否 → 漸

Commentary

Heaven and earth refuse to communicate: spring millet and summer pears are scarce and few. A bushel costs a thousand coins, a stone ten thousand — prices so high that no one can afford to trade. From Standstill to Development, Pi's scarcity should open into the gradual growth of trees on the mountain — Jian's patient, step-by-step progress. Yet the verse captures the cruellest form of stagnation: goods exist but are unattainable. The grain and fruit are simply too expensive. Jian's developmental patience is mocked by a market where even the wealthy cannot buy basic provisions. Development requires accessible beginnings — 'the gentleman dwells in worthy virtue and improves customs' — but when the starting cost is prohibitive, gradual progress cannot even begin.