大壯 → 蠱

Commentary

Thunder above heaven extends virtue to the eight directions. Barbarian peoples submit willingly, pest insects cease their destruction, and the roads are free of cruelty and wickedness. This is the idealized vision of sage governance where moral radiation alone pacifies the world — no armies needed, no punishments required. The phrase 'virtue covers the eight regions' echoes Han-era panegyric describing the reach of imperial civilization. From Great Power to Work on the Decayed, wind stirs beneath the mountain in Gu. The paradox is telling: Gu represents corruption that must be repaired, yet the verse describes a world already perfected. The implication is that such perfection is the result of having already done the difficult work of renovation — power channeled into moral repair yields a realm where decay no longer breeds.