4. Feng Shui and the Book of Changes
The ancients said, "It is better to believe in a book than to have no book"; "The magic of use is in one mind"; "The god of change". When we study the great Chinese wisdom book "Zhou Yi" from the perspective of a modern person, we often find that many new things that have appeared in modern and contemporary times cannot be explained in the writings of the ancients, and only on the basis of understanding the spirit of the "Book of Changes" can we make corresponding explanations or counterpoints for these new changes and new things. In addition, and more importantly, we cannot disbelieve in many things, nor can we believe them all, otherwise, believing in them will become "superstition". Looking at the history of the development of human civilization, the Book of Changes is an ancient document that has attracted special attention from social scientists, natural scientists, and even monarchs and ordinary people at home and abroad. The "Summary of the General Catalogue of the Four Libraries" compiled by Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty praised it as follows: "The Yi is vast and all-encompassing, covering astronomy, geography, music, the art of war, rhyme, and arithmetic; In order to catch the fire outside the party, you can refer to "Yi" to say. The Book of Changes is not only the source of the 7,000-year-old history of Chinese civilization, but also the first of the "three major classics in the world" - the Book of Changes, the Bible, and the Vedas. Its prominent status, lofty reputation, far-reaching influence, and magical role cannot but be called "the first book in the world". From ancient times to the present, there have been countless explorers of the Book of Changes, and all kinds of research monographs are also full of sweat and beauty. For the time being, let's take a look at the evaluation of the Book of Changes by overseas academic authorities: G. Hegel, the master of German dialectics. W. FHegel said in his Lectures on the History of Philosophy: "The I Ching contains the wisdom of the Chinese. American philosopher Capra (FGap
a) In Modern Physics and Oriental Mysticism, it says: "The I Ching can be seen as the core of Chinese thought and culture. Authorities believe that the status it has enjoyed in China for thousands of years can only be compared to the Vedas and the Bible in other cultures. C.G. Jain, a famous modern European scholar
a
e) In the preface to the English edition of the Book of Changes, it is written: "When it comes to the only treasure of wisdom of mankind in the world, the Chinese Book of Changes is the first to be recommended). The laws we have come up with in science are often short-lived or overturned by later facts, but the Chinese Book of Changes, which is still so valuable for thousands of years, has much in common with the latest quantum physics. The famous Danish quantum physicist N. Bohr H． D．Boh
In 1927, the principle of complementarity was established, which caused a sensation in the world; But when he came to China in 1936 to give a lecture and saw the Taiji diagram of the I Ching, he was amazed that "the Chinese had complementary theoretical ideas thousands of years ago, and they were represented graphically." He held the Book of Changes in his hand as if he had obtained a treasure, and set the Taiji diagram as the symbol of his family emblem and medal. German mathematician and philosopher G. wLeib
In "Letter to Draymond: On Chinese Philosophy", i.z. says: "The Book of Changes is also the Book of Changes. King Wen and Duke of Zhou, many centuries after Fuxi, and the famous Confucius five centuries after King Wen and Duke of Zhou, have searched for the secrets of philosophy in these sixty-four figures...... This is precisely binary arithmetic, i.e. the yin (一一) is 0; Yang Yao (1) is L. This arithmetic provides the easiest way to calculate a kaleidoscopic number. In his 1703 Letter to Bai Jin, he said: "Fuxitu, it is so consistent with my dualistic arithmetic...... I have to admit that even if I hadn't established binary arithmetic, I might not have been able to crack the Fuxi diagram even if I had studied it for a long time. During the Meiji Restoration in Japan in the second half of the 19th century, the ruling imperial family announced: "Those who do not know the Yi are not allowed to enter the cabinet." As Yu Shinan, the founding prime minister of Tang Taizong, said: "If you don't read "Yi", you can't be a general." M. Scho, a German scientist in modern biogenetics
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e) In his 1973 book The Secret Key to Life: The Formula of the Universe
igault) translated the Zhou Yi into Latin and introduced it to the West. In the 50s of the 18th century, the French missionary A. Pine Junrong (A
to
ius Goubil) translated the Zhou Yi into French. In the second half of the 19th century, the British missionary Ja Brown
esLegge) translated the Zhou Yi into English and published it in England in 1882. In the 20s of the 20th century, the German Cultural Counsellor in China and missionary Richa
dWilhelm) translated the Zhou Yi into German and published it in Jena, Germany, in 1924; It was later translated into English and published in New York, USA in 1950 under the title The, Chi
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BookofCha
ges。 In 1984, when the Chinese academic community was still criticizing the "dregs and superstitions in Zhou Yi", the first International Conference on Yi Xue was grandly opened in Seoul, South Korea. Experts and scholars from dozens of countries and regions gathered in this national capital, which uses the Tai Chi Yin and Yang diagram and the Bagua hexagram in the Book of Changes as the national flag pattern, to extensively and deeply study and discuss the ancient and modern academic status of the Chinese Book of Changes, as well as its influence and role in the present and future. It can be seen that the Book of Changes is indeed "vast and all-encompassing". It is also as the ancient Chinese scholars explained the word "Yi": "Yi, the upper is the sun, the lower is the month, and the combination of the sun and the moon is easy." It encompasses everything in the sun, moon, and world. In foreign countries, many foreigners who are interested in the study of Chinese culture, as long as they talk about Chinese culture, almost all mention the praise of China's "magical and profound" "I Ching", which shows its great influence in the world. It is also regarded as the benchmark by the three major religions of China: Confucianism is regarded as the first of the "Thirteen Classics"; Taoism respects it as the foundation of the secret book; Buddhism also refers to it as "Doctrine". This is unique and unprecedented in the history of human civilization in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad. The Book of Changes is a comprehensive discipline used by the sages and philosophers to explain the origin of the universe, the existence and changes of the real world, and the development trend of future time and space. Under the purpose of this philosophical worldview, such as the diagnosis and treatment of syndrome differentiation in traditional Chinese medicine, the golden mean of social ethics, the scientific prediction of weather and solar terms, the theoretical guidance of scientific practice, and even the site selection and construction of feng shui residences, all contain the core idea of yin and yang of the Book of Changes, which are actually the specific decipherment, interpretation and practical application of the purpose of the Book of Changes in a certain direction, therefore, there are these four sentences: Yin and Yang are born when they are combined, and Yin and Yang are extinguished when they are separated. Yin and Yang are wrong, and Yin and Yang are constant. Under the influence of the purpose theory of the unity of heaven, earth and man in the Book of Changes, the ancient theory of Feng Shui also came into being. Its original starting point is actually to use the theory of heaven, earth, and man in the Book of Changes, supplemented by the representation of astronomy, geography, and human settlements, to integrate, coordinate, and apply the three in practice. As for the later vulgar and ignorant people who mixed superstition and falsehood, that should be treated differently, and should also be eliminated and discarded. Wind and water were originally symbols of the Xun hexagram and the Kan hexagram in the gossip of "Zhou Yi". "Zhou Yi" believes that the origin of the world is divided into yin and yang, and it is also complementary to yin and yang. The world can be divided into three levels: heaven, earth, and man, commonly known as the "three talents of heaven, earth and man", and the "three talents" are all yin and yang and can be combined with each other to form eight trigrams. The eight trigrams of Qian, Kun, Gen, Dui, Xun, Zhen, Kan, and Li, are the eight basic substances that make up the world: heaven, earth, mountain, river, wind, thunder, water, and fire. In the practice of life for thousands of years, our ancestors profoundly experienced that the relationship between nature and nature and the survival of natural people is so direct and close, and it cannot be separated for a moment, especially the "wind" on which human beings rely for basic survival - air and the "water" needed to preserve the basic signs of life are considered to be the most fundamental conditions for survival and development. The word "Feng Shui", literally, "wind" is the flowing air; "Water" is the blood of the earth, and all things must rely on them for their growth. Where there is fresh air (wind) and clean sweet springs (water), life is endless. Traditional Feng Shui theories believe that wind is qi yang and water is qi yin, both of which are qi-acting things. The Yang of Qi walks from the wind; The yin of qi moves from the water; And this qi has its unique temperament, that is: if you ride the wind, it will disperse, and the water will stop. Extended to people, it is the gathering of qi to be born, and the dispersion of qi is death, so "Tibetan wind and water" has become the foundation of the feng shui theory of "gathering qi". From this, it can be seen that the I Ching and Feng Shui doctrine are actually the relationship between the source and the flow. For example, Chinese medicine has a set of Western medicine systems that were later introduced, which are based on cytology, anatomy, etc.; However, there is also an original TCM system, which is based on the overall organic theory of yin and yang and the five elements, with the priority of distinguishing and regulating the yin and yang, the void and the real, the surface and the inside, the cold and the heat of the human body, so as to coordinate the relationship between the human body and the environment. For example, Chinese geography also has two systems: one from the West; The other is the ancient Chinese geographical system, which is also based on the theory of the Book of Changes, emphasizing the geographical characteristics of "qi", "potential", "reason", and "shape", emphasizing "the unity of heaven and man", "the induction of heaven and man", and "the complementarity of heaven and man", and the heaven and earth on which human beings depend for survival are regarded as a living organism, so as to "share prosperity and loss, and share weal and woe" with people. Regarding the man-oriented architecture (house) of Feng Shui, Liu Xi, a scholar from the Eastern Han Dynasty, said in his famous book "Interpretation of Names": "House, choose also." The house is also in an auspicious place. "The Yellow Emperor's Neijing" also said: "The husband's homestead is the hub of yin and yang, and the model of human ethics...... Where mortals live, they are all in the house...... The house is the foundation of people, and people take the house as their home. Ju Ruo'an, that is, the family generation Changji; If you are uneasy, the clan will decline. Liang Sicheng, a master of modern architecture, also said in "The History of Chinese Architecture": "Feng Shui and other Chinese ideas and spirits are pinned on architecture. "From ancient times to the present, the problem of human habitation has been an eternal topic. It is actually derived from the theory of the Book of Changes, the use of Feng Shui, and the whole process of combining theory and practice in human settlements and architecture. In contemporary times, when the high-rise buildings satisfy the desire of human beings to conquer nature, it is more at the expense of the sustainable environment on which human beings depend. How can we solve the contradictions of ecological imbalance, disordered landscape, antagonism between man and land, indifference to human feelings, and lack of culture in today's human settlements? In the traditional Chinese feng shui thought, the ecological architectural environment concept of advocating nature, respecting the environment, harmony between heaven, earth and man, and creating the realm of poetry and painting provides us with a new vision and practical new ideas for us to build a beautiful living environment, a family home and a paradise on earth. Recently, China established the "National Engineering Research Center for Housing and Residential Environment Healthy Housing Construction Project Office", a government agency that "pays more attention to the concept of residential health" and has developed national standards for healthy housing. This fully shows that the pursuit of a better living life by ancient and modern human beings is completely consistent and unruly.