above Kan, the Abysmal, water · below Sun, the Gentle, wind
This is about what nourishes you at the deepest level. You may change the city, never the well: it stands for what people need to live, whatever the times. For you as an individual, that means going right down to the roots in your own learning. Follow what matters to you until you have grasped the heart of it. Beware the two dangers the Judgement names: stopping too soon, before the rope reaches the water, and breaking the jug through carelessness; both turn out badly. Half-knowledge is as bad as none.
Where did you stop too soon, just before you reached what really mattered?
Below is wood, above is water. The wood goes down into the earth to bring the water up. It is the image of the ancient Chinese well sweep. The wood does not mean the buckets, which in olden times were made of clay, but the wooden pole whose movements lift the water out of the well. The image also points to the plant world, which raises water from the earth in its veins. The well from which water is drawn also holds the idea of an inexhaustible supply of nourishment.
Some old words keep coming back in Wilhelm’s sayings:
The well.One may change the city,but one cannot change the well.It does not decrease and does not increase.They come and go and draw from the well.If one has almost reached the water of the wellbut has not yet got the rope down to it,or breaks one’s jug, that brings misfortune.
In ancient China the capitals were moved from time to time, partly for the advantages of a site, partly when the dynasty changed. The style of building changed over the centuries, but the form of the well has remained the same from the remotest times down to the present day. So the well is an image of the social organisation of humankind in its most elementary necessities of life, which is independent of all political forms. Political forms and nations change, but the life of human beings with its requirements remains eternally the same. That cannot be altered. This life is also inexhaustible. It grows neither less nor more and is there for all. Generations come and go, and all of them enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance.
But a good political or social organisation of people requires two things. One must go down to the foundations of life. Any superficiality in the ordering of life that leaves the deepest needs of life unsatisfied is as imperfect as if no attempt at order had been made at all. Equally, a carelessness through which the jug is broken is an evil. If, for example, the military defence of a state is carried so far that it provokes wars by which the power of the state is destroyed, that is a breaking of the jug. The sign also has a bearing on the individual. However different people’s gifts and education may be, human nature in its foundations is the same in everyone. And everyone, in forming himself, can draw from the inexhaustible spring of the divine nature of the human being. But here too two dangers threaten: first, that in one’s education one does not penetrate to the real roots of humanity but remains stuck in convention (such half-education is as bad as no education at all); or second, that one suddenly breaks down and neglects the cultivation of one’s being.
Above the wood is water: the image of the well.Thus the noble one cheers the people on at their workand urges them to help one another.
Below is the sign Sun, wood; above it, the sign Kan, water. The wood draws the water upward. Just as wood, as an organism, imitates the action of the well, which benefits every part of the plant, so the noble one orders human society in such a way that, like the organism of a plant, its parts work together for the good of the whole.
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 ○.
The mud of the well is not drunk.No animals come to an old well.
The image of the muddy well shows a life that sinks into the swampy lowlands and loses its meaning for others. Whoever throws themselves away will find in the end that nobody comes to them any more. Look honestly at where you are letting yourself drift, and pull yourself out before nobody cares about you any longer.
If someone drifts about in the swampy lowlands, his life sinks into the mud. Such a person loses his significance for humankind. Whoever throws himself away will find that others no longer come to him either. In the end no one cares about him any more.
At the well-hole one shoots fish.The jug is broken and leaks.
This is someone with good gifts that lie idle because nobody uses them, like clear water nobody drinks. Over time they go downhill inwardly, take up with people who drag them down and no longer achieve anything worthwhile. Don’t let your abilities go to waste, even if nobody is paying them any attention at the moment.
The water in itself is clear. But no use is made of it. So only fish stay in the well, and whoever comes, comes only to catch fish; but the jug is broken, so that the fish cannot be kept in it.
A situation is described in which someone has good gifts in himself, but they are neglected. No one troubles about him. As a result he goes downhill inwardly. He takes up with base people and can no longer achieve anything worthwhile.
The well has been cleaned, but no one drinks from it.That is the sorrow of my heart;for one could draw from it.If the king were clear of mind,all would enjoy the blessing together.
Like a cleaned well nobody draws from, here is a capable person whom nobody calls on, and that grieves everyone who knows them. All that is missing is for those in charge to hear of it; then everyone would benefit. Whether it is about you or someone you value, make sure the right people hear.
Here a capable man is at hand. He is like a cleaned well whose water could be drunk. But he is not used. That is the sorrow of the people who know him. They wish that the prince might learn of it; then it would be a blessing for all concerned.
The well is being lined with masonry; no blame.
While a well is being lined with masonry, it cannot be used for a time, yet the work keeps the water clear. In the same way there are times when you have to put your own house in order and can do little for others. Such a time is not a mistake; afterwards you have all the more to give.
While the well is being lined with masonry, it cannot be used, but the work is not in vain; it keeps the water clear. So in life, too, there are times when one must put oneself in order. During such a time one can do nothing for others, but it is valuable nonetheless, because through inner development one increases one’s strength and abilities, so that afterwards one achieves all the more.
In the well there is a clear, cool springfrom which one can drink.
A good well with a living spring stands for a person with real gifts who could lead and strengthen others. Even so, the words ‘good fortune’ are missing, because the best water is of no use as long as nobody draws it. Share your gifts, and if you come across such a spring in someone, put their words into practice in your life.
This is a good well, with a spring of living water at its bottom. A man who has such virtues is born to be a saviour and leader of humankind. He has the water of life. And yet the sign ‘good fortune’ is missing. With a well, everything depends on the water being drawn. As long as it has not been brought up, even the best water is there only as a possibility for refreshing people. So with the leaders of humankind, too, what matters is that people drink from their spring and put their words into practice.
One draws from the well without hindrance.It is dependable. Supreme good fortune!
Anyone can draw from this well without hindrance, and it never runs dry, like a person rich in inner treasure. The more others take from them, the richer they become. Give generously of what you have and let everyone share in it; that turns out very well.
The well is there for all. No prohibition hinders those who draw from it. However many come, they find what they need; for the well is dependable. It has a spring and does not run dry; therefore it is great good fortune for the whole land: so too is the truly great man, who is inexhaustibly rich in inner treasure. The more people draw from him, the greater his wealth becomes.
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.