above Kiën, the Creative, heaven · below Dui, the Joyous, lake
This sign shows you close to something strong that is easily provoked. ‘Treading on the tiger’s tail. It does not bite the man.’ The reason: ‘the contact is cheerful and gives no offence.’ With good, pleasant manners, he says, you succeed even with irritable people. Stay polite, calm and friendly; before a difficult conversation, for instance, work out your opening sentence in advance. Avoid any curtness; that is what wakes the tiger.
Who or what are you treating too brusquely, where friendliness would get you further?
Treading means, on the one hand, the right way to conduct oneself. Above is heaven, the father; below is the lake, the youngest daughter. This shows the distinction between high and low on which stillness, right conduct in society, is founded. Treading literally means ‘to tread upon something’. The small ‘Joyous’ treads upon the great ‘Strong’. Both primary signs move upwards. That the strong should tread on the weak is a matter of course, which the Book of Changes does not specially mention. The weak treading on the strong is not dangerous because it happens cheerfully, without presumption, so that the strong is not provoked and puts up with it good-naturedly.
Some old words keep coming back in Wilhelm’s sayings:
Treading on the tiger’s tail.It does not bite the man. Success.
The situation is in truth a difficult one. The strongest and the weakest are right beside each other. What is weak walks behind what is strong and meddles with it. But what is strong puts up with this and does it no harm, for the contact is cheerful and gives no offence.
In human terms, the situation is that one has to deal with wild, unapproachable people. In such a case one achieves one’s purpose if one keeps to good manners in one’s conduct. Good and pleasant forms of conduct lead to success even with irritable people.
Heaven above, the lake beneath: the image of treading.So the noble one tells high from lowand in this way settles the minds of the people.
Heaven and lake show a difference in height that has come about of itself from their nature and is therefore clouded by no envy of any kind. In the same way there must be differences of height among mankind. Universal equality cannot possibly be put into practice. What matters, however, is that differences of rank in human society are not arbitrary and unjust; for then envy and class struggle are the inevitable result. If, on the other hand, outward differences of rank correspond to an inner justification, and inner worth is the measure of outward rank, then people are content with it, and society settles into order.
Wilhelm placed the signs ○ and □ after certain lines (p. 334 f.). They mark the rulers of the hexagram. □ stands by the constituting ruler: the line that gives the hexagram its meaning, however high it stands and whatever its character. ○ stands by the governing ruler. It is always of good character and becomes ruler through the meaning of the time and its position, usually in the fifth place. Where a line is both, it carries ○.
Treading simply. Going forward without blame.
This is a beginning in simple circumstances, with few obligations to others as yet. Be content with simplicity and move forward because you want to accomplish something, rather than to escape poverty. Going forward like that is not a mistake. If you climb only out of restlessness, you easily grow arrogant once you arrive.
One is in a situation in which one is not yet bound by the obligations of social intercourse. If one’s conduct is simple, one stays free of social obligations and can calmly follow the inclinations of one’s own heart, since one makes no demands on people but is content. Treading does not mean standing still, but going forward. One is in a very lowly position at the outset. But one has the inner strength that guarantees progress. If one is content with simplicity, one can go forward without blame. If someone cannot settle down in modest circumstances, he wants to get ahead and is pushy and restless, because by his conduct he wants to escape lowliness and poverty, not because he wants to accomplish something. Once he has reached his goal, he is sure to become arrogant and given to luxury. That is why his going forward is tainted with blame. The capable man, by contrast, is content with simple conduct. He wants to go forward in order to accomplish something. When he has then reached his goal, he accomplishes something, and all is well.
Treading a plain and level road.An obscure man’s perseverance brings good fortune.
The picture is of someone who keeps to themselves, wants nothing from anyone and is not dazzled by tempting goals. Stay true to yourself, be content with little and don’t tempt fate. If you walk your plain, level road like this, it turns out well, and you stay free of entanglements.
What is portrayed here is the situation of a solitary sage. He keeps away from the bustle of the world, seeks nothing, wants nothing from anyone and is not dazzled by alluring goals. He is true to himself and so goes through life on a level road, undisturbed. Because he is content with little and does not tempt fate, he remains free of entanglements.
The one-eyed can see, the lame can tread.He treads on the tiger’s tail. It bites the man. Misfortune!This is how a warrior acts for his great prince.
Whoever sees only halfway and barely makes headway, yet still thinks themselves strong, walks into danger here and is bitten by the tiger. Judge your strength honestly and attempt nothing beyond it. Foolhardy rushing ahead with no regard for your own powers turns out badly here.
A one-eyed man can see, it is true, but not well enough to see clearly. A lame man can tread, it is true, but not well enough to make headway. If someone with such weaknesses nevertheless thinks himself strong and exposes himself to danger accordingly, he brings misfortune upon himself. For he undertakes something beyond his strength. This foolhardy way of rushing ahead without regard for one’s own powers may at most be allowed to pass in a warrior fighting for his great prince.
He treads on the tiger’s tail.Wariness and care lead in the end to good fortune.
This is a dangerous undertaking, and the inner strength for it is there. Outwardly, pair it with hesitant caution and care. That way you overcome the danger by carrying on step by step, and in the end it turns out well.
This is a dangerous undertaking. The inner strength to come through it is there. But outwardly this inner strength is joined with hesitant caution, in contrast to the preceding line, which is weak within but pushes forward without. So final success is certain; it consists in achieving one’s will, namely in overcoming the danger by going on.
Treading with resolve.Perseverance, conscious of the danger.
The situation calls for resolute conduct. Stay aware of the danger in it, especially if you hold your course for a long time. Only this awareness of the danger makes success possible.
This is the ruler of the whole sign. One finds oneself compelled to resolute conduct. But one must stay aware of the danger bound up with such resolute conduct, especially if one perseveres in it. Only awareness of the danger makes success possible.
Look at your treading and examine the auspicious signs.If all is perfect, supreme good fortune comes.
A piece of work is finished, and the question is what will come of it. Look back on what you did and on what it brought about. If the effects are good, it turns out very well; no one knows themselves, and only the fruits of what you do show what you can expect.
The work is at an end. If one wants to know whether good fortune will follow, one should look back on one’s conduct and on the consequences it has had. If the effects are good, good fortune is certain. No one knows himself. Only from the consequences of one’s actions, from the fruits of one’s works, can one judge what one has to expect.
Would you like to put your own question to the I Ching? Six throws of three coins, and the answer appears straight away.
Consult the I ChingTexts by Richard Wilhelm: I Ging. Das Buch der Wandlungen (first edition Jena 1924), translated into English by NUMEN COMPASS from the Diederichs edition, Munich 1996. Wilhelm’s German text is in the public domain. The section ‘What the hexagram says today’, the question for you and the short notes under the lines are our own reading. The I Ching is no substitute for medical, legal or psychological advice.