从卦爻辞的内容看其性质

根据卦爻辞的形式和内容,我们把它分为三类;直接表述吉凶等断辞的;记述象占的;单纯纪事,无吉凶等断辞的。从性质上来说,《易经》是一部老皇历式的著作。卦爻画表示的是日历。直接表述吉凶的卦爻辞记述的是时日占候。记述象占的卦爻辞表述的是一些行为禁忌,其中的某些卦爻辞也应和时日有关系。单纯纪事的卦爻辞情况则较复杂,有些卦爻辞可能是祈使句,表示此卦爻所当时日内应做某事,有些则是记述的某时日内“名人”“名物”的事迹,供后人参考,有些则可能是些“半拉子工程”。

Viewing the quality of Zhouyi according to the contents of the remarks affiliated to the hexagrams and lines

According to the forms and contents, the remarks affiliated to the hexagrams and lines of Zhouyi can be classified into three types: (1) directly accounting the charges of advantageousness or disadvantageousness; (2) accounting divinations by images; and (3) purely accounting events without any charge. So far as the quality is concerned, Yi jing is like a book of calendar. The line of a hexagram represents calendar of a day and corresponds to case (1). The second case mainly accounts some taboos, some of which should relate to the divination for actions in a day. The third case is comparably complicated because some of the remarks should be attributed to imperative sentences and indicate the subject Ought to do some things during the days the lines correspond to, some account the deeds and achievements of some celebrated figures for later generations to draw reference during certain days and period of time, some might be uncompleted programs.