Clarity,
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London.
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I had a problem winth KINGS in the Changes, but in 59.5 I used to adhere to the first alternative:It was recently called to my attention how much my reading of this line differed from most others.
Perhaps most say that the King remains in his place and endures without blame, but I rendered it;
"Evanescent as sweat. And that great cry for help. Scatter the royal stockpiles. Nothing is wrong."
I should have made a footnote. There are two different ways to punctuate and therefore to read this line. The original has no punctuation. I don't think the more common punctuation captures the core meaning of the hexagram, which is both literally and figuratively about change of state (solid to liquid, liquid to gas).
I follow the first of these two:
九五 渙汗其大號,渙王居,无咎。Chinese Text Project, Legge, Shaughnessy, Hilary
九五 渙汗其大號。渙。王居无咎。Harvard-Yenching, Wang Bi, Karcher
The first reads "Disperse the royal granaries [or stockpiles or households]. No blame.
The second reads "Dispersion. The king abides without blame.
The idea that the King now moves on to something new instead of sticking it out is reinforced somewhat by the Zhi Gua 04.
The two versions cannot be reconciled.
Hi, Hilary:Yes, imagined punctuation makes all the difference. (We could probably come up with a list of places where it does.) I've found that in practice the idea of dispersing the centre, not holding anything back, seems a better fit for readings.
Now, since this isn't a reading, I'll just move the thread.
Say, LIVE YOUR LIFE NOW, GIVE YOUR LOVE NOW.More like - now give everything you have. Put it all out there; hold nothing back; do not keep things in reserve for the crucial moment, this is the crucial moment.
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).