Text of Confucianism Part 02

SR No.: 007676
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: James Legge
Publisher: Oxford
Publication Year: 1882
Total Pages: 2405
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 43 MB

Page 64

CH. III.
INTRODUCTION.
37
The forty-fourth hexagram, called Kau , is formed by the trigrams Sun B , representing wind, and Khien 3 , representing heaven or the sky, and it is said on it :-'(The symbol of) wind, beneath that of the sky, forms Kâu. In accordance with this, the sovereign distributes his charges, and promulgates his announcements throughout the four quarters (of the kingdom).'
The fifty-ninth hexagram, called Hwân SE, is formed by the trigrams Khân = =, representing water, and Sun = =, representing wind, and it is said on it :'(The symbol of) water and that of wind) above it form Hwan. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, presented offerings to God, and established the ancestral temple.' The union of the two trigrams suggested to king Wăn the idea of dissipation in the alienation of men from the Supreme Power, and of the minds of parents from their children; a condition which the wisdom of the ancient kings saw could best be met by the influences of religion. .
One more example. The twenty-sixth hexagram, called Ta Kho SE, is formed of the trigrams Khien, representing heaven or the sky, and Kan = =, representing a mountain, and it is said on it :-(The symbol of) heaven in the midst of a mountain forms Ta Kha. The superior man, in accordance with this, stores largely in his memory the words of former men and their conduct, to subserve the accumulation of his virtue.' We are ready to exclaim and ask, 'Heaven, the sky, in the midst of a mountain! Can there be such a thing ?' and KQ Hsî will tell us in reply, 'No, there cannot be such a thing in reality ; but you can conceive it for the purpose of the symbolism.'
From this and the other examples adduced from the Great Symbolism, it is clear that, so far as its testimony bears on the subject, the trigrams of FQ-hsî did not receive their form and meaning with a deep intention that they should serve as the basis of a philosophical scheme concerning the constitution of heaven and earth and all that
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