Confucius said: “At first, I listened to people’s words and believed their actions. Now, I listen to their words and observe their actions.” (The Analects)

When Fuxi was the ruler of all under heaven, he looked up into the sky to observe celestial phenomena and looked down on the land to observe geographical features and examine the images of birds, beasts, and all other things that existed on earth. He selected symbols from the human body close by and from various objects far away, and then invented the eight trigrams to explain the miraculous nature and distinguish the states of all things. (The Book of Changes)