The "Anxiety Awareness" in the "Books of Changes"

The Chinese people possess Anxiety Awareness (憂患意識) etched into their national genetic makeup. It has a long-standing history, widely expressed in poetry and prose, among which many outstanding verses and phrases have become timeless masterpieces. From the "Classic of Poetry (《詩經》)" line "My heart is filled with sorrow — where, truly, is my place to belong (心之憂矣，於我歸處)?" (from "The Ode of Cao: The Mayfly (曹風·蜉蝣)") to Li Bai's (李白，701–762) "What troubles my heart is these present days, laden with heavy worries (亂我心者今日之日多煩憂)." (from "Farewell to Uncle Yun, the Editing Clerk of Palace Library, at Xie Tiao Tower in Xuanzhou (《宣州謝脁樓餞別校書叔雲》)"), poets brought the emotional turbulence of life vividly to life through their literary brushwork. From Mencius's (孟子, 372–289 BC) "He who takes the people's sorrows and hardships as his own will find that the people, in turn, share his anxiety. " (from "King Hui of Liang, Part II  (梁惠王下)") to Fan Zhongyan's (范仲淹, 989–1052) "To be the first to concern about the country's woes (先天下之憂而憂)." (from "Memorial of Yueyang Tower (《岳陽樓記》)"), philosophers gave full expression to the scholar-official's abiding concern for state and nation. This literary Anxiety Awareness (憂患)" is well known to all. Let us instead approach it from another angle and attempt to explore the philosophical connotations of "Anxiety (憂)" itself.

The excavated Warring States bamboo slips "Wuxing (《五行》, Five Virtues)" holds that "Anxiety" (憂) is the starting point of virtue. The slips states:

"If a noble person lacks that inner anxiety of striving vigilantly for the Way, he cannot give rise to the moral wisdom of his original mind; Without the moral wisdom of the original mind, no joy arising from within can be produced; Without inner joy, body and mind cannot attain peace; Without peace of body and mind, there can be no moral happiness; Without this happiness, true virtue cannot be accomplished. " (slips 5–6)¹

 (君子無中心之憂則無中心之智，無中心之智則無中心之悅，無中心之悅則不安，不安則不樂，不樂則無德。)

The "Wuxing" thus depicts a path toward the accomplishment of virtue: "Wisdom (智)", "Joy (悅)", "Peace (安)", "Happiness (樂)", "Virtue (德)," with "Anxiety (憂)" positioned at the very origin of morality. This raises the question: could other emotions likewise serve as the driving force of morality? Why must it be "Anxiety" specifically? To answer this question, we must first understand the conceptual content of "Anxiety." "Anxiety" possesses the following three characteristics: First, a keen vigilance toward the uncertainties encountered in the pursuit of well-being; Second, a worldview grounded in dynamic development; Last, a primal force that dissolves binary oppositions. From this, we can see that "Anxiety" constitutes a cognitive mode for grasping the cosmos and human life, within which lies a concealed moral rationality that serves as the key to opening the gate of virtue. For this reason, "Anxiety" is also the wellspring of wisdom. Within the distinctive context of Chinese culture, "Anxiety", as the generative point of morality, occupies a unique and preeminent position.
The Chinese Anxiety Awareness originated quite early, and in the "Book of Changes (《易經》)", a defensive psychology of vigilance and caution is revealed everywhere. "既濟 (Ji Ji, Already Crossed)" is the 63rd hexagram of the "Book of Changes", with the hexagram image depicting a fox that has already reached the other shore. The 64th hexagram, the final hexagram in the "Book of Changes", is named "未濟 (Wei Ji, Not Yet Crossing)" meaning not yet having reached the other shore. This inversion of human cognitive order presents, with great interest, the attitude toward life found in the study of the "Book of Changes". It suggests that life's changes and challenges have no end, remaining forever open along the course of fate. The "Xiang Zhuan (〈象傳〉)" states that the main theme of "既濟" is "From the hexagram (既濟), the noble person comes to understand that, at the moment of stability and success, one must anticipate potential misfortune and take precautions in advance (君子以思患而預防之)." It is a hexagram of maintaining accomplishment—although the fox has already reached the other shore, one must still proceed cautiously step by step, guarding against the outcome of "Auspicious at first, Chaotic in the end (初吉終亂)." The line statements of "既濟" vividly describe the principle that calamity arises from trivial beginnings: the First Nine Line (初九爻) states, "The wheel becomes stuck in the mire; exerting strength to drag the wheel, crossing the river wets the tail (曳其輪，濡其尾)"; the Second Six Line (六二爻) states, "The woman lost her jewelry (婦喪其茀)"; the Fourth Six Line (六四爻) states, "Silk garments will turn into worn-out rags, so one must remain vigilant all day long (繻有衣袽，終日戒)"; and the Top Six Line (上六爻) states, "Crossing the river got the head wet (濡其首)." The structure of "未濟" has Kan (坎) above and Li (離) below, with Kan representing danger and peril. The Fourth Six line, positioned as the first line of the upper Kan, thus carries the phrase "Stay on high alert all day long (終日戒)," which serves as sincere advice regarding potential danger. Another example is the Xu hexagram (需掛), with Kan above and Qian (乾坤) below. This hexagram elucidates methods for handling crisis through a progressive model. The First Nine Line (初九爻) states, "Waiting for the right moment in the countryside (需於郊)"; the Second Nine Line (九二爻) states, "Waiting for the right moment on the water's edge and sandy beach (需於沙)"; the Third Nine Line (九三爻) states, "Standing on the muddy shoreline, waiting for the right moment (需於泥)"—the danger gradually approaches, moving from countryside to sand to mud. The Fourth Six Line (六四爻), being the first line of the upper trigram (Kan), signifies having already entered into peril, hence the line statement says "In the dangerous situation of conflict-related harm, stay put and wait rather than fight head-on (需於血)" (danger of bloodshed). Both the Fourth Nine Line and the Top Six Line are Yin (陰) lines, using "穴 (Cave)" as a metaphor. The Fourth Six Line's "Finally managed to escape from the cave in which people had been trapped (出於穴)" refers to the vigorous Yang (陽) energy of the lower trigram's three Yang lines surging upward into "Kan"; the Top Six Line's "Retreat into the cave for shelter (入於穴)" refers to being absorbed into Yin, thereby dissolving the danger. Ultimately, this points to the Anxiety Awareness in "Treating customers with humility and respect, ultimately yields good results (敬之終吉)".

Synthesizing the meanings of the hexagrams "既濟" and "需", life is subject to endless change, with fortune and misfortune intertwined—as the saying goes, "Misfortune is what fortune leans upon, and fortune is what misfortune hides within (禍兮福之所倚，福兮禍之所伏)" ("Laozi (《老子》)", Chapter 58). To pursue peace and stability in life, one must maintain the crisis awareness of being "Remains ever wary and cautious, as if standing at the edge of a deep pool, or treading upon thin ice (戰戰兢兢，如臨深淵，如履薄冰)." (Minor odes of the kingdom, Xiao Min [《詩經·小雅·小旻》]). The ancient Chinese sense of "Anxiety" stemmed from a keen awareness of the uncertainty of the objective world; only through constant self-reflection, restraint, humility, sincerity, and diligence could one find stability and purpose in life. From this arose the concepts of "中正 (Zhong Zheng, Integrity of character)" and the "中道 (Zhong Dao, Principles of moderation and appropriateness in dealing with the world)." The ancients never examined the difficulties they faced in a static or isolated manner, but were able to deeply grasp the dialectical relationships in the development of things. They could often turn circumstances to their advantage, transforming stone into gold, and dissolving the rigid thinking of binary opposition.

The lower chapter of the "Xi Ci (《繫辭》)" contains a key passage that expounds the origin of the consciousness of danger and crisis from the perspective of hexagram imagery. For the convenience of discussion, the original text is quoted below:

Did the rise of "Book of Changes" not occur during Middle Antiquity? The person who composed "Book Book of Changes" must have harbored deep anxiety and vigilance in his heart, mustn't he?

(《易》之興也，其於中古乎？作《易》者，其有憂患乎？)

The "Book of Changes" cannot be departed from; its principles constantly change according to the times and circumstances. (Yin and Yang) change and flow, never stagnating, circulating throughout the positions of the six lines; whether rising or falling has no fixed pattern, as the hard and soft lines transform into one another. It cannot be treated as a rigid, unchanging rule; one need only adapt to change and adopt whatever approach suits the present moment. It teaches people that advancing and retreating, engaging and withdrawing should conform to proper measure, and that in dealing with the external world as well as in inner self-cultivation, one should know to be cautious and vigilant; it also enables people to perceive misfortune clearly and understand the origins from which misfortune arises. Even without a teacher or elder present to supervise and instruct, reading the "Yi" inspires the same reverent awe as if facing one's own parents. At the outset, by following the words of the hexagrams and lines and seeking out their underlying meaning, one can grasp the constant and unchanging fundamental principles. But if there is no person of corresponding cultivation to comprehend and put it into practice, this principle will not realize itself of its own accord.

(《易》之為書也不可遠，為道也屢遷。變動不居，周流六虛，上下无常，剛柔相易，不可為典要，唯變所適。其出入以度外內，使知懼，又明於憂患與故。无有師保，如臨父母。初率其辭而揆其方，既有典常。苟非其人，道不虛行。)

It is a scholarly consensus that the hexagram statements and line statements of the "Book of Changes" date from the early Zhou dynasty; the so-called "Middle Antiquity" refers to this remote era. The six lines of a hexagram symbolize the dynamic changes of heaven and earth, yin and yang; the correspondence, opposition, and mutual pull among the line positions, together with the shifting of movement and stillness, illuminate how the myriad things, while each possessing its own distinctive form and character, are nonetheless interconnected and interpenetrating through the principle that opposites complement and transform into one another. "變 (Change)" is the eternal constant; "適 (Adaptation)" means taking shape according to circumstance, in the manner of water; "度 (Measure)" refers to the moral norm that must be followed in "adapting solely according to change (唯變所適)." "懼 (Apprehension)" and "患 (Trouble)" are moral sentiments born together with "憂 (Anxiety)," giving rise in turn to the spirit of moral self-discipline and moral self-awareness manifested as reverent awe and cautious vigilance.

The "Book of Changes" was originally a divinatory classic, imbued with strong religious overtones. The compilers of the early Zhou period transcended the dominating nature of Heaven and the Sovereign through the subject's moral will, emphasizing the human power of seeking blessings through one's own efforts. In this way, the central theme of the "Book of Changes" lies in extolling the value of human nature's sense of adversity, with the vigorous striving of life arising precisely from adversity. "One is born of suffering and calamity, and dies of ease and comfort (生於憂患死於安樂)" ("Mencius, Gaozi, Part II" [《孟子·告子下》])—Mencius was indeed the one who inherited and further developed this philosophy of adversity.

Reference

1. The interpretation of the "Wuxing" bamboo slips cited in this article follows Liu Zhao's (劉釗) reading. 劉釗：《郭店楚簡校釋》（福州：福建人民出版社，2003年），頁73-74。