Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
‘The origin of Yi was in middle antiquity. Those that composed Yi knew suffering and sorrow.’
Wilhelm/Baynes
‘The rise of the Changes, was it not in middle antiquity? Did not the makers of the Changes become concerned about calamities?’
R.J.Lynn
‘If they had not become concerned about calamities, then it would have been sufficient for them to deal with things through non-purposeful action.’
‘The writer [of the Dazhuan] … feels himself in sympathy with them [the authors of the Yi] in this respect, for he too can do nothing more than preserve for posterity the framework of a perishing civilisation.’
Treading, character’s foundation. It is responsive and attains its goals. It can be used to act responsively.
‘Calling crane in the shadows,
Her young respond in harmony.
I have a good wine vessel,
I will share with you, pouring it all out.’
Hexagram 61, line 2
‘To practice harmony yet fail to reach the goal is a matter of just following where things lead one, but Lu means to practice harmony and yet manage to reach the goal. Thus it constitutes a way upon which one may tread.’
Integrity is character’s handle. It is honoured and shines out. It can be used to create the rituals.
Returning is character’s root. It is small and distinguishes between things. It provides the means of self-knowledge.
As you can almost see there, each of the three parts follows its own formula. The first follows the pattern, [hexagram name] de‘s [quality]. The second, [hexagram], [x] and also [y] – often with a marked contrast between x and y that creates something close to a paradox, or maybe a riddle. And the third says [hexagram] 以 [action]. 以, yi, is a tricky one: ‘using for’ or ‘so as to’. Legge has it as ‘the use of [hexagram] appears in…’ while Lynn translates each one as ‘provides the means to’.
The first follows the pattern, [hexagram name] de‘s [quality]. The second, [hexagram], [x] and also [y] – often with a marked contrast between x and y that creates something close to a paradox, or maybe a riddle. And the third says [hexagram] 以 [action]. 以, yi, is a tricky one: ‘using for’ or ‘so as to’. Legge has it as ‘the use of [hexagram] appears in…’ while Lynn translates each one as ‘provides the means to’
The ‘character’ hexagrams
No-one seems to know why these nine hexagrams were chosen, and – despite my best efforts to find a pattern – nor do I. The hexagrams are given in Sequence order, but they’re not regularly distributed and don’t mark any pivotal Sequence moments that I know of. There’s no distinctive pattern of trigrams.
Chapter VII. 49. Was it not in the middle period of antiquity that the Yî began to flourish? Was not he who made it familiar with anxiety and calamity?
50. Therefore (the 10th diagram), Lî, shows us the foundation of virtue; (the 15th), Hsien, its handle; (the 24th), Fû, its root; (the 32nd), Hăng, its solidity; (the 41st), Sun, its cultivation; (the 42nd), Yî, its abundance; (the 47th), Khwăn, its exercise of discrimination; (the 48th), Žing, its field and (the 57th), Sun, its regulation.
51. In Lî we have the perfection of harmony; in Hsien, we have the giving honour to others,
p. 398
and the distinction thence arising; in Fû we have what is small (at first), but there is in it a (nice) discrimination of (the qualities of) things; in Ming we have a mixed experience, but without any weariness; in Sun we have difficulty in the beginning and ease in the end; in Yî we have abundance of growth without any contrivance; in Khwăn we have the pressure of extreme difficulty, ending in a free course,; in Žing we have abiding in one's place and at the same time removal (to meet the movement of others); and in Sun we have the weighing of things (and action accordingly), but secretly and unobserved.
52. (The use of) Lî appears in the harmony of the conduct; of Hsien, in the regulation of ceremonies; of Fû, in self-knowledge; of Hăng, in uniformity of virtue; of Sun, in keeping what is harmful at a distance; of Yî, in the promotion of what is advantageous; of Khwăn, in the diminution of resentments; of Žing, in the discrimination of what is righteous; and of Sun, in the doing of what is appropriate to time and to circumstances.
p. 399
Says who?every article has to have an image of something
every article has to have an image of something
Oh, the Gods of Internet Presence, especially the ones responsible for social media. It's on a stone tablet handed down on some mountain-top or other.Says who?
The first Section shows how the sages were themselves independent of the Yî, and had no need of it; the second goes on to tell how they devised and constructed it, to make all men equal to themselves in a knowledge of phenomena and human events, and of their indications of, and issues in, the future.
Oh, right, sorry. I do tend to forget that people exist who are not on this website every day and rely on Twitter etc. to tell them about things.Oh, the Gods of Internet Presence, especially the ones responsible for social media. It's on a stone tablet handed down on some mountain-top or other.
I've thought 'yes I might come to your workshop but why have you sent me another mountain picture ?'
Don’t believe it for a minute. The whole world is here.I do tend to forget that people exist who are not on this website every day
I've added another three...I'm looking forward to the next 6!
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).