city” signific of bang (i.e., 邑) left a vestige in the received text in the form of the word yi 邑, “city,” before guo. Indeed, as Liao, “Chu jian Zhou Yi jiao shi ji (yi),” 14, notes, there is other textual evidence indicating that the word yi 邑, “city,” was an intrusion into the text. The Jingdian shiwen 經典釋文 of Lu Deming 陸德明 (556–627) says of this line: “ ‘Zheng guo’ ben huo zuo ‘zheng yi guo’ zhe, fei” 征國本或作征邑國者非, “For ‘To campaign against the state’ there are texts that read ‘to campaign against the city and state,’ which is incorrect.” Moreover, the Mawangdui manuscript quotes this line as reading simply zheng guo 征國, “to campaign against the state.”

36. Qin, “Liyong chutu wenxian jiaodu Zhou Yi,” presents a comprehensive discussion of all these variants. 37. For discussion of these variants, see the translation given in chapter 3. 38. Qin, “Liyong chutu wenxian jiaodu Zhou Yi,” 33–35. 39. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Chu zhushu (san), 180. Actually, this second occurrence of the graph is some-

what more complicated than that in Guai hexagram. Here, the graph is followed by a repetition mark (, called a chongwen hao 重文號 by Chinese paleographers), indicating either that the entire graph or some portion of it is to be read twice. In the case of this graph, which is composed of the component wang 亡, “to die, not to have,” and another component that Pu Maozuo transcribes more or less literally as 九, it is clear that the wang component is to be read twice, first as part of the technical divination term hui wang 𢘓亡 (i.e., 悔亡), “regrets gone,” and then as part of the phrase 馬, which reads in the received text sang ma 喪馬, “losing a horse.”

40. Mawangdui Han Mu Boshu Zhengli Xiaoxu, “Mawangdui boshu Liushisi gua shiwen.” 41. Fan, “Jian bo Zhou Yi Guai gua ‘sang’ zi bu shuo.” It is clear that he is correct in this reading. Whereas in

two other occurrences of the graph qian 牽 in Mawangdui manuscripts, the graph features an “ox” (niu 牛) component below, in this case there is a “tree” (mu 木) component; see Chen Songchang, Mawang-dui jian bo wenzi bian, 604, 43.

42. Park, “Shanghai Museum Zhouyi Manuscript,” 119, notes that in Mawangdui manuscripts, the number of “berries” in the graph for sang, “mulberry,” is variable, from a low of two to a high of four. It would seem that the “two berry” form of the graph led Xu Shen 許慎 to analyze the character incorrectly in his Shuo wen jie zi 說文解字, treating it as a “combined meaning” (hui yi 會意) character combining ku 哭, “to cry,” and wang 亡.

43. One is tempted to suggest that just as the editors of the Mawangdui Zhou Yi manuscript originally mis-took the character sang 桑, “mulberry,” for the character qian 牽, “to lead,” so too might editors and copy-ists of the Zhou Yi in antiquity have made the same mistake. However, it is clear that the editors of the Mawangdui manuscript were led to their mistake by the reading of the received text, so that at least the process of transcription cannot be said to be entirely comparable.

44. For a complete listing of these variants, see Shaughnessy, “First reading of the Shanghai Museum Bam-boo-Strip Manuscript of the Zhou Yi,” 11, table 1.

45. For this manuscript and its additional divination terms, see chapters 6 and 7. 46. Indeed, Pu Maozuo transcribes 𥝢 simply as 利. 47. The bamboo strip that would have carried the hexagram picture and hexagram name of this hexagram is

missing from the Shanghai Museum corpus, but it is clear that it would have been written 尨 as in these line statements.

48. For example, the Xu gua 序卦 commentary, basing itself on the traditional sequence of the hexagrams,


moving from Zhun 屯 hexagram (r3), which is explained as “a plant first sprouting,” explains the name of the hexagram as follows: wu sheng bi meng 物生必蒙, “when things are born they are necessarily meng.” The commentary of Wang Bi 王弼 (226–249), which serves as the basis of the orthodox exegetical tradi-tion, explains the hexagram statement as “a youth wishing to resolve that which confuses him” (yu jue suo huo ye 欲决所惑也); see Zhou Yi zheng yi, 1.19a. This is reflected in the English translation of richard Wilhelm’s German translation of the hexagram name: “youthful Folly”; see Wilhelm, I Ching; or, Book of Changes, 20. It is also worth noting that already in the Mawangdui manuscript Mu he 缪和, Confucius is quoted as saying, Fu meng zhe, ran shao wei you zhi ye 夫蒙者, 然少未又知也 “As for meng, thus the young do not yet have knowledge”; see Chen Songchang, “Mawangdui bo shu Mu he Zhao Li shiwen,” 370. In my own translation of the name of the hexagram, “Shrouded,” I have opted to emphasize the basic meaning of the word, “covered,” though hoping also to suggest something of the meaning of “benighted, unenlightened.”

49. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Chu zhu shu (san), 137. 50. According to the phonetic reconstructions of Axel Schuessler, mang 尨 had an Old Chinese pronuncia-

tion of mrôŋ and a Middle Chinese pronunciation of måŋ, whereas meng 蒙 had Old Chinese and Middle Chinese pronunciations of môŋ and muŋ, respectively; see Schuessler, Minimal Old Chinese and Later han Chinese, 169.

51. There would be no difference so long as one does not automatically assume that one spelling is “correct” and the other “incorrect”; notions of correct orthography may well be anachronistic for the period of the Shanghai Museum manuscript, written several hundred years before the first known Chinese dictionary.

52. Ōno, “Shu eki Mō ka shinkai.” 53. This sense is hinted at in the commentary of Wang Bi, made more explicit in the subcommentary of Kong

yingda 孔穎達 (574–648), and fully elaborated in the later commentary of Cheng yi 程頤 (1033–1107); for the first two, see Zhou Yi zheng yi, 1.19b; for the latter, see Cheng, Zhou Yi Cheng shi zhuan, 42 (1.11b). See also Wilhelm, I Ching; or, Book of Changes, 22; Wilhelm begins his comment on the line by saying, “Law is the beginning of education.”

54. Lu, Zhou Yi yin yi, 907 (1.4a). 55. Although the of the manuscript seems not to be otherwise attested, it differs from the lei 羸 of the

received text only in the substitution of a “horn” signific (jiao 角) for a “sheep” signific (yang 羊), which of course also features prominent horns; this would seem to be a natural transformation. As for 缾 and ping 瓶, according to the Shuo wen, 缾 is in fact the standard form of ping, “jar,” with the 瓶 of the received text given as a variant form, reasonably so since both 缶 and 瓦 are significs for earthenware implements.

56. Wu 毋 (archaic *mə) is the prescriptive negative “don’t,” whereas wei 未 (archaic *məs), though phoneti-cally similar, is quite different in meaning, typically meaning “not yet.” In a lengthy review of my Rewrit-ing early Chinese Texts, William G. Boltz criticized an observation I made in that work concerning the apparent fluidity of negatives in early Chinese manuscripts versus received versions of the same texts; see Boltz, “reading Early Chinese Manuscripts.” Although I appreciate Professor Boltz’s care in comparing and contrasting the various negatives of classical Chinese, I believe that there is considerable evidence in support of my observation, including, for instance, this case here.

57. Li Ling, “Du Shang bo Chu jian Zhou Yi” (the punctuation is Li’s). 58. Ibid., 62. The other character that he transcribes directly is 缾 , mentioned above as doubtless identical

with the received text’s ping 瓶. 59. Zhou Yi zheng yi, 60 (5.48) (p. 60). 60. Wang niansun and Wang yinzhi, Jing yi shu wen, 1.29b–30a. 61. Duan, Shuo wen jie zi Duan zhu, 5B.2a. 62. Although no commentaries that I have seen have questioned the meaning of jing 井, every other character

in the clause has elicited various explanations. For instance, Lu, Zhou Yi yin yi, 941 (21a), reports that


Zheng Xuan and Wang Su 王肅 (195–256) both explicitly read 射 as yi, meaning “to press upon, to pour into,” and this seems to be the sense given to it by both Wang Bi and Kong yingda (see Zhou Yi zheng yi, 5.9b). As will be seen below, the character fu 鮒 has also been interpreted variously, either as “frog” or “small fish” (i.e., sardine).

63. hanyu dacidian, 12:1215. 64. Lu Deming, Zhou Yi yin yi, 941 (21a); Zhou Yi zheng yi, 5.9b. 65. The earliest commentator on the Zhou Yi to have stated this explicitly seems to be yu Fan 虞翻 (164–233),

cited in Li Dingzuo, Zhou Yi jijie, 490 (10.4b). For more evidence, see Gao, Zhou Yi gu jing jin zhu, 165. 66. Xiao, Wen xuan, 1:228; see also Knechtges, Wen Xuan, 417 (Knechtges translates fu as “goldfish”). 67. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Chu zhu shu (san), 197. 68. Li Ling, “Du Shang bo Chu jian Zhou Yi,” 63. 69. By the same token, neither should we disregard the received reading, trying at all costs to read the manu-

script differently. 70. Shanghai Bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhu shu (san), 197. 71. Li Ling, “Du Shang bo Chu jian Zhou Yi,” 63. 72. Park, “Shanghai Museum Zhouyi Manuscript,” 238, suggests that words written in Chu script with the

“rat” signific (shu 鼠) are typically written in Qin script (and thus in the received script) with the 豸 signific, usually indicative of some sort of wild animal. Elsewhere in the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manu-script, the 鼠 signific occurs in the graph (strip no. 37, the nine in the Second line statement of Jie 繲 [r40]), which corresponds with the character hu 狐, “fox,” in the received text, suggesting that 鼠 and quan 犬, “dog,” are also to some extent interchangeable as significs.

73. Li Falin, Zhanguo Qin han kaogu, 9. I am grateful to Zhang Lidong 張立東 for this reference. 74. Some might suggest that this demonstrates that the Zhou Yi was not composed in the first place until the

Warring States period, but this seems to me to confuse the senses of “writing” in terms of “composition” and “copying.” Indeed, the reading of the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi manuscript in this case demonstrates that a sense of the line very different from that of the received text was available already in the fourth cen-tury b.c.

75. See He Linyi, Zhanguo guwen zidian, 65–66. 76. Shanghai Bowuguan can Zhanguo Chu zhu shu (san), 196. 77. These are final sounds that share the same main vowel but have different endings, either open, stop, or

nasal. 78. Li Ling, “Du Shang bo Chu jian Zhou Yi,” 62–63. 79. han jian 汗簡, Guwen sisheng yun 古文四聲韵 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983), H58b (p. 29), and

G4–13b (p. 56). 80. Chen Wei, “Shangbo jian Cong zheng Zhou Yi jiaodu.” For the Zhuangzi and Cheng Xuanying passages

(from the “Ze yang” 則陽 chapter [25]), see Zhuangzi jishi 莊子集釋 (Taipei: He Luo tushu chubanshe, 1974), 885, 886.

81. Kunst, “Original ‘yijing,’ ” 58. 82. Some recent textual criticism, beginning with the work of Joseph Bédier (1864–1938) in the 1920s, has

emphasized the legitimacy of variant readings; see Bédier, “La tradition manuscrite”; see also Cerquiglini, Éloge de la variante. This marks a distinct break from the quest for the urtext that figures so prominently in the figures of Karl Lachmann (1793–1851) and his many followers.

83. Unfortunately, we must admit that it is almost always impossible to translate in this way. Just as scribes in the later Chinese tradition had to use one character—at the expense of other related characters—to write the text, so too when we translate—whether into English or any other language—must we usually choose just one from among any number of different words. The alternative would probably be to make the Changes even more difficult to understand than it already is.

4. The Wangjiatai Bamboo-Strip Manuscripts of the Gui cang • 299

4. T HE WAnG JIATAI BAMB O O-ST rIP MAnUSCrIP TS OF T HE GuI CANG

1. The initial report of the discovery was Jingzhou Diqu Bowuguan, “Jiangling Wangjiatai 15 hao Qin mu.” Wang Mingqin 王明欽, the lead excavator of the tomb, has given a more detailed report, focusing espe-cially on the bamboo strips in the tomb: “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu.” This latter report still does not constitute a formal publication of the complete contents of either the tomb or the bamboo strips, and there are some indications that such a report may not be forthcoming. It seems that we may have to make do with what information is presently available.

2. Most texts were written in the Qin “clerical script” (Qin li 秦隸). However, Wang Mingqin reports that the two texts that have been identified as two versions of the Gui cang 歸藏 were written in the Chu script current earlier in the mid–Warring States period (see Wang Mingqin, “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu,” 28), a characterization that is apparent also in the one photograph published in the initial report; see Jingzhou Diqu Bowuguan, “Jiangling Wangjiatai 15 hao Qin mu,” 41.

3. It is unclear to me just how many fragments there are. Wang Mingqin’s report mentions 813 numbered fragments, but he notes that a number of other fragments were not given numbers, and from the materials published to date, it would seem that these unnumbered fragments are fairly numerous and, in at least some cases, of some considerable importance. For further remarks on this, see n. 42 below.

4. For some description of these daybooks, see Wang Mingqin, “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu,” 42–47. The first and still best known of the daybooks to be found in ancient tombs were those at Shuihudi 睡虎地, also in Hubei, unearthed in 1975 and introduced briefly in chapter 1. At Wangjiatai, the daybooks constitute the greatest number of bamboo strips, but since their contents are generally similar to those at Shuihudi, Wang Mingqin has not given a detailed presentation of them. However, he does note that there is at least one type of text among the Wangjiatai daybooks not seen elsewhere, which is of particular inter-est for its similarity to the divination texts added to the Fuyang 阜陽 Zhou Yi manuscript (for which, see chapters 6 and 7). Wang Mingqin terms it “daily taboos” (ri ji 日忌) and says that it includes an itemized listing of the auspices for various events on each of the thirty days of a month. Here I give just one example, contained on two strips.

十五日曰载是胃望以作百事大凶風雷畾日月宜飤邦君更歲不朝邦多廷獄作民多寡陽疾亡人得戰The fifteenth day is called “Carrying”; this pertains to the full moon. In undertaking them, the hundred affairs are greatly ominous. The wind and thunder boom, and it is proper that the sun and moon be eclipsed. The leader of the country changes the year and does not come to court, and the country has much court litigation arising. Many of the people are orphaned, there are illnesses of excess yang, and people who abscond end up in war.

5. This code is essentially identical with a code of the same name also found in 1975 at Shuihudi. There are ninety-six strips belonging to this text, seventy-two of them numbered and twenty-four not numbered. Although the Wangjiatai text is quite fragmentary as compared with the same text at Shuihudi, it does offer the potential to correct the textual sequence presented by the editors of the Shuihudi strips. Whereas each statute of the Shuihudi code was begun on a new bamboo strip, and thus there was no way to de-termine their sequence, in the case of the Wangjiatai code the statutes are written continuously, with a 乙-shaped mark separating them. Unfortunately, Wang Mingqin has presented only two strips of this text. For the same text from Shuihudi, see Shuihudi Qin mu zhu jian, 33–40 (plates), 67–75 (transcription).

6. The text is intended to be read from the inside out, with the title in the middle (written twice, in reverse directions). The innermost square of this diagram is very similar to the text termed Wei li zhi dao 為吏之道, or The Way of Being an Officer, also discovered in 1975 at Shuihudi (for which, see Shuihudi Qin mu zhu jian, 79–85 [plates], 165–75 [transcription]), though there are variations in individual characters and

300 • 4. The Wangjiatai Bamboo-Strip Manuscripts of the Gui cang

also in the sequence of some phrases. The middle ring of the text serves as a commentary on the innermost ring, while the outer ring indicates both positive and negative consequences for the explanations of the middle ring. In the case of this text, which comprises sixty-five bamboo strips (including two strips with-out any writing that the archaeologists did not number), Wang Mingqin has given a rather complete de-scription, noting the considerable significance of its layout; “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu,” 39–42.

7. Ibid., 47–48, does not mention the total number of strips belonging to this text, except to say that, ex-ceptionally, they were originally numbered, with numbers from 1 (yi 一) to 101 (bai yi 百一) appearing at the bottom of the bamboo strips. The contents record anomalous events in nature and society—“males of the six domestic animals became pregnant” (mu liu chu yun qi shen 牡六畜孕其身), “the moon fell from the heavens” (yue jiang zi tian 月降自天), “the earth shook” (di dong 地動), “a horse gave birth to a cow” (ma sheng niu 馬生牛), and so on—and then relate these to the fortunes of the state and the ruler: “the country will have a great loss” (bang you da sang 邦有大喪), “within three years someone will attack its country” (bu chu san nian huo fa qi bang 不出三年或伐其邦), “there will be a woman to die” (you nü sang 有女喪), and so forth. Unfortunately, these strips were very badly preserved, and it has not been possible to piece them together.

8. The initial site report, published in 1995, referred to the text as “a previously unseen type of Yi prognostica-tion [Yi zhan 易占]”; Jingzhou Diqu Bowuguan, “Jiangling Wangjiatai 15 hao Qin mu,” 40–41. This at-tribution was adopted in Constance Cook, “Myth and Fragments of a Qin Yi Text.” However, by the year after the release of the preliminary site report, Wang Mingqin, the lead archaeologist of the find, published a study in which he demonstrated conclusively the manuscripts’ connection with quotations said to come from the ancient text Gui cang; see Wang Mingqin, “Shi lun Gui cang de jige wenti.” Other scholars mak-ing the same suggestion at just about the same time include Lian Shaoming (“Jiangling Wangjiatai Qin jian yu Gui cang”) and Li Jiahao (“Wangjiatai Qin jian Yi zhan wei Gui cang kao”).

9. The numbering is that given in the various publications of Wang Mingqin. Since all these publications, including the transcriptions of the Gui cang texts, have been presented in simplified Chinese characters, I perforce give the transcriptions here also in simplified characters. The symbol □ indicates that a single character is missing or cannot be transcribed, whereas the symbol indicates an indeterminate number of missing characters, usually caused by a break in the bamboo strip. In my translations, these are rendered with .. and . . . , respectively. In addition, the symbol , included on the original bamboo strips, indicates that the preceding character is to be read twice.

10. As seen below and in chapter 5, the Wangjiatai fragments consistently refer to the divinations as bu 卜, which originally had a specialized sense of “turtle-shell divination,” though it later came to be used for any type of divination. Medieval quotations of the text, on the other hand, consistently refer to “divining by milfoil” (shi 筮). Both sources refer to the result of the divination as “having the stalks prognosticated” (mei zhan 攴占 or 枚占). This shows that the bu of the Wangjiatai fragments should be understood as “to divine” in the general sense.

11. Zhang Hua, Bo wu zhi, 9, “Za shuo shang” 雜說上, 2b. The Lu shi 路史, or Revealed history, compiled at the very end of the Southern Song dynasty by the father-son team of Luo Ping 羅萍 and Luo Bi 羅泌 (completed in 1170), contains an almost, but not quite, identical quotation:

武王伐商枚占耆老曰不吉Wu Wang attacked Shang and had the stalks prognosticated by Qi Lao, who said: not auspicious.

See Luo and Luo, Lu shi, “Hou Ji” 後紀, 5.5b. Elsewhere (“Fa hui” 發揮, 1.15b), the same text attri-butes a very different quotation to the Gui cang’s Jie hexagram (previously quoted in the Jia Gongyan 賈公彦 [fl. 650] commentary to the Zhou li 周禮 [Zhou li zhu shu 周禮注疏, 24.6b]):

節卦云殷王其國常毋谷目Jie hexagram says: The yin King, his kingdom is always without valley eyes [sic].


Although this quotation is so garbled that it is virtually untranslatable as it stands, the text for Ju 䂂 hexagram in the Wangjiatai text (which corresponds to Kui 睽 hexagram of the Zhou Yi) shows how it should have read:

䷥ 䂂曰昔者殷王貞卜其囗尚毋有咎/䷥ Ju “Frightened” says: In the past the yin King determined the divination: Would that his [coun-try] not have any trouble. . . . (unnumbered fragment)

It is unclear whether the Lu shi’s attribution of this quotation to Jie hexagram was simply mistaken (as the garbled nature of the quotation might lead us to suspect), or if perhaps different versions of the Gui cang had different hexagram statements. However, on balance, no evidence available to date supports the latter possibility.

12. Guo Pu, Shan hai jing zhu, 7, “Hai wai xi jing” 海外西經, 1a.Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 929.1a:4128, contains a fuller, if somewhat garbled, version of this quotation:

歸藏明夷曰昔夏后啟上乘龍飛以登于天皋陶占之曰吉Ming Yi of the Gui cang says: In the past Xia Hou Qi upwardly rode a dragon flying to rise into heaven. Gao yao prognosticated it and said: Auspicious.

13. At least three separate recensions of Gui cang quotations were produced in the first half of the nineteenth century: yan, Quan shang gu San dai Qin han San guo Liu chao wen (1836), 104–5; Hong, Gui cang (1926), 1.1a–4a; and Ma, Yuhan shanfang jiyi shu (1871). For a convenient comparison of all these quota-tions and the Wangjiatai texts, see Kondō, “Ōkatai Shin bo chikuken Ki sō no kenkyū,” 317–21.

14. Kondō, “Ōkatai Shin bo chikuken Ki sō no shotan,” 73, makes the point that there is no evidence to show that the Wangjiatai text is really the ancient Gui cang. There is also some question as to how the name 歸藏 should even be read and understood. The graph 藏 has two different readings: cang, a verb mean-ing “to store,” and zang, a noun meaning “storehouse, repository.” As far as I can tell, the only statement attemp ting to explain the title is attributed to Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200): “As for the title Gui cang, of the ten thousand things there is none that does not return to be stored in its midst” (Gui cang zhe, wan wu mo bu gui cang yu qi zhong ye 歸藏者, 萬物莫不歸藏于其中也; quoted in Li ji zheng yi, 21.187 [p. 1415]). Even this explanation is ambiguous. Although it clearly uses cang as a verb, it seems to portray the text as a whole as the place where the ten thousand things are stored, and thus apparently as a “store-house.” However, since the preponderance of Chinese scholars now read the title as Gui cang, I follow their practice.

15. For an earlier study of my own of this text, see Shaughnessy, “Wangjiatai Gui Cang.” Some of the informa-tion that follows is taken from that earlier study, but most is new.

16. Zhou li zhushu, 24.164–65 (pp. 802–3). 17. In his commentary to the “Li yun” 禮運 chapter of the Li ji 禮記, where Confucius is quoted as saying,

“We wanted to view the Way of yin and for this reason went to Song, but it was insufficient to show it. I got the Kun Qian there” (Wo yu guan Yin dao, shi gu zhi Song, er bu zu zheng. Wu de Kun Qian yan 我欲觀殷道是故之宋而不足征吾得坤乾焉), Zheng Xuan states: “He got a yin-yang text of the yin dynasty. Existing versions of that text include the Gui cang” (de Yin yin yang zhi shu, qi shu cun zhe you Gui cang 得殷陰陽之書其書存者有歸藏); Li ji zheng yi, 21.187:1415.

18. See Wang Chong, Lun heng, 28, “Zheng shuo” 正說, 4b–5a. Zheng Xuan is quoted similarly in the pref-ace (“Xu” 序) of the Zhou Yi zheng yi, 5a. This preface also quotes Du Zichun 杜子春 (1st c. a.d.) as attributing the Lian shan to Fuxi 伏羲 and the Gui cang to Huang Di 黄帝.

19. Wang Chong, Lun heng, 12, “Xie duan” 謝短, 11b. 20. This portion of the Xin lun was lost by the end of the northern Song dynasty, but this remark is preserved

in Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 608.5a:2737.


21. Zhang Heng, Ling xian quotes without attribution a passage that can now surely be identified as coming from the Gui cang:

羿請不死之藥于西王母姮娥竊之以奔月將往枚筮之于有黄有黄占之曰吉翩翩歸妹獨將西行逢天晦芒毋惊毋恐後且大昌恒娥遂托身于月是為蟾蠩yi requested the medicine of immortality from the Western Queen Mother. Heng E stole it to flee to the moon. When she was about to go, she had the stalks divined by milfoil by you Huang. you Huang prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. So soaring the returning maiden, alone about to travel westward. Meeting heaven’s dark void; do not tremble, do not fear. Afterwards there will be great prosperity. Heng E subsequently consigned her body to the moon, and this became the frog.

The text was subsequently quoted with attribution to the Gui cang, as, for example, in Liu, hou han shu buzhu, 3216. This seems to show that the Gui cang, or at least a text similar to it, was available, at least in fragments, during the Eastern Han dynasty.

22. See his comments on possible early divination texts other than the Zhou Yi, at Xi 熹 15 and Cheng 成 16, in Chunqiu Zuo shi zhuan Du shi jijie, 5.24a–b, 13.18a.

23. Wei, Sui shu, 27.909, 913. Prior to the listing in the Sui shu, the Gui cang was also included in the Qi lu 七錄 of ruan Xiaoxu 阮孝緖 (479–536), which said of it that it was “a book of miscellaneous divinations”; cited in Ma, Gui cang, “Xu” 序, 1a, which provides a good overview of the textual history of the Gui cang.

24. The Sui shu states that the Zhong jing contained 29,945 scrolls, but this is surely based only on the original table of contents; in his Jin Yuan Di Si bu shumu 晉元帝四部書目, or Bibliography in Four Parts from the Reign of Jin Yuan Di, Li Chong 李充 (fl. 345–357) of the Eastern Jin reports that only 3,014 scrolls of the Zhong jing were still extant; see yang and Gao, Zhongguo lishi wenxianxue, 76–77.

25. Wei, Sui shu, 27.909. 26. Fang Xuanling et al., Jin shu, 51.1432. 27. This biography was included in Wang yin’s Jin shu 晉書, which was extant into the Tang dynasty and was

thus an important source for Fang Xuanling’s Jin shu, but it was lost thereafter. This passage of its biogra-phy of Shu Xi is quoted in Yiwen leiju, 40, 732.

28. For evidence that Wang yin wrote his Jin shu in the decades of the 320s and 330s, see Song Zhiying, “Wang yin Jin shu chu tan.”

29. Guo Pu, Shan hai jing zhu, 7, “Hai wai xi jing” 海外西經, 1a. 30. See Zhang Hua, Bo wu zhi, 9, “Za shuo shang,” 2b. 31. For evidence of these quotations, see Shaughnessy, Rewriting early Chinese Texts, 157. 32. Wang Mingqin, “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu,” 36. Wang notes an even more persuasive example of

the faulty nature of the transcription available to Zhang Hua:

明夷曰昔夏后莖乘飛龍而登于天而牧占四華陶陶曰吉Ming Yi “Darkness Obscured” says: In the past Xia Hou divined by milfoil about riding a flying dragon and rising into heaven and had the result prognosticated by [Si Hua Tao Tao:] Gao yao. Gao yao said: Auspicious

not only does this quotation include the same mistranscriptions of mei and shi but also, and more important, the reading Si Hua Tao Tao 四華陶陶 can now be seen as a mistranscription of 皋陶, the being a repetition mark (chongwen hao 重文號) indicating that the two characters are to be read twice in succession (i.e., Gao yao, Gao yao 皋陶, 皋陶). Whoever was responsible for the transcription used by Zhang Hua obviously understood the first mark as a combined-character mark (hewen hao 合文號) indicating that two separate characters had been written together (presumably understanding gao 皋 as si hua 四華), and only the second as a repetition mark. A mistake such as this could derive only from someone working with bamboo-strip manuscripts.


33. This suggestion had actually been made almost fifty years before the discovery of the Wangjiatai bamboo strips; see Guo Moruo, Qingtong shidai, 2. For the suggestion in connection with the Wangjiatai discovery, see Wang Mingqin, “Gui cang yu Xia Qi de chuanshuo”; Wang ning, “Qin mu yi zhan yu Gui cang zhi guanxi”; Zhu yuanqing, “Wangjiatai Gui cang yu Mu tianzi zhuan”; ren and Liang, “Gui cang Kun Qian yuanliu kao.”

34. Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 82.7a–b:383. This chapter of the Taiping yulan, which collects quotations concerning Qi, the first ruler of the Xia dynasty, includes the following quotation, attributed to the Shi ji 史記:

史記曰昔夏侯啟筮乘龍以登于天枚占于皋陶皋陶曰吉而必同與神交通以身為帝以王四卿The Shi ji says: “In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about riding a dragon to rise into heaven, and had the stalks prognosticated by Gao yao. Gao yao said: Auspicious. yet it must be the same, communicating with the spirits, with his body being Di, to rule over the four directions.”

The received text of the Shi ji does not include anything like this quotation, which by its very nature clearly comes from the Gui cang. Indeed, it is doubtless the same hexagram statement of the Gui cang quoted by Guo Pu above:

夏侯啟筮御飛龍登于天吉Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about driving a flying dragon to rise into heaven: Auspicious.

The four phrases that follow the prognostication (“auspicious” [ji 吉]) are not seen elsewhere but, as discussed later in this chapter, may constitute a concluding “oracle” (yao 繇) to the passage.

35. Xue, Jiu Tang shu, 46.1966. 36. Chen Kui, Zhongxing guange shumu, 1.1a. 37. For discussion of this division of the text, see Xing Wen, “Hexagram Pictures and Early Yi Schools,” 584–

87. 38. Ouyang Xiu, Ouyang Wen Zhong gong wen ji, 124.1b. 39. For the description of the Gui cang, see Luo and Luo, Lu shi, “Hou Ji” 後紀, 5.5b. As will be seen below,

one common type of divination reads, “Would that his country not have any trouble” (qi bang shang wu you jiu 其邦尚毋有咎), or “distress” (lin 吝). In Jia Gongyan’s subcommentary to the Zhou li (at “Chun guan Tai bu” 春官太卜), one example of this type of statement (attributed to Jie 節 hexagram) is given, essentially unintelligibly, as qi guo chang wu ruo gu 其國常毋若谷 (guo 國 is obviously a substitute for the tabooed bang 邦, whereas chang 常, ruo 若, and gu 谷 are graphic errors for shang 尚, you 有, and jiu 咎); Zhou li zhu shu, 24.6b. In Luo and Luo, Lu shi, “Fa hui” 發挥, 1.15b, this is further garbled into chang wu gu yue 常毋谷月; it is unclear whether this sort of corruption derives from a misquotation of Jia Gongyan’s quotation, or if it might have come from a direct quotation of some Gui cang text.

A passage apparently quoted uniquely by the Lu shi may suggest once again that the Gui cang quoted in medieval sources came from the Jizhong tomb find of a.d. 279. After the Yi yao yin yang gua, which, as suggested above, probably corresponds to the Gui cang, the description in the Jin shu of the texts found in that tomb, next mentions a Gua xia Yi jing 卦下易經, or Classic of Changes Beneath the hexagrams, in one bundle, which it says “was similar to the Shuo gua [說卦, or Discussion of the hexagrams] but dif-ferent” (Jin shu, 51.1432). The Lu shi, “Fa hui” 發挥, 1.15b, quotes the following passage as coming from the Gui cang:

乾為天為君為父為大赤為辟為卿為馬為禾為血卦Qian is heaven, is the ruler, is the father, is great crimson, is the adviser, is the minister, is a horse, is grain, and is a bloody hexagram.


Although this is clearly unlike any of the other passages attributed to the Gui cang, whether from early quotations or from the Wangjiatai bamboo-strip texts, it does bear a striking resemblance to the Shuo gua 說卦 commentary of the Yi jing.

乾為天為圜為君為父為玉為金為寒為冰為大赤為良馬為老馬為瘠馬為駮馬為木果Qian is heaven, is spherical, is the ruler, is the father, is jade, is metal, is cold, is ice, is great crimson, is a fine horse, is an old horse, is a lean horse, is a dappled horse, is the fruit of a tree.

I suspect that these two Jizhong texts were copied into the Zhong jing in successive chapters, and that at some point the chapter break may have become lost or confused.

40. For citations of recensions of these quotations, see n. 13 above. 41. See, for example, Sun yirang, Zhou li zheng yi, 47.7a; yu yongliang, “yi gua yao ci de shidai ji qi zuozhe,”

167; rong, “Zhanbu de yuanliu,” 276–77. 42. Of these, 80 discrete strips can be identified in Wang Mingqin’s two major studies, “Shi lun Gui cang de jige

wenti” and “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu”; this constitutes just about exactly 20 percent of the total number of strips. Of these 80 strips, 54 are numbered and 26 unnumbered. In his general description of all the bamboo strips from the tomb, Wang states that the unnumbered strips were those that were “severely broken” (p. 27), but in his transcription of the Gui cang strips it is hard to see a pronounced difference between the numbered and unnumbered strips; true, most of the unnumbered strips have fewer than ten characters, but at least one of them (quoted in “Shi lun Gui cang de jige wenti,” 110) has twenty-five charac-ters. Another measure of the percentage of the corpus published to date may be the total number of char-acters. In “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu” (p. 29), Wang states that the 394 strips include somewhat more than 4,000 characters. By my count (and counts can vary depending on whether one includes the hexagram pictures [of which there are 70, not included in my count], or the duplication marks [also not included in my count], or even the symbols apparently indicating places where characters should be pres-ent but cannot be read [indicated with □ in the transcription]), the 80 strips published to date include just about 1,000 characters, or 25 percent of the total, more or less proportional with the percentage of total strips that have been published. On the one hand, this perhaps suggests that the transcriptions published to date are more or less representative of the entire corpus. On the other hand, it might also suggest that the strips that have not been published are not appreciably more fragmentary than those published and would potentially be of great interest at least in terms of comparing the two versions of the text.

43. Wang Mingqin notes complete strips among both the Ri shu and Zheng shi zhi chang texts, the Ri shu measuring between 22.6 cm and 22.9 cm in length, approximately the length of one “foot” in Qin-dynasty measures, and the Zheng shi zhi chang measuring 34.5 cm, about one and a half Qin feet. He further notes that the Gui cang strips “possibly exceed the length of those of the Zheng shi zhi chang”; see Wang Ming-qin, “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu,” 28.

44. Even though this is never clearly stated in any of Wang Mingqin’s descriptions of the manuscript, another indication that this is the case is that his transcriptions indicate a break in the bamboo strip with the sym-bol ; when a hexagram picture is given, this symbol never appears before it.

45. Since the hexagram pictures seem to have been written at the top of the bamboo strips, they were there-fore most liable to being broken off from the rest of the bamboo strip. This probably accounts for their relatively fewer number vis-à-vis the hexagram names.

46. See table 4.1 for a listing of these hexagram names, together with a comparison of the names as they appear in medieval sources and also in the Zhou Yi.

47. I indicate the entry number of the strip when available; strips without an entry number are apparently among the unnumbered fragments. In addition to the examples listed here, see also note 71 below for another example, for which, however, there is no complete transcription of the second text.


48. The name of this hexagram, Bi 比, corresponds with Bi 比, “Alliance,” hexagram in the Zhou Yi tradition. Wang Hui suggests that the name should here be read as bi 芘, “hibiscus”; see Wang Hui, “Wangjiatai Qin jian Gui cang jiaoshi (28 ze),” 76. Although this seems to make better sense of the context here, the evidence is not sufficiently compelling to reject the traditional understanding.

49. This hexagram, the name of which is written yi 亦 in one text and ye 夜 in the other, corresponds with Gu 蠱, “Parasites,” hexagram in the Zhou Yi tradition. Since yi 亦 is the phonetic element in the character ye, 夜, “night,” it is likely that the reading of both these texts indicates the same word, but it is unclear how this might be related to the Zhou Yi hexagram name.

50. Wang Mingqin’s transcription gives a box (□) after the character da 大, usually indicative of a missing character. However, the da is explicitly indicated.

51. For example, I find it striking that strips 212, 213, and 214 are all nearly complete, bearing 26, 35, and 30 characters, respectively. As I have suggested with respect to the Shanghai Museum manuscript of the Zhou Yi, such similarity of preservation may indicate contiguous placement in the manuscript.

52. For a study of these statements and their place in the context of Chinese legends concerning Qi, see Wang Mingqin, “Gui cang yu Xia Hou Qi de chuanshuo.”

53. Guo Pu, Shan hai jing zhu, 9, “Haiwai dong jing” 海外東經, 2a. 54. Liao, “Wangjiatai Qin jian Gui cang guankui,” 15. 55. Other hexagrams that involve Xia Hou Qi include Gua 寡, “Orphan,” Song 讼, “Lawsuit,” Qun 囷, “Bun-

dled,” Jing 井, “Well,” Guan 灌, “Libation,” Jin , “Jin,” as well as a quotation that does not preserve the name of the hexagram:

昔夏啟莖徙九鼎啟果徙之In the past Qi of Xia divined by milfoil about transferring the nine cauldrons. Qi really transferred them.

See Zhang Hua, Bo wu zhi, 9.2b. 56. There are also two other statements that would seem to be complete, except for the hexagram, in medieval

quotations and for which there may also be fragments among the Wangjiatai manuscripts.

桀卜伐唐而攴占荧惑占之曰不吉 (339) . . . Jie divined about attacking Tang and had the stalks prognosticated by ying Huo. ying Huo prognosticated them and said: not auspicious. . . .

昔者桀筮伐唐而枚占于荧惑曰不利出征惟利安處彼為狸我為鼠勿用作事傷其父In the past Jie divined by milfoil about attacking Tang, and had the stalks prognosticated by ying Huo, who said: not beneficial to go out on campaign, only beneficial to stay put. They are foxes, we are mice. Do not use to do any service, fearing to wound his father.

Ma, Gui cang, 9b:22, combining quotations at Taiping yulan, 82.12a:385 and 912.2a:4040

□恒我曰昔者女过卜作为缄而 (476).. heng e [Heng E] says: In the past nü Wa divined about making a binding and . . .

昔女娲筮張雲幕而枚占神明占之曰吉昭昭九州日月代極平均土地和合萬國In the past nü Wa divined by milfoil about spreading the Cloud Curtain and had the stalks prognos-ticated by Shen Ming, who prognosticated them and said: Auspicious. So radiant the nine regions, the sun and the moon replace each other at the extreme. Flat and equal is the earth, concordantly uniting the ten thousand states.

yu Shinan, Beitang shu chao, 132.2a


The second Wangjiatai fragment quoted here (no. 476) can be identified with heng e 恒我 hexagram (which corresponds with heng 恒 hexagram in the Zhou Yi), however the divination topic differs slightly from that quoted in the Beitang shu chao.

57. Li Fang, Taiping yulan, 85.2a:401. 58. Zhuangzi, 3.6b. 59. Xiao, Wen xuan, 13.600 (at “yue fu” 月賦 by Xie Zhuang 謝莊). 60. Ibid., 60.2609 (at “Ji yan Guanglu wen” 祭顏光祿文 by Wang Sengda 王僧達). 61. Quoted in Liu, hou han shu buzhu, at hou han shu, “Zhi” 志, 10.3216. 62. Gan, Xin jiao Sou shen ji, 108, juan 14. 63. As I demonstrate below, jing 惊, “to tremble” (archaic *krang), fits the rhyme scheme of the oracle per-

fectly. Although kong 恐, “to fear” (archaic *khong?), is also a near rhyme, it fits less well, presumably suggesting the preferability of the Sou shen ji quotation.

64. Li Fang, Taiping yulan, 929.1a:4128. 65. Ibid., 82.7a–b:383. I suspect that the final word, qing 卿 (archaic *khrang), “minister,” of the final phrase,

yi wang si qing 以王四卿, is almost surely a mistake for the graphically and phonetically similar xiang 鄉 (*hang), “direction,” si xiang 四鄉, “four directions,” being a relatively common locution in pre-Qin texts. Indeed, in early inscriptions and manuscripts, there seems to have been no graphic distinction between the two words.

66. This statement perhaps corresponds with the following unnumbered fragment from Wangjiatai:

䷓灌曰昔者夏后启卜䷓ Guan “Libation” says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about making offering . . .

In both the Wangjiatai bamboo-strip texts and in the medieval quotations, there is another hexagram, Jin , “Jin,” that is quite similar but concerns an offering by Xia Hou Qi at another location, “Jin’s waste” (Jin zhi xu 晋之墟):

曰昔者夏后启卜帝 (336)[Jin “Jin”] says: In the past Xia Hou Qi divined about making offering to Di at Jin . . .

This corresponds with a quotation of the Gui cang found in various sources from the Tang and Song dynasties; for example,

昔者夏后啓筮享神于晋之墟作為璿臺於水之陽In the past Xia Hou Qi divined by milfoil about making offering at Jin’s Mound, to make it into the Jade Terrace, on the sunny side of the river.

Ouyang Xun, Yi wen lei ju, 62.12b

67. Ma Guohan’s edition of Gui cang quotations includes this quotation; see Ma, Gui cang, 13a:29. 68. The three fragments too incomplete to provide much information are those for Shao Du 少督, “Lesser

Examination” (i.e., Xiao Chu 小畜) hexagram, no. 206; for Qun 囷, “Bundled (i.e., Kun), no. 208; and Ju 䂂, “Frightened” (i.e., Kui 睽), which is unnumbered. The statement for Jian 渐, “Gradual Progression” (no. 335) is nearly as complete as the examples examined here but does not add materially to their under-standing.

69. I might mention as well that Li Jiahao, “Wangjiatai Qin jian Yi zhan wei Gui cang kao,” 46, suggests transcribing the last character here as hu 狐 (*gwâ), “fox,” rather than as , and says that this would rhyme with both xi 席 (*s-lak), “mat,” and xi (*kêh), “creek.” However, it is hard to follow his sugges-tion here; not only do the words not seem to rhyme but also the final character is not in rhyme position in any event.


70. It is an unnumbered fragment mentioned on p. 110 of his 1996 article “Shi lun Gui cang de jige wenti.” 71. It is perhaps worth noting that the entry numbers of the statements of this qi bang shang wu you jiu format

are relatively close: 206, 208, 213, 302, 335, plus two unnumbered fragments. All but one of these numbers belong to what the archaeologists identified as the B group of bamboo strips (strips 181–304), and the one exception (no. 335) is in the contiguous group C (strips 305–42); for this stratigraphy of the tomb’s bamboo strips, see pp. 154–57. This might suggest that statements of this format were found in only one of the two manuscripts. However, Wang Mingqin, “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu,” 35, mentions in an offhand manner that Kun 困 hexagram (i.e., what he elsewhere transcribes as Qun 囷) has two hexagram statements, one of which reads “Xia Hou Qi bu qi bang shang wu you lin 夏后启卜亓邦尚毋有吝 (this must refer to strip no. 208) and the other of which gives the final lin 吝, “distress,” as jiu 咎, “trouble.” This latter statement, not included in any of the transcriptions published to date, would seem to suggest that essentially the same statement was included in both versions of the manuscripts.

72. Other examples are Bi 比, “Alliance” (no. 216), Wu Wang 毋亡, “not Lost” (no. 471), Jie 介, “Strength-ened” (no. 207), Dun 𨔵, “Withdrawing” (no. 463), and possibly Dui 兑, “removal” (no. 334). In the case of Dui, Wang Mingqin lists two fragments of bamboo strips as follows:

䷹ □曰昔者 (5)䷹ [Dui “removal”] says: In the past . . .

兑曰兑黄衣以生金日月并出兽□ (334).. Dui “removal” says: remove the yellow jacket to give birth to metal; the sun and moon together come out, and animals .. . . .

Unfortunately, it is unclear whether these two fragments both belong to the same manuscript and thus should be read together, or whether they are of different manuscripts and thus reflect two different formats for a single hexagram statement.

73. Compare these lines with the ultimate stanza of the Shi jing 詩經 poem “Xin tai” 新台, or “new Terrace” (Mao 43):

魚网之設鴻則離之 The fish’s net being set out, A wild goose then got caught in it燕婉之求得此戚施 One pretty and shapely was sought, And yet got this ugly old frog.

74. Cai, “Qin jian Gua Tian Juan zhu gua jiegu: Jianlun Gui cang yi de ruogan wenti” proposes transcribing it as gua 寡, “orphan,” but this is by no means certain.

75. Liao, “Wangjiatai Qin jian Gui cang guankui,” 17. Liao suggests transcribing this graph as yin 寅 but does not suggest how he understands it.

76. Shaughnessy, “Wangjiatai Gui Cang.” 77. Because the yin lines of the hexagrams are written ^, similar to the archaic form of the graph for the

number “six,” and given the early writing of hexagrams with numbers (for which see pp. 142–43), there has been a tendency on the part of some scholars to interpret the Wangjiatai Gui cang hexagrams as “numerical symbols,” made up of the numbers “6” and “1.” This seems to me to be an overly literal read-ing of these symbols. Moreover, as Liao Mingchun has argued (“Wangjiatai Qin jian Gui cang guankui,” 18–19), traditions surrounding the Gui cang have always privileged the numbers “7” and “8,” whereas “6” has been especially associated with the Zhou Yi tradition.

78. The earliest listing of Gui cang hexagram names, though without the associated hexagram pictures, goes back to the Song dynasty: Li Guo, Xixi Yi shuo, 1.19b–20a. rao, “yin dai yi gua ji qi youguan zhanbu zhu wenti” was the first to draw a systematic connection between the Mawangdui hexagram names and those of the Gui cang.


79. Liao Mingchun has argued that the name of the hexagram, Jie 介, can help to explain the corresponding hexagram name in the Zhou Yi: Yu 豫. This hexagram name has traditionally been understood to mean “happy” or “compliant,” but it is hard to relate this meaning either with the hexagram with which this forms a pair (Qian 謙, “Modesty”) or with the corresponding Gui cang hexagram name. However, among their various meanings, both jie and yu share the sense of “big,” which moreover can serve as an antonym to the paired qian 謙, “Modesty.” See Liao, “Wangjiatai Qin jian Gui cang guankui,” 18.

80. In the fourth case, that of Ming Yi 明夷 hexagram, the Gui cang hexagram statement concerns a divina-tion by Xia Hou Qi about riding a dragon to ascend into the heavens. In the Zhou Yi, the hexagram of the same name has traditionally been understood to mean something like “Brightness Obscured,” but the first line statement clearly concerns the flight of some sort of bird (probably of the pheasant family) and the top line statement includes the phrase “first ascending into the heavens” (chu deng yu tian 初登于天). It might not be too impressionistic to see a relationship between these different divination topics, though the question of which might have influenced which is unclear.

81. For the initial demonstration of this symbolism, see Gu Jiegang, “Zhou Yi gua yao ci zhong de gushi,” 14. See also Shaughnessy, “Marriage, Divorce, and revolution.”

82. Lunyu 13/22. 83. Although this sort of three-phrase structure probably marks the normative Zhou Yi line statement, it is

even more common to find just the introductory phrase describing the omen, often joined with technical divination terms, as in the following example, also from Ding hexagram:

上九鼎玉鉉大吉无不利Top nine: The cauldron’s jade bar: great auspiciousness. There is nothing not beneficial.

Comparison with the other line statements of this hexagram suggests that, if the Zhou Yi had been sys-tematically edited, the omen “The cauldron’s jade bar” might well have given rise to a responding couplet of the sort “My mate has an illness, It will not reach me.”

84. In my earlier study “Wangjiatai Gui Cang,” I examined two examples of milfoil divination recorded in the Zuo zhuan that include divination results that do not match the Zhou Yi and suggested that they may have stemmed from divination using the Gui cang. now, with more of the text of the Gui cang available for comparison, it would seem that the divination results in these two cases (for the fifteenth year of Duke Xi 僖 [645 b.c.] and the sixteenth year of Duke Cheng 成 [575 b.c.]) are of a different form from those of the Gui cang and thus are probably not from that text. This would suggest, as we should probably expect, that there were more than just two different divination texts and systems in use at the time.

5. T r AnSL AT IOn OF T HE GuI CANG Fr AGMEnTS

1. Jingzhou Diqu Bowuguan, “Jiangling Wangjiatai 15 hao Qin mu”; Wang Mingqin, “Shi lun Gui cang de jige wenti”; Wang Mingqin, “Wangjiatai Qin mu zhu jian gaishu.” The transcriptions given in these pub-lications are all in modern, simplified characters. Without access to the original bamboo strips, or to pho-tographs or even drawings of them, it is necessary to rely on Wang’s work. Fortunately, I have been able to check his transcriptions against a set of transcriptions done independently by Peng Hao 彭浩, former director of the Jingzhou Museum and one of the most experienced paleographers in China. The two transcriptions agree in most respects, suggesting that the transcriptions published to date can be used with some confidence.

2. yan Kejun, Quan shang gu San dai Qin han San guo Liu chao wen, 104–5; Hong, Gui cang, 1.1a–4a; Ma, Gui cang. For a convenient comparison of all these quotations and the Wangjiatai texts, see Kondō, “Ōkatai Shin bo chikuken Ki sō no kenkyū.” For a less-convenient but still more complete listing of quota-

5. Translation of the Gui cang Fragments • 309

tions, see Wang ning 王寧, “Chuanben Gui cang jijiao,” 傳本歸藏輯校, http://www.gwz.fudan.edu.cn/SrcShow.asp?Src_ID=1003 (accessed December 13, 2011).

3. Li Guo, Xi xi Yi shuo, 1.19b–20a. 4. Jia, Zhou li zhu shu, 24.6b. Jia’s subcommentary to the Zhou li (at “Chun guan Tai bu” 春官太卜) attri-

butes this quotation to a Kun Kai shi 坤開筮 of the “current” (jin 今) Gui cang; the kai 開 of this title is the standard replacement for the graph qi 啟, the name of the Han emperor Liu Qi 劉啟 (i.e., Han Jingdi, r. 157–141 b.c.), which was tabooed after his reign. Thus, this quotation doubtless derives from the Qi shi jing 啟筮經 section of the Gui cang.

5. yu Shinan, Beitang shu chao, 158.1a. 6. Zhuangzi, 3.6b, quoted by Lu Deming 陸德明 in Yin yi shiwen 音義釋文. 7. Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 85.2a:401. 8. It is not clear that these two pieces correspond to the same hexagram, but there would seem to be no other

correlation. The proximity of the two pieces in situ (nos. 461, 470) would perhaps argue against their belonging to two different versions of the text.

9. Guo Pu, Shan hai jing zhu, 9, “Haiwai dong jing” 海外東經, 2a. 10. Du, Yu zhu bao dian, 1.21b. This quotation is lacking in the Qing-dynasty recensions of Gui cang quota-

tions but is supplied in Wang ning, “Chuanben Gui cang jijiao.” It is unclear whether it refers to this same Lü hexagram or not, but I place it here based on the similarity of its content with Wangjiatai fragment no. 470. note that the quotation includes at least two obvious mistakes: jie 借 for xi 昔 and qi 起 for qi 啟.

11. Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 79.2b–3a:367–68. 12. Ouyang Xun, Yi wen lei ju, 99.19. 13. The hexagram picture given here is, in the Zhou Yi tradition, that of Xiao Guo 小過 hexagram. There is

an unnumbered fragment, entered above (p. 177), that includes both the hexagram picture ䷛ (i.e., the hexagram picture for Da Guo in the Zhou Yi tradition) and also the hexagram name Da Guo 大过 (i.e., Da Guo 大過). Therefore, it would seem that this hexagram name here is simply miscopied and should read Xiao Guo 小过 (i.e., 過) or some variation thereof.

14. The earliest source to quote this passage is yu Shinan, Beitang shu chao, 82.3b. It is not certain that this quotation corresponds to the fragment of Guan hexagram in the Wangjiatai manuscripts. However, since Jin 晉 hexagram records a different offering made by Xia Hou Qi 夏后啟 at a different place (at “the mound of Jin” [Jin zhi xu 晋之墟]), it seems likely that these passages correspond.

15. Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 840.1b:3753. 16. Guo Pu, er ya Guo zhu, 11.16a, quotes the Gui cang as saying “two vases and two pots” (liang hu liang shu

兩壺兩羭); Xing Bing’s 邢昺 subcommentary provides the complete passage, stating that it comes from the “Qi mu jing” 齊母經 section of the Gui cang; see Xing Bing, erya zhu shu, 10.14a.

17. Zhang Hua, Bo wu zhi, 2b. 18. Jia, Zhou li zhu shu, 24.6b. 19. Apparently this strip fragment contained only the hexagram picture, which can be identified with that of

Jian 蹇 hexagram in the Zhou Yi tradition. 20. yu Shinan, Beitang shu chao, 132.2a. 21. Zhang Heng, Ling xian; see also Liu, hou han shu buzhu, Zhi 志 10A, “Tianwen zhi shang” 天文志上,

3216. 22. Ouyang Xun, Yi wen lei ju, 62.12b. 23. Zhang Hua, Bo wu zhi, 9.2b. 24. Guo Pu, Shan hai jing zhu, 7, “Hai wai xi jing” 海外西經, 1a. 25. Guo Pu, Mu tianzi zhuan zhu, at Mu Tianzi zhuan 穆天子傳, 5.4a. 26. Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 82.7a–b:383, attributes this quotation to the Shi ji 史記, but it is clear that

this attribution is mistaken and should actually be to the Gui cang.

310 • 5. Translation of the Gui cang Fragments

27. Guo Pu, Mu tianzi zhuan zhu, at Mu tianzi zhuan, 2.1b. 28. yu Shinan, Beitang shu chao, 150.13a. 29. Zhang Hua, Bo wu zhi, 9.2b. 30. Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 82.12a:385. 31. Ibid., 912.2a:4040. 32. Zhang Hua, Bo wu zhi, 9.2b. 33. Xu Jian et al., Chu xue ji, 488, juan 20. 34. Zhang Hua, Bo wu zhi, 9.2b. 35. Ibid. 36. Guo Pu, Shan hai jing zhu, 15, “Da huang nan jing” 大荒南經, 4b. 37. Ibid. 38. Ibid., 16, “Da huang xi jing” 大荒西經, 1a. 39. Ibid., 18, “Hai nei jing” 海內經, 5b. 40. Ibid. 41. Ibid., 2, “Xi shan jing” 西山經, 10a. 42. Ibid., 6, “Hai wai nan jing” 海外南經, 1b. 43. Li Shan, Wen xuan zhu, 612, juan 13, at Mi Zhengping 禰正平, “yingwu fu” 鸚鵡賦. 44. Xu Jian, Chu xue ji, 205, juan 9. 45. Ibid., 16, juan 1. 46. Ouyang Xun, Yiwen lei ju, 92.22a. 47. Li Shan, Wenxuan zhu, 1004, juan 20, at yan yannian 顏延年, “Qiu hu shi” 秋胡詩. 48. Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 472.7a:2169. 49. Ouyang Xun, Yiwen lei ju, 84.12a. 50. Li Fang et al., Taiping yulan, 835.1b:3727.

6. T HE FUyAnG ZhOu Y I MAnUSCrIP T

1. This chapter is revised and expanded from Shaughnessy, “Fuyang Zhou Yi.” 2. For the initial report of the tomb’s excavation, see Anhui Sheng Wenwu Gongzuodui, Fuyang Diqu Bowu-

guan, and Fuyang Xian Wenhuaguan, “Fuyang Shuanggudui Xi Han ruyin Hou mu fajue jianbao.” To date, no formal report of the excavation has ever been issued.

3. The initial report of the texts found in the tomb is Wenwu Ju Guwenxian yanjiu Shi and Anhui Sheng Fuyang Diqu Bowuguan Fuyang Han Jian Zhenglizu, “Fuyang Han jian jianjie.” For a concise overview of the tomb’s discovery and contents, see Pian and Duan, Ben shiji yilai chutu jianbo gaishu, 60–64. For a more extensive survey, including information not seen in other published sources, see Hu and Li, Chang jiang liuyu chutu jiandu yu yanjiu, 507–43.

4. Hu Pingsheng provided the first detailed, published account of this text: “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi gai-shu.” The first complete transcription, together with drawings of 138 strips identified as belonging to the Zhou Yi manuscript, is to be found in Han, “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi shiwen.” Also included in the same issue of Daojia wenhua yanjiu is a lengthy study of the text by Han: “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi yanjiu.” These two studies were subsequently reprinted in a somewhat different format together with photographs and drawings of all 752 strips identified as belonging to the Zhou Yi manuscript (as well as an additional 48 fragments that are possibly related) in Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu.

5. For an initial transcription of the Shi jing manuscript, see Fuyang Han Jian Zhenglizu, “Fuyang Han jian Shi jing,” as well as a study of it by Hu and Han, “Fuyang Han jian Shi jing jianlun.” These were later super-seded by the same authors’ Fuyang han jian “Shi jing” yanjiu.

6. The Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript • 311

6. There are only eight strips, bearing a total of fifty-six characters, that have been identified as belonging to the Zhuangzi, one from the “Zeyang” 則陽 chapter (25), six from the “Wai wu” 外物, or “External Things” chapter (26), and one from the “rang wang” 讓王, or “yielding Kingship,” chapter (28). For a brief study, including photographs of all eight strips and full transcriptions, see Han and Han, “Fuyang chutude Zhuangzi Zapian Han jian.”

7. According to Hu and Li, Chang jiang liuyu chutu jiandu yu yanjiu, 537–58, there are passages from thirty-four chapters of eleven of the twelve monthly annals (ji 紀). However, as far as I know, no transcription has been published to date.

8. According to Wenwu Ju Guwenxian yanjiu Shi and Fuyang Diqu Bowuguan Zhenglizu, “Fuyang Han jian jianjie,” 23, there are “several” (ruogan 若干) fragments of poetry, including one with four characters from the “Li sao” 離騷 and one with five characters from the “She jiang” 涉江 poems of the Chu ci.

9. For an initial transcription of the Cang jie pian, see Fuyang Han Jian Zhenglizu, “Fuyang Han jian Cang jie pian” and, in the same issue, a study of it by Hu and Han, “Cang jie pian de chubu yanjiu.”

10. For an initial transcription of the Wan wu text, see Fuyang Han Jian Zhenglizu, “Fuyang Han jian Wan wu,” as well as a study of it by Hu and Han, “Wan wu lüe shuo.”

11. See Hu, “Some notes.” As far as I know, the only more or less complete description of this text in Chinese is Hu and Li, Chang jiang liuyu chutu jiandu yu yanjiu, 519–23, 540.

12. For an overview of the materials in the tomb related to divination, see Hu, “Fuyang Shuanggudui Han jian shushu shu jianlun.”

13. For photographs, drawings, transcriptions, and a study of ninety-six strips identified as belonging to this Chunqiu shi yu text, as well as a board containing its table of contents, see Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu, 167–205.

14. For photographs, drawings, transcriptions, and a study of the board containing the table of contents of the Ru jia zhe yan, see ibid., 151–63.

15. For these diviner’s boards and their use, see Li Ling, Zongguo fangshu kao, 82–102. See also Harper, “Han Cosmic Board.”

16. Loewe, Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, 597, gives Zao’s year of death as 164 b.c.; however, I can find no evidence that Zao died late in the year, which given the imperfect correlation between the Chinese calendar and the Western calendar might otherwise account for such a discrepancy. All sources agree that 164 b.c. (the sixteenth year of Han Wendi) was the first year of the reign of Zao’s son, Xia Hou Si 夏侯賜.

17. The initial site report does not mention that the tomb was filled with water. For information concerning the excavation (e.g., the waterlogged nature of the tomb) and particularly the efforts to “organize” (zhengli 整理) the bamboo strips and their texts, I am grateful to Hu Pingsheng, who eventually joined the edito-rial team. The information credited to him here and below is based on Hu and Li, Chang jiang liuyu chutu jiandu yu yanjiu; a public lecture he gave at the University of Chicago in november 2001; and numerous conversations in the years since.

18. Some of this process is described in the preface by Lü Jimin 吕濟民 to Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu, 1–2.

19. There are another forty-eight fragments, many of them split in half vertically, that it has proved not pos-sible to read; for photographs and drawings of them, see Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu, 42–44.

20. According to Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu, 45, five hexagram pictures are visible. However, the published photographs of the relevant strips for Ben 賁 and Da Guo 大過 hexagrams (strips 106 and 138) show little or no trace of these, and on p. 88, where Han compares hexagram pictures with those of other manuscripts, he illustrates only the hexagram pictures of Da You 大有, “Great Offering” (strip no. 64), Lin 林, “Forest” (i.e., 臨, “Looking Down,” strip no. 86), and Li 離, “Fastening” (strip no. 151).

21. A few fragments that would be appropriate at two or more points in the Zhou Yi text (such as those

312 • 6. The Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript

containing only the formulaic divination terms ji 吉, “auspicious,” or xiong 兇 [i.e., 凶], “ominous,” that end many line statements) have been placed at their first possible occurrence. Other fragments that con-tain only numerical tags for lines (e.g., chu liu 初六, “First Six,” or jiu er 九二, “nine in the Second”) or only divination statements have been arbitrarily listed at the end of the transcription.

22. On p. 63 of “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi yanjiu,” Han Ziqiang gives the number of characters of the divina-tion statements as 2,009, whereas on p. 74, he gives the number as 2,169; these numbers are repeated in Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu (pp. 87, 95). Simple arithmetic suggests that the former number is cor-rect, but it is apparent that there may be different counts of fragments and characters.

23. The following discussion of the physical properties of the Fuyang Zhou Yi manuscript will not be of in-terest to all readers. Some readers may wish to skip to the following section. readers seeking more detail concerning the physical properties of the text may wish to consult Xia, “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi jiance xingzhi ji shuxie geshi zhi lice,” from which the following discussion is drawn.

24. Han, “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi shiwen,” 16 (or p. 46 in Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu). In fact, as I note below, there is another strip, no. 58, that is 19 cm long.

25. Hu, “Fuyang Shuanggudui Han jian shushu jian lun,” 22. 26. Hu, “Fuyang Han jian Shi jing jiance xingzhi ji shuxie geshi zhi lice.” 27. Here and throughout this chapter (and in chapter 7), in my English translations I differentiate the text of

the Zhou Yi proper from that of the divination statements by displaying the Zhou Yi text in roman letters and the divination statements in italics. It goes without saying that no such orthographic distinction is apparent in the original manuscript.

28. The only occurrence of the graph xing 興, “to arise,” in the received text of the Zhou Yi comes in this nine in the Third line of Tong Ren. It is of course possible that xing here marks the end of a divination statement followed by another divination statement initiated with the word bu 卜, “divining,” but this is not very likely.

29. As noted in the next section, the standard format of these divination statements is to indicate first a topic of divination, followed by the result. Thus, here the divination statement bu yu bu yu 卜雨不雨 is to be interpreted as I have done above, and not, for instance, as “divining about whether it will rain or not rain.”

30. The transcription below accords with the photograph and hand copy of the fragments given on p. 13 of Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu. The editor’s transcription given on p. 62 of that book indicates a different point of breakage between the two fragments (after the ji 吉, “auspicious,” that ends the hexa-gram statement of the Zhou Yi). This might suggest that fragment no. 151 is made up of two separate fragments that the editors rejoined before photographing them (the hand copy of the fragment seems to indicate this, though the photograph does not), but it seems preferable here to rely on the published photographs.

31. In the Lun heng 論衡, Wang Chong 王充 (27–ca. 100) reports that “two feet four inches is [the length of ] the writings and sayings of the sages” (Huang, Lun heng jiao shi, 557, “Xie duan” 謝短). For an ex-haustive examination of early textual evidence concerning the physical nature of bamboo-strip texts, see Wang Guowei, Jian du jian shu kao. Among the bamboo strips discovered at Guodian 郭店, several texts, including the Zi yi 緇衣, which was subsequently included in the classic Li ji 禮記, were written on bamboo strips 32.3 cm long, whereas the heng xian 恆先 text included among the Shanghai Museum manuscripts is 39.4 cm.

32. I had hoped to be able to examine points of breakage on individual fragments of bamboo to determine which strips may have been adjacent to which, and thus subject to similar stresses, and on the basis of this perhaps to gain some insight into the sequence of hexagrams in the manuscript—a topic of great interest in Yi jing studies ever since the discovery of the Mawangdui manuscript. Unfortunately, because of the ex-tremely fragmentary nature of the Fuyang manuscript, I have not succeeded in this sort of reconstruction.

33. Thirty-two hexagram names are present in the fragments. Of these, the following differ to at least some

6. The Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript • 313

extent from the names in the received text (giving first the name in the Fuyang manuscript, in italic tran-scription and characters, followed by a colon and then the name in the received text, again in italics and characters, and then, in parentheses, the number of the hexagram in the received sequence): Zhun 肫: Zhun 屯 (3), Sui 隋: Sui 隨 (17), Lin 林: Lin 臨 (19), Shi Zha 筮閘: Shi Ke 噬嗑 (21), Pu 僕: Bo 剝 (23), Wu Wang 无亡: Wu Wang 无妄 (25), Chuan 椽: Dun 遯 (33), Deng 登: Sheng 升 (46).

34. According to Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu, 100, the Fuyang manuscript contains 63 characters that differ from both the received text and the Mawangdui manuscript, 51 characters that are the same as the received text but differ from the Mawangdui manuscript, and 26 characters that differ from the received text but are the same as the Mawangdui manuscript. In addition, there are eighteen places in the text where the characters are the same as both but the sequence is different. For convenient tables illustrat-ing these differences, see 143–48 of his book.

35. Although the word bu 卜 originally referred specifically to the kind of pyromantic divination that pro-duced cracks in bone or shell (and especially in turtle shell), by the Han period it had come to have a broader sense of any sort of divination.

36. Only a portion of the top line of the final character yu 雨, “rain,” is visible in the photograph, but that Han Ziqiang is correct in supplying it in his transcription can be seen by comparison with such other fragments as nos. 631, 632, and 633. Also, as noted above, it is worth recalling that the bu 不, “not,” following the first yu, “rain,” is not to be read together with it as a question marker but rather should be read with the follow-ing yu as part of the prognostication.

37. For qi fei zheng you sheng 其匪𨒌有眚, “his not going to correct has curses,” the received text reads qi fei zheng you sheng 其匪正有眚, “his not being correct has curses”; this and other variations between the Fuyang manuscript and the received text of the Zhou Yi are displayed—but not otherwise commented upon—in the translation presented in the next chapter.

38. For my current understanding of this most common of formulas in hexagram statements, see Xia, “Zhou Yi ‘Yuan heng li zhen.’ ”

39. Of the variants found in this hexagram vis-à-vis the received text, 壄 for ye 野, gao 高, “high,” for qi 其, “its,” tang 唐, “platform,” for yong 墉, “wall,” hao or jiao 鄗, “Hao” or “suburb,” for jiao 郊, “suburb,” and 𠧩 for hui 悔, “regret,” all except gao, “high,” and tang, “platform,” are well-attested allographs for the charac-ters in the received text, though 鄗 also has attested uses as the name of the Zhou capital city in addition to its more common use as an allograph for jiao 郊, “suburb,” and could reasonably be understood in that sense here. In short, the manuscript text of the Zhou Yi is very similar to the received text.

40. Han, “Fuyang Han jian Zhou Yi yanjiu,” 74 (or p. 96 in Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu), cites three examples (the Six in the Third line of Guan 觀, “Looking Up,” strip no. 94; the Six in the Second line of Yi 頤, “Jaws,” strip no. 133; and the hexagram statement of Li 離, “Fastening,” strip no. 151) in which the divination statement follows immediately after the line or hexagram statement without an introductory bu.

41. It is possible that these two strips should not be rejoined in this way. Although the first character of strip no. 19, “family” (jia 家), neatly completes the nine in the Second line of Meng hexagram, not only is it also the last word of the Top nine line of Sun 損, “Decrease,” hexagram (no. 41) but it is also a word found with some frequency among the Fuyang divination statements themselves (e.g., in fragments 566–91, the word occurs twenty-two times) and thus might instead be the last word of a preceding divination phrase. Despite these two possibilities, the example here seems sufficiently plausible (especially considering the precedents noted above in n. 28) to warrant consideration.

42. The received text of the Zhou Yi reads na 納, “to take in,” rather than the lao 老, “old,” of the Fuyang text (the Mawangdui manuscript reads ru 入, “enter,” cognate with na).

43. Li Jingchi, “Zhou yi shi ci xu kao.” 44. For example, there seems to be no reason to differentiate such similar formulas as “beneficial to see the

314 • 6. The Fuyang Zhou Yi Manuscript

great man” and “beneficial to divine” on the basis of subject matter. In my own study of the Zhou Yi, I proposed four different components of a line statement: a Topic, by which I meant more or less the same as Li Jingchi’s “image prognostication”; an Injunction, by which I meant the various statements of advice usually beginning with the word li 利, “beneficial”; a Prognostication, which I restricted to just the words ji, xiong, li, and lin, often following immediately after the word zhen 貞, “to determine”; and a Verification, a different group of divination terms including wu you li, wu bu li, wu jiu, hui, and hui wang (terms that do not ordinarily occur together with the verb zhen); see Shaughnessy, “Composition of the Zhouyi,” 136–58.

45. It should be noted that there is nothing necessarily indicating that no. 143 should in fact follow no. 142, its content being exclusively made up of (portions of ) two divination statements. By placing it immediately after no. 142, Han Ziqiang obviously assumes that the first partial divination statement completes the final partial divination statement included on no. 142. This seems reasonable, and thus I follow it here. Whether this placement is correct or not does not affect the overall analysis presented here.

46. These archaic reconstructions are those in Schuessler, Minimal Old Chinese and Later han Chinese, 278 (series 26–15), 281 (26–26), and 280 (26–24).

47. This line is not among the Fuyang fragments. 48. Schuessler, Minimal Old Chinese and Later han Chinese, 50 (1–27), 60 (1–66), and 55 (1–45).

7. T r AnSL AT IOn OF T HE FUyAnG ZhOu Y I MAnUSCrIP T

1. The text is taken from Han, Fuyang han jian “Zhou Yi” yanjiu, 3–44 (photographs and drawings), 45–86 (transcription).

COnCLUSIOnS AnD COnJECTUrES

1. Because of the nature of bamboo-strip texts, there is no conclusive evidence concerning the sequence of the hexagrams in the manuscript. However, as discussed in chapter 2, there is a certain amount of physical evidence and also considerable circumstantial evidence suggesting that the manuscript was either in the same sequence as the received text or in a sequence very similar to it.

2. The Zuo zhuan 左傳 (2nd year of Duke Zhao 昭, 540 b.c.) mentions that the Jin 晉 emissary Han Xuan-zi 韓宣子 saw the Images of the Changes (Yi xiang 易象) and the “Lu Springs and Autumns” (Lu chunqiu 魯春秋) during an embassy to Lu; this is sometimes understood to show that the Changes, if indeed “Yi xiang” refers to the Changes proper, was not available in the state of Jin. However, even in the Zuo zhuan, there is considerable evidence to suggest that the Changes was known and used throughout the northern states. In addition to other evidence for the availability of the Changes in Lu, anecdotes mention figures from at least the following states quoting the Changes or using it in divination: Zhou 周 (in Chen 陳; 22nd year of Duke Zhuang 莊, 672 b.c.), Jin 晉 (multiple times; 1st year of Duke Min 閔, 661 b.c.; 15th year of Duke Xi 僖, 635 b.c.; etc.), Zheng 鄭 (6th year of Duke Xuan 宣, 603 b.c.), Qi 齊 (25th year of Duke Xiang 襄, 548 b.c.), and Wei 衛 (7th year of Duke Zhao, 535 b.c.).

3. Preliminary reports of the major corpus of Warring States bamboo-strip texts donated to Qinghua Uni-versity in 2008 indicate that one of the lengthiest texts in the corpus provides a detailed description of mil-foil divination methods. Scholars at the university’s Center for the Study and Preservation of Unearthed Texts (Chutu Wenxian yanjiu yu Baohu Zhongxin 出土文獻研究與保護中心) hope to publish this manuscript in volume 4 of their series Qinghua Daxue cang Zhanguo zhu jian 清華大學藏戰國竹簡; publication is tentatively scheduled for late 2013 or 2014.

4. It is doubtless the case that all members of society, including the very lowest levels, shared the same view of

Conclusions and Conjectures • 315

divination and engaged in some of the practices that we term divination. However, as is so often the case, archaeological evidence is lacking for the lowest levels of society.

5. The Mawangdui manuscript Yao 要 contains the following response by Confucius when asked by his disciple Zi Gong 子貢 whether he believed in divination:

If the commendations do not reach to the numbers, then one merely acts as a magician, but if the numbers do not lead to virtue, then one merely acts as a scribe. The divinations of scribes and magi-cians tend toward it but are not yet there, delight in it but are faulty. Perhaps it will be because of the Changes that sires of later generations will doubt me. I seek its virtue and nothing more. I am on the same road as the scribes and magicians, but return to a different place. The nobleman’s virtue and action seek blessings in it; therefore, he does sacrifice, but does so little. His humaneness and propriety seek auspiciousness in it; therefore, he does divine, but does so rarely. Do not the divina-tions of the priests and magicians come last!

See Shaughnessy, I Ching, 240–41 (translation modified).

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note: This index addresses the narrative portions of this book (primarily the preface; chapters 1, 2, 4, and 6; and the conclusion); it does not address the contents of the translations, except insofar as they occur in the narrative portions.

I n d e x

Aisin-gioro yuyun 愛新覺羅毓鋆, xxialmanac. See daybookAnalects, 163Ancient Documents research Office, 191Anhui Provincial Archaeological relics Work Team,

190annals, 18, 189, 311n7; Shuihudi manuscript of, 9Anyang 安陽, 2, 3, 11, 19Appended Statements. See Xici zhuan 繫辭傳archaeology, xx, 31, 281; and Anyang, 287n12; and

Changes, xiv, 4, 6; development of, 3; and manu-scripts, 19; and Wangjiatai, 142, 150; and wells, 64

bamboo strips, 9, 37; and Baoshan 20, 21; and Fuyang manuscripts, 189, 191, 202; and sequence of hexagrams, 48; and Shuanggudui, 18; and transcription errors, 302n32; and Wangjiatai manuscript hexagram picture, 304n45; blank, 53; broken, 51; bundles of, 48; hexagram begins on, 148; and Jizhong discovery, 27; length of, 193, 201, 304n43, 312n31; Wangjiatai differences, 148; Wangjiatai registration numbers of, 150, 151

Baoshan 包山, 19, 37, 38, 294n14; bamboo strips of, 20, 21, 23, 24; divination records of, 31, 34

base hexagram, 16Baynes, Cary F., 1beam, of tomb, 190, 191Bédier, Joseph, 298n82Beitang shuchao 北堂書鈔, 174“Ben shi” 本蓍, 147, 151Bi 比 hexagram, 16, 305n48; and Guicang, 150; hexa-

gram statement, 57; Six in the Fourth, 57Bi yuan 畢沅, 34Biannianji 編年紀, 288n26binding strap, and Fuyang manuscript, 193, 198, 201,

204; and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 39, 48, 52Bo 剝 hexagram, 5Bo wuzhi 博物志, 143, 146, 174Boltz, William G., 297n56broken line. See yin linebureaucracy, 19Burning of the Books, 19

calligraphy: and Fuyang manuscript, 202; and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 26, 39–41, 47, 282. See also script

Cang Jie pian 倉頡篇, 18, 189, 311n9Cao Wei 曹瑋, 16

328 • Index

cauldron, 2, 162Cauldrons of yu, 292n97Changes, date of, 298n74; language of, xiv, xvi;

Mawangdui commentaries of, 4; openness of, xv; Zuozhuan mentions of, 314n2

changing hexagram, 16Changtaiguan 長臺關, 293n2charge (of oracle-bone inscription), 3; and Baoshan

divinations, 20; nature of, 30; and Mozi divina-tion, 34

Chen Wei 陳偉, 65Cheng Xuanying 成玄英, 65Cheng, Lord of Pingye 平夜君成, 21Chi you 蚩尤, 152Chinese University of Hong Kong, 39, 106n5, 295n28Chongwenhao 重文號. See combined character

markChu 陼, King of, 152Chu 楚, state of, 19, 26, 37, 282; and discovery of

bamboo-strip manuscripts, 9; and Wangjiatai, 141; script of, 299n2

Chu ci 楚辭, 189, 311n8“Chu jing” 初經, 147, 151Chun qiu 春秋 (Springs and Autumns), 24, 145, 282Chun qiu shiyu 春秋事語, 190, 311n13Collective Unconscious, 1combined character mark, 68, 296n39, 302n32command, 292n94commentaries, 6, 63; and Mawangdui manuscript, 6,

and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 69Confucian Society, 1Confucianism, 6, 24Confucius, xiii, 2, 144; and Changes interpretation,

4; and divination, 163, 284; and Guodian manu-scripts, 24, 38; and Kun Qian 坤乾, 301n17; and state of Lu 魯, 282; and Mawangdui manuscript, 29, 291n86, 297n48, 315n5; as author of Xi ci zhuan, 6

copyist, 39, 41, 62; and Shanghai Museum manu-script, 282, 294n16

crack, as omen in turtle shell, 3Creel, Herrlee G. xiv, xv, xviCui 萃 hexagram First Six, 22

Da Chu 大畜 hexagram First nine, 10Da Guo 大過 hexagram 309n13; nine in the Second,

10, 209, 210

Da Ming 大明, 152Da You 大有 hexagram, 204; and Guicang, 158;

nine in the Third, 32Da Zhuang 大壯 hexagram, and Guicang, 150“Daily Taboos,” 299n4Dao De Jing 道德經. See Laozi 老子Dao zang 道藏, 292n92Daoism, 6daybook, 5, 29, 30, 281, 284, 288n28; and Fuyang

manuscripts, 18, 189; and Shuihudi manuscripts, 9, 29, 299n4; and Wangjiatai manuscripts, 26, 142, 150, 304n43

dice, 26, 141ding 鼎, 2Ding 鼎 hexagram, and Guicang, 148, 162; First Six,

11, 165; nine in the Second, 165; nine in the Third, 165; nine in the Fourth, 165; Top nine, 308n83

divination, xiii, xx, 2, 29, 30, 283, 315n4; and Baoshan, 20, 37; and Cheng, Lord of Pingye, 21; and Fuyang manuscripts, 311n12; and Guicang, 28, 152; and numerical symbols, 13; and pottery paddle, 16; and prayer, 14; and Shi jing, 166; Confucius’s practice of, 315n5; Han dynasty context of, 19; media used for, 4; nature of, xviii–xix, 3, 28; terminology of, 57; texts related to, 289n47; two-step procedure of, 14, 31

divination manual, 146, 161, 211, 308n84; and Guicang, 142; nature of, 31; and Wangjiatai manuscripts, 26; and Xincai divinations, 22

divination statement, 312n29, 313n40; and Fuyang manuscript, 18, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 213, 283; number of characters of, 312n22; and origin of Changes, 211

divination terms, 165, 209, 283, 289n37, 308n83; and Fuyang manuscript, 296n45, 312n21

diviners, xviii; and Baoshan, 20; and creation of Changes, 25, 66, 209; and Guicang, 152, 158, 161, 171; and Mozi divination, 34; and Mu tianzi-zhuan, 28; and Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, 3; and Wangjiatai, 141; and Xincai divinations, 22; and Zhouyuan oracle bones, 13; Han dynasty, 6

diviner’s board, 26, 141, 190Dizi wen 弟子問, 38dragon, 143, 157, 209, 308n80dragon bones, 2du 牘, 190

Index • 329

Du yu 杜預, 145Du Zichun 杜子春, 301n18Dui 兌 hexagram, 23, 202, 290n65Dun 遯 hexagram nine in the Third, 210; nine in

the Fourth, 23duplication mark, 54, 68, 106n2, 148, 296n39,

302n32; and Fuyang manuscript, 198

editors, 19, 66education, 59“Eight Palaces,” 288n22encyclopedia, 147Engnan Zhi yi 翁南雉乙, 34er san zi wen 二三子問, 288n22error, graphic, 303n39etymonic component, 56exegesis, principles of, xviii, 65

Fan Changxi 范常喜, 56Fang Xuanling 房玄齡, 302n27Fang yan 方言, 63Fang Zhensan 房振三, 39Fengchu 鳳雛, 11, 13, 14forgery, and Guicang, 283Fu Hao 婦好, 19Fu 復 hexagram 5; Six in the Second, 207; Top Six,

210Fuxi 伏羲, xiii, 144, 301n18; and Guicang, 152Fuyang 阜陽, xiv, 18; excavation of, 18, 189, 190,

310n3; no excavation report for, 310n2Fuyang Local Museum, 191Fuyang 阜陽 manuscript, xiv, 29, 55, 281, 283–84;

and creation of Changes, 57; and divination state-ments, 286n22; and hexagram pictures, 294n14; and hexagram sequence, 312n32; and Shanghai Museum manuscript compared, 69; photographs of, 312n30

Gan Bao 干寶, 155Gao Heng 高亨, xvii, 30, 31, 32, 35, 286n18; and

“new Changes Studies,” 4Gao yao 高陶, 152Geling 葛陵 Village, 21Gen 艮 hexagram, 286n12grammar, 60grammarians, 54Grand Diviner, 144, 145

Gu 蠱 hexagram, 12; and Guicang, 150Gu Jiegang 顧頡剛, 4Gushibian 古史辨, 4gua 卦. See hexagramgua ci 卦辭. See hexagram statementguahua 卦畫. See hexagram pictureGuai 夬 hexagram; and Guicang, 160; nine in the

Second, 290n62; nine in the Third, 23; nine in the Fourth, 56

Guan 觀 hexagram, 306n66Guangyun 廣韵, 64Guicang 歸藏, xiv, 142ff.; and Huang Di 黃帝,

301n18; and Jizhong manuscripts, 26–28; bibliog-raphy of, 291n83; name of, 301n14; quotations of, 308n2, 309n10; sections of, 303n37

Gui Mei 歸妹 hexagram, and Guicang, 154, 158, 162, 164; Top Six, 162

Guo Feng 國風, 166Guo Pu 郭璞, 143, 146, 147, 157Guodian 郭店 manuscripts, 23–24, 37, 38; bamboo

strip length of, 312n31Guwen sisheng yun 古文四聲韵, 65

Han dynasty, and divination, 19; and editing of Changes, 62; and sequence of hexagrams, 288n22

Han Gaozu 漢高祖. See Liu Bang 劉邦han jian 汗簡, 65Han Jingdi 漢景帝. See Liu Qi 劉啟han shu 漢書, 145Han Wendi 漢文帝. See Liu Heng 劉恆Han Xuanzi 韓宣子, 314n2han yu da cidian 漢語大詞典, 62Han Ziqiang 韓自強, 191, 192, 193, 201, 213He Zeheng 何澤恆, 41, 47, 294n18heng 亨, 31–32, 35Heng E 姮餓, 155, 162, 163heng e 姮餓 hexagram, 152, 163, 306n56heng 恆 hexagram, and Guicang, 163; nine in the

Third, 163; Top Six, 57heng Xian 恆先, 38, 312n31hewenhao 合文號. See duplication markhexagram, xv, 285n10; and Guicang, 161; and

numerical symbols, 14; convertible, 5, 46, 47, 295n25; invertible, xviii, 5, 46, 47, 295n25; line as oracle, 21; number of characters in, 202; paired, xvii, xviii, 5, 20, 46; sequence of (see sequence of hexagrams); structure of, xvii

330 • Index

hexagram name, 39, 161, 286n12; and Fuyang manuscript, 193, 204, 312n33; and Guicang, 28, 143, 156, 167–69 (table 4.1), 171, 172–73 (table 5.1), 307n78; and Mawangdui manuscript, 307n78; and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 40, 68, 294n20; and Wangjiatai manuscript, 148, 304n45

hexagram picture, xv, 46, 294n14, 309n13; and Fu-yang manuscript, 192, 193, 204, 311n20; and Jing 井 hexagram, 60; and numerical symbols, 18; and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 39, 67, 68; and Wangjiatai manuscript, 143, 148, 304n44, 304n45

hexagram statement, xv, 31, 286n12; and Daybooks, 10; and Fuyang manuscript, 18, 192, 204, 283; and Guicang, 28, 143, 153, 160, 301n11; and Jizhong manuscripts, 27; and Mawangdui manuscript, 4; and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 39, 69; origin of, 205

Hong Kong antique market, 24, 25, 38Hu Pingsheng 胡平生, 191, 192, 193, 311n17; and

Fuyang tomb discovery, 310n4; and length of Fuyang bamboo strips, 201, 203

huan 渙 hexagram statement, 57; First Six, 57Huan Tan 桓譚, 144Huang Di 黃帝, 301n18

image, xvi, 4, 25, 35, 210; and line placement, xvii; and prognostication, 209

Image Commentary. See Xiang zhuan 象傳Images of the Changes, 314n2injunction, 10Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica,

3, 4

Ji Ji 既濟 hexagram, xviii, 16; and Guicang, 159; hexagram statement, 164

Jia Gongyan 賈公彥, 303n39Jia Ren 家人 hexagram nine in the Third, 23; nine

in the Fifth, 290n62Jian 蹇 hexagram statement, 10Jiang Guanghui 姜廣輝, 294n19Jie 桀, 152Jie 節 hexagram, 300n11; and Guicang, 143, 159; Six

in the Third, 23Jijun 汲郡. See Jizhong 汲塚Jin shu 晉書, 302n27Jin Wudi 晉武帝, 146

Jin 晉 hexagram, 306n66; and Guicang, 162Jin 晉, state of, 314n2Jinan cheng 紀南城, 26, 141Jing Fang 京房, 288n22Jing 井 hexagram, 59–66; First Six, 61, 64; nine in

the Second, 62; nine in the Third, 63; Six in the Fourth, 63

Jingdian shiwen 經典釋文, 58, 59, 69, 154, 296n35“Jing jizhi” 經籍志, 145Jingmen 荊門 City Museum, 23, 26, 141, 148, 171Jiu Tang shu 舊唐書, 147Jizhong 汲塚, 27, 28, 145, 146, 147, 155, 283, 303n39Judgment Commentary. See Tuan zhuan 彖傳Jung, C. G., 1

Kan 坎 hexagram 5; Six in the Third, 22Keightley, David, xxiKing Mu of Zhou 周穆王, 28, 152, 162King Wen of Zhou 周文王, xiii, 2, 4, 144King Wu of Zhou 周武王, 143, 152Kong yingda 孔穎達, 69, 297n53, 298n62Kongzi jia yu 孔子家語, 190Kongzi Shi lun 孔子詩論, 38Kongzi 孔子. See ConfuciusKui 睽 hexagram, First nine, 56; Six in the Third,

164; Six in the Fifth, 55Kun 困 hexagram, 202, 286n11; nine in the Second,

10–11, 32Kun 坤 hexagram, and Guicang, 160; as almanac, 5,

287n21; convertible, xviii, 5Kunst, richard, 66

Lachmann, Karl, 298n82Lai Zhide 來知德, xxiLao naixuan 勞乃宣, xx, 1, 286n1Lao Qi 老 xx, 143Laozi 老子, 4, 24, 38law, 20, 142, 288n27, 299n5; and Baoshan, 37; and

Shuihudi, 9Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, xiiili 利, 30Li Chong 李充, 302n24Li Dingzuo 李鼎祚, 69Li Fang 李昉, 174Li Guo 李過, 171Li 離 hexagram, 5, 198, 204, 208; hexagram state-

ment, 207; First nine, 207Li ji 禮記, 38

Index • 331

Li Jingchi 李鏡池, 209, 314n44Li Ling 李零, 60, 62, 63, 64Li 禮 (rites), 24Li Shan 李善, 155Li Shangxin 李尚信, 46, 294n19Li Xueqin 李學勤, xiv, xvi, xix, 281; and call to

“rewrite” early Chinese history, 289n50; and pot-tery paddle, 16, 18

Lianshan 連山, 144, 146, 301n18Liao Mingchun 廖名春, 161, 308n79library, imperial, 19, 145; and Guicang, 26Lin 臨 hexagram, 204line statement, xv, 35; and Daybooks, 10; and Fuyang

manuscript, 18, 29, 192, 283; and Guicang, 28; and Jizhong manuscripts, 27; and Mawangdui manu-script, 4; and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 39, 69; as oracle, 21; nature of, 209; origin of, 205

Ling xian 靈憲, 155, 302n21literature, four-part division of, 145; heritage of, 19Liu Bang 劉邦, 55, 191, 292n96, 292n97, 295n35Liu de 六德, 24Liu E 劉顎, 286n5Liu Heng 劉恆, 155, 191Liu Qi 劉啟, 55, 295n35, 309n4Liu ren 六壬, 191Liu Xiang 劉向, 145Liu Xin 劉歆, 145loan character, 62Loewe, Michael, xxi, 311n16Lu Deming 陸德明, 58, 69, 154, 296n35Lu shi 路史, 147, 300n11, 303n39Lu Springs and Autumns, 314n2Lu 魯, state of 282Lü 履 hexagram, 16, 286n12Lüshi chunqiu 呂氏春秋, 189,Luo Bi 羅泌, 147, 300n11Luo Ping 羅萍, 147, 300n11Luo Zhenyu 羅振玉, 287n7Lynn, richard, xvii, xviii

Ma Chengyuan 馬承源, 24, 38Ma Guohan 馬國翰, 171, 306n67Macbeth, 292n93manuscripts, and transmitted counterparts, 24;

discovery of, 19; Warring States, 54Mawangdui 馬王堆 manuscript, 25 55, 56, 282; and

Han diviners, 6; and heng 亨, 31, 32; and hexa-gram name, 161, 307n78; and hexagram picture,

294n14; and hexagram sequence, xix, 47; and interpretation of Changes, 284; and Jing 井 hexa-gram, 65; and Shanghai Museum manuscript compared, 69; and taboos, 295n35; arrangement of, 5; publication of, 287n19; translations of, 287n19

Mawangdui 馬王堆 manuscripts, xiv, 29Mawangdui 馬王堆 tomb, 4, 18, 189; and Shuang-

gudui compared, 190; date of, 6Mencius, 24, 291n69Meng 蒙 hexagram, 57–59; First Six, 59; nine in the

Second, 59, 208, 209, 313n41; Six in the Fifth, 58Meng Xi 孟喜, 288n22Menzies, James M., 2, 286n4, 287n6, 287n7milfoil divination, 28, 29, 300n10, 313n35; method

of, 314n3Min zhifumu 民之父母, 293n8Ming Yi 明夷 hexagram, 308n80; and Guicang, 143,

157, 302n32; Top Six, 164mold, 148Mozi 墨子, 33Mozi 墨子, 35Mu he 繆和, 297n48Mu tianzi zhuan 穆天子傳, 28–29, 145mud, 142, 150

negatives, 60, 72n4, 297n56Nei li 內豊, 293n8neo-Confucianism, xiii, 1“new Changes Studies,” 4, 30nine Cauldrons, 34nivison, David, xxinotches, 39, 51; and Fuyang manuscript, 198nü Wa 女媧, 152numbers, and bamboo strips, 300n7numerical symbols, 14, 18, 289n41, 307n77; and

hexagrams, 12, 13; and pottery paddle, 15, 16numerical tag, xv, xvi

omen, xvii, 292n97, 308n83; and Xincai divinations, 22

omen statement. See oracleŌno yūji 大野裕司, 58“open” classic, 285n9oracle, 28, 29, 153, 156, 165, 303n34; and Guicang, 143,

158, 159, 160, 163, 164; and Mozi divination, 34; and Shi jing compared, 166; and Xincai bamboo strips, 21, 22

332 • Index

oracle bones, xx, 29, 54, 281, 287n15, 292n91; and con-nection with Changes, 3; discovery of, 3, 286n5; outside Anyang, 11

Orchid Terrace, 144, 145Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修, 147

Park, Haeree, 298n72Peng Hao 彭浩, 308n1phonetic component, 56, 61, 62, 63phonetic reconstruction, 286n14, 287n8, 297n50,

314n46photographs, and Fuyang manuscript, 192, 197,

312n30Pi 否 hexagram, 286n12; Six in the Second, 202Ping Gong 平公, 152, 158polysemy, 66pottery paddle, 15, 16, 18prayer, 29, 33, 287n10, 292n93; and Baoshan divina-

tions, 20; and Guicang, 158; and Mozi divination, 34; and oracle-bone inscriptions, 11, 14; wording of, 288n34

preface (of oracle-bone inscription), 3, 11; and Mozi divination, 34

prognostication; xvi, xvii, xviii, 28, 29, 31, 292n94, 314n44; and Baoshan divinations, 20; and Confucius, 163; and daybooks, 10; and Fuyang manuscript, 204; and Gao Heng, 30; and Gui-cang, 143, 152; and oracle-bone inscriptions, 3; and Xincai divinations, 22, 23

proofreading, 133n12Pu Maozuo 濮茅左, 39, 41, 43, 46, 56, 69, 293n14;

and Jing 井 hexagram, 62, 63, 64; and Meng 蒙 hexagram, 58; and red and/or black symbols, 25, 294n19

punctuation marks, 68, 289n36, 287n20; and Wangjiatai manuscript, 300n9

punishment, 59

Qi lu 七錄, 302n23Qi lüe 七略, 145Qi mu jing 齊母經, 147, 151, 309n16Qi shijing 啟筮經, 309n4Qi 啟 (also written 启), Lord of Xia 夏, 33, 143,

146, 151, 158, 303n34, 305n52, 305n55, 306n66, 308n80, 309n14

Qian 乾 hexagram, 209, 286n11; and Guicang, 160; and Mawangdui manuscript, 47; and Shanghai

Museum manuscript, 45; and Shuogua, 304n39; as almanac, 5, 287n21; as convertible hexagram, xviii, 5; hexagram statement, 1

Qian 謙 hexagram, 308n79; nine in the Second, 209; Six in the Fifth, 10; Top Six, 10, 295n35

Qijia 齊家 Village, 13, 15Qin 秦 dynasty, 19; script of, 299n2; state of, 9, 26,

141; unification, 37, 141Qin 欽 hexagram, 41Qin Jing 秦倞, 55Qin Shi huangdi 秦始皇帝, 19Qing 清 dynasty, and Guicang, 143, 148, 151, 309n10Qinghua University, 314n3Quechao 鵲巢, 166quotations, and Guicang, 27, 171, 174, 282–83,

301n13, 304n40, 306n67, 308n2

reading practice, xvii, 66Records of the historian. See Shi ji 史記red and/or black symbols, 25–26, 39, 41–47, 68,

293n14, 294n16; distribution of, 44 (table 2.2); and sequence of hexagrams, 51

rhyme, 306n69; and Guicang, 152, 164, 306n63; and line statements, 211; and oracle, 292n96; classes of, 65

rishu 日書. See daybookrituals, 14, 20Rong Cheng shi 容乘氏, 38ruan Xiaoxu 阮孝緒, 302n23Rujia zheyan 儒家者言, 190, 311n14ruyin Hou 汝隱候. See Xia Hou Zao 夏候竈

scapula bones, 2Schuessler, Axel, 297n50scribes, 64, 282, 284; and Shanghai Museum manu-

script, 69, 294n18; as commentator, 63, 66script, 37, 54, 60, 297n51; ancient, 27, 55; and Wang-

jiatai manuscript, 141, 300n9; archaic, 61; Chu, 64, 72n1, 298n72; clerical, 19, 55; multiple possi-bilities of, 25; Qin, 298n72; unification of, 19

scrolls, 52, 53; and Fuyang manuscript, 202; and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 45, 47; tradi-tional format of, 295n25

sequence of hexagrams, xviii, 67, 286n21, 288n24, 296n48, 314n1; and canonical commentar-ies, 287n22; and Fuyang manuscript, 204, 213, 312n32; and Mawangdui manuscript, 4–6, 7–8

Index • 333

(table 1.1); and pottery paddle, 16, 18; and Shang-hai Museum manuscript, 25, 47, 48, 67, 288n23; and Sun Peiyang, 52

Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology, 15Shan haijing 山海經, 143, 146Shang Di 上帝, 152Shang 商 dynasty 2, 3, 281; and Changes, 147; and

Guicang, 26, 28, 142, 283; and nine Cauldrons, 34; and turtle-shell divination, 11; attacked by King Wu, 143; divination text of, 301n17

Shanghai bowuguan cang Chu zhushu 上海博物館藏楚竹書, 53, 67

Shanghai Museum, 24, 25, 38Shanghai Museum manuscript, xiv, 24–26, 281, 282;

and bamboo strips, 148, 193; and heng 亨, 31, 32; reconstruction of, 52

Shanghai Museum manuscripts, 37Shao Tuo 邵, 20, 37Shen Lao 神老, 158Sheng 升 hexagram, Six in the Fourth, 32Shi 師 hexagram, 54–55; and Guicang, 27, 153, 162,

164; and pottery paddle, 16Shi ji 史記, 157–58, 291n84, 303n34Shi jing 詩經, 166; and Guodian manuscripts, 24;

Fuyang manuscript of, 18, 189, 193, 201, 310n5Shi ke 噬嗑 hexagram First nine, 207Shi ming 釋名, 63Shisan jing zhushu 十三經注疏, 31, 53, 68Shu Xi 束皙, 146Shu 書 (Documents), 24Shuanggudui 雙古堆. See Fuyang 阜陽Shuihudi 睡虎地, 299n5; bamboo strips of, 11; date

of, 19; excavation of, 6Shuogua 說卦, 288n22, 290n65, 303n39Shuo wen jiezi 說文解字, 2, 61, 63, 65si 思, 14. See also prayersignific, 62, 63, 64, 65silk rolls, 189Six Classics, xiii, 24Smith, richard, xxisolid line. See yang lineSong 訟 hexagram, 28Song Huaqiang 宋華強, 21, 22Song 宋, Lord of, 152sortilege, 14sorting stalks, 26, 141Soushenji 搜神記, 155

Spring and Autumn period, 282; and date of Changes, 66; and wells, 64

Sui 隨 hexagram First nine, 209; Six in the Third, 210; Top Six, 32

Sui shu 隋書, 145Sun Peiyang 孫沛陽, 52–53Sun yirang 孫詒讓, 34, 292n93Sun 損 hexagram, 5; hexagram statement, 32

taboos, 55, 78n10, 84n7, 155, 292n96, 295n35, 303n39, 309n4

“Taboos,” 150Tai 泰 hexagram, nine in the Third, 22Taiping yulan 太平御覽, 147, 153, 154, 157, 158, 174Tao yao 桃夭, 166Ten Wings, 288n31Teng hexagram, 159terra-cotta army, 19textual criticism, 66Three Changes, 144Tian Mu 天目 hexagram, 160Tianxingguan 天興觀, 294n14tiles, earthenware, 64tomb robbers, 23, 24, 27, 282, 283; and Shuanggudui,

190tomb texts, 6, 27, 41, 189tombs, 9Tong Ren 同人 hexagram, 205–06, 286n12; nine in

the Third, 195, 202, 206; nine in the Fourth, 195Tradition of Attached Statements. See Xi ci zhuan 繫辭傳

transcription, 295n33; and Shanghai Museum manu-script, 68; and Zhang Hua 張華, 302n32; error in, 147, 154, 159, 161, 174

transmission, 37, 66trap, 61 65trigram, 23, 39, 47, 60, 285n10; and Mawangdui

manuscript, 5Tuan zhuan 彖傳, xvi, 60, 144turtle shell, 2, 3, 11, 29turtle-shell divination, 300n10, 313n35; and Baoshan,

20

variants, 32, 56, 59, 63, 66, 69n4, 298n82; and Fuyang manuscript, 313n34, 313n37, 313n39; and Shang-hai Museum manuscript, 67, 69; graphic, 24, 54, 55, 58, 69; lexical, 55

334 • Index

verification, 3, 159, 314n44; and Xincai divinations, 22vinegar, 142

Wan wu 萬物, 18, 189, 311n10Wang Bi 王弼, xvii, 297n48, 297n53, 298n62Wang Chong 王充, 144, 312n31Wang Mang 王莽, 145Wang Mingqin 王明欽, 147, 148, 151, 153, 154, 171,

285n7, 299n1, 300n6, 300n8, 308n1Wang niansun 王念孫, 61Wang Su 王肅, 298n62Wang Xiang 王襄, 287n5Wang yin 王隱, 146, 302n27, 302n28Wang yinzhi 王引之, 61Wang yirong 王懿榮, 2, 286n5Wangjiatai 王家台, xiv, 26; excavation of, 141 ff.Wangjiatai manuscript, 281, 282–83; and hexagram

pictures, 294n14; and simplified characters, 308n1; never published, 286n22; transcription of, 308n1; two versions of, 307n71

Warring States period, and bamboo strips, 293n2; and classical philosophy, 37, 281; and wells, 64

water table, 9Wei Ji 未濟 hexagram, xviii, 16; nine in the Third, 57Wei li zhidao 為吏之道, 9, 299n6Wei Zheng 魏徵, 145well, 60, 64, 65Wen Wang 文王. See King Wen of Zhou 周文王Wen xuan 文選, 155Western Jin 晉 dynasty, 145Western scholars, 285n2Western Zhou. See Zhou dynastyWhite Approval turtle, 34Wilhelm, richard xx, 1, 2, 30, 31, 35, 286n1, 297n48,

297n53Witches’ Chant, 292n93wooden strip. See Du 牘Wu Cang 巫苍, 152Wu Ding 武丁, 3, 19Wu du fu 吳都賦, 62Wu Wang 武王. See King Wu of ZhouWu Wang 无妄 hexagram, 196, 204; hexagram

statement, 202; First nine, 196, 205“Wu xingzhi” 五行志, 142

Xi 喜, 9Xi ci zhuan 繫辭傳, xvi, 4, 6, 144

Xi Wang Mu 西王母, 152, 162Xi xi Yi shuo 西溪易說, 171Xia 夏 dynasty, 33, 34, 143; and Changes, 147; and

nine Cauldrons, 35; founders of, 157Xia Hou Po 夏候頗, 191Xia Hou Qi 夏候啟. See Qi 啟, Lord of XiaXia Hou Si 夏候賜, 191, 311n16Xia Hou ying 夏候嬰, 191Xia Hou Zao 夏候竈, 18, 189, 191; death of, 311n16Xian 咸 hexagram, xv, xvi–xvii 41, 45Xiang goujing 相狗經, 190Xiang zhuan 象傳, xvii, 63, 144Xiao Chu 小畜 hexagram, 16Xiao Guo 小過 hexagram, 309n13Xiao lü 效律, 150Xiaotun 小屯, 2Xincai 新蔡 bamboo strips, 21–23, 294n14xing 興, 166Xing qi 行氣, 190Xing qing lun 性情論, 38Xing zi ming chu 性自命出, 38Xingde 刑德,189Xinlun 新論, 144“Xin tai” 新臺, 307n73Xiping 喜平 Stone Classics, 69, 294n14Xiren 西仁 Village, 15Xugua 序卦, xviii, 296n48Xu 需 hexagram, 294n20Xue Zhen 薛貞, 145Xun Xu 荀勗, 27, 145Xun 巽 hexagram, nine in the Fifth, 164

yan Hui 顏回, 38yang, 12, 26; and red and/or black symbol, 45yang line, xv, 14, 143, 161; and Fuyang manuscript, 193,

204; and numerical symbols, 12, 16; and Shanghai Museum manuscript, 39; relationship of, xvii

Yao 要, 291n86, 315n5Yao ci 爻辭. See line statementyellow Clouds, 292n97yi 羿, 162Yi 益 hexagram, 5, 294n21; First nine, 10; Six in the

Second, 32, 199Yi 頤 hexagram Six in the Fifth, 200Yi jing 易經, 288n31. See also Changes“yi wen zhi” 藝文志, 145, 147Yi yao yin yang gua 易爻陰陽卦, 27, 146, 303n39

Index • 335

yin, xv, 12, 26; and red and/or black symbol, 45yin line, 14, 143, 161; and Fuyang manuscript, 193,

204; and numerical symbols, 12, 16; and Shang-hai Museum manuscript, 39; and Wangjiatai manuscript, 307n77; relationship of, xvii

Yin Yang hexagrams of the Lines of the Changes. See Yi yao yin yang gua

yin 殷, King of, 158ying 郢, 21, 26, 141ying Huo 荧惑, 152Yongyuan qiwu pu 永元器物䈬, 52yu 禺, 34, 292n97Yu 豫 hexagram, 308n79; Six in the Fifth, 209Yu cong 語叢 I, 24yu Fan 虞翻, 298n65yu Haoliang 于豪亮, 191yu Qiang 禺強, 2 8, 154, 291n82yu Shinan 虞世南, 174Yue 樂 (Music), 24Yuhan shanfang jiyi shu 玉函山房輯佚書, 171

Zagua 雜卦, xix, 287n22Zai Wo 宰我, 38Zaiyi zhan 災異占, 26, 142, 151zhan 占, 30Zhang Heng 張衡, 155, 156, 302n21Zhang Hua 張華, 27, 143, 146, 147, 174, 302n32Zhang Lidong 張立東, 298n73Zhang Zhenglang 張政烺, 12, 287n19zhen 貞, 2, 30“Zheng mu jing” 鄭母經, 143, 146, 151, 152Zheng shizhi chang 政事之常, 142, 150, 304n43Zheng Xuan 鄭宣, 59, 298n62; and Guicang, 144,

301n14; and nature of divination, 3

Zhongfu 中孚 hexagram nine in the Second, 165Zhong jing 中經, 145, 302n24, 304n39Zhongshan 中山, king of, 65Zhongxing guange shumu 中興館閣書目, 147Zhou 周 Dynasty, 2; and date of Changes, 66; and

nine Cauldrons, 34; and turtle-shell divination, 11; and wells, 64

Zhou Gong 周公, xiii, 2, 4Zhou li 周禮, 144Zhou li zhushu 周禮注疏, 159, 160Zhou Yi 周易, 288n31. See also ChangesZhou Yi gu jing jin zhu 周易古經今注, 4“Zhou yi guayao ci zhong de gushi” 周易卦爻辭中的故事, 4

Zhou Yi jijie 周易集解, 69Zhou Yi zhengyi 周易正義, xvii, 69, 286n13Zhouyuan 周原 oracle bones, 11, 12, 18, 31, and

Changes divination, 12, and numerical symbols, 13

Zhuangzi 莊子, 65, 154; Fuyang manuscript of, 189, 311n6

Zhun 屯 hexagram Six in the Second, 209Zhushu jinian 竹書紀年, 145Zi Gong 子貢, 38, 291n86, 315n5Zi 鼒 hexagram, 148, 153, 162, 163Zi Si 子思, 291n69Zi Xia 子夏, 62Zi Xia zhuan 子夏傳, 62Ziyi 緇衣, 38, 291n70, 293n5; bamboo strip length

of, 312n31Zuo Si 左思, 62Zuo wu yuan cheng 作務員程, 190Zuozhuan 左傳, 145, 282, 308n84, 314n2乙-shaped mark, 148, 153, 299n5

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Poems of Love and War: From the eight Anthologies and the Ten Long Poems of Classical Tamil, tr. A. K. ramanujan. Also in paperback ed. 1985

The Bhagavad Gita: Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War, tr. Barbara Stoler Miller 1986

The Columbia Book of Later Chinese Poetry, ed. and tr. Jonathan Chaves. Also in paperback ed. 1986

The Tso Chuan: Selections from China’s Oldest Narrative history, tr. Burton Watson 1989

Waiting for the Wind: Thirty-six Poets of Japan’s Late Medieval Age, tr. Steven Carter 1989

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Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees: A Masterpiece of the eighteenth-Century Japanese Puppet Theater, tr., annotated, and with introduction by Stanleigh H. Jones, Jr. 1993

The Lotus Sutra, tr. Burton Watson. Also in paperback ed. 1993

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Beyond Spring: Tz’u Poems of the Sung Dynasty, tr. Julie Landau 1994

The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, ed. Victor H. Mair 1994

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Letters of Nichiren, ed. Philip B. yampolsky; tr. Burton Watson et al. 1996

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Breeze Through Bamboo: Kanshi of ema Saikō, tr. Hiroaki Sato 1998

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The Shorter Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, ed. Victor H. Mair 2000

Mistress and Maid (Jiaohong ji), by Meng Chengshun, tr. Cyril Birch 2001

Chikamatsu: Five Late Plays, tr. and ed. C. Andrew Gerstle 2001

The essential Lotus: Selections from the Lotus Sutra, tr. Burton Watson 2002

early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600–1900, ed. Haruo Shirane 2002; abridged 2008

The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Korean Poetry, ed. Peter H. Lee 2002

The Sound of the Kiss, or The Story That Must Never Be Told: Pingali Suranna’s Kalapurnodayamu, tr. Vecheru narayana rao and David Shulman 2003

The Selected Poems of Du Fu, tr. Burton Watson 2003Far Beyond the Field: haiku by Japanese Women, tr.

Makoto Ueda 2003Just Living: Poems and Prose by the Japanese Monk

Tonna, ed. and tr. Steven D. Carter 2003han Feizi: Basic Writings, tr. Burton Watson 2003Mozi: Basic Writings, tr. Burton Watson 2003Xunzi: Basic Writings, tr. Burton Watson 2003Zhuangzi: Basic Writings, tr. Burton Watson 2003The Awakening of Faith, Attributed to Aśvaghosha, tr.

yoshito S. Hakeda, introduction by ryuichi Abe 2005

The Tales of the heike, tr. Burton Watson, ed. Haruo Shirane 2006

Tales of Moonlight and Rain, by Ueda Akinari, tr. with introduction by Anthony H. Chambers 2007

Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, ed. Haruo Shirane 2007

The Philosophy of Qi, by Kaibara Ekken, tr. Mary Evelyn Tucker 2007

The Analects of Confucius, tr. Burton Watson 2007The Art of War: Sun Zi’s Military Methods, tr. Victor

Mair 2007One hundred Poets, One Poem each: A Translation of

the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, tr. Peter McMillan 2008Zeami: Performance Notes, tr. Tom Hare 2008Zongmi on Chan, tr. Jeffrey Lyle Broughton 2009Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma, rev.

ed., tr. Leon Hurvitz, preface and introduction by Stephen r. Teiser 2009

Mencius, tr. Irene Bloom, ed. with an introduction by Philip J. Ivanhoe 2009

Clouds Thick, Whereabouts unknown: Poems by Zen Monks of China, Charles Egan 2010

The Mozi: A Complete Translation, tr. Ian Johnston 2010

The huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in early han China, by Liu An, tr. John S. Major, Sarah A. Queen, Andrew Seth Meyer, and Harold D. roth, with Michael Puett and Judson Murray 2010

The Demon at Agi Bridge and Other Japanese Tales, tr. Burton Watson, ed. with introduction by Haruo Shirane 2011

haiku Before haiku: From the Renga Masters to Bashō, tr. with introduction by Steven D. Carter 2011

The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Folk and Popular Literature, ed. Victor H. Mair and Mark Bender 2011

Tamil Love Poetry: The Five hundred Short Poems of the Ainkur

ˉunūr

ˉu, tr. and ed. Martha Ann Selby

2011The Teachings of Master Wuzhu: Zen and Religion of

No-Religion, by Wendi L. Adamek 2011The essential huainanzi, by Liu An, tr. John S. Major,

Sarah A. Queen, Andrew Seth Meyer, and Harold D. roth 2012

The Dao of the Military: Liu An’s Art of War, tr. Andrew Seth Meyer 2012

Record of Miraculous events in Japan: The nihon ryōiki, tr. Burton Watson 2013

The Complete Works of Zhuangzi, tr. Burton Watson 2013

Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard, by an edo Samurai, tr. and ed. Mark Teeuwen and Kate Wildman nakai with Miyazaki Fumiko, Anne Walthall, and John Breen 2014

exemplary Women of early China: The Lienü zhuan of Liu Xiang, tr. Anne Behnke Kinney 2014

The Resurrected Skeleton: From Zhuangzi to Lu Xun, by Wilt L. Idema 2014

The Sarashina Diary: A Woman’s Life in eleventh-Century Japan, by Sugawara no Takasue no Musume, tr. with introduction by Sonja Arntzen and Itō Moriyuki 2014

The Columbia Anthology of Yuan Drama, ed. C. T. Hsia, Wai-yee Li, and George Kao 2015

An Account of Ancient Matters: The Kojiki, Ō no yasumaro, tr. Gustav Heldt 2014