On ZHENG Xuan's Yi-ology

Taking an exegetical and philological approach, this paper makes a thorough interpretation on a part of ZHENG Xuan's (127-200) annotations on Zhouyi, concluding that his Yi studies take both image-number and meaning-pattern, together with exegesis, into account. In the past, scholars held that ZHENG Xuan's thought on Yi inclines to image-number but neglects humane concerns. This is actually a misunderstanding. In the Han dynasty (206 B. C.-220 A. D.), interpreting Zhouyi by the Yao chen (correlation between the twelve earthly branches and the lines of hexagrams Qian [■] and Kun [■]) characterizes ZHENG's Yi-ology. Though his thought on Yi is full of insights, his interpretations do not thoroughly conform to or re-manifest the original meaning of Zhouyi, but are a distinctive thought derived from his own understanding.