Knowledge of the Dao(Way)of the Three Powers of Heaven,Earth,and Man in the Yizhuan

The variety of schools of thought in the Springs and Autumns period(770-476BCE)and Warring States era(475-221BCE)in China shares the same idea that each of the three powers of Heaven,Earth,and Man possesses its own Dao(Way),but only the Yi zhuan(Commentaries on the Changes)made in-depth and coherent discussions on it and thus exerted far-reaching influence.In the Yi zhuan,Heaven and Earth have both bodies(ti 体)and qualities(de 德).The body of Heaven is manifested by the(invisible and intangible)qi(material force)of yinand yang,whereas the body of Earth is represented by both soft and solid materials.The qi of yinand yangactually refers to the field constituted by energy and information,while the soft and solid materials refer to a form of existence resulted from compacting of the qi or energy of yinyang.On the other hand,the quality of Heaven is represented by the ceaseless creativity and dynamism of Qian [■]while the quality of Earth is conveyed in the sustainable receptivity and compliance of Kun [■].Though both Heaven and Earth have their powers and qualities,only Man can connect these powers and unify these qualities.To be sure,this does not mean that Man's intelligence can replace(the powers of)Heaven and Earth in that Man is always self-limited,yet the existence of Man is not a simple replica of Heaven and Earth but is juxtaposed as one of the triad due to his particular qualities different from Heaven and Earth.