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Etymology of Qian's (1) Judgement

confucius

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Hopefully this thread will not be bombarded by heavy weight wisdom...to those ever so illuminated, please shed your light on someone worthier than me...

I will be loading the etymology of the 64 Judgements in the following weeks, as I am going under print this year. If you so care, it would be considerate and kind of you to feedback on these and, hopefully, criticize constructively where necessary.



A meaningful four ideograms is sufficient to describe the power of Qian (1). This shortest Judgement in itself explains a lot : Qian’s brevity is the antithesis to the many phrases necessary to explain the power of Kun’s (2) Receptive Impetus ( spark and fuel).

Qian’s impetuousness is pure dynamism, ceaselessly promoting beings and situations to which Kun’s (2) Yin character and patience give constancy and duration. The generic aspect of the text – with its absence of any particular context – shows Yang’s true capacities rather than the distinctive materialisation of this capacity.

It is essential to recognise and manifest this potential, for it is the impulsive force in the spark of any beginning, capable of stimulating circumstances, of developing and making it beneficial by holding on with stubbornness. Qian is that moment when it is appropriate to behave as the Dragon which deploys an untiring power susceptible of making things happen.

元 Fundamentally : Mantic modulation expressed by using the ideogram meaning : Beginning, Origin, Entirely.

亨 Favourable : Mantic appreciation describing an encompassing atmosphere, a fertile arrangement, a global energetic environment in which the exchanges between Heaven and Earth interweave beneficially.

元 亨 Fundamentally Favourable : Mantic formula suited to the context of the Judgements. It signals a potential full moment, expressing with Yang a capacity to undertake and with Yin the aptitude to see it through.

剰 貞 Profitable Tenacity : Mantic formula clarifying that the situation, in order to be fruitful, requires a great capacity to endure, to hold consistently without getting tired by the difficulties associated to the moment.

元 亨 剰 貞 Fundamentally Favourable Profitable Tenacity : Particular grouping of two mantic formulas that are characteristic to only seven hexagrams : Qian-1, Kun-2, Meng-3, Sui-17, Lin-19, Wu Wuang-25 and Ge-49.
 

lienshan

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I will be loading the etymology of the 64 Judgements in the following weeks, as I am going under print this year. If you so care, it would be considerate and kind of you to feedback on these and, hopefully, criticize constructively where necessary.
The names (Entry, Prefect, Transition, Minister, Sovereign, Exiting) of your six levels scheme doesn't match with the archaeological exavacations showing the numerology of the Zhou titles and ranks:

9 ding vessels and 8 gui vessels = wang (the Zhou kings)
7 ding vessels and 6 gui vessels = qing (the vassal lords)
7 ding vessels and 6 gui vessels = shang dafu (high ministers)
5 ding vessels and 4 gui vessels = xia dafu (low ministers)
3 ding vessels and 2 gui vessels = shang shi (high aristocrats)
2 ding vessels and 0 gui vessels = xia shi (low aristocrats)

The Zhou titles and ranks were both ding/odd/yang and gui/even/yin (except xia shi).
The Zhou minister title (dafu) was divided in two ranks (shang and xia).
The Zhou "prefect" title (shi) was too divided in two ranks (shang and xia).

Hopefully this thread will not be bombarded by heavy weight wisdom...to those ever so illuminated, please shed your light on someone worthier than me...
The xia shi exception of 2 ding vessels and 0 gui vessels looks strange at first sight: 1 ding vessel would fit perfect seen with schematic eyes, but the number 1 doesn't fit with the Zhou numerology of the Yi Jing:

"To heaven they assigned the number three, to earth they assigned the number two, and from these they computed the other numbers" (Shuo Gua)

lienshan
 

confucius

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The Zhou definitions are Anthropocentric ( we have to remember that the Zhou also imposed the feet binding rule and completely eradicated women from public life ) and the vocabulary and configurations are Zhou dedicated...I think it can be summarized as follows :

If a triangle devised his God, it would give him three sides

The levels ( should ) not be dedicated exclusively to public servants, do you think ?

Per say, in gender, these six levels are all Yang
 

lienshan

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The levels ( should ) not be dedicated exclusively to public servants, do you think ?
Either or - I see no reason why mixing the terms? Stephen Kartcher has e.g. chosen:

Beginnings - Heart - Approaching - Midst of Transition - Power - Culminations

Six levels of "public servants" would look like this in chinese:

xia shi - shang shi - xia dafu - shang dafu - qing - wang

qing at the 5th level matches the Zhou realm since the military defeat to Jin in 707 BC
wang was afterwards sovereign de jure and qing (hegemons) were sovereigns de facto

shang shi, shang dafu, wang at yin levels and xia shi, xia dafu, qing at yang levels look
dynamic - because yang isn't positive and yin negative per definition of the six levels

lienshan
 

confucius

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I am not so sure I understand ''mixing'', there are currently 554 versions of the Yi in 34 languages around the world, maybe by the term mixing you mean metaphorical interpretation ?

A small example suffices : the Dragon, in Europe, is a fire throwing destructive figure whereas in Asia it is the life giving water provider !
 

confucius

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Quote ''shang shi, shang dafu, wang at yin levels and xia shi, xia dafu, qing at yang levels look
dynamic - because yang isn't positive and yin negative per definition of the six levels''

Let us make sure we understang the Taoist symbol commonly known as the Yin Yang or, precisely, the T'ai Chi. it does feature more than the Yin and Yang entities but includes Active Yang and Passive Yang and Active Yin as well as Passive Yin. Nothingness is something, even if a void, the influence of Wu Wei, non action, of the sage, the Exiting level's Yin virtue, is active ( Yang) in its WuWei ( Yin) nature, but still Yin.
 

lienshan

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correction: the Zhou was defeated by Zheng in 707 BC

The three yin and three yang levels I refer to is yours. I think that esspecially the titles xia shi and xia dafu as symbols fit in the yang levels, because the rank xia (low) indicate a natural ambition, striving upwards. They might be better than "Entry" and "Transition"?

"Prefect" is a turn-off to me as a Yi Jing symbol.

lienshan
 

confucius

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It is always appreciable to see the other perspective ( since there are always two, of course )...

...I try, personally, not to stumble on static terms since they are always circumstancial, in this case ruler, king, emperor and the likes...we have had the priviledge to be able to see all mutations side by side a thousand years later.

According to fundamental initiates, Prefect is understood as follows :


Prefect : Usual term designating the function associated to the second level of an hexagram. Situated at an even level and as such Yin, the position of Prefect is at the same time one of service and an authoritative pole. Echoing, from its central position, with the Sovereign of the fifth level, the Prefect also has a priviledged relationship with him by its correspondance relationship. Complement and extension of the king's unique power over the capital administration, the Prefects applied his directives all over the kingdom ( a Yin attribute to see things through).

Whilst the Sovereign impulses and orders, the Prefect ows his power to his Yin nature : He greets the orders coming from the higher rank and labours to give to them shape and consistence in daily and long term endeavours.

''A rose by any other name would smell as sweet''

Shakespeare
 

charly

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... we have to remember that the Zhou also imposed the feet binding rule and completely eradicated women from public life ...
Paul:

Already in Shang times little remains of old women recognition, but the practise of binding the feet, I believe, had no more than 1.000 years when abolished by the Chinese Republic.

Yours,

Charly
 

confucius

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very well documented Charly

...without enough tangible evidence we can believe that Chanzu 纏足 ( Bound Feet ) in Classical Chinese, was well in ''fashion'' right before or at about the Southern Tang Dynasty, which began ruling around 900 of the Christian Era.
 

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