At a glance
- Structural emphasis
- Images, positions and numerical order
- Philosophical emphasis
- Wording and ethical reasoning
Definition and terminology
Images-and-numbers approaches examine line forms, trigrams, positions, directions and numerical relations. Meaning-and-principle approaches emphasize wording, situations and philosophical or ethical reasoning. These labels do not divide all commentators into two isolated camps. A single interpretation can use structural positions to explain ethical claims and wording to constrain image associations.
Structure and rules
A structural approach identifies relationships before selecting documented associations; a philosophical approach clarifies statements and arguments before considering application. Both need constraints: free association and projecting modern values can each distort reading. The Xici itself discusses images, words, change and divination together, showing that these resources can overlap.
Worked reading
For Qian, Modesty, identify Gen below Kun and the image of mountain within earth, then consider an ethical reading about achievement and restraint. Ask whether the wording supports the proposed lesson. The exercise compares methods; it does not establish a person’s humility from a diagram or guarantee that restraint earns a reward.
Context and limits
Han and Song interpretation are often contrasted for teaching purposes, but neither period lacked the other emphasis. School terminology also changed. A reliable entry presents representative texts and reasoning rather than an unsupported ranking of divinatory accuracy. Comparing approaches makes interpretation transparent while leaving textual research and empirical questions distinct.
References & further reading
Historical sources document ideas and rules of their time, not empirical proof of predictive accuracy. Source notes identify the nature and scope of each reference.
- 《易传·系辞上》Primary / tradition source
Public-domain commentary; traditional accounts of polarity, taiji, images and stalk divination; traditional attribution is not settled authorship.
- 《易传·说卦》Primary / tradition source
Public-domain commentary documenting traditional trigram associations and directions.
- 《周易》Primary / tradition source
Public-domain classic; documents hexagrams and textual statements, not predictive effectiveness.