I CHING: OTHER KEY FEATURES

The thing we immediately encounter when we first use the I Ching is the hexagram. We learn that there are sixty-four of these and each signifies the specific condition or reality surrounding the question we have asked. Soon afterwards, we find out a little about the eight constituent trigrams that combine to make up each hexagram. I deal with both of these in more detail in the documents entitled The Hexagrams and The Trigrams.

However, the Book of Changes is a complex and meticulously structured whole, and there are several other features which we need to learn about in our attempt to fully understand it. Basically, these various features give it an inner coherence and consistency while also enabling flexibility of interpretation. Sceptics will see this as convenient, a way of allowing all kinds of magical thinking and dubious vagueness, but it’s hard to avoid this kind of ambiguity in any attempt to discuss the real world or talk about the future, even when the forecasters are people who would vehemently deny that they are doing pseudo-science, such as economists or political gurus. So while it’s true that people who use what may be dismissed as the ‘paranormal’ can hedge their bets, hide behind vagueness, and boast of dubious hits, those who claim they are using science to do so could be accused of the same, but because their work falls under the label of ‘science’, they generally get a much easier ride.

I will now look at some of these key features of the I Ching.

The Judgment and Commentaries

What is called the Judgment in Baynes’ translation of Wilhelm is the oldest part of the I Ching. The Judgment gives a summary of each hexagram and the temporary condition that it signifies. However, supplementary information and advice is usually appended, along with an indication of the overall favourability or otherwise of the hexagram.

Over the course of Chinese history, many scholars added commentaries to the original text, and in the last section of his book, Wilhelm includes the most important ones, taken largely from what are called The Ten Wings. These offer explanations for why each hexagram signifies what it does and are an invaluable guide to an understanding of the I Ching.   

Moving Lines

When we throw our coins or manipulate our yarrow stalks, we sometimes get one or more moving lines. These are lines which are in the process of changing to their opposite: yang to yin or yin to yang (although I am using the terms ‘yang’ and ‘yin’ here, I should point out that these are not used in the text of the I Ching itself, but the concepts are arguably implicit in its structure). As a result of the change to these lines, a second hexagram forms and becomes part of our overall answer.

The text of these moving lines usually support and elaborate on the general meaning of the Judgment, but on some occasions they can even signify the opposite: a good example of this is Hexagram 10, Treading, in which the Judgment states that the tiger does not bite the man who treads on its tail, but the moving line in the third place directly contradicts this, and states that the man is bitten.

I wish to stress that this is not a fault in the design, but a deliberate sophistication which mirrors the complexity of reality in contrast to the simplifications of abstract thinking. The typical westerner needs to shed their binary thinking when approaching the I Ching: although it is mathematically based on the binary of broken/unbroken lines in which two becomes four and four  becomes eight and so on, there is no place for crude binary oppositions in its interpretation.

If we get a hexagram in which there are no moving lines, we have little more than the Judgment and the Commentary on this Judgment to guide our reading of the answer to our question. A hexagram with no moving lines has a greater stability; the implication is that the condition symbolised by the hexagram will continue into the future for the time being, but this is not the same as saying it is static; the core idea at the root of the I Ching is the paradox that change is the only unchanging reality.

Throwing a moving line, or sometimes more than one moving line, therefore suggests that the current situation is less stable and more likely to change to something different, and this can often make interpretation more difficult. I will deal with this idea further when looking at the individual hexagrams.

The Significance of the Six Places

Hexagrams build from the bottom upwards and each of the six places has its own specific meaning or flavour. Lines 1, 3 and 5 are seen as ‘yang’ in nature; lines 2, 4 and 6 are seen as ‘yin’.

The first place (the bottom line) is, unsurprisingly, the moment when the situation or condition signified by the hexagram first takes form. Therefore, it is often somewhat tentative in nature, denoting a reality which is still in the process of taking shape. However, this clearly gives it more space to travel upwards, and, if it is unbroken, there is often a strong desire to advance which can sometimes descend into impatience and taking action before the time is ripe. If the bottom line is broken, it often represents weakness and dependence on others, but with the concomitant virtues of modesty and devotion.

The second place in its central position in the lower trigram is better established and often has a clear role to perform for the leader of the hexagram in Line 5, with whom it has a relationship of correspondence (see below). It is subordinate to this line and often denotes someone who is acting on the orders of others. Its focus tends to be praxis rather than strategy. If the line is unbroken, its yang ambition is tempered by the yin nature of its place and this is usually seen as fortunate. If it is broken, it can occasionally represent shallowness of thinking or lack of courage.

The third place stands at the top of the lower trigram and is yang in nature. There is an instability about this line and the one above it since they are transitional lines between the upper and lower trigrams. This line is full of restless energy as it strains to leave the trigram below to move into the upper trigram. Its virtues are stamina, determination and power; its vices are poor self-control and lack of patience and reflection. There are probably more ‘negative’ third lines in the I Ching than any of the other positions.

The three bottom lines seen together represent earth while the three top lines signify heaven. There is a second way of dividing the lines, however, which sees the first and second as the field of nature, the third and fourth as the human sphere, and the fifth and sixth as sky and heaven, a transcendental realm beyond our comprehension.

The fourth place, as a yin line in a place of transition, is very much the opposite of the third. While the latter is pushing upwards to enter the upper trigram, the fourth is already there and uncertain, as a yin place, of its ability to cope in its new surroundings. As a result, it often focuses on its own survival and is always ready to compromise. In many hexagrams, however, it has a more public function, representing a minister to the fifth line of the emperor above, holding together (see below) to this leader. Unlike the second line, which is acting on the leader’s behalf in the field below, the fourth line has direct daily contact in the heart of the court and has an important role to play in the realisation of the potential symbolised by the hexagram. Its work should be conducted quietly, though, with an attention to detail and in a spirit of self-abnegation.

The fifth place almost always has a positive augury. In the centre of the upper trigram and in a yang position, it has both ability and the power and position to exercise it. It usually represents the realisation of the key idea in the hexagram; if the first line is the seed, this is the flower or fruit. If the hexagram in general has a positive meaning, this is the moment when its successful outcome is reached. If the hexagram is inauspicious, this is where the struggle takes place to overcome its problems and its dangers.

The sixth place has several potential meanings. First, it often signals the end of the condition represented by the hexagram, fading gradually away or turning into its opposite. Second, it occasionally signifies an overturning of the natural order, since it is a yin line standing above the yang leader below, and becomes an oppressive force which must be overthrown. Third, a positive variation on the previous idea, it can represent a sage, someone who has retired from daily life but acts as a source of wisdom to the leader in power below.

Correctness

This is a very simple concept. An individual line is said to be ‘correct’ if it matches its position: that is, a yang line in the first place is ‘correct’ because the first place is also yang.

In general, this is desirable. However, this depends entirely on the specific hexagram and line, and there are situations when a balance of opposing forces is preferable to this correctness (for example, Hexagram 28) and a mix of yang and yin is more propitious. I will discuss this in more detail  in some of the specific hexagrams.

Correspondence

Because each hexagram is composed of two trigrams, one above and the other below, the lines in each position of the trigram have a close relationship to each other, which Wilhelm/Baynes translate as ‘correspondence’. This means that the bottom line has a natural link to the fourth line, the second to the fifth, and the third to the top. Just as opposite poles attract in a magnet and similar poles repel, yang and yin are attracted to each other while the same polarity repels. In general, therefore, it is more favourable if one of the two lines is yang and the other is yin, although as always in the I Ching the conditions of the specific hexagram might override this general rule (for example, in some of the lines in Hexagram 38).

In addition, correspondence is not always a desirable thing. Again dependent on the specifics of the hexagram and the lines involved, there can be an urge towards correspondence which will not be of benefit (for example, in all three bottom lines of Hexagram 27).

 Again I will discuss this more when discussing the individual hexagrams.

Holding Together

This is the relationship that exists between contiguous lines. Especially important is that between the fifth line and the fourth, which signifies the relationship between the emperor and the minister (nowadays we would speak more generally of the leader and their subordinate). The relationship between the top line and the fifth can also be crucial: sometimes one of conflict, sometimes that of teacher and disciple. Again it is often more favourable if one of the lines is yin and the other yang, but again this depends on the specifics of the hexagram. For example, two yang lines that hold together might advance together, as in Hexagram 19, or three yin lines retreat as a group, as in Hexagram 12. Yin lines, especially, when grouped together often represent the masses and have less individual significance.

Nuclear Trigrams

Each hexagram also contains two nuclear trigrams in addition to the primary trigrams that constitute it. These are trigrams ‘hidden’ within the structure of the hexagram as a whole. Explaining this by using text only is challenging, so if I fail to do so, I recommend reading Wilhelm’s very clear explanation in pp. 358-9. Basically the top and bottom lines of a hexagram are part of one trigram only: the primary upper or lower. The fifth and second lines, however, are incorporated within two trigrams: the primary and one of the nuclear trigrams, upper and lower respectively. The third and fourth lines are then part of all three trigrams: one primary and two nuclear. This helps to explain the marginality of some top and bottom lines, the far better balance of the second and fifth, and the conflicts and confusions that frequently arise in the middle lines.

These nuclear trigrams are crucial to an understanding of the hexagram, and especially the significance of the moving lines, and go a long way towards explaining what can seem like their random symbolism. I will discuss this when relevant to a specific hexagram.

The Superior Man

This is a translation of a Chinese phrase to depict a kind of sage or ideal human being. In this section, the questioner is told what this ideal individual would do when placed in the condition signified by each hexagram. (In a few of the hexagrams, this figure is replaced by ‘the kings of old’ or a similar phrase.)

I don’t agree with the idea that the I Ching speaks to the Superior Man only. I’m not sure this person exists, and, even if they do, I feel certain that few of us come anywhere near its ideal. In my opinion, the I Ching is like a mirror which will show us ourselves in a way that we can understand and will answer our questions irrespective of whether we have studied it for fifty years or this is the first time we have used it. Being in tune with its vibrations is what matters, and, as in the hunt which forms the imagery of the fifth line of Hexagram 8, the game that chooses to head off in its own direction will be free to do so. The I Ching either speaks to us or it doesn’t and there’s no need to proselytise (although I recognise, of course, the irony that this is what I may partly be doing in writing this piece).

Summary

I know there is a lot here that may be new to many people and much of it might seem confusing or contradictory. I can certainly imagine that many of a sceptical disposition would see this as typical of the kind of elaboration that the paranormal thrives on, creating a proliferation of rules and exceptions that disguise illogicality beneath a thicket of complexity. Or, to use an example from science, they might appeal to Ockham’s razor as a way of cutting through a jungle of detail, as Copernicus cut through Ptolemy’s epicycles.

I can only respond that I don’t think the I Ching, at least in its purest form and when not expanded as in some branches of Daoist mysticism and magic, is an example of this kind of obfuscation. In my opinion, what I’ve stated here only looks complicated when first encountered and does much to explain what originally seems to be its random structure and its bizarre poetic imagery.