Unity of Image-numerology and Moral Principle,Integrity of Heaven and Humanity:Unique Quality of the Yi zhuan

Yi zhuan, which had exerted far-reaching influence upon hermeneutics of the Zhouyi in the past dynasties, is the earliest literature extant which systematically interpreted the Ancient Text of the Zhouyi. Now that the Ancient Text of the Zhouyi is composed of the symbolic system and the statements affiliated to the hexagrams and lines, the relationship between the two components turned out to be a critical issue in the studies of the Zhouyi. For the authors of the Yi zhuan, the hexagram and line statements resulted from the sages' contemplation on the images conceived in the semiotic system whereas the moral principles exposed by the Zhouyi are based on the image-numerology. In other words, image-numerology conceives moral principles and they can not be separated into two. Furthermore, the unity of image-numerology and moral principles is unfolded against the integration of heaven and humanity. Deducing the Dao (Way) of human from the Dao of heaven is the theoretic bedrock against which the Yi zhuan expounded the unity of numerology and moral principles.