謙 → 臨

Commentary

Earth holds the mountain in modesty, and the verse invokes the ritual of receiving the mandate in the ancestral temple — 受終文祖 — echoing the language of Shun's accession in the Book of Documents. From decline, one rises again; by righteousness one withdraws into principled seclusion. Though the path is bitter, there is no blame. The phrase 承衰復起 captures the arc of dynastic or personal renewal: inheriting a weakened legacy and restoring it through moral effort. From Modesty to Approach, earth rises above the lake — the ruler drawing near to the people with teaching and protection. The verse affirms that legitimate authority renews itself through ritual propriety and moral self-restraint, not through force. Bitter endurance, rightly borne, leads to blameless governance.