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About Google Book Search Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world’s books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web atthttpo://books.google.com/ ition B 3 Del 31? REESE LIBRARY OF. THE UNIVERSITY OF. CALIFORNIA, Revetved _ a Genter TSS Ba a Ss 1, Accessions No. 2/4083 Shelf No. © ee ee ee eee ie * Digitized by Google t Teo THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST [16] a Donvdon HENRY FROWDE a i MINA ap t: TIO if a OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE 7 PATERNOSTER ROW THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST TRANSLATED BY VARIOUS ORIENTAL SCHOLARS AND EDITED BY F. MAX MULLER VOL. XVI @rford AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1882 [Ad rights reserved | Digitized by Google THE SACRED BOOKS OF CHINA THE TEXTS OF CONFUCIANISM TRANSLATED BY JAMES LEGGE PART II THE Yi KING ; 20 5c LIBR 4 ”) Pe ee, BG ae sy sesit Ci trogp yble- @rford AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1882 [ All rights reserved | x14 4 Digitized by Google 635 ga Pie Vile CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE . ‘ : F ; é : , ; ; . Xi INTRODUCTION. CHAP. I. THE Yt KING FROM THE TWELFTH CENTURY B.C. TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA . . I There was a Yi in the time of Confucius. The Yi is now made up of the Text which Confucius saw, and the Appen- dixes ascribed to him. The Yi escaped the fires of Shin. The Yi before Confucius, and when it was made :—mentioned in the Official Book of Kau; in the 30 KAwan; testimony of the Appendixes. Not the most ancient of the Chinese books. The Text much older than the Appendixes. Labours of native scholars on the Yi imperfectly described. Erroneous account of the labours of sinologists. II. THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF THE TEXT. THE LINEAL FIGURES AND THE EXPLANATION OF THEM . : : 9 The Yi consists of essays based on lineal figures. Origin of the lineal figures. Who first multiplied them to sixty-four ? Why they were not continued after sixty-four. The form of the River Map. State of the country in the time of king Wan. Character of the last king of Shang. The lords of KAu; and especially king Wain. W&n in prison occupied with the lineal figures. The seventh hexagram. III. THE APPENDIXES ‘ 2 ; ; ; ‘ , . 26 Subjects ofthe chapter. Number and nature of the Appen- dixes. Their authorship. No superscription of Confucius on any of them. The third and fourth evidently not from him. Bearing of this conclusion on the others. The first Appendix. Ff-hsi’s trigrams. King Wan’s. The name Kwei-shan. The second Appendix. The Great Symbolism. The third Appendix. Harmony between the lines of the figures ever changing, and the changes in external pheno- mena. Divination; ancient, and its object. Formation of D+) oo 2s a Vill CONTENTS. the lineal figures by the divining stalks. The names Yin and Yang. The name Kwei-shan. Appendix. Operation of God in nature throughout the year. Con- The sixth Appendix. Yi. cluding paragraphs. Shan alone. The fourth The fifth. First paragraph. Mythology of the The seventh. Plates I, II, III, exhibiting the hexagrams and trigrams. REXAGRAM Il. Hi. IV. V. VI. Vil. VIII. IX. XI. AIT. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXIT. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVIT. XXVIII. Khien Khwan Kun Mang Hsii Sung Sze. . Pi. ; Hsiao KG Li Thai Phi . Thung Z4n | Ta Ya Khien Yi. Sui . Ka . Lin . : Kwan P Shih Ho . Pi Po . Fa . ; Wi Wang Ta Kha Lod 4 Ta Kwo . THE TEXT. SECTION I. PAGE 57 59 62 64 67 VI 73 76 SI 83 86 88 89 93 95 IOI 103 105 107 109 . X12 . lg 116 HEXAGRAM XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIIL. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII. XXXVIII. XXXIX, XL. XLI. XLII. XLII. XLIV. XLV. XLVI. XLVI. XLVITI. XLIX. L. LI. LIT. LIII. LIV. LV. LVI. LVII. LVIII. LIX. LX. LXI. LXII. LXITI. LXIV. Khan Hsien Hang Thun ; Ta Kwang Sin . Ming f Kia Zan . Khwei Kien Kieh Sun. Yi. Kwai Kau. Shui ; Shang Khwan Sing. Ko . Ting Kan. Kan. Kien Kwei Mei Fang Li. Sun. Tui . HwAén Kieh Kung Ff. Hsiao Kwo Ki 33 Wei 33 CONTENTS. SECTION ql. PAGE 118 120 123 125 127 129 131 134 136 139 14! 144 146 149 151 154 156 159 161 164 167 169 172 175 178 180 183 187 189 192 194 197 199 201 204 207 Xx CONTENTS. THE APPENDIXES. I, TREATISE ON THE THWAN, THAT IS, ON KING WAN’S EXPLANATIONS OF THE ENTIRE HEXAGRAMS. PAGE SECTION I. KhientolLi . . «© «© «© .« «6 « « 213-237 SECTION II. Hsien to Wei 8f_ «. : ‘ : , ; , . 238-266 II. TREATISE ON THE SYMBOLISM OF THE HEXAGRAMS, AND OF THE DUKE OF XAU’S EXPLANATIONS OF THE SEVERAL LINES. SECTION I. Khiento Li. : 2 s : ‘ ‘ ‘ - 267-305 SECTION II. Hsien to Wei 3f_ . : ; : : : ; » 305-347 we ty 2, > % a III. THE GREAT APPENDIX. consisting of the trigram representing mountains doubled; and that Kwei- ghang was an arrangement where the first figure was the present and hexagram, Khwan = —, consisting of the trigram representing the earth doubled,— with reference to the disappearance and safe keeping of plants in the bosom of the earth in winter. All this, however, is only conjecture, CH. I. INTRODUCTION. 5 accounts of divination by the Yi interspersed over the long intervening period. For centuries before Confucius appeared on the stage of his country, the Yi was well known among the various feudal states, which then constituted the Middle Kingdom !, (iii) We may now look into one of the Appendixes for its testimony to the age and authorship of the Text. The third Appendix is the longest, and the most important?. In the 49th paragraph of the second Section of it it is said:— ‘Was it not in the middle period of antiquity that the Yt began to flourish? Was not he who made it (or were not they who made it) familiar with anxiety and calamity ?’ The highest antiquity commences, according to Chinese writers, with Fd-hsi, B.c. 3322; and the lowest with Con- fucius in the middle of the sixth century B.c. Between these is the period of middle antiquity, extending a com- paratively short time, from the rise of the A4au dynasty, towards the close of the twelfth century B.c., to the Con- fucian era. According to this paragraph it was in this period that our Yi was made. The 69th paragraph is still more definite in its testimony :— ‘Was it not in the last age of the Yin (dynasty), when the virtue of Kau had reached its highest point, and during the troubles be- tween king W4n and (the tyrant) Adu, that (the study of) the Yi began to flourish? On this account the explanations (in the book) express (a feeling of) anxious apprehension, (and teach) how peril may be turned into security, and easy carelessness is sure to meet with overthrow.’ The dynasty of Yin was superseded by that of Kau in B.C.1122. The founder of A4u was he whom we call king Wan, though he himself never occupied the throne. The ! See in the 80 Khwan, under the 22nd year of duke Kwang (8.c. 672); the 1st year of Min (661); and in his and year (660); twice in the 15th year of Hsf (645); his 25th year (635); the tath year of Hsiian (597); the 16th year of Khang (575); the oth year of Hsiang (564); his asth year (548); the sth year of Khao (537); his 7th year (§35); his 12th year (530) ; and the goth year of Ai (486). * That is, the third as it appears farther on in this volume in two Sections. With the Chinese critics it forms the fifth and sixth Appendixes, or ‘ Wings,’ as they are termed. 6 THE Yi KING. CH, I. troubles between him and the last sovereign of Yin reached their height in B.C. 1143, when the tyrant threw him into prison in a place called Yd-li, identified as having been in the present district of Thang-yin, department of Kang-teh, province of Ho-nan. Wa4n was not kept long in confinement. His friends succeeded in appeasing the _ jealousy of his enemy, and securing his liberation in the following year. It follows that the Yi,so far as we owe it to king Wan, was made in the year B.C. 1143 or 1142, or perhaps that it was begun in the former year and finished in the latter. But the part which is thus ascribed to king Wan is only a small portion of the Yi. A larger share is attributed to his son Tan, known as the duke of A 4u, and in it we have allusions to king Wd, who succeeded his father Wan, and was really the first sovereign of the dynasty of K4u?. There are passages, moreover, which must be understood of events in the early years of the next reign. But the duke of K4u died in the year B.C. 1105, the 11th of king Khang. Oo in: E 4 _ eo ‘ (Ty om 6 z= 3 ny 22 | ess] gs os | 28 g Hs is Ss | #28] 88 po | Be e = 8 3-4 5% | 32a | ee | SP | Be i bo & 38 ~— Es = fa v Bos ; @ 2 6 (=se) a 3 | me r. Bs | BG 7) uv fen 4 O CH. III. INTRODUCTION. 33 The natural objects and phenomena thus represented are found up and down in the Appendixes. It is impossible to believe that the several objects were assigned to the several figures on any principles of science, for there is , no indication of science in the matter: it is difficult even, to suppose that they were assigned on any comprehensive scheme of thought. Why are tui and kh4n used to represent water in different conditions, while khan, more- over, represents the moon? How is sun set apart to represent things so different as wind and wood? Ata very early time the Chinese spoke of ‘the five elements,’ meaning water, fire, wood, metal, and earth; but the tri- grams were not made to indicate them,and it is the general opinion that there is no reference to them in the Yi?. Again, the attributes assigned to the trigrams are learned mainly from this Appendix and the fifth. We do not readily get familiar with them, nor easily accept them all. It is im- possible for us to tell whether they were a part of the jargon of divination before king Wan, or had grown up between his time and that of the author of the Appendixes. King W4n altered the arrangement of the trigrams so that not one of them should stand at the same point of the compass as in the ancient plan. He made them also representative of certain relations among themselves, as if they composed a family of parents and children. It will be sufficient at present to give a table of his scheme. KING WAN’S TRIGRAMS. I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 lf sun kan kin kh&n khien tui khwan wi | «8 | € | 8 § Se | Bee) ge ~~ Y ~ a ge | se | a | ff] 2] 2 | FF] gz § | °8 2 > 3 Bs > a Ss S.E. E N.E N. N.W WwW S.W 1 See Kao Y1’s Hai Yii 3hung Kh4o, Book I, art. 3 (1790). [16] D 34 THE Yf KING. CH. III. There is thus before us the apparatus with which the writer of the Appendix accomplishes his task. Let me select one of the shortest instances of his work. The fourteenth hexagram is === _, called TA YO, and meaning ‘Possessing in great abundance.’ King Wa4n saw in it the symbol of a government prosperous and realising all its proper objects; but all that he wrote on it was ‘Ta Ya (indicates) great progress and success. Unfolding that view of its significance, the Appendix says :— ‘In T& YQ the weak (line) has the place of honour, is grandly central, and (the strong lines) above and below respond to it. Hence comes its name of “Possession of what is great.” The attributes (of its constituent trigrams, £Aien and 11) are strength and vigour, elegance and brightness. (The ruling line in it) re- sponds to (the ruling line in the symbol of) heaven, and its actings are (consequently all) at the proper times. Thus it is that it is said to indicate great progress and success.’ In a similar way the paragraphs on all the other 63 hexagrams are gone through; and, for the most part, with success. The conviction grows upon the student that the writer has on the whole apprehended the mind of king W4n. I stated, on p. 32, that the name kwei-shan occurs Thename in this Appendix. It has not yet, however, Kwei-shan. received the semi-physical, semi-metaphysical signification which the comparatively modern scholars of the Sung dynasty give to it. There are two passages where it is found ;—the second paragraph on Af4ien, the fifteenth hexagram, and the third on Fang, the fifty-fifth. By consulting them the reader will be able to form an opinion for himself. The term kwei denotes specially the human spirit disembodied, and sh4n is used for spirits whose seat is in heaven. I do not see my way to translate them, when used binomially together, otherwise than by spiritual beings or spiritual agents. A Hsi once had the following question suggested by the second of these passages put to him :— K wei-sh4an is a name for the traces of making and transformation; but when it is said that (the interaction of) heaven and earth CH. ITI. INTRODUCTION, 35 is now vigorous and abundant, and now dull and void, growing and diminishing according to the seasons, that constitutes the traces of making and transformation ; why should the writer further speak of the Kwei-shane?’ He replied, ‘When he uses the style of “heaven and earth,” he is speaking of the result generally ; but in ascribing it to the K wei-shan, he is representing the traces of their effective interaction, as if there were men (that is, some personal agency) bringing it about!’ This solution merely explains the language away. When we come to the fifth Appendix, we shall understand better the views of the period when these treatises were produced. The single character shan is used in explaining thethwan on K w4n, the twentieth hexagram, where we read :— ‘In Kwan we see the spirit-like way of heaven, through which the four seasons proceed without error. The sages, in accordance with (this) spirit-like way, laid down their instructions, and all under heaven yield submission to them.’ The author of the Appendix delights to dwell on the changing phenomena taking place between heaven and earth, and which he attributes to their interaction; and he was penetrated evidently with a sense of the harmony between the natural and spiritual worlds. It is this sense, indeed, which vivifies both the thwan and the explanation of them. 5. We proceed to the second Appendix, which professes to do for the duke of AK4au’s symbolical exposition of the several lines what the Thwan A wan does for the entire The second figures. The work here, however, is accom- Appendix. plished with less trouble and more briefly. The whole bears the name of Hsiang KX wan, ‘Treatise on the Symbols’ or ‘ Treatise on the Symbolism (of the Yi).’ 1 See the ‘ Collected Comments’ on hexagram §5 in the Khang-hst edition of the Yi (App. I). ‘The traces of making and transformation’ mean the ever- changing phenomena of growth and decay. Our phrase ‘Vestiges of Creation’ might be used to translate the Chinese characters. See the remarks of the late Dr. Medharst on the hexagrams 15 and 55 in his ‘ Dissertation on the Theology of the Chinese,’ pp. 107-112. In hexagram 15, Canon McClatchie for k wei- shin gives ‘gods and demons;’ in hexagram 55, ‘the Demon-gods.’ D2 36 THE Yi KING. CH. It. If there were reason to think that it came in any way from Confucius, I should fancy that I saw him sitting with a select class of his disciples around him. They read the duke’s Text column after column, and the master drops now a word or two, and now a sentence or two, that illuminate the meaning. The disciples take notes on their tablets, or store his remarks in their memories, and by and by they write them out with the whole of the Text or only so much of it as is necessary. Whoever was the original lecturer, the Appendix, I think, must have grown up in this way. It would not be necessary to speak of it at greater length, if it were not that the six paragraphs on the symbols of the duke of X4u are always preceded by one which is called ‘the Great Symbolism,’ and treats of the trigrams composing the hexagram, how they go together to form the six-lined figure, and how their blended meaning appears in the institutions and proceedings of the great men and kings of former days, and of the superior men of all time. The paragraph is for the most part, but by no means always, in harmony with the explanation of the hexagram by king W4n, and a place in the Thwan Awan would be more appropriate to it. I suppose that, because it always begins with the mention of the two symbolical trigrams, it is made, for the sake of the symmetry, to form a part of the treatise on the Symbolism of the Yi. I will give a few examples of the paragraphs of the Great Symbolism. The first hexagram is formed The Great bya repetition of the trigram AK Zien Symboli ’ representing heaven, and it is said on it :— ‘Heaven in its motion (gives) the idea of strength. The superior man, in accordance with this, nerves himself to ceaseless activity.’ = is formed by a repetition The second hexagram of the trigram Khwan = =, representing the earth, and it is said on it:—‘ The capacious receptivity of the earth is what is denoted by Khwan. The superior man, in accordance with this, with his large virtue, supports men and things.’ CH. 11. INTRODUCTION. 37 The forty-fourth hexagram, called Kau by the trigrams Sun ===, representing wind, and Khien , representing heaven or the sky, and it is said on it :—‘(The symbol of) wind, beneath that of the sky, forms Kau. In accordance with this, the sovereign distributes his charges, and promulgates his announce- ments throughout the four quarters (of the kingdom).’ ,is formed The fifty-ninth hexagram, called Hwan == =, is formed by the trigrams Khan ===, representing water, and Sun ==, representing wind, and it is said on it :— ‘(The symbol of) water and (that of wind) above it form Hwan. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, pre- sented offerings to God, and established the ancestral temple.’ The union of the two trigrams suggested to king W4n the idea of dissipation in the alienation of men from the Supreme Power, and of the minds of parents from their children ; a condition which the wisdom of the ° ancient kings saw could best be met by the influences of religion. One more example. The twenty-sixth hexagram, called Ta KAQ == =}, is formed of the trigrams Khien, repre- senting heaven or the sky, and K 4n ===, representing a mountain, and it is said on it :—‘ (The symbol of) heaven in the midst of a mountain forms Ta A 40. The superior man, in accordance with this, stores largely in his memory the words of former men and their conduct, to subserve the accumulation of his virtue. We are ready to exclaim and ask, ‘Heaven, the sky, in the midst of a mountain! Can there be such a thing?’ and XQ Hst will tell us in reply, ‘No, there cannot be such a thing in reality; but you can conceive it for the purpose of the symbolism.’ From this and the other examples adduced from the Great Symbolism, it is clear that, so far as its testimony bears on the subject, the trigrams of Fd-hsi did not receive their form and meaning with a deep intention that they should serve as the basis of a philosophical scheme con- cerning the constitution of heaven and earth and all that 38 THE Yi KING. CH, III. isinthem. In this Appendix they are used popularly, just as one : ‘Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything.’ The writer moralises from them in an edifying manner. There is ingenuity, and sometimes instruction also, in what he says, but there is no mystery. Chinese scholars and gentlemen, however, who have got some little acquaintance with western science, are fond of saying that all the truths of electricity, heat, light, and other branches of European physics, are in the eight trigrams. When asked how then they and their countrymen have been and are ignorant of those truths, they say that they have to learn them first from western books, and then, looking into the Y?, they see that they were all known to Confucius more than 2000 years ago. The vain assumption thus manifested is childish ; and until the Chinese drop their hallucination about the Yi as containing all things that have ever been dreamt of in all philosophies, it will prove a stumbling-block to them, and keep them from entering on the true path of science. 6. We go on to the third Appendix in two sections, being the fifth and sixth ‘ wings,’ and forming what is called ‘The Thethird Great Treatise.’ It will appear singular to the Appendix. reader, as it has always done to myself, that neither in the Text, nor in the first two Appendixes, does the character called Yi, which gives its name to the classic, once appear. It is the symbol of ‘change,’ and is formed from the character for ‘the sun’ placed over that for ‘the moon?, As the sun gives place to the moon, and the moon to the sun, so is change always proceeding in the phenomena of nature and the experiences of society. We meet with the character nearly fifty times in this Appendix; —applied most commonly to the Text of our classic, so that Yi King or Yi Shd is ‘the Classic or Book of Changes.’ It is also applied often to the changes in the lines of the By = , the sun, placed over J7f, a form of the old JF) (= AA ), the moon. CH. IIT. INTRODUCTION. 29 Ss figures, made by the manipulations of divination, apart from any sentence or oracle concerning them delivered by king W4n or his son.” There is therefore the system of the Yi as well as the book of the Yi. The definition of the name which is given in one paragraph will suit them . both :—‘ Production and reproduction is what is called (the process of) change,’ In nature there is no vacuum. When anything is displaced, what displaces it takes the empty room. And in the lineal figures, the strong and the weak lines push each other out. Now the remarkable thing asserted is, that the Harmonybe- changes in the lines of the figures and tween the lines ever changing the changes of external phenomena show and the changes. g wonderful harmony and concurrence. We in external phenomena. read :— ‘The Yi was made on a principle of accordance with heaven and earth, and shows us therefore, without rent or confusion, the course (of things) in heaven and earth *.’ ‘There is a similarity between the sage and heaven and earth; and hence there is no contrariety in him to them. His knowledge embraces all things, and his course is intended to be helpful to all under the sky; and therefore he falls into no error. He acts according to the exigency of circumstances, without being carried away by their current; he rejoices in Heaven, and knows its ordi- nations; and hence he has no anxieties. He rests in his own (present) position, and cherishes the spirit of generous benevolence ; and hence he can love (without reserve)*.’ ‘(Through the Yi) he embraces, as in a mould or enclosure, the transformations of heaven and earth without any error; by an ever- varying adaptation he completes (the nature of) all things without exception; he penetrates to a knowledge of the course of day and night (and all other correlated phenomena). It is thus that his operation is spirit-like, unconditioned by place, while the changes (which he produces) are not restricted to ‘any form.’ One more quotation :— ‘The sage was able to survey all the complex phenomena under the sky. He then considered in his mind how they could be 1 III, i, 29 (chap. 5. 6). * III, i, 20 (chap. 4. 2). * II, i, 22. 40 THE yf KING. CH. III. figured, and (by means of the diagrams) represented their material forms and their character '.’ All that is thus predicated of the sage, or ancient sages, though the writer probably had F(-hst in his mind, is more than sufficiently extravagant, and reminds us of the language in ‘the Doctrine of the Mean,’ that ‘ the sage, able to assist the transforming and nourishing powers of heaven and earth, may with heaven and earth form a ternion?,’ I quoted largely, in the second chapter, from this Ap- pendix the accounts which it gives of the formation of the lineal figures. There is no occasion to return to that subject. Let us suppose the figures formed. They seem to have the significance, when looked at from certain points of view, which have been determined for us by king W4n and the duke of Aau. But this does not amount to divination. How can the lines be made to serve this purpose? The Appendix professes to tell us. Before touching on the method which it describes, let me observe that divination was practised in China from avery early time. I will not say 5,200 years ago, in the days of Fd-hsi, for I cannot repress doubts of his historical personality ; but as soon as we tread the borders of something like credible history, we find it existing. In the Shd King, in a document that purports to be of the twenty-third century B.C.°, divination by means of the tortoise-shell is mentioned ; and somewhat later we find that method continuing, and also divination by the lineal figures, manipulated by means of the stalks of a plant‘, the Ptarmica Sibirica®, which is still cultivated on and about the grave of Confucius, where I have myself seen it growing. The object of the divination, it should be acknowledged, Object of the Was not to discover future events absolutely, divination. as if they could be known beforehand , but Divination. Ancient divination. 1 TIT, i, 38 (chap. 8. 1). 2 Doctrine of the Mean, chap. xxii. * The Sh@ II, ii, 18. * The Sh V, iv, 20,31. § See Williams’ Syllabic Dictionary on the character a. * Canon McClatchie (first paragraph of his Introduction) says :—‘ The Yf is carded by the Chinese with peculiar veneration . . .. as containing a mine of CH. III. INTRODUCTION. AI to ascertain whether certain schemes, and conditions of events contemplated by the consulter, would turn out luckily or unluckily. But for the actual practice the stalks of the plant were necessary; and I am almost afraid to write that this Appendix teaches that they were produced by Heaven of such a nature as to be fit for the purpose ‘ Heaven,’ it says, in the 73rd paragraph of Section i, quoted above on p. 14, ‘Heaven produced the spirit-like things.’ The things were the tortoise and the plant, and in paragraph 68, the same quality of being shan, or ‘spirit-like,’ is ascribed to them. Occasionally, in the field of Chinese literature, we meet with doubts as to the efficacy of divina- tion, and the folly of expecting any revelation of the character of the future from an old tortoise-shell and a handful of withered twigs!; but when this Appendix was made, the writer had not attained to so much common sense. The stalks were to him ‘spirit-like,’ possessed of knowledge, which, if it were possible to fathom it thoroughly, would, in their estimation, enable the fortunate possessor to foretell all future events.’ This misstatement does not surprise me so much as that Morrison, generally accurate on such points, should say (Dictionary, Part II, i, p. 1020, on the character By) :- * Of the odd and even numbers, the k w4 or lines of Fi-hsf are the visible signs ; and it being assumed that these signs answer to the things signified, and from a knowledge of all the various combinations of numbers, a knowledge of all possible occurrences in nature may be previously known.’ The whole article from which I take this sentence is inaccurately written. The language of the Appendix on the knowledge of the future given by the use of the Y? is often incautious, and a cursory reader may be misled; to a careful student, however, the meaning is plain. The second passage of the Sh@, referred to above, treats of ‘the Examination of Doubts,’ and concludes thus:—‘ When the tortoise-shell and the stalks are both opposed to the views of men, there will be good fortune in stillness, and active operations will be unlucky.’ 1 A remarkable instance is given by Lifi Ki (of the Ming dynasty, in the fifteenth century) in a story about Shao Phing, who had been marquis of Tung- ling in the time of 3hin, but was degraded under Han. Having gone once to Sze-ma Ki-k, one of the most skilful diviners of the country, and wishing to know whether there would be a brighter future for him, Sze-ma said, ‘Ah! is it the way of Heaven to love any (partially)? Eleaven loves only the virtuous. What intelligence is possessed by spirits? They are intelligent (only) by their connexion with men. The divining stalks are so much withered grass; the tortoise-shell is a withered bone. They are but things, and man is more intelligent than things. Why not listen to yourself instead of seeking (to learn) from things?’ The whole piece is in many of the collections of K2 Wan, or Elegant Writing. Py? - 42 THE Yi KING. CH. III. a subtle and invisible virtue that fitted them for use in divining. Given the stalks with such virtue, the process of mani- Formation Pulating them so as to form the lineal figures ea rare is described (Section i, chap. 9, parr. 49-58); divining | but it will take the student much time and stalks. thought to master the various operations. Forty-nine stalks were employed, which were thrice ma- nipulated for each line, so that it took eighteen manipu- lations to form a hexagram. The lines were determined by means of the numbers derived from the River Map or scheme. Odd numbers gave strong or undivided lines, and even numbers gave the weak or divided. An important part was played in combining the lines, and forming the hexagrams by the four emblematic symbols, to which the numbers 9, 8, 7,6 were appropriated’. The figures having been formed, recourse was had for their interpretation to the thwan of king Wan, and the em- blematic sentences of the duke of A4u. This was all the part which numbers played in the divination by the Yi, helping the operator to make up his lineal figure. An analogy has often been asserted between the numbers of the Yi and the numbers of Pythagoras; and certainly we might make ten, and more than ten, antinomies from these Appendixes in startling agreement with the ten principia of the Pythagoreans. But if Aristotle was correct in holding that Pythagoras regarded numbers as entities, and main- tained that Number was the Beginning (Principle, apy) of things, the cause of their material existence, and of their 1 These numbers are commonly derived from the River Scheme, in the outer sides of which are the corresponding marks:— eeeeee, opposite to ee; 0000000, opposite t0 0; eeeeeeece, opposite to e@e@; and 000000000, opposite toooo. Hence the number 6 is assigned to == ==, 7 to ==", 8 to —==_== and 9 to Hence also, in connexion with the formation of the figures by manipulation of the stalks, 9g becomes the number symbolical of the undivided line, as representing Khien and 6 of the divided line, as representing Khwin == ==. But the late delineation of the map, as given on p. 15, renders all this uncertain, so far as the scheme is concerned. The numbers of the hsiang, however, may have been fixed, must have been fixed indeed, at an early period. CH. III. INTRODUCTION. 43 modifications and different states, then the doctrine of the philosopher of Samos was different from that of the Yi}, in which numbers come in only as aids in divining to form the hexagrams. Of course all divination is vain, , nor is the method of the Yi less absurd than any other. v The Chinese themselves have given it up in all circles” above those of the professional quacks, and yet their ~ scholars continue to maintain the unfathomable science + and wisdom of these appended treatises ! , It is in this Appendix that we first meet with the The names ames yin and yang®*, of which I have ler spoken briefly on pp. 15,16. Up to this point, = instead of them, the names for the two elementary forms of the lines have been kang and z4u, which I have translated by ‘strong and weak,’ and which also occur here ten times. The following attempt to explain these different names appears in the fifth Appen- dix, paragraph 4:— ‘Anciently when the sages made the Yi, it was with the design that its figures should be in conformity with the principles under-, lying the natures (of men and things), and the ordinances appointed (for them by Heaven). With this view they exhibited in them the ‘ way of heaven, calling (the lines) yin and yang; the way of earth, calling them the strong (or hard) and the weak (or soft); and the way of man, under the names of benevolence and righteous- \’ ness. Each (trigram) embraced those three Powers, and being « repeated, its full form consisted of six lines.’ However difficult it may be to make what is said here intelligible, it confirms what I have affirmed of the signi- ficance of the names yin and yang, as meaning bright and dark, derived from the properties of the sun and moon. We may use for these adjectives a variety of others, such as active and inactive, masculine and feminine, hot and cold, more or less analogous to them; but there arise the important questions,—Do we find yang and yin not merely used to indicate the quality of what they are applied 1 See the account of Pythagoras and his philosophy in Lewes’ History of Philosophy, pp. 18-38 (1871). " * See Section i, 24, 32, 35; Section ii, 28, 29, 30, 35. wv -_ ‘ 4 “ . ~ - 44 THE Yi KING. CH, TIT. to, but at the same time with substantival force, denoting what has the quality which the name denotes? Had the doctrine of a primary matter of an ethereal nature, now expanding and showing itself full of activity and power as yang, now contracting and becoming weak and inactive as yin:—had this doctrine become matter of speculation when this Appendix was written? The Chinese critics and commentators for the most part assume that it had. P. Regis, Dr. Medhurst, and other foreign Chinese scholars repeat their statements without question. I have sought in vain for proof of what is asserted. It took more than a thousand years after the closing of the Yi to fashion in the Confucian school the doctrine of a primary matter. We do not find it fully developed till the era of the Sung dynasty, and in our eleventh and twelfth centuries’. To find it in the Yi is the logical, or rather illogical, error of putting ‘the last first.’ Neither creation nor cosmogony was before the mind of the author whose work I am analysing. His theme is the Yi,—the ever-changing phe- nomena of nature and experience. There is nothing but this in the ‘Great Treatise’ to task our powers ;— nothing deeper or more abstruse. 1 As a specimen of what the ablest Sung scholars teach, I may give the remarks (from the ‘Collected Comments’) of Ki Kan (of the same century as K(i Hsi, rather earlier) on the 4th paragraph of Appendix V :—‘ In the Yf there is the Great Extreme. When we speak of the yin and yang, we mean the air (or ether) collected in the Great Void. When we speak of the Hard and Soft, we mean that ether collected, and formed into substance. Benevolence and righteousness have their origin in the great void, are seen in the ether sub- stantiated, and move under the influence of conscious intelligence. Looking at the one origin of all things we speak of their nature ; looking at the endowments given to them, we speak of the ordinations appointed (for them). Looking at them as (divided into) heaven, earth, and men, we speak of their principle. The three are one and the same. The sages wishing that (their figures) should be in conformity with the principles underlying the natures (of men and things) and the ordinances appointed (for them), called them (now) yin and yang, (now) the hard and the soft, (now) benevolence and righteousness, in order thereby to exhibit the ways of heaven, earth, and men; it is a view of them ,as related together. The trigrams of the Yi contain the three Powers ; and . when they are doubled into hexagrams, there the three Powers unite and are one. But there are the changes and movements of their (several) ways, and therefore there are separate places for the yin and yang, and reciprocal uses of the hard and the soft.’ CH. III. INTRODUCTION. 45 As in the first Appendix, so in this, the name kwei-shin occurs twice; in paragraghs 21 and 50 of Section i. In the The name former instance, each part of the name has Kwei-shan. its significance. Kwei denotes the animal soul or nature, and Shan, the intellectual soul, the union of which constitutes the living rational man. I have trans- lated them, it will be seen, by ‘the anima and the animus.’ Canon McClatchie gives for them ‘demons and gods ;’ and Dr. Medhurst said on the passage, ‘The kwei-sh4ns are evidently the expanding and contracting principles of human MiG e-sca-cse The kwei-shans are brought about by the dis- solution of the human frame, and consist of the expanding and ascending shan, which rambles about in space, and of the contracted and shrivelled kwei, which reverts to earth and nonentity 1’ This is pretty much the same view as — own, though I would not here use the phraseology of ‘expanding and contracting.’ Canon McClatchie is consistent with himself, and renders the characters by ‘demons and gods.’ In the latter passage it is more difficult to determine the exact meaning. The writer says, that ‘by the odd numbers assigned to heaven and the even numbers assigned to earth, the changes and transformations are effected, and the spirit-like agencies kept in movement ;’ meaning that by means of the numbers the spirit-like lines might be formed on a scale sufficient to give a picture of all the changing phenomena, taking place, as if by a spiritual agency, in nature. Medhurst contents himself on it with giving the explanation of Af Hsi, that ‘the kwei-shans refer to the contractions and expandings, the recedings and approachings of the productive and completing powers of the even and odd numbers?.’ Canon McClatchie does not follow his translation of the former passage and give here ‘demons and gods,’ but we have ‘the Demon-god (i.e. Shang Ti)%.’ I shall refer to this version when considering the fifth Appendix. ? Dissertation on the Theology of the Chinese, pp. 111, 112. 3 Theology of the Chinese, p. 12g, * Translation of the Yf King, p. 312. 46 THE Yi KING. CH. II. The single character shan occurs more than twenty times ;—-used now as a substantive, now as an adjective, and again asa verb. I must refer the reader to the translation and notes for its various significance, subjoining in a note a list of the places where it occurs}. Much more might be said on the third Appendix, for the writer touches on many other topics, antiquarian and speculative, but a review of them would help us little in the study of the leading subject of the Yi. In passing on to the next treatise, I would only further say that the style of this and the author's manner of presenting his thoughts often remind the reader of ‘the Doctrine of the Mean.’ I am surprised that ‘the Great Treatise’ has never been ascribed to the author of that Doctrine, 3ze- sze, the grandson of Confucius, whose death must have taken place between B.C. 400 and 450. 7. The fourth Appendix, the seventh ‘wing’ of the Yi, ‘need not detain us long. As I stated on p. 27, it is con- The fourth fined to an exposition of the Text on the first Appendix. and second hexagrams, being an attempt to show that what is there affirmed of heaven and earth may also be applied to man, and that there is an essential agreement between the qualities ascribed to them, and the benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, which are the four constituents of his moral and intellectual nature. It is said by some of the critics that Confucius would have treated all the other hexagrams in a similar way, if his life had been prolonged, but we found special grounds for denying that Confucius had anything to do with the composition of this Appendix; and, moreover, I cannot think of any other figure that would have afforded to the author the same opportunity of discoursing about man. The style and method are after the manner of ‘the Doctrine of the Mean’ quite as much as those of ‘the Great Treatise.’ Several paragraphs, moreover, suggest to us the magnilo- quence of Mencius. It is said, for instance, by 3ze-sze, of Shan alone. ? Section i, 23, 32, 57, 58, 62, 649 67, 68, 69, 73, 76, 81; Section ii, 11, 18, 33> 34 41; 45- CH. III. INTRODUCTION. 47 the sage, that ‘he is the equal or correlate of Heaven ',’ and in this Appendix we have the sentiment expanded into the following :— ‘The great man is he who is in harmony in his attributes with heaven and earth; in his brightness with the sun and moon; in his orderly procedure with the four seasons; and in his relation to what is fortunate and what is calamitous with the spiritual agents. He may precede Heaven, and Heaven will not act in opposition to him; he may follow Heaven, but will act only as Heaven at the time would do. If Heaven will not act in opposition to him, how much less will man! how much less will the spiritual agents?!’ One other passage may receive our consideration :— ‘The family that accumulates goodness is sure to have super- abundant happiness, and the family that accumulates evil is sure to have superabundant misery °.’ The language makes us think of the retribution of good and evil as taking place in the family, and not in the in- dividual; the judgment is long deferred, but it is inflicted at last, lighting, however, not on the head or heads that most deserved it. Confucianism never falters in its affirma- tion of the difference between good and evil, and that each shall have its appropriate recompense; but it has little to say of the where and when and how that recompense — will be given. The old classics are silent on the subject of any other retribution besides what takes place in time. About the era of Confucius the view took definite shape that, if the issues of good and evil, virtue and vice, did not take effect in the experience of the individual, they would certainly do so in that of his posterity. This is the prevailing doctrine among the Chinese at the present day; and one of the earliest expressions, perhaps the earliest expression, of it was in the sentence under our notice that has been copied from this Appendix into almost every moral treatise that circulates in China. A wholesome and an important truth it is, that ‘the sins of parents are visited 1 Kung-yung xxxi, 4. ? Section i, 34. This is the only paragraph where kwei-sh&n occurs. > Section ii, 5. 48 THE yi KING. CH. II. on. their children;’ but do the parents themselves escape the curse? It is to be regretted that this short treatise, the only ‘wing’ of the Yi professing to set forth its teach- ings concerning man as man, does not attempt any definite reply to this question. I leave it, merely observing that it has always struck me as the result of an after-thought, and a wish to give to man, as the last of ‘the Three Powers,’ a suitable place in connexion with the Yi. The doctrine of ‘the Three Powers’ is as much out of place in Con- fucianism as that of ‘the Great Extreme. The treatise contains several paragraphs interesting in themselves, but it adds nothing to our understanding of the Text, or even of the object of the appended treatises, when we try to look at them as a whole. 8. It is very different with the fifth of the Appendixes, The fifth which is made up of ‘Remarks on the Appendix. Trigrams.’ It is shorter than the fourth, consisting of only 22 paragraphs, in some of which the author rises to a height of thought reached nowhere else in these treatises, while several of the others are so silly and trivial, that it is difficult, not to say impossible, to believe that they are the production of the same man. We find in it the earlier and later arrangement of the trigrams,—the former, that of Fd-hsi, and the latter, that of king Wan; their names and attributes; the work of God in nature, described as a progress through the trigrams; and finally a distinctive, but by no means exhaustive, list of the natural objects, symbolised by them. It commences with the enigmatic declaration that ‘ Anciently, when the sages made the Yi,’ (that is, the lineal First figures, and the system of divination by paragraph. them), ‘in order to give mysterious assistance to the spiritual Intelligences, they produced (the rules for the use of) the divining plant.’ Perhaps this means no more than that the lineal figures were made to ‘hold the mirror up to nature, so that men by the study of them would understand more of the unseen and spiritual opera- tions, to which the phenomena around them were owing, than they could otherwise do. CH. IIT. INTRODUCTION. 49 The author goes on to speak of the Fd-hsi trigrams, and passes from them to those of king Wan in paragraph 8. That and the following two are very remarkable; but before saying anything of them, I will go on to the 14th, which is the only passage that affords any ground for saying that there is a mythology inthe Yi. It says :— ‘Khien is (the symbol of) heaven, and hence is styled father. , Khwan is (the symbol of) earth, and hence is a reas of styled mother. KA&n (shows) the first application (of khwan to &hien), resulting in getting (the first of) its male (or undivided lines), and hence we call it the oldest son. Sun (shows) a first application (of &Aien to khw&n), resulting in getting (the first of) its female (or divided lines), and hence we call it the oldest daughter. Kh4n (shows) a second application (of khw&n to &hien), and Li a second (of &hien to khw4n), resulting in the second son and second daughter. In Kan and Tui we have a third application (of khwian to AAdien and of &kien to khw&n), resulting in the youngest son and youngest daughter.’ From this language has come the fable of a marriage between AAien and Khwin, from which resulted the six other trigrams, considered as their three sons and three daughters; and it is not to be wondered at, if some men of active and ill-regulated imaginations should see Noah and his wife in those two primary trigrams, and in the others their three sons and the three sons’ wives. Have we not in both cases an ogdoad? But I have looked in the paragraph in vain for the notion of a marriage-union between heaven and earth. It does not treat of the genesis of the other six trigrams by the union of the two, but is a rude attempt to explain their forms when they were once existing!, According to the idea of changes, AAien and KhwaAn are continually vary- ing their forms by their interaction. As here represented, the 1 This view seems to be in accordance with that of Wa Kazang (of the Yiian dynasty), as given in the ‘Collected Comments’ of the Khang-hsf edition. The editors express their approval of it in preference to the interpretation of Ka Hsi, who understood the whole to refer to the formation of the lineal figures, the ‘application’ being ‘the manipulation of the stalks to find the proper line.’ [16] E 50 THE YI KING. CH, IIT. other trigrams are not ‘ produced !’ by a marriage-union, but from the application, literally the seeking, of one of them— of Khwan as much as of X Aien—addressed to the other ?. This way of speaking of the trigrams, moreover, as father and mother, sons and daughters, is not so old as Fd-hsi; nor have we any real proof that it originated with king Wan. It is not of ‘the highest antiquity.’ It arose some time in ‘middle antiquity,’ and was known in the era of the Appendixes ; but it had not prevailed then, nor has it prevailed since, to discredit and supersede the older nomenclature. We are startled when we come on it in the place which it occupies. And there it stands alone. It is not entitled to more attention than the two paragraphs that precede it, or the eight that follow it, none of which were thought by P. Regis worthy to be translated. I have just said that it stands ‘alone.’ Its existence, however, seems to me to be supposed in the fourth chapter, paragraphs 28-30, of the third Appendix, Section ii; but there only the trigrams of ‘the six children’ are mentioned, and nothing is said of ‘the parents. Kan, kh4n, and kan are referred to as being yang, and sun, li, and tui as being yin. What is said about them is trifling and fanciful. Leaving the question of the mythology of the Yi, of which Iam myself unable to discover a trace, I now call attention to paragraphs 8-10, where the author speaks of the work of God in nature in all the year as a progress eee through the trigrams, and as being effected peration of : a ets God in nature by His Spirit. The description assumes the snag peculiar arrangement of the trigrams, ascribed to king Wan, and which I have exhibited above, on page 33°. Father Regis adopts the general view 1 But the Chinese term Shing HE, often rendered ‘ produced,’ must not be pressed, so as to determine the method of production, or the way in which one thing comes from another. * The significance of the mythological paragraph is altogether lost in Canon McClatchie’s version:—‘ Khien is Heaven, and hence he is called Father; Khwa4n is Earth, and hence she is called Mother; Kn is the first male, and hence he is called the eldest son,’ &c. &c. * The reader will understand the difference in the two arrangements better by a reference to the circular representations of them on Plate III. CH. III. INTRODUCTION. 5! of Chinese critics that Wan purposely altered the earlier and established arrangement, as a symbol of the disorganisation and disorder into which the kingdom had fallen’. But it is hard to say why a man did something more than 3000 years ago, when he has not himself said anything about it. So far as we can judge from this Appendix, the author thought that king Wan altered the existing order and position of the trigrams with regard to the cardinal points, simply for the occasion,—that he might set forth vividly his ideas about the springing, growth, and maturity in the vegetable kingdom from the labours of spring to the cessation from toil in winter. The marvel is that in doing this he brings God upon the scene, and makes Him in the various processes of nature the ‘all and in all.’ The 8th paragraph says :— ‘God comes forth in Xn (to his producing work); He brings (His processes) into full and equal action in Sun; they are mani- fested to one another in Lf; the greatest service is done for Him in Khwian; He rejoices in Tui; He struggles in AXhien; He is comforted and enters into rest in Kh&n; and he completes (the work of) the year in K4n.’ God is here named T?, for which P. Regis gives the Latin ‘Supremus Imperator,’ and Canon McClatchie, after him, ‘the Supreme Emperor. I contend that ‘God’ is really the correct translation in English of Ti; but to render it here by ‘Emperor’ would not affect the meaning of the paragraph. AQ Hst says that ‘by Ti is intended the Lord and Governor of heaven;’ and Khung Ying-t4, about five centuries earlier than AQ, quotes Wang Pi, who died A.D. 1 E. g. I, 23, 24 :—‘ Observant etiam philosophi (lib. 15 Sinicae philosophiae Sing-li) principem W4an-wang antiquum octo symbolorum, unde aliae figurae omnes perdent, ordinem invertisse ; quo ipsa imperii suis temporibus subversio graphice exprimi poterat, mutatis e naturali loco, quem genesis dederat, iis quatuor figuris, quae rerum naturalium pugnis ac dissociationibus, quas pos- terior labentis anni pars afferre solet, velut in antecessum, repraesentandis idoneae videbantur; v. g. si symbolum ==—"== LI, ignis, supponatur loco symboli ==—== Khan, aquae, utriusque elementi inordinatio principi visa est non minus apta ad significandas ruinas et clades reipublicae male ordinatae, quam naturales ab hieme aut imminente aut saeviente rerum generatarum cor- ruptiones.’ See also pp. 67, 68, E 2 52 THE yf KING. CH. 111. 249, to the effect that ‘Ti is the lord who produces (all) things, the author of prosperity and increase.’ I must refer the reader to the translation in the body of the volume for the 9th paragraph, which is too long to be introduced here. As the 8th speaks directly of God, the gth, we are told, ‘speaks of all things following Him, from spring to winter, from the east to the north, in His progress throughout the year.’ In words strikingly like those of the apostle Paul, when writing his Epistle to the Romans, Wan Khung-jung (of the Khang-hsi period) and his son, in their admirable work called, ‘A New Digest of Collected Expla- nations of the Yi King,’ say :—‘ God (Himself) cannot be seen ; we see Him in the things (which He produces).’ The first time I read these paragraphs with some understanding, I thought of Thomson’s Hymn on the Seasons, and I have thought of it in connexion with them a hundred times since. Our English poet wrote :— ‘These, as they change, Almighty Father, these Are but the varied God. The rolling year Is full of Thee. Forth in the pleasing spring Thy beauty walks, Thy tenderness and love. Then comes Thy glory in the summer months, With light and heat refulgent. Then Thy sun Shoots full perfection through the swelling year. Thy bounty shines in autumn unconfined, And spreads a common feast for all that lives. In winter awful Thou!’ Prudish readers have found fault with some of Thomson’s expressions, as if they savoured of pantheism. The language of the Chinese writer is not open to the same captious objection. Without poetic ornament, or swelling phrase of any kind, he gives emphatic testimony to God as re- newing the face of the earth in spring, and not resting till He has crowned the year with His goodness. And there is in the passage another thing equally wonderful. The 10th paragraph commences:—‘ When we speak of Spirit, we mean the subtle presence (and operation of God) with all things ;’ and the writer goes on to illustrate this sentiment from the action and influences symbolised CH. III. INTRODUCTION. 53 by the six ‘children,’ or minor trigrams,— water and fire, thunder and wind, mountains and collections of water. Kd Hsi says, that there is that in the paragraph which he does not understand. Some Chinese scholars, however, have not been far from descrying the light that is in it. Let Liang Yin, of our fourteenth century, be adduced as an example of them. He says:—‘The spirit here simply means God. God is the personality (literally, the body or substantiality) of the Spirit; the Spirit is God in opera- tion. He who is lord over and rules all things is God; the subtle presence and operation of God with all things is by His Spirit. The language is in fine accord with the definition of shan or spirit, given in the 3rd Appendix, Section i, 32. I wish that the Treatise on the Trigrams had ended withthe 10th paragraph. The writer had gradually risen to a noble Concluding ¢levation of thought from which he plunges paragraphs. into a slough of nonsensical remarks which it would be difficult elsewhere to parallel. I have referred on p. 31 to the judgment of P. Regis about them. He could not receive them as from Confucius, and did not take the trouble to translate them, and transfer them to his own pages. My plan required me to translate everything published in China as a part of the Yi King; but I have given my rea- sons for doubting whether any portion of these Appendixes be really from Confucius. There is nothing that could better justify the supercilious disregard with which the classical literature of China is frequently treated than to insist on the concluding portion of this treatise as being from the pencil of its greatest sage. I have dwelt at some length on the 14th paragraph, because of its mythological semblance; but among the eight paragraphs that follow it, it would be difficult to award the palm for silliness. They are descriptive of the eight trigrams, and each one enu- merates a dozen or more objects of which its subject is symbolical. The writer must have been fond of and familiar with horses. A ‘#ien, the symbol properly of heaven, suggests to him the idea of a. good horse; an old horse; a lean horse; and a piebald. Aan, the symbol of thunder, suggests the 54 THE Yi KING. CH. IIT. idea of a good neigher; of the horse with white hind-legs; of the prancing horse; and of one with a white star in his forehead. Khan, the symbol of water, suggests the idea of the horse with an elegant spine; of one with a high spirit ; of one with a drooping head; and of one with a shambling step. The reader will think he has had enough of these symbolisings of the trigrams. I cannot believe that the earlier portions and this concluding portion of the treatise were by the same author. If there were any evidence that paragraphs 8 to 10 were by Confucius, I should say that they were worthy, even more than worthy, of him; what follows is mere drivel. Horace’s picture faintly pourtrays the inconsistency between the parts :— ‘Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne.’ In reviewing the second of these Appendixes, I was led to speak of the original significance of the trigrams, in opposition to the views of some Chinese who pretend that they can find in them the physical truths discovered by the researches of western science. May I not say now, after viewing the phase of them presented in these paragraphs, that they were devised simply as aids to divination, and partook of the unreasonableness and uncertainty belonging to that? g. The sixth Appendix is the Treatise on the Sequence of the Hexagrams, to which allusion has been made more The sixth than once. It is not necessary to dwell on Appendix. it at length. King W4n, it has been seen, gave a name to each hexagram, expressive of the idea— some moral, social, or political truth—which he wished to set forth by means of it; and this name enters very closely into its interpretation. The author of this treatise endeavours to explain the meaning of the name, and also the sequence of the figures, or how it is that the idea of the one leads on to that of the next. Yet the reader must not expect to find in the 64 a chain ‘of linked sweetness long drawn out.’ The connexion between any two is generally sufficiently close; but on the whole the essays, which I have said they form, resemble ‘a heap of orient pearls at random strung.’ The changeableness of human CH. III. INTRODUCTION. 55 affairs is a topic never long absent from the writer’s mind. He is firmly persuaded that ‘the fashion of the world passeth away.’ Union is sure to give place to separation, and by and by that separation will issue in re-union. There is nothing in the treatise to suggest anything about its authorship; and as the reader will see from the notes, we are perplexed occasionally by meanings given to the names that differ from the meanings in the Text. 10. The last and least Appendix is the seventh, called . The seventh 34 Kwa Xwan, or ‘Treatise on the Lineal Appendix. Figures taken promiscuously,’—not with re- gard to any sequence, but as they approximate, or are opposed, to one another in meaning. It is in rhyme, more- over, and this, as much as the meaning, determined, no doubt, the grouping of the hexagrams. The student will learn nothing of value from it; it is more a‘jeu d’esprit’ than anything else. THE YI KING. TEXT. SECTION I. I. Tue Awyien HEXAGRAM. Explanation of the entire figure by king W&n. Khien (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and firm. Explanation of the separate lines by the duke of Kau. 1. In the first (or lowest) line, undivided, (we see its subject as) the dragon lying hid (in the deep). It is not the time for active doing. 2. In the second line, undivided, (we see its sub- ject as) the dragon appearing in the field. It will be advantageous to meet with the great man. 3. In the third line, undivided, (we see its subject as) the superior man active and vigilant all the day, and in the evening still careful and apprehensive. (The position is) dangerous, but there will be no mistake, 4. In the fourth line, undivided, (we see its sub- ject as the dragon looking) as if he were leaping up, but still in the deep. There will be no mistake. 5. In the fifth line, undivided, (we see its subject as) the dragon on the wing in the sky. It will be advantageous to meet with the great man. Tha 10 reng> rediet: Re 7 js f Lewd th 26 ag ae DUA, aren fy ry Gad prow r vba ee. sgt ato t NS Pepe 6 Aa th, nitic THE YI KING. TEXT. wat -} o . a vA 6. In the sich (or topmost) line, undivided, (we see its subject as) the dragon exceeding the proper limits. There will be occasion for repentance. 7. (The lines of this hexagram are all strong and undivided, as appears from) the use of the number nine. If the host of dragons (thus) appearing were to divest themselves of their heads, there would be good fortune. The Text under each hexagram consists of one paragraph by king Wan, explaining the figure as a whole, and of six (in the case of hexagrams 1 and 2, of seven) paragraphs by the duke of Ku, explaining the individual lines. The explanatory notices introduced above to this effect will not be repeated. A double space will be used to mark off the portion of king Wan from that of his son. Each hexagram consists of two of the trigrams of Ffi-hst, the lower being called ‘the inner,’ and the one above ‘the outer.’ The lines, however, are numbered from one to six, commencing with the lowest. To denote the number of it and of the sixth line, the terms for ‘commencing’ and ‘topmost’ are used. The inter- mediate lines are simply ‘second,’ ‘third,’ &c. As the lines must be either whole or divided, technically called strong and weak, yang and yin, this distinction is indicated by the application to them of the numbers nine and six. All whole lines are nine, all divided lines, six. Two explanations have been proposed of this application of these numbers. The A4ien trigram, it is said, contains 3 strokes (===), and the Khwan 6 (== ==). But the yang contains the yin in itself, and its representative number will be 3+6=9, while the yin, not containing the yang, will only have its own number or 6. This explanation, entirely arbitrary, is now deservedly abandoned. The other is based on the use of the ‘four Hsiang,’ or emblematic figures ( the great or old yang, —=—_== the young yang, == == the old yin, and =="== the young yin). To these are assigned (by what process is unimportant for our present purpose) the numbers 9g, 8, 7,6. They were ‘the old yang, represented by 9g, and ‘the old yin,’ represented by 6, that, in the manipulation of the stalks to form new diagrams, determined the changes of figure; and so g and 6 came to be used as the SECT. I. THE KHWAN HEXAGRAM. | 59 II. Tue Kuwadn Hexacram. K hwAn (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and having the firmness of a mare. When the superior man (here names of a yang line and a yin line respectively. This explana- tion is now universally acquiesced in. The nomenclature of first nine, nine two, &c., or first six, six two, &c., however, is merely a jargon; and I have preferred to use, instead of it, in the translation, in order to describe the lines, the names ‘undivided’ and ‘divided.’ I. Does king Wan ascribe four attributes here to Kien, or only two? According to Appendix IV, always by Chinese writers assigned to Confucius, he assigns four, corresponding to the princi- ples of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowledge in man’s nature. Afi Hsi held that he assigned only two, and that we should translate, ‘greatly penetrating,’ and ‘requires to be correct and firm,’ two responses in divination. Up and down throughout the Text of the 64 hexagrams, we often find the characters thus coupled together. Both interpretations are possible. I have followed what is accepted as the view of Confucius. It would take pages to give a tithe of what has been written in justification of it, and to reconcile it with the other. , ‘The dragon’ is the symbol employed by the duke of Kau to represent ‘the superior man’ and especially ‘the great man,’ exhibiting the virtues or attributes characteristic of heaven. The creature’s proper home is in the water, but it can disport itself on the land, and also fly and soar aloft. It has been from the earliest time the emblem with the Chinese of the highest dignity and wis- dom, of sovereignty and sagehood, the combination of which con- stitutes ‘the great man.’ One emblem runs through the lines of many of the hexagrams as here. But the dragon appears in the sixth line as going beyond the proper limits. The ruling-sage has gone through all the sphere in which he is called on to display his attributes; it is time for him to relax. The line should not be always pulled tight; the - bow should not be always kept drawn. The unchanging use 60 THE Yi KING. TEXT. intended) has to make any movement, if he take the initiative, he will go astray; if he follow, he will find his (proper) lord. The advantageousness will be seen in his getting friends in the south-west, and losing friends in the north-east. If he rest in cor- rectness and firmness, there will be good fortune. 1. In the first line, divided, (we see its subject) treading on hoarfrost. The strong ice will come (by and by). 2. The second line, divided, (shows the attribute of) being straight, square, and great. (Its opera- tion), without repeated efforts, will be in every respect advantageous. : 3. The third line, divided, (shows its subject) keeping his excellence under restraint, but firmly maintaining it. If he should have occasion to en- gage in the king’s service, though he will not claim the success (for himself), he will bring affairs to a good issue. 4. The fourth line, divided, (shows the symbol of) a sack tied up. There will be no ground for blame or for praise. 5. The fifth line, divided, (shows) the yellow lower garment. There will be great good fortune. of force will give occasion for repentance. The moral meaning found in the line is that ‘the high shall be abased.’ The meaning given to the supernumerary paragraph is the opposite of that of paragraph 6. The ‘host of dragons without their heads’ would give us the next hexagram, or Khw§n, made up of six divided lines. Force would have given place to submission, and haughtiness to humility; and the result would be good fortune. Such at least is the interpretation of the paragraph given in a narrative of the " 80-Xwan under B.c. 513. For further explanation of the duke of #au’s meaning, see Appendixes II and IV. SECT. I. .THE KHWAN HEXAGRAM. 61 6. The sixth line, divided, (shows) dragons fight- ing in the wild. Their blood is purple and yellow. 7. (The lines of this hexagram are all weak and divided, as appears from) the use of the number six. If those (who are thus represented) be per- petually correct and firm, advantage will arise. II. The same attributes are here ascribed to Khwi4n, as in the former hexagram to Khien ;—but with a difference. The figure, made up of six divided lines, expresses the ideal of subordination » and docility. The superior man, represented by it, must not take the initiative ; and by following he will find his lord,—the subject, that is of Khien. Again, the correctness and firmness is defined to be that of ‘a mare,’ ‘docile and strong,’ but a creature for the service of man. That it is not the sex of the animal which the writer has chiefly in mind is plain from the immediate mention © of the superior man, and his lord. That superior man will seek to bring his friends along with him- self to serve his ruler. But according to the arrangement of the trigrams by king W4n, the place of Khw&n is in the south-west, while the opposite quarter is occupied by the yang trigram K4n, as in Figure 2, Plate III. All that this portion of the Thwan says is an instruction to the subject of the hexagram to seek for others of the same principles and tendencies with himself to serve their common lord. But in quietness and firmness will be his strength. ” The symbolism of the lines is various. Paragraph 2 presents to us the earth itself, according to the Chinese conception of it, as a great cube. To keep his excellence under restraint, as in para- graph 3, is the part of a minister or officer, seeking not his own glory, but that of his ruler. Paragraph 4 shows its subject exer- cising a still greater restraint on himself than in paragraph 3. There is an interpretation of the symbolism of paragraph 5 in a narrative of the 80 Awan, under the rath year of duke K44o, B.c. 530. ‘Yellow’ is one of the five ‘correct’ colours, and the colour of the earth. ‘The lower garment’ is a symbol of humility. \ The fifth line is the seat of honour. If its occupant possess the qualities indicated, he will be greatly fortunate. See the note on the sixth line of hexagram 1. What is there said to be ‘beyond the proper limits’ takes place here ‘in the wild.’ The humble subject of the divided line is transformed into a 62 THE Yi KING. | TEXT. III]. Tue Aun HeExacram. fei Se Kun (indicates that in the case which it pre- supposes) there will be great progress and success, and the advantage will come from being correct and firm. (But) any movement in advance should not be (lightly) undertaken. There will be advantage in appointing feudal princes. 1. The first line, undivided, shows the difficulty (its subject has) in advancing. It will be advanta- geous for him to abide correct and firm; advan- tageous (also) to be made a feudal ruler. 2. The second line, divided, shows (its subject) distressed and obliged to return; (even) the horses of her chariot (also) seem to be retreating. (But) not by a spoiler (is she assailed), but by one who seeks her to be his wife. The young lady maintains her firm correctness, and declines a union. After ten years she will be united, and have children. 3. The third line, divided, shows one following the deer without (the guidance of) the forester, and only finding himself in the midst of the forest. The superior man, acquainted with the secret risks, thinks it better to give up the chase. If he went forward, he would regret it. dragon, and fights with the true dragon, the subject of the undivided line. They fight and bleed, and their blood is of the colour proper to heaven or the sky, and the colour proper to the earth. Paragraph 7 supposes that the hexagram Khw4&n should become changed into Khien ;—the result of which would be good. SECT. 1. THE KUN HEXAGRAM. 63 4. The fourth line, divided, shows (its subject as a lady), the horses of whose chariot appear in retreat. She seeks, however, (the help of) him who seeks her to be his wife. Advance will be fortu- nate ; all will turn out advantageously. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows the difficulties in the way of (its subject’s) dispensing the rich favours that might be expected from him. With firm- ness and correctness there will be good fortune in small things ; (even) with them in great things there will be evil. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows (its subject) with the horses of his chariot obliged to retreat, and weeping tears of blood in streams. III. The character called Aun is pictorial, and was intended to show us how a plant struggles with difficulty out of the earth, rising gradually above the surface. This difficulty, marking the first stages in the growth of a plant, is used to symbolise the struggles that mark the rise of a state out of a condition of disorder, consequent on a great revolution. The same thing is denoted by the combination of the trigrams that form the figure ;—as will be seen in the notes on it under Appendix II. I have introduced within parentheses, in the translation, the words ‘in the case which the hexagram presupposes.’ It is necessary to introduce them. King W4n and his son wrote, as they did in every hexagram, with reference ta.a particular state of affairs which they had in mind. This was the unspoken text which controlled and ‘ directed all their writing; and the student must try to get hold of this, if he would make his way with comfort and success through the Yi. Wé&n saw the social and political world around him in great disorder, hard to be remedied. But he had faith in himself * and the destinies of his House. Let there be prudence and caution, with unswerving adherence to the right; let the government of the’ different states be entrusted to good and able men:—then all would be well. The first line is undivided, showing the strength of its subject. He will be capable of action, and his place in the trigram of mobility will the more dispose him to it. But above him is the 64 THE Yi KING. TEXT. IV. THe M&Anc HExacram. Mang (indicates that in the case which it pre- supposes) there will be progress and success. I do not (go and) seek the youthful and inexperienced, trigram of peril; and the lowest line of that, to which especially he must look for response and co-operation, is divided and weak. Hence arise the ideas of difficulty in advancing, the necessity of caution, and the advantage of his being clothed with authority. To the subject of the second line, divided, advance is still more difficult. He is weak in himself; he is pressed by the subject of the strong line below him. But happily that subject, though strong, is correct ; and above in the fifth line, in the place of authority, is the strong one, union with whom and the service of whom should ‘be the objects pursued. All these circumstances suggested to the duke of AX4u the idea of a young lady, sought in marriage by a ‘strong wooer, when marriage was unsuitable, rejecting him, and ‘finally, after ten years, marrying a more suitable, the only suitable, ‘ match for her. | The third line is divided, not central, and the number of its place is appropriate to the occupancy ofa strong line. All these things should affect the symbolism of the line. But the outcome of the whole hexagram being good, the superior man sees the imme- - diate danger and avoids it. The subject of the fourth line, the first of the upper trigram, has recourse to the strong suitor of line 1, the first of the lower trigram ; and with his help is able to cope with the difficulties of the position, and go forward. The subject of the fifth line is in the place of authority, and should show himself a ruler, dispensing benefits on a great scale. But he is in the very centre of the trigram denoting perilousness, and line 2, which responds to 5, is weak. Hence arises the sym- bolism, and great things should not be attempted. The sixth line is weak ; the third responding to it is also weak ; it is at the extremity of peril; the game is up. What can remain for its subject in such a case but terror and abject weeping? SECT. I. THE MANG HEXAGRAM. 65 but he comes and seeks me. When he shows (the sincerity that marks) the first recourse to divination, I instruct him. If he apply a second and third time, that is troublesome; and I do not instruct the troublesome. There will be advantage in being firm and correct. 1. The first line, divided, (has respect to) the dispelling of ignorance. It will be advantageous to use punishment (for that purpose), and to re- move the shackles (from the mind). But going on in that way (of punishment) will give occasion for regret. | 2. The second line, undivided, (shows its subject) exercising forbearance with the ignorant, in which there will be good fortune; and admitting (even the goodness of women, which will also be fortunate. (He may be described also as) a son able to (sustain the burden of) his family. | 3. The third line, divided, (seems to say) that one should not marry a woman whose emblem it might be, for that, when she sees a man of wealth, she will not keep her person from him, and in no wise will advantage come from her. 4. The fourth line, divided, (shows its subject as if) bound in chains of ignorance. There will be occasion for regret. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows its subject as a simple lad without experience. There will be good fortune. 6. In the topmost line, undivided, we see one smiting the ignorant (youth). But no advantage [16] F 66 THE Yi KING. TEXT. will come from doing him an injury. Advantage would come from warding off injury from him. IV. As Xun shows us plants struggling from beneath the sur- face, Mang suggests to us the small and undeveloped appearance which they then present; and hence it came to be the symbol of youthful inexperience and ignorance. The object of the hexagram is to show how such a condition should be dealt with by the parent and ruler, whose authority and duty are represented by the second and sixth, the two undivided lines. All between the first and last sentences of the Thwan must be taken as an oracular response received by the party divining on the subject of enlightening the youthfal ignorant. ‘This accounts for its being more than usually enigmatical, and for its being partly rhythmical. See Appendix I, in loc. The subject of the first line, weak, and at the bottom of the figure, is in the grossest ignorance. Let him be punished. If punishment avail to loosen the shackles and manacles from the mind, well; if not, and punishment be persevered with, the effect will be bad. On the subject of the second line, strong, and in the central place, devolves the task of enlightening the ignorant; and we have him discharging it with forbearance and humility. In proof of his generosity, it is said that ‘he receives,’ or learns from, even weak and ignorant women. He appears also as ‘a son’ taking the place of his father. The third line is weak, and occupies an odd place belonging properly to an undivided line; nor is its place in the centre. All these things give the subject of it so bad a character. The fourth line is far from both the second and sixth, and can get no help from its correlate,—the first line, weak as itself. What good can be done with or by the subject of it? The fifth line is in the place of honour, and has for its correlate the strong line in the second place. Being weak in itself, it is taken as the symbol of a simple lad, willing to be taught. The topmost line is strong, and in the highest place. It is natural, but unwise, in him to use violence in carrying on his educational measures. A better course is suggested to him. SECT. I. THE HSU HEXAGRAM. 67 V. Tue Hst Hexacram. Hsii intimates that, with the sincerity which is declared in it, there will be brilliant success. With firmness there will be good fortune; and it will be advantageous to cross the great stream. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject waiting in the distant border. It will be well for him constantly to maintain (the purpose thus shown), in which case there will be no error. 2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject waiting on the sand (of the mountain stream). He will (suffer) the small (injury of) being spoken (against), but in the end there will be good fortune. 3. The third line, undivided, shows its subject in the mud (close by the stream). He thereby invites the approach of injury. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject waiting in (the place of) blood. But he will get out of the cavern. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject waiting amidst the appliances of a feast. Through his firmness and correctness there will be good fortune. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows its subject entered into the cavern. (But) there are three guests coming, without being urged, (to his help). F 2 68 THE Yi KING. TEXT. If he receive them respectfully, there will be good fortune in the end. V. Hsii means waiting. Strength confronted by peril might be expected to advance boldly and at once to struggle with it; but it takes the wiser plan of waiting till success is sure. This is the J lesson of the hexagram. That ‘sincerity is declared in it’ is proved from the fifth line in the position of honour and authority, central, itself undivided and in an odd place. In such a case, nothing but firm correctness is necessary to great success. ‘Going through a great stream,’ an expression frequent in the Yi, may mean undertaking hazardous enterprises, or encountering great difficulties, without any special reference; but more natural is it to understand by ‘the great stream’ the Yellow river, which the lords of Adu must cross in a revolutionary movement against the dynasty of Yin and its tyrant. The passage of it by king W4, the son of W&n in B.c. 1122, was certainly one of the greatest deeds in the history of China. It was preceded also by long ‘ waiting,’ till the time of assured success came. ‘The border’ under line 1 means the frontier territory of the state. There seems no necessity for sucha symbolism. ‘The sand’ and ‘the mud’ are appropriate with reference to the watery defile; but it is different with ‘the border.’ The subject of the line appears at work in his distant fields, not thinking of anything but his daily work ; and he is advised to abide in that state and mind. ‘The sand’ of paragraph 2 suggests a nearer approach to the defile, but its subject is still self-restrained and waiting. I do not see what suggests the idea of his suffering from ‘the strife of tongues.’ In paragraph 3 the subject is on the brink of the stream. His advance to that position has provoked resistance, which may result in his injury. Line 4 has passed from the inner to the upper trigram, and entered on the scene of danger and strife ;—‘into the place of blood.’ Its subject is ‘weak and in the correct place for him;’ he therefore retreats and escapes from the cavern, where he was engaged with his enemy. Line 5 is strong and central, and in its correct place, being that of honour. All good qualities therefore belong to the subject of it, who has triumphed, and with firmness will triumph still more. Line 6 is weak, and has entered deeply into the defile and its caverns. What will become of its subject? His correlate is the SECT. I. THE SUNG HEXAGRAM. 69 VI. Tue Sunc HeExacram. Sung intimates how, though there is sincerity in one’s contention, he will yet meet with opposition and obstruction; but if he cherish an apprehensive caution, there will be good fortune, while, if he must prosecute the contention to the (bitter) end, there will be evil. It will be advantageous to see the great man; it will not be advantageous to cross the great stream. 1. The first line, divided, shows its subject not perpetuating the matter about which (the contention is). He will suffer the small (injury) of being spoken against, but the end will be fortunate. 2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject unequal to the contention. If he retire and keep concealed (where) the inhabitants of his city are (only) three hundred families, he will fall into no mistake. 3. The third line, divided, shows its subject keeping in the old place assigned for his support, and firmly correct. Perilous as the position is, there will be good fortune in the end. Should he per- strong line 3 below, which comes with its two companions to his help. Ifthey are respectfully received, that help will prove effectual. P. Regis tries to find out a reference in these ‘three guests’ to three princes who distinguished themselves by taking part with Kau in its struggle with Yin or Shang; see vol. i, pp. 279-282. I dare not be so confident of any historical reference. 70 THE Yi KING. TEXT. chance engage in the king’s business, he will not (claim the merit of) achievement. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject unequal to the contention. He returns to (the study of Heaven’s) ordinances, changes (his wish to contend), and rests in being firm and correct. There will be good fortune. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject contending ;—and with great good fortune. 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows how its subject may have the leathern belt conferred on him (by the sovereign), and thrice it shall be taken from him in a morning. VI. We have strength in the upper trigram, as if to regulate and contro] the lower, and peril in that lower as if looking out for an Opportunity to assail the upper; or, as it may be represented, we have one’s self in a state of peril matched against strength from without. All this is supposed to give the idea of contention or strife. But the undivided line in the centre of Kh4n is emblematic of sincerity, and gives a character to the whole figure. An individual, so represented, will be very wary, and have good fortune; but strife is bad, and if persevered in even by such a one, the effect will be evil. The fifth line, undivided, in an odd place, and central, serves as a representative of ‘the great man,’ whose agency is sure to be good; but the topmost line being also strong, and with its two companions, riding as it were, on the trigram of peril, its action is likely to be too rash for a great enterprise. See the treatise on the Thwan, in loc. The subject of line 1 is weak and at the bottom of the figure. He may suffer a little in the nascent strife, but will let it drop; and the effect will be good. Line 2 represents one who is strong, and has the rule of the lower trigram ;—he has the mind for strife, and might be expected to engage in it. But his strength is weakened by being in an even place, and he is no match for his correlate in line 5, and therefore . retreats. A town or city with only three hundred families is said SECT. I. THE SZE HEXAGRAM. 7! VII. Tue Sze Hexacram. Sze indicates how, in the case which it supposes, with firmness and correctness, and (a leader of) age to be very small. That the subject of the line should retire to so insignificant a place is further proof of his humility. Line 3 is weak and in an odd place. Its subject therefore is not equal to strive, but withdraws from the arena. Even if forced into it, he will keep himself in the background ;—and be safe. ‘He keeps in the old place assigned for his support’ is, literally, ‘He eats his old virtue;’ meaning that he lives in and on the appanage assigned to him for his services. Line 4 is strong, and not in the centre; so that we are to con- ceive of its subject as having a mind to strive. But immediately above it is line 5, the symbol of the ruler, and with him it is hope- less to strive ; immediately below is 3, weak, and out of its proper place, incapable of maintaining a contention. Its proper correlate is the lowest line, weak, and out of its proper place, from whom little help can come. Hence its subject takes the course indicated, which leads to good fortune. Line 5 has every circumstance in favour of its subject. Line 6 is strong and able to contend successfully; but is there to be no end of striving? Persistence in it is sure to end in defeat and disgrace. The contender here might receive a reward from the king for his success; but if he received it thrice in a morning, thrice it would be taken from him again. As to the nature of the reward here given, see on the Li Ai, X, ii, 32. P. Regis explains several of the expressions in the Text, both in the Thwan and the Hsiang, from the history of king Wan and his son king Wf. Possibly his own circumstances may have suggested to Wan some of the Thwan; and his course in avoiding a direct colli- sion with the tyrant Shau, and W{i’s subsequent exploits may have been in the mind of the duke of Aau. Some of the sentiments, however, cannot be historically explained. They are general pro- tests against all contention and strife. 72 THE YI KING. _ TEXT. and experience, there will be good fortune and no error. 1. The first line, divided, shows the host going forth according to the rules (for such a movement). If these be not good, there will be evil. 2. The second line, undivided, shows (the leader) in the midst of the host. There will be good for- tune and no error. The king has thrice conveyed to him the orders (of his favour). 3. The third line, divided, shows how the host may, possibly, have many inefficient leaders. There will be evil. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows the host in retreat. There is no error. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows birds in the fields, which it will be advantageous to seize (and destroy). In that case there will be no error. If the oldest son leads the host, and younger men (idly occupy offices assigned to them), however firm and correct he may be, there will be evil. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows the great ruler delivering his charges, (appointing some) to be rulers of states, and others to undertake the head- ship of clans; but small men should not be employed (in such positions). VII. The conduct of military expeditions in a feudal kingdom, and we may say, generally, is denoted by the hexagram Sze. Referring to Appendixes I and II for an explanation of the way in which the combination of lines in it is made out to suggest the idea of an army, and that idea being assumed, it is easy to see how the undivided line in the second place should be interpreted of the general, who is responded to by the divided line in the fifth and royal place. Thus entire trust is reposed in him. He is strong SECT. I. THE Pi HEXAGRAM. 73 VIII. Tue Pi Hexacram. Pi indicates that (under the conditions which it supposes) there is good fortune. But-let (the prin- cipal party intended in it) re-examine himself, (as if) and correct, and his enterprises will be successful. He is denomi- nated £ang 24n, ‘an old, experienced man.’ ‘The rules,’ it is said, ‘are twofold ;—first, that the war be for a v righteous end; and second, that the manner of conducting it, v especially at the outset, be right.’ But how this and the warning in the conclusion should both follow from the divided line being in the first place, has not been sufficiently explained. How line 2 comes to be the symbol of the general in command of the army has been shown above on the Thwan. The orders of the king thrice conveyed to him are to be understood of his appoint- ment to the command, and not of any rewards conferred on him as a tribute to his merit. Nor is stress to be laid on the ‘ thrice.’ ‘It does not mean that the appointment came to him three times ; but that it was to him exclusively, and with the entire con- fidence of the king.’ The symbolism of line 3 is very perplexing. P. Regis translates it:—‘ Milites videntur deponere sarcinas in curribus. Male.’ Canon McClatchie has:—‘ Third-six represents soldiers as it were lying dead in their baggage carts, and is unlucky.’ To the same effect was my own translation of the paragraph, nearly thirty years ago. But the third line, divided, cannot be forced to have such an indication. The meaning I have now given is more legitimate, taken character by character, and more in harmony with the scope of the hexagram. The subject of line 2 is the one proper leader of the host. But line 3 is divided and weak, and occupies the place of a strong line, as if its subject had perversely jumped over two, and perched himself above it to take the command. This interpretation also suits better in the 5th paragraph. Line 4 is weak and not central; and therefore ‘to retreat’ is 74 THE Yi KING. TEXT. by divination, whether his virtue be great, uninter- mitting, and firm. If it be so, there will be no error. Those who have not rest will then come to him ; and with those who are (too) late in coming it will be ill. 1. The first line, divided, shows its subject seek- ing by his sincerity to win the attachment of his object. There will be no error. Let (the breast) be full of sincerity as an earthenware vessel is of its contents, and it will in the end bring other advantages. 2. In the second line, divided, we see the move- ment towards union and attachment proceeding from the inward (mind). With firm correctness there will be good fortune. 3. In the third line, divided, we see its subject seeking for union with such as ought not to be associated with. 4. In the fourth line, divided, we see its subject natural for its subject. But its place is even, and proper for a divided line; and the retreat will be right in the circumstances. In line 5 we seem to have an intimation of the important truth that only defensive war, or war waged by the rightful authority to put down rebellion and lawlessness, is right. ‘The birds in the fields’ symbolise parties attacking for plunder. The fifth line symbolises the chief authority,—the king, who is weak, or humble, and in the centre, and cedes the use of all his power to the general symbolised by line 2. The subject of 2 is ‘the oldest son. Those of three and four are supposed to be ‘the younger brother and son,’ that is, the younger men, who would cause evil if admitted to share the command. The lesson on the topmost line is true and important, but the critics seem unable to deduce it from the nature of the line, as divided and in the sixth place. SECT. I. THE Pf HEXAGRAM. 75 seeking for union with the one beyond himself. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. 5. The fifth line, undivided, affords the most illus- trious instance of seeking union and attachment. (We seem to see in it) the king urging his pursuit of the game (only) in three directions, and allowing the escape of all the animals before him, while the people of his towns do not warn one another (to prevent it). There will be good fortune. 6. In the topmost line, divided, we see one seek- ing union and attachment without having taken the first step (to such an end). There will be evil. VIII. The idea of union between the different members and classes of a state, and how it can be secured, is the subject of the hexagram Pi. The whole line occupying the fifth place, or that of authority, in the hexagram, represents the ruler to whom the subjects of all the other lines offer a ready submission. According to the general rules for the symbolism of the lines, the second line is the correlate of the fifth; but all the other lines are here made subject to that fifth ;—which is also a law of the Yi, according to the ‘ Daily Lecture.’ To me it has the suspicious look of being made for the occasion. The harmony of union, therefore, is to be secured by the sovereign authority of one; but he is warned to see to it that his virtue be what will beseem his place, and subjects are warned not to delay to submit to him. Where does the ‘sincerity’ predicated of the subject of line x come from? The ‘earthenware vessel’ is supposed to indicate its plain, unadorned character; but there is nothing in the position and nature of the line, beyond the general idea in the figure, to suggest the attribute. Line 2 is the proper correlate of 5. Its position in the centre of the inner or lower trigram agrees with the movement of its subject as proceeding from the inward mind. Line 3 is weak, not in the centre, nor in its correct place. The lines above and below it are both weak. All these things are sup- posed to account for what is said on it. ‘The one beyond himself’ in line 4 is the ruler or king, who is 76 THE Yi KING. TEXT. IX. Tue Hsté4o Xx HExacRam. Hsiao At indicates that (under its conditions) there will be progress and success. (We see) dense clouds, but no rain coming from our borders in the west. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject re- turning and pursuing his own course. What mistake should he fall into? There will be good fortune. 2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject, by the attraction (of the former line), returning (to the proper course). There will be good fortune. the subject of 5, and with whom union ought to be sought. The divided line, moreover, is in a place proper to it. If its subject be firm and correct, there will be good fortune. The subject of line 5 is the king, who must be the centre of union. The ancient kings had their great hunting expeditions in the different seasons; and that of each season had its peculiar rules. But what is stated here was common to all. When the beating was completed, and the shooting was ready to commence, one side of the enclosure into which the game had been driven was left open and unguarded ;—a proof of the royal benevolence, which did not want to make an end of all the game. So well known and understood is this benevolence of the model king of the hexagram, that all his people try to give it effect. Thus the union contemplated is shown to be characterised by mutual confidence and appreciation in virtue and benevolence. A weak line being in the 6th place, which is appropriate to it, its subject is supposed to be trying to promote union among and with the subjects of the lines below. It is too late. The time is past. Hence it is symbolised as ‘ without a head,’ that is, as not having taken the first step, from which its action should begin, and go on to the end. SECT. I. THE HSIAO gHt HEXAGRAM. 77 3. The third line, undivided, suggests the idea of a carriage, the strap beneath which has been removed, or of a husband and wife looking on each other with averted eyes. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity. The danger of bloodshed is thereby averted, and his (ground for) apprehension dismissed. There will be no mistake. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity, and drawing others to unite with him. Rich in resources, he employs his neigh- bours (in the same cause with himself). 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows how the rain has fallen, and the (onward progress) is stayed ; —(so) must we value the full accumulation of the virtue (represented by the upper trigram). But a wife (exercising restraint), however firm and correct she may be, is in a position of peril, (and like) the moon approaching to the full. Ifthe superior man prosecute his measures (in such circumstances), there will be evil. IX. The name Hsido Afi is interpreted as meaning ‘small restraint. The idea of ‘restraint’ having once been determined on as that to be conveyed by the figure, it is easily made out that the restraint must be small, for its representative is the divided line in the fourth place; and the check given by that to all the undivided lines cannot be great. Even if we suppose, as many critics do, that all the virtue of that upper trigram Sun is concentrated in its first line, the attribute ascribed to Sun is that of docile flexibility, which cannot long be successful against the strength emblemed by the lower trigram Ahien. The restraint therefore is small, and in the end there will be ‘ progress and success.’ The second sentence of the Thwan contains indications of the place, time, and personality of the writer which it seems possible to ascertain. The fief of AGu was the western portion of the 78 THE Yi KING. TEXT. X. Tue Lit HeExacram. (Li suggests the idea of) one treading on the tail of a tiger, which does not bite him. There will be progress and success. kingdom of Yin or Shang, the China of the twelfth century B.c., the era of king Wan. Rain coming and moistening the ground is the cause of the beauty and luxuriance of the vegetable world, and the emblem of the blessings flowing from good training and good government. Here therefore in the west, the hereditary territory of the house of A4u, are blessings which might enrich the whole kingdom; but they are somehow restrained. The dense clouds do not empty their stores. P. Regis says:—‘ To declare openly that no rain fell from the heavens long covered with dense clouds over the great tract of country, which stretched from the western border to the court and on to the eastern sea, was nothing else but leaving it to all thought- ful minds to draw the conclusion that the family of Wan was as worthy of the supreme seat as that of Shau, the tyrant, however ancient, was unworthy of it (vol. i, p. 356).’ The intimation is not put in the Text, however, so clearly as by P. Regis. Line 1 is undivided, the first line of A ien, occupying its proper place. Its subject, therefore, notwithstanding the check of line 4, resumes his movement, and will act according to his strong nature, and go forward. Line 2 is also strong, and though an even place is not appropriate to it, that place being central, its subject will make common cause with the subject of line 1; and there will be good fortune. Line 3, though strong, and in a proper place, yet not being in the centre, is supposed to be less able to resist the restraint of line 4; and hence it has the ill omens that are given. The subject of line 4, one weak line against all the strong lines of the hexagram, might well expect wounds, and feel apprehension in trying to restrain the others; but it is in its proper place; it is the first line also of Sun, whose attribute is docile flexibility. SECT. I. THE Li HEXAGRAM. 79 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject treading his accustomed path. If he go forward, there will be no error. 2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject treading the path that is level and easy ;—a quiet and solitary man, to whom, if he be firm and correct, there will be good fortune. 3. The third line, divided, shows a one-eyed man (who thinks he) can see; a lame man (who thinks he) can walk well; one who treads on the tail of a tiger and is bitten. (All this indicates) ill fortune. We have a (mere) bravo acting the part of a great ruler. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject treading on the tail of a tiger. He becomes full of apprehensive caution, and in the end there will be good fortune. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows the resolute tread of its subject. Though he be firm and correct, there will be peril. 6. The sixth line, undivided, tells us to look at (the whole course) that is trodden, and examine the The strong lines are moved to sympathy and help, and ‘there ig no mistake.’ Line 5 occupies the central place of Sun, and converts, by the sincerity of its subject, 4 and 6 into its neighbours, who suffer themselves to be used by it, and effect their common object. In line 6, the idea of the hexagram has run its course. The harmony of nature is restored. The rain falls, and the onward march of the strong lines should now stop. But weakness that has achieved such a result, if it plume itself on it, will be in a position of peril; and like the full moon, which must henceforth wane. Let the superior man, when he has attained his end, remain in quiet. i aN ee es 80 THE Yf KING. TEXT. presage which that gives. If it be complete and without failure, there will be great good fortune. X. The character giving its name to the hexagram plays an im- portant part also in the symbolism ; and this may be the reason why it does not, as the name, occupy the first place in the Thwan. Looking at the figure, we see it is made up of the trigrams Tui, representing a marsh, and A4ien, representing the sky. Tui is a yin trigram, and its top line is divided. Below XAien, the great symbol of strength, it may readily suggest the idea of treading on a tiger’s tail, which was an old way of expressing what was hazardous (Shfi V, xxv, 2). But what suggests the statement that ‘the tiger does not bite the treader?’ The attribute of Tui is pleased satisfaction. Of course such an attribute could not be _ predicated of one who was in the fangs of a tiger. The coming scatheless out of such danger further suggests the idea of ‘ progress and success’ in the course which king W4&n had in his mind. And according to Appendix VI, that course was ‘propriety,’ the observance of all the rules of courtesy. On these, as so many stepping-stones, one may tread safely amid scenes of disorder and peril. Line 1 is an undivided line in an odd place; giving us the ideas of activity, firmness, and correctness. One so characterised will act rightly. Line 2 occupies the middle place of the trigram, which is sup- -posed to symbolise a path cut straight and level along the hill-side, or over difficult ground. Line 5 is not a proper correlate, and hence the idea of the subject of 2 being ‘a quiet and solitary man.’ Line 3 is neither central nor in an even place, which would be proper to it. But with the strength of will which the occupant of an odd place should possess, he goes forward with the evil results so variously emblemed. The editors of the imperial edition, in illustration of the closing sentence, refer to Analects VII, x. Line 4 is in contiguity with 5, whose subject is in the place of authority; but he occupies the place proper to a weak or divided line, and hence he bethinks himself, and goes softly. Beneath the symbolism under line 5, lies the principle that the most excellent thing in ‘ propriety’ is humility. And the subject of the line, which is strong and central, will not be lacking in this, but bear in mind that the higher he is exalted, the greater may be his fall. SECT. I. THE THAI HEXAGRAM. ; SI XI. Tue TuHAr Hexacram. In Thai (we see) the little gone and the great come. (It indicates that) there will be good fortune, ' with progress and success. 1. The first line, undivided, suggests the idea of grass pulled up, and bringing with it other stalks with whose roots it is connected. Advance (on the part of its subject) will be fortunate. 2. The second line, undivided, shows one who can bear with the uncultivated, will cross the Ho without a boat, does not forget the distant, and has no (selfish) friendships. Thus does he prove himself acting in accordance with the course of the due Mean. 3. The third line, undivided, shows that, while there is no state of peace that is not liable to be disturbed, and no departure (of evil men) so that they shall not return, yet when one is firm and correct, as he realises the distresses that may arise, he will commit no error. There is no occasion for sadness at the certainty (of such recurring changes); and in this mood the happiness (of the present) may be (long) enjoyed. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject fluttering (down);—not relying on his own rich What is said on line 6 is good, but is only a truism. The whole course has been shown; if every step has been night and appropriate, the issue will be very good. [16] G 82 THE Y! KING. TEXT. resources, but calling in his neighbours. (They all come) not as having received warning, but in the sincerity (of their hearts). 5. The fifth line, divided, reminds us of (king) Ti-yt’s (rule about the) marriage of his younger sister. By such a course there is happiness and there will be great good fortune. 6. The sixth line, divided, shows us the city wall returned into the moat. It is not the time to use the army. (The subject of the line) may, indeed, announce his orders to the people of his own city; but however correct and firm he may be, he will have cause for regret. XI. The language of the Thwan has reference to the form of Thai, with the three strong lines of A zien below, and the three weak lines of Khwan above. The former are ‘the great,’ active and vigorous; the latter are ‘the small,’ inactive and submissive. But where have the former ‘come’ from, and whither are the latter ‘gone?’ In many editions of the Yi beneath the hexagram of Th4i here, there appears that of Kwei Mei, the 54th in order (== ), which becomes T h4i, if the third and fourth lines exchange places. But in the notes on the Thwan, in the first Appendix, on hexa- gram 6, I have spoken of the doctrine of ‘changing figures,’ and intimated my disbelief of it. The different hexagrams arose necessarily by the continued manipulation of the undivided and divided lines, and placing them each over itself and over the other. When king W4n wrote these Thwan, he was taking the 64 hexa- grams, as they were ready to his hand, and not forming one from another by any process of divination. The ‘gone’ and ‘come’ are merely equivalent to ‘below’ and ‘above,’ in the lower trigram or in the upper. A course in which the motive forces are represented by the three strong, and the opposing by the three weak lines, must be pro- gressive and successful. Th&i is called the hexagram of the first month of the year, the first month of the natural spring, when for six months, through the fostering sun and genial skies, the pro- cesses of growth will be going on. SECT. I. THE PH? HEXAGRAM. 8 3 XII. Tue Put Hexacram. In Phi there is the want of good understanding between the (different classes of) men, and its in- dication is unfavourable to the firm and correct The symbolism of paragraph 1 is suggested by the three strong lines of Xien all together, and all possessed by the same instinct to advance. The movement of the first will be supported by that _ of the others, and be fortunate. The second line is strong, but in an even place. This is sup- posed to temper the strength of its subject ; which is expressed by the first of his characteristics. But the even place is the central; and it is responded to by a proper correlate in the fifth line above. Hence come all the symbolism of the paragraph and the auspice of good fortune implied in it. Beneath the symbolism in paragraph 3 there lies the persuasion of the constant change that is taking place in nature and in human affairs. As night succeeds to day, and winter to summer, so calamity may be expected to follow prosperity, and decay the flourishing of a state. The third is the last of the lines of Xhien, by whose strength and activity the happy state of Thai has been produced. Another aspect of things may be looked for; but by firmness and correctness the good estate of the present may be long continued. According to the treatise on the Thwan, the subjects of the fourth and other upper lines are not ‘the small returning’ as opponents of the strong lines below, as is generally supposed; but as the correlates of those lines, of one heart and mind with them to maintain the state of Th4i, and giving them, humbly but readily, all the help in their power. Ti-yi, the last sovereign but one of the Yin dynasty, reigned from B.C. 1191 to 1155; but what was the history of him and his sister here referred to we do not know. P. Regis assumes that he gave his sister in marriage to the lord of Aau, known in subse- G 2 84 THE Yi KING. TEXT. course of the superior man. We see in it the great gone and the little come. 1. The first line, divided, suggests the idea of grass pulled up, and bringing with it other stalks with whose roots it is connected. With firm cor- rectness (on the part of its subject), there will be good fortune and progress. 2. The second line, divided, shows its subject ' patient and obedient. To the small man (comport- ing himself so) there will be good fortune. If the great man (comport himself) as the distress and ob- struction require, he will have success. 3. The third line, divided, shows its subject ashamed of the purpose folded (in his breast). 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject acting in accordance with the ordination (of Heaven), and committing no error. His companions will come and share in his happiness. 5. In the fifth line, undivided, we see him who quent time as king W4n, and that she was the famous Thai-sze ;— contrary to all the evidence I have been able to find on the subject. According to KAang-3ze, Ti-yi was the first to enact a law that daughters of the royal house, in marrying princes of the states, should be in subjection to them, as if they were not superior to them in rank. Here line 5, while occupying the place of dignity and au- thority in the hexagram, is yet a weak line in the place of a strong one; and its subject, accordingly, humbly condescends to his strong and proper correlate in line 2. The course denoted by Thai has been run; and will be fol- lowed by one of a different and unhappy character. The earth dug from the moat had been built up to form a protecting wall; but it is now again fallen into the ditch. War will only aggravate the evil; and however the ruler may address good proclamations to himself and the people of his capital, the coming evil cannot be altogether averted. SECT. 1. THE PH{ HEXAGRAM. 85 brings the distress and obstruction to a close,—the great man and fortunate. (But let him say), ‘We may perish! We may perish!’ (so shall the state of things become firm, as if) bound to a clump of bushy mulberry trees. 6. The sixth line, undivided, shows the overthrow (and removal of) the condition of distress and ob- struction. Before this there was that condition. Hereafter there will be joy. XII. The form of Phi, it will be seen, is exactly the opposite of that of Thai: Much of what has been said on the interpretation of that will apply to this, or at least assist the student in making out the meaning of its symbolism. Phf is the hexagram of the seventh month. Genial influences have done their work, the pro- cesses of growth are at an end. Henceforth increasing decay must be looked for. Naturally we should expect the advance of the subject of the first of the three weak lines to lead to evil; but if he set himself to be firm and correct, he will bring about a different issue. Patience and obedience are proper for the small man in all circumstances. If the great man in difficulty yet cherish these attributes, he will soon have a happy issue out of the distress. The third line is weak. Its place is odd, and therefore for it incorrect. Its subject would vent his evil purpose, but has not strength to do so. He is left therefore to the shame which he ought to feel without a word of warning. Does the ming of the fourth line mean ‘the ordination of Heaven,’ as A@ Hsf thinks; or the orders of the ruler, as AAang-3ze says? Whichever interpre- tation be taken (and some critics unite the two), the action of the subject of the line, whose strength is tempered by the even posi- tion, will be good and correct, and issue in success and happiness. The strong line in the fifth, (its correct), place, brings the distress and obstruction to a close. Yet its subject—the ruler in the hexa- gram—is warned to continue to be cautious in two lines of rhyme :— ‘And let him say, “I die! I die!” So to a bushy clump his fortune he shall tie.” There is an end of the condition of distress. It was necessary that condition should give place to its opposite; and the strong line in the topmost place fitly represents the consequent joy. 86 THE Yi KING. TEXT. XIII. ‘Tue TuunGc ZAN HEXAGRAM. Thung Z4n (or ‘Union of men’) appears here (as we find it) in the (remote districts of the) country, indicating progress and success. It will be advan- tageous to cross the great stream. It will be ad- vantageous to maintain the firm correctness of the superior man. 1. The first line, undivided, (shows the repre- sentative of) the union of men just issuing from his gate. There will be no error. 2. The second line, divided, (shows the repre- sentative of) the union of men in relation with his kindred. There will be occasion for regret. | 3. The third line, undivided, (shows its subject) with his arms hidden in the thick grass, and at the top of a high mound. (But) for three years he makes no demonstration. 4. The fourth line, undivided, (shows its subject) mounted on the city wall; but he does not proceed to make the attack (he contemplates). There will be good fortune. 5. Inthe fifth lime, undivided, (the representative of) the union of men first wails and cries out, and then laughs. His great host conquers, and he (and the subject of the second line) meet together. 6. The topmost line, undivided, (shows the repre- SECT. I. THE THUNG zZAN HEXAGRAM. 87 sentative of) the union of men in the suburbs. There will be no occasion for repentance. AIM. Thung Zan describes a condition of nature and of the state opposite to that of Phi. There was distress and obstruction ; here is union. But the union must be based entirely on public considerations, without taint of selfishness. The strong line in the fifth, its correct, place, occupies the most important position, and has for its correlate the weak second line, also in its correct place. The one divided line is naturally sought after by all the strong lines. The upper trigram is that of heaven, which is above ; the lower is that of fire, whose tendency is to mount upwards. All these things are in harmony with the idea of union. But the union must be free from all selfish motives, and this is indicated by its being in the remote districts of the country, where people are unsophisticated, and free from the depraving effects incident to large societies. A union from such motives will cope with the greatest difficulties; and yet a word of caution is added. Line 1 emblems the first attempts at union. It is strong, but in the lowest place; and it has no proper correlate above. There is, however, no intermixture of selfishness in it. Lines 2 and 5 are proper correlates, which fact suggests in this hexagram the idea of their union being limited and partial, and such as may afford ground for blame. Line 3 is strong, and in an odd place; but it has not a proper cor- relate in 6. This makes its subject more anxious to unite with 2; but 2 is devoted to its proper correlate in 5, of whose strength 3 is afraid, and takes the measures described. His abstaining so long, however, from any active attempt, will save him from misfortune. Line 4 is strong, but in an even place, which weakens its subject. He also would fain make an attempt on 2; but he is afraid, and does not carry his purpose into effect. Line 5 is strong, in an odd, and the central place ; and would fain unite with 2, which indeed is the proper correlate of its subject. But 3 and 4 are powerful foes that oppose the union. Their opposition makes him weep; but he ¢6llects his forces, defeats them, and effects his purpose. The union reaches to all within the suburbs, and is not yet uni- versal ; but still there is no cause for repentance. 88 THE Yi KING. TEXT. XIV. Tue TA YO Hexacram. TA YQ indicates that, (under the circumstances which it implies), there will be great progress and SUCCESS. 1. In the first line, undivided, there is no ap- proach to what is injurious, and there is no error. Let there be a realisation of the difficulty (and danger of the position), and there will be no error (to the end). 2. In the second line, undivided, we have a large waggon with its load. In whatever direction advance is made, there will be no error. 3. The third line, undivided, shows us a feudal prince presenting his offerings to the Son of Heaven. A small man would be unequal (to such a duty). 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject keeping his great resources under restraint. ‘There will be no error. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows the sincerity of its subject reciprocated by that of all the others (represented in the hexagram). Let him display a proper majesty, and there will be good fortune. 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject with help accorded to him from Heaven. There will be good fortune, advantage in every respect. XIV. T& YQ means ‘Great Havings;’ denoting in a kingdom a state of prosperity and abundance, and in a family or individual, a SECT. I. THE KHIEN HEXAGRAM. 89 XV. Tue Awien HExacRam. Kien indicates progress and success. The su- perior man, (being humble as it implies), will have a (good) issue (to his undertakings). 1. The first line, divided, shows us the superior man who adds humility to humility. (Even) the great state of opulence. The danger threatening such a condition arises from the pride which it is likely to engender. But everything here is against that issue. Apart from the symbolism of the trigrams, we have the place of honour occupied by a weak line, so that its subject will be humble; and all the other lines, strong as they are, will act in obedient sympathy. There will be great progress and success. Line 1, though strong, is at the lowest part of the figure, and has no correlate above. No external influences have as yet acted injuriously on its subject. Let him do as directed, and no hurtful influence will ever affect him. The strong line 2 has its proper correlate in line 5, the ruler of the figure, and will use its strength in subordination to his humility. Hence the symbolism. Line 3 is strong, and in the right (an odd) place. The top- most line of the lower trigram is the proper place for a feudal lord. The subject of this will humbly serve the condescending ruler in line 5. A small man, having the place without the virtue, would give himself airs. Line 4 is strong, but the strength is tempered by the position, which is that of a weak line. Hence he will do no injury to the mild ruler, to whom he is so near. Line 5 symbolises the ruler, Mild sincerity is good in him, and affects his ministers and others. But a ruler must not be without an awe-inspiring majesty. Even the topmost line takes its character from 5. The strength of its subject is still tempered, and Heaven gives its approval. 90 THE Yi KING. TEXT. stream may be crossed with this, and there will be good fortune. 2. The ‘second line, divided, shows us humility that has made itself recognised. With firm correct- ness there will be good fortune. 3. The third line, undivided, shows the superior man of (acknowledged) merit. He will maintain his success to the end, and have good fortune. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows one, whose action would be in every way advantageous, stirring up (the more) his humility. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows one who, without being rich, is able to employ his neighbours. He may advantageously use the force of arms, All his movements will be advantageous, 6. The sixth line, divided, shows us humility that has made itself recognised. The subject of it will with advantage put his hosts in motion; but (he will only) punish his own towns and state. XV. An essay on humility rightly follows that on abundant possessions. The third line, which is a whole line amid five others divided, occupying the topmost place in the lower trigram, is held by the Khang-hsi editors and many others to be ‘the lord of the hexagram,’ the representative of humility, strong, but abasing itself. There is nothing here in the text to make us enter farther on the symbolism of the figure. Humility is the way to permanent success. A weak line, at the lowest place of the figure, is the fitting symbol of the superior man adding humility to humility. Line 2 is weak, central, and in its proper place, representing a humility that has ‘crowed;’ that is, has proclaimed itself. Line 3 is strong, and occupies an odd (its proper) place. It is ‘the lord of the hexagram,’ to whom all represented by the lines above and below turn. Line 4 is weak and in its proper position. Its subject is sure to SECT. I. THE YU HEXAGRAM. QI XVI. Yui indicates that, (in the state which it oe feudal princes may be set up, and the hosts put in motion, with advantage. 1. The first line, divided, shows its subject pro- claiming his pleasure and satisfaction. There will be evil. 2. The second line, divided, shows one who is firm as a rock. (He sees a thing) without waiting ~~ till it has come to pass; with his firm correctness there will be good fortune. 3. The third line, divided, shows one looking up (for favours), while he indulges the feeling of plea- sure and satisfaction. If he would understand !—- If he be late in doing so, there will indeed be occa- sion for repentance. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows him from whom the harmony and satisfaction come. Great be successful and prosperous, but being so near the fifth line, he should still use the greatest precaution. All men love and honour humility, in itself and without the ad- juncts which usually command obedience and respect. Hence his neighbours follow the ruler in the fifth line, though he may not be . very rich or powerful. His humility need not keep him from assert- ing the right, even by force of arms. The subject of the sixth line, which is weak, is outside the game, so to speak, that has been played out. He will use force, but only within his own sphere and to assert what is right. He will not be aggressive. 92 THE Yi KING. TEXT. is the success which he obtains, Let him not allow suspicions to enter his mind, and thus friends will gather around him. _7~ 5. The fifth line, divided, shows one with a chronic complaint, but who lives on without dying. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows its subject with darkened mind devoted to the pleasure and satisfaction (of the time); but if he change his course even when (it may be considered as) completed, there will be no error. XVI. The Yi hexagram denoted to king Wan a condition of harmony and happy contentment throughout the kingdom, when the people rejoiced in and readily obeyed their sovereign. At such a time his appointments and any military undertakings would be hailed and supported. The fourth line, undivided, is the lord of the figure, and being close to the fifth or place of dignity, is to be looked on as the minister or chief officer of the ruler. The ruler gives to him his confidence; and all represented by the other lines yield their obedience. Line 1 is weak, and has for its correlate the strong 4. Its subject may well enjoy the happiness of the time. But he cannot contain himself, and proclaims, or boasts of, his satisfaction ;— which is evil. Line 2, though weak, is in its correct position, the centre, more- over, Of the lower trigram. Quietly and firmly its subject is able to abide in his place, and exercise a far-seeing discrimination. All is indicative of good fortune. Line 3 is weak, and in an odd place. Immediately below line 4, its subject keeps looking up to the lord of the figure, and depends on him, thinking of doing nothing, but how to enjoy himself. The consequence will be as described, unless he speedily change. The strong subject of line 4 is the agent to whom the happy condition is Owing ; and it is only necessary to caution him to main- tain his confidence in himself and his purpose, and his adherents and success will continue. Line 5 is in the ruler’s place; but it is weak, and he is in danger of being carried away by the lust of pleasure. Moreover, proximity to the powerful minister represented by 4 is a source of danger. SECT. I. THE SUI HEXAGRAM. 93 XVII. Tue Sur HEexacram. Sui indicates that (under its conditions) there will be great progress and success. But it will be advan- tageous to be firm and correct. There will (then) be no error. 1. The first line, undivided, shows us one chang- ing the object of his pursuit; but if he be firm and correct, there will be good fortune. Going beyond (his own) gate to find associates, he will achieve merit. 2. The second line, divided, shows us one who cleaves to the little boy, and lets go the man of age and experience. 3. The third line, divided, shows us one who cleaves to the man of age and experience, and lets go the little boy. Such following will get what it seeks ; but it will be advantageous to adhere to what is firm and correct. | 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows us one followed and obtaining (adherents). Though he be firm and correct, there will be evil. If he be sincere (however) in his course, and make that evident, into what error will he fall ? Hence he is represented as suffering from a chronic complaint, but nevertheless he does not die. See Appendix II on the line. Line 6, at the very top or end of the hexagram, is weak, and its . subject is all but lost. Still even for him there is a chance of safety, if he will but change. 94 THE Yi KING. | TEXT. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows us (the ruler) sincere in (fostering all) that is excellent. There will be good fortune. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows us (that sin- cerity) firmly held and clung to, yea, and bound fast. (We see) the king with it presenting his offerings on the western mountain. XVII. Sui symbolises the idea of following. It is said to follow Yii, the symbol of harmony and satisfaction. Where there are these conditions men are sure to follow; nor will they follow those in whom they have no complacency. The hexagram includes the cases where one follows others, and where others follow him; and the auspice of great progress and success is due to this flexi- bility and applicability of it. But in both cases the following must be guided by a reference to what is proper and correct. See the notes on the Thwan and the Great Symbolism. Line 1 is strong, and lord of the lower trigram. The weak lines ought to follow it; but here it is below them, in the lowest place of the figure. This gives rise to the representation of one changing his pursuit. Still through the native vigour indicated by the line being strong, and in its correct place, its subject will be fortunate. Going beyond his gate to find associates indicates his public spirit, and superiority to selfish considerations. Line 2 is weak. Its proper correlate is the strong gs; but it prefers to cleave to the line below, instead of waiting to follow 5. Hence the symbolism of the text, the bad omen of which needs not to be mentioned. Line 3 is also weak, but it follows the strong line above it and leaves line 1, reversing the course of 2 ;—with a different issue. It is weak, however, and 4 is not its proper correlate ; hence the con- clusion of the paragraph is equivalent to a caution. Line 4 is strong, and in the place of a great minister next the ruler in 5. But his having adherents may be injurious to the supreme and sole authority of that ruler, and only a sincere loyalty will save him from error and misfortune. Line § is strong, and in its correct place, with 2 as its proper correlate; thus producing the auspicious symbolism. The issue of the hexagram is seen in line 6; which represents the ideal of following, directed by the most sincere adherence to ‘SECT. I. THE KO HEXAGRAM. 95 XVIII. Tue Ké Hexacram. Kfi indicates great progress and success (to him who deals properly with the condition represented by it), There will be advantage in (efforts like that of) crossing the great stream. (He should weigh well, however, the events of) three days before the turning point, and those (to be done) three days after it. 1. The first line, divided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. If he be an (able) son, the father will escape the blame of having erred. The position is perilous, but there will be good fortune in the end. 2. The second line, undivided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his mother. He should not (carry) his firm correctness (to the utmost). 3. The third line, undivided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. There may be some small occasion for repentance, but there will not be any great error. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows (a son) viewing what is right. This influence not only extends to men, but also to spiritual beings. ‘The western hill’ is mount Ai, at the foot of which was the original settlement of the house of X4u, in B.C. 1325. The use of the name ‘king’ here brings us down from WaAn into the time of king WQ at least. 96 THE Yi KING. TEXT. indulgently the troubles caused by his father. If he go forward, he will find cause to regret it. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. He obtains the praise of using (the fit instrument for his work). 6. The sixth line, undivided, shows us one who does not serve either king or feudal lord, but in a lofty spirit prefers (to attend to) his own affairs. XVIII. In the 6th Appendix it is said, ‘They who follow another are sure to have services (to perform), and hence Sui is followed by Kf.” But Kfi means the having painful or troublesome services to do. It denotes here a state in which things are going to ruin, as if through poison or venomous worms; and the figure is sup- posed to describe the arrest of the decay and the restoration to soundness and vigour, so as to justify its auspice of great progress and success. To realise such a result, however, great efforts will be required, as in crossing the great stream; and a careful con- sideration of the events that have brought on the state of decay, and the measures to be taken to remedy it is also necessary. See Appendix I on the ‘three days.’ The subject of line 1, and of all the other lines, excepting per- haps 6, appears asa son. Yet the line itself is of the yin nature, and the trigram in which it plays the principal part is also yin. Line 2 is strong, and of the yang nature, with the yin line 5 as its proper correlate. In line 2, 5 appears as the mother; but its sub- ject there is again a son, and the upper trigram altogether is yang. I am unable to account for these things. As is said in the note of Regis on line 2 :—‘ Haec matris filiique denominatio ad has lineas mere translatitia est, et, ut ait commentarius vulgaris, ad explicatio- nem sententiarum eas pro matre et filio supponere dicendum est. Nec ratio reddetur si quis in utroque hoc nomine mysterium quaerat. Cur enim aliis in figuris lineae nunc regem, nunc vasal- lum, jam imperil administrum, mox summum armorum praefectum referre dicantur? Accommodantur scilicet lineae ad verba sententiae et verba sententiae ad sensum, quemadmodum faci- endum de methodis libri Shih King docet Mencius, V, i, ode 4. 2.’ We must leave this difficulty. Line 1 is weak, and its correlate 4 is also weak. What can its subject do to remedy the state of decay? But the line is the first of the figure, and the decay is not SECT. I. THE LIN HEXAGRAM. 97 XIX. Tue Lin Hexacraom. Lin (indicates that under the conditions supposed in it) there will be great progress and success, while it will be. advantageous to be firmly correct. In the eighth month there will be evil. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject advancing in company (with the subject of the yet great. By giving heed to the cautions in the Text, he will accomplish what is promised. The ruler in line 5 is represented by a weak line, while 2 is strong. Thus the symbolism takes the form of a son dealing with the prevailing decay induced somehow by his mother. But a son must be very gentle in all his intercourse with his mother, and espe- cially so, when constrained by a sense of duty to oppose her course. I do not think there is anything more or better to be said here. The historical interpretation adopted by Regis and his friends, that the father here is king W4n, the mother Thai-sze, and the son king WA, cannot be maintained. I have searched, but in vain, for the slightest Chinese sanction of it, and it would give to Kfi the mean- ing of misfortunes endured, instead of troubles caused. Line 3 is strong, and not central, so that its subject might well go to excess in his efforts. But this tendency is counteracted by the line’s place in the trigram Sun, often denoting lowly submission. Line 4 is weak, and in an even place, which intensifies that weakness. Hence comes the caution against going forward. The weak line 5, as has been said, is the seat of the ruler; but its proper correlate is the strong 2, the strong siding champion minister, to whom the work of the hexagram is delegated. Line 6 is strong, and has no proper correlate below. Hence it suggests the idea of one outside the sphere of action, and taking no part in public affairs, but occupied with the culture of himself. (16] H 98 THE Yi KING. TEXT. second line), Through his firm correctness there will be good fortune. 2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject advancing in company (with the subject of the first line). There will be good fortune; (advancing) will be in every way advantageous. 3. The third line, divided, shows one well pleased (indeed) to advance, (but whose action) will be in no way advantageous. If he become anxious about it (however), there will be no error. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows one advancing in the highest mode. There will be no error. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows the advance of wisdom, such as befits the great ruler. There will be good fortune. 6. The sixth line, divided, shows the advance of honesty and generosity. There will be good fortune, and no error. XIX. In Appendix VI Lin is explained as meaning ‘ great.’ The writer, having misunderstood the meaning of the previous K 4, sub- joins—‘ He who performs such services may become “ great.”’ But Lin denotes the approach of authority,—to inspect, to comfort, or to rule. When we look at the figure, we see two strong undivided lines advancing on the four weak lines above them, and thence follows the assurance that their action will be powerful and suc- cessful, That action must be governed by rectitude, however, and by caution grounded on the changing character of all conditions and events. The meaning of the concluding sentence is given in Appendix I as simply being—that, ‘ the advancing power will decay in no long time.’ Li A4n-&At (Ming dynasty) says:—‘ The sun (or the day) is the symbol of what is Yang; and the moon is the symbol of what is Yin. Eight is the number of the second of the four emblematic figures (the smaller Yin), and seven is the num- ber of the third of them (the smaller Yang). Hence to indicate the period of the coming of what is Yin, we use the phrase, “the eighth month ;” and to indicate the period of the coming of what is SECT. I. THE KWAN HEXAGRAM. 99 XX. THe Kwan HEeExaGRam. _ KwéAn shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings ;—with sincerity Yang, we use the phrase, “the seventh day.”’ The Khang-hst editors say that this is the best explanation of the language of the Text that can be given :—‘ The Yang numbers culminate in 9g, the influertce then receding and producing the 8 of the smaller Yin. The Yin numbers culminate in 6, and the next advance produces the 7 of the smaller Yang; so that 7 and 8 are the numbers indicating the first birth of what is Yin and what is Yang.’ ‘If we go to seek,’ they add, ‘any other explanation of the phraseology of the Text, and such expressions as “3 days,” “ 3 years,” “10 years,” &c., we make them unintelligible.’ Lin is the hexagram of the twelfth month. Line 1 is a strong line in its proper place. The danger is that its subject may be more strong than prudent, hence the caution in requiring firm correctness. Line 2, as strong, should be in an odd place; but this is more than counterbalanced by the central position, and its correlate in line 5. Line 3 is weak, and neither central, nor in its correct position. Hence its action will not be advantageous; but being at the top of the trigram Tui, which means being pleased, its subject is repre- sented as ‘well pleased to advance.’ Anxious reflection will save him from error. Line 4, though weak, is in its proper place, and has for its cor- relate the strong 1. Hence its advance is ‘in the highest style.’ Line 5 is the position of the ruler. It is weak, but being central, and having for its correlate the strong and central 2, we have in it a symbol of authority distrustful of itself, and employing fit agents ;—~ characteristic of the wise ruler. Line 6 is the last of the trigram KhwaAn, the height therefore of docility. Line 2 is not its correlate, but it belongs to the Yin to seek for the Yang ; and it is so emphatically in this case. Hence the characteristic and issue as assigned. H 2 100 THE yi KING. TEXT. and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard), 1. The first line, divided, shows the looking of a lad;—not blamable in men of inferior rank, but matter for regret in superior men. 2. The second line, divided, shows one peeping out from a door. It would be advantageous if it were (merely) the firm correctness of a female. 3. The third line, divided, shows one looking at (the course of) his own life, to advance or recede (accordingly). 4. The fourth line, divided, shows one contem- plating the glory of the kingdom. It will be ad- vantageous for him, being such as he is, (to seek) to be a guest of the king. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his own life(-course). A superior man, he will (thus) fall into no error. 6. The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his character to see if it be indeed that of a superior man. He will not fall into error. XX. The Chinese character Kw4n, from which this hexagram is named, is used in it in two senses. In the Thwan, the first paragraph of the treatise on the Thwan, and the paragraph on the Great Symbolism, it denotes showing, manifesting; in all other places it denotes contemplating, looking at. The sub- ject of the hexagram is the sovereign and his subjects, how he manifests himself to them, and how they contemplate him. The two upper, undivided, lines belong to the sovereign; the four weak tines below them are his subjects,—ministers and others who look up at him. Kwé4n is the hexagram of the eighth month. In the Thwan king Wan symbolises the sovereign by a wor- shipper when he is most solemn in his religious service, at the commencement of it, full of sincerity and with a dignified carriage. Line 1 is weak, and in the lowest place, improper also for it ;— SECT. I. THE SHIH HO HEXAGRAM. IOI XXII. Tuer SuHin Ho Hexacram. Shih Ho indicates successful progress (in the con- dition of things which it supposes). It will be advantageous to use legal constraints. 1. The first line, undivided, shows one with his feet in the stocks and deprived of his toes. There will be no error. 2. The second line, divided, shows one biting through the soft flesh, and (going on to) bite off the nose. There will be no error. the symbol of a thoughtless lad, who cannot see far, and takes only superficial views. Line 2 is also weak, but in its proper place, showing a woman, living retired, and only able to peep as from her door at the subject of the fifth line. But ignorance and retirement are proper in a woman. Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram Khwan, and weak, must belong to a subject of the utmost docility, and will wish to act only according to the exigency of time and circumstances, Line 4, in the place proper to its weakness, is yet in immediate proximity to 5, representing the sovereign. Its subject is moved accordingly, and stirred to ambition. Line 5 is strong, and in the place of the ruler. He is a superior man, but this does not relieve him from the duty of self-contempla- tion or examination. There is a slight difference in the 6th paragraph from the gth, which can hardly be expressed in a translation. By making a change in the punctuation, however, the different significance may be brought out. Line 6 is strong, and should be considered out of the work of the hexagram, but its subject is still possessed by the spirit of its idea, and is led to self-examination. 102 THE Yt KING. TEXT. 3. The third line, divided, shows one gnawing dried flesh, and meeting with what is disagreeable. There will be occasion for some small regret, but no (great) error. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows one gnawing the flesh dried on the bone, and getting the pledges of money and arrows. It will be advantageous to him to realise the difficulty of his task and be firm,— in which case there will be good fortune. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows one gnawing at dried flesh, and finding the yellow gold. Let him be firm and correct, realising the peril (of his posi- tion). There will be no error. 6. The sixth line, undivided, shows one wearing the cangue, and deprived of his ears. There will be evil. XXI. Shih Ho means literally ‘Union by gnawing.’ We see in the figure two strong lines in the first and last places, while all the others, with the exception of the fourth, are divided. This suggests the idea of the jaws and the mouth between them kept open by some- thing in it. Let that be gnawed through and the mouth will close and the jaws come together. So in the body politic. Remove the obstacles to union, and high and low will come together with a good understanding. And how are those obstacles to be removed? By force, emblemed by. the grfawing; that is, by legal constraints. And these are sure to be successful. The auspice of the figure is favourable. There will be success. Lines 1 and 6 are much out of the game or action described in the figure. Hence they are held to represent parties receiving punishment, while the other lines represent parties inflicting it. The punishment in line 1 is that of the stocks, administered for a small offence, and before crime has made much way. But if the ‘depriving’ of the toes is not merely keeping them in restraint, but cutting them off, as the Chinese character suggests, the punish- ment appears to a western reader too severe. Line 2 is weak, appropriately therefore in an even place, and it is central besides. The action therefore of its subject should SECT. 1. _ THE Pf HEXAGRAM. 103 XXII. Tue Pt Hexacram. Pi indicates that there should be free course (in what it denotes). There will be little advantage (however) if it be allowed to advance (and take the lead). be effective; and this is shown by the ‘biting through the soft flesh,’ an easy thing. Immediately below, however, is a strong offender represented by the strong line, and before he will submit it is necessary to ‘bite off his nose ;’ for punishment is the rule ;— it must be continued and increased till the end is secured. Line 3 is weak, and in an even place. The action of its subject will be ineffective ; and is emblemed by the hard task of gnawing through dried flesh, and encountering, besides, what is distasteful and injurious in it. But again comes in the consideration that here punishment is the rule, and the auspice is not all bad. Of old, in a civil case, both parties, before they were heard, brought to the court an arrow (ora bundle of arrows), in testimony of their rectitude, after which they were heard ; in a criminal case, they in the same way deposited each thirty pounds of gold, or some other metal. See the Official Book of Kau, 27. 14, 15. The subject of the fourth line’s getting those pledges indicates his exercising his judicial functions; and what he gnaws through indi- cates their difficulty. Moreover, though the line is strong, it is in an even place; and hence comes the lesson of caution. The fifth line represents ‘the lord of judgment.’ As it is a weak line, he will be disposed to leniency; and his judgments will be correct. This is declared by his finding the ‘ yellow metal;’ for yellow is one of the five ‘correct’ colours. The position is in the centre and that of rule; but the line being weak, a caution is given, as under the previous line. The action of the figure has passed, and still we have, in the sub- ject of line 6, one persisting in wrong, a strong criminal, wearing the cangue, and deaf to counsel. Of course the auspice is evil. 104 THE Yi KING. TEXT. 1. The first line, undivided, shows one adorning (the way of) his feet. He can discard a carriage and walk on foot. 2. The second line, divided, shows one adorning his beard. 3. The third line, undivided, shows its subject with the appearance of being adorned and bedewed (with rich favours). But let him ever maintain his firm correctness, and there will be good fortune. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows one looking as if adorned, but only in white. As if (mounted on) a white horse, and furnished with wings, (he seeks union with the subject of the first line), while (the intervening third pursues), not as a robber, but in- tent on a matrimonial alliance. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows its subject adorned by (the occupants of) the heights and gar- dens. He bears his roll of silk, small and slight. He may appear stingy; but there will be good fortune in the end. 6. The sixth line, undivided, shows one with white as his (only) ornament. There will be no error. XXII. The character Pi is the symbol of what is ornamental and of the act of adorning. As there is ornament in nature, so should there be in society; but its place is secondary to that of what is substantial. This is the view of king W4n in his Thwan. The symbolism of the separate lines is sometimes fantastic. Line 1 is strong, and in an odd place. It is at the very bottom of the hexagram, and is the first line of Li, the trigram for fire or light, and suggesting what is elegant and bright. Its subject has nothing to do but to attend to himself. Thus he cultivates— adorns—himselfin his humble position; but if need be, nghteous- ness requiring it, he can give up every luxury and indulgence. SECT. I. THE PO HEXAGRAM. 105 XXIII. Tue Po Hexacram. Po indicates that (in the state which it symbolises) it will not be advantageous to make a movement in any direction whatever. Line 2 is weak and in its proper place, but with no proper cor- relate above. The strong line 3 is similarly situated. These two lines therefore keep together, and are as the beard and the chin. Line 1 follows 2. What is substantial commands and rules what is merely ornamental. Line 3 is strong, and between two weak lines, which adorn it, and bestow their favours on it. But this happy condition is from the accident of place. The subject of the line must be always correct and firm to ensure its continuance. Line 4 has its proper correlate in 1, from whose strength it should receive ornament, but 2 and the strong 3 intervene and keep them apart, so that the ornament is only white, and of no bright colour. Line 4, however, is faithful to 1, and earnest for their union. And finally line 3 appears in a good character, and not with the purpose to injure, so that the union of 1 and 4 takes place. All this is intended to indicate how ornament recognises the superiority of solidity. Compare the symbolism of the second line of Xun (3), and that of the topmost line of Kh wei (38). Line 5 is in the place of honour, and has no proper correlate in 2. It therefore associates with the strong 6, which is symbolised by the heights and gardens round a city, and serving both to protect and to beautify it. Thus the subject of the line receives adorning from without, and does not of itself try to manifest it. Moreover, in his weakness, his offerings of ceremony are poor and mean. But, as Confucius said, ‘In ceremonies it is better to be sparing than extravagant.’ Hence that stinginess does not prevent a good auspice. Line 6 is at the top of the hexagram. Ornament has had its course, and here there is a return to pure, ‘white,’ simplicity. Substantiality is better than ornament. 106 THE Y!? KING. TEXT. 1. The first line, divided, shows one overturning the couch by injuring its legs. (The injury will go on to) the destruction of (all) firm correctness, and there will be evil. 2. The second line, divided, shows one over- throwing the couch by injuring its frame. (The injury will go on to) the destruction of (all) firm correctness, and there will be evil. 3. The third line, divided, shows its subject among the overthrowers ; but there will be no error. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject having overthrown the couch, and (going to injure) the skin (of him who lies on it). There will be evil. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows (its subject lead- ing on the others like) a string of fishes, and (ob- taining for them) the favour that lights on the inmates of the palace. There will be advantage in every way. | 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject (as) a great fruit which has not been eaten. The superior man finds (the people again) as a chariot carrying him. The small men (by their course) overthrow their own dwellings. XXIII. Po is the symbol of falling or of causing to fall, and may be applied, both in the natural and political world, to the process of decay, or that of overthrow. ‘The figure consists of five divided lines, and one undivided, which last thus becomes the prominent and principal line in the figure. Decay or overthrow has begun at the bottom of it, and crept up to the top. The hexagram is that of the ninth month, when the beauty and glory of summer have disappeared, and the year is ready to fall into the arms of sterile winter. In the political world, small men have gradually displaced good men and great, till but one remains; and the lesson for him is to wait. The power operating against him is SECT. I. THE FO HEXAGRAM. 107 XXIV. Tue FO Hexacram. Ffi indicates that there will be free course and progress (in what it denotes). (The subject of it) finds no one to distress him in his exits and too strong; but the fashion of political.life passes away. If he wait, a change for the better will shortly appear. The lesser symbolism is chiefly that of a bed or couch with its occupant. The idea of the hexagram requires this occupant to be overthrown, or at least that an attempt be made to overthrow him. Accordingly the attempt in line 1 is made by commencing with the legs of the couch. The symbolism goes on to explain itself. The object of the evil worker is the overthrow of all firm correctness. Of course there will be evil. Line 2 is to the same effect as 1; only the foe has advanced from the legs to the frame of the couch. Line 3 also represents an overthrower ; but it differs from the others in being the correlate of 6. The subject of it will take part with him. His association is with the subject of 6, and not, as in the other weak lines, with one of its own kind. From line 4 the danger is imminent. The couch has been overthrown. ‘The person of the occupant is at the mercy of the destroyers. With line 5 the symbolism changes. The subject of 5 is ‘lord of all the other weak lines,’ and their subjects are at his disposal. He and they are represented as fishes, following one another as if strung together. All fishes come under the category of yin. Then the symbolism changes again. The subject of 5, representing and controlling all the yin lines, is loyal to the subject of the yang sixth line. He is the rightful sovereign in his palace, and 5 leads all the others there to enjoy the sovereign’s favours. We have still different symbolism under line 6. Its strong subject, notwithstanding the attempts against him, survives, and acquires fresh vigour. The people again cherish their sovereign, and the plotters have wrought to their own overthrow. 108 THE Yi KING. TEXT. entrances; friends come to him, and no error is committed. He will return and repeat his (proper) course. In seven days comes his return. There will be advantage in whatever direction movement is made. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject re- turning (from an error) of no great extent, which would not proceed to anything requiring repentance. There will be great good fortune. 2. The second line, divided, shows the admirable return (of its subject). There will be good fortune. 3. The third line, divided, shows one who has made repeated returns. The position is perilous, but there will be no error. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject moving right in the centre (among those represented by the other divided lines), and yet returning alone (to his proper path). 5. The fifth line, divided, shows the noble return of its subject. There will be no ground for repentance. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows its subject all astray on the subject of returning. There will be evil. There will be calamities and errors. If with his views he put the hosts in motion, the end will be a great defeat, whose issues will extend to the ruler of the state. Even in ten years he will not be able to repair the disaster. XXIV. Ff symbolises the idea of returning, coming back or over again. The last hexagram showed us inferior prevailing over superior men, all that is good in nature and society yielding before what is bad. But change is the law of nature and society. When decay has reached its climax, recovery will begin to take place. In Po we had one strong topmost line, and five weak lines below SECT. I. THE WO WANG HEXAGRAM, 109 XXV. Tue WO Wana HeExacram. WA Wang indicates great progress and success, while there will be advantage in being firm and it; here we have one strong line, and five weak lines above it. To illustrate the subject from what we see in nature,—Po is the hexa- gram of the ninth month, in which the triumph of cold and decay in the year is nearly complete. It is complete in the tenth month, whose hexagram is Khwin == =; then follows our hex- agram FQ, belonging to the eleventh month, in which was the winter solstice when the sun turned back in his course, and moved with a constant regular progress towards the summer solstice. In harmony with these changes of nature are the changes in the political and social state of a nation. There is nothing in the Yi to suggest the hope of a perfect society or kingdom that cannot be moved. The strong bottom line is the first of An, the trigram of move- ment, and the upper trigram is KhwAn, denoting docility and capa- city. The strong returning line will meet with no distressing obstacle, and the weak lines will change before it into strong, and be as friends. The bright quality will be developed brighter and brighter from day to day, and month to month. The sentence, ‘In seven days comes his return,’ occasions some perplexity. If the reader will refer to hexagrams 44, 33, 12, 20, 23, and 2, he will see that during the months denoted by those figures, the sth, 6th, 7th, 8th, gth, and roth, the yin lines have gradually been prevailing over the yang, until in Khw&n (2) they have extruded them entirely from the lineal figure. Then comes our Ff, as a seventh figure, in which the yang line begins to reassert itself, and from which it goes on to extrude the yin lines in their turn. Explained therefore of the months of the year, we have to take a day fora month. And something analogous—we cannot say exactly what—must have place in society and the state. 110 THE Yi KING. TEXT. correct. If (its subject and his action) be not correct, he will fall into errors, and it will not be advantageous for him to move in any direction. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject free from all insincerity. His advance will be accom- panied with good fortune. 2. The second line, divided, shows one who reaps without having ploughed (that he might reap), and gathers the produce of his third year’s fields without having cultivated them the first year for that end. To such a one there will be advantage in whatever direction he may move. 3. The third line, divided, shows calamity hap- pening to one who is free from insincerity ;—as in The concluding auspice or oracle to him who finds this Fa by divination is what we might expect. The subject of line 1 is of course the undivided line, meaning here, says KAing-3ze, ‘the way of the superior man.’ There must have been some deviation from that, or ‘returning’ could not be spoken of. Line 2 is in its proper place, andvcentral; but it is weak. This is more than compensated for, however, by its adherence to line 1, the fifth line not being a proper correlate. Hence the return of its subject is called excellent or admirable. Line 3 is weak, and in the uneven place of a strong line. It is the top line, moreover, of the trigram whose attribute is move- ment. Hence the symbolism; but any evil issue may be prevented by a realisation of danger and by caution. Line 4 has its proper correlate in 1; different from all the other weak lines; and its course is different accordingly. Line 5 is in the central place of honour, and the middle line of Khw&n, denoting docility. Hence its auspice. Line 6 is weak ; and being at the top of the hexagram, when its action of returning is all concluded, action on the part of its subject will lead to evils such as are mentioned. ‘Ten years’ seems to be a round number, signifying a long time, as in hexagram 3. 2. SECT. I. THE w0 WANG HEXAGRAM. II! _the case of an ox that has been tied up. A passer by finds it (and carries it off), while the people in the neighbourhood have the calamity (of being accused and apprehended). 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows (a case) in which, if its subject can remain firm and correct, there will be no error. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows one who is free from insincerity, and yet has fallen ill. Let him not use medicine, and he will have occasion for joy (in his recovery). 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject free from insincerity, yet sure to fall into error, if he take action. (His action) will not be advan- tageous in any way. XXV. Wang isthe symbol of being reckless, and often of being insincere; Wii Wang is descriptive of a state of entire freedom from such a condition ; its subject is one who is entirely simple and sin- cere. The quality is characteristic of the action of Heaven, and of the highest style of humanity. In this hexagram we have an essay on this noble attribute. An absolute rectitude is essential to it. The nearer one comes to the ideal of the quality, the more powerful will be his influence, the greater his success. But let him see to it that he never swerve from being correct. The first line is strong; at the commencement of the inner trigram denoting movement, the action of its subject will very much characterise all the action set forth, and will itself be fortunate. Line 2 is weak, central, and in its correct place. The quality may be predicated of it in its highest degree. There is an entire freedom in its subject from selfish or mercenary motive. He is good simply for goodness’ sake. And things are so constituted that his action will be successful. But calamity may also sometimes befal the best, and where there is this freedom from insincerity ; and line 3 being weak, and inthe place of an even line, lays its subject open to this misfortune. ‘The people of the neighbourhood’ are of course entirely innocent. Line 4 is the lowest in the trigram of strength, and 1 is not a 112 THE Yi KING. TEXT. XXVI. THe TA Art HeExacram. Under the conditions of T4 A it will be advan- tageous to be firm and correct. (If its subject do not seek to) enjoy his revenues in his own family (without taking service at court), there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous for him to cross the great stream. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject in a position of peril. It will be advantageous for him to stop his advance. 2. The second line, undivided, shows a carriage with the strap under it removed. 3. The third line, undivided, shows its subject urging his way with good horses. It will be ad- vantageous for him to realise the difficulty (of his course), and to be firm and correct, exercising him- self daily in his charioteering and methods of defence; proper correlate, nor is the fourth the place for a strong line. Hence the paragraph must be understood as a caution. Line 5 is strong, in the central place of honour, and has its proper correlate in 2. Hence its subject must possess the quality of the hexagram in perfection. And yet he shall be sick or in distress. But he need not be anxious. Without his efforts a way of escape for him will be opened. Line 6 is at the top of the hexagram, and comes into the field when the action has run its course. He should be still, and not initiate any fresh movement. SECT. I. THE TA KHG HEXAGRAM. 113 then there will be advantage in whatever direction he may advance. 4. The fourth line, divided, shows the young bull, (and yet) having the piece of wood over his horns. There will be great good fortune. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows the teeth of a castrated hog. There will be good fortune. 6. The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject (as) in command of the firmament of heaven. There will be progress. XXVI. AKA has two meanings. It is the symbol of restraint, and of accumulation. What is repressed and restrained accumu- lates its strength and increases its volume. Both these meanings are found in the treatise on the Thwan; the exposition of the Great Symbolism has for its subject the accumulation of virtue. The different lines are occupied with the repression or restraint of move- ment. The first three lines receive that repression, the upper three exercise it. The accumulation to which all tends is that of virtue ; and hence the name of Ta XQ, ‘the Great Accumulation.’ What the Thwan teaches, is that he who goes about to accumulate his virtue must be firm and correct, and may then, engaging in the public service, enjoy the king’s grace, and under- take the most difficult enterprises. Line 1 is subject to the repression of 4, which will be increased if he try to advance. It is better for him to halt. Line 2 is liable to the repression of 5, and stops its advance of itself, its subject having the wisdom to do so through its position in the central place. The strap below, when attached to the axle, made the carriage stop; he himself acts that part. Line 3 is the last of Xhien, and responds to the sixth line, the last of Kan, above. But as they are both strong, the latter does not exert its repressive force. They advance rapidly together; but the position is perilous for 3. By firmness and caution, how- ever, its subject will escape the peril, and the issue will be good. The young bull in line 4 has not yet got horns. The attaching to their rudiments the piece of wood to prevent him from goring is an instance of extraordinary precaution ; and precaution is always good. [16] I 114 THE Yfi KING. TEXT. XXVIII. Tue f Hexacram. I indicates that with firm correctness there will be good fortune (in what is denoted by it), We must look at what we are seeking to nourish, and by the exercise of our thoughts seek for the proper aliment. 1. The first line, undivided, (seems to be thus addressed), ‘ You leave your efficacious tortoise, and look at me till your lower jaw hangs down.’ There will be evil. 2. The second line, divided, shows one looking downwards for nourishment, which is contrary to what is proper; or seeking it from the height (above), advance towards which will lead to evil. 3. The third line, divided, shows one acting con- trary to the method of nourishing. However firm he may be, there will be evil. For ten years let him not take any action, (for) it will not be in any way advantageous. : A boar is a powerful and dangerous animal. Let him be cas- trated, and though his tusks remain, he cares little to use them. Here line 5 represents the ruler in the hexagram, whose work is to repress the advance of evil. A conflict with the subject of the strong second line in its advance would be perilous ; but 5, taking early precaution, reduces it to the condition of the castrated pig. Not only is there no evil, but there is good fortune. _ The work of repression is over, and the strong subject of line 6 has now the amplest scope to carry out the idea of the hexagram in the accumulation of virtue. SECT. I. THE { HEXAGRAM. 115 4. The fourth line, divided, shows one looking downwards for (the power to) nourish. ‘There will be good fortune. Looking with a tiger's downward unwavering glare, and with his desire that impels him to spring after spring, he will fall into no error. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows one acting con- trary to what is regular and proper; but if he abide in firmness, there will be good fortune. He should not, (however, try to) cross the great stream. 6. The sixth line, undivided, shows him from whom comes the nourishing. His position is perilous, but there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream. XXVII. fis the symbol of the upper jaw, and gives name to the hexagram; but the whole figure suggests the appearance of the mouth. There are the two undivided lines at the bottom and top, and the four divided lines between them. The first line is the first in the trigram AAn, denoting movement; and the sixth is the third in Kan, denoting what is solid. The former is the lower jaw, part of the mobile chin; and the other the more fixed upper jaw. The open lines are the cavity of the mouth. As the name of the hexagram, [ denotes nourishing,—one’s body or mind, one’s self or others. The nourishment in both the matter and method will differ according to the object of it; and every one must deter- mine what to,employ and do in every case by exercising his own thoughts, only one thing being premised,—that in both respects the nourishing must be correct, and in harmony with what is right. The auspice of the whole hexagram is good. The first line is strong, and in its proper place; its subject might suffice for the nourishing of himself, like a tortoise, which is sup- posed to live on air, without more solid nourishment. But he is drawn out of himself by desire for the weak 4, his proper correlate, at whom he looks till his jaw hangs down, or, as we say, his mouth waters. Hence the auspice is bad. The symbolism takes the form of an expostulation addressed, we must suppose, by the fourth line to the first. The weak 2, insufficient for itself, seeks nourishment first from 12 116 THE Yf KING. TEXT. XXVIII. Tue TA Kwo HeExacram. Ta Kwo suggests to us a beam that is weak. There will be advantage in moving (under its con- ditions) in any direction whatever; there will be success. 1. The first line, divided, shows one placing mats of the white mdo grass under things set on the ground. There will be no error. 2. The second line, undivided, shows a decayed the strong line below, which is not proper, and then from the strong 6, not its proper correlate, and too far removed. In either case the thing is evil. Line 3 is weak, in an odd place; and as it occupies the last place in the trigram of movement, all that quality culminates in its subject. Hence he considers himself sufficient for himself, without any help from without, and the issue is bad. | With line 4 we pass into the upper trigram. It is next to the ruler’s place in 5 moreover, and bent on nourishing and training all below. Its proper correlate is the strong 1; and though weak in himself, its subject looks with intense desire to the subject of that for help; and there is no error. The subject of line 5 is not equal to the requirements of his position; but with a firm reliance on the strong 6, there will be good fortune. Let him not, however, engage in the most difficult undertakings. The topmost line is strong, and 5 relies on its subject; but being penetrated with the idea of the hexagram, he feels himself in the position of master or tutor to all under heaven. The task is hard and the responsibility great; but realising these things, he will prove himself equal to them. SECT. I. THE TA KWO HEXAGRAM. 117 willow producing shoots, or an old husband in pos- session of his young wife. There will be advantage in every way. | 3. The third line, undivided, shows a beam that is weak, There will be evil. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows a beam curving upwards. There will be good fortune. If (the subject of it) looks for other (help but that of line one), there will be cause for regret. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows a decayed willow producing flowers, or an old wife in posses- sion of her young husband. There will be occasion neither for blame nor for praise. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows its subject with extraordinary (boldness) wading through a stream, till the water hides the crown of his head. There will be evil, but no ground for blame. XXVIII. Very extraordinary times require very extraordinary gifts in the conduct of affairs in them. This is the text on which king W4n and his son discourse after their fashion in this hexa- gram. What goes, in their view, to constitute anything extraor- dinary is its greatness and difficulty. There need not be about it what is not right. Looking at the figure we see two weak lines at the top and bottom, and four strong lines between them, giving us the idea of a great beam unable to sustain its own weight. But the second and fifth lines are both strong and in the centre; and from this and the attributes of the component trigrams a good auspice is obtained. Line 1 being weak, and at the bottom of the figure, and of the trigram Sun, which denotes flexibility and humility, its subject is distinguished by his carefulness, as in the matter mentioned; and there is a good auspice. Line 2 has no proper correlate above. Hence he inclines to the weak 1 below him; and we have the symbolism of the line. An 118 THE Yi KING. TEXT. XXIX. Tue Kuan HeExacram. Khan, here repeated, shows the possession of sincerity, through which the mind 1s _ penetrating. Action (in accordance with this) will be of high value. 1. The first line, divided, shows its subject in the double defile, and (yet) entering a cavern within it. There will be evil. 2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject old husband with a young wife will yet have children; the action of the subject of 2 will be successful. Line 3 is strong, and in an odd place. Its subject is confident in his own strength, but his correlate in 6 is weak. Alone, he is unequal to the extraordinary strain on him, and has for his symbol the weak beam. Line 4 is near 5, the ruler’s place. On its subject devolves the duty of meeting the extraordinary exigency of the time; but he is strong; and, the line being in an even place, his strength is tem- pered. He will be equal to his task. Should he look out for the help of the subject of 1, that would affect him with another element of weakness ; and his action would give cause for regret. Line 5 is strong and central. Its subject should be equal to achieve extraordinary merit. But he has no proper correlate below, and as 2 inclined to 1, so does this to 6. But here the willow only produces flowers, not shoots ;—its decay will soon reappear. An old wife will have no children. If the subject of the line is not to be condemned as that of 3, his action does not deserve praise. The subject of 6 pursues his daring course, with a view to satisfy the extraordinary exigency of the time, and benefit all under the sky. He is unequal to the task, and sinks beneath it ; but his motive modifies the judgment on his conduct. SECT. I. THE KHAN HEXAGRAM. 119 in all the peril of the defile. He will, however, get a little (of the deliverance) that he seeks. 3- The third line, divided, shows its subject, whether he comes or goes (=descends or ascends), confronted by a defile. All is peril to him and unrest. (His endeavours) will lead him into the cavern of the pit. There should be no action (in such a case). 4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject (at a feast), with (simply) a bottle of spirits, and a sub- sidiary basket of rice, while (the cups and bowls) are (only) of earthenware. He introduces his im- portant lessons (as his ruler’s) intelligence admits. There will in the end be no error. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows the water of the defile not yet full, (so that it might flow away) ; but order will (soon) be brought about. There will be no error. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows its subject bound with cords of three strands or two strands, and placed in the thicket of thorns. But in three years he does not learn the course for him to pursue. There will be evil. rr GN XXIX. The trigram Khan, which is doubled to form this hexa- gram, is the lineal symbol of water. Its meaning, as a character, is ‘a pit,’ ‘a perilous cavity, or defile ;’ and here and elsewhere in the Yi it leads the reader to think of a dangerous defile, with water flowing through it. It becomes symbolic of danger, and what the authors of the Text had in mind was to show how danger should be encountered, its effect on the mind, and how to get out of it. The trigram exhibits a strong central line, between two divided lines. The central represented to king Wan the sincere honesty and goodness of the subject of the hexagram, whose mind was sharpened and made penetrating by contact with danger, and who 120 THE Yi KING. TEXT. XXX. Tue Li Hexacram. Li indicates that, (in regard to what it denotes), it will be advantageous to be firm and correct, and that thus there will be free course and _ success. acted in a manner worthy of his character. It is implied, though the Thwan does not say it, that he would get out of the danger. Line 1 is weak, at the bottom of the figure, and has no correlate above, no helper, that is, beyond itself. All these things render the case of its subject hopeless. He will by his efforts only involve himself more deeply in danger. Line 2 is strong, and in the centre. Its subject is unable, indeed, to escape altogether from the danger; but he does not involve himself more deeply in it like the subject of 1, and obtains some ease. Line 3 is weak, and occupies the place of a strong line. Its subject is in an evil case. Line 4 is weak, and will get no help from its correlate in 1. Its subject is not one who can avert the danger threatening himself and others. But his position is close to that of the ruler in 5, whose intimacy he cultivates with an unostentatious sincerity, sym- bolled by the appointments of the simple feast, and whose intelli- gence he cautiously enlightens. In consequence, there will be no error. The subject of line 5 is on the eve of extrication and deliverance. The waters of the defile will ere long have free vent and disappear, and the ground will be levelled and made smooth. The line is strong, in a proper place, and in the place of honour. The case of the subject of line 6 is hopeless. When danger has reached its highest point, there he is, represented by a weak line, and with no proper correlate below. The ‘thicket of thorns’ is taken as a metaphor for a prison; but if the expression has a history, 1 have been unable to find it. SECT. I. THE Li HEXAGRAM. 121 Let (its subject) also nourish (a docility like that of) the cow, and there will be good fortune. 1. The first line, undivided, shows one ready to move with confused steps. But he treads at the same time reverently, and there will be no mistake. 2. The second line, divided, shows its subject in his place in yellow. There will be great good fortune. 3. The third line, undivided, shows its subject in a position like that of the declining sun. Instead of playing on his instrument of earthenware, and singing to it, he utters the groans of an old man of eighty. There will be evil. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows the manner of its subject's coming. How abrupt it is, as with fire, with death, to be rejected (by all)! 5. The fifth line, divided, shows its subject as one with tears flowing in torrents, and groaning in sorrow. There will be good fortune. XXX. Lf is the name of the trigram representing fire and light, and the sun as the source of both of these. Its virtue or attribute is brightness, and by a natural metaphor intelligence. But Li has also the meaning of inhering in, or adhering to, being attached to. Both these significations occur in connexion with the hexagram, and make it difficult to determine what was the subject of it in the minds of the authors. If we take the whole figure as expressing the subject, we have, as in the treatise on the Thwan, ‘a double bright- ness,’ a phrase which is understood to denominate the ruler. If we take the two central lines as indicating the subject, we have weakness, dwelling with strength above and below. In either case there are required from the subject a strict adherence to what is correct, and a docile humility. On the second member of the Thwan A’4ang- 3ze says :—‘ The nature of the ox is docile, and that of the cow is much more so. The subject of the hexagram adhering closely to 122 THE Y? KING. TEXT. 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows the king employing its subject in his punitive expeditions. Achieving admirable (merit), he breaks (only) the chiefs (of the rebels). Where his prisoners were not their associates, he does not punish. There will be no error. what is correct, he must be able to act in obedience to it, as docile as a cow, and then there will be good fortune.’ Line 1 is strong, and at the bottom of the trigram for fire, the nature of which is to ascend. Its subject therefore will move upwards, and is in danger of doing so coarsely and vehemently. But the lowest line has hardly entered into the action of the figure, and this consideration operates to make him reverently careful of his movements ; and there is no error. Line 2 is weak, and occupies the centre. Yellow is one of the five correct colours, and here symbolises the correct course to which the subject of the line adheres. Line 3 is at the top of the lower trigram, silioge light may be considered exhausted, and suggests the symbol of the declining sun. The subject of the line should accept the position, and resign himself to the ordinary amusements which are mentioned, but he groans and mourns instead. His strength interferes with the lowly contentment which he should cherish. The strength of line 4, and its being in an even place, make its subject appear in this unseemly manner, disastrous to himself. Line 5 is in the place of honour, and central. But it is weak, as is its correlate. Its position between the strong 4 and 6 fills its subject with anxiety and apprehension, that express themselves as is described. But such demonstrations are a proof of his inward adherence to right and his humility. There will be good fortune. Line 6, strong and at the top of the figure, has the intelligence denoted by its trigrams in the highest degree, and his own proper vigour. Through these his achievements are great, but his generous consideration is equally conspicuous, and he falls into no error. SECT. II. THE HSIEN HEXAGRAM. 123 TEXT. SECTION II. XXXI. Tue Hsien HexacraM. Hsien indicates that, (on the fulfilment of the conditions implied in it), there will be free course and success. Its advantageousness will depend on the being firm and correct, (as) in marrying a young lady. There will be good fortune. 1. The first line, divided, shows one moving his great toes. 2. The second line, divided, shows one moving the calves of his leg. There will be evil. If he abide (quiet in his place), there will be good fortune. 3. The third line, undivided, shows one moving his thighs, and keeping close hold of those whom he follows. Going forward (in this way) will cause regret. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows that firm correctness which will lead to good fortune, and prevent all occasion for repentance. If its subject be unsettled in his movements, (only) his friends will follow his purpose. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows one moving the flesh along the spine above the heart. There will be no occasion for repentance. 124 THE Yi KING. TEXT. 6. The sixth line, divided, shows one moving his" jaws and tongue. XXXI. With the 31st hexagram commences the Second Section of the Text. It is difficult to say why any division of the hexagrams should be made here, for the student tries in vain to discover any con- tinuity in the thoughts of the author that is now broken. The First Section does not contain a class of subjects different from those which we find in the Second. That the division was made, how- ever, at a very early time, appears from the sixth Appendix on the Sequence of the Hexagrams, where the writer sets forth an analogy between the first and second figures, representing heaven and earth, as the originators of all things, and this figure and the next, repre- senting (each of them) husband and wife, as the originators of all the social relations. This, however, is far from carrying conviction to my mind. The division of the Text of the Yi into two sections is a fact of which I am unable to give a satisfactory account. Hsien, as explained in the treatise on the Thwan, has here the meaning of mutual influence, and the duke of Adu, on the various lines, always uses Kan for it in the sense of ‘moving’ or ‘ influenc- ing to movement or action.’ This is to my mind the subject of the hexagram considered as an essay,—‘ Influence; the different ways of bringing it to bear, and their issues.’ The Chinese character called hsien is =e the graphic symbol for ‘all, together, jointly.’ Kan, the symbol for ‘influencing,’ has hsien in it as its phonetic constituent (though the changes in pro- nunciation make it hard for an English reader to appreciate this), with the addition of hsin, the symbol for ‘the heart.’ Thus Ie kan, ‘to affect or influence,’ = + i); and it may have been that while the name or word was used with the significance of ‘influencing,’ the ,\)) was purposely dropt from it, to indicate the most important element in the thing,—the absence of all purpose or motive. I venture to think that this would have been a device worthy of a diviner. . With regard to the idea of husband and wife being in the teach- ing of the hexagram, it is derived from the more recent symbolism of the eight trigrams ascribed to king Wan, and exhibited on p. 33 and plate III. The more ancient usage of them is given in the paragraph on the Great Symbolism of Appendix II. The figure consists of Kan (=="=), ‘the youngest son,’ and over it Tui ===), ‘the youngest daughter.’ These are in ‘happy union.’ SECT. II. THE HANG HEXAGRAM. 125 XXXII. Tue HAnc HExacram. Hang indicates successful progress and no error (in what it denotes), But the advantage will come from being firm and correct; and movement in any direction whatever will be advantageous. 1. The first line, divided, shows its subject deeply (desirous) of long continuance. Even with firm No influence, it is said, is so powerful and constant as that between husband and wife; and where these are young, it is especially active. Hence it is that Hsien is made up of Kan and Tui. All this is to me very doubtful. I can dimly apprehend why the whole line ( ) was assumed as the symbol of strength and authority, and the broken line as that of weakness and submission. Beyond this I cannot follow Ff-hsi in his formation of the trigrams; and still less can I assent to the more recent symbolism of them ascribed to king Wn. Coming now to the figure, and its lines, the subject is that of mutual influence; and the author teaches that that influence, correct in itself, and for correct ends, is sure to be effective. He gives an instance,—the case of a man marrying a young lady, the regulations for which have been laid down in China from the earliest times with great strictness and particularity. Such influence will be effective and fortunate. Line 1 is weak, and at the bottom of the hexagram. Though 4 be a proper correlate, yet the influence indicated by it must be ineffective. However much a man’s great toes may be moved, that will not enable him to walk. The calves cannot move of themselves. They follow the moving of the feet. The moving of them indicates too much anxiety to move. Line 2, moreover, is weak. But it is also the central line, and if its subject abide quiet, till he is acted on from above, there will be good fortune. Neither can the thighs move of themselves. The attempt to 126 THE YI KING. TEXT: correctness there will be evil; there will be no advantage in any way. 2. The second line, undivided, shows all occasion for repentance disappearing. 3. The third line, undivided, shows one who does not continuously maintain his virtue. There are those who will impute this to him as a disgrace. However firm he may be, there will be ground for regret. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows a field where there is no game. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows its subject con- tinuously maintaining the virtue indicated by it. In a wife this will be fortunate; in a husband, evil. 6. The topmost line, divided, shows its subject exciting himself to long continuance. There will be evil. move them is inauspicious. Its subject, however, the line being strong, and in an odd place, will wish to move, and follows the sub- ject of 4, which is understood to be the seat of the mind. He exercises his influence therefore with a mind and purpose, which is not good. Line 4 is strong, but in an even place. It is the seat of the mind. Its subject therefore is warned to be firm and correct in order to a good issue. If he be wavering and uncertain, his influence will not extend beyond the circle of his friends. The symbolism of line 5 refers to a part of the body behind the heart, and is supposed therefore to indicate an influence, ineffec- tive indeed, but free from selfish motive, and not needing to be repented of. Line 6 is weak, and in an even place. It is the topmost line also of the trigram of satisfaction. Its influence by means of speech will only be that of loquacity and flattery, the evil of which needs not to be pointed out. XXXII. The subject of this hexagram may be given as persever- ance in well doing, or in continuously acting out the law of one’s SECT. IJ. THE THUN HEXAGRAM. 127 XXXIII. Tue Tuun Hexacram. Thun indicates successful progress (in its circum- stances). To a small extent it will (still) be advan- tageous to be firm and correct. 1. The first line, divided, shows a retiring tail. The position is perilous. No movement in any direction should be made. being. The sixth Appendix makes it a sequel of the previous figure. As that treats, it is said, of the relation between husband and wife, so this treats of the continuous observance of their respective duties. Hsien, we saw, is made up of Kan, the symbol of the youngest son, and Tui, the symbol of the youngest daughter, attraction and influence between the sexes being strongest in youth. Hang consists of Sun, ‘the oldest daughter,’ and Aan, the oldest son. The couple are more staid. The wife occupies the lower place; and the relation between them is marked by her submission. This is sound doctrine, especially from a Chinese point of view ; but I doubt whether such application of his teaching was in the mind of king Wan. Given two parties, an inferior and superior in correlation. If both be continuously observant of what is correct, the inferior being also submissive, and the superior firm, good fortune and progress may be predicated of their course. Line 1 has a proper correlate in 4; but between them are two strong lines; and it is itself weak. These two conditions are against its subject receiving much help from the subject of 4. He should be quiet, and not forward for action. Line 2 is strong, but in the place of a weak line. Its position, however, being central, and its subject holding fast to the due mean, the unfavourable condition of an even place is more than counteracted. Line 3 is strong, and in its proper place; but being beyond the centre of the trigram, its subject is too strong, and coming under 128 THE Yf KING. TEXT. 2. The second line, divided, shows its subject holding (his purpose) fast as if by a (thong made from the) hide of a yellow ox, which cannot be broken. 3. The third line, undivided, shows one retiring but bound,—to his distress and peril. (If he were to deal with his binders as in) nourishing a servant or concubine, it would be fortunate for him. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring notwithstanding his likings. In a superior man this will lead to good fortune; a small man cannot attain to this. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring in an admirable way. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. 6. The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring in a noble way. It will be advantageous in every respect. the attraction of his correlate in 6, he is supposed to be ready to abandon his place and virtue. He may try to be firm and cor- rect, but circumstances are adverse to him. Line 4 is strong in the place of a weak line, and suggests the symbolism of the duke of Aéu. The weak 5th line responds to the strong 2nd, and may be sup- posed to represent a wife conscious of her weakness, and docilely submissive ; which is good. A husband, however, and a man gene- rally, has to assert himself, and lay down the rule of what is right. In line 6 the principle of perseverance has run its course; the motive power of Aan is exhausted. The line itself is weak. The violent efforts of its subject can only lead to evil. AXXIII. Thun is the hexagram of the sixth month; the yin influence is represented by two weak lines, and has made good its footing in the year. The figure thus suggested to king Wan the growth of small and unprincipled men in the state, before whose advance superior men were obliged to retire. This is the theme of his essay,—how, ‘ when small men multiply and increase in power, SECT. Il. THE TA KWANG HEXAGRAM. 129 XXXIV. Tue TA Awanc HEXAGRAM. TA Awang indicates that (under the conditions which it symbolises) it will be advantageous to be firm and correct. the necessity of the time requires superior men to withdraw before them.’ Yet the auspice of Thun is not all bad. By firm correct- ness the threatened evil may be arrested to a small extent. ‘A retiring tail’ seems to suggest the idea of the subject of the lines hurrying away, which would only aggravate the evil and danger of the time. ‘His purpose’ in line 2 is the purpose to withdraw. The weak 2 responds correctly to the strong 5, and both are central. The purpose therefore is symbolled as in the text. The ‘yellow’ colour of the ox is introduced because of its being ‘ correct,’ and of a piece with the central place of the line. Line 3 has no proper correlate in 6; and its subject allows himself to be entangled and impeded by the subjects of 1 and 2. | He is too familiar with them, and they presume, and fetter his movements ;—compare Analects, 17. 45. He should keep them at a distance. Line 4 has a correlate in 1, and is free to exercise the decision belonging to its subject. The line is the first in Kien, symbolic of strength. In the Sh IV, v, Section 2. 9, the worthy ft Yin is made to say, ‘The minister will not for favour or gain continue in an office whose work is done;’ and the Khang-hsf editors refer to his words as an illustration of what is said on line 5. It has its correlate in 2, and its subject carries out the purpose to retire ‘in an admirable way.’ Line 6 is strong, and with no correlate to detain it in 3. Its subject vigorously and happily carries out the idea of the hexagram. [16] K 130 THE Yi KING. TEXT. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject manifesting his strength in his toes. But advance will lead to evil,—most certainly. 2. The second line, undivided, shows that with firm correctness there will be good fortune. 3. The third line, undivided, shows, in the case of a small man, one using all his strength; and in the case of a superior man, one whose rule is not to do so. Even with firm correctness the position would be perilous. (The exercise of strength in it might be compared to the case of) a ram butting against a fence, and getting his horns entangled. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows (a case in which) firm correctness leads to good fortune, and occasion for repentance disappears. (We see) the fence opened without the horns being entangled. The strength is like that in the wheel-spokes of a large waggon. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows one who loses his ram(-like strength) in the ease of his position. (But) there will be no occasion for repentance. 6. The sixth line, divided, shows (one who may be compared to) the ram butting against the fence, and unable either to retreat, or to advance as he wovld fain do. There will not be advantage in any respect; but if he realise the difficulty (of his position), there will be good fortune. XXXIV. The strong lines predominate in T&A Kwang. It suggested to king W4n a state or condition of things in which there was abundance of strength and vigour. Was strength aloné enough for the conduct of affairs? No. He saw also in the figure that which suggested to him that strength should be held in subor- dination to the idea of right, and exerted only in harmony with it. SECT. II. THE 3IN HEXAGRAM. I3! XXXV. Tue 31In HeExacram. In 3in we see a prince who secures the tranquil- lity (of the people) presented on that account with numerous horses (by the king), and three times in a day received at interviews. This is the lesson of the hexagram, as sententiously expressed in the Thwan. Line 1 is strong, in its correct place, and also the first line in Khien, the hexagram of strength, and the first line in Ta A wang. The idea of the figure might seem to be concentrated in it; and hence we have it symbolised by ‘strength in the toes,’ or ‘advancing.’ But such a measure is too bold to be undertaken by one in the lowest place, and moreover there is no proper correlate in 4. Hence comes the evil auspice. Line 2 is strong, but the strength is tempered by its being in an even place, instead of being excited by it, as might be feared. Then the place is that in the centre. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. Line 3 is strong, and in its proper place. It is at the top more- over of Xhien. A small man so symbolled will use his strength to the utmost; but not so the superior man. For him the position is beyond the safe middle, and he will be cautious ; and not injure himself, like the ram, by exerting his strength. Line 4 is still strong, but in the place of a weak line ; and this gives occasion to the cautions with which the symbolism com- mences. The subject of the line going forward thus cautiously, his strength will produce good effects, such as are described. Line 5 is weak, and occupies a central place. Its subject will cease therefore to exert his strength; but this hexagram does not forbid the employment of strength, but would only control and a K 2 132 THE Yi KING. TEXT. 1. The first line, divided, shows one wishing to advance, and (at the same time) kept back. Let him be firm and correct, and there will be good fortune. If trust be not reposed in him, let him maintain a large and generous mind, and there will be no error. 2. The second line, divided, shows its subject with the appearance of advancing, and yet of being sorrowful. If he be firm and correct, there will be good fortune. He will receive this great blessing from his grandmother. 3. The third line, divided, shows its subject trusted by all (around him). All occasion for re- pentance will disappear. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject with the appearance of advancing, but like a marmot. However firm and correct he may be, the position is one of peril. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows how all occasion for repentance disappears (from its subject). (But) let him not concern himself about whether he shall fail or succeed. To advance will be fortunate, and in every way advantageous. 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows one ad- vancing his horns. But he only uses them to punish the (rebellious people of his own) city. The position direct it. All that is said about him is that he will give no occasion for repentance. Line 6 being at the top of X4n, the symbol of movement, and at the top of T& Xwang, its subject may be expected to be active in exerting his strength; and through his weakness, the result would be as described. But he becomes conscious of his weakness, re- flects and rests, and good fortune results, as he desists from the prosecution of his unwise efforts, SECT. II. THE 3IN IEXAGRAM. 133 is perilous, but there will be good fortune. (Yet) however firm and correct he may be, there will be occasion for regret. XXXV. The Thwan of this hexagram expresses its subject more fully and plainly than that of any of the previous thirty-four. It is about a feudal prince whose services to the country have made him acceptable to his king. The king’s favour has been shown to him by gifts and personal attentions such as form the theme of more than one ode in the Shih; see especially III, iii, 7. The symbolism of the lines dimly indicates the qualities of such aprince. Sin means ‘to advance.’ Hexagrams 46 and 53 agree with this in being called by names that indicate progress and ad- vance. The advance in Sin is like that of the sun, ‘the shining light, shining more and more to the perfect day.’ Line 1 is weak, and in the lowest place, and its correlate in 4 is neither central nor in its correct position. This indicates the small and obstructed beginnings of his subject. But by his firm correct- ness he pursues the way to good fortune; and though the king does not yet believe in him, he the more pursues his noble course. Line 2 is weak, and its correlate in 5 is also weak. Its subject therefore has still to mourn in obscurity. But his position is central and correct, and he holds on his way, till success comes ere long. The symbolism says he receives it ‘from his grand- mother ;’ and readers will be startled by the extraordinary state- ment, as I was when I first read it. Literally the Text says ‘ the king’s mother,’ as P. Regis rendered it,—‘ Istam magnam felicitatem a matre regis recipit.’ He also tries to give the name a historical reference ;—to Thai-Aiang, the grandmother of king Wan; Thiai- Zin, his mother; or to Th4i-sze, his wife, and the mother of king WA and the duke of Xu, all famous in Chinese history, and cele- brated in the Shih. But ‘king’s father’ and ‘king’s mother’ are well-known Chinese appellations for ‘ grandfather’ and ‘grand- mother.’ This is the view given on the passage, by Ahaing-3ze, A Hsi, and the Khang-hsi editors, the latter of whom, indeed, account for the use of the name, instead of ‘deceased mother,’ which we find in hexagram 62, by the regulations observed in the ancestral temple. These authorities, moreover, all agree in saying that the name points us to line 5, the correlate of 2, and ‘the lord of the hexagram.’ Now the subject of line 5 is the sovereign, who at length acknowledges the worth of the feudal lord, and gives him 134 THE Yf KING. TEXT. XXXVI. Tue Mineo { HExacram. Ming f indicates that (in the circumstances which it denotes) it will be advantageous to realise the the great blessing. The ‘New Digest of Comments on the Yi (1686),’ in its paraphrase of the line, has, ‘ He receives at last this great blessing from the mild and compliant ruler.’ I am not sure that ‘ motherly king’ would not be the best and fairest translation of the phrase. Canon McClatchie has a very astonishing note on the name, which he renders ‘ Imperial Mother’ (p. 164) :—‘ That is, the wife of Imperial Heaven (Juno), who occupies the “ throne of the dia- gram,” viz. the fifth stroke, which is soft and therefore feminine. She is the Great Ancestress of the human race. See Imp. Ed. vol. iv, Sect. v, p. 25, Com.’ Why such additions to the written word? Line 3 is weak, and in an odd place; but the subjects of 1 and 2 are possessed by the same desire to advance as the subject of this. A common trust and aim possess them; and hence the not unfavourable auspice. Line 4 is strong, but it is in an even place, nor is it central. It suggests the idea of a marmot (? or rat), stealthily advancing. Nothing could be more opposed to the ideal of the feudal lord in the hexagram. In line 5 that lord and his intelligent sovereign meet happily. He holds on his right course, indifferent as to results, but things are so ordered that he is, and will continue to be, crowned with success. Line 6 is strong, and suggests the idea of its subject to the last continuing his advance, and that not only with firm correctness, but with strong force. The ‘ horns’ are an emblem of threatening strength, and though he uses them only in his own state, and against the rebellious there, that such a prince should have any occasion to use force is matter for regret. SECT. lI. THE MING { HEXAGRAM. 135 difficulty (of the position), and maintain firm cor- rectness. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, flying, but with drooping wings. When the superior man (is re- volving) his going away, he may be for three days without eating. Wherever he goes, the people there may speak (derisively of him). 2. The second line, divided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming [, wounded in the left thigh. He saves himself by the strength of a (swift) horse; and is fortunate. 3. The third line, undivided, shows its subject, (in the condition indicated by) Ming 1, hunting in. the south, and taking the great chief (of the dark- ness). He should not be eager to make (all) correct (at once). 4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject (just) entered into the left side of the belly (of the dark land). (But) he is able to carry out the mind appro- priate (in the condition indicated by) Ming I, quitting the gate and courtyard (of the lord of darkness). 5. The fifth line, divided, shows how the count of Kt fulfilled the condition indicated by Ming [. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct. 6. The sixth line, divided, shows the case where there is no light, but (only) obscurity. (Its subject) had at first ascended to (the top of) the sky; his future shall be to go into the earth. XXXVI. In this hexagram we have the representation of a good and intelligent minister or officer going forward in the service of his country, notwithstanding the occupancy of the throne by a weak 136 THE yf KING. TEXT. XXXVII. Tue AYA ZKN HEXAGRAM. For (the realisation of what is taught in) Aia Zan, (or for the regulation of the family), what is and unsympathising sovereign. Hence comes its name of Ming f, or ‘Intelligence Wounded,’ that is, injured and repressed. The treatment of the subject shows how such an officer will conduct himself, and maintain his purpose. The symbolism of the figure is treated of in the same way in the first and second Appendixes. Appendix VI merely says that the advance set forth in 35 is sure to meet with wounding, and hence 3in is followed by Ming f. Line 1 is strong, and in its right place ;—its subject should be going forward. But the general signification of the hexagram supposes him to be wounded. The wound, however, being re- ceived at the very commencement of its action, is but slight. And hence comes the emblem of a bird hurt so as to be obliged to droop its wings. The subject then appears directly as ‘the supe- rior man. He sees it to be his course to desist from the struggle for a time, and is so rapt in the thought that he can fast for three days and not think of it. When he does withdraw, opposition follows him ; but it is implied that he holds on to his own good purpose. ' Line 2 is weak, but also in its right place, and central; giving us the idea of an officer, obedient to duty and the night. His wound in the left thigh may impede his movements, but does not disable him. He finds means to save himself, and maintains his good purpose. | Line 3, strong and in a strong place, is the topmost line of the lower trigram. It responds also to line 6, in which the idea of the sovereign, emblemed by the upper trigram, is concentrated. The lower trigram is the emblem of light or brightness, the idea of which again is expressed by the south, to which we turn when we look at the sun in its meridian height. Hence the subject of the SECT. Il. THE KIA ZAN HEXAGRAM. I 7 (52 most advantageous is that the wife be firm and correct. 1. The first line, undivided, shows its subject establishing restrictive regulations in his household. Occasion for repentance will disappear. 2. The second line, divided, shows its subject taking nothing on herself, but in her central place attending to the preparation of the food. Through her firm correctness there will be good fortune. 3. The third line, undivided, shows its subject (treating) the members of the household with stern severity. There will be occasion for repentance, there will be peril, (but) there will (also) be good fortune. If the wife and children were to be smirk- ing and chattering, in the end there would be occa- sion for regret. | 4. The fourth line, divided, shows its subject line becomes a hunter pursuing his game, and successfully. The good officer will be successful in his struggle; but let him not be over eager to put all things right at once. Line 4 is weak, but in its right place. AQ Hsi says he does not understand the symbolism, as given in the Text. The translation indicates the view of it commonly accepted. The subject of the line evidently escapes from his position of danger with little damage. Line 5 should be the place of the ruler or sovereign in the hex- agram; but 6 is assigned as that place in Ming I. The officer occupying 5, the centre of the upper trigram, and near to the sovereign, has his ideal in the count of Ai, whose action appears in the Sha, III, pp. 123,127,128. He is a historical personage. Line 6 sets forth the fate of the ruler, who opposes himself to the officer who would do him good and intelligent service. Instead of becoming as the sun, enlightening all from the height of the sky, he is as the sun hidden below the earth. I can well believe that the writer had the last king of Shang in his mind. 138 THE YI KING. TEXT. enriching the family. There will be great good fortune. 5. The fifth line, undivided, shows the influence of the king extending to his family. There need be no anxiety; there will be good fortune. 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity and arrayed in majesty. In the end there will be good fortune. XXXVII. Aid Zan, the name of the hexagram, simply means ‘a household,’ or ‘the members of a family.’ The subject of the essay based on the figure, however, is the regulation of the family, effected mainly by the co-operation of husband and wife in their several spheres, and only needing to become universal to secure the good order of the kingdom. The important place occupied by the wife in the family is seen in the short sentence of the Thwan. That she be firm and correct, and do her part well, is the first thing necessary to its regulation. Line 1 is strong, and in a strong place. It suggests the necessity of strict rule in governing the family. Regulations must be estab- lished, and their observance strictly insisted on. Line 2 is weak, and in the proper place for it,—the centre, more- over, of the lower trigram. It fitly represents the wife, and what is said on it tells us of her special sphere and duty; and that she should be unassuming in regard to all beyond her sphere; always being firm and correct. See the Shih, III, 350. Line 3 is strong, and in an odd place. If the place were central, the strength would be tempered; but the subject of the line, in the topmost place of the trigram, may be expected to exceed in severity. But severity is not a bad thing in regulating a family ;—it is better than laxity and indulgence. Line 4 is weak, and in its proper place. The wife is again suggested to us, and we are told, that notwithstanding her being confined to the internal affairs of the household, she can do much to enrich the family. The subject of the strong fifth line appears as the king. This may be the husband spoken of as also a king; or the real king whose merit is revealed first in his family, as often in the Shih, where king W&n is the theme. The central place here tempers the display of the strength and power. SECT. II. THE KHWEI HEXAGRAM. 139 XXXVIII. Tue Axwer HEXAGRAM. K hwei indicates that, (notwithstanding the con- dition of things which it denotes), in small matters there will (still) be good success. 1. The first line, undivided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. He has lost his horses, but let him not seek for them; —they will return of themselves. Should he meet with bad men, he will not err (in communicating with them). 2. The second line, undivided, shows its subject happening to meet with his lord in a bye-passage. There will be no error. 3. In the third line, divided, we see one whose carriage is dragged back, while the oxen in it are pushed back, and he is himself subjected to the shaving of his head and the cutting off of his nose. There is no good beginning, but there will be a good end. 4. The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject solitary amidst the (prevailing) disunion. (But) he meets with the good man (represented by the first Line 6 is also strong, and being in an even place, the subject of it might degenerate into stern severity, but he is supposed to be sincere, complete in his personal character and self-culture, and hence his action will only lead to good fortune. 140 THE Yi KING. TEXT. line), and they blend their sincere desires together. | The position is one of peril, but there will be no mistake. 5. The fifth line, divided, shows that (to its sub- ject) occasion for repentance will disappear. With his relative (and minister he unites closely and readily) as if he were biting through a piece of skin. When he goes forward (with this help), what error can there be? 6. The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject solitary amidst the (prevailing) disunion. (In the subject of the third line, he seems to) see a pig bearing on its back a load of mud, (or fancies) there is a carriage full of ghosts. He first bends his bow against him, and afterwards unbends it, (for he discovers) that he is not an assailant to injure, but a near relative. Going forward, he shall meet with (genial) rain, and there will be good fortune. XXXVIII. Khwei denotes a social state in which division and mutual alienation prevail, and the hexagram teaches how in small matters this condition may be healed, and the way prepared for the cure of the whole system. The writer or writers of Appendixes I and II point out the indication in the figure of division and dis- union according to their views. In Appendix VI those things appear as a necessary sequel to the regulation of the family ; while it is impossible to discover any allusion to the family in the Text. Line 1 is strong, and in an odd place.