When discussing the beauty of the I Ching in the second section, we touched upon the third subtopic: the beauty of Heaven and Earth. Previously, we might have only exclaimed, “Oh Heaven, oh Earth!” — expressions of awe — yet Heaven and Earth themselves contain inexhaustible, profound beauty. Here, “Heaven” (Qian) is the celestial principle; it is not “the day before yesterday,” nor does it possess yesterday, today, or tomorrow. This is the concept of Heaven as understood in the Chinese worldview.
The I Ching explicitly addresses this:
> “Qian (Heaven) originates and is able to beautify all things with beneficence, benefiting the world.”
The Tuan Zhuan (Commentary on the Judgments) specifically elaborates on this line:
> “Through the transformations of the Way of Qian, all things attain their correct nature and destiny, preserving the great harmony. Thus, it is beneficial and steadfast.”
Later, the Kun hexagram (Earth) also mentions:
> “Containing beauty within, one may remain steadfast.”
This is the beauty of Heaven and Earth. The I Ching, the Wenyan Zhuan (Commentary on the Words), and the Tuan Zhuan all explicitly discuss the origin of this beauty. “Qian originates” refers to the Primordial (Yuan) — the beginning of life. The four virtues (Yuan Heng Li Zhen) represent:
– Yuan (Originating): The beginning of life.
– Heng (Developing): The flourishing and unimpeded growth of life.
– Li (Harmonizing): Harmony and balance — like the autumn harvest when all things are reaped and distributed according to the principle of harmony.
– Zhen (Steadfast): Correctness and consolidation — storing the harvest to sustain life with unwavering integrity.
Regarding “the transformations of the Way of Qian,” the Xiang Zhuan (Commentary on the Images) states:
> “Heaven moves with vigor. Thus, the noble person strives unceasingly to strengthen themselves.”
This is the transformation of the Way of Qian. “All things attain their correct nature and destiny, preserving the great harmony” signifies that each state — like the six dragons of Qian — finds its proper place. Everything fulfills its nature and purpose, maintaining harmony in diversity (he er bu tong). Harmony does not mean uniformity. As the saying goes:
> “The noble person seeks harmony but not uniformity; the petty person seeks uniformity but not harmony.”
Today, a classmate mentioned that some contemporary calligraphy employs “modern composition,” using pre-designed patterns to enlarge or shrink certain characters arbitrarily. This is essentially an AI-generated approach — not the work of true calligraphy. Exploration in calligraphy should not be limited to such methods, for they are unreliable.
All things are born of Heaven and completed by Earth (tian sheng di cheng). Each must maintain its rightful place in the natural order. Once formed, they exist in a state of harmony — the realm of “preserving the great harmony” (bao he tai he).
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