The I Ching or Book of Changes (93 page)
Kên indicates gates and palaces; these bring to mind the temple of the ancestors, mysteriously locked. Kên is the hand, Sun means pure, hence washing of the hands. Kên means pausing, hence the uncompleted sacrifice. The rite of sacrifice is shown
to the people and contemplated by them. The holy man knows the laws of heaven. He reveals them to the people, and his predictions come true. Just as the seasons of the year move under divine and immutable laws, so events do not deviate from the course he prophesies. Thus he uses his knowledge of the divine ways to teach the people, and the people trust him and look up to him.
THE IMAGE
The wind blows over the earth:
The image of CONTEMPLATION.
Thus the kings of old visited the regions of the world,
Contemplated the people,
And gave them instruction.
The wind blows everywhere on earth and reveals all things. Thus the journeys of the kings of antiquity are symbolized by the trigram Sun, wind, and the regions of the world by the trigram K’un, earth. The contemplation is the taking and the instruction is the giving for which the hexagram stands.
THE LINES
Six at the beginning:
a
) Boylike contemplation.
For an inferior man, no blame.
For a superior man, humiliation.
b
) The boylike contemplation of the six at the beginning is the way of inferior people.
The six in the first place pictures a small (because it is a yin line) boy (because it is in a yang place). He is very far away from the object of everyone’s gaze, i.e., the prince in the fifth place, with whom he has no relationship; hence the idea of a boyishly inexperienced way of looking about.
Six in the second place:
a
) Contemplation through the crack of the door.
Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.
b
) “Contemplation through the crack of the door” is humiliating even where there is the perseverance of a woman.
The nuclear trigram Kên indicates a door, the trigram K’un a closed door, hence the crack of the door. The six in the second place indicates a girl. This line is in the relationship of correspondence to the nine in the fifth place, hence a connection exists, although it is greatly impeded.
Six in the third place:
a
) Contemplation of my life
Decides the choice
Between advance and retreat.
b
) “Contemplation of my life decides the choice between advance and retreat.” The right way is not lost.
Here a weak line in the place of transition is undecided whether to go forward or backward. It is at the bottom of the nuclear trigram Kên, mountain. Hence the backward look over its life, hence also the idea of the right way.
Six in the fourth place:
a
) Contemplation of the light of the kingdom.
It furthers one to exert influence as the guest of a king.
b
) “Contemplation of the light of the kingdom.” One is honored as a guest.
This line is at the top of the nuclear trigram K’un, which means kingdom, and also in the middle of the nuclear trigram Kên, meaning light. Furthermore, it is near the strong, central ruler, the nine in the fifth place, and stands in a receiving relationship to it. Hence the idea of its being treated as a guest.
Nine in the fifth place:
a
) Contemplation of my life.
The superior man is without blame.
b
) “Contemplation of my life,” that is, contemplation of the people.
Here the ruler of the hexagram is in the honored place, central and correct, at the top of the nuclear trigram Kên, mountain, hence the viewing of life as from a mountain. He who is the object of general contemplation here contemplates himself, especially with regard to the influence he has exerted upon the people.
a
) Contemplation of his life.
The superior man is without blame.
b
) “Contemplation of his life.” The will is not yet pacified.
Here one ruler of the hexagram looks from the vantage of the greatest height upon the nine in the fifth place. He has not yet forgotten the world and is therefore still concerned with its affairs.
The ruler of the hexagram is the six in the fifth place. The Commentary on the Decision says of it: “The yielding receives the place of honor and goes upward.”
The Sequence
When there is something that can be contemplated, there is something that creates union. Hence there
follows the hexagram of BITING THROUGH. Biting through means union.
Miscellaneous Notes
BITING THROUGH means consuming.
Appended Judgments
When the sun stood at midday, the Divine Husbandman held a market. He caused the people of the earth to come together and collected the wares of the earth. They exchanged these with one another, then returned home, and each thing found its place. Probably he took this from the hexagram of BITING THROUGH.
The hexagram is here explained in the light of the meaning of the two trigrams Li and Chên. Li represents the sun high above, while Chên represents the turmoil of the market below. The inner structure of the hexagram is by no means as favorable as the outer form might lead one to conclude. It is true that clarity and movement are present, but between them, as opposing elements, there stand the nuclear trigrams K’an, danger, and Kên, Keeping Still—both formed by reason of the one fateful line in the fourth place.
THE JUDGMENT
BITING THROUGH has success.
It is favorable to let justice be administered.
Commentary on the Decision
There is something between the corners of the mouth. This is called BITING THROUGH.
“BITING THROUGH, and moreover, success.” For firm and yielding are distinct from each other.
Movement and clarity. Thunder and lightning are united and form lines. The yielding receives the place of honor and goes upward.
Although it is not in the appropriate place, it is favorable to let justice be administered.
The name of the hexagram is here explained on the basis of its structure. The top line and the lowest are the jaws. The nine in the fourth place stands between the two as an obstacle to be removed by biting through. This points to the necessity of using force. The firm yang lines and the yielding yin lines are clearly set apart one from the other, without falling asunder. This is the substance of the hexagram. In the same way, innocence and guilt are clearly distinguishable in the eyes of a just judge.
Movement is the attribute of Chên, clarity that of Li; both tend upwards, thus uniting and forming clearly visible lines. The movements are separate, the coming together occurs in the heavens, whereupon the line of the lightning appears.
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The ruler of the hexagram is yielding by nature, a quality desirable in legal proceedings, because it prevents cruelty. However, this yielding quality is compensated by the firmness of the place, hence does not turn into weakness.
THE IMAGE
Thunder and lightning:
The image of BITING THROUGH.
Thus the kings of former times made firm the laws
Through clearly defined penalties.
Thunder and lightning follow upon each other invariably. The phrase is “thunder and lightning,” not “lightning and thunder,” because the movement starts from below (however, the text according to Hsiang An Shih
2
on an old stone tablet reads, “Lightning and thunder”). The penal severity that serves to make men avoid transgressions should be as clearly defined as lightning. “Penalties” corresponds with the upper nuclear trigram K’an, danger. The strengthening of the laws, in order to intimidate the heedless, should ensue with the decisiveness
of thunder. The laws are stable and stand rooted like a mountain (lower nuclear trigram Kên).
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning:
a
) His feet are fastened in the stocks
So that his toes disappear.
No blame.
b
) “His feet are fastened in the stocks, so that his toes disappear. No blame.” He cannot walk.
Chên is foot; here it is below, hence toes. Chên also stands for the stocks. The line at the beginning is hard and stubborn, and must therefore be punished. But since it is seized at its first movement, it will improve under light punishment, hence there is no blame.
Six in the second place:
a
) Bites through tender meat,
So that his nose disappears.
No blame.
b
) “Bites through tender meat, so that his nose disappears.” He rests upon a hard line.