“Simply Do Not Divine”: On the Cosmology, Moral Constraints, and Self-Transcendence of Divination in the Yijing
Religions July 27, 2026 Xunjian Lu, Fuming Wei
The phrase “simply do not divine, that is all there is to it” (bu zhan er yi yi 不占而已矣) attributed to Confucius in the Analects has long puzzled scholars in terms of understanding the Yijing. This study reexamines the proposition through a systematic analysis of the Yijing’s cosmology, moral constraints, and cultivation practices. Drawing on the Yizhuan (Ten Wings) and successive commentaries...