The I Ching or Book of Changes (70 page)

The abstract, allegorical content of the hexagrams is here pointed out. The hexagrams permit of a general extension to all sorts of situations, because they present nothing but the laws that pertain to various complexes of conditions.

CHAPTER VII. The Relation of Certain Hexagrams to Character Formation

1. The Changes came into use in the period of middle antiquity. Those who composed the Changes had great care and sorrow.

This passage refers to King Wên and his son, the Duke of Chou, who both lived through very difficult times. The writer of the lines quoted above feels himself in sympathy with them in this respect, for he too can do nothing more than preserve for posterity the framework of a perishing civilization.

2. Thus the hexagram of TREADING shows the basis of character. MODESTY shows the handle of character; RETURN, the stem of character. DURATION brings about firmness of character; DECREASE, cultivation of character; INCREASE, fullness of character; OPPRESSION, the test of character; THE WELL, the field of character; THE GENTLE, the exercise of character.

3. The hexagram of TREADING is harmonious and attains its goal. MODESTY gives honor and shines forth. RETURN is small, yet different from external things. DURATION shows manifold experiences without satiety. DECREASE shows first what is difficult and then what is easy. INCREASE shows the growth of fullness without artifices. OPPRESSION leads to perplexity and thereby to success. THE WELL abides in its place, yet has influence on other things. Through THE GENTLE one is able to weigh things and remain hidden.

4. TREADING brings about harmonious conduct. MODESTY serves to regulate the mores. RETURN leads to self-knowledge. DURATION brings about unity of character. DECREASE keeps harm away. INCREASE furthers what is useful. Through OPPRESSION one learns to lessen one’s rancor. THE WELL brings about discrimination as to what is right. Through THE GENTLE one is able to take special circumstances into account.
¹

Here nine hexagrams are used to show the development of character. First the relations of the hexagrams to character are given, then the material of the hexagrams, and finally their effect. The movement is from within outward. What is wrought in the depths of the heart becomes outwardly visible in its effects. The nine hexagrams are as follows:

1. Lü, TREADING (
10
). This hexagram deals with the rules of good conduct, compliance with which is a prerequisite of character formation. This good conduct is harmonious—in conformity with the trigram Tui, the Joyous, which is inside—and hence attains its goal even under difficult circumstances (“treading upon the tail of the tiger”). Thus it brings about
those harmonious forms which are a prerequisite of outward behavior.

2. Ch’ien, MODESTY (
15
). This hexagram shows the attitude that is necessary before character formation can be undertaken. Modesty (mountain under the earth) honors others and thereby attains honor for itself; it regulates human intercourse in such a way that friendliness evokes friendliness. To the outward forms it adds the right attitude of mind as content.

3. Fu, RETURN (
24
). This hexagram is characterized by the fact that a light line returns from below and moves upward. It means the root and stem of character. The good that shows itself below is at first quite insignificant, but it is strong enough to be able constantly to prevail in its own unique character against any temptation of the surroundings. In the sense of return, it also suggests lasting reform following upon errors committed, and the self-examination and self-knowledge necessary for this.

4. Hêng, DURATION (
32
). This hexagram brings about firmness of character in the frame of time. It shows wind and thunder constantly together; hence there are manifold movements and experiences, from which fixed rules are derived, so that a unified character results.

5. Sun, DECREASE (
41
). This hexagram shows a decrease in influence of the lower faculties, the untamed instincts, in favor of the higher life of the mind. Here we have the essence of character training. The hexagram shows first the difficult thing—the taming of the instincts—then the easy phase, when character is under control; thus harm is kept away.

6. I, INCREASE (
42
). This hexagram gives needed fullness to character. Mere asceticism is not enough to make a good character: greatness is also needed. Thus INCREASE shows an organic growth of personality that is not artificial and hence furthers what is useful.

7. K’un, OPPRESSION (
47
). This hexagram leads the individual of developed character finally into the field where he must prove himself. Difficulties and obstacles arise; these must be overcome, yet they often prove insuperable. He sees himself confronted by bounds that he cannot set aside and that can be surmounted only by recognizing them for what they are. In thus recognizing as fate the things that must be so taken, one
ceases to hate adversity—of what use would it be to storm against fate—and through this lessening of resentment, character is purified and advances to a higher level.

8. Ching, THE WELL (
48
). This hexagram represents a wellspring, which, though fixed in one spot, dispenses blessing far and wide and so makes its influence far-reaching. This shows the field in which character can take effect. We perceive the profound influence emanating from a richly endowed and generous personality, an influence that is not any the less because the person exerting it keeps in the background. The hexagram shows what is right, and thus makes it possible for the right to take effect.

9. Sun, THE GENTLE, THE PENETRATING (
57
). This hexagram gives the proper flexibility of character. What is needed is not rigidity that holds fast to established principles and is in reality mere pedantry, but mobility: thus one weighs things and penetrates to the needs of the time without exposing oneself to attack, so learning to take circumstances into account and to preserve a strong unity of character along with intelligent versatility.

CHAPTER VIII. On the Use of the Book of Changes: The Lines

1. The Changes is a book

From which one may not hold aloof.

Its tao is forever changing—

Alteration, movement without rest,

Flowing through the six empty places;

Rising and sinking without fixed law,

Firm and yielding transform each other.

They cannot be confined within a rule;

It is only change that is at work here.

2. They move inward and outward according to fixed rhythms.

Without or within, they teach caution.

3. They also show care and sorrow and their causes.

Though you have no teacher,

Approach them as you would your parents.

4. First take up the words,

Ponder their meaning,

Then the fixed rules reveal themselves.

But if you are not the right man,

The meaning will not manifest itself to you.

In half rhythmic and half rhymed prose, we are here admonished to study the Book of Changes diligently. It is pointed out with praise that continuous change is the rule of the book. In conclusion, attention is called to the fact that an innate capacity is essential to an understanding of the book, otherwise it will remain locked as if with seven seals. If the person consulting the oracle is not in contact with tao, he does not receive an intelligible answer, since it would be of no avail.

CHAPTER IX. The Lines (continued)

1. The Changes is a book whose hexagrams begin with the first line and are summed up in the last. The lines are the essential material. The six lines are interspersed according to the meaning belonging to them at the time.

This section discusses the relation of the lines to the hexagram as a whole. With the individual lines as the material, the hexagram is built from the bottom upward. The individual lines have within this sequence the meaning imparted to them by force of the particular situation.

2. The beginning line is difficult to understand. The top line is easy to understand. For they stand in the relationship of cause and effect. The judgment on
the first line is tentative, but at the last line everything has attained completion.

Here in the first instance the reciprocal relationship between the first and the top line is stated. Both stand, as it were, outside the essential hexagram and the nuclear trigrams. At the first line the action is only just beginning to develop, and at the last it is concluded.

3. But if one wishes to explore things in their manifold gradation, and their qualities as well, and to discriminate between right and wrong, it cannot be done completely without the middle lines.

The “things in their manifold gradation” result from the manifold gradation of the places. Their qualities inhere in their firm or their yielding character. Right and wrong are distinguishable according to whether or not the lines occupy the places appropriate to them in view of the meaning of the time.

4. Yes, even that which is most important in regard to surviving or perishing, in regard to good fortune or misfortune, can be known in the course of time. The man of knowledge contemplates the judgment on the decision, and thus he can think out for himself the greater part.

In the Commentary on the Decision the rulers of the hexagrams are always indicated. By pondering the relationships of the other lines to these rulers, one can gain an approximate idea of their position and meaning in the hexagram as a whole.

5. The second and the fourth place correspond in their work but are differentiated by their positions. They do not correspond as regards the degree to which they are good. The second is usually praised, the fourth is usually warned, because it stands near the ruler. The meaning of the yielding is that it is not favorable for it to be far away. The important
thing, however, is to remain without blame; its expression consists in being yielding and central.

The fifth place is that of the ruler. The second and the fourth place are those of officials. The second, which stands in the relationship of correspondence to the fifth (each being centrally placed, the former in the inner, the latter in the outer trigram), is the official who, far from the court, is attending to his work in the country. The fourth place is that of the minister. Therefore the two places, both dark—that is, dependent—are not equally good, despite their correspondence with respect to their work. The second usually carries a favorable judgment, the fourth a warning one: because it is too close to the prince, it must be doubly cautious. Now it is not in the nature of the yielding to prosper when it is far from the firm, hence one would expect the second place to be less favorable than the fourth. However, an important factor is that it is centrally placed and so remains without blame.

6. The third and the fifth place correspond in their work but are differentiated by their positions. The third usually has misfortune, the fifth usually has merit, because they are graded according to rank. The weaker is endangered, the stronger has victory.

The fifth place is that of the ruler. The third, as the top place of the inner [lower] trigram, has at least a limited power. But it is not central; it is in an insecure position on the boundary between two trigrams. Therein, as well as in its lower rank, lie elements of weakness that in most situations show the place to be endangered. The fifth place is central and strong, the ruler of the hexagram; these are all elements of strength, promising victory.

CHAPTER X. The Lines (continued)

1. The Changes is a book vast and great, in which everything is completely contained. The tao of heaven is in it, the tao of the earth is in it, and the
tao of man is in it. It combines these three primal powers and doubles them; that is why there are six lines. The six lines are nothing other than the ways (tao) of the three primal powers.

2. The Way has changes and movements. Therefore the lines are called changing lines. The lines have gradations, therefore they represent things. Things are diverse; this gives rise to line characteristics. The line characteristics do not always correspond. From this arise good fortune and misfortune.

Here the places are divided according to the three primal powers. The first and the second line are the places of the earth, the third and the fourth those of man, and the fifth and the top line those of heaven; this division comes into consideration with the very first hexagram, THE CREATIVE. According to whether the lines of the different gradations are appropriate to the places, conclusions are drawn as to whether they mean good fortune or misfortune. The Chinese character for “line,”
hsiao
, when written differently may also mean “to imitate.” This is why the lines are here called “changing lines”—that is, lines oriented to the pattern of tao. The written character for
hsiao
consists of two sets of crossed lines, suggesting the crossing of yang and yin (
).