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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).

































































28. Ta Kuo / Preponderance of the Great
Tui, the Joyous
  joyful
  lake
  third daughter Sky's two strokes trait 0 6      
trait 1 5 Ch´ien, the Creative
  strong
  heaven
  father

Ch´ien, the Creative
  strong
  heaven
  father
 
Man's two strokes trait 1 4  
Sun, the Gentle
  penetrating
  wind, wood
  first daughter trait 1 3  
Earth's two strokes trait 1 2  
trait 0 1      
 
 
 
 
 

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

The Hexagram


Ta Kuo / Preponderance of the Great
Above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE
Below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

This hexagram consists of four strong lines inside and two weak lines outside. When the strong are outside and the weak inside, all is well and there is nothing out of balance, nothing extraordinary in the situation. Here, however, the opposite is the case. The hexagram represents a beam that is thick and heavy in the middle but too weak at the ends. This is a condition that cannot last; it must be changed, must pass, or misfortune will result.

The Judgment


PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT.
The ridgepole sags to the breaking point.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
Success.

The weight of the great is excessive. The load is too heavy for the strength of the supports. The ridgepole on which the whole roof rests, sags to the breaking point, because its supporting ends are too weak for the load they bear. It is an exceptional time and situation; therefore extraordinary measures are demanded. It is necessary to find a way of transition as quickly as possible, and to take action. This promises success. For although the strong element is in excess, it is in the middle, that is, at the center of gravity, so that a revolution is not to be feared. Nothing is to be achieved by forcible measures. The problem must be solved by gentle penetration to the meaning of the situation (as is suggested by the attribute of the inner trigram, Sun); then the change-over to other conditions will be successful. It demands real superiority; therefore the time when the great preponderates is a momentous time.

The Image


The lake rises above the trees:
The image of PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT.
Thus the superior man, when he stands alone,
Is unconcerned,
And if he has to renounce the world,
He is undaunted.

Extraordinary times when the great preponderates are like flood times when the lake rises over the treetops. But such conditions are temporary. The two trigrams indicate the attitude proper to such exceptional times: the symbol of the trigram Sun is the tree, which stands firm even though it stands alone, and the attribute of Tui is joyousness, which remains undaunted even if it must renounce the world.

Lower line


Six at the beginning means:
To spread white rushes underneath.
No blame.

When a man wishes to undertake an enterprise in extraordinary times, he must be extraordinarily cautious, just as when setting a heavy thing down on the floor, one takes care to put rushes under it, so that nothing will break. This caution, though it may seem exaggerated, is not a mistake. Exceptional enterprises cannot succeed unless utmost caution is observed in their beginnings and in the laying of their foundations.

Second line


Nine in the second place means:
A dry poplar sprouts at the root.
An older man takes a young wife.
Everything furthers.

Wood is near water; hence the image of an old poplar sprouting at the root. This means an extraordinary situation arises when an older man marries a young girl who suits him. Despite the unusualness of the situation, all goes well.

From the point of view of politics, the meaning is that in exceptional times one does well to join with the lowly, for this affords a possibility of renewal.

Third line


Nine in the third place means:
The ridgepole sags to the breaking point.
Misfortune.

This indicates a type of man who in times of preponderance of the great insists on pushing ahead. He accepts no advice from others, and therefore they in turn are not willing to lend him support. Because of this the burden grows, until the structure of things bends or breaks. Plunging willfully ahead in times of danger only hastens the catastrophe.

Fourth line


Nine in the fourth place means:
The ridgepole is braced. Good fortune.
If there are ulterior motives, it is humiliating.

Through friendly relations with people of lower rank, a responsible man succeeds in becoming master of the situation. But if, instead of working for the rescue of the whole, he were to misuse his connections to obtain personal power and success, it would lead to humiliation.

Fifth line


Nine in the fifth place means:
A withered poplar puts forth flowers.
An older woman takes a husband.
No blame. No praise.

A withered poplar that flowers exhausts its energies thereby and only hastens its end. An older woman may marry once more, but no renewal takes place. Everything remains barren. Thus, though all the amenities are observed, the net result is only the anomaly of the situation.

Applied to politics, the metaphor means that if in times of insecurity we give up alliance with those below us and keep up only the relationships we have with people of higher rank, an unstable situation is created.

Upper line


Six at the top means:
One must go through the water.
It goes over one's head.
Misfortune. No blame.

Here is a situation in which the unusual has reached a climax. One is courageous and wishes to accomplish one's task, no matter what happens. This leads into danger. The water rises over one's head. This is the misfortune. But one incurs no blame in giving up one's life that the good and the right may prevail. There are things that are more important than life.

I recently borrowed a laptop and have been working/playing on it till very late into the night, often till 1 or 2 am. I asked if the laptop computer was in the way of my path. the answer is pretty clear here and amazingly so; with the breaking point of the beam and then the image of the mutation is that the superiorman rests and recuperates at night leaving the thunder at rest, i.e., electronics off. thansk
artgirls – 2008/12/03
love sent
Anon. – 2006/12/09
I asked "What will occur if I start to produce sound with my friend". I had asked from 3 person that can they teach me how to make electronic music. They all agreed, but something always happened that we never got that far. So I realized I have one more friend I can ask that, and I did and he said Yes too. I had applied for a job to foreign country so I said that if I go there we cannot do this and my friend said "Lets hope that you don't get the job". I never got the job. So now it is back to the original plans.

If you have some ideas about this result, feel free to email me, write with big letter I CHING so I recognize it is not junk mail.

28.07.2007
Sari – 2006/12/07
evol rel h f 9 3 7
lena – 2006/12/03
evol sent f mars 27 2 7
lena – 2006/12/03
Holy crap. I got this just as I was starting a relationship. Being a young woman, and he being a significantly older guy, I am enthusiastic, but nervous about how the people around me would see it. Also I am in the middle of a critical part of my life careerwise, and it may be a long time before we can properly be together... "The very gradualness of the development makes it necessary to have perseverance, for perseverance alone prevents slow progress from dwindling to nothing." Indeed. Scary.
Jackie – 2005/11/01
Conversely, I got this reading 2 days after Iran's 2005 presidential elections and understand every word of it. If I were a recent graduate I would understand the reading in this manner: There is a lot I need to learn about the world. It might be best to start by working in a school or for a non-profit organization.

As a resident of Tehran, I see this reading differently. It eases my mind just a bit to know that there will be no revolution, that the best way is through gentle persuasion...It eases my mind to know that things may, indeed, break, but they will also rebuild.
TE – 2004/12/07
I asked for advices concerning my professional future (just left school) and got 28 mutating to 49. I don't understand a word of the oracle because it keeps speaking about revolution...

J'ai demandé des conseils sur mon futur proet suis tombé sur l'hexagramme 28 mutant en 49. Je ne comprend pas ces histoires de revolution politique et mon bookin parle de changer de destin...

Suis-je débile ou il me manque 5 ans de chinois pour apprecier le yi-king???
Fennec – 2004/12/02
Yi Jing I. 28. (28) IntroductionTable of content
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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.

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