…in oracle-bone script, that is, the oldest Chinese characters we have, encode ways-of-perceiving each of the eight directional energies that are older than – and complementary to – most of the commentary collected together by Confucius in the Shuo Kua…
KEN
South in the Prior Heaven arrangement… ‘HI’
North-West in the Post Heaven arrangement…
On the left, the sun rising through vegetation, with a person bended over – bowing… which, taken all together means ‘sunrise’…and, below, a two-bladed sword, which has always been a showy and exotic accessory... (a)
…or it could be another bended body…(b)
…or a wave of ki-energy, or steam from vegetation drying in the sun… …(the whole kanji, in modern times, has come to mean: ‘to dry’)…(c)
…all of which is as good an example as one could wish of the way some of these ancient symbols seem to morph in the course of time from female gaze(a) to male gaze(b) to Taoist compromise(c)…
Confucius: “The CREATIVE is HEAVEN/the sky. It is all around, it is the prince, the father, jade, metal, cold, ice; it is a vivid red, a good horse, an old horse, a lean horse, a wild horse, tree fruit.”
* – * – *
DA
South-East in the Prior Heaven arrangement… ‘TI’
West in the Post Heaven arrangement…
A mouth over legs, inside a tent. That is: the kanji for “elder brother”, inside a habitation… Yet, by the time the commentaries are compiled, “elder brother” has become “youngest daughter”…
Confucius: “The JOYOUS is the [Alpine] LAKE, the youngest daughter; it is a sorceress; it is mouth and tongue. It means smashing and the breaking apart; it means [fruit] dropping off and bursting open. Among the kinds of soil it is the hard and salty. It is the concubine. It is the sheep.”
* – * – *
RI
East in the Prior Heaven arrangement… ‘SHI’
South in the Post Heaven arrangement…
The whole kanji means “oriole” – though more recently, it was borrowed to mean “to leave, to separate” – and the Chinese oriole is bright yellow and black. On the left: “bright, brightly colored” – possibly a variant of a yellow, brightly colored “scorpion,” and carrying a hint of “defiance”. On the right: “bird”.
Confucius: “The CLINGING is FIRE, the sun, lightning, the middle daughter. It means coats of mail and helmets; it means halberds and swords. Among men it means the big-bellied. It is the trigram of dryness. It means the turtle, the crab, the snail, the clam, the hawkbill turtle. Among trees it means the hollow ones whose tops are dried up.”
* – * – *
SHIN
North-East in the Prior Heaven arrangement… ‘KI’
East in the Post Heaven arrangement…
Rain above a clamshell – which was commonly used as a cutting tool. So: the energy of cutting-rain, the monsoon, which includes thunder and lightning.
Later, the kanji for ‘clam’ began to be used also for ‘dragon’…
Confucius: “The AROUSING is THUNDER, the dragon. It is black, it is yellow, it is a spreading out, a great highway, the eldest son. It is decisive and impetuous; it is bamboo that is green and lush, it is reed and rush. Among horses it signifies those which can neigh well, those with white hind legs, those which gallop well, those with white – or a star – on their forehead. Among useful plants it is the pod-bearing ones [i.e. the kind that grows back]. Finally, it is the strong and sturdy, that which grows luxuriantly.”
* – * – *
SON
South-West in the Prior Heaven arrangement… ‘MI’
South-East in the Post Heaven arrangement…
Two hands offering up a jewel – which later becomes the sign of togetherness – and above that: twisting thread (two of) – remember the fates… remember prayer flags… cloth, of course, being a common offering.
But they could also be two bended bodies, side by side: spooning.
Confucius: “The GENTLE is WOOD, WIND, the eldest daughter, a plumb-line, a carpenter; it is white, it is length, it is height; it is advance and retreat, the unresolved, odor. Among men it means the balding, those with broad foreheads; it means those with much white in their eyes; it means those that keep close what is profitable, so that in the market they get threefold value. At the end-point of its development, it means impetuosity.”
* – * – *
KAN
West in the Prior Heaven arrangement… ‘RI’
North in the Post Heaven arrangement…
On the left, is a clod of earth – yin – and on the right, a gaping mouth above a pair of legs…
Confucius: “The ABYSS is WATER, a ditch, and an ambush, bending and straightening out, bow and wheel. Among men it means the melancholy, those with sick hearts, those with earache. It is the blood sign; it is red. Among horses it means those with beautiful backs, those with beautiful courage, those which let their heads hang, those with thin hoofs, those which stumble. Among chariots it means those with many defects. It is penetration, the moon. It means skillful thieves. Among varieties of wood it means those which are firm and have much pith.”
* – * – *
GON
North-West in the Prior Heaven arrangement… ‘YI’
North-East in the Post Heaven arrangement…
This is someone turning around and staring… which later evolved to also mean “note-worthy” or “special”…
Confucius: “KEEPING STILL is the MOUNTAIN, a mountain path. It means the place where there are small stones. It means doors and openings, tree-fruit and vine-fruit, a gate-keeper, a watchman, your fingers, it is the dog, the rat, and the various kinds of black-billed birds. Among trees, it means those that are sturdy and much gnarled.”
* – * – *
KON
North in the Prior Heaven arrangement… ‘NI’
South-West in the Post Heaven arrangement…
Pure yin… on the left is a clod of earth, and on the right, the ancient way of drawing a bolt of lightning – which looks surprisingly like a qi-gong exercise you might do with your two hands, spreading yin ki over your hara….
Confucius: “The RECEPTIVE is the EARTH, the mother. It is cloth, a cooking pot, frugality [ – it is outside the money economy – ], it is impartial, it is a cow with a calf, a large wagon, the markings on things, the multitude of things themselves, a handle. Among the various kinds of soil, it is the black.”
– tr. Richard Wilhelm, , tr. Richard John Lynn, tr. Alfred Huang