Van Ess uses the I Ching's symbols of yin and yang to explain his way of thinking--he believes that even Taiwan's relationship with China can be explained in terms of the I Ching, which says "Lack leads to change, change leads to passage" and that nothing in the world is impervious to change.
葉翰教授並隨手以《易經》的陰陽符號說明他的想法，甚至兩岸關係問題的演進趨勢，都可以根據《易經》「窮則變，變則通」的道理，推測「天下事未有久而不變者」，無論台灣或中國，都會隨著時間變化找到應該走的路。