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So, here we go with the next drive-by reading of the I Ching, with a lesson filled with sunshine and promises. Everything about this hexagram seems optimistic, although according to Wikipedia, variations on its name include “aquas,” which makes no sense at all (shades of blue?).
What’s the character mean?
The character for jin shows two swooping birds descending over the sun, and literally means to advance or go forward (onward and upward!). Master Huang here veers away from the dictionary and says the character depicts the sun rising over a horizon with two plants on it. Either way, it’s about sunshine going forward. It’s also the name for the Jin Dynasty and way to refer to Shanxi Province.
What’s on the top?
The outer trigram is li, fiery and energetic and solar (as in the sun being the big fire in the sky, the hot bridge between heaven and earth).
What’s on the bottom?
The inner trigram is kun, the receptive earth. Earth under the Sun seems to me like a good way for things to be – sunshine on my shoulders and all that.
What’s in the guts?
The nuclear trigrams are watery, rapidly moving kan over stolid, stubborn gen, the strong-legged mountain. This seems to me to indicate hidden opportunities – you can either move or stay still.
What’s it from far away?
The Image verse shows a sunrise and refers to bright virtue – no suprises there. The Judgement verse, however, describes a much-honored prince receiving gifts of horses and being granted audience (with the king or emperor) three times in one day. Wilhelm’s commentary emphasizes that it’s not describing the emperor or absolute ruler, but one who has a pretty good station, knows it, and acts in accordance both with its power and its limitations. That’s how to succeed in life.
What’s it saying up close?
The Lines verses talk about different kinds of progress. Sometimes you advance like a squirrel, sometimes like a goat. What interests me is that they all seem to share an emotional component, either being cautious or remorseful or joyous. I’m interested in the close tie the I Ching seems to be suggesting between success and emotional awareness – to accept sorrow or anxiety, and to know how and when to persevere through it and when to quit and try something else that might work better.
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Curious why this is in a blog about Chinese adoption? Read this explanation. I’m using the Wilhelm/Baynes translation from the comprehensive Wengu collection or the user-friendly Eclectic Energies site, and I’m taking the character translations from Alfred Huang’s The Complete I Ching. Feel like going deeper? Check out Hong Kong’s Taoist Culture & Information Centre’s I Ching page, and the essays & reviews on Ma Xia’s Yijing Page.
