I-Ching
Current
Changing
Transformed
Current
27 - Yi / Corners of the Mouth (Providing Nourishment)
Above: KÊN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
Below: CHÊN THE AROUSING, THUNDER
This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth; above and below are the firm lines of the lips, and between them the opening. Starting with the mouth, through which we take food for nourishment, the thought leads to nourishment itself. Nourishment of oneself, specifically of the body, is represented in the three lower lines, while the three upper lines represent nourishment and care of others, in a higher, spiritual sense.
In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes. Nature nourishes all creatures. The great man fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men through them. Mencius says about this: "If we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not, we need only observe what part of his being he regards as especially important". The body has superior and inferior, important and unimportant parts. We must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant, nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior. He who cultivates the inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man. He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man.
"God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing": When in the spring the life forces stir again, all things come into being anew. It is said, "He brings to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still", and thus in the early spring, when the seeds fall to earth, all things are made ready. This is an image of providing nourishment through movement and tranquillity. The superior man takes it as a pattern for the nourishment and cultivation of his character. Words are a movement going from within outward. Eating and drinking are movements from without inward. Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquillity. For tranquillity keeps the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding proper measure, and keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding its proper measure. Thus, character is cultivated.
Above: KÊN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
Below: CHÊN THE AROUSING, THUNDER
This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth; above and below are the firm lines of the lips, and between them the opening. Starting with the mouth, through which we take food for nourishment, the thought leads to nourishment itself. Nourishment of oneself, specifically of the body, is represented in the three lower lines, while the three upper lines represent nourishment and care of others, in a higher, spiritual sense.
The Judgement
THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment, and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with.In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes. Nature nourishes all creatures. The great man fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men through them. Mencius says about this: "If we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not, we need only observe what part of his being he regards as especially important". The body has superior and inferior, important and unimportant parts. We must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant, nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior. He who cultivates the inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man. He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man.
The Image
At the foot of the mountain, thunder: The image of PROVIDING NOURISHMENT. Thus, the superior man is careful of his words, and temperate in eating and drinking."God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing": When in the spring the life forces stir again, all things come into being anew. It is said, "He brings to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still", and thus in the early spring, when the seeds fall to earth, all things are made ready. This is an image of providing nourishment through movement and tranquillity. The superior man takes it as a pattern for the nourishment and cultivation of his character. Words are a movement going from within outward. Eating and drinking are movements from without inward. Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquillity. For tranquillity keeps the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding proper measure, and keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding its proper measure. Thus, character is cultivated.
Changing
Six in the second place means:
She should not follow her whims, as she must attend within to the food. Perseverance brings good fortune.
The wife must always be guided by the will of the master of the house, be he father, husband, or grown son. There, without having to look for them, she has great and important duties. She must attend to the nourishment of her family and to the food for the sacrifice. In this way she becomes the center of the social and religious life of the family, and her perseverance in this position brings good fortune to the whole house.
In relation to general conditions, the counsel here is to seek nothing by means of force, but quietly to confine oneself to the duties at hand.
She should not follow her whims, as she must attend within to the food. Perseverance brings good fortune.
The wife must always be guided by the will of the master of the house, be he father, husband, or grown son. There, without having to look for them, she has great and important duties. She must attend to the nourishment of her family and to the food for the sacrifice. In this way she becomes the center of the social and religious life of the family, and her perseverance in this position brings good fortune to the whole house.
In relation to general conditions, the counsel here is to seek nothing by means of force, but quietly to confine oneself to the duties at hand.
Six in the fourth place means:
She is the treasure of the house. Great good fortune.
It is upon the woman of the house that the well-being of the family depends. Well-being prevails when expenditures and income are soundly balanced. This leads to great good fortune. In the sphere of public life, this line refers to the faithful steward whose measures further the general welfare.
She is the treasure of the house. Great good fortune.
It is upon the woman of the house that the well-being of the family depends. Well-being prevails when expenditures and income are soundly balanced. This leads to great good fortune. In the sphere of public life, this line refers to the faithful steward whose measures further the general welfare.
Transformed
37 - Chia Jên / The Family (The Clan)
Above: SUN THE GENTLE, WIND
Below: LI THE CLINGING, FIRE
The hexagram represents the laws obtaining within the family. The strong line at the top represents the father, the lowest the son. The strong line in the fifth place represents the husband, the yielding second line the wife. On the other hand, the two strong lines in the fifth and the third place represent two brothers, and the two weak lines correlated with them in the fourth and the second place stand for their respective wives. Thus, all the connections and relationships within the family find their appropriate expression. Each individual line has the character corresponding with its place. The fact that a strong line occupies the sixth place, where a weak line might be expected, indicates very clearly the strong leadership that must come from the head of the family. The line is to be considered here not in its quality as the sixth but in its quality as the top line. THE FAMILY shows the laws operative within the household that, transferred to outside life, keep the state and the world in order. The influence that goes out from within the family is represented by the symbol of the wind created by fire.
The foundation of the family is the relationship between husband and wife. The tie that holds the family together lies in the loyalty and perseverance of the wife. Her place is within (second line), while that of the husband is without (fifth line). It is in accord with the great laws of nature that husband and wife take their proper places. Within the family a strong authority is needed, and this is represented by the parents. If the father is really a father and the son a son, if the elder brother fulfills his position, and the younger fulfills his, if the husband is really a husband and the wife a wife, then the family is in order. When the family is in order, all the social relationships of mankind will be in order.
Three of the five social relationships are to be found within the family, that between father and son, which is the relation of love, that between the husband and wife, which is the relation of chaste conduct, and that between elder and younger brother, which is the relation of correctness. The loving reverence of the son is then carried over to the prince in the form of faithfulness to duty, and the affection and correctness of behavior existing between the two brothers is extended to a friend in the form of loyalty, and to a person of superior rank in the form of deference. The family is society in an embryonic form, as it is the native soil on which performance of moral duty is made easy through natural affection, so that within a small circle a basis of moral practice is created, and this is later widened to include human relationships in general.
Heat releases energy, and this is signified by the wind stirred up by the fire and issuing forth from it. This represents influence working from within, outward. The same thing is needed in the regulation of the family. Here too, the influence on others must proceed form ones own person. In order to be capable of producing such an influence, ones words must have power, and this they can have only if they are based on something real, just as flame depends on its fuel, words have influence only when they are pertinent and clearly related to definite circumstances. General discourses and admonitions have no effect whatsoever. Furthermore, the words must be supported by ones entire conduct, just as the wind is made effective by its duration. Only firm and consistent conduct will make such an impression on others that they can adapt and conform to it. If words and conduct are not in accord and not consistent, they will have no effect.
Above: SUN THE GENTLE, WIND
Below: LI THE CLINGING, FIRE
The hexagram represents the laws obtaining within the family. The strong line at the top represents the father, the lowest the son. The strong line in the fifth place represents the husband, the yielding second line the wife. On the other hand, the two strong lines in the fifth and the third place represent two brothers, and the two weak lines correlated with them in the fourth and the second place stand for their respective wives. Thus, all the connections and relationships within the family find their appropriate expression. Each individual line has the character corresponding with its place. The fact that a strong line occupies the sixth place, where a weak line might be expected, indicates very clearly the strong leadership that must come from the head of the family. The line is to be considered here not in its quality as the sixth but in its quality as the top line. THE FAMILY shows the laws operative within the household that, transferred to outside life, keep the state and the world in order. The influence that goes out from within the family is represented by the symbol of the wind created by fire.
The Judgement
THE FAMILY. The perseverance of the woman furthers.The foundation of the family is the relationship between husband and wife. The tie that holds the family together lies in the loyalty and perseverance of the wife. Her place is within (second line), while that of the husband is without (fifth line). It is in accord with the great laws of nature that husband and wife take their proper places. Within the family a strong authority is needed, and this is represented by the parents. If the father is really a father and the son a son, if the elder brother fulfills his position, and the younger fulfills his, if the husband is really a husband and the wife a wife, then the family is in order. When the family is in order, all the social relationships of mankind will be in order.
Three of the five social relationships are to be found within the family, that between father and son, which is the relation of love, that between the husband and wife, which is the relation of chaste conduct, and that between elder and younger brother, which is the relation of correctness. The loving reverence of the son is then carried over to the prince in the form of faithfulness to duty, and the affection and correctness of behavior existing between the two brothers is extended to a friend in the form of loyalty, and to a person of superior rank in the form of deference. The family is society in an embryonic form, as it is the native soil on which performance of moral duty is made easy through natural affection, so that within a small circle a basis of moral practice is created, and this is later widened to include human relationships in general.
The Image
Wind comes forth from fire: The image of THE FAMILY. Thus, the superior man has substance in his words and duration in his way of life.Heat releases energy, and this is signified by the wind stirred up by the fire and issuing forth from it. This represents influence working from within, outward. The same thing is needed in the regulation of the family. Here too, the influence on others must proceed form ones own person. In order to be capable of producing such an influence, ones words must have power, and this they can have only if they are based on something real, just as flame depends on its fuel, words have influence only when they are pertinent and clearly related to definite circumstances. General discourses and admonitions have no effect whatsoever. Furthermore, the words must be supported by ones entire conduct, just as the wind is made effective by its duration. Only firm and consistent conduct will make such an impression on others that they can adapt and conform to it. If words and conduct are not in accord and not consistent, they will have no effect.