If you'd like to dive deeper, I can focus on a specific chapter like the or explain the distinction between yan and ming . Which part interests you most?

: Establishes how yi (義) was viewed as an external standard, surviving even through major philosophical disputes. Part II: Yi (義) as Model

The guide you're looking for refers to by Jane Geaney, published by SUNY Press in 2022. This work explores how the concept of "word-meaning"—content independent of a specific instance of use—first developed in China. Core Thesis and Arguments

: Analyzes yi (意) in relation to the activities of the "heartmind".

: Rather than assuming "meaning" always existed as a concept, Geaney argues that it emerged as a response to the explosion of textual production and encounters with radically different writing forms like Buddhist sutras.

: Offers the paperback for approximately $36.95.

: Discusses how yi (義) provided accessible standards for interpretation.

: A central argument is that the term yi (typically meaning duty or morality) transitioned into a metalinguistic term for "meaning" because it already functioned as an external, normative "model" for interpreting texts.