Chapter 122: Chapter 99: You’re Obsessed with Appearances!

“Old man, teach me to learn the Book of Changes.”

Lu Jiu’s current technique for Acupoint Opening requires knowledge related to the Book of Changes.

If he could understand a bit about the Book of Changes, it would also enhance his medical skills.

Moreover, as Medicine King Sun Simiao once said, “Without knowing the Book of Changes, one is not qualified to speak as an Imperial Physician.”

If a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner doesn’t understand the Book of Changes, they can only remain an ordinary physician. Therefore, to reach the level of a Top Doctor, studying the Book of Changes is essential, and one must study it thoroughly!

Among those around Lu Jiu, only the old man understood the Book of Changes.

“Hmm, let me first pack up the chives.” The old man smiled.

Saying this, the old man went into the main room, put the chives from the basin into a large bowl, then sealed it with a white cloth, washed his hands, and took out an already yellowed booklet from the room.

“To learn the Book of Changes, you must first learn the hexagrams. I’ll start by teaching you the sixty-four hexagrams. You should memorize them first, then comprehend…”

Under the night sky, the old man relied on a low-wattage lamp hanging from the eaves for illumination. Despite his age, in his seventies or eighties, his vision remained clear without presbyopia, which was quite remarkable.

“Qian: Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen. Initial Nine: Hidden dragon, do not use. Nine Two: Dragon appearing in the field, beneficial to see great people. Nine Three: The gentleman is diligent all day, careful in the evening, no fault…”

“Yuan is the beginning of heaven, Heng is prosperity, Li is beneficial, Zhen is observation…”

“…”

The old man explained in detail. Besides reciting the ancient text for Lu Jiu to recite, he also translated and explained its meaning.

Even so, Lu Jiu found it quite challenging to grasp.

Fortunately, Lu Jiu knew some learning methods. As the old man explained, he picked up a piece of broken red brick, listening while drawing.

A hexagram is composed of trigrams, and by drawing simultaneously, his mind, eyes, and hands were engaged. Along with listening, this method enhanced his memory, preventing him from forgetting immediately.

As for understanding, that naturally comes with hearing the meanings several times.

Unknowingly, one or two hours passed, but the old man had only covered five hexagrams.

“Phew~ Old man, that’s enough. If you keep going, I’m afraid my cup will explode.” Lu Jiu said.

By this time, he almost forgot the content of the first Qian hexagram. In this state, continuing to listen was pointless.

“Hehehe, take it slow. If it’s too much for you, I’ll teach fewer hexagrams next time.” The old man chuckled.

“I’m quite curious about how trigrams and hexagrams came to be. Why did the ancients use these things for scholarly pursuits?” Lu Jiu asked.

“The Dao has transformations, hence called trigrams; trigrams have distinctions, hence called objects; objects intermingle, hence called text; when the text is inappropriate, blessings and curses arise. This should answer your curiosity. Trigrams are merely symbolic interpretations by the ancients of natural changes—a single line for a yang trigram, two lines for a yin trigram. Changes in yin and yang result in material transformations, like water from high mountains, seas, snow, and rain—it varies with time and position. The base determines the nature of the object, time and position determine its development, and the interplay of everything forms the text. Impropriety in the text means yang not being yang, yin not being yin, leading to signs of fortune and misfortune, like hexagrams signifying mismatched virtues.” The old man explained.

Lu Jiu pondered for a moment, recalling the opening line of the Chapter on yin and yang in the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, “Yin and Yang are the Dao of heaven and earth, the fundamental principles of all things, the origin of transformation, the root of birth and death, and the dwelling of the divine.”

This sentence is not difficult to understand, roughly stating that yin and yang are the great Dao of the cosmic world, the principles of all things, the origin of changes, the root of life and death, and the repository of the divine.

In the Book of Changes, yin and yang are replaced by tangible symbols called trigrams, which gave rise to hexagrams. Each hexagram explains the rules of heaven and earth, indicating that the ancient ancestors were studying the laws of nature and providing a series of derivation formulas.

The Book of Changes is the culmination of these formulas!

But how did they manage to combine these rules with hexagrams?

Just thinking about it made Lu Jiu’s head spin, let alone the terrifying wisdom of the ancients who created these things.

Regardless of whether these things are real or reasonable in explaining the laws of nature, the mere creation of such constructs requires wisdom unattainable by ordinary people.

If this knowledge indeed were false, could the Book of Changes truly deceive each generation of incredibly intelligent ancient people throughout Huaxia’s thousands of years of civilization?

Lu Jiu recalled the mockery of ancient people he read online and couldn’t help but chuckle. In terms of breadth of knowledge, people today are indeed superior to the ancients. But in terms of wisdom, the mere creation of the ancient seismoscope, irreplicable by modern technology, proves the ancients weren’t as simplistic as we imagine.

After all, the binary principle leading the current technological revolution through computers is no different from yin and yang theory. The person who combined binary with electronic circuits, revolutionizing computing algorithms, was indeed Zhu Chuanju, a Huaxia person.

Coincidentally, when a certain country published its list of researchers, it omitted only this name.

As a result, even now, when discussing the inventors of computers, very few know of this great figure’s existence.

“Old man, what if Huaxia’s technology hadn’t been interrupted back then and our development followed the yin-yang theory? Would we have created a different technological world from what we have now?” Lu Jiu humorously asked.

The old man shook his head, “No.”

Lu Jiu was puzzled, “You’re so certain?”

The old man smiled, “There is no creation, everything is just discovery.”

Lu Jiu said, “No creation? What about all the inventions throughout history? Discoveries?”

The old man smiled, “Yes.”

Thinking the old man misunderstood, Lu Jiu continued, “What about mobile phones and computers, and the rockets and satellites developed by the nation? Are these discoveries too?”

The old man smiled, “Indeed they are.”

Lu Jiu frowned, “Old man, if you say that, it sounds a bit idealistic.”

The old man smiled, “Creation is the process of bringing something from nothing. Whether it’s mobile phones, computers, rockets, or satellites, the raw materials they require and the theoretical systems they need have existed in this world for thousands of years. They were simply unknown and unexplored, so naturally, they remained undiscovered.”

“The world we know has its unique regulations. When it reaches a certain level of development, it reveals aspects to humanity. The key factor determining this development level is what’s known as ’productivity’ in modern theories. When productivity aligns with the laws present in the heavens and earth, the heavens bestow inspirations upon people, driving them to uncover new things. Thus, even if Huaxia’s technology didn’t interrupt, without reaching that alignment of productivity and laws, new things wouldn’t emerge.”

It’s a bit convoluted.

Lu Jiu felt that the old man’s words challenged his understanding of science.

But what he said was not entirely unreasonable.

“According to your logic, everything we have now is given by the heavens?” Lu Jiu asked.

The old man smiled, “This world certainly possesses some fundamental materials that dictate the future world, along with their requisite laws. Without the heavens’ provision, how could you discover them? Just like the thoughts you now hold—are they truly your own? Might they have emerged from the influences of family, education, society, and environment? How much initiative do you have in this process? Can you truly distinguish it?”

Lu Jiu was bewildered.

My thoughts, not my own thoughts?

But shaped by the world, the thoughts I thought were from me?

A bit tangled!

The mind feels tangled!

Lu Jiu felt his brain was indeed overloaded!

In time, Lu Jiu stared at the old man, “Old man, am I still me?”

The old man laughed heartily, “You are certainly you, for everything external in this world might be given by the heavens. But life, coming from nothing, makes each person the most unique existence. That’s why we in the Daoist School focus on practicing this life, not the next!”

“The greed, anger, and ignorance within humanity are tests bestowed by the heavens. Overemphasis only leads to losing one’s true heart. Thus, one’s thoughts move with the heavens, blending with Nature, pursuing the source of all laws. Achieving a state of no desires, no suffering or illness, is our greatest practice in this lifetime. You, however, are caught up in appearances!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep