An Investigation into the Exegeses of the Phrase “San Tian Liang Di” in the Commentary on the Book of Changes
Resource
臺大中文學報, 36, 035-064
Journal
臺大中文學報
Journal Issue
36
Pages
035-064
Date Issued
2012-03
Date
2012-03
Author(s)
Ho, C.H.
Abstract
It is widely known by scholars studying the Book of Changes that the sentence “San tian liang di er yi shu (The number 3 is assigned to heaven, 2 to earth, and from these come the (other) numbers)” in the chapter “Shuogua (Remarks on the Trigrams)” is closely connected with the numbers of divination. Throughout the history, however, there have been numerous explanations for the concrete idea of “san tian liang di.” Since most explanations involve “tian di zhi shu (the numbers of heaven and earth)” and “da yan zhi shu (the number of the Great Expansion)” mentioned in the chapter “Xicizhuan (Explanation of the Trigrams),” this phrase is difficult for learners of the Book of Changes to understand.
This paper firstly determines the phrase’s meaning based on the main idea of the whole chapter and analyses the most important annotations made by scholars in the Han and Song Dynasties. Ma Rong and Zheng Xuan’s theories are too simplified to make people understand, but they still have some advantages. Later scholars like Han Kang-Bo, Kong Ying-Da and Zhu Xi are unsatisfied with their previous theories, so they create new explanations of their own, which turn out to be too weak to refer to. Li Li believes that “san tian liang di” is actually “can tian er di,” meaning “to tally with the numbers of heaven and earth.” By examining ancient written records in the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties, this paper concludes with the appropriate explanations of “san tian liang di”.
Subjects
說卦、參天兩地、參天貳地、天地之數、大衍之數(“Shuogua,” san tian liang di, can tian er di, the numbers of heaven and earth, the number of the Great Expansion.）
Type
journal article
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