In the beginning was the Yi

[dobro p]

In another thread, Bradford talked about the various 'tools' or schema with which people interpret the Yi, and in each case, how likely it is that they were part of the way the Yi was interpreted when it was originally written. Here's the list:

Gua Ming, The Hexagram Names - Maybe not
Gua Bian, The Hexagram Changes - Yes, both Zhi Gua and Fan Yao
Gua Xu, The Hexagram Sequences - Maybe not the whole sequence, but the pairs
Qian Gua, The Inverse Pairs - Yes
Pang Tong Gua, The Opposite Pairs - Yes
Jiao Gua, The Reverse Pairs - Probably not
Hu Gua, The Nuclear Hexagrams - Maybe Nuclear Trigrams, not Nuclear Hexagrams
Shi Er Di Zhi, The Twelve Earthly Branches - The Sovereign Gua probably
Gua Xiang, The Hexagram Image - Definitely, Gua shape as a picture
Ban Xiang, The Half-Images - Definitely and Lower and Upper Bagua (Zhen & Hui)
San Cai, The Three Powers - Not likely
Yao Wei, The Line Positions - Definitely many symbols associated with each of the six positions
Yao De, Line Character - Not things like correctness or holding together, no Yin and Yang yet,
no strong or weak places

I'd like to explore this list with Bradford's help.

 

[dobro p]

"Gua Ming, The Hexagram Names - Maybe not"

What makes you think that some Hex names have changed? Changed from what?

 

[Sparhawk]

I will quote from Bent Nielsen's book, "A companion to Yi Jing numerology and cosmology"

Gua Ming, The Hexagram Names - Maybe not

The hexagram name. In most cases, the hexagram figures have a name consisting of one or two characters attached. In the Xu Gua, the sequence in which the 64 hecagrams occur in the received edition is explained based on an interpretation of the hexagram names, see Gua Xu.
The idea that the hexagram names capture the meaning of the hexagram figures is based on interpretations that for the most part are too fargetched. But the hexagram names do in the majority of cases suggest the topic of The Line Remarks (Yao Ci); in 48 of 64 cases, the hexagram names are repeated and commented on in three of the six LIne Remarks, and in several cases in all Line Remarks. On the other hand, there is rarely any relation between the hexagram names and The Deciding Remarks.
​

Gua Bian, The Hexagram Changes - Yes, both Zhi Gua and Fan Yao

Hexagram alteration. This refer to all sorts of ways in which one hexagram may change into another, e.g. by the yin line(s) changing into yang line(s) and vice versa, lines exchanging positions, hexagrams being turned upside down, etc. ...
Hexagram alteration could be employed for occasional divination sessions, but it was also used to construct tightly woven cosmological systems using all 64 hexagrams. This was the case with Jing Fang's "hexagrams of the eight palaces" and Xun Shuang's theory of 'ascent and descent.' All the scholars adherign to the images and numbers tradition made use of the hexagram alteration.
​

Gua Xu, The Hexagram Sequences - Maybe not the whole sequence, but the pairs

The hexagram sequence. While this may indicate any sequence of any numbers of hexagrams or trigrams, it usually refers to the sequence in which the hexagrams occur in the received edition of The Changes. This sequence is associated with king Wen (and it goes on for three interesting pages...)
​

Qian Gua, The Inverse Pairs - Yes

(as in 前卦，Brad?)
​

Pang Tong Gua, The Opposite Pairs - Yes

Laterally linked hexagrams. This refers to both a way of ordering the 64 hexagrams in pairs and an exposition of The Changes, which probably originated with Yu Fan (164-233) The expression stems from the Wen Yan 1: The six lines appear and scatter, and to all sides they penetrate the emotions" Some late Han scholars interpreted this to refer to yang lines changing into yin lines and vice versa, e.g. Lu Ji (187-219) who also seemed to believe this to be a description of how the 64 hexagrams came into existence. The earliest use of the 'laterally linked" as a technical term seems to be by Yu Fan. This is also known as 'alternating exchange', 'interchanging hexagrams,' 'opposed pairs of hexagrams.' 'opposite exchange.' and 'opposite hexagrams with opposed lines' (and it goes on...)
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Jiao Gua, The Reverse Pairs - Probably not

The exchanged trigrams. This refers to a pair of hexagrams in which the lower trigram in the first hexagram is the upper trigram in the second and vice versa.
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Hu Gua, The Nuclear Hexagrams - Maybe Nuclear Trigrams, not Nuclear Hexagrams

Interlocking trigrams (Hu Ti). The expression probably originated with Jing Fang. This refers to an exposition of The Changes based on trigram symbolism.
Whereas a hexagram's constituent trigrams--composed of the three bottom lines and the three top lines, respectively--is positioned one on top of the other, the interlocking trigrams--composed of lines 2-4 and lines 3-5 respetively-- share the two middle lines of the hexagram.
​

TBC...

 

[Sparhawk]

Shi Er Di Zhi, The Twelve Earthly Branches - The Sovereign Gua probably

Here Brad refers to the Gan Zhi (Stems and Branches system) and the Bi Gua (Sovereign Hexagrams: 1, 44, 33, 12, 20, 23, 2, 24, 19, 11, 34, 43)
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Gua Xiang, The Hexagram Image - Definitely, Gua shape as a picture

As said above.
​

Ban Xiang, The Half-Images - Definitely and Lower and Upper Bagua (Zhen & Hui)

Also known as Ban Ti. Semi-trigrams or semi-images.​

San Cai, The Three Powers - Not likely

The ways of Heaven, Earth and Man.
​

Yao Wei, The Line Positions - Definitely many symbols associated with each of the six positions

The line positions. Exposition of the Changes based on the relative positions of and the relationship between the individual lines in a hexagram.
​

Yao De, Line Character - Not things like correctness or holding together, no Yin and Yang yet, no strong or weak places

Not in Bent Nielsen's book...​

 

[bradford]

"Gua Ming, The Hexagram Names - Maybe not"
What makes you think that some Hex names have changed? Changed from what?

Changed from having no name. There are large numbers of scholars who hold that the names were an afterthought. It's still only a theory, but it's reinforced by the fact that the Mawangdui manuscript has different names for the hexagrams 50% of the time.

 

[dobro p]

Yeah, but depending on how wide the mesh of your net is, the Mawangdui manuscript varies from the Yi 100% of the time.