Ta Chuan  /  The Great Appendix.

     SECTION   II

   Chapter  I

                   On signs and lines, on creating and working

§ 1.
The eight trigrams having been completed in their proper order, there were the images contained in them. They were then multiplied by addition and thus the six component lines appeared.
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§ 2 .
The strong line and the weak each push themselves into the place of the other, and hence the changes of the hexagrams take place. The appended explanations attach to every one of them its character of good or ill, and hence the movements (transitions suggested by divination) are determined accordingly.
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§ 3.
Good fortune and ill, occasion for repentance or regret, all arise from these movements.
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§ 4.
The strong and weak lines have their fixed and proper places in the hexagrams. Their changes however, however varied, are according to the requirements of the time.
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§ 5.
Good fortune and ill are continually prevailing each against the other by an exact rule.
By the same rule heaven and earth, in their course, continually give forth their lessons; the sun and moon continually emit their light: all movements under the sky are constantly subject to this one and the same rule.
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§ 6.
Ch'ien, conveying the idea of strength, shows to men its easy and natural action.
K'un, conveying the idea of docility, shows to men its compendious receptivity and operation.
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§ 7.
The lines are imitative representations of this. The images are pictorial representations of the same.
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§ 8.
The movements of the lines and images take place and are unseen; the good fortune and bad is seen openly. The work to be done appears by the changes; the symphaties of the sages are seen in their explanations.
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§ 9.
The greatest attribute of Heaven and earth is the giving and maintaining of life. What is most precious for the sage is his proper place to represent Heaven and earth. What will guard this position for him? Men. How shall he collect a large population around him? By the power of his wealth.
The right administration of that wealth, correct instructions to the people, and prohibitions against wrong-doing: these constitute his righteousness.
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  Chapter  II

                                            Cultural history

§ 1.
Anciently, when Fu Hsi had come to the rule of all under heaven, looking up, he contemplated the brilliant forms exhibited in the sky, and looking down he surveyed the patterns shown on the earth. He contemplated the ornamental appearances of birds and beasts and their different suitabilities. Near at hand, in his own person, he found things for consideration; and the same at a distance, in things in general.
On this he devised the eight trigrams, to show fully the attributes of the spiritual Intelligences operating secretly, and to classify the qualities of the myriads of things.
See also Shuo Kua, chapter I, §1.
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§ 2 .
He invented the making of nets of various kinds by knitting strings, both for hunting and fishing. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Li (30. Clinging Brightness).
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§ 3.
On the death of Fu Hsi, there arose the clan of Shen-Neng. He fashioned wood to form the share, and bent wood to make the plough-handle. The advantages of ploughing and weeding were then taught to all under heaven. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram I (42. Increase).
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§ 4.
He caused markets to be held at midday, thus bringing together all the people, and assembling in one place all their wares. They made their exchanges and retired, every one having got what he wanted. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Shih Ho (21. Biting through).
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§ 5.
After the death of Shen-Neng , there arose Hwang Ti, Yao and Shun. They carried through the changes, so that the people did what was required of them, without being wearied; yea, they exerted such a spirit-like transformation, that the people felt constrained to approve their ordinances as right. When a series of changes has run all its course, another change ensues. When it obtains free course, it will continue long. Hence it was that 'these sovereigns were helped by Heaven; they had good fortune, and their every movement was advantageous'.
Hwang Ti, Yao and Shun simply wore their upper and lower garments as patterns to the people, and good order was secured all under heaven. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagrams Ch'ien and K'un.
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§ 6.
They hollowed out trees to form canoes; they cut others long and thin to make oars. Thus arose the benefit of canoes and oars for the help of those who had no means of intercourse with others.
They could now reach the most distant parts, and all under heaven were benefited. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Huan (59. Dispersal).
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§ 7.
They used oxen in carts and yoked horses to chariots, thus providing for the carriage of what was heavy, and for distant journeys, thereby benefiting all under the sky. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Sui (17. Allegiance).
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§ 8.
They made the double gates and the warning of the clapper, as a preparation against the approach of marauding visitors. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Yü (16. Enthusiasm).
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§ 9.
They cut wood and fashioned it into pestels; they dug in the ground and formed mortars. Thus the myriads of the people received the benefit arising from the use of pestle and mortar. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Hsiao Kuo (62. Small Excess).
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§ 10.
They bent wood by means of string , so as to form bows, and sharpened wood so as to make arrows. This gave the benefit of bows and arrows, and served to produce everywhere a feeling of awe. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram K'uei (38. Opposition).
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§ 11.
In the highest antiquity they made their homes in caves and in summer dwelt in the open country. In subsequent ages, for these the sages substituted houses, with the ridge-beam above and the projecting roof below, as a provision against wind and rain.
The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Ta Chuang (34. Strength of Greatness).
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§ 12 .
When the ancient buried their dead, they covered the body thickly with wood, having laid it in the open country. They raised no mound over it, nor planted trees around; nor had they any fixed period for mourning. In subsequent ages, for these practices the sages substituted the inner and outer coffins. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Ta Kuo (28. Excess).
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§ 13.
In the highest antiquity, government was carried on successfully by the use of knotted cords to preserve the memory of things. In subsequent ages, for these the sages substituted written characters and bonds. By means of these the doings of all the officers could be regulated, and the affairs of all people accurately examined. The idea of this was taken, probably, from the hexagram Kuai (43. Resolution).
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  Chapter  III

                           On the structure of the hexagrams

§ 1.
Thus, what we call the I is a collection images.
They are styled symbolic as being resemblances.
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§ 2 .
The judgements and the appended commentaries are based on the significance of each hexagram as a whole.
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§ 3.
The lines and the appended commentaries reflect the movements of all under the sky.
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§ 4.
In this way we see the rise of good fortune and ill, and the manifestation of repentance and regret.
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  Chapter  IV

                                On the nature of the trigrams

Note of the compiler: In my view these paragraphs should be preceded by §10 of chapter III of the Shuo Kua, which is totally out of place there.

§ 1.
In the yang-trigrams there are more of the yin-lines, and in the yin-trigrams there are more of the yang-lines.
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§ 2 .
What is the cause of this? The yang-lines are odd, the yin-lines are even.
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§ 3.
What method of virtuous conduct is thus intimated? In the yang-trigrams we have one ruler and two subjects, suggesting the way of the superior man; in the yin-trigrams we have two rulers and one subject, suggesting the way of the common man.
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  Chapter  V

     Commentary on some of the lines in the Book of Change

§ 1.
Hexagram 31, Hsien (Influence), nine in the fourth place.
It is said in the I: 'Full of anxious thoughts you go and come; only friends will follow you and think with you'.
The master said:
'In all nature, what is there of thinking? what is there of anxious scheming? In nature all comes to the same issue, though by different paths; there is one result though there might be a hundred anxious schemes. What is there of thinking? what is there of anxious scheming'?. 
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§ 2 .
The sun goes and the moon comes; the moon goes and the sun comes; sun and moon thus take the place each of the other and their shining is the result. The cold goes and the heat comes; the heat goes and the cold comes; it is by this mutual succession of cold and heat that the year is completed. That which goes becomes less and less, and that which comes waxes more and more; it is by the mutual influence of this contraction and expansion that the advantages of the different conditions are produced.
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§ 3.
When the looper coils itself up, it thereby straightens itself again; when worms and snakes go into the state of hibernation, they thereby keep themselves alive. When we minutely investigate the nature and reasons of things, till we have entered into the inscrutable and spirit-like in them, we attain to the largest practical application of them; when that application becomes the quickest and readiest, and all personal restfulness is secured, our virtue is thereby exalted.
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§ 4.
Going beyond this comes a point, the nature of which is hardly knowable. We have thoroughly comprehended the unscrutable and spirit-like, and know the processes of transformation; this is the fulness of virtue.
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§ 5.
Hexagram 47, K'un (Exhaustion), six in the third place.
It is said in the I: 'The third line shows its subject distressed before a rock and trying to lay hold of thorns; entering into his palace and not seeing his wife: there will be evil'.
The master said:
'If one be distressed by what need not distress him, his name is sure to be disgraced; if he lay hold of what he should not touch, his life is sure to be imperilled. In disgrace and danger, his death will soon come: is it possible for him in such circumstances to see his wife'?.
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§ 6.
Hexagram 40, Hsieh (Deliverance), top six.
It is said in the I: 'The duke with his bow shoots at the falcon on top of the high wall; he hits it: his every movement will be advantageous'.
The master said:
'The falcon is a bird of prey; the bow and arrow is a weapon; the shooter is a man. The superior man keeps his weapons concealed about his person and waits for the proper time to move; doing this, how should his movement be other than successful? There is nothing to fetter or embarrass his movement; and hence, when he comes forth, he succeeds in his object. The language speaks of movement when the instrument necessary to it is ready and perfect'.
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§ 7.
Hexagram 21, Shih Ho (Biting through), bottom nine.
The master said:
'The common man is not ashamed of what is not benevolent, nor does he fear to do what is not righteous. Without the prospect of gain he does not stimulate himself to what is good, nor does he correct himself without being moved. Self-correction in what is small, however, will make him careful in what would be of greater consequence; and this is the happiness of the common man.
It is said in the I: "His feet are in the stocks, and he is disabled in his toes: there will be no further occasion for blame"'.
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§ 8.
Hexagram 21, Shih Ho (Biting through), top nine.
If acts of goodness be not accumulated, they are not sufficient to give its finish to one's name; if acts of evil be not accumulated, they are not sufficient to destroy one's life. The common man thinks that small acts of goodness are of no benefit, and does not do them; and that small deeds of evil do no harm, and does not abstain from them. Thus his wickedness becomes great till it cannot be covered, and his guilt becomes great till it cannot be pardoned. This is what the I says: 'He wears the cangue and his ears are destroyed: there will be evil'.
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§ 9.
Hexagram 12, P'i (Stagnation), nine in the fifth place.
The master said:
'He who keeps danger in mind is he who will rest safe in his seat; he who keeps ruin in mind is he who will preserve his interests secure; he who sets the danger of disorder before him is he who will maintain the state of order. Therefore the superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come; when in a state of security, he does not forget the possibility of ruin; and when all is in a state of order, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is kept safe, and his states and all their clans can be preserved.
This is according to what the I says: "Let him say 'Shall I perish? shall I perish?', so shall his state be firm as if bound to a clump of bushy mulberry trees"'.
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§ 10.
Hexagram 50, Ting (the Cauldron), nine in the fourth place.
The master said:
'Virtue small and office high; wisdom small and plans great; strength small and burden heavy: where such conditions exist, it is seldom that they do not end in evil. As is said in the I: "The tripod's feet are overthrown, and the ruler's food is overturned. The body of him who is thus indicated is wet: there will be evil"'.
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§ 11.
Hexagram 16, Yü (Enthusiasm), six in the second place.
The master said:
'Does not he who knows the spring of things possess spirit-like wisdom? The superior man, in his intercourse with the high, uses no flattery, and, in his intercourse with the low, no coarse freedom: does not this show that he knows the springs of things? Those springs are the slight beginnings of movement, and the earliest idications of good fortune or ill. The superior man sees them and acts accordingly without waiting for the delay of a single day. As is said in the I: "He is firm as a rock, and acts without the delay of a single day. With firm goodness there will be good fortune". Firm as a rock, how should he have to wait a single day to ensure his knowing those springs and his course? The superior man knows the minute and the manifested; he knows what is weak, and what is strong: he is a model to ten thousand'.
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§ 12 .
Hexagram 24, Fu (the Turning Point), bottom nine.
The master said:
'I may venture to say that the son of the Yen family had nearly attained the standard of perfection. If anything that he did was not good, he was sure to become concious of that; and when he knew it, he did not do the same thing again. As is said in the I: "The first line shows its subject returning from an error that has not led him far astray. There is no occasion for repentance. There will be great good"'.
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§ 13.
Hexagram 41, Sun (Decrease), six in the third place.
The master said:
'There is an intermingling of the genial influences of heaven and earth, and transformation in its various forms abundantly proceeds. There is an intercommunication of seeds between male and female, and transformation in its living forms proceeds. What is said in the I, "Three individuals are walking together and one is made to disappear; there is but one man walking , and he gets his mate", tells us of nature's effort at oneness of operation'.
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§ 14.
Hexagram 42, I (Increase), top nine.
The master said:
'The superior man composes himself before he tries to move others; makes his mind restful and easy before he speaks; settles his intercourse with others before he seeks anything from them. The superior man cultivates these three things and so is complete. If he try to move others while he is himself in unrest, the people will not act with him; if he speak while he is himself in a state of apprehension, the people will not respond to him; if without intercommunication he issue his requests, the people will not grant them. When there are none to accord with him, those who work to injure him will make their appearance. As it is said in the I, "We see one to whose advantage none will contribute, while some will seek to assail him. He observes no regular rule in the ordening of his heart: there will be evil"'.
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  Chapter  VI

                  On the general nature of the Book of Change

§ 1.
See also section I, chapter XII, §3.
The master said:
'Ch'ien and K'un may be regarded as the gate to the I'.
Ch'ien represents what is of the yang nature (bright and active); K'un what is of the yin nature (shaded and inactive). These two unite according to their qualities, and there comes the embodiment of the result by the strong and weak lines. In this way we have the phenomena of heaven and earth visibly exhibited, and can comprehend the operation of the spiritual Intelligence.
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§ 2 .
The appellations and names of the trigrams and hexagrams are various, but do not go beyond. When we examine the nature and style of the appended explanations, they seem to express the ideas of a decaying age.
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§ 3.
The I exhibits the past and and allows us to discriminate the issues of the future; it makes manifest what is minute, and brings light to what is obscure. Then king Wen opened its symbols, and distinguished things in accordance with its names, so that all his words were correct and his explanations decisive; the book was now complete.
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§ 4.
The appellations and names of the trigrams and hexagrams are but small matters, but the classes of things comprehended under them are large. Their scope reaches far, and the explanations attached to them are elegant. The words are indirect, but to the point; the matters seem plainly set forth, but there is a secret principle in them. Their object is, in cases that are doubtful, to help de people in their conduct, and to make plain the recompenses of good and evil.
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  Chapter  VII

            The effect of some hexagrams on building character

§ 1.
Was it not in the middle period of antiquity that the I began to flourish? Was it not he who made it familiar with anxiety and calamity?
Note: This refers to king Wen.
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§ 2 .
Therefore Lü (10. Treading carefully) shows us the foundations of virtue; Ch'ien (15. Modesty) its handle; Fu (24. the Turning Point) its root; Heng (32. Endurance) its solidity; Sun (41. Decrease) its cultivation; I (42. Increase) its abundance; K'un (47. Exhaustion) its exercise of discrimination; Ching (48. the Well) its field; Sun (57. ildness) its regulation.
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§ 3.
In Lü we have the perfection of harmony; in Ch'ien we have the giving honour to others and the distinction thence arising ; in Fu we have what is small at first, but with a discrimination in it of the qualities of things; in Heng  we have a mixed experience, but without any wearyness; in Sun we have difficulty in the beginning , but ease in the end; in I we have abundance of growth without any contrivance; in K'un we have the pressure of extreme difficulty, ending in a free course; in Ching  we have abiding in one's place, yet influencing others; in Sun we have the weighing of things and acting accordingly, but secretly and unobserved.
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§ 4.
Lü appears in the harmony of conduct; Ch'ien in the regulation of ceremonies; Fu in self-knowledge; Heng  in uniformity of virtue; Sun in keeping what is harmful at a distance; I in the promoting of what is advantageous; K'un in the diminution of resentments; Ching  in the discrimination of what is righteous; and Sun in the doing what is appropriate to time and circumstances.
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  Chapter  VIII

                  On the use of the Book of Change: The lines

§ 1.
The I is a book which should not be let slip from the mind. Its method is marked by frequent changing. Its lines move and change without staying , flowing about into any one of the hexagram's six places. They ascend and decend, ever inconstant. They change places so that an invariable rule cannot be derived from them: they vary as their changes indicate.
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§ 2 .
The going forth and coming of the lines are according to rule and measure. People learn from them in external and internal affairs to stand in awe.
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§ 3.
The I, moreover, makes plain the nature of anxieties and calamities, and the causes of them. Though its students have neither master nor guardian, it is as if their parents drew near to them.
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§ 4.
Beginning with taking note of its explanations, we reason out the principles to which they point. Thus we find that it does supply a constant and standard rule. But if there be not the proper men, the course cannot be pursued.
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  Chapter  IX

                                              The lines (cont.)

§ 1.
The I is a book in which the form is determined by the lines, from the first to the last, which must be carefully observed. The six lines are mixed together according to the time when they enter the hexagram, and their substance.
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§ 2 .
There is difficulty in knowing the significance of the first line, while to know that of the topmost line is easy; they form the beginning and the end of the hexagram. The explanation of the first line tasked the calculating of the makers, but in the end they had but to complete this.
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§ 3.
As to the variously disposed intermediate lines with their diverse formations, for determinating their qualities and discriminating the right and wrong in them, we should be unprovided but for the explanations of them.
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§ 4.
Yes, moreover, if we wish to know what is likely to be preserved and what to perish, what will be lucky and what will be unlucky, this may easily be known from the lines; what may be learned from the explanations of the entire diagram embraces more than half this knowledge. 
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§ 5.
The second and fourth lines are of the same quality, but their positions are different, and their value is not the same; the second is the object of much commendation, and the fourth the subject of many apprehensions because of its nearness to the ruler. But for a line in a weak place it is not good to be far from a ruler, and what its subject should desire is merely to be without blame. The advantage of the second line is its being in the central place.
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§ 6.
The third and fifth lines are of the same quality, but their positions are different, and the third meets with many misfortunes, while the fifth achieves much merit: this arises from one being in the noble position and the other in the mean. Are they weak? There will be peril. Are they strong? There will be victory.
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  Chapter  X

                                              The lines (cont.)

§ 1.
The I is a book of wide comprehension and great scope, embracing everything. There are in it the Tao of Heaven, the Tao of man, and the Tao of earth. It then takes the lines representing those three Powers, and doubles them. What these six lines show is simply this: the way of the three Powers.
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§ 2 .
This way is marked by changes and movements, and hence we have the imitative lines. Those lines are of different grades in the trigrams, and hence we designate them from their component elements. These, when mixed together, give rise to elegant forms. When such forms are not in their appropriate places, good fortune and bad are thus produced.
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  Chapter  XI

                  The value of prudence as doctrine of the I

§ 1.
Was it not in the last age of Shang Yin, when the virtue of Chou had reached its highest point, and during the troubles of king Wen and the tyrant Shin Chou, that the I began to flourish? On this account the explanations express anxious apprehension, and teach how peril may be turned into security, and easy carelessness is sure to meet with overthrow. The way in which these things come about is very comprehensive, and must be acknowledged in every sphere of things. That is the way of the I.     
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  Chapter  XII

                                                     Summary

§ 1.
Ch'ien represents the strongest of all under the sky. Therefore its operations are always manifested with ease, for it knows where there would be peril and embarrasment.
K'un represents the most docile of all under the sky. Therefore its operations are always manifested with the promptest decision, for it knows where there would be obstruction.
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§ 2 .
Being able to rejoice in heart, and able also to weigh carefully all matters that could occasion anxiety, thus good and bad fortune of all under the sky may be determined and things requiring stenuous effort may be accomplished.
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§ 3.
Therefore amid the changes and transformations taking place, and the words and deeds of men, events that are to be fortunate have their happy omens. The I shows the definite principles underlying the predictions of the former class, and the future of the latter.
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§ 4.
The places of Heaven and earth having been determined, the sages were able to carry out and complete their ability. The common people were able to share with them in the counsels of men and the counsels of spiritual Beings.
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§ 5.
The eight trigrams communicate their information by their images. The explanations appended to the lines and the completed hexagrams speak according to time and circumstances. The strong and weak lines appear mixed in them, and thus the good and evil indicated by them can be seen.
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§ 6.
The changes and movements speak as from the standpoint of what is advantageous. The intimations of good and evil vary  according to time and circumstances. Thus the lines may indicate a mutual influence, in any two of them, of love or hatred, and good or evil is the result; or that mutual influence may be affected by a line's nearness to, or distance from, another, and repentance or regret is the result; or the influence may be that of truth or of hypocricy, and then the result is what is advantageous or what is injurious.
In all these relations of the lines of the I, if two are related and do not blend harmoniously, there may be all these: evil, or injury, or occasion for repentance or regret.
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§ 7.
The language of him who is meditating a revolt from the right betrays his inward shame; the language of him whose inward heart doubts about it diverges to other topics. The words of a good man are few; those of a coarse man are many. The words of one who slanders what is good are unsubstantial; those of him who is losing what he ought to keep are crooked.
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