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Hexagram 55, King Wen, Eclipse, Death Omen?

midaughter

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Hexagram 55: The Eclipse of King Wen, his life, his influence and power but through divination he manages to win the day after his death. Tora! Tora! Tora! An Alternative Explanation to Marshall's Interpretation of the Eclipse


Overall in Hexagram 55 an empty house is a bad omen and so are most celestial events. However, the augury here for the Zhou assembled presumably at the town of Feng, are asking about the military campaign, in full swing btw across southern Shamxi after defeating the state of Li. Marshall dates this 1053 BC. Then the Zhou army (King Wen having given himself the name of King Chang), then defeated the state of Yu on the Qin River. This is southeast of Shangxi's major river tributary into the Yellow River. This is real close now to attacking the Shang. Are you saying at this point King Wen (Chang) called a meeting because he knew the eclipse would happen soon? Assuming arguendo that this would have happened. Why do we assume absolutely out of almost nowhere that Wen wants to discuss that the Mandate has passed to the Zhou? Wen is going to die, there is going to be a civil war, and the claim to the Zhou kingship will be in doubt and King Wen wants to make sure that his chosen heir does indeed take the throne and when the Zhou armies see the eclipse he will be dead and they will be marching to the great battle of Muye. Certainly he want to prepare them psychologically for this event. Without that they could break and run in fright. King We leads the armies at this time; Wen must have certainly briefed him. There were probably many more divinations concerning tactics and the possibility of attack or retreat. The augury apparently said ‘attack.’ So King Wen is giving his final orders too-“I won’t be there, the eclipse shows the Shang have lost the mandate, attack!, attack!, attack! and my chosen succesor, Cheng, will take the throne.” Good tactics by King Wen.

Basically what I am saying is that if we assume all Marshall’s facts to be true such as the completeness and date of the eclipse, the date of the death of King Wen to be accurate., why does it follow that an eclipse that occurs just before the death of the great commander and now, according to Marshall, the self-proclaimed king augur that the Mandate of Heaven has passed to the Zhou?. What is passing is the life of King Wen and the eclipse of his influence over the Zhou sons as they turn on each other and that his chosen succesor’s hold on the throne will in danger. This is the meaning of Hexagram 55..


If we are diviners we should know one thing if this eclipse is a sign it is a sign of disaster, doom, and death. King Wen is going to die and he knows it. He is attempting to name a successor (Cheng) and avoid the bloody civil war among his sons. I have received this line in my career and I now see, I think, clearly what it means: it a death omen or at least in modern terms, an eclipse in terms of influence over a situation.
It would be natural for King Wen to try to make his sons see that theirs is the Shang lands and their own dynasty as the end result but King Wen will not be there in the decisive battle. He will not be there to consolidate his power, pacify the conquered lands, and establish a dynasty. It will be a bloody internecine war with at least 6 Zhou armies involved under the various factions.
Does he see that his son Dan (Duke of Zhou) will betray him and his royal authority and using his (the Duke's) power of being regent over the chosen successor king to claim the crown?) Is this the 'house' of King Wen being empty? Is Dan (the Duke of Zhou) the regent who tries to ursurp the throne from his ward the broken right arm?
 

midaughter

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I wrote:

"...according to Marshall, the self-proclaimed king augur SIC that the Mandate of Heaven has passed to the Zhou?." It should be the self-proclaimed King {Wen} augurs that...

I would not not have SM being a self-proclaimed king, would I?
 

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