未濟의 내향적 전환과 頤의 외향적 전환 ‘利涉大川’의 구조적 재해석: 未濟 육삼의 내향적 전환과 頤 상구의 외향적 전환을 중심으로 = The Inward Transition of Wei Ji and the Outward Transition of Yi: A Structural Reinterpretation of ‘Li She Da Chuan’ in the Zhouyi

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In the Zhouyi (Book of Changes), certain phrases recur across multiple hexagrams and line statements. Among them, ‘Li She Da Chuan (利涉大川, it is advantageous to cross the great river)’ is one of the most frequently repeated symbolic expressions, appearing twelve times across hexagram and line statements in the received text. Traditional commentaries have generally treated such recurring phrases as fixed semantic units carrying stable meaning regardless of context.
However, a close reading reveals cases in which the identical phrase produces diametrically opposite judgments within the same textual system—and even within the same hexagram.
This paper proposes that recurring symbolic expressions in the Zhouyi should be understood not as ‘semantic words’ conveying fixed meanings, but as ‘functional words’ whose operative direction is determined by the structural context in which they appear. Drawing on Wittgenstein’s insight that “the meaning of a word is its use in the language” and Austin’s theory of performative utterances, the paper argues that ‘Li She Da Chuan’ does not describe the act of crossing a river but enacts a structural transition of state. Just as the Korean expression ‘jal handa’ performs opposite functions—praise or criticism—depending on its discursive context, ‘She Da Chuan’ likewise directs either an inward transition or an outward transition depending on the hexagram’s overall character, the line’s structural position, and the temporal conditions (shi, 時) in operation. The paper also draws a philologically grounded distinction between ‘Zheng (征)’ and ‘She (涉)’: the former denotes goal-directed outward advance, while the latter denotes the crossing of a boundary. When outward advance (Zheng) receives a negative judgment, the direction of crossing (She) may turn inward—a distinction that proves central to the paper’s core argument.
The analysis proceeds on two levels. First, at the intra-hexagram (guanei, 卦內) level: the paper examines Wei Ji (未濟, Hexagram 64) Liu San, where ‘Zheng Xiong (征凶)’ gives a negative judgment on outward advance, and argues that ‘Li She Da Chuan’ in this context signals an inward threshold—the critical point of inner cultivation and readiness that must be crossed before outward engagement becomes possible. The crossing here is not spatial but qualitative: a state transition from unpreparedness to structural readiness. Second, the paper presents intra-hexagram evidence from Yi (頤, Hexagram 27): the fifth line (Liu Wu) states ‘Bu Ke She Da Chuan (不可涉大川, crossing is not possible)’, while the immediately adjacent top line (Shang Jiu) states ‘Li She Da Chuan (利涉大川, crossing is advantageous)’. Since the hexagram’s overall character remains constant while only the line’s structural position changes, this intra-hexagram reversal constitutes the strongest direct evidence that ‘She Da Chuan’ operates as a functional word rather than a semantic one. In Yi Shang Jiu, nourishment has reached its extreme point and further maintenance becomes dangerous; ‘Li She Da Chuan’ here signals an outward transition—the necessary break from over-sustained stasis. Third, a cross-hexagram (guajian, 卦間) comparison of Wei Ji Liu San and Yi Shang Jiu confirms that the identical phrase ‘Li She Da Chuan’ operates as an inward transition in the former and an outward transition in the latter, with the operative direction determined by a complex group of structural factors: the hexagram’s overall character, the line’s positional tension, the diagnostic logic of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, and the temporal condition (shi).
‘She Da Chuan’ thus functions as a threshold signal marking the critical point of irreversible transformation, whose direction is structurally determined rather than semantically fixed. In Austin’s terms, it operates not as a constative utte...