升 → 未濟

Commentary

Wood grows within the earth, but one who buys jade receives only stone, losing the very thing desired. Meanwhile, the man who 'carries a basket and strikes the stone chime' hides from the world, making no sound at all. The basket-carrier striking the chime comes from the Analects: a recluse heard Confucius playing his stone chime and remarked, 'How stubborn, this chiming! If no one understands you, simply stop.' The verse pairs counterfeit value with chosen silence — the jade that was never jade, and the sage who refuses to perform for an uncomprehending world. Fire over water, the image of Before Completion, shows everything still out of place and uncrossed. From Pushing Upward to Before Completion, the ascending impulse arrives at a threshold it cannot cross. Not every ascent reaches its destination.