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confucius
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Gen, as is shown here, is seldom used outside the context of the Yi Jing. It is composed of two parts, now united as one. On top was originally the character Eye, though its meaning goes fat beyond the phenomenon of Vision. The verb To See, for example, written by placing the character Eye above that of Humans has a common linguistic usage in Chinese. It plays the role of a post verbal particle indicating that the sensory perception of Sight, or any other sense organ, has produced a recognition that has reached consciousness. The presence in this character of a significant in relation to the idea of a consciousness binds this hexagram to the intention of Guan.20 (To Look), figure in which To Stabilise shares an analogous relationship at the level of the linear structure: each of the two can be read starting from the trigram Gen: doubled in Gen (hexagram 52) and halfed in Guan (hexagram 20).
At the bottom was written the character for Humans, but written in a particular way. Usually the symbol Human is drawn as if he is walking; here, he is reversed, as a mirror image. This meaning represents the moment when, suddenly, he is turning around.
The particularity of this ideogram is to designate a sudden stop (to stop in one’s tracks), a stabilisation in a process which, until then, one did not master, as when one suddenly decides to oppose something and makes his determination known by hitting the ground with his heel (combined with the character Foot, the name of this ideogram becomes Heel).
This explains the principal meaning of the ideogram To Refuse to go any Further, To Resist and why, combined with the general symbol for Movement, it means To Go Backwards. Further examples are found at the Transition level of Guan.20, the Exiting level of Da Chuang.34 and the Entry level of Xun.57.
Together, then, the two parts of this ideogram evoke a double reaction: first a state of consciousness which changes the perception that one has, then a Firmness, then deep rooting in a refusal to be influenced and, therefore, a stabilization through which it becomes possible to adopt another way of positioning oneself.
In the manuscript found at Ma Wang Dui, the name of this ideogram was written with a slightly different character since it was combined with the general symbol for Tree. The ideogram therefore was believed to illustrate Root, Base, Source…
Confucius
At the bottom was written the character for Humans, but written in a particular way. Usually the symbol Human is drawn as if he is walking; here, he is reversed, as a mirror image. This meaning represents the moment when, suddenly, he is turning around.
The particularity of this ideogram is to designate a sudden stop (to stop in one’s tracks), a stabilisation in a process which, until then, one did not master, as when one suddenly decides to oppose something and makes his determination known by hitting the ground with his heel (combined with the character Foot, the name of this ideogram becomes Heel).
This explains the principal meaning of the ideogram To Refuse to go any Further, To Resist and why, combined with the general symbol for Movement, it means To Go Backwards. Further examples are found at the Transition level of Guan.20, the Exiting level of Da Chuang.34 and the Entry level of Xun.57.
Together, then, the two parts of this ideogram evoke a double reaction: first a state of consciousness which changes the perception that one has, then a Firmness, then deep rooting in a refusal to be influenced and, therefore, a stabilization through which it becomes possible to adopt another way of positioning oneself.
In the manuscript found at Ma Wang Dui, the name of this ideogram was written with a slightly different character since it was combined with the general symbol for Tree. The ideogram therefore was believed to illustrate Root, Base, Source…
Confucius