Outcome of merger between United Technologies UTX and Raytheon RTN

HEXAGRAM 53 – Chien – Development (Gradual Progress)

Above    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

Below    KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

This hexagram is made up of

• Sun (wood, penetration) above, i.e., without, and
  
• Ken (mountain, stillness) below, i.e., within.
  

A tree on a mountain

• develops slowly according to the law of its being and consequently
  
• stands firmly rooted.
  

This gives the idea of

a development that proceeds gradually, step by step.

The attributes of the trigrams also point to this:

• within is tranquility,
  
  • which guards against precipitate actions, and
    
• without is penetration,
  
  • which makes development and progress possible.
    

THE JUDGMENT

DEVELOPMENT.

The maiden

Is given in marriage.

Good fortune.

Perseverance furthers.

1. The development of events that
   

leads to a girl’s following a man to his home proceeds slowly.

The various formalities must be disposed of before

the marriage takes place.

This principle of gradual development can be applied to other situations as well;

it is always applicable where

1. it is a matter of correct relationships of co-operation,
   

as for instance in

the appointment of an official.

The development must be allowed to take its proper course.

Hasty action would not be wise.

This is also true, finally, of

1. any effort to exert influence on others,
   

for here too

the essential factor is a correct way of development

through cultivation of one’s own personality.

No influence such as that exerted by agitators has a lasting effect.

Within the personality too,

development must follow the same course

if lasting results are to be achieved.

Gentleness

• that is adaptable,
  
• but at the same time penetrating,
  

is the outer form that should proceed from inner calm.

The very gradualness of the development

makes it necessary to have perseverance,

for perseverance alone prevents slow progress from dwindling to nothing.

THE IMAGE

On the mountain, a tree: The image of DEVELOPMENT.

Thus the superior man

abides in dignity and virtue,

In order to improve the mores.

The tree on the mountain

• is visible from afar, and
  
• its development influences the landscape of the entire region.
  

It does not shoot up like a swamp plant;

its growth proceeds gradually.

Thus also

the work of influencing people can be only gradual.

No sudden influence or awakening is of lasting effect.

Progress must be quite gradual, and

in order to obtain such progress

• in public opinion and
  
• in the mores of the people,
  

it is necessary for the personality to acquire

• influence and
  
• weight.
  

This comes about through careful and constant work

on one’s own moral development.

THE LINES

Six at the beginning means:

The wild goose gradually draws near the shore.

The young son is in danger.

There is talk.

No blame.

All the individual lines in this hexagram symbolize

the gradual flight of the wild goose.

The wild goose is the symbol of conjugal fidelity,

because it is believed that

this bird never takes another mate after the death of the first.

The initial line suggests the first resting place in the flight of water birds from the water to the heights.

The shore is reached.

The situation is that of a lonely young man who is just starting out to make his way in life.

Since no one comes to help him,

• his first steps are slow and hesitant, and
  
• he is surrounded by danger.
  

Naturally he is subjected to much criticism.

But

• these very difficulties keep him from being too hasty, and
  
• his progress is successful.
  

Six in the fourth place means:

The wild goose gradually draws near the tree.

Perhaps it will find a flat branch.

No blame.

A tree is not a suitable place for a wild goose.

But if

it is clever,

it will find a flat branch on which it can get a footing.

A man’s life too, in the course of its development, often

brings him into inappropriate situations,

in which

he finds it difficult to hold his own without danger.

Then it is important to be

• sensible and
  
• yielding.
  

This enables him to discover a safe place in which life can go on,

although

he may be surrounded by danger.

Nine at the top means:

The wild goose gradually draws near the cloud heights.

Its feathers can be used for the sacred dance.

Good fortune.

Here life comes to its end.

A man’s work stands completed.

The path rises high toward heaven,

like the flight of wild geese when they have left the earth far behind.

There

they fly, keeping to the order of their flight in strict formation.

And if their feathers fall,

they can serve as ornaments in the sacred dance pantomimes performed in the temples.

Thus

the life of a man who has perfected himself

is a bright light for the people of the earth,

who look up to him as an example.

MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 49 – Ko – Revolution (Molting)

Above    TUI    THE JOYOUS, LAKE

Below    LI    THE CLINGING, FIRE

The Chinese character for this hexagram means in its original sense

an animal’s pelt, which is changed in the course of the year by molting.

From this the word is carried over to apply to

• the “molting” in political life,
  
• the great revolutions connected with changes of governments.
  

The two trigram making up the hexagram are

the same two that appear in K’uei, OPPOSITION (38), that is,

the two younger daughters, Li and Tui.

But while

there

• the elder of the two daughters is above, and
  
  • what results is essentially only an opposition of tendencies,
    

here

• the younger daughter is above.
  
  • The influences are in actual conflict, and
    
  • the forces combat each other like fire and water (lake), each trying to destroy the other.
    

Hence the idea of revolution.

THE JUDGMENT

REVOLUTION

On your own day

You are believed.

Supreme success,

Furthering through perseverance.

Remorse disappears.

Political revolutions are extremely grave matters.

They should be undertaken

• only under stress of direst necessity,
  
• when there is no way out.
  

• Not everyone is called to this task,
  
• but only the man who has the confidence of the people, and
  

  even he only when the time is ripe.
  

• He must then proceed in the right way, so that
  
• he
  
  • gladdens the people and, by enlightening them,
    
  • prevents excesses.
    

Furthermore,

he

• must be quite free of selfish aims and
  
• must really relieve the need of the people.
  

Only then does he have nothing to regret.

Times change, and with them their demands.

• Thus the seasons change in the course of the year.
  

In the world cycle also

• there are spring and autumn in the life of peoples and nations, and
  
• these call for social transformations.
  

THE IMAGE

Fire in the lake: the image of REVOLUTION.

Thus the superior man

• Sets the calendar in order And
  
• makes the seasons clear.
  

Fire below and the lake above combat and destroy each other.

So too in the course of the year a combat takes place between

• the forces of light and
  
• the forces of darkness,
  
  • eventuating in the revolution of the seasons.
    

Man masters these changes in nature by

• noting their regularity and
  
• marking off the passage of time accordingly.
  

In this way

• order and clarity appear in the apparently chaotic changes of the seasons, and
  
• man is able to adjust himself in advance to the demands of the different times.
  

Comments

comments