Abstract

This paper investigates the theory of Yi(易) held by Shin Hudam(愼後聃, 1702‒1761) by examining his Zhouyixiangcixinbian(『周易象辭新編』). In particular, I focus on his interpretation of Qian Gua(乾卦) as it is the steppingstone of studying his theory of Yi. Shin starts to write Zhouyixiangcixinbian when he is 27 and finishes it at the age of 33. So, it represents his thoughts of Yi in the middle period of his academic career. In this book, Shin develops his own interpretation of Zhouyi(『周易』), drawing upon Cheng Yi’s and Zhu Xi’s theories. He divides Zhouyi with 12 sections as in Zhouyizhuanyi(『周易傳義』). However, unlike the existing way, he rearranged Zhouyi separating the Scriptures (經) from the Interpretations(傳). This reorganization reflects his view that there is a theoretical difference between the two different kinds of portions in Zhouyi. In interpreting the meaning of hexagram and the line, Shin fully analyzes the place of each line(爻) and its corresponding image(象). He draws out the implications of hexagram and the line without mentioning divination(占). Especially, he explicates each line based on the principle of lines’ change(爻變). Shin’s theory of Yi(易) is distinguished from Cheng Yi’s or Zhu Xi’s in that it is built upon the images and the principle of lines’ change in interpreting the lines. It also precedes one of the four interpretations of Zhouyi known as xiaobian(爻變) given by Jung Yakyoung(丁若鏞, 1762‒1836). In conclusion, Shin’s theory succeeds Chen Yi’s and Zhu Xi’s in that it employs the implications(義理), whereas it differs from them in that it highlights the place of each line and its corresponding image and takes the principle of the lines’ change as the principal method of interpreting Zhouyi.