存性編卷二
PART TWO.

性圖
Section One. Diagrams of the Nature.

竊謂宋儒皆未得孟子性善宗旨。故先繪朱子圖於前，而繪愚妄七圖於後，以請正于高明長者。
I maintain that none of the Song Confucians attained to [a good understanding of] the fundamental teaching of Mencius on the goodness of the Nature. Thus I will first reproduce Master Zhu's diagram of the Nature, and then hazard to draw my own seven diagrams in order to seek correction from my eminent elders.

朱子性圖
Section Two. Master Zhu's Diagram of the Nature.

性善 (性無不善。)                                                         惡(惡不可謂從善中直下來，只是不能善，則偏於一端而為惡。)
Nature is Good (Nature has nothing that is not good.)        Evil. (Evil cannot be depicted as directly descending from good;
                                                                                         It is only the inability to be or do good, and so is biased toward one extreme
                                                                                         and becomes evil.)

又雲：「只是不能善。」此三字甚惑，果指何者不能為善也？上只有一性，若以性不能為善，則誣性也；若謂才或情不能為善，則誣才與情也；抑言別有所為 而不能 為善，則不明也。

 He also says: "[Evil] is only the inability to do good." These four words are exceedingly confused. What, after all, is being singled out as being unable to do good? There is only one "Nature" above it [in the diagram]. If it means that this Nature is unable to do good, then this statement slanders the Nature. If it means that (Capacity) or qing (Feeling) is unable to do good, then it defames cai or qing. Or if it means that there is something else that acts and yet is unable to do good, then the [statement] is unclear.

承此，雲「則偏於一端而為惡」，但不知是指性否？若指性則大非。「性善」二字，更無脫離。蓋性之未發，善也；雖性之已發，而中節與不中節 皆善也；謂之有惡，又誣性之甚也。

 Continuing from this [point] he says: "Thus one is biased to one extreme and does evil." But we do not know whether this statement refers to the Nature or not. If it refers to the Nature, it is a great wrong, for the words "Nature" and "good" are quite inseparable. That is to say, the Nature, being good before it issues forth [from the mind], remains good even though it may have already issued forth, and irrespective of whether or not it then hits the center of the interval [i.e., the mean]. To say that it has evil [at this time] is also a great slander of the Nature.

然則朱子何以圖也？反覆展玩，乃曉然見其意，蓋明天命之性與氣質之性之別，故上二字注之曰「性無不善」，謂其所言天命之 性也；下二字「善」「惡」並列，謂其所言氣質之性也。噫！氣質非天所命乎？抑天命人以性善，又命人以氣質惡，有此二命乎？然則程、張諸儒氣質之性愈分析， 孔、孟之性旨愈晦蒙矣。此所以敢妄議其不妥也。

 Then why did Master Zhu diagram it in this way? I mulled it over in my mind and then his intent suddenly dawned on me. It must have been to clarify the distinction between the Nature as given by the Mandate of Heaven and the Nature as found in materialized lifebreath. Therefore he annotates the above words ["Nature is good"] by saying "Nature has nothing not good," referring to the Nature said by him to be given by the Mandate of Heaven. The two words written side by side below, "Good" and "Evil," refer to what he calls the Nature as found in materialized lifebreath. Oh! Is not the materialized lifebreath given by the Mandate of Heaven? Or does Heaven mandate for humans that their Nature be good, and again mandate for them that their materialized lifebreath be evil? Are there indeed these two mandates? So the more the Chengs, Zhang, and the various other [Song] Confucians analyze the Nature found manifest in materialized lifebreath, the more the teaching of Confucius and Mencius on that Nature becomes obscured. This is why I dare to hazard criticism of their weak points.

妄見圖(凡七)
Section Three. Diagrams Hazarded for Inspection (a total of seven)

仆自頗知學來，讀宋先儒書，以為諸先正真堯、舜、孔、孟也。故于通書稱其為二論後僅見之文；尊周子為聖人，又謂得太極圖則一以貫之；大程子似顏子；于小學 稱朱子為聖人；於家禮尊如神明，曰如有用我者，舉此而措之；蓋全不覺其於三代以前之學有毫釐之差也。

From the time I first had some acquaintance with learning, I read the books of the earlier Confucians of the Song, and thought that these several earlier [Confucians] were truly like Yao, Shun, Confucius, and Mencius. Thus I proclaimed the [Zhou yi] tong-shu (Penetrating the Book of Changes) to be the only book [worthy] to be read after the Two Discourses [i.e., the Analects of Confucius and the Mencius]. I revered Zhou [Dun-yi] as a sage, said that the Tai-ji tu [Tai-ji diagram] provides that by which things may be "linked together by one [principle]." and that Master Cheng was like Master Yan [Hui]. On account of his Xiao-xue (Studies for Minors), I proclaimed Master Zhu to be a sage, and on account of his Jia-li (Family Ritual) I revered him like a spirit. I said that if "someone would employ me in public office," I would use these [texts] to manage affairs. I completely failed to perceive the slightest discrepancy between those texts and the learning from the third dynasty (i.e., the Zhou) and before.

惟至康熙戊申，不幸大故，一一式遵文公家禮，罔敢隕越；身曆之際，微覺有違於性情者，哀毀中亦不能辨也。及讀記中喪禮，始知其多錯誤。卒哭，王子法 幹來吊，謂之曰：「信乎，非聖人不可製作，非聖人亦不可刪定也！朱子之修禮，猶屬僭也。」蓋始知其非聖人也。至練後，哀稍殺，又病，不能純哀思，不若於哀 不至時略觀書。於是檢性理一冊，至朱子性圖，反覆不能解。久之，猛思朱子蓋為氣質之性而圖也，猛思堯、舜、禹、湯以及周、孔諸聖皆未嘗言氣質之性有惡也， 猛思孟子性善、才情皆可為善之論，誠可以建天地，質鬼神，考前王，俟百世，而諸儒不能及也。乃為妄見圖凡七，以申明孟子本意，

 It was only in the wu-shen year of the Kang Xi emperor [1668], when there was a death in my immediate family, that I carried out the provisions of the Jia-li (Family Ritual) of the Cultured Lord (Zhu Xi) one by one, not daring either to fall short or exceed their requirements, and during that personal experience had the faint feeling that there was something that went against the Nature and qing (Feelings) [therein]. But amid grief and its ravages I was unable to descry what it was. Only when I read the "Mourning Ritual" in the Li Ji (Book of Rites), did I first become cognizant of [the Jia Li's] many errors. When I had terminated my [ritually required] weeping period and Master Wang Fa-qian came to offer his condolences, I said to him: "Truly, he who is not a sage cannot institute [rituals], nor can one who is not a sage edit or emend. Master Zhu's act of revising the ritual seems to fall into the category of exceeding authority." It was in this way that I first realized that [Zhu Xi] was not a sage. After I had finished going through [the formal ceremony of mourning], and my grief was somewhat assuaged, I became ill in addition to everything else, and was unable to maintain the unadulterated presence of grief in my thoughts. Then, when grief could not be summoned, there was nothing better to do than to read a little. Thereupon I studied the Xing Li [Da Quan] (Great Compendium on Nature and Li), but when I came to Master Zhu's "Diagram of the Nature," I still could not comprehend it after repeated readings. After a long time it suddenly occurred to me that Master Zhu was making a diagram of the Nature of the materialized lifebreath (qi-zhi), and it [also] suddenly occurred to me that among the several sages, Yao, Shun, You, Tang, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius, none had ever said that the Nature of the materialized lifebreath has evil. I [further] suddenly realized that Mencius' theory that the Nature is good, and that qing (Feelings) and cai (Capacity) can do good, truly can be {{used to set Heaven and Earth to rights and to confront ghosts and spirits//established in the world [without conflict], examined by ghosts and spirits [without falling suspect], tested against [the institutions of] the early kings [of the Three Dynasties] without discovering error, and can wait a hundred generations for the reappearance of a sage, who will find no fault with it.}} Whether one examines the kings prior [to Mencius] or those who came for a hundred generations [after him], none of the various Confucians can match [this teaching]. So I made my several diagrams in order to expand upon the basic meaning of Mencius and hazard to put them forth for inspection.

此則其總圖也。
This is the summary diagram:

DIAGRAM OF THE TWO QI (Lifebreaths) AND THE FOUR DE (Powers) AMIDST INCHOATE HEAVEN AND EARTH TRANSFORMING AND GENERATING THE MYRIAD CREATURES

大圈，天道統體也。上帝主宰其中，不可以圖也。左陽也，右陰也，合之則陰陽無間也。陰陽流行而為四德，元、亨、利、貞也，(四德，先儒即分春、夏、秋、 冬，論語所謂「四時行」也。)橫豎正畫，四德正氣正理之達也，四角斜畫，四德間氣間理之達也。交斜之畫，象交通也；滿面小點，象萬物之化生也，莫不交通， 莫不化生也，無非是氣是理也。知理氣融為一片，則知陰陽二氣，天道之良能也；元、亨、利、貞四德，陰陽二氣之良能也；化生萬物，元、亨、利、貞四德之良能 也。知天道之二氣，二氣之四德，四德之生萬物莫非良能，則可以觀此圖矣。
The large circle represents the integral body of the Way of Heaven. The Lord on High rules at its center but cannot be diagrammed. The left is Yang and the right is Yin. Uniting them, there is no discontinuity between Yin and Yang. In their flux the Yin and Yang make the four De [Virtues]: Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness. (Yan Yuan's note: The earlier Confucians divided the four powers among spring, summer, fall, and winter. This is what the Lun Yu (Analects of Confucius) speaks of when it says: "The four seasons run their course." {17:17}) The [two] vertical and [two] horizontal lines [radiating from the center] are the loci (da 達, arrivals) of the normal[ly incident] lifebreath and the normal[ly incident] li of the four Virtues. The slanted lines from corner to corner are the images of intercourse. The small dots all over the surface are the images of the transformation and engendering (hua sheng) of the myriad creatures. There are none which are not in interaction, and none which are not transformed and engendered. There is nothing that is not this li and this lifebreath. When you know that the li and the lifebreath form a continuum, then you know that the two lifebreaths which are Yin and Yang are the "good potency" (liang neng) of the Way of Heaven; that the four Virtues called Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness are the "good potency" of the two lifebreaths which are Yin and Yang; that the transformation and engendering of the myriad creatures is the "good potency" of the four Powers, Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness. When you know concerning the two lifebreaths of the Way of Heaven, the four Powers of the two lifebreaths, and the transformation and engendering of the myriad creatures by the four Powers, that there is none which is not this "good potency," then you will be able to comprehend this diagram.

萬物之性，此理之賦也；萬物之氣質，此氣之凝也。正者此理此氣也，間者亦此理此氣也，交雜者莫非此理此氣也；高明者此理此氣也，卑暗者亦此理此氣 也，清厚者此理此氣也，濁薄者亦此理此氣也，長短、偏全、通塞莫非此理此氣也。至於人，則尤為萬物之粹，所謂「得天地之中以生」者也。二氣四德者，未凝結 之人也；人者，已凝結之二氣四德也。存之為仁、義、禮、智，謂之性者，以在內之元、亨、利、貞名之也；發之為惻隱、羞惡、辭讓、是非，謂之情者，以及物之 元、亨、利、貞言之也；才者，性之為情者也，是元、亨、利、貞之力也。謂情有惡，是謂已發之元、亨、利、貞，非未發之元、亨、利、貞也。謂才有惡，是謂蓄 者元、亨、利、貞，能作者非元、亨、利、貞也；謂氣質有惡，是元、亨、利、貞之理謂之天道，元、亨、利、貞之氣不謂之天道也。噫！天下有無理之氣乎？有無 氣之理乎？有二氣四德外之理氣乎？惡其發者，是即惡其存之漸也；惡其力者，是即惡其本之漸也；惡其氣者，是即惡其理之漸也。何也？人之性，即天之道也。以 性為有惡，則必以天道為有惡矣；以情為有惡，則必以元、亨、利、貞為有惡矣；以才為有惡，則必以天道流行幹幹不息者亦有惡矣；其勢不盡取三才而毀滅之不已 也。

The Natures of the myriad creatures are given (fu 賦) to them by li; the materialized lifebreath of the myriad creatures is the consolidation of this lifebreath. Those that are on the normal [lines of incidence] are of this li and this lifebreath. Those that are on [the slanted] median [lines] are also of this li and this lifebreath. Nothing produced by intercourse and mixture [between sectors] fails to be of this li and this lifebreath. What is eminent and bright is this li and this lifebreath. So is what is lowly and dark. What is clear and abundant is this li and this lifebreath. So is what is turbid and meager. Whether long or short, one-sided or well-rounded, in communication [with the center, the source of power and being] or blocked off, all are this li and this lifebreath. Coming now to humans, they are above all the purest among the myriad creatures. Of them it is said: "They are born by attaining to the center of Heaven and Earth." The two lifebreaths and four Virtues are the not-yet-consolidated humans, and humans are the already-consolidated two lifebreaths and four Virtues. As retained [within the body, the four Virtues] are Compassion, Justice, Propriety, and Wisdom, which are called [the four components of] the Nature, they being the names of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness when these are yet within. When they have issued forth, they are compassion and sympathy, shame and dislike, modesty and yielding, and approval and disapproval, which are spoken of as the four qing (Feelings) since they are the names of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness as these reach out to [external] things. Cai (Capacity) is the Nature in action as the qing; it is the motive power (li 力) of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness. To say that qing (Feelings) has evil is to say that the already-issued Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness are not [the same as] Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness before they have issued forth. To say that cai (Capacity) has evil is to say that the stored-up Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness possessing the ability to act are not [the real] Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness. To say that materialized lifebreath has evil is to say that the li of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness is the Way of Heaven, but the lifebreath of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness is not the Way of Heaven. Oh! Under Heaven is there any lifebreath without li? Is there any li or lifebreath other than those of the two lifebreaths [Yin and Yang] and the four Virtues? To despise these when they have issued forth is just a delayed (i.e., indirect) way of despising them in their latent form. To despise them in their potency is just a delayed form of despising them in their fundamental form. To despise the lifebreath is just a delayed form of despising the li. Why? Because the Nature of human beings is precisely the Way of Heaven. If one maintains that the Nature has evil, then one must maintain that the Way of Heaven has evil. If one maintains that the qing (Feelings) have evil, then one must maintain that Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness have evil. If one maintains that the Capacity has evil, then one must maintain that the Way of Heaven's flowing and ceaselessly producing things has evil. Is not the effect of this finally to bring unceasing destruction upon the Three Realms [i.e., Heaven, Earth, and humans]?

嗚呼！漢、魏以來，異端昌熾，如洪水滔天，吾聖人之道如病蠶吐絲，迨于五季而倍微。當此時，而以惑於異端者誣聖曰「聖人之言性本如是也」，必諸先正 之所不忍；天道昭布現前如此，聖經賢傳指示親切如此，而必以惑於世俗者誣天曰「天生人之氣質，本有惡也」，亦必諸先正之所不敢。其為此論，特如時諺所雲 「習俗移人，賢者不免」耳。是圖也，正就程、張、朱發明精確者一推衍之，非敢謂於先儒之見有加也，特不雜于荀、揚、佛、老而已矣；正即氣質之性一訂釋之， 非謂無氣質之性也，特不雜以引蔽習染而已矣。意之不能盡者，仍詳說於各圖下。無非欲人共見乎天道之無他，人性之本善，使古聖賢性習之原旨昭然複明於世，則 人知為絲毫之惡，皆自點其光瑩之本體，極神聖之善，始自踐其固有之形骸；而異端重性輕形因而滅絕倫紀之說，自不得以惑人心，喜靜惡動因而廢棄六藝之妄，自 不得以蕪正道。諸先正之英靈，必深喜其偶誤頓洗而大快乎！聖道重光，仆或幸可以告無罪矣。其辭不副意，未足闡天人之秘，或反汩性理者，庸陋亦不敢自保其無 也，願長者其賜教焉！
[A long polemical passage, the second half of page 3, has been omitted.]

DIAGRAM OF THE TWO LIFEBREATHS AND THE FOUR DE (VIRTUES) TRANSFORMING AND GENERATING THE MYRIAD BEINGS: ACTING IN CONCERT AND ACTING IN OPPOSITION, INTERTWINING AND PENETRATING, MESHING AND INTERWEAVING, SMOKING AND STEAMING, MUTATING AND ALTERING, REACTING AND IMPACTING, CONSOLIDATING AND DISPERSING, UNCOILING AND COILING.14



(Yan Yuan's note: The following three diagrams are excerpts taken from the main diagram for [more specific] discussion.)

COMMENTARY:
Yan Yuan has selected sixteen terms to represent what are apparently modes of interaction of the four Virtues. He has chosen many of these terms for their prominence in earlier philosophical texts such as the Appendices to the Yi Jing, but some terms seem to have Buddhist rather then Confucian associations. There is no practical interpretation given for most of these terms. There are eight pairs of terms in the text for this diagram, so by beginning with the terms used for the previous diagram we have a series of two, four, and now eight elements. But now rather than talking about cosmic forces themselves, Yan Yuan is talking about how these forces interact. -- PEM

陰陽流行而為四德。
 Yin and Yang flow and make the four Virtues. [Then the four Virtues:]

順者，如春德與夏德，順也；
Act in concert (shun) like the Virtues of spring and summer; such is acting in concert, [the one continuing the growing activity of the other].

逆者，如春德與秋德，逆也。
Act in opposition (ni) like the powers of spring and autumn; such is acting in opposition, [the one fostering growth, the other destroying it.]

交者，二德合或三四合也；
Intertwine (jiao), such as when two of the Virtues come together, or three or four of them come together.

通者，自一德達一德，或中達正、間，正、間達中，正達間，間達正，正、正達，間、間達之類也。
Penetrate (tong, to travel from one place to another as through a tube or channel), as when one Virtues impinges on (da, to arrive at) another Virtues -- whether it be the Virtues of the center impinging on the Virtues of [something at] a normal locus, or a locus of [equal] mixture; the Virtues of [something on] a normal locus, or a locus of mixture, impinging on the Virtues of the center; a Virtues of a normal locus impinging on the Virtues of a locus of mixture; the Virtues of a locus of mixture impinging on the Virtues of a normal locus; the Virtues of a normal locus impinging upon the Virtues of [another] normal locus; or the Virtues of a locus of mixture impinging upon the Virtues of another locus of mixture.

錯者，陰陽、剛柔彼此相對也；
Meshing/Negation (cuo): Yin and Yang, rigid and supple, each stands in direct opposition to the other [i.e., the elements of two things that are cuo are exactly opposite in terms of yin and yang, so that each is a negative image of the other like negative and positive images in photography.]

綜者，陰陽、剛柔上下相穿也。
Interweaving/Inversion (zong): Yin and Yang, rigid and supple, are exchanged for each other vertically [i.e., the elements of two cong things are inverted top to bottom in terms of yin and yang, so that each (hexagram or n-level figure) is an inverted image of the other like the image of a distant scene observed through a hand lens held at arms length.]

熏者，如香之熏物，居此及彼，以虛洽實，不必形接而臭至之也；
Smoking (xun): When fragrance "smokes" [i.e., perfumes] things, it stays here but reaches there, permeating solids (shi 實) across empty space, the scent reaching without the need for contact between physical forms.

烝者如烝食，如天地絪縕，下漸上也，一發而普遍也。
Steaming (zheng): Steaming is like steaming food, like the generative ethers (yin yun) of Heaven and Earth, which gently rise from below, but once they issue forth spread everywhere.

變者，化也，有而無也，無而有也，或德相變，或正、間、斜相變也，如田鼠化鴽，雀化為蛤之變也；
Mutation (bian): This is a [sudden] transformation from something to nothing, or from nothing to something. Perhaps the Virtues change among themselves, or perhaps the loci of the normal [incidence], the loci of intermixture, or the images of intercourse change. This is like the change of a field mouse into a quail, or of a sparrow into an oyster.

易者，神也，往來也，更代也，治也，陽乘陰，陰承陽也。
Altering (yi): This is something spiritlike, something that comes and goes, something that passes back and forth, something that creates an order, something wherein the Yang rides (cheng) the Yin, and the Yin takes from (cheng) the Yang.

感者，遙應也，如感月光，感蒼龍，感流星之類是也；
Reacting (gan): This is distant response, like reacting to the moon, reacting to the constellations of the Azure Dragon group, or reacting to shooting stars.

觸者，邂逅也，不期遇也，如一流複遇一流，舟行遇山，火發遇雨，雲集遇風之類是也。
Impacting (chu): This is contingent encounter or unanticipated meeting, such as a stream rejoining [after having branched upstream], a boat running up against a mountain, a fire that having sprung up encounters rain, or clouds that having gathered encounter [a dispersing] wind.

聚者，理氣結也，一德聚，或二三四德共聚也；
Consolidating (ju): This is the uniting of li and lifebreath. One Virtue may consolidate or two, three, or four Virtues may consolidate.

散者，散其聚也；
Dispersing (san): This is the dispersal of what has been consolidated.

舒者，縷長直去也；
Uncoiling (shu): This is like a thin silk thread stretching out straight.

卷者，回其舒也。
Coiling (juan): This is the return of what was uncoiled.

十六者，四德之變也。德惟四而其變十六，十六之變不可勝窮焉。
These sixteen are the permutations (bian) of the four Virtues. There are only four Virtues, but their permutations number sixteen. Then the [further] permutations of the sixteen are inexhaustible. [[i.e., the products of these sixteen can form higher and higher orders of permutations.]]

為運不息也，止有常也，照臨、薄食也，燦列、流隕、進退、隱見也，吹噓、震盪也，高下、平陂、土石、毛枯也，會分、燥濕、流止也，稚老、雕災、材灰 也，飛、潛、蠕、植，不可紀之狀也。
 [The above-mentioned sixteen permutations] operate in ceaseless cycles whose periods of latency are constant. What radiates light becomes eclipsed. What gleams forth becomes a falling star. What advances and withdraws goes into hiding. There is huffing and puffing, shaking and quaking, high and low, level and sloping. There is soil and stones, sprouting and withering. There is union and division, dryness and dampness, flowing and stagnation, youth and old age, formation and destruction, wood and ash, flying and submerging, wriggling around and rooting to the spot. Such are the innumerable phenomena [which flow from the sixteen permutations]!

至於人，清濁、厚薄、長短、高下，或有所清，有所濁，有時厚，有時薄，大長小長，大短小短，時高時下，參差無盡之變，皆四德之妙所為也。世固有妖氛瘴癘， 亦因人物有所激感而成，如人性之有引蔽習染，而非其本然也。
With respect to mankind, there are [variations as to] the clear and turbid, the generously and parsimoniously endowed, the long and short, the elevated and lowly. Some have that which is clear, and some have that which is turbid. There are times of generous and times of parsimonious endowment. This is a greater and lesser length, a greater and lesser shortness. There are times of height and times of lowness. These irregular and inexhaustible changes are all the acts of the inexplicable [power] of the four Virtues. And so the way in which miasmas and epidemics inevitably occur in the world because of emotional outbursts among humans and other creatures is like the way in which human Nature suffers from inducements, blindings, habituations, and stains that do not pertain to its original nature.

或謂既已感激而成妖瘴，則稟是氣而生者即為惡氣惡質。不知雖極污穢，及其生物，仍返其元，猶是純潔精粹二氣四德之人，不即污穢也。如糞中生五穀瓜 蔬，俱成佳品，斷不臭惡。穢朽生芝，鯀、瞍全聖，此其彰明較著者也。
 Some say that since the miasmas and epidemics are formed after the occurrence of emotional outbursts, then what was produced after receiving that lifebreath was [itself] an evil lifebreath and an evil zhi (substance). [[That is to say, a miasma is an evil lifebreath, so one might think that its product, should it somehow be organized into a living being, would be evil. But it is the influence it has on other things while it is a miasma that is evil, and this says nothing about what it might later be organized to become.]] Those [who would say this] do not know that although something be most filthy and unclean, when it gives birth to things it [in so doing] reverts to its primal state. Such is the case with a person: his two lifebreaths (Yin and Yang) and four Virtues being pure, clean, and refined [since no stain has been passed on from his parents] is not [as the Song Confucians would have it] filthy and unclean. This is like manure bringing forth the five grains, melons, and green vegetables that are all excellent products, and certainly not foul-smelling or bad. Dirty rotten wood produces the zhi fungus [[a fungus with a purplish stalk, valued because of it is believed to promote longevity and prosperity]]. Gun and Sou brought up perfect sages. The foregoing are some of the more striking and obvious examples [of pure things being produced from fouled sources].



DIAGRAM OF THE PRODUCTION BY TRANSFORMATION OF THE MYRIAD CREATURES FROM THE TWO LIFEBREATHS [YIN AND YANG], THE FOUR DE [AND THEIR ENSUING THIRTY-TWO THIRD-ORDER PERMUTATIONS]: CENTRALITY AND PERIPHERALITY, STRAIGHTNESS AND CROOKEDNESS, SQUARENESS AND ROUNDNESS, ACCESSIBILITY AND INACCESSIBILITY, EVENNESS AND SHARPNESS, DISPERSION AND ASSEMBLAGE, FARNESS AND NEARNESS, DIVERGENCE AND CONVERGENCE, GREATNESS AND SMALLNESS, GENEROSITY AND PARSIMONIOUSNESS, CLEARNESS AND TURBIDITY, STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS, HIGHNESS AND LOWNESS, LONGNESS AND SHORTNESS, FASTNESS AND SLOWNESS, COMPLETEDNESS AND DEFICIENCY.
 

 
四德之理氣，分合交感而生萬物。其稟乎四德之中者，則其性質調和，有大中之中，有正之中，有間之中，有斜之中，有中之中。
The li and the lifebreath of the four Virtues divide, unite, intertwine, and react, thereby producing the myriad creatures. Those creatures whose endowment comes from the center of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of harmony. There is the centrality of the great center, the centeredness of being on a line of normal incidence, the centeredness of being on an intermediary axis, the centeredness of being on a line of intercourse, and the centeredness of the center.

其稟乎四德之邊者，則其性質偏僻，有中之邊，有正之邊，有間之邊，斜之邊，邊之邊。其稟乎四德之直者，則性質端果，有中之直，正之直，間之直，斜之 直，直之直。
Those things whose endowment comes from the peripherality of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of one-sidedness and perversity. There is the peripherality of the center, the peripherality of the normals, the peripherality of being on an intermediary axis, the peripherality of being on a line of intercourse, and the peripherality of being on the periphery.

Those things whose endowment comes from the straightness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of decisiveness . . . .

其稟乎四德之屈者，則性質曲折，有中之屈，有正之屈，間之屈，斜之屈，屈之屈。
Those whose endowment comes from the crookedness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of convolution . . . .

其稟乎四德之方者，則性質板棱，有中之方，正之方，間之方，有斜之方，方之方。Those whose endowment comes from the squareness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of immobility . . . .

其稟乎圓者，則性質通便，有中之圓，正之圓，間之圓，斜之圓，圓之圓。
Those whose endowment comes from the roundness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being penetrating and facile . . . .

其稟乎四德之沖者，則性質繁華，有中之沖，有正之沖，有間之沖，有斜之沖，有沖之沖。
Those whose endowment comes from the accessibility of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being luxuriant . . . .

其稟乎僻者，則其性質閒靜，有中之僻，正之僻，間之僻，有斜之僻，有僻之僻。
Those whose endowment comes from the inaccessibility of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of tranquility . . . .

其稟乎四德之齊者性質漸鈍，
Those whose endowment comes from the evenness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being gradual and dull.

稟乎四德之銳者性質尖巧，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。Those whose endowment comes from the sharpness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being pointed and clever. Among these too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

稟乎四德之離者性質孤疏，
Those whose endowment comes from the divergence of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being alone and distant.

稟乎四德之合者性質親密，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。
Those whose endowment comes from the convergence of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being close and gregarious [literally, thick, the opposite of sparse]. Among those too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

稟乎四德之遠者則性質賓士，稟乎四德之近者則性質拘謹，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。
Those whose endowment comes from the farness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of haste.

missing
Those whose endowment comes from the nearness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of wariness. Among these too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

其稟乎違者性質乖左，
Those whose endowment comes from the divergence of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of perversity.

稟乎遇者性質湊濟，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。
Those whose endowment comes from the convergence have the innate characteristic of tractability. Among these too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

稟乎大者性質廣闊，
Those whose endowment comes from the greatness have the innate characteristic of being broad and wide.

稟乎小者性氣狹隘，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。
Those whose endowment comes from the smallness have the innate characteristics of being narrow and constricted. Among these too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

至於得其厚者敦龐，
Those whose endowment comes from its generosity are fruitful.

得其薄者磽瘠，
Those whose endowment comes from its parsimoniousness are barren.

得其清者聰明，
Those whose endowment comes from its clearness are intelligent.

得其濁者愚蠢，
Those whose endowment comes from its turbidity are stupid.

得其強者壯往，
Those whose endowment comes from its strength are stout and outgoing.

得其弱者退諉，
Those whose endowment comes from its weakness are retiring and undependable.

得其高者尊貴，
Those whose endowment comes from its highness are respected and noble.

得其下者卑賤，
Those whose endowment comes from its lowness are base and cheap.

得其長者壽固，
Those whose endowment comes from its longness are long-lived and tough.

得其短者夭折，
Those whose endowment comes from its shortness are short-lived and fragile.

得其疾者早速，
Those whose endowment comes from its fastness are early and speedy.

得其 遲者晚滯，
Those whose endowment comes from its slowness are late and slow.

得其全者充滿，
Those whose endowment comes from its completeness are filled-out and replete.

得其缺者破敗：亦莫不有中、正、間、斜之別焉。
Those whose endowment comes from its deficiency are tattered and broken. Of these too, there are none but have differences among the center, the normals, the mixtures/medians, the slanted lines of intercourse [et cetera].

此三十二類者，又十六變之變也，三十二類之變，又不可勝窮焉。然而不可勝窮者，不 外於三十二類也，三十二類不外於十六變也，十六變不外四德也，四德不外於二氣，二氣不外于天道也，舉不得以惡言也。昆蟲、草木、蛇蠍、豺狼，皆此天道之理 之氣所為，而不可以惡言，況所稱受天地之中、得天地之粹者乎！
These thirty-two kinds are permutations of the sixteen permutations. The [further] transformations of these thirty-two permutations are inexhaustible. And yet the inexhaustible does not go beyond these thirty-two transformations. The thirty-two transformations do not go beyond the sixteen permutations. The sixteen permutations do not go beyond the four Virtues. The four Virtues do not go beyond the Two Lifebreaths (Yin and Yang). The Two Lifebreaths do not go beyond the Way of Heaven. None can be spoken of as evil. Insects, grasses and trees, snakes and scorpions, jackals and wolves are all made by this li and this lifebreath, and evil cannot be predicated of them, much less of [humans who are] proclaimed to have received the centrality of Heaven and Earth, and to have gained the purity of Heaven and Earth.

Commentary:
Centrality refers to being near the metaphysical center of the universe, or to falling on or near the center of the diagram. Peripherality refers to being far from the metaphysical center of the universe, or to falling far from the center of the diagram. The other kinds of centeredness described seem to me to refer to points where the actions of the Four Powers are balanced in their impact on beings. For instance, some creature located on a diagonal in the NE direction received balanced impacts from the Powers of the north and the east, and also receive balanced impacts from the Powers of the south and west. However, there is an imbalance between the strengths of the Powers of north and east and the Powers of south and west, since the latter two are farther away.

THE SINGLE DEPICTION OF ONE QUADRANT, THAT OF ORIGINATION AND FLOURISHING PENETRATION, IN ORDER TO EXPLICATE ITS MEANING

全體者為全體之聖賢，偏勝者為偏至之聖賢，下至椿、津之友恭，牛宏之寬恕，皆不可謂非一節之聖。宋儒乃以偏為惡；不知偏不引蔽，偏亦善也，未可以引蔽之偏 誣偏也。木火一隅圖中，仁勝之說可玩也。
Those with a complete constitution become sages and worthies. Those with one-sided and overpowering constitutions become one-sided, extremist sages and worthies. Descending to the level of the friendship and respect of Chun and Jin, or the broad altruism of Niu Hong, they cannot be denied to be sages of one dimension [of virtue]. The Song Confucians took one-sidedness to be evil, not knowing that if one-sidedness be without inducement and obscuration, then it too is good. It is not permissible to defame [ordinary] one-sidedness by [attributing to it the evil of] one-sidedness subjected to inducement and obscuration. [From the foregoing discussion] one can test the theory that Benevolence is preponderant in the quadrant bounded by wood [the phase correlated with Benevolence] and fire [the phase correlated with the Sense of Ritual].

Commentary:
Yan Yuan's point is that one-sidedness is not sufficient in itself to produce evil. It is a weakness, and under certain environmental stresses it can lead to evil. The Song Confucians, Yan argues, see the opening provided for evil to develop and call the opening itself evil. -- PEM

或疑仁勝而無義，則氾濫失宜，將愛父母如路人，對盜賊而欷歔，豈不成其不宜之惡乎？仁勝而無禮，則節文不敷，將養父母同犬馬，逾東家摟處子，豈不成 其不檢之惡乎？仁勝而不智，則可否無辨，將從井救人，莫知子惡，豈不成其迷惑之惡乎？
 Some suspect that should Benevolence be preponderant, so that the Sense of Right and Wrong would be absent, then [that Benevolence] would overflow [its proper bounds] with a loss of what is proper, and subsequently a person would love his parents no more than if they were strangers on the road, while sighing after thieves and robbers. Would, [they ask,] these [errors] not constitute the evils of inappropriateness? Or, [they suspect], should Benevolence be preponderant so that the Sense of Ritual would be absent, then there would be inadequate restraint and polish, and people would care for their parents as though they were dogs and horses, and go over the wall to the house on the east to seize the maiden there. Would, [they ask,] this [error] not constitute the evil of uninhibitedness? Or yet again [they suppose that] if Benevolence should be preponderant, and there should be no Wisdom so that there would be no discrimination between what is permissible and what is not, then such people would try to rescue people [i.e., their own reflections] from wells, and would not know the evils of their own children. Would, [they ask,] this [error] not constitute the evil of delusion?

Commentary:

Note that Yan Yuan regards Wisdom as the capacity to determine whether what people do is correct or incorrect, and that this includes matters of empirical knowledge. -- PEM

予以為此必不知性者之言也。夫性，則必如吾前仁之一端之說，斷無天生之仁而有視父母如路人諸惡者。蓋本性之仁必寓有義、禮、智，四德不相離也，但不 盡如聖人之全，相濟如攜耳。試觀天下雖甚和厚人，不能無所羞惡，無所辭讓，無所是非，但不如聖人之大中，相濟適當耳。其有愛父母同路人，對盜賊而欷歔等惡 者，必其有所引蔽習染，而非赤子之仁也。禮、義、智，猶是也。
But I maintain that these [doubts] must be the words of persons who do not know the Nature. As to this Nature, the situation must be as I maintained above in my discussion of the Beginning of Benevolence. There definitely cannot be a Benevolence engendered by Heaven that could yet [inherently] have the evil of regarding parents like strangers on the road or other such evils. That is to say, the Benevolence of the basic Nature invariably entails the Sense of Right and Wrong, the Sense of Ritual, and Wisdom. These four Virtues are inseparable; it is simply that they were not as complete as they are in the perfection of a sage. But still they aid each other as though linked hand to hand. Observe that even the most affable and generous man in the world cannot get along without [reactions of] shame and dislike, modesty and yielding, and approval and disapproval, but these [impulses] are not comparable to those of the great sage that derive from the highest centrality [of their source] in their aid to each other as though linked hand in hand. Such evils as regarding parents like strangers on the road and sighing after thieves and robbers must derive from inducement, obscuration, habituation, and stain; such is not the Benevolence of the infant. The same is true of the Sense of Right and Wrong, the Sense of Ritual, and Wisdom.

熟閱孟子而盡其意，細觀赤子而得其情，則孔、孟之性旨明，而心性非精，氣質非粗；不惟氣質非吾性之累害，而且舍氣質無以存養心性，則吾所謂三事、六 府、六德、六行、六藝之學是也。是明明德之學也，即謂為變化氣質之功，亦無不可。有志者倘實以是為學為教，斯孔門之博文約禮，孟子之存心養性，乃再見於今 日，而吾儒有學術，天下有治平，異端淨掃，複睹三代乾坤矣！
When the Mencius is thoroughly studied and its meaning exhaustively comprehended, when its [discussion of the mind of the] infant is minutely studied and his Feeling [i.e., the actual functioning of his Nature] is learned, then the teachings of Confucius and Mencius about the Nature become clear, and it is seen that neither are the mind and the Nature refined [above all else], nor is the materialized lifebreath grosser [than all else]. Not only is the materialized lifebreath not an encumbrance or injury, but were it to be discarded there would be nothing by which to preserve and cultivate the mind and the Nature. Thus is affirmed the study of the three responsibilities, six treasuries, six virtues, six patterns of conduct, and six liberal arts, of which I have [earlier] spoken. This is the discipline whereby {{illustrious virtue is illuminated}}, which may quite properly be called the task of transforming the materialized lifebreath. If determined persons would truly take these [goals] as their study and teaching, then the "broadening by literature and restraining by propriety" of the school of Confucius, and the preserving of the mind and nurturing of the Nature of Mencius would reappear today; we Confucians would have [true] learning, the world would be well governed and peaceful, heterodoxy would be swept away, and the [pure creative impulse represented by the cosmic Yin and Yang hexagrams,] Qian and Kun, would be seen once again.

圖跋
 AFTERWORD

嗟乎！性不可以言傳也，而可以圖寫乎？雖果見孔、孟所謂性，且不可言傳圖寫，而況下愚不足聞性道如仆者乎！但偶爾一線悟機，似有仿佛乎方寸者，此或 仆一人之所謂性，尚非孔、孟所謂性，未可知也。況仆所見尚有不能圖盡者乎！語雲，理之不可見者，言以明之；言之不能盡者，圖以示之；圖之不能畫者，意以會 之。吾願觀者尋其旨於圖間，會其意於圖外，假之以宣自心之性靈，因之以察仆心之愚見，庶不至以佛氏六賊之說誣吾才、情、氣質，或因此而實見孔、孟之所謂 性，亦未可知也。若指某圈曰此性也，某畫曰此情也，某點曰此氣質也，某形勢曰此性、情、才質之皆善無惡也，則膠柱鼓瑟，而於七圖無往不捍格背戾，且於仆所 謂一線者而不可得，又安望由此以得孔、孟所謂性乎！恐此圖之為性害，更有甚于宋儒之說者矣。

 Oh! As the [truth about the] Nature cannot be communicated by words, can it then be drawn in a diagram? If even someone who has actually seen the Nature described by Confucius and Mencius cannot communicate it by words or draw it in a diagram, how much less can a lowly, ignorant one such as I, who is inadequate [even] to hear about the Dao and the Nature? It is only because I occasionally get a thread of understanding of the hidden springs of things, as though I had some semblance of the [true] human mind [that I dare make this attempt]. Whether or not it may be that what I myself call the Nature is still not what Confucius and Mencius called the nature, it is impossible to know. Moreover, it has been impossible for me to express all that I have seen through drawings. It is said the li that cannot be immediately apprehended in vision may be illuminated through words. What cannot be fully expressed through words may be presented through diagrams. What cannot be fully expressed though diagrams is [only] to be intuited. It is my wish that my readers will seek the meaning of the diagrams, and will go beyond the diagrams to gain intuitive understanding, that they will make use of this [understanding] in order to manifest the inborn efficacy of their own minds, and [that they will] utilize it to examine the shallow views of my mind. Then perhaps they will avoid defaming our Capacity, Feeling, and materialized lifebreath by means of the Buddhist theory of the six thieves. And perhaps because of this [abstention] they will truly see what Confucius and Mencius call the Nature. This too it is impossible to know. If one were to point to a certain circle [in the above several diagrams] and call it the Nature, point to a certain line and call it Feeling, point to a certain dot and call it materialized lifebreath, or point to a certain configuration and call it the total goodness without evil of the Nature, Feeling, and Capacity, then such an act would be unduly inflexible, and every point would serve as a barrier to [a real understanding of] the seven diagrams. Moreover, if it be impossible to attain to an understanding of what I have called the one thread [of understanding], then what hope would there be of attaining to what Confucius and Mencius call the Nature? I fear that the damage to the Nature made by these diagrams would then be even greater than that done by the theories of the Song Confucians.

雖然，即使天下後世果各出其心意以會乎仆一線之意，遂因以見乎孔、孟之意，猶非區區苦心之所望也。仆所望者，明乎孔、孟之性道，而荀、揚、周、程、 張、朱、釋、老之性道可以不言也，明乎孔、孟之不欲言性道，而孔、孟之性道亦可以不言也，而性道始可明矣。
However, providing that future generations in this world really put forth their thoughts to comprehend the meaning of my "one thread," they will thereby perceive the meaning of Confucius and Mencius; this [position] is still not [taken with] any expectation of wracking people's minds at each point. My hope is that by throwing light on the Dao and Nature of Confucius and Mencius, there will be no need to speak of the Dao and Nature of Xun [Zi], Yang [Xiong], Zhou [Dun-yi], the Chengs, Zhang [Zai], Zhu [Xi], the Buddha, and Lao [Zi]; and that by understanding the Dao and the Nature concerning which Confucius and Mencius did not wish to speak, there will likewise be no need to speak of the Dao and Nature of Confucius and Mencius, and this Dao and Nature will then first become clear.

Commentary:
Is Yan Yuan making an appeal to introspective mysticism here? -- PEM

或曰：孔子罕言矣；孟子動言性善，何言乎不欲言也？曰：有告子二或人之性道，孟子不得已而言性善也，猶今日有荀、揚、佛、老、程、張之性道，吾不得 已而言才、情、氣質之善也。試觀答告子諸人，但取足以折其詞而止，初未嘗言性善所由然之故，猶孔子之罕言也。宋人不解，而反譏其不備，誤矣！
 It might be asked: "Confucius seldom spoke of it, and Mencius was moved [only by compelling reasons] to say that the Nature is good. So why talk about what they did not wish to speak?" [To this I] reply: There were the positions of Gao Zi and the two unidentified speakers concerning the Dao and the Nature, so Mencius had no way out but to [explicitly] teach that the Nature is good, just as today there are the positions of Xun [Zi], Yang [Xiong], the Buddha, Lao [Zi], the Chengs, and Zhang [Zai] about the Dao and Nature, so that I have no way out but to teach the goodness of that Capacity, Feeling, and the materialized lifebreath. Take a look at the answers to Gao Zi and others. [Mencius] only chose to say enough to shut them off, and in the beginning did not give any reasons for the Nature's being good, just as Confucius seldom spoke of it. The men of Song did not understand this [reticence] and to the contrary attacked [the teachings of Confucius and Mencius] as inadequate. What a mistake!

或曰：吾儒不言性道，將何以體性道，盡性道？餘曰：吾儒日言性道而天下不聞也，日體性道而天下相安也，日盡性道而天下相忘也。惟言乎性道之作用，則 六德、六行、六藝也；惟體乎性道之功力，則習行乎六德、六行、六藝也；惟各究乎性道之事業，則在下者師若弟，在上者君臣及民，無不相化乎德與行藝，而此外 無學教，無成平也。如上天不言而時行物生，而聖人體天立教之意著矣，性情之本然見，氣質之能事畢矣，而吾之七圖亦可以焚矣。故是編後次之以存學、存治雲。
 It might be asked: "If we Confucians do not speak of the Dao and the Nature, then how will anybody embody this Dao and Nature? How will anyone develop to the utmost this Dao and Nature?" I reply: If we Confucians talk about the Dao and Nature every day, and the world does not listen, let us then daily embody it and then the world will be at peace with itself. Let us daily develop it to the utmost, and the world will forget [its theoretical interests that are of detriment to a true practice of the Dao]. When we speak about the functioning of the Nature and the Way, this means the six virtues, the six patterns of conduct, and the six liberal arts. When each of us plumbs the workings of the Nature and the Way, those below will imitate us like younger brothers, and those above will serve as ministers to the ruler [in succession] all the way down to the common people, so that all will transform each other with virtue and the practice of the liberal arts. Other than this [effort] there will be no need for schools or the establishment of gradations. Just as Heaven above does not speak, yet the seasons progress, just as creatures are produced and the sage embodies Heaven to establish his teaching, when the basic suchness of the Nature and Feeling is seen, then the ability use one's materialized lifebreath to serve will be brought to completion. Then my seven diagrams may be destroyed by fire. Therefore I have followed this book with the Cun Xue Bian (Preservation of Learning) and the Cun Zhi Bian (Preservation of Governance).

附錄同人語
YAN YUAN'S APPENDIX::CONVERSATIONS WITH VARIOUS PEOPLE

上谷石卿張氏曰：「性即是氣質底性，堯、舜底氣質便有堯、舜底性，呆呆底氣質便有呆呆的性，而究不可謂性惡。」
Mr. Zhang Shi-qing of Shang-gu said: "The Nature is just the Nature of the materialized lifebreath. The materialized lifebreath of Yao and Shun had the Nature of Yao and Shun, and the materialized lifebreath of an idiot has the Nature of an idiot, yet in the final analysis it cannot be said that the Nature [in either case] is evil."

又曰：「人性無二，不可從宋儒分天地之性、氣質之性。」
He also said: "There is no duality to the human Nature. It is wrong to follow the Song Confucians and make a distinction between the Nature of Heaven and Earth [i.e., a transcendent Nature] and the Nature of the materialized lifebreath.

先生賜教，在未著存性前。惜當時方執程、朱之見，與之反覆辯難。及喪中悟性，始思先生言性真確，期服闋入郡相質，而先生竟捐館矣！嗚呼！安得複如先 生者而與之言性哉！
The teachings which my elder brother bestowed upon me were received before I wrote the Preservation of Nature. Unfortunately, at that time I still maintained the opinions of the Cheng [brothers] and Zhu [Xi], and I argued with him repeatedly. When, during my period of mourning, I came to a realization of the Nature, I first realized that my elder's words about the Nature were correct., I planned to make my way to his district on the completion of my mourning in order to engage in mutual examination [of these matters], but he had already been lost [in death] from his school. Oh! How can I ever have someone like him with whom to discuss the Nature!

督亢介祺王氏曰：「氣質即是這身子。不成孩提之童性善，身子偏有不善。」
Wang Jie-qi of Du-kang said: "Materialized lifebreath is just this body. The Nature of an infant is good; his body is biased and contains what is not good."

又曰：「天生人來，渾脫是個善。」
He also said: "When Heaven produces a human being he is completely good."

又曰：「氣質、天命，分二不得。」
He also said: "Materialized lifebreath cannot be separated from the Mandate of Heaven."

書後
Postscript

孟子曰性善，即魯論之「性相近」也，言本善也。晏子曰「汩俗移質，習染移性」，即魯論之「習相遠」也，言惡所由起也。後儒不解，忽曰氣質有惡，而性 亂矣，聖賢之言背矣。先生辭而辯之，功豈在禹下哉？
 Mencius' saying that the Nature is good is just the same as the Lu [home state of Confucius] doctrine that the Natures are near [at birth]; they both say that the Nature is fundamentally good. Master Yan said: "Being immersed in customs modifies substance (zhi, the substrate to which ornamentation is applied), and habituation and staining modify the Nature," which is the Lu doctrine that by practice men become far apart; this is an explanation for the source of evil. The later Confucians did not understand and jumped to the conclusion that the materialized lifebreath has evil, thus disordering [the understanding of] the Nature, and going against the teachings of the sages and worthies. My master denied and contended against this belief. Can his merit then be said to be less than that of Yü?

特先生性圖，入「太極」「五行」諸說，則於後儒誤論，當時尚有未盡灑者。塨後質先生曰：「周子太極圖，真元品道家圖也。‘易有太極兩儀’，指揲蓍 言，非謂太極為一物，而生天地萬物也。五行為六府之五，乃流行於世以為民物用者，故箕子論鯀罪曰‘汩陳其五行’，非謂五行握自帝天而能生人生物也。生克乃 鄒衍以後方家粃說，聖經無有。」先生曰：「然，吾將更之。」及先生卒後，披其編，則更者十七而未及卒業，於是承先生意，而湔洗之如右。
Yet there was one point, where his [original] diagrams included the Tai-ji [Supreme Ultimate] and the five elements, that he had not completely purged himself of the mistaken teachings of the later Confucians. I later remonstrated with my master saying: "Master Zhou's Tai-ji Tu (Tai-ji Diagram) was from the Shang-fang da-dong zhen-yuan-miao-jing pin. [The sentence] in the Yi [Changes] there is the Tai-ji [Great Ultimate]...the two Emblems [Yin and Yang],' {Yi Jing, Xi Ci, 11} refers to taking up milfoil [stalks for divination], it does not mean that the Tai-ji is a thing which produces Heaven and Earth and the myriad creatures. The five elements are five of the six treasuries, which flow through this world so that they may be used by people and creatures. Therefore Master Ji said of the transgression of Gun that he "##### the five elements," which does not mean that the five elements are controlled by August Heaven and are able [thereby] to produce men and creatures. [The theory of succession] production and diminution [of the five elements by each other] is a valueless doctrine of the recipe gentlemen (i.e., Daoist magicians) who came after Zou Yan. It does not occur in the holy classics." My master said: "That is so. I will change it." After my master died, I opened his manuscripts and [found that] seventy percent were changed and that he had not reached the completion of his work. Thereupon I have taken up my master's intention and have expurgated [the heterodox material so that it appears as] above.

康熙乙酉三月上浣，蠡吾門人李塨書。
 The third day of the third moon in the yi-you year of the Kang-xi reign period.

蠡吾門人李塨書。
 -- Disciple Li Gong of Li-wu.

 　　康熙乙酉三月上浣，