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Etymology of the ideogram Guan.20
The ideogram used to illustrate the twentieth hexagram is assembled using two groups. On the right the group is formed from the general symbol for humans with, on top of it, the common character for the eye. This assembly proposes a verb with a double meaning. Its active form is the verb to see, to go see, to perceive. Its passive form is the verb to appear, to manifest, and to be visible.
On the left is a bushy group composed with three superimposed elements. At the bottom is the general symbol for birds. In the middle two little squares, and, on top, two small crosses depicting the idea of horns. These horns are figurative and characteristic for a specific type of bird: those that have horn-looking feathers on their head, like nocturnal birds and certain waders.
Within that class an added precision is brought about by the two small squares positioned below the horns. Awkwardly, since the square is the classic symbol for the mouth, this double mouth was for a long time interpreted as a strident bird. From there it was believed that the group illustrated a Heron or a Stork, even a Crane, though it already has a specific ideogram which can be studied in the prefect level of Zhong Fu.61. The precision brought about by the squares is different. Originally drawn as two circles they specified, amongst horned birds, nocturnal hunters, like Owls, characterized by their large eyes allowing them to see well in the dark. This all seeing attribute of the eyes of the Owl has conferred it the symbol of wisdom in many cultures.
From this attribute is understood the idea of being able to perceive what is not visible, to have a vision profound enough to distinguish what is hidden, including what is rendered unperceptible by a our personal way of seeing things. This entire composition therefore constitutes the meaning of this ideogram. Each item ideogram reinforces the others to the idea of realization, accomplishment: the right part (to see) evokes the understanding of the left group (Owl) and its ability to perceive the invisible.
Still, the meaning of this ideogram has more depth, more dialectic. Beyond perceiving, it designates the place from which the seeing is done and the perception change incurred by the act of seeing. In English the term point-of-view (perspective) best illustrates this.
The ideogram used to illustrate the twentieth hexagram is assembled using two groups. On the right the group is formed from the general symbol for humans with, on top of it, the common character for the eye. This assembly proposes a verb with a double meaning. Its active form is the verb to see, to go see, to perceive. Its passive form is the verb to appear, to manifest, and to be visible.
On the left is a bushy group composed with three superimposed elements. At the bottom is the general symbol for birds. In the middle two little squares, and, on top, two small crosses depicting the idea of horns. These horns are figurative and characteristic for a specific type of bird: those that have horn-looking feathers on their head, like nocturnal birds and certain waders.
Within that class an added precision is brought about by the two small squares positioned below the horns. Awkwardly, since the square is the classic symbol for the mouth, this double mouth was for a long time interpreted as a strident bird. From there it was believed that the group illustrated a Heron or a Stork, even a Crane, though it already has a specific ideogram which can be studied in the prefect level of Zhong Fu.61. The precision brought about by the squares is different. Originally drawn as two circles they specified, amongst horned birds, nocturnal hunters, like Owls, characterized by their large eyes allowing them to see well in the dark. This all seeing attribute of the eyes of the Owl has conferred it the symbol of wisdom in many cultures.
From this attribute is understood the idea of being able to perceive what is not visible, to have a vision profound enough to distinguish what is hidden, including what is rendered unperceptible by a our personal way of seeing things. This entire composition therefore constitutes the meaning of this ideogram. Each item ideogram reinforces the others to the idea of realization, accomplishment: the right part (to see) evokes the understanding of the left group (Owl) and its ability to perceive the invisible.
Still, the meaning of this ideogram has more depth, more dialectic. Beyond perceiving, it designates the place from which the seeing is done and the perception change incurred by the act of seeing. In English the term point-of-view (perspective) best illustrates this.