above Kun, the Receptive, earth · below Sun, the Gentle, wind
Things are moving upwards, slowly and steadily. Wood in the earth grows towards the heights without haste and without rest, bending around the obstacles. That is what pushing upward looks like: modest and yielding, carried by the favour of the times. The Judgement says: ‘Do not be afraid!’ Go to the people who carry weight, set to work and heap up small things until they grow large; that turns out well. Forcing things does not suit this time, and neither does standing still out of shyness.
Who could help you get further, and what is stopping you from approaching them?
The lower sign, Sun, has wood as its image; the upper, Kun, means the earth. With this goes the idea of wood growing upward in the earth. Unlike ‘Progress’ (No. 35), this ‘pushing upward’ is bound up with effort, just as a plant needs strength to push its way up through the earth. Therefore the sign, although linked with success, is related to effort of the will. ‘Progress’ shows more expansion; ‘pushing upward’, more a straight ascent out of obscurity and lowliness to power and influence.
Some old words keep coming back in Wilhelm’s sayings:
Pushing upward has supreme success.One must see the great man.Do not be afraid!Setting out towards the south brings good fortune.
The pushing upward of capable elements meets with no obstacle; therefore it is accompanied by great success. The manner that makes pushing upward possible is not violent but modest and yielding. But since one is carried by the favour of the times, one makes headway. One must go and seek out the people who carry weight. One need not be afraid of this, for success will not fail to come. Only one must set to work; for activity (that is the meaning of the south) brings good fortune.
In the midst of the earth wood grows:the image of pushing upward.Thus the noble one, devoted in nature, heaps up what is smallto bring it to what is high and great.
The wood in the earth grows towards the heights without haste and without rest, bending compliantly around the obstacles. So the noble one is devoted in his character and never rests in his progress.
Compare:
‘Occupation that never wearies,That slowly builds, yet never destroys,That to the building of eternitiesGives only sand, grain after grain,Yet from the great debt of the agesStrikes off minutes, days and years.’
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 ○.
Pushing upward that finds trust brings great good fortune.
An ascent begins in a low, obscure position, the way a tree draws its strength from the root right at the bottom. Because there is an inner kinship with those higher up, you win their trust. Build on this common ground and make a start; that turns out very well.
This is the opening situation of the ascent. Just as wood draws the strength for pushing upward from the root, which is itself right at the bottom, so the strength to rise comes from this position. It is low and obscure. But there is an inner kinship of nature with the rulers above, and this common ground wins one the confidence one needs to be able to achieve something.
If one is truthful,it is favourable even to bring a small offering.No blame.
This is a strong person who does not quite fit in, being rough and setting little store by formalities. Yet they are sincere and so meet with goodwill. Be open and honest, even if you lack polish; then it is not a mistake if your offering is small or your manner plain.
A strong man is assumed here. He does not quite fit into his surroundings, in that he is too rough and sets too little store by forms. But he is inwardly sincere, and so he meets with goodwill, and his meagreness in outward forms does no harm. Here sincerity flows from solid qualities, whereas in the corresponding line of the preceding sign it is the effect of inner humility.
One pushes upward into an empty city.
All obstacles fall away, and things move forward with remarkable ease. Even so, no auspicious word is added, and it remains open how long such success will last. Don’t brood over it, as that would only hold you back; make quick use of the favour of the time while it lasts.
Here all the checks that otherwise hold back an advance fall away. Things move forward with remarkable ease. Without misgivings one follows this road in order to make the most of success. Seen from outside, it looks as if everything were in the best of order. Yet no auspicious word is added. The question is how long such unchecked success will last. But one should not dwell on such doubts, since they would only hamper one’s strength; rather, one should quickly turn the favour of the time to account.
The king presents him to Mount Ki. Good fortune. No blame.
Here the ascent reaches its goal: you are received into a circle that is building something great and lasting, and given a place beside those in charge. That turns out well. Accept this recognition; it means that your contribution will carry weight long after today.
Mount Ki lies in the west of China, the homeland of King Wen, whose son, the Duke of Dschou, added the words to the individual lines. It recalls the times when the Dschou dynasty rose. In those days King Wen presented his great helpers to the god of the mountain of their homeland, and they received their place beside the ruler in the ancestral halls. A stage is depicted here in which pushing upward reaches its goal. One becomes renowned before men and gods, is received into the circle of men who build up the life of the nation spiritually, and so gains a lasting significance that outlives its time.
Perseverance brings good fortune. One pushes upward by steps.
When things keep moving forward, it is tempting to become intoxicated with success. Now above all, stay sober and don’t skip any steps. Go on calmly and steadily, step by step, almost hesitantly; only progress that rushes nothing turns out well here.
When one keeps advancing further and further, it is important not to become intoxicated with success. Precisely in great success one must stay sober throughout, not try to skip any steps, but go on slowly, as if hesitating, step by step. Only this calm, steady progress, which does nothing in haste, leads to the goal.
Pushing upward in the dark.It is favourable to be unceasingly persevering.
Whoever pushes blindly upward knows only advance and no retreat, and that is exhausting. This line describes such an inner intoxication. In this situation stay conscientious and consistent in what you do, without letting up; only that frees you from the blind urge, which always does harm.
Whoever pushes upward blindly is inwardly deluded. He knows only advance, not retreat. But in doing so one wears oneself out. What matters in such a case is to bear in mind unceasingly that one must be and remain conscientious and consistent. Only thus does one become free of blind urges, which are always an evil.
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.