VI. We have strength in the upper trigram, as if to regulate and control the lower, and peril in that lower as if looking out for an opportunity to assail the upper; or, as it may be represented, we have one’s self in a state of peril matched against strength from without. All this is supposed to give the idea of contention or strife. But the undivided line in the centre of Khan is emblematic of sincerity, and gives a character to the whole figure. An individual, so represented, will be very wary, and have good fortune; but strife is bad, and if persevered in even by such a one, the effect will be evil. The fifth line, undivided, in an odd place, and central, serves as a representative of ‘the great man,’ whose agency is sure to be good; but the topmost line being also strong, and with its two companions, riding as it were, on the trigram of peril, its action is likely to be too rash for a great enterprise. See the treatise on the Thwan, in loc.
The subject of line 1 is weak and at the bottom of the figure. He may suffer a little in the nascent strife, but will let it drop; and the effect will be good.
Line 2 represents one who is strong, and has the rule of the lower trigram;—he has the mind for strife, and might be expected to engage in it. But his strength is weakened by being in an even place, and he is no match for his correlate in line 5, and therefore retreats. A town or city with only three hundred families is said SECT. I. THE SZE HEXAGRAM. i VII. Tue Sze HEXAGRAM.
Sze indicates how, in the case which it supposes, with firmness and correctness, and (a leader of) age to be very small. That the subject of the line should retire to so insignificant a place is further proof of his humility.
Line 3 is weak and in an odd place. Its subject therefore is not equal to strive, but withdraws from the arena. Even if forced into it, he will keep himself in the background;—and be safe. ‘He keeps in the old place assigned for his support’ is, literally, ‘He eats his old virtue;’ meaning that he lives in and on the appanage assigned to him for his services.
Line 4 is strong, and not in the centre; so that we are to con- ceive of its subject as having a mind to strive. But immediately above it is line 5, the symbol of the ruler, and with him it is hope- less to strive; immediately below is 3, weak, and out of its proper place, incapable of maintaining a contention. Its proper correlate is the lowest line, weak, and out of its proper place, from whom little help can come. Hence its subject takes the course indicated, which leads to good fortune.
Line 5 has every circumstance in favour of its subject.
Line 6 is strong and able to contend successfully; but is there to be no end of striving? Persistence in it is sure to end in defeat and disgrace. The contender here might receive a reward from the king for his success; but if he received it thrice in a morning, thrice it would be taken from him again. As to the nature of the reward here given, see on the Li Ai, X, ii, 32.
P. Regis explains several of the expressions in the Text, both in the Thwan and the Hsiang, from the history of king Wan and his son king Wa. Possibly his own circumstances may have suggested to Wan some of the Thwan; and his course in avoiding a direct colli- sion with the tyrant Shau, and W4’s subsequent exploits may have been in the mind of the duke of Kau. Some of the sentiments, however, cannot be historically explained. They are general pro- tests against all contention and strife.
72 THE yf KING. TEXT.
and experience, there will be good fortune and no error.
1. The first line, divided, shows the host going forth according to the rules (for such a movement). If these be not good, there will be evil.
2. The second line, undivided, shows (the leader) in the midst of the host. There will be good for- tune and no error. The king has thrice conveyed to him the orders (of his favour).
3. The third line, divided, shows how the host may, possibly, have many inefficient leaders. There will be evil.
4. The fourth line, divided, shows the host in retreat. There is no error.
5. The fifth line, divided, shows birds in the fields, which it will be advantageous to seize (and destroy). In that case there will be no error. If the oldest son leads the host, and younger men (idly occupy offices assigned to them), however firm and correct he may be, there will be evil.
6. The topmost line, divided, shows the great ruler delivering his charges, (appointing some) to be rulers of states, and others to undertake the head- ship of clans; but small men should not be employed (in such positions).
VII. The conduct of military expeditions in a feudal kingdom, and we may say, generally, is denoted by the hexagram Sze. Referring to Appendixes I and II for an explanation of the way in which the combination of lines in it is made out to suggest the idea of an army, and that idea being assumed, it is easy to see how the undivided line in the second place should be interpreted of the general, who is responded to by the divided line in the fifth and royal place. Thus entire trust is reposed in him. He is strong SECT. I. THE Pi HEXAGRAM. 73 VIII. Tue Pi Hexacram.
Pi indicates that (under the conditions which it supposes) there is good fortune. But let (the prin- cipal party intended in it) re-examine himself, (as if) and correct, and his enterprises will be successful. He is denomi- nated kang z4n, ‘an old, experienced man.’
‘The rules,’ it is said, ‘are twofold;—first, that the war be for a righteous end; and second, that the manner of conducting it, especially at the outset, be right.’ But how this and the warning in the conclusion should both follow from the divided line being in the first place, has not been sufficiently explained.
How line 2 comes to be the symbol of the general in command of the army has been shown above on the Thwan. The orders of the king thrice conveyed to him are to be understood of his appoint- ment to the command, and not of any rewards conferred on him as a tribute to his merit. Nor is stress to be laid on the ‘thrice.’ ‘It does not mean that the appointment came to him three times; but that it was to him exclusively, and with the entire con- fidence of the king.’
The symbolism of line 3 is very perplexing. P. Regis translates it:—'Milites videntur deponere sarcinas in curribus. Male.’ Canon McClatchie has:— Third-six represents soldiers as it were lying dead in their baggage carts, and is unlucky.’ To the same effect was my own translation of the paragraph, nearly thirty years ago. But the third line, divided, cannot be forced to have such an indication. The meaning I have now given is more legitimate, taken character by character, and more in harmony with the scope of the hexagram. The subject of line 2 is the one proper leader of the host. But line 3 is divided and weak, and occupies the place of a strong line, as if its subject had perversely jumped over two, and perched himself above it to take the command. This interpretation also suits better in the 5th paragraph.
Line 4 is weak and not central; and therefore ‘to retreat’ is 74 THE Yi KING. TEXT.
by divination, whether his virtue be great, uninter- mitting, and firm. If it be so, there will be no error. Those who have not rest will then come to him; and with those who are (too) late in coming it will be ill.
1. The first line, divided, shows its subject seek- ing by his sincerity to win the attachment of his object. There will be no error. Let (the breast) be full of sincerity as an earthenware vessel is of its contents, and it will in the end bring other advantages.
2. In the second line, divided, we see the move- ment towards union and attachment proceeding from the inward (mind). With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
3. In the third line, divided, we see its subject seeking for union with such as ought not to be associated with.
4. In the fourth line, divided, we see its subject natural for its subject. But its place is even, and proper for a divided line; and the retreat will be right in the circumstances.
In line 5 we seem to have an intimation of the important truth that only defensive war, or war waged by the rightful authority to put down rebellion and lawlessness, is right. ‘The birds in the fields’ symbolise parties attacking for plunder. The fifth line symbolises the chief authority,—the king, who is weak, or humble, and in the centre, and cedes the use of all his power to the general symbolised by line 2. The subject of 2 is ‘the oldest son.’ Those of three and four are supposed to be ‘the younger brother and son,’ that is, the younger men, who would cause evil if admitted to share the command.
The lesson on the topmost line is true and important, but the critics seem unable to deduce it from the nature of the line, as divided and in the sixth place.
SECT. I. THE Pi HEXAGRAM. 75 seeking for union with the one beyond himself. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
5. The fifth line, undivided, affords the most illus- trious instance of seeking union and attachment. (We seem to see in it) the king urging his pursuit of the game (only) in three directions, and allowing the escape of all the animals before him, while the people of his towns do not warn one another (to prevent it). There will be good fortune.
6. In the topmost line, divided, we see one seek- ing union and attachment without having taken the first step (to such an end). There will be evil.
VIII. The idea of union between the different members and classes of a state, and how it can be secured, is the subject of the hexagram Pf. The whole line occupying the fifth place, or that of authority, in the hexagram, represents the ruler to whom the subjects of all the other lines offer a ready submission. According to the general rules for the symbolism of the lines, the second line is the correlate of the fifth; but all the other lines are here made subject to that fifth;—-which is also a law of the Yf, according to the ‘ Daily Lecture. To me it has the suspicious look of being made for the occasion. ‘The harmony of union, therefore, is to be secured by the sovereign authority of one; but he is warned to see to it that his virtue be what will beseem his place, and subjects are warned not to delay to submit to him.
Where does the ‘sincerity’ predicated of the subject of line 1 come from? The ‘earthenware vessel’ is supposed to indicate its plain, unadorned character; but there is nothing in the position and nature of the line, beyond the general idea in the figure, to suggest the attribute.
Line 2 is the proper correlate of 5. Its position in the centre of the inner or lower trigram agrees with the movement of its subject as proceeding from the inward mind.
Line 3 is weak, not in the centre, nor in its correct place. The lines above and below it are both weak. All these things are sup- posed to account for what is said on it.
‘The one beyond himself’ in line 4 is the ruler or king, who is 76 THE Yi KING. TEXT.
IX. Tue Hstéo Kat HEXAGRAM.
Hsiao At indicates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and success. (We see) dense clouds, but no rain coming from our borders in the west.
1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject re- turning and pursuing his own course. What mistake should he fall into? There will be good fortune.
2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject, by the attraction (of the former line), returning (to the proper course). There will be good fortune.
the subject of 5, and with whom union ought to be sought. The divided line, moreover, is in a place proper to it. If its subject be firm and correct, there will be good fortune.
The subject of line 5 is the king, who must be the centre of union. The ancient kings had their great hunting expeditions in the different seasons; and that of each season had its peculiar rules. But what is stated here was common to all. When the beating was completed, and the shooting was ready to commence, one side of the enclosure into which the game had been driven was left open and unguarded;—a proof of the royal benevolence, which did not want to make an end of all the game. So well known and understood is this benevolence of the model king of the hexagram, that all his people try to give it effect. Thus the union contemplated is shown to be characterised by mutual confidence and appreciation in virtue and benevolence.
A weak line being in the 6th place, which is appropriate to it, its subject is supposed to be trying to promote union among and with the subjects of the lines below. It is too late. The time is past. Hence it is symbolised as ‘ without a head,’ that is, as not having taken the first step, from which its action should begin, and go on to the end.
SECT. I. THE HSIAO KHOU HEXAGRAM. ay 3. The third line, undivided, suggests the idea of a carriage, the strap beneath which has been removed, or of a husband and wife looking on each other with averted eyes.
4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity. The danger of bloodshed is thereby averted, and his (ground for) apprehension dismissed. There will be no mistake.
5. The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity, and drawing others to unite with him. Rich in resources, he employs his neigh- bours (in the same cause with himself).
6. The topmost line, ghdivided, shows how the rain has fallen, and the (onward progress) is stayed; —(so) must we value the full accumulation of the virtue (represented by the upper trigram). But a wife (exercising restraint), however firm and correct she may be, is in a position of peril, (and like) the moon approaching to the full. If the superior man prosecute his measures (in such circumstances), there will be evil.
IX. The name Hsido KXAfi is interpreted as meaning ‘small restraint. The idea of ‘restraint’ having once been determined on as that to be conveyed by the figure, it is easily made out that the restraint must be small, for its representative is the divided line in the fourth place; and the check given by that to all the undivided lines cannot be great. Even if we suppose, as many critics do, that all the virtue of that upper trigram Sun is concentrated in its first line, the attribute ascribed to Sun is that of docile flexibility, which cannot long be successful against the strength emblemed by the lower trigram Kien. The restraint therefore is small, and in the end there will be ‘ progress and success.’
The second sentence of the Thwan contains indications of the place, time, and personality of the writer which it seems possible to ascertain. The fief of Kau was the western portion of the 78 THE YI KING. TEXT.
XA TLE ile tl ExXAGRAM (Li suggests the idea of) one treading on the tail of a tiger, which does not bite him. There will be progress and success.
kingdom of Yin or Shang, the China of the twelfth century B.c., the era of king Wan. Rain coming and moistening the ground is the cause of the beauty and luxuriance of the vegetable world, and the emblem of the blessings fowing from good training and good government. Here therefore in the west, the hereditary territory of the house of A’au, are blessings which might enrich the whole kingdom; but they are somehow restrained. The dense clouds do not empty their stores.
P. Regis says:—‘ To declare openly that no rain fell from the heavens long covered with dense clouds over the great tract of country, which stretched from the western border to the court and on to the eastern sea, was nothing else but leaving it to all thought- ful minds to draw the conclusion that the family of Wan was as worthy of the supreme seat as that of Shau, the tyrant, however ancient, was unworthy of it (vol. i, p. 356). The intimation is not put in the Text, however, so clearly as by P. Regis.
Line 1 is undivided, the first line of Xien, occupying its proper place. Its subject, therefore, notwithstanding the check of line 4, resumes his movement, and will act according to his strong nature, and go forward.
Line 2 is also strong, and though an even place is not appropriate to it, that place being central, its subject will make common cause with the subject of line 1; and there will be good fortune.
Line 3, though strong, and in a proper place, yet not being in the centre, is supposed to be less able to resist the restraint of line 4; and hence it has the ill omens that are given.
The subject of line 4, one weak line against all the strong lines of the hexagram, might well expect wounds, and feel apprehension in trying to restrain the others; but it is in its proper place; it is the first line also of Sun, whose attribute is docile flexibility.
SECT. I. THE Li HEXAGRAM. 79 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject treading his accustomed path. If he go forward, there will be no error.
2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject treading the path that is level and easy;—a quiet and solitary man, to whom, if he be firm and correct, there will be good fortune.
3. The third line, divided, shows a one-eyed man (who thinks he) can see; a lame man (who thinks he) can walk well; one who treads on the tail of a tiger and is bitten. (All this indicates) ill fortune. We have a (mere) bravo acting the part of a great ruler.
4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject treading on the tail of a tiger. He becomes full of apprehensive caution, and in the end there will be good fortune.
5. The fifth line, undivided, shows the resolute tread of its subject. Though he be firm and correct, there will be peril.
6. The sixth line, undivided, tells us to look at (the whole course) that is trodden, and examine the The strong lines are moved to sympathy and help, and ‘there is no mistake.’
Line 5 occupies the central place of Sun, and converts, by the sincerity of its subject, 4 and 6 into its neighbours, who suffer themselves to be used by it, and effect their common object.
In line 6, the idea of the hexagram has run its course. The harmony of nature is restored. The rain falls, and the onward march of the strong lines should now stop. But weakness that has achieved such a result, if it plume itself on it, will be in a position of peril; and like the full moon, which must henceforth wane. Let the superior man, when he has attained his end, remain in quiet.
80 THE Yi KING. TEXT, presage which that gives. If it be complete and without failure, there will be great good fortune.
X. The character giving its name to the hexagram plays an im- portant part also in the symbolism; and this may be the reason why it does not, as the name, occupy the first place in the Thwan. Looking at the figure, we see it is made up of the trigrams Tui, representing a marsh, and Khien, representing the sky. Tui is a yin trigram, and its top line is divided. Below Xéien, the great symbol of strength, it may readily suggest the idea of treading on a tiger’s tail, which was an old way of expressing what was hazardous (Shit V, xxv, 2). But what suggests the statement that ‘the tiger does not bite the treader?’ The attribute of Tui is pleased satisfaction. Of course such an attribute could not be predicated of one who was in the fangs of a tiger. The coming scatheless out of such danger further suggests the idea of ‘ progress and success’ in the course which king Wan had in his mind. And according to Appendix VI, that course was ‘propriety,’ the observance of all the rules of courtesy. On these, as so many stepping-stones, one may tread safely amid scenes of disorder and peril.
Line 1 is an undivided line in an odd place; giving us the ideas of activity, firmness, and correctness. One so characterised will act rightly.
Line 2 occupies the middle place of the trigram, which is sup- posed to symbolise a path cut straight and level along the hill-side, or over difficult ground. Line 5 is not a proper correlate, and hence the idea of the subject of 2 being ‘a quiet and solitary man.’
Line 3 is neither central nor in an even place, which would be proper to it. But with the strength of will which the occupant of an odd place should possess, he goes forward with the evil results so variously emblemed. The editors of the imperial edition, in illustration of the closing sentence, refer to Analects VII, x.
Line 4 is in contiguity with 5, whose subject is in the place of authority; but he occupies the place proper to a weak or divided line, and hence he bethinks himself, and goes softly.
Beneath the symbolism under line g, lies the principle that the most excellent thing in ‘propriety’ is humility. And the subject of the line, which is strong and central, will not be lacking in this, but bear in mind that the higher he is exalted, the greater may be his fall.
SECT. I. THE THAI HEXAGRAM. 8I XI. Tue TuHArt HExAGRam.
>> In ThAi (we see) the little gone and the great come. (It indicates that) there will be good fortune, with progress and success.
1. The first line, undivided, suggests the idea of grass pulled up, and bringing with it other stalks with whose roots it is connected. Advance (on the part of its subject) will be fortunate.
2. The second line, undivided, shows one who can bear with the uncultivated, will cross the Ho without a boat, does not forget the distant, and has no (selfish) friendships. Thus does he prove himself acting in accordance with the course of the due Mean.
3. The third line, undivided, shows that, while there is no state of peace that is not liable to be disturbed, and no departure (of evil men) so that they shall not return, yet when one is firm and correct, as he realises the distresses that may arise, he will commit no error. There is no occasion for sadness at the certainty (of such recurring changes); and in this mood the happiness (of the present) may be (long) enjoyed.
4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject fluttering (down);—not relying on his own rich a ge a Frnt What is said on line 6 is good, but is only a truism. The whole course has been shown; if every step has been right and appropriate, the issue will be very good.
82 THE Yf KING. TEXT.
resources, but calling in his neighbours. (They all come) not as having received warning, but in the sincerity (of their hearts).
5. The fifth line, divided, reminds us of (king) Tt-yi’s (rule about the) marriage of his younger sister. By such a course there is happiness and there will be great good fortune.
6. The sixth line, divided, shows us the city wall returned into the moat. It is not the time to use the army. (The subject of the line) may, indeed, announce his orders to the people of his own city; but however correct and firm he may be, he will have cause for regret.
XI. The language of the Thwan has reference to the form of Thai, with the three strong lines of Khien below, and the three weak lines of Khwan above. The former are ‘the great,’ active and vigorous; the latter are ‘the small,’ inactive and submissive. But where have the former ‘come’ from, and whither are the latter ‘gone?’ In many editions of the Yi beneath the hexagram of Thai etl here, there appears that of Kwei Mei, the 54th in order ( =e, which becomes T hAi, if the third and fourth lines exchange places. But in the notes on the Thwan, in the first Appendix, on hexa- gram 6, I have spoken of the doctrine of ‘changing figures,’ and intimated my disbelief of it. The different hexagrams arose necessarily by the continued manipulation of the undivided and divided lines, and placing them each over itself and over the other. When king Wan wrote these Thwan, he was taking the 64 hexa- grams, as they were ready to his hand, and not forming one from another by any process of divination. The ‘gone’ and ‘come’ are merely equivalent to ‘ below’ and ‘above,’ in the lower trigram or in the upper.
A course in which the motive forces are represented by the three strong, and the opposing by the three weak lines, must be pro- gressive and successful. Thai is called the hexagram of the first month of the year, the first month of the natural spring, when for six months, through the fostering sun and genial skies, the pro- cesses of growth will be going on.
SECT. Ie THE PH! HEXAGRAM. 82 XII. Tue Put HExacRam.
In Phi there is the want of good understanding between the (different classes of) men, and its in- dication is unfavourable to the firm and correct The symbolism of paragraph 1 is suggested by the three strong lines of KAien all together, and all possessed by the same instinct to advance. The movement of the first will be supported by that of the others, and be fortunate.
The second line is strong, but in an even place. This is sup- posed to temper the strength of its subject; which is expressed by the first of his characteristics. But the even place is the central; and it is responded to by a proper correlate in the fifth line above. Hence come all the symbolism of the paragraph and the auspice of good fortune implied in it.
Beneath the symbolism in paragraph 3 there lies the persuasion of the constant change that is taking place in nature and in human affairs. As night succeeds to day, and winter to summer, So calamity may be expected to follow prosperity, and decay the flourishing of a state. The third is the last of the lines of Ahien, by whose strength and activity the happy state of Thai has been produced. Another aspect of things may be looked for; but by firmness and correctness the good estate of the present may be long continued.
According to the treatise on the Thwan, the subjects of the fourth and other upper lines are not ‘the small returning’ as opponents of the strong lines below, as is generally supposed; but as the correlates of those lines, of one heart and mind with them to maintain the state of Thai, and giving them, humbly but readily, all the help in their power.
Ti-yi, the last sovereign but one of the Yin dynasty, reigned from B.c. 1191 to 1155; but what was the history of him and his sister here referred to we do not know. P. Regis assumes that he gave his sister in marriage to the lord of K4u, known in subse- 84 THE Yi KING. TEXT.
course of the superior man. We see in it the great gone and the little come.
1. The first line, divided, suggests the idea of grass pulled up, and bringing with it other stalks with whose roots it is connected. With firm cor- rectness (on the part of its subject), there will be good fortune and progress.
2. The second line, divided, shows its subject patient and obedient. To the small man (comport- ing himself so) there will be good fortune. If the great man (comport himself) as the distress and ob- struction require, he will have success.
3. The third line, divided, shows its subject ashamed of the purpose folded (in his breast).
4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject acting in accordance with the ordination (of Heaven), and committing no error. His companions will come and share in his happiness.
5. In the fifth line, undivided, we see him who quent time as king Wn, and that she was the famous That-sze;— contrary to all the evidence I have been able to find on the subject. According to Khang-3ze, Ti-yi was the first to enact a law that daughters of the royal house, in marrying princes of the states, should be in subjection to them, as if they were not superior to them in rank. Here line 5, while occupying the place of dignity and authority in the hexagram, is yet a weak line in the place of a strong one; and its subject, accordingly, humbly condescends to his strong and proper correlate in line 2.
The course denoted by Thai has been run; and will be fol- lowed by one of a different and unhappy character. The earth dug from the moat had been built up to form a protecting wall; but it is now again fallen into the ditch. War will only aggravate the evil; and however the ruler may address good proclamations to himself and the people of his capital, the coming evil cannot be altogether averted.
SECT. I. THE PHI HEXAGRAM. 85 LS brings the distress and obstruction to a close,—the great man and fortunate. (But let him say), ‘We may perish! We may perish!’ (so shall the state of things become firm, as if) bound toa clump of bushy mulberry trees.
6. The sixth line, undivided, shows the overthrow (and removal of) the condition of distress and ob- struction. Before this there was that condition. Hereafter there will be joy.
a XII. The form of Phi, it will be seen, is exactly the opposite of that of Thai. Much of what has been said on the interpretation of that will apply to this, or at least assist the student in making out the meaning of its symbolism. Phi is the hexagram of the seventh month. Genial influences have done their work, the pro- cesses of growth are at an end. Henceforth increasing decay must be looked for.
Naturally we should expect the advance of the subject of the first of the three weak lines to lead to evil; but if he set himself to be firm and correct, he will bring about a different issue.
Patience and obedience are proper for the small man in all circumstances. If the great man in difficulty yet cherish these attributes, he will soon have a happy issue out of the distress.
The third line is weak. Its place is odd, and therefore for it incorrect. Its subject would vent his evil purpose, but has not strength to do so. He is left therefore to the shame which he ought to feel without a word of warning. Does the ming of the fourth line mean ‘the ordination of Heaven,’ as X( Hs? thinks; or the orders of the ruler, as K/Aang-3ze says? Whichever interpre- tation be taken (and some critics unite the two), the action of the subject of the line, whose strength is tempered by the even posi- tion, will be good and correct, and issue in success and happiness.
The strong line in the fifth, (its correct), place, brings the distress and obstruction to a close. Yet its subject—the ruler in the hexa- gram—is warned to continue to be cautious in two lines of rhyme:— ‘And let him say, “I die! I die!” So to a bushy clump’ his fortune he shall tie.’
There is an end of the condition of distress. It was necessary that condition should give place to its opposite; and the strong line in the topmost place fitly represents the consequent joy.
86 THE Yi KING. TEXT.
XIII. Tue Tuune ZAn HEXAGRAM.
Thung Z4n (or ‘Union of men’) appears here (as we find it) in the (remote districts of the) country, indicating progress and success. It will be advan- tageous to cross the great stream. It will be ad- vantageous to maintain the firm correctness of the superior man.
1. The first line, undivided, (shows the repre- sentative of) the union of men just issuing from his gate. There will be no error.
2. The second line, divided, (shows the repre- sentative of) the union of men in relation with his kindred. There will be occasion for regret.
3. The third line, undivided, (shows its subject) with his arms hidden in the thick grass, and at the top of a high mound. (But) for three years he makes no demonstration.
4. The fourth line, undivided, (shows its subject) mounted on the city wall; but he does not proceed to make the attack (he contemplates). There will be good fortune.
5. In the fifth line, undivided, (the representative of) the union of men first wails and cries out, and then laughs. His great host conquers, and he (and the subject of the second line) meet together.
6. The topmost line, undivided, (shows the repre- SECT. I. THE THUNG ZAN HEXAGRAM. 87 a sentative of) the union of men in the suburbs. There will be no occasion for repentance.
nn XIII. Thung Zin describes a condition of nature and of the state opposite to that of Phi. There was distress and obstruction; here is union. But the union must be based entirely on public considerations, without taint of selfishness.
The strong line in the fifth, its correct, place, occupies the most important position, and has for its correlate the weak second line, also in its correct place. The one divided line is naturally sought after by all the strong lines. The upper trigram is that of heaven, which is above; the lower is that of fire, whose tendency is to mount upwards. All these things are in harmony with the idea of union. But the union must be free from all selfish motives, and this is indicated by its being in the remote districts of the country, where people are unsophisticated, and free from the depraving effects incident to large societies. A union from such motives will cope with the greatest difficulties; and yet a word of caution is added.
Line 1 emblems the first attempts at union. It is strong, but in the lowest place; and it has no proper correlate above. ‘There is, however, no intermixture of selfishness in it.
Lines 2 and g are proper correlates, which fact suggests in this hexagram the idea of their union being limited and partial, and such as may afford ground for blame.
Line 3 is strong, and in an odd place; but it has not a proper cor- relate in 6. This makes its subject more anxious to unite with 2; but 2 is devoted to its proper correlate in 5, of whose strength 3 is afraid, and takes the measures described. His abstaining so long, however, from any active attempt, will save him from misfortune.
Line 4 is strong, but in an even place, which weakens its subject. He also would fain make an attempt on 2; but he is afraid, and does not carry his purpose into effect.
Line 5 is strong, in an odd, and the central place; and would fain unite with 2, which indeed is the proper correlate of its subject. But 3 and 4 are powerful foes that oppose the union. Their opposition makes him weep; but he collects his forces, defeats them, and effects his purpose.
The union reaches to all within the suburbs, and is not yet uni- versal; but still there is no cause for repentance.
88 THE Yi KING. TEXT.
XIV. Tuer TA YO Hexacram.
Ta YO indicates that, (under the circumstances which it implies), there will be great progress and success,