升 → 歸妹

Commentary

Wood grows within the earth, and one who cultivates benevolence through daily practice of virtue finds blessings increasing with each passing day. No ill words approach the household; misfortune and supernatural calamity alike are extinguished before they arrive. The verse describes the cumulative protective power of virtuous living: evil simply cannot attach itself to a person whose conduct is consistently and genuinely humane over time. Thunder over lake, the image of the Marrying Maiden, teaches that lasting bonds require understanding inevitable limitations. From Pushing Upward to the Marrying Maiden, the ascending impulse enters a commitment that demands both devotion and realism. Virtue steadily accumulated becomes an invisible shield no malign force can pierce.