阴阳五行与《太玄》之生成

The Theory of Yin-yang and Five Elements and the Formation of Taixuan

阴阳五行学说在构建《太玄》文本结构的过程中起到了关键性的作用,扬雄用阴阳二分法设计了《太玄》的横向结构来囊括时间,又用三分法设计了其垂直结构来象征空间,使得全书呈现出金字塔式复合文本结构。再将《太玄》与早期五行类文献进行比对,可知此书不仅吸收了大量术数类知识,体现出集大成的特点,而且常有独出机杼之处,故能自成系统。最后,基于创作角度来考察,可知无论是方、州、部、家的结构设计,还是每首九赞的内容安排,阴阳五行学说始终贯穿其间。这一方面固然反映了汉代术数《易》的盛行,另一方面则体现了扬雄试图将术数类知识纳入儒门《易》的努力。

The theory of yin-yangand Five Elements played a key role in the process of constructing the text structure of Taixuan(Grand Mystery).Yang Xiong(53BCE-18CE)used the yin-yangdichotomy and designed the horizontal structure of Taixuanto manifest time,and applied trichotomy to the design of its vertical structure to symbolize space,making the whole book present a pyramid-like compound text structure.Comparing the Taixuan with the earlier literature related to the Five Elements,it can be seen that this book not only absorbed a large amount of knowledge of calculation,reflecting its characteristic of synthesis,but also can be self-contained because Yang Xiong always exhibits his unique insights.Finally,from the perspective of creation,it can be seen that whether the structural design of Fang(region),Zhou(state),Bu(ministry),and Jia(family),or the content arrangement of each chapter,is threaded through with the yin-yangand Five Elements theory.This certainly reflected the prevalence of arts of calculation in Changes scholarship in the Han dynasty(206BCE-220CE).On the other hand,it also shows Yang Xiong’s efforts to incorporate calculation knowledge into the Confucian scholarship on the Changes.