Image Thinking: Symbolic Thinking of Observing Images and Drawing Analogies——— From the Perspective of the Yi Zhuan

Abstract: The images in the Yi Zhuan encompass two layers of meaning: the natural images and the “易象”,translated as Yi-image (concluding trigram images,hexagram images,and line images),formed based on the natural images.Unlike language,Yi-image was created through observing,imitating,and abstracting the images of external world,transforming the images that appeared in human consciousness into vivid,intuitive,and pictorial Yin-Yang (“阴阳”) symbols that resembled the external world's images,as well as imagery composed of Yin-Yang symbols.The Yi-image thinking in the Yi Zhuan represents a form of symbolic thinking in ancient China.The method of “观象比类”(observing images and drawing analogies) is the most important manifestation of Yi-image symbolic thinking.The Yi-image symbols,formed through observation and simulation,are compared with other things,and then used to understand (“ to fully express the meaning”) and shape the world (by making artifacts).Once Yi-image is formed,the process shifts from observing external images to observing and analogizing Yi-image.This image thinking process involves simplifying complexities,moving from the images of the external world to Yi-image symbols,and then from Yi-image back to the images of the external world.The “observing” in “observing images” refers to the ability to observe the world;“analogizing” refers to an active and conscious thinking activity.The image thinking in the Yi Zhuan is not only a static way of observing images and drawing analogies,but also a dynamic one.The foundation of this mode of thinking in the Yi Zhuan lies in the holistic view of heaven,earth,and humanity,as well as the ontological principle of the ever-evolving.This Yi-image thinking,which is detached from divination texts,is a logical thinking that does not rely on language concepts.At the same time,the Yi-image symbols preserve some intuitive and visual traits of the external world.The Yi-image symbolic thinking,formed by observing the changing Yi-image symbols to understand and create the world,and to regulate human behavior,bears the characteristics of imaginal thinking.The most essential feature of Yi-image symbolic thinking is its dynamism,which distinguishes it from Western logical thinking.