The Terminology of The Book of Changes explained the Tao of change of everything in nature except men. On the contrary it related to the life of men as a hard and tortuous historical process of seeking selfimprovement. Thus the Tao in The Book of Changes seemed easy but was hard to understand. In the North Song Dynasty NeoConfucianism began to prosper. Zhou Dunyi and Zhang Zai viewed the world from a sagacious perspective, perfectly interpreting the ideal implied in The Terminology. On the other hand, however, they failed to preserve the tension between “change” and “selfimprovement” in The Book of Changes. As a result, the philosophy of the mind overemphasized the significance of change, which was likely to guide people to becoming sophisticated. Therefore, as modern people we should theorize the arduousness of selfimprovement so that they may work hard to become better.

The Book of Changes; change; selfimprovement; saga; common people; stability