"Lianshan" and "Gui Zang" are classics of ancient Chinese culture. However, people have always believed that they are the predecessors of "The Book of Changes", and this understanding was written into the "Three Character Classic" for the enlightenment of primary school students: "There are mountains, there are Guizang. There are Zhouyi, and the three Yis are detailed." Through solid research, I came to a surprising conclusion. From the origin and development of writing, from the development of China's unique ideology, it can only be shown that they have no connection with the "Book of Changes" or with the "Book of Changes". What is related is that the text of "Laozi" was written on the basis of "Gui Zang"; "Gui Zang" was completed under the tone of "Lianshan". "Lianshan", "Gui Zang" and "Laozi" are the three classics that regulate the supreme ruler before the Western Zhou Dynasty. To clarify this issue, we must first start with the "Book of Changes".
As the name suggests, "Zhouyi" should be the abbreviation of "Yi" of Zhou Dynasty. However, there is a history of more than 800 years before and after the Zhou Dynasty, from 1046 BC to 221 BC (tentatively determined by the "Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty Project"). During the historical process of more than 800 years, our country's culture has undergone major changes and "developments". It can be roughly divided into two stages: the East and West Zhou. The Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 B.C. - 770 A.D.), in addition to using the oracle bone inscriptions left over from the Shang Dynasty, this period also had its own development of the times, which is clearly reflected in, of course, only the inscriptions on bronze vessels.
Since the establishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty, in the bronze inscriptions, the word "Yi" in the Zhouyi has only followed the intention of the Shang Dynasty, and has frequently appeared in the bronze inscriptions as the word "ci".
Except for the two characters "Li" and "Dui" that are found in bronze inscriptions on all the hexagram names in Zhouyi, the remaining characters: Qian, Kun, Kan, Zhen, Xun, and Gen are all missing characters. ;
The concept of yin and yang relied on in the Book of Changes cannot be found in the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty, except for the place name where "Yin and Yang Valley" is used only twice. There is no concept of yin and yang at all.
At present, what we can see is that many people are influenced by secular legends, and many famous scholars have joined this ranks, blindly advocating that "Fuxi opened the sky with a painting" , "looking up", "looking down" and "distinguishing yin and yang" while making gossip on Guatai Mountain. These absurd remarks are getting further and further away from the historical facts. When we look back at our own history, we have to pay attention to the problem of "virtuous people" in the Shang Dynasty.
The emergence of Zhenren has caused great misunderstandings about them in history. Judging from the oracle bone inscriptions, the character "Zhen" is very similar to the character "ding", and in connection with the unearthed cultural relics (such as the central part of the pattern in the jade plate in the middle of the jade turtle in Lingjiatan, Anhui), "food utensil" is Necessary utensils for people's survival and marking the progress of this nation. Therefore, after our ancestors consciously realized this problem, it was inevitable that the position of state officials who managed "food utensils" was designated as "zhenren". Therefore, during the Shang Dynasty, which was a period of worshiping ancestors, it was a natural phenomenon for "Zhenren" to appear in the "court" and "imperial court". When Oracle began to take shape in the middle of the Shang Dynasty, it was the group of people who managed the "food utensils" who bore the brunt and could serve as the first "practitioners" or "executors." Therefore, they naturally became "cultural people", which was also inevitable with the formation of the "Zhenren Group" in the late Shang and early Shang Dynasties. Therefore, from the time when "Zhen Ren" was formed until the time when they were attacked by the royal power (dispersed and lost) before the end of Shang Dynasty, they had nothing to do with the so-called "divination" and "determination". With the passage of time, the development of the descendants of "Zhenren" (about 17 generations in about 500 years starting from Shang Wuyi's attack on Zhenren) continued to the Spring and Autumn Period, and they spread to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. various fields. Except for a few of them who are still officials, the vast majority have been reduced to: diners, servants, servants, wizards, pharmacists, Feng Shui and so on. In short, they are a special class that harbors unlimited creativity and is also extremely social reactionary. Within this special class, especially influenced by the ideology of the late Western Zhou Dynasty, in the early Spring and Autumn Period, "Yin-Yang Studies, Five Elements Studies, Yi Studies, Ming Studies, Taoism, Confucianism, Miscellaneous Studies, Legal Studies, Sophistry" etc. were formed among them. bud.
What kind of big event is this? First of all, we need to understand the "turtle":
A turtle is obedient, does not open its mouth to bite, does not hurt others, obeys the will of the people and takes refuge;
A turtle can fill the belly of the people , the turtle's eating method is extremely simple;
The turtle is patient, perseverant, and does not want anything in return. When the people catch the turtle, they just need to put it in a place where it cannot crawl out, and it will stay there forever. It does not eat or drink, and does not beg for anything. When the people take it, it is always ready to serve;
The tortoise is long-lived, peaceful, and has no fight with the world;
The tortoise can strengthen the people. The body, the body of the people.
Obviously, among the above, it is the only one that does not want any reward. It is the most valuable thing to bow its head and wait for the fate of the people. This is the spirit that all kings should imitate. At the same time, this is also an early manifestation of the spirit of "food is the first priority for the people". The reason why the center of the pattern is a "food utensil" is precisely for this purpose. Only the center symbolized by the "food utensil" can ensure the survival and eternal peace of the people in all directions (including all directions). If you don't understand this pattern, you can't understand the true spirit of "caressing the four directions", "forever protecting the four directions", "maintaining the four directions", etc. that later appeared in the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The purpose of this spirit is the concrete implementation of "people gain". Magnificent, our ancestors. At that time, the West was a period when pyramid culture was prevalent, and their culture was a masterpiece of kingship, power, strength, and violence. (However, from 4600 years ago until the Zhou Dynasty, we have never found a decent palace building or a decent tomb that symbolizes kingship, imperial power, and power. This has caused many people to insult us and say that without a building that symbolizes royal power, there is no entry. The state of the country, without the form of the country, there is no civilization. I really don’t know what kind of logic this is.) This means that the differences between Chinese and Western cultures have begun.
About the issues of "Lianshan" and "Gui Zang"... (omitted. This idea has been found in "Laozi's View of Nature and Modern Civilization" and "My Views on Laozi, His Person and His Books".)
To sum up, "Zhouyi" has no connection with "Lianshan" and "Guizang". What is connected is that the text of "Laozi" was written on the basis of "Guizang" ; "Return to Tibet" is completed under the tone of "Lianshan". "Lianshan", "Gui Zang", and "Laozi" are the three classics that regulate the governance of the supreme ruler before the Western Weekend. It is a pity and a pity that people have almost forgotten about them, ignoring our own history, and allowing others to play with sophistry. Isn't it sad?
That’s it for today, thank you all.
Chen Guangzhu
(This article was also spoken at the Chinese Traditional Culture Revival Forum on May 21)