56.4

[susannah]

Hello All

I would like to look at this specific line because it has a change of pronoun implying a shift of perspective.

Wilhelm
The wanderer rests in a shelter.
He obtains his property and an axe.
My heart is not glad.

LiSe
The wanderer is in a resting place and obtains his travelling-expenses.
My heart is not pleased.

I can't find a Legge translation to quote, sorry.

Would anyone like to join in a discussion around this change of perspective? I haven't come across it in any other line (but that doesn't mean it isn't there, I may have just missed it). That shift from 3rd person "he" to 1st person possessive "my" is trying to say something to me, but I can't quite grasp it.

"People" as symbols, eg the prince, the superior man, the wife, with their 3rd person pronouns eg he etc, are all over the I Ching. I think it is rare to get such a direct reference to the highly personal "my" ie the querent perhaps, (or the quesited if it's about another person), or even an "I".
If "My" or "I" appears anywhere else I'd appreciate a point in the right direction. Thank you.

 

[bradford]

The Yi uses wo, the first person pronoun, in 3 different ways, which are all context-dependent.
In 4, 27 and maybe 48, it's referring to itself.
Several times it's our (as in "our western frontier", or "contemplating our lives")
Here, and 61 and maybe 50 it just seems to be quoting the subject of the text thinking or speaking in the first person.

The wanderer (stays) in a shelter
(Having) secured some wherewithal (and) an axe
(But lamenting) “My heart is not at peace”

 

[susannah]

Thank you for the pointers to the other hexagram for comparison.

 

[meng]

He obtains his property and an axe.
My heart is not glad.

I think it can be compared with 20, lines 5 and 6, in one.

He obtains his property and an axe. - 20.6
My heart is not glad. - 20.5

I always feel the same just before I receive this line. Outwardly things are fine and dandy, but inside something is askew, and I can't put my finger on it. But accepting it as it is, not fighting with it internally, makes it possible to dissolve the melancholy, and enjoy my new ax.

The last time I received this line I was waiting for the delivery of a new guitar, commonly referred to as an ax. My mind/heart was on other matters, which were not especially happy. I had to laugh!