《圖•像思維》易罡 Raymond T. Yeh Forward 葉祖堯序 Forward
《圖•像思維》易罡
Raymond T. Yeh Forward
葉祖堯序
Forward
My first impressions in reading, at the end of 2004, Yi Gang's
e-picture thinking are of both surprise and confusion. I was surprised
that these 108 e-pictures convey such powerful energy, yet I was
confused due to my inability to fully comprehend them. Then I had the
opportunity to meet the author in Beijing at the beginning of 2005 to
discuss e-picture thinking. After many such occasions, I began to get
a glimpse of this powerful new way of expression for the 21st century.
2004年末，我初次讀到易罡先生的《圖•像思維》一書時，既感驚喜，又頗困惑。驚喜是因為書中108幅圖像蘊含了如此強大的能量，困惑是由於我還不能完全理解它們。後來我有幸於2005年初在北京與作者當面探討圖像思維。在經過多次交流後，我才開始對21世紀這種新穎有力的表達方式有所領悟。
Perhaps a way to describe e-picture thinking is that it contains both
Newtonian and quantum physics. While the Newtonian model effects
change by banging billiard balls into one another, the quantum model
speaks of networks that change because the information flowing through
the networks are meaningful to the participants. Indeed, modern
physics sees the universe as a dynamic web of interrelated processes
with the structure of the entire web determined by an overall
consistency of the interrelationships among these processes. This
world view comes close to Eastern thought, as when Buddha says in the
Hua Yen Sutra that "Everything is created by the mind." The following
phrase from Tao Te Ching is another way to explain it:
Man follows the LAWS of earth;
Earth follows the laws of heaven;
Heaven follows the laws of Tao;
Tao follows the laws of its intrinsic nature.
我們或許可以說，圖像思維同時包涵了牛頓物理學與量子物理學。在牛頓定律中，結果的變化是由有質球體的相互碰撞引起的；而在量子物理學看來，變化的產生是源於在網路中流動的信息對參與者的意義。其實，現代物理學認為，宇宙就是一張由許多相互關聯的過程組成的動力之網，而整張網的結構則由存在於這些過程中含攝萬有的一致性關係所決定。這種世界觀與東方的思想不謀而合，如佛陀在《華嚴經》所述：“萬法唯識”（或“相由心生”？）。《道德經》從另一角度闡述了這種思想：人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。
This convergence of Eastern philosophy and modern physics that
"self-consistency is the essence of all laws of nature" will prove to
be the catalyst for dramatic changes that are happening, and will
continue to occur with increasing magnitude in the years to come.
東方哲學與現代物理學都認識到，“內在的同一性是一切自然法則的精髓”，而這一“同一性”既是當前各種劇烈變化的催化劑，未來也將得到更加廣泛的體現。
It is in the context of this new world view of a self-organizing,
participative universe that the book e-picture thinking emerged. This
emergence is a result of Yi Gang's more than 30 years of dedicated
study of traditional Chinese culture, and through the endless cycles
of germination, convergence, and transcendence in this culture. Like
an embryo subjected to the extremes of hard and soft, yang and yin,
this process cultivated in him the Power, the Field, the Resource, the
Spirit, the constancy, and the Consistency in his mind with the Eight
Diagrams and the Five Primary Elements that nurtured the development
of this book. It clearly shatters the conventional belief that Asian
creativity is primarily grounded in pattern recognition and the
creation of new patterns based on its language structures. Indeed,
each e-picture, while it cannot be precisely defined, weaves a set of
relationships, depending on the cultural context of the reader,
through languages, religions, arts, etc. e-picture thinking is indeed
a masterpiece of transdisciplinary work. Perhaps this is why there are
so many disciplinary experts try to explain these e-pictures with the
continuing stream of books such as e-picture and life, e-picture and
philosophy, e-picture and water, and e-picture and Tao. Like in
physics, an e-picture consists of both the quantum (reality) and
mechanical (phenomenon), and each discipline must find a way to
explain the reality in its specific context.
《圖•像思維》一書創作的背景正是這種認為宇宙具有自組織性、參與性的新世界觀的出現。該書是易罡先生30餘年來對傳統中國文化潛心鑽研的結晶，其思想是在對傳統文化的不斷發現、融會和超越中完成的。與胚胎受軟硬、陰陽的兩極力量控制相似，伴隨著八卦與五行學說對該書的孕育，作者提出了“形、態、場、靈、勢、道”的思想。傳統上認為亞洲人的創造性主要源於模式認知，新模式的出現源於其語言結構，但該書顯然粉碎了這一傳統說法。其實，正是由於不能被精確定義，每幅圖可以從語言、宗教、藝術等不同的角度為不同文化背景的讀者勾畫出一系列的關聯關係。《圖•像思維》確實是一部跨學科的傑作，或許這就是為什麼眾多不同學科的專家都想去解釋這些圖像，相繼出版了《圖•像思維與生活》、《圖•像思維與哲學》、《圖•像思維與水》、《圖•像思維與道學》等書。像在物理學中一樣，書中的每幅圖像同時包涵了量子（現實）與力學（現象）兩個方面，而每個學科都必須在各自語境下找到各自解釋現實的方法。
It is my understanding that the author wrote down the 108 e-pictures
within an hour in a state of mental non-attachment. In such a state of
total harmony with nature, the e-picture emerged with an initial
thought, the result of 30 years of dedicated work leading to the
convergence as well as transcendence of the Chinese language, art, and
religious traditions into a synthesized 108 e-pictures, each a
calligraphic diagram with a four Chinese character explanation—a
stunning achievement. Perhaps what Chuang Tzu said in the fourth
century provides a good backdrop context for the e-pictures:
竊以為，作者創作這108幅圖像的一小時是精神處於無著狀態的一小時。在這樣一種完全融於自然的狀態下，這些圖像是作者直覺意識的自然釋放，也是他30多年潛心鑽研的結果。他把對中國語言、藝術和宗教傳統的思考融會貫通並加以超越升華，最終凝結為108幅繪圖，每幅都配有四字文的解讀。這的確是一部令人驚異的傑作。或許公元前4世紀莊子的一段話可以看作是對這些圖像非常好的說明：
She who wants to have right without wrong,
Order without disorder,
Does not understand the principles
Of heaven and earth.
She does not know how
Things hang together.
（大意：只想要正確的、不想要錯誤的，只想要秩序而不想要無序，這樣的人不懂得天地之道，不知道萬事萬物的結合之理。）
It is great to hear that Bao Ching Jewelry in Nanjing would like to
publish e-picture thinking in gold leaf to keep it forever. I joyfully
support such a meaningful act and am happy to write this forward for
this edition of the book. It is a powerful step towards the
development of a T3 (trans-disciplines, trans-cultures, and
trans-geographies) culture, which embraces the whole mind, necessary
for the 21st century. My congratulations to Yi Gang for his pioneering
work.
很高興得知南京寶慶銀樓意欲以金箔出版《圖•像思維》一書，以便於永久保存。我欣然支持此有意義之舉並很樂意為本版作序。對於“三跨文化”（跨學科、跨文化、跨地域）的發展，這是極具影響力的一步。這種文化是對心智的整體接納，為21世紀所必需。我在此為該先驅性的作品恭賀易罡先生。
葉祖堯博士 日本軟體協會榮譽主席
印度國際軟體發展中心榮譽主席、總顧問
中國台灣資策會（III）發起人 中國機械工程學會榮譽主席中國第一屆計算機領導小組顧問（1982年）
美國知名學者、德克薩斯大學教授 美國國際電機電子工程學會（IEEE）院士
