UNDERSTANDING IS A MODE OF BEING: SIGN, IMAGE AND LANGUAGE IN THE BOOK OF CHANGES (YIJING 易经)

HEINRICH GEIGER

Challenging is the degree to which the system of the Tri- and Hexagrams in The Book of Changes (Yijing) had an impact on the whole history of Chinese thought. From a historical point of view, the Yijing was originally used as an official book of divination by ancient rulers until the time of the classical philosophers. They began to utilize the material of the same to be interpreted into a system of thought, while other great thinkers turned the same into their doctrine of other branches of sciences, and likewise thinkers of Buddhism and Daoism into their own philosophical or religious concepts.

My paper is based on the assumption that in this classical book there is no such thing as a non-relational feature thing: The Tri- and Hexagrams of The Book of Changes cannot be understood in a purely representational way. They do not represent things apart from their relation to human needs or consciousness. Instead they help, by reference to relative ease, to attain consensus – or what we call “harmony” - between all those who are inquiring it.

Understanding is a mode of being, and as such it is basic for human being. Against this background, my explanations will not only focus on the Tri- and Hexagrams, which are called in Chinese “gua”(卦). As in this classical book signs are accompanied by images (xiang 象) and comments (ci 辞) play an important role, my paper will also deal with the following topics:

  1. interpenetration of our grasp of linguistic meaning and objective reality and
  2. the social nature of verbal or literary expression.

 

理解是一种存在方式:《易经》中的符号、意象和语言

汉克杰
德国波恩天主教学术交流中心(KAAD)亚洲部副主任

《易经》中的八卦和六十四卦系统在何种程度上影响了整个中国思想史是个极富挑战的命题。从历史的角度看,在先秦诸子百家产生之前,《易经》原本是古代统治者进行官方占卜的书籍。他们开始运用《易经》中的相同素材,将之阐释为某种思想体系,而其他伟大的思想家则将它们吸纳进各自的学说之中。同样地,佛教和道教的思想家们也将《易经》融入他们自己的哲学和宗教观念里。

本文基于这样的假设:在《易经》这部经典文献中,所有事物都具有关联性:《易经》中的八卦和六十四卦不能从单纯的具象方式来理解。它们无法脱离人类的需求或意识来表现事物。相反,通过相对简单的参照,它们有助于使所有那些正寻求答案的人们达成共识——或者说“和谐”。

理解是一种存在方式,因此它对于人类而言是最基本的需求。在此背景下,我的解释将不会仅聚焦于八卦和六十四卦。在《易经》中,这些卦之符号与“象”、“辞”一起扮演了一个重要角色,因此我的论文还将涉及以下论题:

  1. 我们在掌握语言意涵和客观事物之时的相互渗透性。
  2. 口头或文学表达之社会本质。