above Li, the Clinging, fire · below Gen, Keeping Still, mountain
This is about being on the move and being a stranger, in a new place or a new circle. The wanderer has no fixed abode; the road is his home. Do not be brusque or set your sights too high: stay cautious and reserved, and be obliging towards others; through such smallness and perseverance it turns out well. Then you find your footing within yourself: take care to be upright and firm inside, stay only in good places and keep company only with good people. Don’t boast; as a stranger you have no large circle of acquaintances to fall back on.
What steadies you when the familiar ground falls away?
The mountain (Gen) stands still; above it the fire (Li) flares up and does not linger. So the two do not stay together. Foreign parts and separation are the wanderer’s lot.
Some old words keep coming back in Wilhelm’s sayings:
The Wanderer. Success through smallness.For the wanderer, perseverance means good fortune.
As a wanderer and stranger one must not be brusque or set one’s sights too high. One has no large circle of acquaintances, so one must not boast. One must be cautious and reserved; in this way one protects oneself from harm. If one is obliging towards others, one wins success. The wanderer has no fixed abode; the road is his home. Therefore he must take care to be upright and firm within, to stay only in good places and to keep company only with good people. Then he has good fortune and can go his road unchallenged.
Fire on the mountain: the image of the wanderer.So the noble one is clear and careful in imposing punishments and does not let disputes drag on.
When the grass on the mountain burns, there is a bright glow. But the fire does not linger; it wanders on in search of fresh fuel. It is only a swiftly passing appearance. So it should be with punishments and lawsuits too. They must be something swiftly passing and must not drag on. Prisons must be places that take people in only for a time, like guests. They must not become dwellings for men.
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 ○.
If the wanderer concerns himself with petty things,he brings calamity upon himself.
Away from home and in a weak position, busying yourself with petty, low things does you harm. If you think jokes and antics will win you a warm welcome, you are mistaken; they bring only contempt. Keep your dignity most of all when you count for little in the eyes of others.
A wanderer must not demean himself by busying himself with low things along the way. The humbler and more defenceless his outward position, the more he must preserve his dignity within. For if a stranger thinks he will find a friendly welcome by stooping to jests and antics, he is mistaken. The consequences are only contempt and insulting treatment.
The wanderer comes to an inn.He has his property with him.He wins the perseverance of a young servant.
A modest, reserved stranger keeps his inner bearings and so finds a resting place. Because he keeps people’s goodwill, everyone helps him along, and a faithful helper even turns up. Stay reserved and true to yourself; that way you will find support even in a strange place.
The wanderer depicted here is modest and reserved. Inwardly he does not lose himself, and so he finds a resting place. Outwardly he does not lose people’s goodwill, and so everyone helps him on, so that he can acquire property. Besides this, a faithful and reliable servant joins him, of a kind that is of inestimable value to a wanderer.
The wanderer’s inn burns down.He loses the perseverance of his young servant.Danger.
A stranger who doesn’t know how to behave and meddles in other people’s quarrels loses his resting place; treat your helpers haughtily and you lose their loyalty too. Keep out of things that are none of your business, and treat those who stand by you with respect. Without anyone reliable to turn to, the situation becomes very dangerous.
A violent stranger does not know how to behave. He meddles in affairs and quarrels that are none of his business. In this way he loses his resting place. He treats his servant coldly and haughtily. In this way he loses the man’s loyalty. When, as a stranger, one no longer has anyone to rely on, that is very dangerous.
The wanderer rests in a shelter.He obtains his property and an axe.My heart is not glad.
Modest outwardly and strong within, someone here has found a place and even acquired property, yet doesn’t feel secure. They must always be on guard and sense that they are a stranger. Stay watchful and ready to defend what you have gained; the unease is part of this situation.
Here a wanderer is depicted who knows how to be modest outwardly, although inwardly he is strong and pressing forward. So he at least finds a shelter where he can stay. He also succeeds in acquiring property. But he is not secure with his property. He must always be on his guard, ready to defend himself by force of arms. So he does not feel at ease. He is constantly aware that he is a stranger in a strange land.
He shoots a pheasant; it falls at the first arrow.In the end this brings praise and office.
The pheasant that falls at the first arrow stands for a successful start in a strange place. Strike the right note and introduce yourself in the right way. Then you will find people who praise and recommend you, and a circle of friends and a sphere of activity even far from home.
Statesmen on their travels used to introduce themselves to princes with the gift of a pheasant. Here the wanderer wishes to enter a prince’s service. For this purpose he shoots a pheasant, bringing it down with the first shot. So he finds friends who praise and recommend him, and in the end he is accepted by the prince, who confers an office on him.
Circumstances often arise that lead one to seek a home abroad. If one knows how to strike the right note and to introduce oneself in the right way, one may find a circle of friends and a field of activity even in a foreign land.
The bird’s nest burns.The wanderer laughs at first,then must lament and weep.Through carelessness he loses the cow. Misfortune!
As the bird’s nest burns, so you lose your resting place when you grow careless. Anyone who gives themselves over to jokes and laughter and forgets they are a stranger will later have cause to lament and weep. Hold on to your modest adaptability; losing it through carelessness turns out badly.
The image of the bird whose nest burns shows the loss of a resting place. If the bird was careless and incautious in building its nest, this calamity can befall it. So too with the wanderer. If he lets himself go in jest and laughter and no longer remembers that he is a wanderer, he will later have cause to weep and lament. For if through carelessness one loses one’s cow, that is, one’s modest adaptability, that is 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.