above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below K'UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH A slight variation of tonal stress gives the Chinese name for this hexagram a double meaning. It means both contemplating and being seen, in the sense of being an example. These ideas are suggested by the...

above K'UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE The Chinese word lin has a range of meanings that is not exhausted by any single word of another language. The ancient explanations in the Book of Changes give as its first meaning, "becoming great." What...

above Kên KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below Sun THE GENTLE, WIND The Chinese character ku represents a bowl in whose contents worms are breeding. this means decay. It has come about because the gentle indifference of the lower trigram has come together with the rigid...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The trigram Tui, the Joyous, whose attribute is gladness, is above; Chên, the Arousing, which has the attribute of movement, is below. Joy in movement induces following. The Joyous is the youngest...

above  CHêN  THE AROUSING, THUNDER below  K'UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The strong line in the fourth place, that of the leading official, meets with response and obedience from all the other lines, which are all weak. The attribute of the upper trigram, Chên, is...

above  K'UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below  KEN  KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN this hexagram is made up of the trigrams Kên, Keeping Still, mountain, and K'un, Earth. The mountain is the youngest son of the Creative, the representative of heaven and earth. It dispenses the...

above  LI  THE CLINGING, FLAME below  CH'IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The fire in heaven above shines far, and all things stand out in the light and become manifest. The weak fifth line occupies the place of honor and all the strong lines are in accord with it. All...

above  CH'IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below  LI  THE CLINGING, FLAME The image of the upper trigram Ch'ien is heaven, and that of the lower, Li, is flame. It is the nature of fire to flame up to the heaven. this gives the idea of fellowship. IT is the second line...

above  CH'IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below  K'UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH this hexagram is the opposite of the preceding one. Heaven is above, drawing farther and farther away, while the earth below sinks farther into the depths. The creative powers are not in...

above  K'UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below  CH'IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The Receptive, which moves downward, stands above; the Creative, which moves upward, is below. Hence their influences meet and are in harmony, so that all living things bloom and prosper. this...