It has been more than two decades since one has looked at the relation of certain hexagrams to character formation stated in the Ta Chuan/The Great Treatise (pgs 345 to 348, I Ching,R W`s translation).Maybe it is proper to do so again with the hope that someone can provide further insight on the matter or learn something from the discussions (especially those who do not have access to the Ta Chuan).

1.The Changes came into use in the period of middle antiquity.Those who composed the Changes had great care and sorrow.
("The writer of these lines was referring to King Wen and his son,Duke of Chou".)

2.Thus the hexagram of Treading #10 shows the basis of character.Modesty #15 shows the handle of character;Return #24,the stem of character.Duration #32 brings about firmness of character;Decrease #41,cultivation of character;Increase #42,fullness of character;Oppression #47,the test of character;The Well #48,the field of character;The Gentle,the exercise of character.

"Paragraphs 3 and 4 talks about the material of the hexagrams and their effects respectively.The movement is from within outward.What is wrought in the depths of the heart becomes outwardly visible in its effects."

Further explanations are made on these nine hexagrams from pages 346 to 348.

During the earlier years,one feels that many questions were answered by the Yi that actually tells one to look inward and build up one`s character to improve oneself and/or to face future challenges.One`s wish then was to walk the path of the superior man(Chun Tze).

Nowadays when one obtains such hexagrams,one looks at outer things but still keep an eye on one`s conduct.How time change.Different paths,different perspectives.

This relates to the problem I have with some of the new and simpler translations. They are simplistic and one sided and give simple advise for simple questions. They do not have the multidimensionality of the translations, of Wilhelm Baynes, Ni Hua-ching, and Alfred Huang. They seem to relate only to outer circumstances. The I Ching was written with a depth that covers many dimensions. It relates not only to the outside world, but the inner, also the alchemical, as well as the social order, cycles and universal principles.

Gene

It seems that Wilhelm's book gives us just enough info to wet our appetite. I do believe that things like, how "The Gentle" can make us able to weight things and remain hidden could have books written in their own right about these subjects. Wilhelm and his son did write some other books that were not translations of the text but expositions. I have read parts of them, not the whole. Hopefully some day I can find them again and get back to reading. They go further than the verse by verse translation, but they still leave a lot of information to be sought out. His writings remind me of Koan's. He gives little hints that only through much digestion of the material are the deeper things brought out.

Gene