Hexagram 1, line 5 & 6, surplus text
Fifth line 飛龍在天.利見大人. Daren 大人 (see also line 2) can refer to a person in a high position, like the nobility. In the Shijing 詩經 it is used as the title for a diviner, probably the chief diviner,...
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Hexagram 2, Judgement
Name Just as with the name of hexagram 1, the name of hexagram 2, kun 坤 is difficult to translate, because the character only occurs in the Yijing and nowhere else (accept later books in which it is a...
View ArticleHexagram 2, line 1 & 2
First line 履霜堅冰至. Thread on frost: hard ice comes. Second line 直方大.不習無不利. See for zhi 直, ‘to receive’ and other meanings this page. See also Scott Barnwell’s excellent article about de 德, The Evolution...
View ArticleHexagram 2, line 3
含章可貞, 或從王事, 无成有終. Hanzhang 含章: the same phrase occurs at H44-5. Han 含 means ‘to keep in the mouth; to hide, conceal’. The Shanghai MSS manuscript has [玉+欦], which might be related to yin 㱃, an old...
View ArticleHexagram 2, line 4
括囊. 無咎無譽. Kuo nang 括囊: a tied up large sack, probably made from leather, with a bottom (instead of a sack without a bottom, which has to be tied on both sides). ‘With a bottom’, you di 有底, means that...
View ArticleHexagram 2, line 5
黃裳. 元吉. Huang chang 黃裳: ‘yellow skirt’. There are different interpretations about the meaning of this phrase. Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127-200) says in his commentary to the Yi Li 儀禮: 上士玄裳，中士黄裳，下士杂裳。杂裳者，前玄后黄 A...
View ArticleHexagram 2, line 6
龍戰于野.其血玄黃. Zhan 戰, ‘battle’ (different from dou 鬥, ‘fight’). A battle of dragons was a bad omen. In the Lun Heng 論衡 it is said, 夏將衰也，二龍戰於庭… When the downfall of the Hsia dynasty was imminent, two...
View ArticleYouwang 攸往
I am reinvestigating the phrase you wang 攸往: Li Xueqin 李学勤 says you 攸 was a place where king Di Yi 帝乙 travelled to, to perform sacrifices. This is interesting because Di Yi is mentioned in the Zhouyi....
View ArticleHexagram 3, Judgement & line 1
Name Tun 屯: to gather, assemble; to station troops, (to) garrison (漢語大詞典, Vol. 1, p. 483). Tuan 彖 元亨.利貞.勿用有攸往.利建侯. You wang 攸往: see here. This phrase is currently under reinvestigation. About wang 往:...
View ArticleHexagram 3, line 2
屯如邅如.乘馬班如.匪寇婚媾.女子貞不字.十年乃字. Tun 屯: to gather, assemble; to station troops, (to) garrison. Ru 如: According to 古代漢語虛詞詞典 (p. 458-459) ‘多用于形容詞或副詞之后，也有用于動詞之后的，表示事物或動作的状态.可譯為“….一的樣子”、“….的” ‘ . Used behind a...
View ArticleHexagram 3, line 3
即鹿無虞.惟入于林中.君子幾不如舍.往吝. Ji 即: approach; be close to Lu 鹿: general term for deer, reindeer, moose, etc. According to Lu Deming’s 陸德明 Jingdian Shiwen 經典釋文 the Wang Su 王肅 notes have lu 麓, the foot of a hill...
View ArticleHexagram 3, line 4 & 5
Line 4 乘馬班如.求婚媾.往吉. 無不利. See also line 2. Carts lingering, Seeking marriage (for tying bonds). Going is auspicious. Nothing disadvantageous. Line 5 屯其膏.小貞吉.大貞凶. Gao 膏: The best; cream; quintessence of...
View ArticleHexagram 3, line 6
乘馬班如.泣血漣如. See also line 2 and 4. Qixue 泣血 is a fixed expression used in several ancient texts: ‘weep tears of blood’. In the Lun Heng 論衡 we read:...
View ArticleHexagram 4, Judgement
Name Meng 蒙: ignorant, confused, dark, hidden. Tuan 彖 亨.匪我求童蒙.童蒙求我.初筮告.再三瀆.瀆則不告.利貞. Fei 匪 = fei 非: ‘not, not be’. Qiu 求: ask, inquire (請求; 詢問) Tong meng 童蒙: same as tong meng 瞳矇 or tong meng 僮矇 – a...
View ArticleHexagram 4, line 1
發蒙.利用刑人.用說桎梏.以往吝. Fa meng 發蒙 = fa meng 發矇: make a blind person recover lost eye sight. Analogy for enlightening the stupid, open one’s eyes to new point of views (使盲人眼睛復明. 喻啟發矇昧; 開拓眼界): 將方舟而下流兮，冀幸君之發矇。...
View ArticleHexagram 4, line 2
包蒙吉.納婦吉.子克家. Bao meng 包蒙: Several old books, like Lu Deming’s 陸德明 Jingdian Shiwen 經典釋文, claim that older texts used biao 彪 instead of bao. 唐石經作”苞”. 京房、鄭玄、陸績、一行作”彪”. The Tang Stone Classics use bao 苞....
View ArticleHexagram 4, line 3
勿用取女.見金夫不有躬.無攸利. Qu nü 取女 = 娶: Qu 取 normally means ‘to take by force’, but the phrase qu nü 取女 is most probably equal to the character qu 娶, which has the same pronunciation and components, and means...
View ArticleHexagram 4, line 4, 5 & 6
Line 4 困蒙.吝. Kun 困: hindered, blocked (阻礙) 吝: difficulties; difficult progress (see hexagram 3, line 3) Blocked ignorance. Difficulties. Line 5 童蒙.吉. About tong meng 童蒙: see Judgement Repeated...
View ArticleHexagram 4, general note
The main theme of hexagram 4 as seen in the line texts is not the ignorant fellow, but the ignorant fellow who wants or needs his ignorance removed. There is a drive for gaining knowledge, and the...
View ArticleHexagram 5, Judgement
Name Xu 需: hesitate, wait and see (觀望). Some translators translate it as ‘to want, to need’ (需要) but this meaning is relatively young (starting with Northern Qi dynasty (550-577) ). Judgement...
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