坤 → 比

Commentary

Earth upon earth yields to water upon earth — Holding Together. Virtue bright as jade emerges from a dark valley, rises high on beating wings, and its radiance illuminates the realm. The phrase 'Kong de' may allude to Confucius, whose virtue (de) shone despite his origins in obscurity. The jade-like quality emerging from a secluded valley echoes the Shijing image of the crane crying in hidden marshes, its voice heard in the open wild. From the Receptive to Holding Together, the earth that once merely supported now actively elevates: what was buried in Kun's lowland rises into public view. Water upon earth, the image of Bi, shows how luminous virtue draws others to congregate around it, creating bonds of allegiance through moral radiance rather than coercion.