肇論新疏 3.25

3.25

“It may guide…” below means that the purport of the nameless is profound and subtle, only fit to be a model for those advanced in learning and to dispel the doubts of lofty scholars. “Those who adhere to names and titles…” means those who cling to words and designations: merely hearing the word “nameless,” they cannot fully understand the ruler's intent. “Superior” (*shang*) refers to the king, since Sima Qian in recording events referred to the emperor as “the Superior.” “Hoping to emulate…” below means emulating the Ten Wings to produce the ten expositions, thereby reaching also the junior students who cling to words. The *Changes* originated with Fuxi drawing the trigrams, King Wen composing the hexagram judgments, the Duke of Zhou appending the line judgments, and Confucius composing the Ten Wings—that is, the First and Second *Tuan* Commentaries, and so forth. Here, the nine refutations and ten expositions resemble this. “Not that I covet…” below means it lies not in expanding the text, but in expounding the purport. “Ventured to compose…” below is readily understood. “How could I claim…” below means that although he composed this expository treatise, he did not dare claim to have plumbed the divine and subtle mind or exhausted the profoundly distant and correct principle. “I have merely…” below means only imitating the gate of subtle principle to make it known to students.