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• STANDSTILL. Evil people do not further
• The perseverance of the superior man.
• The great departs; the small approaches.

Commentary on the Decision

• “Evil people of the time of STANDSTILL do not further the perseverance of the superior man. The great departs; the small approaches.”
• Thus heaven and earth do not unite, and all beings fail to achieve union.
• Upper and lower do not unite, and in the world, states go down to ruin.
• The shadowy is within, the light without; weakness is within, firmness without; the inferior is within, the superior without. The way of the inferior is waxing, the way of the superior is waning.

Point for point, these conditions are the opposite of those in the preceding hexagram. Although we are dealing with cosmic conditions, the cause is nevertheless to be sought in the wrong course taken by man. It is man who spoils conditions—aside, naturally, from the regular phenomena of decline occurring in the normal course of life as well as of the year. When heaven and earth are disunited, life in nature stagnates. When those above and those below are disunited, political and social life stagnate. Within, at the center, there should be light; instead, the dark is there, and light is pushed to the outside. Man is inwardly weak and outwardly hard; inferior men are at the center of government, and the superior men are forced to the periphery. All this indicates that the way of the inferior man is on the increase, while that of the superior man is in decrease—just as the dark lines enter the hexagram from below and press upward, and the strong lines withdraw upward.

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Although this hexagram is conditioned by the two yin lines, there is only one feminine hexagram, namely Li, THE CLINGING, in which the yin lines are the rulers. They are rulers because they occupy middle places. The two yin lines here are the constituting rulers of the hexagram but cannot be regarded as the governing rulers. The governing ruler is rather the nine in the fifth place, for only one who is in an honored place can “spread his commands abroad and carry out his undertakings.” When therefore it is said in the Commentary on the Decision, “The firm penetrates to the middle and to the correct, and its will is done,” the reference is to the fifth line.

The Sequence

The wanderer has nothing that might receive him; hence there follows the hexagram of THE GENTLE, THE PENETRATING. The Gentle means going into.

This means that the wanderer in his forlornness has no place to stay in, and that hence there follows Sun, the hexagram of homecoming.

Miscellaneous Notes

THE GENTLE means crouching.

The dark line is below, it crouches down beneath the light lines, and through this gentle crouching succeeds in penetrating among the strong lines.

Appended Judgments

THE GENTLE shows the exercise of character. Through THE GENTLE one is able to weigh things and remain hidden. Through THE GENTLE one is able to take special circumstances into account.

Gentle penetration makes the character capable of influencing the outside world and gaining control over it. For thus one can understand things in their inner nature without having to step into the forefront oneself. Herein lies the power of influence. In this position, one is able to make the exceptions demanded by the time, without being inconsistent.

Among the eight trigrams, Sun occupies the southeast between spring and summer. It means the flowing of beings into their forms, it means baptism and giving life.

• THE GENTLE. Success through what is small.
• It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
• It furthers one to see the great man.

Commentary on the Decision

• Penetration repeated, in order to spread commands abroad.
• The firm penetrates to the middle and to the correct, and its will is done.
• Both of the yielding lines submit to the strong; therefore it is said: “Success through what is small. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. It furthers one to see the great man.”

This hexagram is constituted by a doubling of the trigram Sun, which means on the one hand gentleness, adaptability, on the other penetration. In the issuing of commands, it is all-important that they really penetrate the consciousness of the subordinates. This is effected by adaptation of the commands to their understanding. A twofold penetration is required: first, penetration of a command to the feeling of the vassals, scattering the evil hidden in secret recesses, as the wind scatters clouds; second, a still deeper penetration, to the depths of consciousness, where the hidden good must be awakened. To obtain this effect, commands must be given repetitively.¹

The text is further explained in the light of the structure of the hexagram. The strong line that has penetrated to the center—the correct place for it—is the nine in the fifth place; therefore its will is done, and it is favorable to undertake something. The yielding lines in the first and the fourth place obey the firm ruler of the hexagram above them. Hence success ps connected with the small, which is furthered by seeing the great man (the nine in the fifth place).

• Winds following one upon the other:
• The image of THE GENTLY PENETRATING.
• Thus the superior man
• Spreads his commands abroad
• And carries out his undertakings.

Of the two winds the first disperses resistances, “spreads his commands abroad,” and the second accomplishes the work, “carries out his undertakings.”

The two yin lines are the constituting rulers of the hexagram but are incapable of acting as governing rulers. The second and the fifth line are the governing rulers. Therefore it is said in the Commentary on the Decision: “The firm is in the middle, the yielding is without. Joyousness and perseverance further.”

The Sequence

When one has penetrated something, one rejoices. Hence there follows the hexagram of THE JOYOUS. The Joyous means to rejoice.

Miscellaneous Notes

THE JOYOUS is manifest.

Tui is the lake, which rejoices and refreshes all living things. Furthermore, Tui is the mouth. When human beings give joy to one another through their feelings, it is manifested by the mouth. A yin line becomes manifest above two yang lines; this indicates how these two principles give joy to each other and how this becomes manifest outwardly. On the other hand Tui is linked with the west and with autumn. Its “stage of change”¹ is metal. The cutting and destroying quality is the other side of its meaning. This hexagram is the inverse of the preceding one.

• THE JOYOUS. Success.
• Perseverance is favorable.

Commentary on the Decision

• THE JOYOUS means pleasure. The firm is in the middle, the yielding is without. To be joyous—and with this to have perseverance—furthers; thus does one submit to heaven and accord with men.

• When one leads the way for the people joyously, they forget their drudgery; when one confronts difficulty joyously, the people forget death. The greatest thing in making the people joyous is that they keep one another in order.²

The firm in the middle are the two lines in the second and the fifth place, while the yielding without are the six in the third place and the six at the top. That is the right kind of joy which is inwardly firm and outwardly gentle. This joy is also the best means of government.

• Lakes resting one on the other:
• The image of THE JOYOUS.
• Thus the superior man joins with his friends
• For discussion and practice.

Tui means lake, also mouth. The repetition of mouth means general discussion, the repetition of lake means practice.

The ruler of the hexagram is the nine in the fifth place, because only a person occupying an honored place can bring order into world-wide dispersion. However, the nine in the second place is within, in order to strengthen the foundations, and the six in the fourth place is in the relationship of receiving to the nine in the fifth place, in order to complete the work of the latter. Consequently these two lines also have important functions within the hexagram. This is why it is said in the Commentary on the Decision: “The firm comes and does not exhaust itself. The yielding receives a place without, and the one above is in harmony with it.”

The Sequence

After joy comes dispersal. Hence there follows the hexagram of DISPERSION. Dispersion means scattering.

Miscellaneous Notes

DISPERSION means scattering.

Appended Judgments

They scooped out tree trunks for boats and they hardened wood in the fire to make oars. The advantage of boats and oars lay in providing means of communication. They probably took this from the hexagram of DISPERSION.

This hexagram has a double meaning. The first is suggested by the image of wind over water, indicating the breaking up of ice and rigidity. The second meaning is penetration; Sun penetrates into K’an, the Abysmal, indicating dispersion, division. As against this process of breaking up, the task of reuniting presents itself; this meaning also is contained in the hexagram.

The image of wood over water gives rise to the idea of a boat.

• DISPERSION. Success.
• The king approaches his temple.
• It furthers one to cross the great water.
• Perseverance furthers.

Commentary on the Decision

• “DISPERSION. Success.” The firm comes and does not exhaust itself. The yielding receives a place without, and the one above is in harmony with it.
• “The king approaches his temple.” The king is in the middle.
• “It furthers one to cross the great water.” To rely on wood is productive of merit.

“Comes” refers to position within the inner, i.e., lower trigram, while “goes” refers to position in the outer, i.e., upper trigram. The firm element that comes is therefore the nine in the second place. Occupying the middle place in the lower trigram, it creates for the light principle placed in the midst of dark lines a basis of activity as inexhaustible as water (K’an). The yielding line that receives a place without and acts in harmony with the one above is the six in the fourth place, the minister. The action connoted by the hexagram is based upon the reciprocal relationships between the three lines in the fifth, the fourth, and the second place.

The king in the middle is the nine in the fifth place. His central position denotes the inner concentration that enables him to hold together the elements striving to break asunder. The temple is suggested by the upper nuclear trigram Kên, mountain, house. The idea of crossing the great water derives from Sun (wood) over K’an (water).

• The wind drives over the water:
• The image of DISPERSION.
• Thus the kings of old sacrificed to the Lord
• And built temples.

This again indicates an inward striving to hold together, through the fostering of religion, elements outwardly falling asunder. The task is to preserve the connection between God and man and between the ancestors and their posterity. Here likewise the image of the temple is suggested by the nuclear trigram Kên. Finally, the idea of entering is suggested by Sun, and the idea of the dark by K’an.

The ruler of the hexagram is the nine in the fifth place. Only a man who is honored, and who possesses the necessary spiritual power for the task, can establish measure and mean for holding the world within bounds. Hence it is said in the Commentary on the Decision: “In the appropriate place, in order to limit; central and correct, in order to unite.”

The Sequence

Things cannot be forever separate. Hence there follows the hexagram of LIMITATION.

Miscellaneous Notes

LIMITATION means stopping.

This hexagram is the inverse of the preceding one, but the inner structure and the interrelationships of the nuclear trigrams are the same in both. Here water is held together by the lake, while in the preceding hexagram water is dispersed by the wind.

• LIMITATION. Success.
• Galling limitation must not be persevered in.

Commentary on the Decision

• “LIMITATION. Success.” The firm and the yielding are equally divided, and the firm have attained the middle places.
• “Galling limitation must not be persevered in,” because its way comes to an end.
• Joyous in passing through danger; in the appropriate place, in order to limit; central and correct, in order to unite.
• Heaven and earth have their limitations, and the four seasons of the year arise.
• Where limitation is applied in the creation of institutions, property is not encroached upon, and people are not harmed.

There are three yang lines and three yin lines symmetrically distributed—first two yang lines, then two yin lines, then one of each. Hence there are strong lines in the two central places, the second and the fifth.

To persist in galling limitation would lead to failure. But owing to the central and moderate behavior of the ruler of the hexagram, the nine in the fifth place, this danger is overcome. Joyousness is the attribute of the lower trigram Tui, and danger that of the upper trigram K’an. The limitation of the ruler of the hexagram is brought about by the two yin lines between which it stands. But owing to its central and correct position, it attains an all-pervading influence.

Limitation—division into periods—is the means of dividing time. Thus in China the year is divided into twenty-four chieh ch’i, which, being in harmony with atmospheric phenomena, make it possible for man to arrange his agricultural activities so that they harmonize with the course of the seasons. The limitation or suitable division of production and consumption was one of the most important problems of good government in ancient China. Fundamental principles pertaining to this problem are also indicated in the present hexagram.

• Water over lake: the image of LIMITATION.
• Thus the superior man
• Creates number and measure,
• And examines the nature of virtue and correct conduct.

The idea of number and measure is indicated by the reciprocal relationship between water and lake. Creating corresponds with the trigram K’an, and examining, literally “discussing,” corresponds with the trigram Tui, mouth. The idea of number and measure—the resting, firm—corresponds with the upper nuclear trigram Kên. The idea of virtue and conduct—the mobile, active—corresponds with the lower nuclear trigram Chên.

The center of this hexagram is empty: this is its determining feature. Therefore the six in the third place and the six in the fourth place are the constituting rulers of the hexagram. However, truth depends in another aspect on the fact that the center has substance; therefore the nine in the second place and the nine in the fifth place are the governing rulers. Since, furthermore, the basic idea is that a whole realm is transformed by the strength of inner truth, the place of honor is necessary for this undertaking. Hence the actual ruler of the hexagram is the nine in the fifth place.

The Sequence

Through being limited, things are made dependable. Hence there follows the hexagram of INNER TRUTH.

Miscellaneous Notes

INNER TRUTH means dependability.

This hexagram, like the two that precede it, has a closed-off inner structure; it differs from them in the fact that its two outermost lines are strong. The eldest and the youngest daughter are together here in their appropriate positions, hence mutual trust is not disturbed. The attributes of the trigrams are well harmonized: gentleness is above, joyousness below, and the nuclear trigrams are rest and movement. Moreover, the entire structure of the hexagram is very harmonious and symmetrical: the yielding lines are within and the firm without. These are all highly favorable circumstances; therefore a highly favorable judgment goes with the hexagram.

• INNER TRUTH. Pigs and fishes.
• Good fortune.
• It furthers one to cross the great water.
• Perseverance furthers.

Commentary on the Decision

• INNER TRUTH. The yielding are within, yet the strong hold the middle. Joyous and gentle: thereby truly the country is transformed.
• “Pigs and fishes. Good fortune.” The power of trust extends even to pigs and fishes.
• “It furthers one to cross the great water.” One makes use of the hollow of a wooden boat. Inner truth, and perseverance to further one: thus man is in accord with heaven.

The yielding within are the third and the fourth line. The strong in the middle in the two trigrams are the second and the fifth line. The yielding lines in the middle of the hexagram create an empty space. This emptiness of heart, this humility, is necessary to attract what is good. However, central firmness and strength are needed to assure the essential trustworthiness. Thus the foundation on which the hexagram is built is an intermingling of yieldingness and strength.

Joyousness and gentleness are the attributes of the two primary trigrams: Tul means joyousness in following the good, and Sun means penetration into the hearts of men. Thus one establishes the foundation of trust that is necessary in transforming a country.

Pigs and fishes are the least intelligent of all creatures. When even such creatures are influenced, it shows the great power of truth.¹ Wood and water, wood and a hollowed cavity, are interpreted as the image of a boat with which the great stream can be crossed.

• Wind over lake: the image of INNER TRUTH.
• Thus the superior man discusses criminal cases
• In order to delay executions.

Tui is the image of the mouth—hence discussion. Sun is the Gentle, the hesitating—hence delay of executions. In other hexagrams, Sun also means commands. Killing and judging are attributes of Tui.²

The rulers of the hexagram are the second and the fifth line, because they are yielding and hold the middle. They are in a time when a transition must be made, but without going too far.

The Sequence

When one has the trust of creatures, one sets them in motion; hence there follows the hexagram of PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL.

Miscellaneous Notes

PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL signifies a transition.

Appended Judgments

The rulers split wood and made a pestle of it. They made a hollow in the ground for a mortar. The use of the mortar and pestle was of benefit to all mankind. They probably took this from the hexagram of PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL.

The Chinese word kuo cannot be translated in such a way as to render all its secondary meanings. It means to pass by, and then comes the idea of excessiveness, preponderance; in fact, it means everything that results from exceeding the mean. The hexagram deals with transitional states, extraordinary conditions. It is so constructed that the yielding elements are on the outside. When, given such a structure, strong lines predominate, the hexagram of PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT (28) results; but when the weak lines are in the majority, we have PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL. The nuclear trigrams of the present hexagram produce the same structure as the primary trigrams of hexagram 28. This hexagram is the opposite of the preceding one.

• PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL. Success.
• Perseverance furthers.
• Small things may be done; great things should not be done.
• The flying bird brings the message:
• It is not well to strive upward,
• It is well to remain below.
• Great good fortune.

Commentary on the Decision

• PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL. The small preponderate and have success. To be furthered in transition by perseverance: this means going with the time.
• The yielding attains the middle, hence good fortune in small things.
• The hard has lost its place and is not in the middle: hence one should not do great things.
• The hexagram has the form of a flying bird.
• “The flying bird brings the message: It is not well to strive upward, it is well to remain below. Great good fortune.” Striving upward is rebellion, striving downward is devotion.

In exceptional times exceptional measures are necessary for re-establishing the norm. The point here is that the time demands a restraint that would appear to be excessive. It is a time like that of King Wên and the tyrant Chou Hsin, and this restraint, which might appear exaggerated, is exactly what the time calls for. Preponderance of the small is indicated by the fact that yielding, i.e., small lines hold the middle places and thus are rulers of the hexagram, while the strong lines have been forced out of key positions outside into places inside, without being central.

PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT is like a beam; its danger lies in excessive weight, therefore it must be supported in the middle from below. PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL is like a bird; the danger for it lies in mounting too high and losing the ground under its feet.

• Thunder on the mountain:
• The image of PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL.
• Thus in his conduct the superior man gives preponderance to reverence.
• In bereavement he gives preponderance to grief.
• In his expenditures he gives preponderance to thrift.

Thunder rising from the plain to the heights becomes gradually fainter in transition. From this is taken the idea of overweighting, of doing a little too much in the right way. For it is precisely by doing a little too much in the direction of the small that we hit the mark as to what is right. It is thus that we attain the right degree of reverence in our conduct, the right degree of mourning at a burial, and the right degree of economy in expenditures. Conduct is suggested by the upper trigram Chên, movement, and burial by the position of the nuclear trigrams—Tui, the lake, over Sun, wood (cf. hexagram 28, in which the idea of burial is likewise represented by this combination). Thrift in spending is suggested by the trigram Kên, mountain, which indicates limitation.

The ruler of the hexagram is the six in the second place. The hexagram of AFTER COMPLETION means that at first good fortune prevails and in the end disorder. The six in the second place is in the inner trigram just at the time when good fortune begins. Therefore it is said in the Commentary on the Decision: “‘At the beginning good fortune’; the yielding has attained the middle.”

The Sequence

He who stands above things brings them to completion. Hence there follows the hexagram of AFTER COMPLETION,

Miscellaneous Notes

AFTER COMPLETION means making firm.

This hexagram is the only one in which all the lines stand in their proper places. It is the hexagram of transition from T’ai, PEACE (11) to P’i, STANDSTILL (12). It contains the two primary trigrams K’an, water, and Li, fire, which likewise, in the reverse order, constitute its nuclear trigrams. K’an strives downward and Li upward; hence the outer and the inner organization of the hexagram create a state of equilibrium that is obviously unstable.

• AFTER COMPLETION. Success in small matters.
• Perseverance furthers.
• At the beginning good fortune,
• At the end disorder.

Commentary on the Decision

• “AFTER COMPLETION. Success.” In small matters there is success.
• “Perseverance furthers.” The firm and the yielding are correct, and their places are the appropriate ones.
• “At the beginning good fortune”: the yielding has attained the middle.
• If one stands still at the end, disorders arise, because the way comes to an end.

The ruler of the hexagram is the six in the second place; although weak, it has success because it stands in the relationship of correspondence to the strong nine in the fifth place. Perseverance furthers because all the lines are in their appropriate places, and therefore any deviation brings misfortune. At the beginning all goes well, because the yielding six in the second place occupies the middle in the trigram Li, clarity. It is a time of very great cultural development and refinement. But when no further progress is possible, disorder necessarily arises, because the way cannot go on.

• Water over fire: the image of the condition
• In AFTER COMPLETION.
• Thus the superior man
• Takes thought of misfortune
• And arms himself against it in advance.

In one aspect, fire and water counteract each other, whereby an equilibrium is created; in another aspect, however, fear of a collapse is also suggested. If the water escapes, the fire goes out; if the fire flames high, the water dries up. Hence precautionary measures are necessary. The trigram K’an suggests danger and disaster, Li suggests clarity, foresight. The taking thought occurs in the heart, the arming in external actions. The danger still lurks unseen, hence only reflection enables one to perceive it in time and thus avert it.

The ruler of the hexagram is the six in the fifth place, because BEFORE COMPLETION implies a time in which at first disorder prevails, then finally order. The six in the fifth place is in the outer trigram and initiates the time of order. Therefore it is said in the Commentary on the Decision: “‘BEFORE COMPLETION. Success.’ For the yielding attains the middle.”

The Sequence

Things cannot exhaust themselves. Hence there follows, at the end, the hexagram of BEFORE COMPLETION.

Miscellaneous Notes

BEFORE COMPLETION is the exhaustion of the masculine.

This hexagram is at once the inverse and the opposite of the preceding one. K’an and Li, both as nuclear and as primary trigrams, have changed places. The hexagram depicts the transition from P’i, STANDSTILL (12) to T’ai, PEACE (11). Outwardly viewed, none of the lines appears in its proper place; but they are all in relationship to one another, and order stands preformed within, despite the outward appearance of complete disorder. The strong middle line has come down from the fifth place to the second and has thus established a connection. It is true that K’un is not yet above nor Ch’ien below, as in the hexagram T’ai, but their representatives, Li and K’an, are in these positions. Li and K’an represent K’un and Ch’ien in spirit and influence (because of their respective middle lines). In the phenomenal world (Sequence of Later Heaven) they are the representatives of K’un and Ch’ien, and stand in the regions of the latter—Li in the south and K’an in the north.

• BEFORE COMPLETION. Success.
• But if the little fox, after nearly completing the crossing,
• Gets his tail in the water,
• There is nothing that would further.

Commentary on the Decision

• “BEFORE COMPLETION. Success.” For the yielding attains the middle.
• “The little fox has nearly completed the crossing”: he is not yet past the middle.
• “He gets his tail in the water. There is nothing that would further.” Because the matter does not go on to the end.
• Although the lines are not in their appropriate places, the firm and the yielding nevertheless correspond.

K’an has the fox as its symbol, and also denotes water. There is hope of success because the firm and the weak lines all correspond. The ruler of the hexagram, the six in the fifth place, has reached the middle, and this insures the right attitude for bringing about completion. The nine in the second place, on the other hand, has not yet passed the middle, and in its case this is dangerous. It is a strong line hemmed in between two yin lines. Like the incautious young fox that runs rashly over the ice, it relies too much on its strength. Therefore it gets its tail wet; the crossing does not succeed.

• Fire over water:
• The image of the condition before transition.
• Thus the superior man is careful
• In the differentiation of things,
• So that each finds its place.

Fire flares upward, water flows downward; hence there is no completion. If one were to attempt to force completion, harm would result. Therefore one must separate things in order to unite them. One must put them into their places as carefully as one handles fire and water, so that they do not combat one another.

Thus at its close the Book of Changes leaves the situation open for new beginnings and new formations. The same idea indeed finds expression in the T’sa Kua, Miscellaneous Notes on the Hexagrams, in which Kuai, BREAK‑THROUGH (43), is placed at the end, with these closing words:

BREAK‑THROUGH means resoluteness. The strong turns resolutely against the weak. The way of the superior man is in the ascendant, the way of the inferior man leads to grief.