"Alone", as a Result of Divination
A Study of the Wangjiatai Gui cang's Pure Yin Hexagram
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4630645 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Adam Craig Schwartz (0000-0002-8441-6657, Hong Kong Baptist University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 227-262 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-13 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bamboo and Silk (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2468-9238 • E-ISSN: 2468-9246 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/24689246-20220022 |
| OpenAlex | W4296049648 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 6 |
The present study offers a new reading of the Wangjiatai Gui cang's pure yin hexagram text. I make a comprehensive analysis of the composition and layered texture of the text, by employing a methodology to engage with its images and narratives at an emic level. I determine that there is an iconographic resemblance between the hexagram picture and the graph writing its name, identify an image program centered on being "alone", "inhumanity", and "water", and provide a context for the independent but interlocking narratives of Xia king Qi and Gong gong. Taken together, evidence points to Gua 寡 "Alone" as the candidate with the lowest odds among various proposals for the hexagram's name. The overall meaning of "Alone" is that being bad, self-serving, and immoral will lead to one being divested of spiritual blessings and support of the people. The image of water in the two narratives is a metaphor for wantonness that also functions as a conduit for its disposal
Art · Context (archaeology · Divination · Emic and etic · Epistemology · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential · Meditation · Metaphor · Narrative · Sociology · Theology · Chinese history and philosophy · History · Philosophy · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2022 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |