Understanding General Relativity and Gravity Through the Heaven/Earth Framework— A Yijing Perspective

The relationship between modern science and metaphysics has been challenging due to the different ontological and epistemological perspectives they are based on. However, the challenge is mainly attributable to modern science's empirical attitude. This paper draws on Einstein’s 1915 theory of relativity and 易經Yijing_’s cyclical principles, conceptualized at least four thousand years (circa 2000 BCE), to gain a new understanding of gravity from a social science standpoint. First, Yijing's_ origins can be traced back to the mythical figure 伏羲 Fu Xi_, who created the eight trigrams and 64 hexagrams. Second, King Wen and the Duke of Zhou wrote about the hexagrams in greater detail during the 11th century BCE. The third intellectual addition and augmentation happened between the 5th and 2nd century BCE, incorporating seven writings collectively known as the ‘Ten Wings’. These writings provided a framework for understanding the universe's complexities and underlying patterns, including an implication of gravity acting on all beings, things, and events, though not explicitly mentioned as gravity. The paper introduces Einstein’s theory of relativity as a mechanism and correlates it with Yijing ₚrinciples and precepts to provide perspectives valuable to the social and academic community. One of Yijing_'s central features is its use of 陰陽 ᵧin-yang_ correlative cosmology, which involves the idea that all things in the universe are interconnected and interdependent, each possessing ᵧin_ and ᵧang_ energies that are constantly in flux and transformation, continually shifting in field-like fluctuation. The hexagram matrix is a system of symbols, archetypes, and concepts which constitute a map that classifies and analyses reality through the eyes of the observer. Einstein's theory of relativity revolutionized cosmology and conceptualised space, time, mass, gravity, and energy. The theory concerns the relative velocity or acceleration of a frame of reference with respect to a stationary frame of reference. The approach encompasses the two interconnected theories of special and general relativity, with general relativity establishing an essential association between time and space and relating to the structure of spacetime and wave-like fluctuation where the presence of matter and energy causes curvature of spacetime. The paper acknowledges that some may view the attempt to link Yijing_ with modern sciences-related themes with scepticism since the links rest on allegorical associations. However, this paper aims to mirror Einstein's central principles of the theory of relativity into a social inquiry of Yijing_. This paper provides novel and diverse perspectives using the heaven and earth framework, contributing significantly to comprehending the interconnected dynamics of qi_, space, and time within_ Yijing_.