I-Ching
Current
Changing
Transformed
Current
44 - Kou / Coming to Meet
Above: CH`IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
Below: SUN THE GENTLE, WIND
This hexagram indicates a situation in which the principle of darkness, after having been eliminated, furtively and unexpectedly intrudes again from within and below. Of its own accord the female principle comes to meet the male. It is an unfavorable and dangerous situation, and we must understand and promptly prevent the possible consequences. The hexagram is linked with the fifth month (June-July), because at the summer solstice the principle of darkness gradually becomes ascendant again.
The rise of the inferior element is pictured here in the image of a bold girl who lightly surrenders herself and thus seizes power. This would not be possible if the strong and light-giving element had not in turn come halfway. The inferior thing seems so harmless and inviting that a man delights in it, as it looks so small and weak that he imagines he may dally with it and come to no harm. The inferior man rises only because the superior man does not regard him as dangerous and so lends him power. If he were resisted from the first, he could never gain influence. The time of COMING TO MEET is important in still another way. Although as a general rule the weak should not come to meet the strong, there are times when this has great significance. When heaven and earth come to meet each other, all creatures prosper. When a prince and his official come to meet each other, the world is put in order. It is necessary for elements predestined to be joined and mutually dependent to come to meet one another halfway, but the coming together must be free of dishonest ulterior motives, otherwise harm will result.
The situation here resembles that in hexagram 20, Kuan, CONTEMPLATION (VIEW). In the latter the wind blows over the earth, here it blows under heaven. In both cases it goes everywhere. There the wind is on the earth and symbolizes the ruler taking note of the conditions in his kingdom, and here the wind blows from above and symbolizes the influence exercised by the ruler through his commands. Heaven is far from the things of earth, but it sets them in motion by means of the wind. The ruler is far form his people, but he sets them in motion by means of his commands and decrees.
Above: CH`IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
Below: SUN THE GENTLE, WIND
This hexagram indicates a situation in which the principle of darkness, after having been eliminated, furtively and unexpectedly intrudes again from within and below. Of its own accord the female principle comes to meet the male. It is an unfavorable and dangerous situation, and we must understand and promptly prevent the possible consequences. The hexagram is linked with the fifth month (June-July), because at the summer solstice the principle of darkness gradually becomes ascendant again.
The Judgement
COMING TO MEET. The maiden is powerful. One should not marry such a maiden.The rise of the inferior element is pictured here in the image of a bold girl who lightly surrenders herself and thus seizes power. This would not be possible if the strong and light-giving element had not in turn come halfway. The inferior thing seems so harmless and inviting that a man delights in it, as it looks so small and weak that he imagines he may dally with it and come to no harm. The inferior man rises only because the superior man does not regard him as dangerous and so lends him power. If he were resisted from the first, he could never gain influence. The time of COMING TO MEET is important in still another way. Although as a general rule the weak should not come to meet the strong, there are times when this has great significance. When heaven and earth come to meet each other, all creatures prosper. When a prince and his official come to meet each other, the world is put in order. It is necessary for elements predestined to be joined and mutually dependent to come to meet one another halfway, but the coming together must be free of dishonest ulterior motives, otherwise harm will result.
The Image
Under heaven, wind: The image of COMING TO MEET. Thus does the Prince act when disseminating his commands, and proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.The situation here resembles that in hexagram 20, Kuan, CONTEMPLATION (VIEW). In the latter the wind blows over the earth, here it blows under heaven. In both cases it goes everywhere. There the wind is on the earth and symbolizes the ruler taking note of the conditions in his kingdom, and here the wind blows from above and symbolizes the influence exercised by the ruler through his commands. Heaven is far from the things of earth, but it sets them in motion by means of the wind. The ruler is far form his people, but he sets them in motion by means of his commands and decrees.
Changing
Six at the beginning means:
One does not drink the mud of the well. No animals come to an old well.
If a man wanders around in swampy lowlands, his life is submerged in mud. Such a man loses all significance for mankind. He who throws himself away is no longer sought out by others. In the end no one troubles about him anymore.
One does not drink the mud of the well. No animals come to an old well.
If a man wanders around in swampy lowlands, his life is submerged in mud. Such a man loses all significance for mankind. He who throws himself away is no longer sought out by others. In the end no one troubles about him anymore.
Nine in the third place means:
The well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it. This is my hearts sorrow, for one might draw from it. If the king were clear-minded, good fortune might be enjoyed in common.
An able man is available. He is like a purified well whose water is drinkable, but no use is made of him. This is the sorrow of those who know him. One wishes that the prince might learn about it, as this would be good fortune for all concerned.
The well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it. This is my hearts sorrow, for one might draw from it. If the king were clear-minded, good fortune might be enjoyed in common.
An able man is available. He is like a purified well whose water is drinkable, but no use is made of him. This is the sorrow of those who know him. One wishes that the prince might learn about it, as this would be good fortune for all concerned.
Transformed
48 - Ching / The Well
Above: K`AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER
Below: SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD
Wood is below, water above. The wood goes down into the earth to bring up water. The image derives from the pole-and-bucket well of ancient China. The wood represents not the buckets, which in ancient times were made of clay, but rather the wooden poles by which the water is hauled up from the well. The image also refers to the world of plants, which lift water out of the earth by means of their fibers. The well from which water is drawn conveys the further idea of an inexhaustible dispensing of nourishment.
In ancient China the capital cities were sometimes moved, partly for the sake of more favorable location, partly because of a change in dynasties. The style of architecture changed in the course of centuries, but the shape of the well has remained the same from ancient times to this day. Thus, the well is the symbol of that social structure which, evolved by mankind in meeting its most primitive needs, is independent of all political forms. Political structures change, as do nations, but the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same, which cannot be changed. Life is also inexhaustible. It grows neither less nor more, but exists for one and all. The generations come and go, and all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance. However, there are two prerequisites for a satisfactory political or social organization of mankind. We must go down to the very foundations of life, for any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made. Carelessness, by which the jug is broken, is also disastrous. If for instance the military defense of a state is carried to such excess that it provokes wars by which the power of the state is annihilated, this is a breaking of the jug. This hexagram applies also to the individual. Although men may differ in disposition and in education, the foundations of human nature are the same in everyone. Every human being can draw in the course of his education from the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in man`s nature. But here likewise two dangers threaten: a man may fail in his education to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and remain fixed in convention. A partial education of this sort is as bad as none, or he may suddenly collapse and neglect his self-development completely.
The trigram Sun, wood, is below, and the trigram K`an, water, is above it. Wood sucks water upward. Just as wood as an organism imitates the action of the well, which benefits all parts of the plant, the superior man organizes human society, so that, as in a plant organism, its parts co-operate for the benefit of the whole.
Above: K`AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER
Below: SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD
Wood is below, water above. The wood goes down into the earth to bring up water. The image derives from the pole-and-bucket well of ancient China. The wood represents not the buckets, which in ancient times were made of clay, but rather the wooden poles by which the water is hauled up from the well. The image also refers to the world of plants, which lift water out of the earth by means of their fibers. The well from which water is drawn conveys the further idea of an inexhaustible dispensing of nourishment.
The Judgement
THE WELL. The town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed. It neither decreases nor increases. They come and go and draw from the well. If one gets down almost to the water, and the rope does not go all the way, or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.In ancient China the capital cities were sometimes moved, partly for the sake of more favorable location, partly because of a change in dynasties. The style of architecture changed in the course of centuries, but the shape of the well has remained the same from ancient times to this day. Thus, the well is the symbol of that social structure which, evolved by mankind in meeting its most primitive needs, is independent of all political forms. Political structures change, as do nations, but the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same, which cannot be changed. Life is also inexhaustible. It grows neither less nor more, but exists for one and all. The generations come and go, and all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance. However, there are two prerequisites for a satisfactory political or social organization of mankind. We must go down to the very foundations of life, for any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made. Carelessness, by which the jug is broken, is also disastrous. If for instance the military defense of a state is carried to such excess that it provokes wars by which the power of the state is annihilated, this is a breaking of the jug. This hexagram applies also to the individual. Although men may differ in disposition and in education, the foundations of human nature are the same in everyone. Every human being can draw in the course of his education from the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in man`s nature. But here likewise two dangers threaten: a man may fail in his education to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and remain fixed in convention. A partial education of this sort is as bad as none, or he may suddenly collapse and neglect his self-development completely.
The Image
Water over wood: the image of THE WELL. Thus, the superior man encourages the people at their work, and exhorts them to help one another.The trigram Sun, wood, is below, and the trigram K`an, water, is above it. Wood sucks water upward. Just as wood as an organism imitates the action of the well, which benefits all parts of the plant, the superior man organizes human society, so that, as in a plant organism, its parts co-operate for the benefit of the whole.