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Hi! Every body,
This is my first post. I would like to share my understanding of line 6 / hexagram Kui (38) with you and kindly ask for your comment.
The original meaning of Kui is 'people do not see each other directly' due to not getting along well; its common annotation in I Ching's writings in China is: alienation due to different thoughts or positions etc.; in Confucius’s remarks to the hexagram text, it suggests trying to find common points to achieve reconciliation if alienation inevitably exists.
The text of line 6 is literally translated according to my comprehension as follows:
Kui (alienation) alone; seeing a pig painted with mud on its back, (and) a cart fully loaded with ghosts; to draw the bow first, (but) to relax it later. It is not a robbery but a wedding; it is auspicious if it encounters the rain when it goes forth.
My explanation:
Alienation reaches the extreme and feels alone; seeing a pig painted with mud on its back and a cart fully loaded with ghosts; to draw the bow first but to put it aside later. Actually the counterpart has no alienation intent but proposes alliance. It is auspicious if it goes forth and encounters the rain, i.e. once reconciliation is reached. All suspicions and corresponding activities are due to insufficient trust.
The masculine line 6 is on top of Kui and alienation reaches the extreme, i.e. reconciliation seemingly appears impossible to reach. It feels lonely although it correlates with the feminine line 3. Actually this is only suspicion and assumption like seeing a pig painted with mud on its back; drawing the bow and ready to shoot but there comes a cart fully loaded with ghosts (i.e. an illusion only). The feminine line 3 is friendly and it is auspicious once they are mated; once the masculine and the feminine mate, it becomes rain.
From the prospective in viewing its images: The inner upper trigram Kan (the abyss, water) is the pig and can also refer to a cart fully loaded with ghosts, as Kan is the wheel and it is one masculine line covered by two feminine lines; in China the feminine is taken for a place after death and also the ghost; thus, herein Kan presents a cart fully loaded with ghosts and only the wheel remaining visible. Kan is the bow and the upper trigram Li (clinging, fire) is the arrow; the arrow is charged on the bow but the arrow has not been shot yet. Kan is the bandit as well. The phenomena mentioned above exist between lines 6 and 3.
A more impressive picture of this text can be obtained from the history of 'The Restoration of Shao Kang 少康'. Shao Kang is one of the kings of Hsia 夏 Dynasty: 2200 to 1760 B.C, i.e. two dynasties before Chow 周. His father, Hsiang (相) was chased out and killed by rebel courtiers. At that time, his mother had already conceived him and fortunately fled back to her family tribe where she gave birth to Shao Kang. The rebels had always tried to locate Shao Kang in order to completely root out the Hsia influence. Therefore after Shao Kang grew up, he fled to the Yu Yu (有虞) Tribe and sought asylum. Among the Yu Yu, he married the daughter of the chieftain and got ten square kilometers of land. Thereafter Shao Kang secretly summoned people still loyal to Hsia and gathered five hundred warriors. Day and night, he drilled his troops and prepared to recover Hsia. In 2079 B.C. Shao Kang launched his military reprisal and succeeded in defeating the rebels, recovering the throne and re-establishing the Hsia dynasty.
A pig painted with mud on the back and a cart fully loaded with ghosts are what Shang Kang (少康) had seen on the night when he was on the way to the Yu Yu tribe. Seemingly he felt alone and was full of misgivings as he came to an alien place, i.e. as to whether the people there were friendly or hostile, and his fate life or death; all was unknown. All that had been seen were suspicion and mistrust due to alienation. He was worried and nervous, as well as vigilant; therefore he drew the bow and relaxed it. However, the outcome is auspicious, as the chieftain wedded his daughter to him.
The cause and effect of this text is indicated in Confucius's remarks to its phenomenon: The auspiciousness of encountering the rain, (signifying that) all suspicions are gone.
Once the masculine line 6 and the feminine line 3 exchange positions and mate, i.e. becoming rain, the inner upper trigram Kan which signifies ‘to worry about’, disappears, i.e. the rain flushes out all suspicions.
If you are interested in the analysis of the image and the line, you are kindly invited to visit my newly established website: www.iching123.com 'The Basic Concepts'.
Best regards
Tuck :bows:
This is my first post. I would like to share my understanding of line 6 / hexagram Kui (38) with you and kindly ask for your comment.
The original meaning of Kui is 'people do not see each other directly' due to not getting along well; its common annotation in I Ching's writings in China is: alienation due to different thoughts or positions etc.; in Confucius’s remarks to the hexagram text, it suggests trying to find common points to achieve reconciliation if alienation inevitably exists.
The text of line 6 is literally translated according to my comprehension as follows:
Kui (alienation) alone; seeing a pig painted with mud on its back, (and) a cart fully loaded with ghosts; to draw the bow first, (but) to relax it later. It is not a robbery but a wedding; it is auspicious if it encounters the rain when it goes forth.
My explanation:
Alienation reaches the extreme and feels alone; seeing a pig painted with mud on its back and a cart fully loaded with ghosts; to draw the bow first but to put it aside later. Actually the counterpart has no alienation intent but proposes alliance. It is auspicious if it goes forth and encounters the rain, i.e. once reconciliation is reached. All suspicions and corresponding activities are due to insufficient trust.
The masculine line 6 is on top of Kui and alienation reaches the extreme, i.e. reconciliation seemingly appears impossible to reach. It feels lonely although it correlates with the feminine line 3. Actually this is only suspicion and assumption like seeing a pig painted with mud on its back; drawing the bow and ready to shoot but there comes a cart fully loaded with ghosts (i.e. an illusion only). The feminine line 3 is friendly and it is auspicious once they are mated; once the masculine and the feminine mate, it becomes rain.
From the prospective in viewing its images: The inner upper trigram Kan (the abyss, water) is the pig and can also refer to a cart fully loaded with ghosts, as Kan is the wheel and it is one masculine line covered by two feminine lines; in China the feminine is taken for a place after death and also the ghost; thus, herein Kan presents a cart fully loaded with ghosts and only the wheel remaining visible. Kan is the bow and the upper trigram Li (clinging, fire) is the arrow; the arrow is charged on the bow but the arrow has not been shot yet. Kan is the bandit as well. The phenomena mentioned above exist between lines 6 and 3.
A more impressive picture of this text can be obtained from the history of 'The Restoration of Shao Kang 少康'. Shao Kang is one of the kings of Hsia 夏 Dynasty: 2200 to 1760 B.C, i.e. two dynasties before Chow 周. His father, Hsiang (相) was chased out and killed by rebel courtiers. At that time, his mother had already conceived him and fortunately fled back to her family tribe where she gave birth to Shao Kang. The rebels had always tried to locate Shao Kang in order to completely root out the Hsia influence. Therefore after Shao Kang grew up, he fled to the Yu Yu (有虞) Tribe and sought asylum. Among the Yu Yu, he married the daughter of the chieftain and got ten square kilometers of land. Thereafter Shao Kang secretly summoned people still loyal to Hsia and gathered five hundred warriors. Day and night, he drilled his troops and prepared to recover Hsia. In 2079 B.C. Shao Kang launched his military reprisal and succeeded in defeating the rebels, recovering the throne and re-establishing the Hsia dynasty.
A pig painted with mud on the back and a cart fully loaded with ghosts are what Shang Kang (少康) had seen on the night when he was on the way to the Yu Yu tribe. Seemingly he felt alone and was full of misgivings as he came to an alien place, i.e. as to whether the people there were friendly or hostile, and his fate life or death; all was unknown. All that had been seen were suspicion and mistrust due to alienation. He was worried and nervous, as well as vigilant; therefore he drew the bow and relaxed it. However, the outcome is auspicious, as the chieftain wedded his daughter to him.
The cause and effect of this text is indicated in Confucius's remarks to its phenomenon: The auspiciousness of encountering the rain, (signifying that) all suspicions are gone.
Once the masculine line 6 and the feminine line 3 exchange positions and mate, i.e. becoming rain, the inner upper trigram Kan which signifies ‘to worry about’, disappears, i.e. the rain flushes out all suspicions.
If you are interested in the analysis of the image and the line, you are kindly invited to visit my newly established website: www.iching123.com 'The Basic Concepts'.
Best regards
Tuck :bows: