Student ID: 658014

Student Name: Paolo Pacetto

Course Code: 15PEAC006
Tutor: Prof Bernhard Führer
Word Count: 2454
Term 1 Essay

Hexagram 36, “Mingyi”

Reinstating the Viscount of Ji
Few texts have been so influential as the Zhouyi 周易 (Zhou Changes) in Chinese and then world history; and

few texts have shown such a versatility for the delight of the commentators, usually forced to dance in chains.

Perhaps it is not a bad pun to say that the Changes could be marvellously adapted to the changes of times

and related ideas: different times, different concerns, different readings (not to mention individual

microcosms). This essay will focus on hexagram 36, i.e. “Mingyi” 明夷 (Wounding of the Light)1, and explore

how Kong Yingda 孔颖达 (574-648) read, or perhaps wanted others to read, this hexagram as compared to

the interpretation of Wang Bi 王弼 (226-249).

In Zhouyi commentarial tradition, “Mingyi” has always been a rather sensitive hexagram. A situation in which

an enlightened official is oppressed by the shadow of an obscure ruler could easily be seen as a good reason

for abandoning one’s post or, even worse, for overthrowing an autocratic ruler. Interpretations of this kind

are found in Xun Shuang’s 荀爽 (128–190) commentary2 and are well epitomised in Huang Zongxi’s 黃宗羲

(1610 -1695) Mingyi daifang lu 明夷待訪錄.3 To avoid controversial readings of the classics was certainly one

of the main concerns of the imperially sponsored Wujing zhengyi 五經正義 (Correct Meaning of the Five

Classics). Kong Yingda was well aware of Xun Shuang’s text4 and, as chief editor of an official project, certainly

aimed at stating clearly, once and for all, what Wang Bi’s commentary (motivated by concerns of a different

kind) had left vague or unsaid. Wang Bi’s silence on the first lines of the “Mingyi” hexagram gave Kong Yingda

the perfect chance to express his own thesis without feeling the shackles of his earlier colleague.

1
If we are to follow Kong Yingda’s gloss on yi 夷 (“夷者，傷也” Li, Zhouyi zhengyi, 155), “Wounding of the Light”
appears to be a more appropriate rendition, as compared to Richard Lynn’s “Suppression of the Light” or Richard
Wilhelm’s “Darkening of the Light”.
2
See Chen, "A Confucian Magnate's Idea”, 86.
3
See Bary, Waiting for the Dawn (1994).
4
Xun Shuang is listed in the transmission line in Kong Yingda’s xu 序 (preface) to the Zhouyi zhengyi 周易正義 (Correct
Meaning of the Zhou Changes). Li, Zhouyi zhengyi, 11.
1.1

The Wounding of the Light: [there is] benefit [if in] difficulties [one has] constancy.
Correct Meaning says - “The Wounding of the Light” [is] the name of the hexagram. “Wounding” means “injuring”. [In]
this hexagram the sun enters the middle of the earth: [it is] the image of the Wounding of the Light. It can be extended
to the affairs of men, an unenlightened ruler is above, an enlightened official is below. Not daring to show one’s
enlightened sagacity is indeed the meaning of the Wounding of the Light. Even if the circumstance is extremely
unenlightened, [one] cannot follow the times and incline to heterodoxy, therefore it is appropriate to be staunch and
firm in difficulties and hardships, maintaining one’s quality of constancy and rectitude. Therefore, in times when
Enlightenment is Wounded, [there is] benefit [if] in difficulties [one has] constancy.

Here, Kong Yingda starts to unfold his “corrected” reading of the hexagram. First of all, it is worth noticing

that he considers the images enclosed in the hexagram (i.e. the elements represented by its two trigrams:

the “sun” or “fire” of “Li” 離 and the “earth” of “Kun” 坤) as a valid point for his argument. Kong Yingda’s

attention to the images is rather alien to Wang Bi, who, in his entire commentary to the Zhouyi, generally

discards them as bothersome intermediaries between the text and its meaning. Wang Bi’s theory of “getting

rid of the images” can be appreciated in the “Mingxiang” 明象 (Clarifying the Images) section of his Zhouyi

lüeli 周易略例 (General Remarks on the Zhou Changes), which stands as a collection of programmatic essays

to complement his interlinear commentary.

“Words: they are the means to enlighten [us] on the images. Once [one] gets the images, [he] forgets
the words. Images: they are the means to store the ideas. Once [one] gets the ideas, [he] forgets the
images. […] Therefore, once [one] establishes the images to wholly understand the ideas, the images
can be forgotten.”5

Wang Bi’s conception of images as snares for the mind and his emphasis on ideas, and therefore meanings,

are a major break from Han 漢 dynasty (202 BCE– 220) commentarial tradition, eager to find cosmological

correlations for any image or number hidden in the hexagrams. Later scholasticism labelled Wang Bi as the

forerunner of the yili 義理 (images and principles) school, in opposition to the Han xiangshu 象數 (images

and numbers) school. Kong Yingda, for his part, appears to harmonise to a certain degree the two stances

5
“言者所以明象，得象而忘言。象者所以存意，得意而忘象。 […] 故立象以盡意而象可忘也。” Lou, Wang Bi ji
jiaoshi, 609.
and uses both to support his arguments. 6 He states this very clearly in his subcommentary to the “Kun” 坤

hexagram.

“All the changes: they are images. [One] is enlightened on the affairs of men through the images of
things; it is like metaphors in the Poems.”7

It is evident from Kong Yingda’s subcommentary to passage 1.1 that he applies these images to the world of

men in order to extract a strong political meaning from them (the final aim is “meaning” for Kong Yingda too).

The underlying metaphor in “Mingyi” is that of a clear hierarchy of roles (the ruler and the official) that cannot

be reversed. It is interesting to note that, in his commentary to this hexagram, Wang Bi never uses the term

chen 臣 (official) nor xie 邪 (heterodoxy). The latter seems to be a fundamental word for Kong Yingda, who

reiterates it twice in his subcommentary to the Judgements (Tuan 彖).

1.2
“[…] [he] has perils and difficulties inside and the fortune of Yin are about to decline, but [he] is able to rectify his own
will and does not commit acts of heterodoxy: only the Viscount of Ji was able to apply this […]” 8

The Viscount of Ji 箕 seems to play a key role in embodying the quality of constancy that an official is expected

to have. The reign of the terrible King Zhou 紂 is about to fall, but he does not act against it and conceals his

enlightenment for fear of falling into the way of heterodoxy (晦其明恐陷於邪道 9 ). Again, Wang Bi is

inexplicably silent here, but then comments the Images (Xiang 象). He engages in a parallelism between

“Mingyi” and some passages from Chapter 65 of the Laozi 老子10, where the good sovereign is seen as one

who does not show enlightenment but instead keeps people in ignorance. Kong Yingda, who had a clear run

in the first lines of the hexagram, seconds Wang Bi in his abstract travel through the hexagram, but later

6
Zhu, Yixue zhexue shi, 343.
7
凡易者象也。以物象而明人事，若《詩》之比喻也 Li, Zhouyi zhengyi, 27.
8
Ibid., 155.
9
Ibid.
10
Cfr. Lou, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 168.
reminds the reader in his subcommentary to the Third Yang that the one who hastily kills the unenlightened

ruler and aims at rectifying the common people, whose transformation must be gradual, is a chen.

1.3

Fouth Yin: [He] enters in the [left side of the] belly, obtains the heart and mind of the
Wounding of the Light. [He] is exiting the courtyard of the gates.
“Left” means that [one] assumes his compliance. [He] enters in the left [side of the] belly, gets the ideas in
his heart and mind; therefore, although [he] is near, [he] is not in danger. He follows the circumstance and
avoids hardships. Just [to exit] the courtyard of the gates and nothing else: would this not be disobedience
and defiance?
Correct Meaning says - “[He] enters in the [left side of the] belly, obtains the heart and mind of the Wounding of the
Light”: generally, the right is used to [deal with] affairs; to follow his left and not to follow his right, this is when the low
is compliant and does not disobey. “Belly”, it is the earth that embraces11 [one’s] tendencies. In the body of Sixth Yin, a
weak [line] is located in Pure Yin, it is near to the Upper Sixth: this is being able to hold the compliance of the low […]

Here, Kong Yingda puts more clarity on Wang Bi’s statements. First, he adds more emphasis on the

importance of the left vis-à-vis the right: the left is the side of the low (bei 卑), the place where one can exert

compliance (shun 順) and obeisance (buni 不逆). Moreover, he strengthens his argument by using the

correspondences between lines, a further proof of the necessity for the low to be compliant. Finally, Wang

Bi’s rhetorical question introduced by nengbu 能不 is turned into a clear assertion.

1.4

Fifth Yin - The Enlightenment of the Viscount of Ji is Wounded: [there is] benefit [in
having] constancy.
[This is] the closest to concealment and in contiguity with hardships, no peril has been as such. But in the
middle of this, still the unenlightened is not able to sink and the enlightened cannot disappear. Rectitude is
not afraid of the danger; therefore, “[there is] benefit [in having] constancy”.
Correct Meaning says -“The Enlightenment of the Viscount of Ji is Wounded”: Fifth Yin is the closest to the unenlightened
lord, it is like the Viscount of Ji being near to Zhou of Yin, therefore “The Enlightenment of the Viscount of Ji is Wounded.”
“[He] benefits [in having] constancy”: the Viscount of Ji holds [his] will and does not deviate. The unenlightened is not
able to sink and the enlightened cannot disappear. Rectitude does not fear the danger, therefore, “[there is] benefit [in
having] constancy”.

11
Some versions have huai 怀 instead of shi 事. Li, Zhouyi zhengyi, 157.
Fifth Yin offers an interesting insight into Kong Yingda’s reading of the “Mingyi” hexagram. As said before,

the Viscount of Ji appears to be a key element for Kong Yingda, a historical proof of what an official is

expected to do in the case of an unenlightened ruler (i.e. King Zhou of Yin). Even King Wen 文 plays a

secondary role here. The Viscount of Ji was able to endure every kind of vexations perpetrated by his ruler,

King Zhou, without deviating but just waiting for the advent of a new ruler, King Wu 武. This is because he

had constancy, loyalty to the idea of rulership. Ji is, on the other hand, absent from Wang’s commentary not

only to this hexagram but also to the whole Zhouyi. Why? The answer revolves around the interpretation of

the very two characters ji 箕 and zi 子. According to Jiao Xun 焦循 (1763-1820), Wang would have read the

two not as a name but as qi 其 and ci 兹 .12 This would explain his complete neglect of the figure of the

Viscount of Ji. The passage in question had already been cause of concerns for Zhouyi scholars. As far back

as in the Hanshu 漢書 (Book of Han) we find some evidence on the debate 13 on these two characters,

interpreted by a disciple of Meng Xi 孟喜 (fl. 90-40 BCE), Zhao Bin 趙賓 (?-?), as “the root of the Myriad

Things.” 14 Although this interpretation could have arguably be of some appeal to Wang, his take on the

passage is rather that of considering the two characters as two phonetic loans. If Jiao Xun’s opinion on Wang’s

reading might appear rather far-fetched15, it is anyhow very likely that Wang Bi’s silence on the Judgements

suggests some hesitations in dealing with the passage. Kong Yingda, on the other hand, sided for a different

reading of the line and took full advantage of Wang Bi’s hesitations, injected his political views on the loyalty

of officials no matter how despicable the ruler is.

1.5

Images – The constancy of the Viscount of Ji is that [his] enlightenment cannot

disappear.
Correct Meaning says – [In] “the enlightenment cannot disappear”, “to disappear” means “to be extinguished”. What
the Images refer as “the enlightenment cannot disappear” enlightens [on the fact that] the Viscount of Ji was able to
keep his constancy and finally, with his whole person, became King Wu’s counsellor.

12
Jiao, Yixue sanshu, 379.
13
For a list of historical interpretations of Jizi, see Liang, “Guanyu “Yi – Mingyi” liu wu yaoci” (2009).
14
箕子者，萬物方荄茲. Ban, Hanshu, 3599.
15
See Lou, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 400.
The full reinstatement of the figure of the Viscount of Ji in Kong Yingda’s subcommentary ends with what

would seem a veiled instruction for the would-be officials reading the hexagram in the official version. With

his constancy, the Viscount of Ji could endure the debauchery of his ruler and by not showing off his

enlightenment, he could avoid the path towards heterodoxy, saving not only his very enlightenment but also

his life. The shen 身 which appears in expressions like “[his] person was preserved [in its] entirety”16 and

“with his whole person”17 might have meant more than a “moral self”. Eventually, there is still the hope of

showing one’s talents at the service of the next ruler, as the Viscount of Ji did under King Wu.

Conclusion

As seen above, Kong Yingda was certainly not the person depicted in the Siku tiyao 四庫提要 (Summary of

the Four Treasures) as a traditionalist and conservative scholar faithful to Wang Bi’s commentary.18 Kong

Yingda had, in fact, a margin of independence and did not hesitate to take a stance different from that of

Wang Bi, especially when the latter had left considerable gaps in his commentary. “Mingyi” is thus taken

from the realm of vague abstraction to the world of political concreteness. It is true the Wang Bi’s approach

to the Zhouyi was not void of political discourse,19 but Kong Yingda had many more reasons for doing so, and

not only personal ones.

16
身得保全. Li, Zhouyi zhengyi, 155.
17
以全身. Ibidem, 158.
18
墨守專門. Ibidem, 2.
19
Hon, The Yijing and Chinese politics, 35.
Appendix (Chosen extracts)

1.1

明夷：利艱貞。
[疏]正義曰：「明夷」，卦名。夷者，傷也。此卦日入地中，明夷之象。施之於人事，暗主在上，明
臣在下，不敢顯其明智，亦明夷之義也。時雖至暗，不可隨世傾邪，故宜艱難堅固，守其貞正之德。
故明夷之世，利在艱貞。 20

1.2

[…] 內有險難，殷祚將傾，而能自正其志，不為而邪幹，惟箕子能用之 […]21

1.3

六四：入於左腹，獲明夷之心，於出門庭。左者，取其順也。入於左腹，得其心
意，故雖近不危。隨時辟難，門庭而巳，能不逆忤也。

[疏]正義曰：「入於左腹獲明夷之心」者，凡右為用事也。從其左不從其右，是卑順不逆也。「腹」
者，事情之地。六四體柔處坤，與上六相近，是能執卑順 […] 22

1.4

六五：箕子之明夷，利貞。最近於晦，與難為比，險莫如茲。而在斯中，猶暗不能沒，
明不可息，正不憂危，故「利貞」也。

[疏]正義曰：「箕子之明夷」者，六五最比暗君，似箕子之近殷紂，故曰「箕子之明夷」也。「利貞」
者，箕子執志不回，「暗不能沒，明不可息，正不憂危」，故曰「利貞。 23

1.5

《象》曰：箕子之貞，明不可息也。
[疏]正義曰：「明不可息也」者，息，滅也。《象》稱「明不可滅」者，明箕子能保其貞，卒以全身，
為武王師也。24

20
Li, Zhouyi zhengyi, 155.
21
Ibid., 155.
22
Ibid., 157.
23
Ibid., 158.
24
Ibid., 158.
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