The I Ching or Book of Changes (102 page)
The yielding element in Li is the central line of the Receptive, hence the image of the strong but docile cow.
THE IMAGE
That which is bright rises twice:
The image of FIRE.
Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness,
Illumines the four quarters of the world.
Fire flames upward, hence the phrase, “That which is bright rises.” Twice is implied by the doubling of the trigram. In relation to the spiritual realm, brightness means the innate light-imbued predispositions of man, which through their consistency illumine the world. The trigram Li stands in the south and represents the summer sun, which illumines all earthly things.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning:
a
) The footprints run crisscross.
If one is seriously intent, no blame.
b
) Seriousness when footprints run crisscross serves in avoiding blame.
The first line means the morning. The fire at first burns fitfully—an image of the restless confusion of daily business. The line is firm, hence the possibility of seriousness.
Six in the second place:
a
) Yellow light. Supreme good fortune.
b
) The supreme good fortune of yellow light lies in the fact that one has found the middle way.
This line is the middle one of the lower trigram, hence “the middle way.” Yellow is the color of the middle, here specially mentioned because the line originates as the middle line of the trigram K’un, the Receptive.
Nine in the third place:
a
) In the light of the setting sun,
Men either beat the pot and sing
Or loudly bewail the approach of old age.
Misfortune.
b
) How can one wish to hold for long the light of the setting sun?
The third line ends the lower trigram, hence the image of the setting sun. The line is simultaneously in the nuclear trigram Tui, which indicates autumn, and in the nuclear trigram Sun, meaning growth. But Tui also means joyousness and Sun also means sighing.
Nine in the fourth place:
a
) Its coming is sudden;
It flames up, dies down, is thrown away.
b
) “Its coming is sudden.” Yet in itself it has nothing that would cause it to be accepted.
The fourth line is restless at the point of intersection of the two nuclear trigrams. It is oppressed from below and rejected from above.
a
) Tears in floods, sighing and lamenting.
Good fortune.
b
) The good fortune of the six in the fifth place clings to king and prince.
The fifth place is that of the ruler. Since the line is yielding, it is not arrogant but humble and sad (it is at the top of the nuclear trigram Tui, mouth, hence the lament). Therein lies its good fortune.
Nine at the top:
a
) The king uses him to march forth and chastise.
Then it is best to kill the leaders
And take captive the followers. No blame.
b
) “The king uses him to march forth and chastise”: in order to bring the country under discipline.
The ruler of the hexagram, the six in the fifth place, is the king. He uses the top line to lead the armed forces (the trigram Li has weapons for its symbol). Since it is at the top and strong, the line is correct, and therefore does not push the business of war too far. It shows the light at its height.
PART II
31. Hsien / Influence (Wooing)
The nine in the fourth place is in the place of the heart. The heart holds mastery in influence, hence the fourth line is here a ruler of the hexagram. The nine in the fifth place is in the place of the back and therefore means keeping still in the midst of the influence. In the midst of movement, it is able to remain quiet and is therefore ruler of the hexagram to a still greater degree.
The Sequence
After there are heaven and earth, there are the individual things.
After individual things have come into being, there are the two sexes.
After there are male and female, there is the relationship between husband and wife.
After the relationship between husband and wife exists, there is the relationship between father and son.
After the relationship between father and son exists, there is the relationship between prince and servitor.
After the relationship between prince and servitor exists, there is the difference between superior and inferior.
After the difference between superior and inferior exists, the rules of propriety and of right can operate.
Miscellaneous Notes
INFLUENCE fulfills itself quickly.
THE JUDGMENT
INFLUENCE. Success.
Perseverance furthers.
To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune.
Commentary on the Decision
INFLUENCE means stimulation. The weak is above, the strong below. The forces of the two stimulate and respond to each other, so that they unite.
Keeping Still and joyousness.
1
The masculine subordinates itself to the feminine. Hence it is said:
“Success. Perseverance furthers. To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune.”
Heaven and earth stimulate each other, and all things take shape and come into being. The holy man stimulates the hearts of men, and the world attains peace and rest. If we contemplate the outgoing stimulating influences, we can know the nature of heaven and earth and all beings.
Hsien differs from the character
kan
, “to stimulate,” in that the heart is not a constituent part of it, as it is of the latter. Hence it represents an influence that is unconscious and involuntary, not one that is conscious and willed. It is a matter of objective relationships of a general kind, not those of a subjective, individual character.
The “weak above” is the trigram Tui, the youngest daughter; its attribute is joyousness, its image is the lake. The “strong below” is Kên, the youngest son; its attribute is keeping still, its image is the mountain.
The explanation of the Judgment is based on the organization of the hexagram (the weak element above, the strong below), the attributes, and the symbols (the youngest son, the youngest daughter).
THE IMAGE
A lake on the mountain:
The image of influence.
Thus the superior man encourages people to approach him
By his readiness to receive them.
2
The mountain lake gives of its moisture to the mountain; the mountain collects clouds, which feed the lake. Thus their forces have a reciprocal influence. The relation of the two images shows how this influence comes about: it is only when a mountain is empty at its summit, that is, deepened into a hollow, that a lake can form. Thus the superior man receives people by virtue of emptiness. The superior man is compared to the mountain, the people to the lake. The relation is formed through the initiative of the mountain, the superior man.
THE LINES
The stimulation here shows itself step by step. The individual lines denote the respective parts of the body: the three lower lines are the legs, including toe, calf, and thigh; the three upper lines are the trunk, with the heart, the back of the neck, and the organs of speech.
Six at the beginning:
a
) The influence shows itself in the big toe.
b
) Influence in the big toe: the will is directed outward.
This line is related to the nine in the fourth place in the outer trigram. The image of the toe is chosen because it denotes the lowest part of the body. The will is directed outward, though
this does not become manifest, because the movement of the toe is invisible from outside.
Six in the second place:
a
) The influence shows itself in the calves of the legs.
Misfortune.
Tarrying brings good fortune.
b
) Even though misfortune threatens, tarrying brings good fortune. One does not come to harm through devotion.
This line is related to the nine in the fifth place. If it does not move in unison with the six at the beginning, but tarries until stimulated from above by the nine in the fifth place, it does not come to harm. The possibility of tarrying is open to it because its position is central.
Nine in the third place:
a
) The influence shows itself in the thighs.
Holds to that which follows it.
To continue is humiliating.