ZoomInfo Technologies Inc ZI under CEO Henry Schuck

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc ZI under CEO Henry Schuck

 

HEXAGRAM 64 – Wei Chi – Before Completion

Above    Li    THE CLINGING, FLAME

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

This hexagram indicates a time when

the transition from disorder to order is not yet completed.

The change is indeed prepared for,

since

all the lines in the upper trigram are in relation to those in the lower (1).

However,

they are not yet in their places.

While

• the preceding hexagram offers an analogy to autumn,
  
  • which forms the transition
    

    from summer to winter,
    

• this hexagram presents a parallel to spring,
  
  • which leads out of winter’s stagnation into
    

    the fruitful time of summer.
    

With this hopeful outlook the Book of Changes comes to its close.

 

THE JUDGMENT

BEFORE COMPLETION.

Success.

But if the little fox, after nearly completing the crossing,

Gets his tail in the water,

There is nothing that would further.

The conditions are difficult.

The task is great and full of responsibility.

It is nothing less than that of

leading the world out of confusion back to order.

But

it is a task that promises success,

because

there is a goal that can unite the forces now tending in different directions.

At first, however,

one must move warily, like an old fox walking over ice.

The caution of a fox walking over ice is proverbial in China.

His ears are constantly alert to the cracking of the ice,

as

he carefully and circumspectly searches out the safest spots.

A young fox who as yet has not acquired this caution

goes ahead boldly,

and it may happen that

he falls in and gets his tail wet

when

he is almost across the water.

Then of course

his effort has been all in vain.

Accordingly, in times “before completion,”

• deliberation
  

and

• caution
  

are the prerequisites of success.

 

THE IMAGE

Fire over water: The image of the condition before transition.

Thus

the superior man is careful

In the differentiation of things,

So that each finds its place.

When

fire,

• which by nature flames upward,
  

  is above,
  

and

water,

• which flows downward,
  

  is below,
  

their effects

• take opposite directions
  

and

• remain unrelated.
  

If

• we wish to achieve an effect,
  
• we must first
  
  • investigate the nature of the forces in question
    

    and
    

  • ascertain their proper place.
    

If

• we can bring these forces to bear in the right place,
  
  • they will have the desired effect,
    

  and
  

  • completion will be achieved.
    

But in order to handle external forces properly,

• we must above all arrive at the correct standpoint ourselves,
  

  for only from this vantage can we work correctly.
  

 

THE LINES

 

Nine in the fourth place means:

Perseverance brings good fortune.

Remorse disappears.

Shock, thus to discipline the Devil’s Country.

For three years, great realms are awarded.

Now it is the time of struggle.

The transition must be completed.

We

• must make ourselves strong in resolution;
  

  this brings good fortune.
  

All misgivings that might arise in such grave times of struggle

• must be silenced.
  

It is a question of a fierce battle

• to break
  

and

• to discipline
  

the Devil´s Country, the forces of decadence.

But

• the struggle also has its reward.
  

Now is the time to lay the foundations of

• power
  

and

• mastery
  

for the future.

 

Nine at the top means:

There is drinking of wine

In genuine confidence.

No blame.

But if

one wets his head,

He loses it, in truth.

Before completion, at the dawning of the new time,

• friends foregather in an atmosphere of mutual trust,
  

and

• the time of waiting is passed in conviviality.
  

Since

the new era is hard on the threshold,

there is no blame in this.

But

one must be careful in all this to keep within proper bounds.

If in his exuberance

• a man gets drunk,
  
• he forfeits the favorableness of the situation
  

  through his intemperance.
  

 

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

 

HEXAGRAM 07 – Shih – The Army

Above    K’UN    THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

This hexagram is made up of the trigrams

• K’an, water, and
  
• K’un, earth, and thus,
  

it symbolizes the ground water stored up in the earth.

In the same way military strength is stored up in the mass of the people –

• invisible in times of peace but
  
• always ready for use as a source of power.
  

The attributes of the two trigrams are

• danger inside and
  
• obedience outside.
  

This points to the nature of an army,

which at the core is dangerous,

while discipline and obedience must prevail outside.

Of the individual lines,

the one that controls the hexagram is the strong nine in the second place

to which the other lines, all yielding, are subordinate.

This line indicates a commander,

because it stands in the middle of one of the two trigrams.

But since it is in the lower rather than the upper trigram,

it represents not the ruler

but the efficient general,

who maintains obedience in the army by his authority.

 

THE JUDGMENT

THE ARMY.

The army needs perseverance

And a strong man.

Good fortune without blame.

An army is a mass that needs organization in order to become a fighting force.

Without strict discipline nothing can be accomplished, but this discipline must not be achieved by force.

It requires a strong man who

• captures the hearts of the people and
  
• awakens their enthusiasm.
  

In order that he may develop his abilities

he needs the complete confidence of his ruler,

who must entrust him with full responsibility as long as the war lasts.

But war

• is always a dangerous thing and
  
• brings with it destruction and devastation.
  

Therefore it

• should not be resorted to rashly but, like a poisonous drug,
  
• should be used as a last recourse.
  

• The justifying cause of a war, and
  
• clear and intelligible war aims,
  

ought to be explained to the people by an experienced leader.

Unless there is a quite definite war aim to which the people can consciously pledge themselves,

the unity and strength of conviction that lead to victory will not be forth coming.

But the leader must also look to it that

• the passion of war and
  
• the delirium of victory
  

do not give rise to unjust acts that will not meet with general approval.

If justice and perseverance are the basis of action, all goes well.

 

THE IMAGE

In the middle of the earth is water: The image of THE ARMY.

Thus the superior man increases his masses

By generosity toward the people.

Ground water is invisibly present within the earth.

In the same way the military power of a people is invisibly present in the masses.

• When danger threatens, every peasant becomes a soldier;
  
• when the war ends, he goes back to his plow.
  

He who is generous toward the people wins their love, and

a people living under a mild rule becomes strong and powerful.

Only a people economically strong can be important in military power.

Such power must therefore be cultivated

• by improving the economic condition of the people and
  
• by humane government.
  

Only when there is this invisible bond between government and people,

so that the people are sheltered by their government as ground water is sheltered by the earth,

is it possible to wage a victorious war.

Comments

comments