The I Ching or Book of Changes (137 page)

7
. The Creative causes the beginning and begetting of all beings, and can therefore be designated as heaven, radiant energy, father, ruler. It is a question whether the Chinese personified the Creative, as the Greeks conceived it in Zeus. The answer is that this problem is not the main one for the Chinese. The divine-creative principle is suprapersonal and makes itself perceptible only through its all-powerful activity. It has, to be sure, an external aspect, which is heaven, and heaven, like all that lives, has a spiritual consciousness, God, the Supreme Ruler. But all this is summed up as the Creative.

8
. The lines are counted from the bottom up, i.e., the lowest is taken as the first. If the person consulting the oracle draws a seven, this is important in relation to the structure of the hexagram as a whole, because it is a strong line, but inasmuch as it does not move [change] it has no meaning as an individual line. On the other hand, if the questioner draws a nine, the line is a moving one, and a special meaning is attached to it; this must be considered separately. The same principle applies in respect to all the other strong lines [and also as regards moving and nonmoving weak lines, i.e., sixes and eights]. The two lowest lines in each hexagram stand for the earth, the two in the middle for the world of man, and the upper two for heaven. [Further details as to the meaning of the nines and sixes are given
here
.]

9
. [The upper trigram is considered to be “outside,” the lower “inside” (see
here
). This distinction underlies the constant juxtaposition, to be observed throughout bks.
I
and
III
, of inner, mental states and external actions or events, of subjective and objective experiences. From this also arise the frequent comparisons between ability and position, form and content, outer adornment and inner worth.]

10
. [The circle indicates that this line is a governing ruler of the hexagram. Constituting rulers are marked by a square. For explanation of governing and constituting rulers, see
here
.]

1
. [Hexagrams that are opposites in structure are not necessarily opposites in meaning.]

2
. [See
here
, sec. 2.]

3
. While the top line of THE CREATIVE indicates titanic pride and forms a parallel to the Greek legend of Icarus, the top line of THE RECEPTIVE presents a parallel to the myth of Lucifer’s rebellion against God, or to the battle between the powers of darkness and the gods of Valhalla, which ended with the Twilight of the Gods.

1
. A different translation is possible here, which would result in a different interpretation:
Difficulties pile up.
Horse and wagon turn about.
If the robber were not there,
The wooer would come.
The maiden is faithful, she does not pledge herself.
Ten years—then she pledges herself.

1
. [“Fool” and “folly” as used in this hexagram should be understood to mean the immaturity of youth and its consequent lack of wisdom, rather than mere stupidity. Parsifal is known as the “pure fool” not because he was dull-witted but because he was inexperienced.]

1
. [In the German translation, this secondary name does not appear in
bk. I
. See
here
.]

2
. [The upper trigram is considered to be in front of the lower. See
here
.]

1
. [See
here
.]

2
. [See
here
for an explanation of what is meant by the “time.”]

1
. [
Auftreten
, the German word used for the name of the hexagram, means both “treading” and “conduct.”]

2
. [See explanation of this line in
bk. III
,
here
.]

1
. [This refers to Ch’êng T’ang, the first of the Shang rulers, whose reign is thought to have begun in 1766 B.C. However, modern Chinese scholarship no longer accepts the identification of the Emperor I (1191–1155 B.C., according to tradition) with T’ang, and holds that the daughter mentioned was given to King Wên’s father, or perhaps to King Wên himself.]

1
. The meaning of this hexagram parallels the saying of Jesus: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

2
. It might be supposed that HOLDING TOGETHER (
8
) would be a more favorable hexagram than POSSESSION IN GREAT MEASURE, because in the former one strong individual gathers five weak ones around him. But the judgment added in the present hexagram, “Supreme success,” is much the more favorable. The reason is that in the eighth hexagram the men held together by the powerful ruler are only simple subordinate persons, while here those who stand as helpers at the side of the mild ruler are strong and able individuals.

3
. This offers the same dictum about possessions as that found in the words of the Bible: “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it” [Luke 17:33].

4
. Another generally accepted translation of the line is as follows:
He does not rely on his abundance.
No blame.
This would mean that the individual avoids mistakes because he possesses as if he possessed nothing.

1
. This hexagram offers a number of parallels to the teachings of the Old and the New Testament, e.g., “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” [Matt. 23:12]; “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” [Isa. 40:4]; “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” [Jas. 4:6]. The concept of the Last Judgment in the Parsee religion shows similar features. The Greek notion of the jealousy of the gods might be mentioned in connection with the third of the biblical passages here cited.

2
. There are not many hexagrams in the Book of Changes in which all the lines have an exclusively favorable meaning, as in the hexagram of MODESTY. This shows how great a value Chinese wisdom places on this virtue.

1
. Goethe’s attitude after the Napoleonic wars is an example of this in European history.

1
. [See the two trigrams.]

1
. Apart from the meaning of the hexagram as a whole, the single lines are explained as follows: the persons represented by the first and the top line suffer punishment, the others inflict it (see the corresponding lines in
hexagram 4
, Mêng, YOUTHFUL FOLLY).

2
. It should be noted here that there is an alternative interpretation of this hexagram, based on the idea, “Above, light (the sun); below, movement.” In this interpretation the hexagram symbolizes a market below, full of movement, while the sun is shining in the sky above. The allusion to meat suggests that it is a food market. Gold and arrows are articles of trade. The disappearance of the nose means the vanishing of smell, that is, the person in question is not covetous. The idea of poison points to the dangers of wealth, and so on throughout.
Confucius says in regard to the nine at the beginning in this hexagram: “The inferior man is not ashamed of unkindness and does not shrink from injustice. If no advantage beckons he makes no effort. If he is not intimidated he does not improve himself, but if he is made to behave correctly in small matters he is careful in large ones. This is fortunate for the inferior man.”
On the subject of the nine at the top Confucius says: “If good does not accumulate, it is not enough to make a name for a man. If evil does not accumulate, it is not strong enough to destroy a man. Therefore the inferior man thinks to himself, ‘Goodness in small things has no value,’ and so neglects it. He thinks, ‘Small sins do no harm,’ and so does not give them up. Thus his sins accumulate until they can no longer be covered up, and his guilt becomes so great that it can no longer be wiped out.”

1
. This hexagram shows tranquil beauty—clarity within, quiet without. This is the tranquillity of pure contemplation. When desire is silenced and the will comes to rest, the world-as-idea becomes manifest. In this aspect the world is beautiful and removed from the struggle for existence. This is the world of art. However, contemplation alone will not put the will to rest absolutely. It will awaken again, and then all the beauty of form will appear to have been only a brief moment of exaltation. Hence this is still not the true way of redemption. For this reason Confucius felt very uncomfortable when once, on consulting the oracle, he obtained the hexagram of GRACE.

1
. Book of Mencius, bk. VI, sec. A, 14. [Mencius lived from 389 to 305 B.C.]

2
. [See
here
, sec. 5.]

1
. The usual translation, “two bowls of rice,” has been corrected on the basis of Chinese commentaries.

1
. It is a noteworthy and curious coincidence that fire and care of the cow are connected here just as in the Parsee religion. [According to the Parsee belief the Divine Light, or Fire, was manifested in the mineral, vegetable, and animal worlds before it appeared in human form. Its animal incarnation was the cow, and Ahura-Mazda was nourished on her milk.]

1
. The idea expressed by this hexagram is similar to that in the saying of Jesus: “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil” (Matt. 5:39).

2
. A similar idea is suggested in the story of Jacob’s battle with the angel of Peniel: “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me” (Gen. 32:26).

1
. This is the theme dealt with in detail in the Great Learning,
Ta Hsüeh
[
The Chinese Classics, I: Confucian Analects
, etc., tr. James Legge, 2nd edn., Oxford, 1893, pp. 355–81].

1
. Cutting off of the hair and nose was a severe and degrading punishment.

1
. [The present hexagram and the following one, INCREASE, are regarded as formed by changes in T’ai, PEACE (
11
), and P’i, STANDSTILL (
12
), respectively. See
here
.]

2
. Cf. the story of the widow’s mite in the Gospel of Luke.

1
. [Literally, “exhausted.”]

1
. Cf. Goethe’s tale, “Das Märchen,” in which the phrase, “The hour has come!” is repeated three times before the great transformation begins.

1
. [There are beautiful examples of the
ting
in most of our museums, where they are classified as ritual vessels. The German word used by Wilhelm for
ting
is
Tiegel
, meaning literally “caldron” and, in another sense, “crucible.” Since this characteristic Chinese vessel is unique in form, so different from either a caldron or a crucible in the usual sense, the word
ting
has been retained wherever feasible here.]

2
. Cf. the other three hexagrams dealing with nourishment, viz., hexagrams
5
,
27
,
48
.