Man, I'm getting lax with my I Ching studies here, just as we're about a third of the way through the book. (Well, a glancing blow at the book, but you gotta start somewhere.)

So, here we are at bi, the hexagram of rococo ornamentation. No, really. It's about things that are beautiful, but not necessarily functional - at least not at first. After the decisive, collaborative (but abrupt) action of ... more

Sunzi, IV. 2-6:

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

Hence the saying: One may KNOW how to conquer without being able to DO it

Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking,... more

So, after about a month's absence, I'm ready to move from watchful, contemplative guan to shi he, biting through. Is it that we're tired of watching and ready to just bite through the problem? Or is it more that, as Master Huang suggests, after facing things worth quiet contemplation, people tend to draw close... more

Here's the fun thing about I Ching hexagrams -- you can apply them to *anything*, just about. We're currently in the month ruled by hexagram 20, guan (or kuan). Yin is steadily increasing, heading towards the yin-est month of all, November.

So, this being the month o' guan, it'd behoove me to actually look it up and jot down a few notes here.

Wilhelm says the name of this hexagram is based on a pun -- the word can mean "contemplation" or... more

I feel like I've fallen behind with these dips into the Yijing, so I'll try to do this hexagram systematically rather than meandering all over the place like I usually do.

What's the name mean? According to both Huang and Wilhelm, the best way to translate this word is as "approaching." Huang says the character once meant "overlooking" as in looking down from above -- it shows a feudal leader, an official bowing respectfully to that leader, and three hungry mouths underneath them. In other words, a great man leading... more

The last time we dug into the Book of Changes, we came up with some decent advice about Following -- attracting followers, what it takes to be a good leader, all that jazz. This time, our leaders seem to be getting a little stagnant. The administration is collapsing under its own weight.

Here's what Master Huang says about the Chinese character, gu,... more

So, this excursion into traditional Chinese culture (and one of the most important books in Asia) has just gotten through its first quarter.

In a completely arbitrary way, I thought that make make this a good time to break out a whole new translation of the Yijing -- one that's not out on the web because it's not in the public domain. It was only published in 1998. This is the Alfred Huang Complete I Ching.

Where Mr. Wilhelm was a European who was more or less seduced by the wisdom of this foreign book, Master Huang... more

Following its last lesson on Modesty, the Book sweeps us into its next change, Enthusiasm.

This hexagram is formed by putting Modesty on its head, which gives you the trigram for Thunder over the trigram for Earth -- energetic noise coming out of receptiveness and devotion.

In other words, sometimes you just have to blow your own horn. For the greater good, of course.

The Judgement verse refers to leaders inspiring their armies to march,... more

So, I've just been confusing myself over on this I Ching chess page, which I'll readily admit is way beyond me. I retreat here, to this blog, and find that it's time for the next hexagram, humble Qian.

(But wait, asks the careful reader. Isn't qian the name of the all-yang trigram for "heaven"? Well, yeah, but that's actually a different word from ... more

This is one of the most popular (or most popularly thought of as "good") hexagrams in the I Ching -- "Possession in Great Measure."

It's the flip-side of the previous hexagram, tong ren, which was all about getting along with people. (If you're interested, the proper term for "flip-side" is "zonggua," the gua (change) that could be zong (woven together), and... more