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Yi Jing Introduction Table of content – I Ching, the Book of Changes

This famous system of 64 hexagrams plus their commentaries and trans­for­mations is at the root of Chinese thought. Tr. Wilhelm (en, fr).

































































22. N Pi / Grace
Kên, Keeping Still
  resting
  mountain
  third son Sky's two strokes trait 1 6      
trait 0 5 Chên, the Arousing
  inciting movement
  thunder
  first son

K´an, the Abysmal
  dangerous
  water
  second son
 
Man's two strokes trait 0 4  
Li, the Clinging
  light-giving
  fire
  second daughter trait 1 3  
Earth's two strokes trait 0 2  
trait 1 1      
 
 
 
 
 

    current       binomial       swap trig.       opposite       flip   X leading master   X constituent master

The Hexagram


W

U
s

N
N

G
Q
G


Pi / Grace
Above KÊN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
Below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE

This hexagram shows a fire that breaks out of the secret depths of the earth and, blazing up, illuminates and beautifies the mountain, the heavenly heights. Grace–beauty of form–is necessary in any union if it is to be well ordered and pleasing rather than disordered and chaotic.

The Judgment

p
Q




N

GRACE has success.
In small matters
It is favorable to undertake something.

Grace brings success. However, it is not the essential or fundamental thing; it is only the ornament and must therefore be used sparingly and only in little things. In the lower trigram of fire a yielding line comes between two strong lines and makes them beautiful, but the strong lines are the essential content and the weak line is the beautifying form. In the upper trigram of the mountain, the strong line takes the lead, so that here again the strong element must be regarded as the decisive factor. In nature we see in the sky the strong light of the sun; the life of the world depends on it. But this strong, essential thing is changed and given pleasing variety by the moon and the stars. In human affairs, aesthetic form comes into being when traditions exist that, strong and abiding like mountains, are made pleasing by a lucid beauty. By contemplating the forms existing in the heavens we come to understand time and its changing demands. Through contemplation of the forms existing in human society it becomes possible to shape the world.

The Image

L



g
l
H

f
F
N
s
U


H


Fire at the foot of the mountain:
The image of GRACE.
Thus does the superior man proceed
When clearing up current affairs.
But he dare not decide controversial issues in this way.

The fire, whose light illuminates the mountain and makes it pleasing, does not shine far; in the same way, beautiful form suffices to brighten and to throw light upon matters of lesser moment, but important questions cannot be decided in this way. They require greater earnestness.

Lower line




{
N

k

E

Nine at the beginning means:
He lends grace to his toes, leaves the carriage, and walks.

A beginner in a subordinate place must take upon himself the labor of advancing. There might be an opportunity of surreptitiously easing the way–symbolized by the carriage–but a self-contained man scorns help gained in a dubious fashion. He thinks it more graceful to go on foot than to drive in a carriage under false pretenses.

Second line

N



G

Six in the second place means:
Lends grace to the beard on his chin.

The beard is not an independent thing; it moves only with the chin. The image therefore means that form is to be considered only as a result and attribute of content. The beard is a superfluous ornament. To devote care to it for its own sake, without regard for the inner content of which it is an ornament, would bespeak a certain vanity.

Third line


s
N
N
p

p
E
T

Nine in the third place means:
Graceful and moist.
Constant perseverance brings good fortune.

This represents a very charming life situation. One is under the spell of grace and the mellow mood induced by wine. This grace can adorn, but it can also swamp us. Hence the warning not to sink into convivial indolence but to remain constant in perseverance. Good fortune depends on this.

Fourth line


F
B




p
N
p
x
p

|

Six in the fourth place means:
Grace or simplicity?
A white horse comes as if on wings.
He is not a robber,
He will woo at the right time.

An individual is in a situation in which doubts arise as to which is better–to pursue the grace of external brilliance, or to return to simplicity. The doubt itself implies the answer. Confirmation comes from the outside; it comes like a white winged horse. The white color indicates simplicity. At first it may be disappointing to renounce the comforts that might have been obtained, yet one finds peace of mind in a true relationship with the friend who courts him. The winged horse is the symbol of the thoughts that transcend all limits of space and time.

Fifth line


N
[


̱
̱
N
_
C




Six in the fifth place means:
Grace in the hills and gardens.
The roll of silk is meager and small.
Humiliation, but in the end good fortune.

A man withdraws from contact with people of the lowlands, who seek nothing but magnificence and luxury, into the solitude of the heights. There he finds an individual to look up to, whom he would like to have as a friend. But the gifts he has to offer are poor and few, so that he feels ashamed. However, it is not the material gifts that count, but sincerity of feeling, and so all goes well in the end.

Upper line

L
S

N
W
E

Nine at the top means:
Simple grace. No blame.

Here at the highest stage of development all ornament is discarded. Form no longer conceals content but brings out its value to the full. Perfect grace consists not in exterior ornamentation of the substance, but in the simple fitness of its form.

La grâce doit avoir son utilité pour prévenir et protéger les notres.
an ninh – 2008/12/06
response to Banny Lu - clearly the advice here relates to oral sex - the nine in the third place suggesting a firm hold on the chin of the performer mentioned in the second place
Ron Chang – 2008/12/05
anal penetration is the key advice to follow here -
Banny Lu – 2008/12/05
d'une relation hm fm
Anon. – 2007/12/09
love sent
Anon. – 2006/12/09
evol rel h f 24 01 2007
lena – 2006/12/02
evol rel h f
lena – 2005/11/02
De la relation entre une Epilobe et une Champolionne
sixpattes – 2005/12/09
Yi Jing I. 22. (22) IntroductionTable of content
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I Ching, the Book of Changes – Yi Jing I. 22. – Chinese on/offFrançais/English
Alias Yijing, I Ching, Yi King, I Ging, Zhou yi, The Classic of Changes (Lynn), The Elemental Changes (Nylan), Le Livre des Changements (Javary), Das Buch der Wandlung.

The Book of Odes, The Analects, Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Three-characters book, The Book of Changes, The Way and its Power, 300 Tang Poems, The Art of War, Thirty-Six Strategies
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