“The Changes is Figures” (Xici B, 3). Reconsidering the Status of the Book of Changes in Wang Bi’s Thought

This article’s purpose is to question the relationship between Wang Bi’s 王弼 (226–249 CE) Zhouyi Zhu 周易注 (Commentary on the Book of Changes) and Laozi Zhu 老子注 (Commentary on the Laozi). To that end, the concept of figure (xiang 象) will be central. This major concept of the Changes tradition plays a key, albeit often overlooked, role in Wang Bi’s exegesis. By highlighting that Wang endorses the characterization of the Changes as a “book of figures” (Xici 繫辭 B, 3), and by exploring the significance of this concept in the Changes and in Wang’s texts, I intend to show that the commentator takes the Changes and the Laozi to address distinct issues within a consistent system of thought.