Correct Principles of the Book of Changes

此既象天，何不谓之天，而谓之“乾”者？天者定体之名，“乾”者体用之称。故《说卦》云：“乾，健也”。言天之体，以健为用。圣人作《易》本以教人，欲使人法天之用，不法天之体，故名“乾”，不名天也。天以健为用者，运行不息，应化无穷，此天之自然之理，故圣人当法此自然之象而施人事，亦当应物成务，云为不已，“终日乾乾”，无时懈倦，所以因天象以教人事。於物象言之，则纯阳也，天也。於人事言之，则君也。父也。以其居尊，故在诸卦之首，为《易》理之初。但圣人名卦，体例不同，或则以物象而为卦名者，若否、泰、剥、颐、鼎之属是也，或以象之所用而为卦名者，即乾、坤之属是也。如此之类多矣。虽取物象，乃以人事而为卦名者，即家人、归妹、谦、履之属是也。所以如此不同者，但物有万象，人有万事，若执一事，不可包万物之象；若限局一象，不可总万有之事，故名有隐显，辞有踳驳，不可一例求之，不可一类取之。

"Why is this called 'Qian' instead of simply 'Sky'? 'Sky' is the proper name for its substance, while 'Qian' refers to its function; thus, referring to 'Qian' means focusing on the sky's attribute of ceaseless activity rather than its static form. Since the sage created the I (Yijing) to teach humanity, they named it 'Qian'—not 'Sky'—to instruct people to emulate the dynamic function of heaven rather than its fixed substance."

For a reader today This passage explains the reasoning behind using the term "Qian" in the Yijing to emphasize active principle over static form. It describes how different hexagram names reflect either physical images, functional attributes, or human affairs.

English translation by Eastern Lens, from the revised daizhige Chinese classics corpus. The original Chinese is published alongside it for verification.

“屯”时方屯难，正道未通，涉远而行，难可以进，故曰：“乘马班如”也。寇谓初也。无“初”之难，则与“五”婚矣，故曰“匪寇婚媾”也。“志在於五”，不从於初，故曰“女子贞不字”也。屯难之世，势不过十年者也。十年则反常，反常则本志斯获矣。故曰“十年乃字”。 \[疏\]“六二”至“十年乃字”。○正义曰：“屯如邅如”者，屯是屯难，邅是邅回，如是语辞也。言六二欲应於九五，即畏初九逼之，不敢前进，故“屯如邅如”也。“乘马班如”者，《子夏传》云：“班如者，谓相牵不进也”。马季长云：“班，班旋不进也”。言二欲乘马往適於五，正道未通，故班旋而不进也。“匪寇婚媾”者，寇谓初也，言二非有初九与巳作寇害，则得其五为婚媾矣。马季长云：“重婚曰媾。”郑玄云：“媾犹会也。”“女子贞不字”者，贞，正也，女子，谓六二也，女子以守贞正，不受初九之爱，“字”训爱也。“十年乃字”者，十年难息之后，即初不害巳也。

The hexagram 'Tun' signifies an initial state of difficulty where the upright path is blocked; moving ahead is hard, hence 'riding a horse in circles.' The 'robber' refers to the first line above; without this obstacle, one would unite with the fifth, hence 'not a robber but a betrothed.' With the mind set on the fifth and not on the first, a woman remains chaste and ununited. In such troubled times, difficulty should not last beyond ten years; after that time returns to normal order, the original intention is fulfilled, hence 'in ten years she accepts marriage.' The commentary explains that 'Tun' means stagnation, where line two hesitates to advance toward line five due to pressure from line one. 'Riding a horse in circles' implies being unable to move forward directly. 'Not a robber' means there is no harm from the first line, allowing union with the fifth. 'Unchaste' signifies rejecting the affection of the first line while maintaining integrity. After ten years of hardship cease, the first line no longer causes harm.

For a reader today This passage describes an initial phase of adversity followed by a predicted resolution, offering a historical perspective on endurance rather than personal guidance. It presents traditional exegesis for understanding classical symbolic logic without asserting factual claims or modern applications.

English translation by Eastern Lens, from the revised daizhige Chinese classics corpus. The original Chinese is published alongside it for verification.

\[疏\]“《彖》曰”至“天之道也”。○正义曰：“临刚浸而长说而顺”者，此释卦义也。凡诸卦之例，说而顺之，下应以“临”字结之。此无“临”字者，以其刚中而应，亦是“临”义，故不得於刚中之上而加“临”也。“刚中而应，大亨以正，天之道”者，天道以刚居中而下，与地相应，使物大得亨通而利正，故《乾卦》“元、亨、利、贞”。今此《临》卦，其义亦然，故云“天之道也”。 至于八月有凶，消不久也。八月阳衰而阴长，小人道长，君子道消也，故曰“有凶”。 \[疏\]“至于八月”至“久也”。○正义曰：证“有凶”之义，以其阳道既消，不可常久，故“有凶”也。但复卦一阳始复，刚性尚微，又不得其中，故未有“元亨利贞”。泰卦三阳之时，三阳在下，而成乾体，乾下坤上，象天降下，地升上，上下通泰，物通则失正，故不具四德。唯此卦二阳浸长，阳浸壮大，特得称临，所以四德具也。然阳长之卦，每卦皆应“八月有凶”。

This text explains that the "Lin" hexagram embodies the Way of Heaven because its rising yang line is strong yet responsive; it interprets the prophecy of danger in the eighth month as a rule stating that when yang energy begins to wane and yin grows, the conditions are not enduring.

For a reader today The passage offers a conceptual model for understanding the cyclical balance of forces within the cosmos, while the warning about the eighth month functions as an observational principle regarding the natural decline of one state before another rises.

English translation by Eastern Lens, from the revised daizhige Chinese classics corpus. The original Chinese is published alongside it for verification.

鼎者，取新成变者也。“革去故”而鼎成新。“正位”者，明尊卑之序也。“凝命”者，以成教命之严也。 \[疏\]正义曰：“木上有火”，即是“以木巽火”，有亨饪之象，所以为鼎也。“君子以正位凝命”者，凝者，严整之貌也。鼎既成新，即须制法。制法之美，莫若上下有序，正尊卑之位，轻而难犯，布严凝之命，故君子象此以“正位凝命”也。 初六：鼎颠趾，利出否，得妾以其子，无咎。凡阳为实而阴为虚，鼎之为物，下实而上虚。而今阴在下，则是为覆鼎也，鼎覆则趾倒矣。否谓不善之物也。取妾以为室主，亦“颠趾”之义也。处鼎之初，将在纳新，施颠以出秽，得妾以为子，故“无咎”也。 \[疏\]正义曰：“鼎颠趾”，趾，足也。凡阳为实而阴为虚，鼎之为物，下实而上虚。初六居鼎之始，以阴处下，则是下虚上实，而鼎足倒矣，故曰“鼎颠趾”也。

The ding cauldron represents transformation; removing the old allows the new to be forged, and its form clarifies hierarchy while embodying solemn authority. As a rule derived from ancient divination texts, this section describes how inverting the vessel's base to expel refuse symbolizes replacing an inferior with one of higher consequence, resulting in no fault.

For a reader today This passage offers historical insight into the symbolic meanings and ritual functions attributed to objects in ancient Chinese culture. It also illustrates how early interpreters connected physical actions like turning a vessel upside down with abstract concepts such as social order and succession.

English translation by Eastern Lens, from the revised daizhige Chinese classics corpus. The original Chinese is published alongside it for verification.

探赜索隐，钩深致远，以定天下之吉凶，成天下之亹亹者，莫大乎蓍龟。 \[疏\]正义曰：探，谓闚探求取。赜，谓幽深难见。卜筮则能闚探幽昧之理，故云探赜也。索，谓求索。隐，谓隐藏。卜筮能求索隐藏之处，故云索隐也。物在深处，能钩取之；物在远方，能招致之，卜筮能然，故云“钩深致远”也。以此诸事，正定天下之吉凶，成就天下之亹亹者，唯卜筮能然，故云“莫大乎蓍龟”也。案《释诂》云：“亹亹，勉也。”言天下万事，悉动而好生，皆勉勉营为，此蓍龟知其好恶得失，人则弃其得而取其好，背其失而求其得，是成天下之亹亹也。 是故天生神物，圣人则之。天地变化，圣人效之。天垂象，见吉凶，圣人象之。河出图，洛出书，圣人则之。 \[疏\]正义曰：“是故天生神物，圣人则之”者，谓天生蓍龟，圣人法则之以为卜筮也。“天地变化，圣人效之”者，行四时生杀，赏以春夏，刑以秋冬，是圣人效之。

By exploring mysteries and seeking hidden truths, we can determine fortune and misfortune; nothing is greater than consulting the divining stalks or tortoise shells for this purpose. Therefore, heaven produced divine objects that sages followed, seasonal changes that sages imitated, celestial signs that revealed outcomes which sages mirrored, and the patterns of the River Map and Luo Scroll that sages adopted as their models.

For a reader today This text offers a historical account of how ancient Chinese sages used divination tools to interpret natural phenomena and guide statecraft. It presents these practices as traditional rules reflecting ancient beliefs rather than validated facts or advice for contemporary readers.

English translation by Eastern Lens, from the revised daizhige Chinese classics corpus. The original Chinese is published alongside it for verification.