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by is the nature [of man and things]." This is the Too of the production of things, and such production is the major achievement of the universe. In "Appendix III' it is said: ' The supreme virtue of Heaven is to produce.
When a thing is produced, there must be that which is able to produce it, and there must also be that which constitutes the material from which this production is made. The former is the active element and the latter the pas-sive one. The active element is virile and is the Yang; the passive element is docile and is the Yin. The production of things needs the cooperation of these two elements. Hence the words: "One Yang and one Yin: this is the Too."
Everything can in one sense be Yang and in another sense Yin, according to its relation with other things. For instance, a man is Yang in relation to his wife, but Yin in relation to his father. The metaphysical Yang which pro-duces all things, however, can only be Yang, and the metaphysical Yin out of which everything is produced can only be Yin. Hence in the metaphysical statement: One Yang and one Yin: this is called the Too, the Yin and Yang thus spoken of are Yin and Yang in the absolute sense.
It is to be noticed that two kinds of statement occur in the "Appendices." The first consists of statements about the universe and the concrete things in it; the other consists of statements about the system of abstract symbols of the Yi itself. In "Appendix III it is said: "In the Yi there is the Supreme Ultimate which produces the Two Forms. The Two Forms produce the Four Emblems, and these Four Emblems produce the eight trigrams. Although this saying later became the foundation of the metaphysics and cosmology of the Neo-Confucianists, it does not refer to the actual universe, but rather to the system of symbols in the Yi. According to the "Appendices, " however, these symbols and formulas have their exact counterparts in the universe it-self. Hence the two kinds of statement are really interchangeable. Thus the saying,"one Yang and one Yin: this is called Too," is a statement about the universe. Yet it is interchangeable with the other saying that "in the Yi there is the Supreme Ultimate which produces the Two Forms. The Too is equiva-lent to the Supreme Ultimate, while the Yin and Yang correspond to the Two Forms.
"Appendix III" also states: "The supreme virtue of Heaven is to produce." Again: "To produce and to reproduce is the function of the Yi." Here again are two kinds of statement. The former relates to the universe, and the latter to the Yi. Yet they are at the same time interchangeable.
The Tao of the Transformation of Things
One meaning of the name Yi, as we have seen, is transformation and change. The "Appendices" emphasize that all things in the universe are ever in a process of change. The comment on the third line of the eleventh hexa-
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gram states: "There is no level place without a bank, and no departure with-out a return." This saying is considered by the "Appendices" as the formula according to which things undergo change. This is the Too of the transforma-tion of all things.
If a thing is to reach its completion and the state of completion is to be maintained, its operation must occur at the right place, in the right way, and at the right time. In the comments of the Yi, this Tightness is usually indi-cated by the words cheng (correct, proper) and chung (the mean, center, middle). As to cheng Appendix I states: The woman has her correct place within, and the man has his correct place without. The correctness of posi-tion of man and woman is the great principle of Heaven and Earth....When the father is father, and the son son; when the elder brother is elder brother, and the younger brother younger brother; when husband is husband, and wife wife: then the way of the family is correct. When it is correct, all under Heaven will be established.
Chung means neither too much nor too little. The natural inclination of man is to take too much. Hence both the "Appendices" and the Lao-tzu consider excess a great evil. The Lao-tzu speaks about fan (reversal, ch. 40) and fu (returning, ch. 16), and the Appendices also speak about fu. Among the hexagrams, indeed, there is one titled Fu (the 24th hexagram). "Ap-pendix I" says about this hexagram: "In Fu we see the mind of Heaven and Earth."
Using this concept of fu, "Appendix VI" interprets the order of arrange-ment of the sixty-four hexagrams. The Yi was originally divided into two books. This "Appendix" considers the first of these as dealing with the world of nature, and the second as dealing with that ot man. Concerning the first book, it says: "Following the existence of Heaven and Earth, there is the production of all things. The space between Heaven and Earth is full of all these things. Hence [.the hexagram] Ch'ien LHeavenJ and Lthe hexagram] K'un [Earth] are followed by the hexagram Tun, which means fullness." Then tne "Appendix" tries to show how each hexagram is usually followed by another which is opposite in character.
About the second book, this same "Appendix' says: "Following the exis-tence of Heaven and Earth, there is the existence of all things. Following the existence of all things, there is the distinction of male and female. Following this distinction, there is the distinction between husband and wife. Following this distinction, there is the distinction between father and son. Following this distinction, there is the distinction between sovereign and subject. Fol-lowing ihis distinction, there is the distinction between superiority and infe-riority. Following this distinction, there are social order and justice. "Then, as in the case of the first part of the Yi, the "Appendix" tries to show how one hexagram is usually followed by another which is opposite in character.
The sixty-third hexagram is Chi-chi, which means something accom-
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plished. At this point this "Appendix says: "But there can never be an end of things. Hence Chi—chi is followed by Wei—chi I the sixty-fourth hexagram, meaning something not yet accomplishedJ. With this hexagram, [the Yi\ comes to a close.
According to this interpretation, the arrangement of the hexagrams implies at least three ideas: (I) that all that happens in the universe, natural and hu-man alike, forms a continuous chain of natural sequence; (2.) that in the pro-cess of evolution, everything involves its own negation; and (3) that in the process of evolution, "there can never be an end of things.
The "Appendices' agree with the Lao-tzu that in order to do something with success, one must be careful not to be too successful; and that in order to avoid losing something, one must complement it with something of its op-posite. Thus Appendix III says: The man who keeps danger in mind is one who retains his position. The man who keeps ruin in mind is one who survives. The man who has disorder in mind is one who has peace. There-fore, the superior man, when all is peaceful, does not forget danger. When he is acting, he does not forget about ruin. When he has society under control, he does not forget disorder. Hence it is possible, with his own person secure, for him to protect the state."
The "Appendices also agree with the Lao-tzu that modesty and humble-ness are the great virtues. Appendix I remarks: It is the way of Heaven to diminish the swollen and augment the modest. It is the way of Earth to subvert the swollen and give free course to the modest....It is the way of man to hate the swollen and love the modest. Modesty, in a high position, sheds luster on it; in a low position it cannot be passed by unobserved. This is the final goal of the superior man.
The Mean and Harmony
The idea of chung is fully developed in the Chung Yung or Doctrine of the Mean. Chung is like the Aristotelian idea of the "golden mean." Some would understand it as simply doing things no more than halfway, but this is quite wrong. The real meaning of chung is neither too much nor too little, that is, just right. Suppose that one is going from Washington lo New York. It will then be just right to stop at New York, but to go right through to Boston, will be to do too much, and to stop at Philadelphia, will be to do too little. In a prose poem by Sung Yii of the third century B.C., he describes a beautiful girl with the words: If she were one inch taller, she would be too tall. If she were one inch shorter, she would be too short. If she used pow-der, her face would be too white. If she used rouge, her face would be too red." (Wen Hsiian, chiUm I9)The description means that her figure and complexion were just right, "just right" is what the Confucianists call chung.
Time is an important factor in the idea of being just right. It is just right
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to wear a fur coat in winter, but it is not just right to wear it in summer. Hence the Confucianists often use the word shih (time or timely) in conjunc-tion with the word chung, as in the term shih chung or timely mean. Men-cms, for example, says of Confucius: When it was proper to go into office, then to go into it; when it was proper to remain out of office, then to remain out of it; when it was proper to continue in it long, then to continue in it long; when it was proper to withdraw from it quickly, then to withdraw from it quickly: such was Confucius.' (Mencius, Ila, 2.2..) Hence "among the sages, Confucius was the timely one. (Ibid., Vb, I.)
The Chung Yung says: "To have no emotions of pleasure or anger, sorrow or joy, welling up: this is to be described as the state of chung. To have these emotions welling up but in due proportion: this is to be described as the state of ho [harmony]. Chung is the chief foundation of the world. Ho is the great highway for the world. Once chung and ho are established, Heaven and Earth maintain their proper position, and all creatures are nourished." (Ch. I.) When the emotions do not come forth at all, the mind neither goes too far nor falls short. It is just right. This is an illustration of the state of chung. And when the emotions do come forth, but in due proportion, this is also the state of chung for harmony results from chung, and chung serves to harmo-nize what might otherwise be discordant.
What is said about the emotions also applies to the desires. In personal conduct as well as in social relations, there are medium points which serve as right limits for the satisfaction of the desires and the expression of the emotions. When all desires and emotions of a person are satisfied and ex-pressed to the right degree, the person achieves a harmony within his person which results in good mental health. Likewise, when all the desires and feel-ings of the various types of people who comprise a society are satisfied and expressed to the right degree, the society achieves harmony within itself which results in peace and order.
Harmony is the reconciling of differences into a harmonious unity. The Tso Chuan reports a speech by the statesman Yen Tzu (died 493 B.C.), in which he makes a distinction between harmony and uniformity or identity. Harmony, he says, may be illustrated by cooking. Water, vinegar, pickles, salt, and plums are used to cook fish. From these ingredjents there results a new taste which is neither that of the vinegar nor of the pickles. Uniformity or identity, on the other hand, may be likened to the attempt to flavor water with water, or to confine a piece of music to one note. In both cases there is nothing new.* Herein lies the distinction between the Chinese words t ung and ho. T ung means uniformity or identity, which is incompatible with dif-ference. Ho means harmony, which is not incompatible with difference; on the contrary, it results when differences are brought together to form a unity.
? See the 7so Chuan, twentieth year of Duke Chao, 522 B.C.
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But in order to achieve harmony, the differences must each be present in precisely their proper proportion, which is chung. Thus the function of chung is to achieve harmony.
A well-organized society is a harmonious unity in which people of differing talents and professions occupy their proper places, perform their proper func-tions, and are all equally satisfied and not in conflict with one another. An ideal world is also a harmonious unity. The Chung Yung says: All things are nurtured together without injuring one another. All courses are pursued with-out collision. This is what makes Heaven and Earth great." (Ch. 30.)
Harmony of this sort, which includes not only human society, hut perme-ates the entire universe, is called the Supreme Harmony, In "Appendix I" of the Yi, it is said: "How vast is the originating power of [the hexagram] Ch' ien.... Unitedly to protect the Supreme Harmony: this is indeed profitable and auspicious."
The Common and the Ordinary
The Chung Yung says: "What Heaven confers is called the nature. The following of this nature is called the Way [ Too ]. The cultivation of this Way is called spiritual culture. The Way is that which no man for a moment can do without. What a man can do without is not the Way. (Ch. I.) Here we touch upon the idea of the importance of the common and the ordinary, which is another important concept in the Chung Yung. This concept is ex-pressed by the word yung, in the title of this work, which means common or ordinary.
Everyone finds it necessary to eat and drink every day. Hence eating and drinking are the common and ordinary activities of mankind. They are com-mon and ordinary just because they are so important that no man can possi-bly do without them. The same is true of human relations and moral virtues. They appear to some people as so common and ordinary as to be ol little value. Yet they are so simply because they are so important that no man can do without them. To eat and drink, and to maintain human relations and moral virtues, is to follow the nature of man. It is nothing else but the Way or Too. What is called spiritual culture or moral instruction is nothing more than the cultivation of this Way.
Since the Way is that which no man in actual fact can do without, what is the need of spiritual culture? The answer is that although all men are, to some extent, really following the Way, not all men are sufficiently enlight-ened to be conscious of this fact. The Chung Yung says: Amongst men there are none who do not eat and drink, but there are few who really appre-ciate the taste." (Ch. 4.) The function of spiritual culture is to give people an understanding that they are all, more or less, actually following the Way, so as to cause them to be conscious of what they are doing.
