『本草綱目 』을 통해 본 『周易』 의 物象에 대한 고찰

A Study on Symbols of the Book of Changes Described in the Compendium of Materia Medica

Analyzing the Book of Changes, researchers noted that animals and plants utilized as symbols in the Book of Changes were later used as medicinal in East Asian medicine. They found 24 animals and plants utilized as symbols in the Book of Changes; specifically in six statements on the hexagrams and 53 statements on the lines. The animal and plant symbols in 59 statements are more clearly interpreted with the descriptions in the Compendium of Materia Medica. Eleven plantsreferenced intheBook o fChanges were written with the irnicknames, causing confusion to the researchers of latertimes. Usingthe Compendium of Materia Medica however,these plantscan be identified. Livestock were mentioned 34 times among the 59 statements, with horse and cattle being the most often at eight times,each. They are subdivided according to their sex and color. The writers of the Book of Changes constructed an elaborate symbol system with the animals that are familiar to people, and which, throught his research, has been decoded through cross references to the Compendium of Material Medica.