天地

天者何也?天之為言鎮也。居高理下，為人鎮也。

地者、易也。言養萬物懷任，交易變化也。

始起之天，始起先有太初，後有太始，形兆既成，名曰太素。混沌相連，視之不 見，聽之不闐，然後剖判清濁，既分，精(出曜)[曜出]布，(度)[庶]物施生，

精者為三光，號者為五行。[五]行生情[性]，情[性]生汁中，汁中生神明， 神明生道德，道德生文章。故《乾鑿度》曰:"太初者、氣之始也。太始者，形兆之 始也。太索者、質之始也。陽唱陰和，男行女隨也。"

天道所以左旋，地道右周何?以為天地動而不別，行而不雕，所以左旋。右周者、 猶君臣陰陽，相對之義。

男女揔名為人，天地所以無揔名何?曰:天圓地方不相類，故無揔名也。

君舒臣疾，卑者宜勞，天所以反常行何?以為陽不動無以行其教， 陰不靜無以成其化。雖終日乾乾，亦不離其處也。故《易》曰" 終日乾乾"，反覆道也。

XXXIV Heaven and Earth

207---Explanation of the Names Heaven and Earth (IV A. 1a).

a. What does t'ien 'Heaven' mean? T'ien means chên 'to govern' ¹. Resting on high, [Heaven] regulates [all that is] below it, governing on behalf of man.

b. Earth is created out of the primeval fluid, and is the ancestor of the ten thousand things. Ti 'Earth' means shih 'to spend', ti 'to examine' ². Responding [to Heaven] it spends [its nourishing powers] and brings about transformations; it investigates and examines unerringly; ³ reverencing the beginning it honours the end; therefore it is called ti.

208---The Beginnign of Heaven and Earth (IV A. 1b).

a. The ten thousand things contain the capacity of mutation and change. In the very beginning there was first the Great Origin ⁴, then came the Great Beginning ⁵; when the assuming of form was completed it was called the Great Simplicity ⁶. It was [still] chaotic, undivided, invisible, inaudible. Then it divided, and after the clear and the muddy were separated the infinitesimal and sparkling [elements] emerged and dispersed, and the multitudes of things were endowed with life.

b. The infinitesimal [elements] became the Three Luminary Bodies ⁷ and the Five Elements. The Five Elements produced the emotions and instincts; the emotions and instincts produced harmony and equilibrium⁸; harmony and equilibrium produced intelligence and understanding; intelligence and understanding produced the spiritual power [proceeding from the possession] of the Way; this again produced cultural refinement. ⁹ Therefore the Ch'ien tso tu says: "The Great Origin is the beginning of the [primeval] fluid; the Great Beginning is the beginning of the forms; the Great Smplicity is the beginning of matter ¹⁰. The yang leads, the yin conforms; the man goes [ahead], the woman follows" ¹¹.

209---The Meaning of the Left and Right Revolutions (IV A. 1b).

Why is it that Heaven's way is a revolution to the left, whereas that of Earth is a revolution to the right ¹²? Because Heaven and Earth, though moving, do not separate, and in going [their courses] do not leave each other. Therefore the revolutions to the left and right are like the oppositeness of Lord and subject, of the yin and the yang.

210---Why Heaven and Earth have No Generic Name (IV A. 2a).

The generic name for a man and a woman being 'man', why have Heaven and Earth no generic name? The answer is: Heaven is round, Earth is square; they are not of the same species, and have therefore no generic name.

211---Heaven Toils for Earth (IV A. 2a).

Since the Lord should be at ease while the Minister hurries because the inferior's duty is to toil, why, on the contrary, does Heaven work constantly? ¹³ Because if the yang did not move its discipline would not be practised, and if the yin were not quiescent it would not bring about its transformation. Though all the day active [the yang] never leaves its place. Therefore the I says: "All the day active, treading the Way over and over again". ¹⁴