《易因》Vol. 1

The Opening of the Upper Canon of Yi Yin: The Qian Hexagram

Yi Yin is included in the Zhonghua Daozang (Chinese Daoist Canon) and is a Daoist work on Yijing learning. This passage first lists the names of the thirty hexagrams of the Upper Canon, beginning with Qian and Kun and ending with Li. It then takes the Qian hexagram as an example and explains it line by line.

Hexagram Statement

The hexagram statement of Qian is “Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen.” Yuan is beginning, Heng is penetrating, Li is appropriateness, and Zhen is upright and steadfast. These four characters are the fundamental qualities of the Dao of Heaven.

Line Statements

Initial Nine: the dragon lies hidden in the water and has not yet appeared; at this time one should not act rashly. Nine in the Second Place: the dragon appears in the field; its virtue and blessing are universally bestowed on all things, and it is favorable to see a virtuous person. Nine in the Third Place: the noble person is diligent and tireless all day and remains vigilant at night. Though situated in danger, he can remain without fault. Nine in the Fourth Place: the dragon may leap up or retreat and guard the deep abyss; advancing and retreating at ease, it commits no fault. Nine in the Fifth Place: the flying dragon is in heaven, occupying a noble position, and it is favorable to see a virtuous person. Top Nine: the dragon rises to an extreme height; when flourishing reaches its peak it declines, and therefore there is regret. Applying Nine: a host of dragons appear together and none takes the lead; auspicious. (The original text’s “grass dragon” should be “a host of dragons.”)

Tuan Commentary (the text explaining the hexagram statement)

How vast is the virtue of Qian Yuan! All things begin through it, and it governs the Dao of Heaven. Cloud Qi flows and rain and dew descend; all kinds of things grow and flourish. The sun and moon revolve and shine brightly; the positions of the six lines are accomplished according to time; riding the six dragons, it drives the course of Heaven. The Dao of Qian changes and transforms, causing all things each to attain their correct nature and destiny and to preserve harmonious Qi; this is Li and Zhen. Qian Yuan stands at the head of all things, and the ten thousand states are thereby at peace.

Xiang Commentary (the text explaining the line images)

“The movement of Heaven is vigorous; the noble person accordingly strengthens himself without ceasing”: the Dao of Heaven moves with vigor and strength, and the noble person should emulate it, encourage himself, and never rest. (The original text’s “bu zao” should be “bu xi,” meaning “without ceasing.”)

The Xiang Commentary on each line explains respectively: because Yang Qi is hidden in the lower position, “the hidden dragon is not to be used”; because virtue and blessing are universally bestowed, “the dragon appears in the field”; because he repeatedly practices the correct Dao, “all day long he is diligent and vigilant”; because advancing and retreating have their basis, “perhaps leaping in the abyss, advancing without fault”; because the virtuous one accomplishes his work, “the flying dragon is in heaven”; because fullness cannot endure long, “the overreaching dragon has regret”; because the virtue of Heaven does not take being first as honorable, “Applying Nine” is auspicious.

The Wenyan Commentary says: “Yuan is the head of all goodness; Heng is the convergence of all excellence; Li is the harmony of moral rightness; Zhen is the foundation of action.” When the noble person embodies and practices benevolent virtue, he is sufficient to lead others; when he causes beautiful and good things to gather, he is sufficient to accord with ritual and law; when he brings benefit to the myriad things, he is sufficient to harmonize moral rightness; when he firmly holds to correctness and steadfastness, he is sufficient to complete undertakings. The noble person practices these four virtues; therefore it is said: Qian (the name of the hexagram, symbolizing the firmness and strength of the way of Heaven), Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen (the four virtues of the Qian hexagram).

The line statement for the first nine, “The hidden dragon, do not act,” what does it mean? Confucius said: This is a person who possesses dragon virtue (a metaphor for the conduct of a person of virtue) yet remains hidden and does not come forth. He does not change with the world, does not seek fame, and is not vexed even when he withdraws from the world. When joyful, he acts; when troubled, he withdraws; he is steadfast and cannot be shaken. This is the “hidden dragon.”

The line statement for the second nine, “The dragon appears in the field; it is favorable to see the great person,” what does it mean? Confucius said: This is a person who possesses dragon virtue, dwells in the center, and holds fast to correctness. His words are ordinary yet sincere; his actions are ordinary yet cautious. He guards against evil thoughts and preserves a sincere heart. He treats the world kindly without boasting; his virtue is broad and can transform the myriad people. The Zhouyi says, “The dragon appears in the field; it is favorable to see the great person”—this speaks precisely of the virtue of a ruler.

The line statement for the third nine, “The noble person throughout the day is ceaselessly diligent; at night he remains vigilant as if in danger; no blame,” what does it mean? Confucius said: The noble person must increase his virtue and cultivate his undertakings. He advances virtue through loyalty and trustworthiness; he refines his speech and establishes sincerity, and thereby settles his undertakings. When he knows what should be reached, he reaches it; then one can discuss with him the subtle incipience of things (ji). When he knows what should be ended, he ends it well; then one can guard moral rightness together with him. Therefore, in a high position he is not proud; in a low position he is not anxious. “Qianqian” means being vigilant in accordance with the times; even when in danger, one can avoid blame.

The line statement for the fourth nine, “Perhaps leaping, perhaps in the abyss; no blame,” what does it mean? Confucius said: Going up and down, coming and going, has its own constant way; it is not for the sake of wickedness. In advancing and retreating, what is preserved is moral rightness. Therefore, in a high position he is not proud; in a low position he is not anxious. “Qianqian” means being vigilant in accordance with the times; even when in danger, one can avoid blame.

Nine in the fourth place: Sometimes it leaps up, and sometimes it remains in the deep; in this way there is no fault. Confucius explains: There is no fixed rule for moving up or down in position, and this is not a matter of harboring evil intent. Advancing and retreating likewise have no invariable standard, and this is not a matter of separating from the group. The noble person cultivates virtue and improves learning in order to catch the proper timing; therefore there is no fault.

Nine in the fifth place: The flying dragon is in the sky; it is favorable to see a great person of virtue and position. Confucius explains: Those with the same sound respond to one another; those with the same qi seek one another. Water flows toward what is wet; fire burns toward what is dry. Clouds rise following the dragon; wind arises following the tiger. When the sage arises, all things become manifest. What originates from Heaven draws close to what is above; what originates from Earth draws close to what is below—this is because each follows its own kind.

Nine at the top: The arrogant dragon has regrets. Confucius explains: It is honored but has no corresponding position; it occupies a high place but the people do not attach themselves to it; worthy people are in lower positions and no one assists it. Therefore, as soon as it acts, it will regret.

(Note: “Arrogant dragon” refers to a dragon that has risen too high and reached its extreme, a metaphor for occupying an extreme position in a state that cannot last.)

The following are the Small Images for each line (brief explanations): For the first nine (Hidden dragon, do not act), the dragon lies hidden beneath the earth; because its position is still low, it is not yet appropriate to display itself. For the second nine (Dragon appears in the field), the dragon appears on the ground; the time is not yet ripe, so for the time being it dwells at ease. For the third nine (All day diligent and vigilant), being diligent and unremitting all day is because one must strive to accomplish things. For the fourth nine (Now leaping, now in the abyss), leaping or pausing is to test one’s own capacity. For the fifth nine (Flying dragon in the sky), the dragon flies in the sky because it governs the world from a high position. For the top nine (Arrogant dragon has regrets), the dragon rises to an extreme height and has regrets because it has reached a dead end, bringing disaster. For Using Nine (Qian’s primal use of Nine), the original text reads “Yong Yong,” which should be “Yong Jiu.” When the way of yang strength is applied, the world is well governed.

Explanations of the corresponding lines in the Wenyan: For Hidden dragon, do not act, yang qi is hidden within and has not yet been activated. For Dragon appears in the field, the world begins to show the bright prospect of civil governance. For All day diligent and vigilant, one advances together with the times and does not go against the timing. For Now leaping, now in the abyss, the way of Qian begins to transform, and a new situation will arise. For Flying dragon in the sky, dwelling in the position of heavenly virtue, one’s virtue accords with Heaven. For Arrogant dragon has regrets, one reaches the end together with the times; when things reach an extreme, they reverse. For Using Nine, it manifests the law of the heavenly Dao, that is, the norm by which the way of Qian operates.

Overall understanding: This passage uses the six stages of the “dragon” to explain the principles of how a noble person conducts himself in the world: when in hiding, do not rush to display oneself; when gradually emerging, strive to cultivate virtue; when occupying a high position, be cautious and self-restrained; when reaching the extreme, decline will follow. The key lies in grasping the timing—neither advancing rashly nor stubbornly holding fast, but acting in accordance with the times.

Qian Yuan is the fundamental De (Virtue/Power) by which the heavenly Dao generates all things. “Beginning and penetrating” means that all things start from it and attain free passage; “benefiting and steadfast” means that its nature lies in benefiting all things while maintaining correctness and firmness. When the Qian Dao begins to operate, it can bestow excellent benefit upon all under Heaven without claiming credit for its own merit. How great is this De and its function! It is firm and strong, centered and correct, pure and refined into oneness. The six lines of the hexagram (the six line positions) each exert their function and interconnect; this is the constant condition of the Qian Dao. The Qian Dao drives the six dragons according to the seasons (the dragons are a metaphor for the six lines operating with the seasons, like six dragons pulling a chariot) in order to govern the heavenly Dao. It moves the clouds and spreads rain, bringing peace and stability to all under Heaven; this too is the constant condition of the Qian Dao. (“Lei Mai” should be an error for the word “yun,” meaning “cloud.”)

The noble person takes the accomplishment of virtuous conduct as cultivation; this is a practice that can be seen. “Hidden” means concealed and not yet manifest, acting but not yet completed, so the noble person does not take the time of concealment as a time for action.

The noble person gathers understanding through learning, clarifies principles through inquiry, dwells securely with a generous heart, and practices with a benevolent heart. The Yi says: “A dragon appears in the field; it is favorable to see the great person.” This speaks of the De of a ruler.

Nine in the third place is doubled yang firmness and not centered; above it is not in Heaven, below it is not in the field, so it is diligent all day and keeps a wary mind in accord with the times. Even in a dangerous situation, there is no blame.

Nine in the fourth place is likewise doubled yang firmness and not centered; above it is not in Heaven, below it is not in the field, and it occupies the middle but not the human position, so the word “or” is used to indicate that advance and retreat are unsettled. “Or” means hesitation; therefore there is no blame.

The great person (one of great De) matches his De with Heaven and Earth, his brightness with the sun and moon, his order with the four seasons, and his good and bad fortune with ghosts and spirits. He acts before Heaven’s time, and Heaven does not oppose him; he acts after Heaven’s time and follows it, and can also accord with the heavenly Dao. Since Heaven does not oppose him, how much less would people? How much less ghosts and spirits?

The meaning of Kang is knowing only how to advance and not how to retreat, only how to preserve and not how to perish, only how to gain and not how to lose. One who can understand advance and retreat, preservation and perishing, and yet not lose the correct Dao—perhaps only a sage can do so.

Great indeed is Qianyuan—the originating virtue contained in the Qian hexagram! All things begin through it; since they begin through it, they must also end through it. If Qianyuan does not govern Heaven, what else could it govern? Heaven itself is but one thing among the myriad things. If it were not governed by Qianyuan, how could it move, spread clouds and rain, keep the myriad things circulating, make their forms manifest, and thus be so prosperous? Therefore it says: “Great indeed is Qianyuan!”

The reason people cannot comprehend this is that they do not understand that the Dao of Qian—the pattern of Qian’s movement—has a beginning and an end, and so they do not know how great Qianyuan is. If they could understand this, they would know that the six line positions of the Qian hexagram are all completed in a single moment; it is only that people must act by seizing the appropriate time. Thus the first position is the “hidden dragon” (the dragon lies concealed and has not emerged); the second position is the “appearing dragon” (the dragon appears on the ground); the third position is the “vigilant dragon” (the dragon is cautious and uneasy); the fourth position is the “leaping dragon” (the dragon may leap or pause, its advance and retreat undecided); the fifth position is the “flying dragon” (the dragon flies in Heaven); and the top position is the “overreaching dragon” (the dragon rises to the utmost and goes too far). These are all natural transformations of the Dao of Qian; the sage merely accords with the time and thereby harnesses the Heavenly Dao.

Therefore each individual thing has its own Qianyuan—this is the individual rectification of nature and destiny, and it cannot be the same for all; the myriad things as a whole are unified in a single Qianyuan—this is the preservation and integration of the Great Harmony, and it cannot be different. Hence it says, “Then there is benefit and steadfastness.” In this way, when each person rectifies the Qianyuan within themselves and each possesses such a nature, this is the endowment that makes one foremost among the myriad things. That which governs the Heavenly Dao is attributed to Qian; that which follows the time and seizes the momentum to steer the Heavenly Dao is attributed to the sage. If one willingly rots away together with the myriad things, is that not pitiable? The myriad states are preserved and united because of this virtue of Qianyuan; when has there ever been a day when it did not bring about peace? If one assigns “Heaven” to Qian and “the myriad things” to things, and further believes that the sage can bring peace to the myriad states and that the myriad states must depend on the sage to be at peace, is such a view not even more pitiable? Therefore it says: “Qian: yuan, heng, li, zhen.” The four virtues all belong to Qian, yet “Great indeed” is used to praise “yuan” alone; how profound is the meaning therein.

The Wenyan says: “Qian Yuan” is the source from which all things begin and flourish. People see only the flourishing at its beginning, but not the beginning of that flourishing. The inception of flourishing contains “Li Zhen” (beneficial to holding steadfastly to what is correct), and this is the unity of nature and emotion.

Great indeed is Qian Yuan! It is fundamentally the root on which all things depend for their beginning, yet who can know the principle of “Li Zhen” within it? That by which Qian Yuan makes its beginning is therefore also called “Qian Shi” (Qian’s Beginning). It is precisely because there is this “Qian Shi” that it can bestow beautiful benefit upon the world. Were it not so, how could this be achieved? Qian Shi benefits the world with beautiful benefit, yet does not declare where that benefit lies; all under Heaven receive its grace. People do not know wherein the beautiful benefit bestowed by Qian Shi lies—how vast is this benefit! Yet who knows that it is precisely this “Li Zhen” that is at work within it?

Therefore it is further praised: Great indeed is the Li Zhen of the Dao of Qian! How firm and vigorous, how central and correct, how pure, how refined and beautiful—even with the utmost effort of description, it is difficult to portray in words. If we speak in terms of its inner virtue, it is firm and vigorous, central and correct, pure, refined and beautiful, though it cannot be seen; if we speak in terms of its outward manifestation, it is the six lines of this hexagram, winding yet fluent, mutually penetrating, with the meaning and principle fully expounded without omission.

Since there are the six lines, there are the six dragons (referring to the six lines of the Qian hexagram, which symbolize the six conditions of the operation of the heavenly Dao), mounted and driven according to time so as to govern the heavenly Dao. I know that Heaven too will not go against it. Since it mounts and drives the six dragons, it can naturally make clouds and send rain, bringing peace to the world—how then could it fail to spread beautiful benefit over all under Heaven?

Broadly speaking, the “Yuan” virtue of Qian is an empty position—what is called “Great indeed is Qian Yuan.” Humans, Heaven, and the sage all share this Yuan; therefore there is no need to distinguish which belongs to Heaven, which to humans, and which to the sage, so that people may know that the three are fundamentally not to be divided into two. The “Zhen” virtue of Qian is a substantive virtue—what is called “nature and emotion.” Humans, Heaven, and the sage all possess this virtue; therefore there is no need to distinguish what is nature, what is emotion, what is benefit, and what is steadfastness, so that people may know that they cannot be separated.

The Wenyan says, “Yuan is the foremost of all good conduct.” Looking at the Zhouyi’s hexagram statements and Xiang commentaries, they speak only of the four virtues—Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen—so why did Confucius say so much when interpreting them? He first says, “Great indeed is Qian’s Yuan,” praising the Yuan of the Qian hexagram. This shows that what he valued most was Yuan, and that he wanted people to realize Yuan through the way of Qian; thus the four virtues all return to the single virtue of Yuan. He then says, “Qian’s Yuan is that which begins and thereby prospers; Li and Zhen are nature and disposition,” and directly praises Qian’s Zhen. This shows that he also valued Zhen and wanted people to understand its meaning. The four virtues arise from Yuan, and among the four virtues there can be mutual transformation; each can serve as Yuan. These are all what the sage called the way of Qian, not something others can participate in.

He also says, “Yuan is what is called good”—but is this alone enough to speak of Qian and Kun? If Qian were merely hard and restless and could not accomplish things, could it still be called Qian? If Kun were merely listless and without action, could it still be called Kun? Then Heaven could not carry Heaven, Earth could not complete Earth, and we would have nothing to rely on. We would not know that firmness and yielding are originally possessed by the supremely firm and supremely yielding themselves; why, then, should anything else be added to supplement them? Thus the capacity to move within the “supremely soft” is firmness; the upright virtue within the “supremely still” is yielding. Earth can be soft and yielding because the transformations of the way of Qian cause the myriad things each to attain their correctness and each to complete their nature and destiny. Heaven can be firm and strong because, if firmness and strength still had to rely on yielding for supplementation, it would certainly not be true firmness and strength; firmness and strength are deployed by Yuan, and that is their own function. If yielding still had to have firmness and strength added to it, it would likewise certainly not be true softness and yielding; softness and yielding are likewise deployed by Yuan, and that is their own function. Alas, how could such a view be fit to understand the true nature of Qian and Kun? Qian and Kun are originally one whole.

The Judgment of Qian says, “Great success,” and the Judgment of Kun also says, “Great success.” But Qian goes on to say, “It is beneficial to be steadfast,” while Kun says, “It is beneficial to be steadfast like a mare.” (A mare is a female horse: gentle and compliant, yet able to bear burdens and travel far; it symbolizes the way of Kun.) It does not say merely “horse” but deliberately says “mare.” This shows that, compared with the dragon’s transformations and soaring flight, Kun is beneficial only in this gentle and compliant way, for this alone is Kun’s way of correctness and firmness. Therefore, when the noble person sets out and takes Kun as his model, he finds peace in a mare-like correctness and firmness; hence it says, “To be settled and steadfast brings good fortune.” When he acts and commits himself to affairs, he takes the mare’s steadfastness as beneficial; hence it says, “It is beneficial to be steadfast forever,” because Kun ends with “greatness.”

The “greatness” here means that Qian ends with greatness. Thus “yuan” dares to be master, dares to take the lead, and dares to gather a following—this is what steadfastness means. The passage beginning “First one goes astray” explains “It is beneficial to be steadfast like a mare.” “First” means that Qian is the master, while I place myself behind and follow it. Having obtained the master and taking it as beneficial, whether it goes west or south, I firmly keep behind it, gather myself in the north, and dwell at peace. Roughly speaking, to follow only the master makes the mind single and undivided; to listen in a settled way enables one to follow behind, maintain the constant way, and remain undeluded. Such is Kun’s “beneficial steadfastness,” and this is precisely “great success.”

The second paragraph says that people are born straight; since they are straight, there is no need to speak further of squareness. Now it speaks of both straightness and squareness because people know only straightness and do not know that straightness itself has its own squareness. (As the Wenyan commentary on Kun says, “Straightness is its correctness; squareness is its appropriateness.”) The very first thought in a person is not straight.

When a person is first born, their original nature is straight. Since “straight” has already been said, there is no need to speak of “square” as well. That both “straight” and “square” are now spoken of is because people know only “straight” and do not know that “straight” itself contains the principle of “square.”

Is not a person’s very first thought that straight and compliant original nature? But as soon as this one thought arises it is perceived; then the initial “straight” and the perceived “straight” are originally the same “straight.” After perception one rests; resting is “square.” When action is issued from this, although there is a distinction between “straight” and “square,” both accord with the same fundamental brightness and are thereby expanded and brought to greatness.

The nature of the earth is generous and vast; the De of Kun (the yielding and sustaining virtue symbolized by the Kun hexagram in the Zhouyi) is boundless. It does not stand alone but must have that with which it pairs—this is exactly the principle. Therefore the yao of the Zhouyi (each line of a hexagram, that is, the line statements) speaks of both “straight” and “square.”

Straight is correctness; square is righteousness. Correctness lies in resting, righteousness lies in action. Resting is reverence, and reverence is not a matter of deliberately applying the mind. Simply preserving and nurturing it within the heart is “straight” and nothing more; square is righteousness, and righteousness is not a matter of imitating others or seeking it externally—simply complying with the principles of things in action is “benefit” and nothing more. How could this require waiting until after learning for there to be benefit? Originally, even without learning, there would be nothing disadvantageous—what is there to doubt?

Lord Po (Su Shi) explains: the dragon can change with the times and acts on its own; the horse, only after being tamed, can be used by people. The horse is employed by people and is also a mare, yielding to the utmost. But if it were merely yielding without maintaining correctness and firmness, it would fall into depravity. That is why the hexagram statement says, “It is favorable to be steadfast as a mare”—that is, it is favorable to maintain correctness and firmness like a mare.

Li Tuweng (a commentator whose dates are unknown) says: one who is perfectly compliant is never not correct and firm. Perfect compliance means following Qian (Heaven). Once one has followed Qian, how could one fail to be correct and firm?

“Gaining friends,” “joining one’s kind,” and “traveling southwest” speak of the return of the way of yin softness. Clinging to yin softness, how could one single-mindedly obey Qian and reach the utmost of great compliance?

Another explanation is this: the way of Kun (Earth) can be used by others but cannot lead on its own; it can echo but cannot initiate. Therefore the noble person “has somewhere to go with advantage.” Going ahead, one loses direction; falling behind, one can instead comply and thereby receive leadership—this is the meaning of “advantage.” The west and south belong to Dui (Lake), Li (Fire), and Xun (Wind), all of the same kind; the east and north belong to Zhen (Thunder), Kan (Water), and Gen (Mountain), which are not of the same kind. Two yin lines cannot lead one another, so one must leave one’s own kind, cut off old friends, and go to the northeast, taking yang as master.

Li Tuweng also says: Qian is the master of Kun. When Qian is master, there is no need to seek; if one seeks, one instead loses, and then the thought of “gaining friends” arises, so one can no longer single-mindedly obey Qian.

Another explanation: Six in the second place, a yin line in a yin position, may be called yielding and compliant. “Straight” means square and upright; it is what the heart wishes to express. When it is put into words, it becomes “speech,” and only then can it be called “trustworthy.” Only loyalty can bring trustworthiness to completion; trustworthiness is rooted in the heart. Who can fail to follow this principle? Therefore the noble person practices loyalty and trust throughout life, until life ends. Even if one does not know it as the highest principle, but can recognize it as one’s everyday speech and conduct and does not dare fail to observe it for a lifetime—such a person can be joined in preserving righteousness and reducing faults. Why is this so?

Those who labor diligently and cautiously all day long fear only that their words and actions may fail to accord with the Way and righteousness. Therefore one who truly understands “knowing the ultimate” (recognizing the realm to be reached), upon hearing of “loyalty and reciprocity” (doing one’s utmost and extending that to others), can grasp “the one thread” (the fundamental principle running through all things). Otherwise, even if one practices loyalty and reciprocity for a lifetime, one still will not understand what “the one thread” actually refers to. That is why Zengzi took loyalty and reciprocity as the highest attainment, and his disciples likewise made it their foundation for life; this is precisely the difference between “having already realized” and “not yet having realized.” Confucius said, “Is there a single word that can be practiced throughout one’s life? Perhaps it is reciprocity.” This saying is indeed trustworthy. In their approach to loyalty and reciprocity, scholars may practice them for a lifetime. When they themselves have some realization, they will naturally know what “the ultimate” is—why force after it now?

Alas, I fear one must possess the Qian virtues—firmness, vigor, centrality, correctness, purity, unmixedness, and refinement—before one can speak of the learning of “knowing the ultimate.” From this it is clear that the Kun virtue (the virtue of yielding compliance) is plainly insufficient for discussing this learning.

The nine in the fourth line occupies the space between the upper and lower parts of the Qian hexagram, standing between doubt and belief. It seems already to “know the ultimate,” yet does not dare readily to believe it; it wants to settle there for a lifetime, yet is not at ease in its heart. This is precisely the moment of “perhaps leaping” (advancing or retreating, uncertain whether to go up or down). Thus Confucius admonished, “In virtue, constancy is precious.” Yet now it is sometimes up and sometimes down—how lacking in constancy! “In work, perseverance is precious.” Yet now it advances and retreats—how lacking in perseverance! Is it that words of loyalty and trust are absurd and unworthy of belief? Or must one cut off human relations and withdraw into seclusion before one can become a perfected person? But since one is situated among people, how can one leave the crowd and stand alone?

In my view, what matters most for the noble person in advancing virtue and cultivating work is to press bravely forward at the right time and to make a clean, decisive resolution. If one still hesitates between doubt and belief, on what day will one find peace? Without doubt, there is naturally a day of “knowing the ultimate”; but if one merely wavers in vain, where is there any time for “Gen stopping” (stopping when one should stop, resting where one ought to rest)?

This passage in the Yiyin explains the meaning of the lines of the Qian hexagram in the Yijing, focusing on what kind of person counts as a “Great Person” and on the relationship among De (Virtue/Power), position, and timing.

The nine-in-the-fifth line of Qian occupies an exalted position and at the same time possesses De, position, and timing; it is the “Great Person” whom everyone under heaven most wishes to see. Although the nine-in-the-second line has De but no exalted position, why is it also called a “Great Person” and also able to be joyfully seen by the myriad things? The author’s answer is: what is most honorable under heaven is De. When De is present in oneself, timing and exalted position cannot constrain it. From the Son of Heaven down to commoners, all must take self-cultivation as the root. If a commoner has the De of a noble person, he naturally can become a Great Person worthy of admiration; if one in a high position lacks good De, even if he occupies the nine-in-the-fifth position, who would be willing to draw near to him? From this we know that the key lies in where De resides; timing and exalted position are not the determining factors.

Someone asks: Does Confucius’s Wenyan not say this? If understood this way, then all six lines are dragons; why single out the nine-in-the-second? The author explains: the dragon De of the nine-in-the-second has already become manifest; this is what is meant by “dragon De and centered correctness,” that is, De abides in the center and holds to correctness. It is the place to which the multitude turn for support. Although it does not occupy the position of the Son of Heaven, its virtuous influence has already spread throughout the world; though not the ruler’s position, it already has the ruler’s De. Why must one wait to face south and govern before one can bring civilization to the world?

If the other line positions are merely occupying their proper places, they should promptly advance in De and cultivate their undertakings; how could they compare themselves to the nine-in-the-second? Therefore the first line warns “Do not use it,” leading people to understand the need for quiet cultivation; the top line worries that it has reached excess and has the trouble of “the arrogant dragon will have regrets.” The third and fourth lines are either diligent by day and vigilant by night, or leaping or doubting; all are stages of advancing in De and cultivating one’s undertakings, not yet the time to be seen by others. If De has already been cultivated and gradually becomes manifest, then whether one becomes the second line or the fifth line, there is nothing that cannot be. Both are Great Persons and both are joyfully seen by the myriad things; what is there to doubt?

The so-called Great Person is one whose virtue and conduct accord with Heaven and Earth. Alas, such a Great Person—if the yang line of the Qian hexagram is taken as the practice of virtuous nature, then the sun has already appeared; what objection could there be to calling him the second nine or the fifth nine? Since both may be called the Great Person, and both are the one whom the myriad things delight to see, what doubt can remain?

The so-called Great Person is one whose virtue and conduct accord with Heaven and Earth. Alas, such a Great Person presumably corresponds to the fifth nine line? Yet the Wenyan—the commentary explaining the line statements of the Qian hexagram in the Zhouyi—only says “dwells in the position,” and does not say “the primal position.” I do not know whether it ultimately refers to the fifth nine or the second nine. The line statement for the second nine says, “The dragon appears in the field,” but does not say “flies”; the line statement for the fifth nine says, “The flying dragon is in the sky,” but does not say “appears.” Therefore one also cannot conclude whether it refers to the second nine.

I believe that such a person—even Heaven does not dare to oppose him. Is this not because he can govern Heaven and also harness Heaven? I believe that such a person—no one dares to oppose him. Is this not because he can stand first among the myriad things and also bring peace to the ten thousand states? I believe that such a person—even ghosts and spirits do not dare to oppose him. Is this not because he can embody “spirit, ghost, change, transformation, great, small, hidden, flying, cloud, rain,” and yet does not himself know why it is so? Alas, this is what the Great Person is like. You and I both possess this virtuous nature—how dare we push it onto others?

The fifth nine is the flying dragon. Confucius said, “Like sounds respond to one another, like qi seek one another, each follows its kind.” Then those of different kinds may not necessarily have the wish that “it is favorable to see the Great Person.” The third and fourth lines, the first and top lines, though sharing the six positions, still do not know one another—then the true Great Person is only the second nine, this one line. The son of the Yan family was one who came close to being a Great Person, yet he was only “nearly there.” Alas, the multitude is numerous, but if there is one such person, that is already no small matter. Only after Yan Hui died was there no such person again—truly lamentable! This is precisely why Confucius, between the second nine and the fifth nine, felt such deep emotion.

To know when to advance and when to retreat—this is the sage. If one can be thus, one will not lose the right Way, nor will one reach “kang” (excess, extremity, that is, the state of “the overreaching dragon has cause for regret”). Therefore, although times and circumstances may have their moments of extremity, the sage does not suffer the predicament of extremity. Hence [the text] repeatedly speaks of “the sage” to encourage the people of the world. This is not like the vulgar people of today who read books, take passages out of context, and use them to fulfill their own private intentions.

“Nine” is the function of the Qian hexagram, and so wherever the Qian hexagram is used, “Nine” is used. The nine lines of the Qian hexagram all symbolize the dragon, and therefore the Nine of Qian is also called the “grass dragon” (cao long, a hidden and not-yet-manifest dragon). The grass dragon can be seen, but its “head” (yuan shou, the leader who commands the flock of dragons) is not easy to see. If one cannot see the head, then in the end one cannot become a true dragon. Therefore the way of using Nine lies in truly seeing the head of the grass dragon. Then one naturally can occupy the head of the myriad things, and all the states under Heaven will be at peace. One naturally can ride and harness the timing of Heaven, and the universe will be as if in one’s hand; one naturally understands the beginning and end of the Way of Qian, and with the “One Origin” (yi yuan) governs the Way of Heaven, so that all transformations arise from oneself. Therefore it is said: “Using Nine, one sees the head of the grass dragon; auspicious.” (Adapted from the Qian hexagram of the Yijing: “Using Nine, one sees a flock of dragons without a head; auspicious.”) “Auspicious” is precisely the four virtues of yuan, heng, li, and zhen.

When using Nine, the virtue of Heaven cannot occupy the first place; if it has a first place, it is no longer called the virtue of Heaven. Therefore it is said: “Qian Yuan uses Nine; then one sees the heavenly norm.” Su Shi said: “Qian Yuan takes the head as the heavenly norm.” This statement is extremely penetrating.

Appendix

Zhuangzi said: “The Yi speaks through Yin-Yang.”

Yang Xiong said: “It must be that Fuxi (Xi) braided and joined the warp of Heaven and Earth, presenting it through the Bagua; King Wen appended the six lines; Confucius interwove and arranged its images and attached the words, and only then could the hidden treasure of Heaven and Earth be revealed and the foundation of the myriad things be established.”

A Plain-Language Interpretation of the Scripture Text of the Yiyin

First Paragraph (Chen Tunan)

Chen Tunan said: Fuxi first drew the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), and afterward deduced them into the sixty-four hexagrams. Someone said: When Fuxi made the hexagrams, he took as his model the constant principles of Heaven and Earth and used the Bagua to penetrate the Dao (the Way) of Heaven and Earth; King Wen of Zhou appended six lines to the Bagua, forming the sixty-four hexagrams; Confucius then explained the hexagram images and elaborated on the hexagram statements, after which the hidden mysteries of Heaven and Earth were revealed and the fundamental patterns of the myriad things were established.

(Note: Chen Tunan is Chen Tuan, a Daoist of the Five Dynasties and early Song, styled Mr. Xiyi, who devoted himself to the study of the Yi and the learning of the Hetu and Luoshu. Xihuang is Fuxi.)

Second Paragraph (Chen Tunan)

Chen Tunan said: Fuxi first drew the Bagua and overlapped and deduced them into the sixty-four hexagrams, but he did not write any text; he simply let the people of the world silently observe the hexagram images. If people acted according to the hexagram images, good and bad fortune would respond accordingly; if they went against the hexagram images, good and bad fortune would be reversed. This is how Fuxi carried out his teaching by “not speaking.”

Third Paragraph (Shao Yaofu)

Shao Yaofu said: The book Yi is the instrument by which the sage causes the noble person to grow and the petty person to recede. When yang Qi (yang vital energy) increases, one must guard against things before they have occurred; when yang Qi recedes, one must block things before they have occurred. One recedes, one grows; one opens, one closes; it is an undivided whole, with no distinction between beginning and end. If not for the most wondrous and numinous person under Heaven, who could participate in this and understand this principle?

(Note: Shao Yaofu is Shao Yong, a Northern Song Neo-Confucian philosopher, styled Mr. Anle; he wrote the Huangji Jingshi and other works.)

Fourth Paragraph (Zhou Maoshu)

Zhou Maoshu said: The sage’s subtle thoughts are displayed through drawing the hexagrams; the sage’s profound implications are expounded by relying on the hexagram images. If the hexagram images were not drawn, the sage’s subtlety could not be seen; if one did not rely on the hexagram images, the sage’s implications could scarcely be heard in full. How could the Yi be merely the source of the Five Classics? It is rather the very place where the mysteries of Heaven and Earth, ghosts, and spirits reside.

(Note: Zhou Maoshu is Zhou Dunyi, a Northern Song Neo-Confucian philosopher, styled Mr. Lianxi; he wrote the Taiji Tushuo and the Tongshu.)

Qiu Jun (courtesy name Zhongshan, a Ming scholar) said: The three strokes of the Qian hexagram are the source of writing for ten thousand generations, and the four characters yuan, heng, li, and zhen are the ancestral foundation of moral principle for ten thousand generations. In heaven they are spring, summer, autumn, and winter; in humans they are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom; circulating between heaven and earth, they become yuan, hui, yun, and shi (the units of time established by Shao Yong: thirty years make one shi, twelve shi make one yun, thirty yun make one hui, and twelve hui make one yuan).

Cai Zimu discusses the six lines of the Qian hexagram (from bottom to top): Initial Nine, the “Hidden Dragon,” corresponds to Yan Hui; at this point “do not act,” in order to complete virtue. Nine Two, the “Appearing Dragon,” corresponds to Confucius; the time has appeared and civil brilliance is manifest. Nine Three, “Evening Vigilance,” corresponds to Gao Yao, Kui, Ji, and Xie; they could surmount hardship without falling into danger. Nine Four, “Or Leaping,” corresponds to Tang and Wu; the age was dark, and in the end they brought about change. Nine Five, “Flying Dragon in Heaven,” corresponds to Yao and Shun; with sagely virtue they illumined the world. Top Nine, the “Arrogant Dragon,” corresponds to Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou; though placed in the highest position, they did not lose their rectitude. Viewed separately, the six lines each have their time; viewed together, all return to the great illumination of the sage.

Su Shi said: Those who now soar are precisely those who formerly lay hidden—who is not a great person? He also said: How could those who occupy these positions be concerned only with the principles of “yuan” and “regret”? That is why what is called “having” is not necessarily inevitable. He also said: Only when Yin-Yang are harmonized can the myriad things grow. If the fine rites do not flow through, they become narrow and obstructed and do not accord with righteousness; if they are not beneficial, they become cold and harsh and lack harmony.

Luo Yizheng said: Nine Three occupies the top of the lower trigram and has the image of “qian qian,” that is, ceaseless diligence; it also has the image of “the day ending and evening coming,” that is, the day is about to end and nightfall is approaching. Nine Three, at the top of the lower trigram, is a dangerous place. Because it is diligent all day and remains vigilant after nightfall, it can escape blame and harm.

Shi Shoudao (that is, the Song scholar Shi Jie) said: Heaven is exceedingly high and distant; if it could not descend and unite with earth, how could it run the four seasons and give birth to the hundred things? A ruler is exceedingly honored; if he did not descend to connect with the people, how could he embrace the ten thousand states and govern the hundred officials? Therefore he naturally would not reach the extreme of overreaching.

No desire (the original “yuan yu” should be “wu yu”) is the mind’s original state. What is called Qian refers to the operation of Heaven’s De (Virtue/Power): day and night cycle without cease through the ages; sun and moon shine in alternation; the four seasons proceed in order and do not harm one another—precisely because it is vigorous and unceasing. The operation of the sage’s De penetrates day and night, never ceasing throughout life, and is one with Heaven’s De.

Those below the level of the worthy cannot attain no desire. Desire does not become desire only when one indulges it; if the mind has any direction, that is already desire. One must reduce and reduce again until there is no desire. Human destiny is determined by Heaven; the noble person, with a vigorous and unceasing mind, models himself on Heaven and strengthens himself without rest.

Examining the celestial patterns, Heaven’s movement has constant laws and never stops. Does Heaven, then, have form? It takes form by attaching to the stars, like a tilted canopy. The north and south poles interconnect, with the north high and the south low, and one can use a tube aligned with the center of the North Pole to observe. Among them one star rotates especially tightly, never leaving the tube’s opening; it is called the “Niu Star” (that is, a star near the North Star), and it is exactly where Heaven’s pivot lies. The celestial body appears motionless, but it is not actually still; it revolves around the enclosure in which it resides—the circumscribed region of a stellar office—never leaving its position, like a door pivot opening and closing without leaving the doorframe, itself not moving. Therefore the Book of Songs says, “How solemn and unceasing is the mandate of Heaven!” This is why Heaven is Heaven. Whether far or near, high or deep, receiving the mandate is like an echo responding; this is the pivot of creation and the secret treasure transmitted by sages through the ages.

Confucians avoid speaking of emptiness and stillness, yet when Confucius explained the principle of influence and response taught by the Xian Hexagram of the Zhouyi, he discussed it in detail—why? Because all influence and response under Heaven are born from stillness, and all their correspondences are rooted in emptiness. Adapting to change through emptiness and achieving wondrous resonance through stillness—this is why the Yi Zhuan says, “What is there to think? What is there to deliberate?” The root of the ten thousand movements under Heaven—such as Yao’s “centrality,” Shun’s “subtlety,” King Wen’s “solemnity,” Confucius’s “silence,” Yan Hui’s “foolishness,” and Zhou Dunyi’s “stillness”—all follow this principle. Worldly Confucians cling to fixed formulations, so their thinking becomes muddled instead. If the substance of emptiness and stillness is not made clear, the learning of the sages will not shine forth, and creation would almost come to a halt.

Kun Hexagram (Kun below, Kun above): All six lines are Yin; both the lower and upper trigrams are Kun, symbolizing Earth. Kun represents yieldingness, inclusiveness, and the power to sustain, standing opposite Qian (Heaven).

Hexagram Statement: Great success. It is favorable to be yielding like a mare and to maintain the correct way. When the noble person goes forth to act, he will at first lose his direction; afterward he finds his proper place, and then there is benefit. Going southwest, one gains the support of companions of the same kind; going northeast, one loses companions. Resting in steadfast correctness brings good fortune.

The Xiang Commentary Explains the Hexagram Statement: How great is the De (Virtue/Power) of Earth! All things depend on it for growth, and it compliantly follows the Dao (the Way) of Heaven. Earth is thick and substantial, bearing all things; its virtue is broad and boundless, its inclusiveness grand, enabling all things each to attain flourishing. The mare belongs to the category of Earth; it travels across the boundless earth, yielding and favorable for maintaining correctness. When the noble person advances, he at first loses the way; afterward he follows the constant Dao. Going southwest and gaining companions means walking together with one’s own kind; going northeast and losing companions means that in the end there will still be blessing and felicity. Resting in correctness and good fortune corresponds precisely to the vastness of Earth.

The Xiang Commentary Explains the Hexagram Image: The condition of Earth is Kun; accordingly, the noble person bears all things with profound De.

Six at the Beginning: Treading on thin frost, solid ice is about to arrive.

The Xiang: Treading on frost and knowing that solid ice will come means that Yin Qi (vital energy) has begun to congeal. Developing according to this pattern, it will eventually congeal into solid ice. This metaphor means that small omens must be heeded early.

Six in the Second Place: Upright, square, and vast; without practice, nothing is unfavorable.

The Xiang: The movement of Six in the Second Place is upright and square; without practice, nothing is unfavorable, because the Dao of Earth is bright and manifest.

Six in the Third Place: Concealing brilliance, one can remain steadfast. Perhaps one assists the king in affairs; one does not claim achievement as one’s own, yet brings matters to a good end.

The Xiang: Concealing brilliance and remaining steadfast means waiting for the right time to manifest it again; assisting the king and reaching a good end means one’s wisdom is greatly radiant.

Six in the Fourth Place: Tying up the sack. No blame, no praise.

The Xiang: Tying up the sack means being cautious and not speaking, and therefore suffering no harm.

Six in the Fifth Place: Yellow lower garment. Great good fortune.

The Xiang: The yellow lower garment brings great good fortune because its adornment occupies the central position. Yellow is the color of Earth, a color of central correctness; a lower garment is an undergarment, symbolizing humility and lowliness.

Top Six: Dragons fight in the field; the blood that flows is dark and yellow.

The Xiang: Dragons fighting in the field means that Yin has reached its extreme, contends with Yang, and its course is exhausted. Dark is the color of Heaven, yellow the color of Earth; blood mingled with dark and yellow symbolizes that both Yin and Yang are injured.

Use Six: It is favorable to remain steadfast for long.

Meaning: when all the yin lines use the all-six transformation, it is favorable to maintain the correct way for long.

The Xiang Commentary says: “Use Six, forever steadfast”—because it brings things to a great completion.

The Xiang Commentary explains: “Use Six” is favorable for forever maintaining the correct way because the Kun way can, through the virtue of yielding compliance, remain consistent from beginning to end and ultimately accomplish a broad and great work.

The Wenyan Commentary says: Kun is supremely soft, yet when it moves it is firm and strong; it is supremely still, yet its virtue is square and proper. It follows and later obtains its master, and so has constancy; it contains the myriad things and transforms them into radiance. Is not the Kun way compliant? It receives Heaven and moves with the seasons.

The Wenyan Commentary says: The Kun way is supremely yielding, yet its movement is firm and powerful; it is supremely still, yet its virtue is square and proper. It assists the ruler and has a constant way; it embraces the myriad things and nurtures them into light. Is the Kun way not compliant? It receives Heaven’s Dao and moves according to the seasons.

A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have surplus blessings; a family that accumulates evil will surely have surplus calamities. A minister killing his ruler or a son killing his father is not the work of a single morning or evening; its origin comes gradually, because the danger was not discerned early. The Yi says: “Treading on frost: solid ice arrives.” This speaks of following the trend of things and taking precautions at the earliest stage.

This illustrates the principle of “compliance”: A family that accumulates good deeds will surely leave blessings to its descendants; a family that accumulates evil will surely bring calamities. A minister killing his ruler or a son killing his father is not formed in a single morning or evening; it is the result of gradual accumulation, because the hidden danger was not discerned early. The Book of Changes says, “Treading on frost: solid ice arrives.” This means following the tendency of things and guarding against minor faults before they grow.

“Straight” refers to correctness; “square” refers to rightness. The noble person uses reverence to straighten the inner self and rightness to square the outer conduct. Once reverence and rightness are established, virtue is not isolated. Straightness, squareness, and greatness—even without deliberate practice—are not unfavorable; thus one does not doubt one’s conduct.

The meanings of “straight” and “square”: “Straight” means uprightness; “square” means conformity to rightness. The noble person nurtures the inner self with reverence and regulates outer conduct with rightness. Once reverence and rightness are established, virtue is not isolated and unsupported. The three virtues of straightness, squareness, and greatness—even without deliberate practice—bring nothing unfavorable; therefore one does not doubt one’s actions.

Although yin possesses beauty, it conceals it in order to follow the king’s affairs and does not dare to complete things on its own. This is the way of Earth, the way of the wife, the way of the minister. The Earth way does not complete independently; it completes on behalf of Heaven and brings things to an end.

Even if yin has beautiful qualities, it should conceal them and comply with the ruler’s affairs, not daring to achieve merit on its own. This is the way of Earth, the way of the wife, and the way of the minister. The merit of the Earth way is not completed by itself alone; it brings things to completion on behalf of Heaven’s achievement.

When Heaven and Earth change, plants flourish; when Heaven and Earth close, the worthy withdraw. The Yi says: “Tie up the sack; there is no blame.” The Earth way does not complete independently; it completes on behalf of Heaven and brings things to an end.

When Heaven and Earth, yin and yang, change, plants flourish; when Heaven and Earth are closed and blocked, the worthy withdraw. The Book of Changes says, “Tie up the sack; there is no blame.” The merit of the Earth way is not completed by itself alone; it completes on behalf of Heaven’s achievement and brings things to an end.

When Heaven and Earth change, plants flourish; when Heaven and Earth close, the worthy withdraw. The Yi says: “Tie up the sack; no blame, no praise.” This speaks of caution.

As in the preceding passage, the Book of Changes says, “Tie up the sack; there is no blame and no praise.” This speaks of being cautious, guarding one’s mouth, and not easily displaying oneself.

The noble person is yellow within and penetrates principle; he occupies the correct position and embodies it. Beauty is within him and flows through his four limbs. When it issues in undertakings, it is the utmost beauty.

The noble person dwells in the central and correct position; his inner virtue penetrates principle, and he uprightly occupies his place. Beauty and goodness are stored within and flow through the four limbs. When expressed in undertakings, this is the utmost beauty.

When yin is in doubt before yang, there must be battle. Because it is suspected of being original yang, it is called “dragon.” Since it has not yet left its own kind, it is called “blood.” Dark and yellow are the mixture of Heaven and Earth: Heaven is dark, and Earth is yellow.

When yin and yang are similar and mutually suspect one another, battle must occur. Because yin is suspected of resembling pure yang, it is called “dragon.” It has not yet left its own kind, so it is called “blood.” Dark and yellow are the mixed colors of Heaven and Earth: Heaven is dark, and Earth is yellow.

Kun is Earth.

The Kun hexagram symbolizes Earth.

Note: This passage is from the Yiyin, a commentary on the Kun hexagram’s “Use Six” line and the Wenyan. Some characters in the original are erroneous or missing (for example, the character after “a minister kills his ruler” should be the variant for “kill”; “yuan cheng” should be “wu cheng”; “yuan yu” should be “wu yu”). The above interpretation is inferred according to the received text of the Zhouyi and the sense of the passage.

Qian represents the vigorous and firm, Kun represents the yielding and gentle; these are their respective fixed natures. The vigorous and firm cannot become yielding and gentle, and the yielding and gentle cannot become vigorous and firm. If one demands that the vigorous and firm become yielding and gentle, or that the yielding and gentle become vigorous and firm, both will lose their essential nature. If the Qian and Kun hexagrams were inverted, that would violate constant principle and would not accord with the natural order in which heaven is noble and earth is low.

The positions of Qian and Kun are also fixed, just as a husband and wife are fixed: the husband cannot act as the wife, and the wife cannot act as the husband. If one demanded that the husband perform the wife’s role, or that the wife perform the husband’s role, both husband and wife would lose their proper station. If both Qian and Kun lost their positions, that would violate the correct way in which the ruler is noble and the minister is low.

Therefore, heaven and earth are the Qian and Kun of the world; one husband and one wife are the Qian and Kun of each household. Once positions are established, they cannot be inverted in pursuit of what is normal; once natures are established, they cannot be exchanged in pursuit of ability. Each thing should be allowed to exercise a function suited to its particular capacity.

That the sage places the way of Qian and Kun first is well founded. Otherwise, the divine dragon is vigorous and firm by nature, while the mare—symbolizing the yielding and gentle—is yielding and gentle by nature. The strength of the divine dragon lies in soaring aloft; the strength of the mare lies in bearing heavy loads over long distances. To make the divine dragon bear heavy loads and travel far would be to make it do the work of the mare, and it would surely be mocked; to make the mare raise clouds and bring rain would be to make it do the work of the divine dragon, and it too would have no way to display its ability. Qian and Kun are originally one body; if each cannot exercise its own strength, both will become useless things—how much more so in the case of human beings? Therefore the sage discusses Qian and Kun separately and explains them in detail.

Yet the Confucians of the world add superfluous flourishes, holding that if one is vigorous and firm without being yielding and gentle, one will be rigid and impetuous and unable to accomplish anything; and that if one is yielding and gentle without being vigorous and firm, one will be listless and unable to rouse oneself. Alas! If it were truly as they say, would they still deserve to be called Qian and Kun?

If a person is rigid and impetuous, yet can still style himself “Qian”; if someone is listless and unworthy of undertaking anything, yet can still style himself “Kun”—then heaven would be unable to cover and carry the myriad things, earth would be unable to generate the myriad things, and people would lose the encompassing support on which they rely. They fail to realize that the virtues of utmost strength and utmost compliance are originally inherent in Qian and Kun themselves; where would they need to be supplemented from outside?

Thus the utmost soft Kun, as soon as it moves, displays firmness; the utmost quiet Kun has a virtue that is upright and properly directed. This is precisely why the great earth can accomplish “compliance.” The Dao of Qian changes and causes the myriad things each to obtain their proper nature and life; this is precisely why heaven can accomplish “strength.” If the strong must still rely on compliance to assist it, then it is certainly not true strength; if the compliant must add strength to enhance itself, then it is certainly not the utmost compliance. All this comes from human artifice and action, not from the original nature of Qian and Kun. Alas, how could such people be fit to know the true nature of Qian and Kun?

Qian and Kun are originally one body, and so the Qian hexagram says “yuan heng,” and the Kun hexagram also says “yuan heng.” But Qian says “li zhen” (beneficial and upright), while Kun says “li pin ma zhi zhen” (it is beneficial to be steadfast as a mare). Moreover, it does not merely say “horse”; it specifically says “mare” (female horse, symbolizing soft compliance). What, then, would be its attitude toward the dragon’s transformation and flight? The reason Kun alone takes this as beneficial is that it regards this soft compliance and keeping to what is upright as Kun’s steadfast virtue.

Therefore, when the gentleman has somewhere to go and emulates the way of Kun, he simply rests in the steadfastness of the mare; when he acts and engages in affairs, he simply takes the mare’s steadfastness as beneficial. Hence the scripture says: “It is beneficial to be steadfast forever; thereby one completes with greatness.” Here “great” refers to Qian; Qian completes through its greatness. If one can refrain from daring to set oneself up as master, from daring to rush ahead, and from daring to form factions for private ends, this is truly keeping to what is upright. The passage beginning “first goes astray” speaks of what is called “the benefit of the mare’s steadfastness”: the one in the “first” position is Qian, the master; Kun remains behind in compliance. To be able to remain behind and yet obtain the master, and to take this as beneficial to the master—this is precisely the wonder of compliance.

First speak of Qian (Heaven, yang firmness, occupying the dominant position): if I follow behind it, I can receive the assistance of the dominant one. If what is encountered is a direction such as “west” or “south,” then one should guard one’s own position, restrain oneself and dwell in the north—this is probably the meaning of following only the dominant one, with a single-minded will that is not scattered. Settling the mind and waiting, following and obeying, one can long uphold the constant Way without going astray. This is exactly what the Kun hexagram means by “li zhen” (favorable to upholding correctness), and it is precisely the expression of “yuan heng” (great and penetrating success).

Humans are originally straight by nature; but when straightness becomes stagnant, it cannot become square. Now the text speaks of both straight and square because people know only straightness and do not know that straightness itself contains squareness. Is not a person’s very first thought the nature of uprightness flowing forth? Yet as soon as a thought arises, one immediately becomes aware of it; then the first thought is straight, and the awareness is also straight. With awareness one stops; stopping, one becomes square and upright. When it issues forth, although there is the root of the unity of straight and square, it is merely bright and grand.

The nature of Earth is broad and yielding (“chong” means soft and yielding), and the De of Kun is boundless and cannot be isolated. This is probably the principle, and therefore the line statement mentions both “straight” and “square.” Straight is correctness; square is righteousness. Correctness lies in stopping, righteousness lies in acting. Stopping is reverence, and reverence is not something deliberately contrived; it is simply inner uprightness. Squareness is righteousness, and righteousness is not seized from outside; it lies simply in acting appropriately. Does this have to wait for learning before it can be beneficial? Originally, even without learning, there is nothing that is not beneficial—what is there to doubt?

Su Dongpo explained: The dragon can transform on its own and exercise its own power; the horse is domesticated and made to serve people. The Kun hexagram takes the mare as its image; the horse is both used by people and belongs to Yin, which is precisely yielding to the utmost. But if one merely yields without maintaining correctness, one will fall into crooked ways, so the hexagram statement says, “It is beneficial to maintain the steadfastness of a mare,” meaning it is beneficial to maintain correctness and firmness like a mare.

Li Tuweng (a Song-dynasty Yijing scholar) said: Utmost yielding is never without maintaining correctness. What is called utmost compliance is compliance with Qian (Heaven, Yang hardness). Since it already complies with Qian, how could it be incorrect? If at this point it forms associations with peers, gathers with those of its own kind, or travels toward the southwest, then it is using Yin softness to cling to Yin softness. How then could it single-mindedly obey Qian and achieve the highest state of yielding?

Another interpretation holds: The Way of Kun can be used by others, but it must not act on its own initiative; it can serve as assistance and cooperation, but it must not take the lead and initiate. Therefore it says, “It is beneficial for the noble person to have a destination.” Going first, one loses the way; following after, one can comply and obtain what one wishes. This is the meaning of “beneficial.”

The west and south correspond to Dui (Lake), Li (Fire), and Xun (Wind), all of which are Yin trigrams, that is, “my peers”; the east and north correspond to Zhen (Thunder), Kan (Water), and Gen (Mountain), which are not of the same kind. Two Yin-soft entities cannot be useful to each other, so one must leave one’s own kind. To cut off peers and come forth, the key lies in restraint and self-possession.

Li Tuweng also said: Qian is the master of Kun. When Qian is the master, there is no need to seek it deliberately; as soon as there is seeking, one instead loses it. If the mind harbors seeking, there is private use, and therefore one must leave one’s own kind.

Vernacular Interpretation

Li Tuweng says: Qian is the master of Kun. As the leader, Qian need not seek anything; as soon as it seeks, it instead loses it, and thereupon the thought of “gaining friends” arises, so that it can no longer single-mindedly obey Qian’s command. Another explanation: the second line, a yin line occupying a yin position, may be said to be compliant to the utmost. Then from where do the three virtues of “straight, square, great” come? The answer is: the second line is the extreme of compliance. What other principle is there in the gentleman’s compliance? It is simply following Heavenly Principle without mixing in selfish motives.

Tuweng says: When the utmost soft moves, firmness and strength appear; when the utmost still is aroused, its virtue appears upright. Confucius already explained this principle most thoroughly; there is no need to explain it again with “following principle without selfishness.” It is precisely because a person can attain the utmost softness that he can attain the utmost firmness; because he can attain the utmost stillness, he can attain the utmost squareness. Thus compliance can be achieved, but “the utmost softness” is not easily achieved. Ah, this principle has truly reached its limit.

Another explanation: positions at the boundary between upper and lower are not secure places. The Qian hexagram occupies the upper position, and because it has not yet reached the highest place it feels danger, hence the third line has the anxiety of “evening vigilance” (remaining cautious and alert in the evening). The Kun hexagram occupies the lower position, and it is difficult to rise from the bottom all the way to the top, hence the fourth line has the caution of “tying up the sack” (like pulling a sack tight so as not to reveal one’s sharpness). Yin Qi gradually advances upward; at the third line it can still hold to the correct way, but at the fourth line it becomes dangerous. Therefore one must restrain oneself and act cautiously, and only then can one seek “no blame” and “great reputation” (that is, being without fault and also gaining a fine reputation).

Fault and reputation are things that people find difficult to avoid. Having escaped fault, one easily falls into reputation; having escaped reputation, one easily falls into fault. Fault brings blame, reputation brings suspicion; thus “great reputation” is very difficult to achieve.

Another explanation: When plants and trees are growing and transforming, even plants and trees flourish luxuriantly; when Heaven and Earth close off, even a worthy person can only withdraw into seclusion. Tuweng says: Reading this, one truly wants to weep bitterly.

Another explanation: Yellow is the color of the center; only one who comprehends this principle will have such a color, and it is the ornament on the lower garment (the skirt). Yellow without being a skirt would be merely an upper garment; a skirt without being yellow would not be the correct position. Now it occupies the correct position of doubled Kun and also dwells in the middle of the lower trigram, so “skirt” is used to show occupying the lower place, and “yellow” is used to show occupying the center. Pattern and brilliance originally arise from mutual interweaving. If Yin and Yang were merely single and pure, how could there be pattern?

Tuweng says: Single-mindedness itself has pattern. The Kun hexagram does not prize outward pattern; what it prizes is inner pattern, namely the color of the “yellow center.” When pattern is within the heart, where is the need to wait for mutual interweaving before there is pattern?

Cheng Yi said: The southwest is the yin direction, and it controls the yang direction of the north. Yin must follow yang; if it leaves its own kind, this is instead auspicious.

Zhu Xi said: In this hexagram all three strokes are yin lines (ou, that is, broken lines), so it is named Kun (the trigram among the Bagua that symbolizes Earth), and it symbolizes Earth. Doubling the two Kun trigrams means yin, softness, and compliance reach their utmost. He also said: In the Six in the Fifth Place, yin occupies the honored position; the virtue of central correctness, softness, and compliance is full within and manifests outwardly, and thus the image is so. Obtaining this line in divination is a sign of great auspiciousness. The Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals records that Nan Ju (a personal name) was preparing a rebellion and divined, obtaining this line, and took it to be greatly auspicious. Zifu Huibo, a grandee of Lu, said: Only affairs of loyalty and trustworthiness may be judged in this way; otherwise one will certainly fail. To guard the borders externally and treat people gently internally—this is loyalty; to lead people to uphold correctness through the way of harmony and compliance—this is trustworthiness. Therefore the line statement says, “Yellow lower garment: supremely auspicious” (the line statement for the Six in the Fifth Place of Kun). Yellow is the color of the center; the lower garment is clothing for the lower body; yuan is the head of goodness. If one dwells in the center without loyalty, one cannot obtain yellow; if one remains below without reverence, one cannot obtain the lower garment; if one acts without goodness, one cannot reach the utmost. Moreover, the Yi cannot be used to divine dangerous matters. If any of these three points is lacking, even if the divination comes true, it is not true auspiciousness. Later Nan Ju indeed failed.

Jin Rubai said: “To go first is to go astray” is one sentence, and “to follow and obtain the master is beneficial” is another sentence. Yang is the master, yin is the follower; yang first and yin after is the constant order. If yin goes first, it violates the constant order and goes astray; if yin goes after, it obtains its master and is benefited. “Benefit” is like “accordance,” hence it says, “Following afterward, one obtains the constant.” Earlier scholars punctuated “to follow and obtain the master is beneficial” as “to follow and obtain the master and have constancy,” and held that a “benefit” was missing. But when read as “following afterward, one obtains the constant,” where is anything missing? Yin should originally follow yang. How could it be acceptable to draw close to its own kind? “Losing friends” is like what the Tai hexagram calls “friends perish”: abandoning one’s own kind and following yang, therefore it is auspicious.

Zheng Zhifu said: The image of the Qian hexagram embodies the virtue by which King Wen founded the Zhou dynasty; the image of the Kun hexagram embodies the intention with which he served the Yin-Shang.

Zhou Yan said: The first nine of Qian says, “Do not use,” in order to protect the still-faint yang Qi; the first six of Kun immediately says, “Solid ice arrives,” warning that yin Qi has already developed to a flourishing state.

Liu Junbo said: In the six in the third place, yin enfolds yang, and the hexagram image is “containing brilliance” (hiding one’s virtue); in the six in the fourth place, yin occupies a yin position, and the image is “tying up the sack” (a metaphor for keeping concealed and not revealing oneself). The yin line lies empty in the middle, like a sack; this is the image of heavy yin closed and knotted. He also said: When a treacherous minister usurps power, even a weak and benighted ruler will not submit; the two sides contend, and a situation of bloodshed and fallen corpses is bound to arise. “Treading frost, solid ice” is precisely the anxiety about this.

Hu Zhonghu said: “Its blood is dark yellow” means both sides suffer injury. Yin has reached its utmost flourishing, yet it is still the image of the tied sack; how could it injure only yang and not yin?

You Dingfu said: Qian is pure yang; when yang reaches its extreme it becomes overweening. Kun is pure yin; when yin reaches its extreme it contends. If there is no change, overweening brings calamity and contention brings injury; these cannot be avoided.

Yang Jingzhong said: When yin develops to the top six, there is almost no yang left. Yet although yang is extremely faint, its proper name and status remain and cannot be extinguished. But at that time people knew only of the top six—how would they still know there was yang? The sage detested the fact that yang Qi still survived within yin, and therefore deliberately called it “dragon” to make it manifest, intending to show that the dragon still exists in the human heart, so that in the end one cannot bear to forget it, nor may one treat it lightly. “Blood” belongs to the yin category; calling it “blood” again shows that the top six has still not escaped the category of subject, and that both yin and yang are injured—not only yang. By this the sage frustrates the ambitions of would-be rulers (“primal lords”) in the world.

Use Six and Use Nine: This is a heading-like incomplete sentence. It refers to the expressions “Use Six” and “Use Nine” in the line statements of the Qian and Kun hexagrams in the Zhouyi, meaning the way of employing yin lines and yang lines; the original text does not elaborate on it here.

The Yi Yin holds that the six-line hexagram is formed because the “Three Powers” (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity) are doubled in pairs; therefore the six-line hexagram itself embodies the principle of “Use Six.” It also says that six is nothing other than the Dao of the Three Powers. Adding three to six yields nine, which likewise contains the meaning of “Use Nine.” (“Use Six” and “Use Nine” are expressions from the Qian and Kun hexagrams of the Zhouyi, referring to the application of six-lines and nine-lines.)

Zhun Hexagram (Zhen below, Kan above—that is, thunder below and water above; also called “Water over Thunder, Zhun”)

The hexagram statement says: This hexagram is greatly auspicious and penetrating, beneficial for divining with steadfast correctness; it is not suitable to act rashly, but there is benefit in going somewhere, and it is fitting to enfeoff feudal lords and establish states and families.

The Tuan Commentary explains: Zhun is the first coming together of firm and soft, but at the beginning of this union difficulties abound; movement takes place within danger and peril. Thunder and rain act together and fill heaven and earth—precisely the image of heaven and earth newly created and the myriad things still in chaotic, undeveloped darkness. Thus it is fitting to establish feudal lords, but not yet to rest in stability.

The Xiang Commentary says: Clouds and thunder gather in one place; this is the image of Zhun. The noble person should thereby order the world and arrange its guiding norms.

Initial Nine: Lingering and hesitant. It is beneficial to dwell in steadfastness and beneficial to establish feudal lords.

The Xiang Commentary says: Although he lingers and hesitates, his intention is to walk the correct way. By using his noble position to come down to those of low station, he greatly wins the hearts of the people.

Six Two: Difficult and halting, riding horses in hesitation. This person is not a robber but one seeking marriage. The woman keeps correct and does not consent to marry; only after ten years does she agree.

The Xiang Commentary says: The difficulty of Six Two is because it rides upon the firm. That she agrees to marry only after ten years is because this goes against the normal order.

Six Three: Pursuing deer without a forester, one only enters the forest. If the noble person at this point can let go, it is better; proceeding will bring regret.

The Xiang Commentary says: Pursuing deer without a guide is because one is single-mindedly greedy for the game. The noble person lets go because proceeding further will lead into difficulty.

Six Four: Riding horses in hesitation, going to seek marriage. Going is auspicious; nothing is unfavorable.

The Xiang Commentary says: Seeking marriage and going forward is because he sees the principle clearly.

Nine Five: Grace has not yet been broadly bestowed. In small matters, steadfastness is auspicious; in great matters, steadfastness is inauspicious.

The Xiang Commentary says: Grace has not yet been broadly bestowed because the bestowal of benefit has not yet become bright and far-reaching.

Top Six: Riding horses in hesitation, weeping blood in streams.

The Xiang Commentary says: Weeping blood in streams—how could this last long?

Following the Kun hexagram is the Zhun hexagram. Zhun has Zhen (☳, with one yang line at the bottom) below and Kan (☵) above. One yang line comes beneath the yin hexagram Kun; this is the moment when Yin-Yang and firm-yielding begin to interact. The Kan and Li hexagrams have already arisen before it; although firm and yielding have already interacted, there is still hardship—this is precisely “Zhun” (the difficulty of initial birth). Zhun symbolizes heaven and earth creating anew, and the true sovereign rising again in the time before chaos has opened. Now one yang stirs and rises within the danger of Kan, so naturally there is the principle of “great success and benefit, favorable to maintaining correctness.” Therefore there is no need to go anywhere further; people will come of themselves to attach themselves, and so it is favorable to establish feudal lords.

Consider thunder and rain intermingling and filling heaven and earth: this is exactly the time at the beginning of heaven and earth’s creation, when all is undifferentiated and unclear and the common people cannot dwell in peace. The one yang line of Zhen happens to dwell at the bottom of the lower trigram; with noble status it willingly occupies the lowly place, and so it greatly wins the hearts of the people. Such a person is precisely one who should establish feudal lords but has no leisure to dwell at ease. When heavenly timing is like this, human affairs must arise accordingly, and so Initial Nine (the yang line in the lowest position) moves according to the time.

Initial Nine only hears its sound but does not see its form; it keeps to the correct way as usual, lingers without advancing, and does not move a single step, yet people naturally come to turn to it. Therefore the line statement says, “Although he lingers, his will and conduct are correct”: his aspiration is upright, and of itself it is enough to shake a generation; there is no need to abandon the initial position and go elsewhere. The Xiang Commentary says directly, “Do not use this to have somewhere to go,” while the line statement also says, “Lingering; favorable to dwell in steadfastness.” Their meanings correspond.

Six-Two, with a yin and yielding nature, rides above the correct position of Initial Nine’s yang firmness, and thus has the distressed image of “Zhun-like, halting, horses moving in disorder”; this is difficult. Six-Two keeps to correctness and maintains herself, and does not lightly meet with Initial Nine. She is adjacent to Initial Nine and day and night seeks to form a marriage union with him, but Initial Nine is not a robber or bandit, and so only after ten years does she obtain “nay zi” (betrothal). This runs contrary to ordinary reasoning, and Six-Two ultimately finds it difficult to unite immediately with Initial Nine.

The line statements of the Zhun hexagram (symbolizing the initial stage of things and the presence of repeated difficulties) use human affairs to explain underlying principles.

Six-Two and Nine at the Beginning are adjacent and respond to each other; day and night they seek to form a marriage union (a metaphor for those of like mind and purpose joining together). Six-Two is beset by the difficulties of Zhun and only after a long time consents to marry (“after ten years she consents to marry”), which runs counter to ordinary expectation. But when a sage is matched with a sage, or a worthy one esteems another worthy, there must likewise be a reason.

Six-Three is in an age of “chasing the deer” (chasing the deer is a metaphor for contending for the realm; the phrase comes from Six-Three’s “approaching the deer without a forester”). Day and night it hopes to gain something. Yet above there is a line that responds to it, and that is precisely the place of the “forester” (an ancient official in charge of mountains, forests, and hunting). If the forester is not there, what can one do upon entering the forest? Thus it is better to abandon the pursuit; instead, one becomes all the clearer about the principle of things. The principle of Six-Four is already clear from this.

Six-Four “rides horses, lingering” (riding a horse, hesitating and not advancing), cautiously seeking the marriage union with its proper correspondent; to go forward brings good fortune—what disadvantage is there? Hence it says: to seek and then go forward is a mark of wisdom.

Nine at the Beginning is the true lord. Even if, like Nine-Five, it holds to correctness and is auspicious, what Nine-Five calls “blocking its rich bounty” (its grace remains difficult) means that the De (Virtue/Power) it bestows also cannot be broad. Small action is auspicious; great action is ominous. Even if one holds to correctness, what use is it? The Qian King of Yue in the Song dynasty was exactly like this: in the end he naturally submitted to Yizu (Emperor Taizu of Song).

Top Six is just like Six-Three, who chases the herd of deer without knowing when to stop: it only presses forward and does not know how to let go, and “letting go” is exactly the point at which Six-Three, by advancing, falls into exhaustion. Therefore the line statement says: “Riding horses, lingering; weeping blood in streams.” Confucius exclaimed: How could this last long? This is the fault of being unwilling to humble oneself and seek below.

Mr. He’s commentary in the Wang edition says: Although Nine at the Beginning lingers and does not move, its aspiration is in fact upright; people naturally cannot set it aside, so why wait for it to act? Its forming a marriage union with Six-Two is precisely what is called “the firm and the yielding first intersect”; it is a match made by Heaven. If she does not consent to marry, what need is there to wait?

Wang Bi (a Wei–Jin Xuanxue scholar and author of the Commentary on the Zhouyi) says: Thunder and rain fill heaven and earth; this is brought about when Yin-Yang, the firm and the yielding, first begin to interact. The Zhun hexagram symbolizes the time when heaven and earth first came into being; the myriad things begin in darkness and obscurity, and so it is called “cao mei” (grass-like obscurity). To calm disorder one must rely on stillness, holding fast to stillness in order to await the proper time; to settle the people one must be correct, and to promote the right Dao one must be humble and retiring. In an age that meets the hardship of Zhun, the yin and yielding seek help from the yang and firm; the weak attach themselves to the strong, and the people long for a ruler who can take charge of the situation. The first line occupies the lowest position in the hexagram, yet it stands at the hexagram’s beginning; its line image fully embodies this principle, and therefore it can win the people’s hearts.

Gan Bao (an Eastern Jin historian who also annotated the Zhouyi) says: When the people are agitated and unsettled, unless there is a noble man they cannot be made peaceful. Since the world has met with the danger and hardship of Zhun, later rulers should use government commands like thunder and rain to wash away abuses and bring order to the realm.

Jin Rubai says: To be eager to establish feudal lords is precisely a manifestation of instability; it is not that feudal lords were established first, and instability arose only afterward.

Luo Yizheng says: “Pan” is a great rock and “huan” is a wooden stake; both are things difficult to move, so they are borrowed to describe the appearance of being unable to advance.

Hu Zhonghu says: In the hexagram statements there are passages that speak specifically with reference to the ruler of the hexagram. In the Zhen hexagram, the first line is the ruler. “Lingering and hesitating” is “do not use it to have somewhere to go”; “it is beneficial to dwell in steadfastness” is “it is beneficial to be steadfast.” When the hexagram statement says “it is beneficial to establish feudal lords,” it speaks with reference to the affair; when the line statement says “it is beneficial to establish feudal lords,” it speaks with reference to the person.

Cai Jiefu says: After a girl is betrothed, she puts on the hairpin and receives her courtesy name; after a man comes of age and is capped, he receives his courtesy name.

Yang Tingxiu (Yang Wanli) says: The third line, with a yang-firm, wise, and intelligent talent, occupies the Zhen hexagram and has reached the extreme of movement. It vainly hopes to use this momentum to accomplish the work of rescuing Zhun from hardship; this is what is called “ji lu” (chasing a deer without a forester—a metaphor for blind and reckless seeking). Acting recklessly, while “yuan” again responds to it from above, this is what is called “yuan yu” (having no guide to lead the way).

Su Shi (sobriquet Dongpo) says: In the Zhun hexagram, the firm line occupies the first place; it is the master of yuan and zheng (the primordial and the correct). Only one who is humble toward those below and able to bend himself to treat others can win the hearts of the people. Six-three, being yin and soft yet occupying a yang position, lacks virtue but has the mind to seek the people; it is like chasing a deer without a gamekeeper to guide one. The deer cannot be obtained by virtue; one only incurs in vain the toil of entering the forest. He also says: Six-three does not correspond with top-six, and Nine-five is not worth attaching oneself to. If one does not understand that Nine-five is not worth attaching to, but is deluded by what is near and does not early attach to First Nine, one will fall into difficulty, even to the point of weeping blood.

Yu Fan (courtesy name Zhongxiang) says: Kan is rain; the moistening of rain is called “gao.” The Book of Songs says, “The dark rain enriches it,” which is precisely this meaning.

Wang Ji (sobriquet Longxi) says: Heaven and Earth transform and generate the myriad things. Zhun is the first birth of the myriad things, and so it is placed after Qian and Kun. When the qi of yin and yang has just begun to intermingle and has not yet flowed freely, it is called “zhun”; when the myriad things have just sprouted and not yet unfolded, it is called “zhun”; when the affairs of the world are full of hardship and not yet at peace, it is also called “zhun.” When the junzi observes the image of the Zhun hexagram, he must order the affairs of the world in order to relieve the hardships within them. This is the learning by which the junzi, in the primordial age, at the very beginning of the opening of Heaven and Earth, initiates things and accomplishes undertakings.

In the hexagram image, above is cloud and below is thunder; yin and yang have just begun to intermingle and have not yet formed rain, and so it is Zhun. If cloud were below thunder, rain would already have formed, and it would be the Jie hexagram. “Jinglun” originally refers to sorting mulberry silk: jing means to draw out the threads and divide and arrange them, like thunder withdrawing itself and dispersing; lun means to comb the threads together and gather them, like cloud naturally scattering and then gathering again. This is what is meant by “ordering the great norms of the world.”

Yang Jingzhong (Yang Jian), “General Rules for the Correspondence of the Six Lines”: This is the heading for Yang Jian’s discussion of the rules governing correspondence among the six lines. The text below discusses the correspondence between the first and fourth lines; the second and fifth lines belong to another kind of relation.

I. On the Principle of “Correspondence”

The first line corresponds with the fourth, the second with the fifth, and the third with the top. Correspondence arises because the hexagrams are formed by doubling. (A doubled hexagram: two three-line primary trigrams are stacked one above the other to form the sixty-four six-line hexagrams.) Originally there were only the eight primary trigrams, each with three lines. After doubling, the fourth line of the upper trigram stands in the same position as the first line of the lower trigram; the fifth line of the upper trigram stands in the same position as the second line of the lower trigram; and the top line of the upper trigram stands in the same position as the top line of the lower trigram. Since their positions are analogous, the hexagram image of “correspondence” arises.

Correspondence, however, also depends on Yin and Yang: one Yin matched with one Yang forms correspondence, while two Yin lines or two Yang lines do not. Six in the Third and the top line are both Yin lines, so they do not constitute the image of correspondence. There is also the hexagram image of “chasing deer without a forester” (taken from the line statement of Six in the Third Place of Zhun).

II. Hexagram Meng (Kan below, Gen above)

Hexagram Statement: Meng brings success. It is not that I seek the young and ignorant; the young and ignorant seek me. At the first divination I inform him; if he asks again and again, that is disrespectful and blasphemous, and then I do not inform him. It is beneficial to remain steadfast and correct.

Tuan Commentary: There is danger beneath the mountain—Kan is danger, Gen is mountain. To encounter danger and stop: this is Meng. Meng succeeds because the way of success is carried out in a timely and centered manner. “The young and ignorant seek me,” because their intentions correspond. “At the first divination I inform him,” because Nine in the Second occupies the center of the lower trigram and is firm and strong. “If he asks again and again, that is disrespectful; if disrespectful, I do not inform him,” because the other party’s disrespect makes him even more ignorant. To nurture the correct Way in the ignorant—this is the achievement of the sage.

Xiang Commentary: A spring gushes forth from below the mountain: the image of Meng. Thus the noble person acts with resolute conduct and nurtures virtue.

Line Statements and Xiang Commentary

Six at the Beginning: To enlighten the ignorant, it is fitting to use punishment as a restraint, and to free them by removing the shackles; if one merely follows along and keeps going forward, there will be regret.

Xiang Commentary: It is fitting to use punishment in order to rectify the laws and measures.

Nine in the Second: Embracing the ignorant brings good fortune. Taking a wife brings good fortune. The son is able to bear the family.

Xiang Commentary: The son can bear the family because the firm and the yielding meet.

Six in the Third: Do not marry such a woman: when she sees a man of wealth and position, she follows him and loses herself; nothing is beneficial.

Xiang Commentary: Do not marry her, because her conduct is not in accord with the proper Way.

Six in the Fourth: Entangled in ignorance, there is regret.

The hexagram image of “Mountain over Water, Meng” is that danger lies beneath the mountain: one encounters danger and stops. At such a time the mind is murky and does not know where to go. This is so for the youthful and ignorant, and it was also so for the sage at the beginning: even if he wished not to stop, he could not help himself. After stopping upon encountering danger, if one can accord with the time and move forward, there can be success. Both action and stopping depend on timing: stop when one should stop, act when one should act—this is “timely centrality” (shizhong), being appropriately centered according to the moment. The difference between the sage and the youthful and ignorant lies only in whether action and stopping are fitting.

Ignorance is originally the pure and proper nature of human beings; therefore, nurturing the youthful and ignorant is precisely cultivating the upright way—this is the actual practice by which one becomes a sage. This is the meaning of “Ignorance is used to nurture uprightness; this is the work of the sage.”

“It is not I who seek the youthful and ignorant; the youthful and ignorant seek me” means that it is not I who go looking for the youthful and ignorant, but the youthful and ignorant who come to seek me. This shows that my will resonates with the six-five line; the six-five naturally comes to seek, and I need not take the initiative to admonish. The youthful and ignorant are originally plain and without surplus; I need only receive them compliantly, and that is already sufficient.

“At the first consultation, inform” means that when the initial divination is made, if the answer is obtained after asking only once, then tell him; but if he asks repeatedly, up to three times, then do not inform him again. For repeated questioning is a profanation and only makes the ignorance deeper. This is the meaning of “If profaned, do not inform; profanation is ignorance.”

Finally, if he questions repeatedly, that is “striking the ignorant,” not “nurturing the ignorant”; one has become a bandit rather than helping others stop bandits. Only someone like the top-nine line—one who should stop but does not know to stop—would do this.

This passage discusses the flaw of the top nine line of the Meng (Youthful Folly) hexagram. (The Meng hexagram is one of the sixty-four hexagrams; its image is a spring emerging below the mountain, and the nine in the second place, the six in the fifth place, and so on are its line positions.) The top nine should originally take “Gen as stopping” (Gen is Mountain, with the meaning of stillness and knowing when to stop) as its virtue, but it does not know to stop at the proper time, and so the problem arises. The nine in the second place’s “embracing the ignorant” means containing and enlightening the benighted; how could it act as the top nine does? If the top nine merely acted to restrain robbers, those below would naturally submit; but if instead it attacks the robbers, then above it first loses their submission—how then could it make both above and below submit and reach the realm of Great Compliance?

Alas, if one cannot accord with the benighted, how can one accomplish the way of the sage? If one cannot nurture through compliance, how can one cultivate the correct Way? Therefore when the sage governs the world by this way of accord, he can be sincere and reverent and the world will be at peace; there is no need to wait for rewards, for the people will naturally be encouraged.

Look again at the top nine’s attacking. The six at the beginning says: “Do not consult divination to seek me, wanting me to open your ignorance; this is putting shackles on yourself.” One should quickly rectify oneself. According to proper norms, one should use words to escape this predicament; if one does not do so, there is no way to be freed. Otherwise I fear he will continue like this, and moreover be reluctant to let go, and then never be able to escape.

Have you not seen the six in the fourth place? The six in the fourth is by nature an honest person, yet is deemed bad and left alone at a distance; it is benighted, yet is deemed bad, said to be distressed by Heaven. Since that quarter has already regarded ignorance as a predicament, how can its reluctance be shaken off? The six in the fifth place is yielding and occupies the central position; it is merely a youthful ignoramus. If it is taken as a wife, it is the wife of youthful ignorance; if taken as a son, it is the son who, though youthful and ignorant, can carry on the family enterprise—and thus Yin-Yang and the firm and yielding connect here. The one that is auspicious wherever it goes is only the nine in the second place, whose good fortune of “embracing the ignorant” brings to completion the six in the fifth’s good fortune of “youthful ignorance.” Then the six in the fifth, in its own state of youthful ignorance, complies with the Xun (Gentle/Penetrating) quality of entering and returns to the nine in the second’s embracing of ignorance.

Then the nine in the second’s “great good fortune” does not benefit the six in the third; the six in the third should have been like a wife who is accepted, but instead becomes a woman who is not to be chosen. Such a woman has become greatly knowledgeable and no longer acts in compliance with ignorance; what benefit is she to the youthful ignorant?

Generally, the benighted people in the world grow ever more clever, and often see only wealth but not themselves. Therefore they regard one who hears one thing and understands ten as a great worthy, while, busy all day long with trade and gain, they on the contrary look upon one who is content with emptiness and repeatedly left empty yet does not seek wealth as a vulgar fellow, and regard one who repeatedly falls into poverty as a beggar.

A person in adversity cannot extricate themselves. If being mocked they instead rejoice, if beaten they also rejoice, and even when shackled and fettered they still rejoice—such a person, even if they apply effort to “nourishing the upright” (cultivating the correct Way), where could it be of use?

The Wang edition (the commentary transmitted by Mr. Wang) says: After Qian and Kun come the two hexagrams Zhun and Meng. Zhun symbolizes the first opening of the temporal cycle and the primordial obscurity of the world; the sage’s way of turning heaven and earth and reversing Qian and Kun begins here. Meng refers to knowledge not yet opened and the human heart in distress; the sage’s work of opening heaven and earth also begins here. Zhun is the obscurity of the world; Meng is the distress of the human heart. Therefore Zhun is favorable for establishing feudal states, and Meng is favorable for resisting external invaders.

Wang Fusi (Wang Bi) says: No one is wiser than the sage, and no one is more muddled than the ignorant. To nourish the upright Way while in a condition of ignorance—this is the sage’s achievement. If one is already clear and then goes on to “nourish the upright,” one departs from the correct way of Meng.

Cheng Zhengshu (Cheng Yi) says: Gen is mountain, symbolizing stopping and rest; Kan is water, symbolizing danger and entrapment. There is danger beneath the mountain; meeting danger, one stops, not knowing where to proceed—this is the image of hexagram Meng.

You Dingfu (You Zuo) says: A spring gushes forth beneath the mountain; when the spring first emerges and has not yet dispersed, its force cannot yet flow through. Observing that its force has not yet reached through, one advances resolutely; observing that its source has not yet dispersed, one cultivates virtue.