Upper Trigram
離 Lí
Fire — Clinging
Lower Trigram
巽 Xùn
Wind — Gentle
Classical Texts
The Judgment
Supreme good fortune. Success. The well relates to the social foundation of life; the caldron refers to the cultural superstructure. Wood serves as nourishment for the flame, the spirit. All that is visible must grow beyond itself, extend into the realm of the invisible. The highest earthly values must be sacrificed to the divine. But the truly divine manifests in prophets and holy people. To venerate them is true veneration. Accept their revealed will in humility—this brings inner enlightenment and true understanding.
The Lines
Line 1
A ting with legs upturned. Furthers removal of stagnating stuff. Taking a concubine for the sake of her son. No blame. Turning the ting upside down before use clears it of refuse. In highly developed civilization, every person of good will can succeed. No matter how lowly, provided you're ready to purify yourself, you are accepted. You attain a station where you can prove yourself fruitful.
Line 2
There is food in the ting. My comrades are envious, but they cannot harm me. Good fortune. In a period of advanced culture, achieving something significant is of the greatest importance. Concentrate on real undertakings, and you may experience envy and disfavor, but that is not dangerous. The more you limit yourself to actual achievements, the less harm the envious inflict.
Line 3
The handle of the ting is altered. One is impeded in their way of life. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once rain falls, remorse is spent. Good fortune comes in the end. No one notices or recognizes you. Good qualities and gifts of mind go to waste. But if you possess something truly spiritual, the time will come when difficulties resolve and all goes well. Rain symbolizes release of tension.
Line 4
The legs of the ting are broken. The prince's meal is spilled and his person is soiled. Misfortune. A difficult and responsible task to which you are not adequate. Moreover, you don't devote yourself to it with all your strength but go about with inferior people. Therefore the execution of work fails. Confucius says: 'Weak character coupled with honored place, meager knowledge with large plans, limited powers with heavy responsibility—this will seldom escape disaster.'
Line 5
The ting has yellow handles, golden carrying rings. Persistence furthers. In a ruling position, a person who is approachable and modest in nature. This attitude helps find strong and able helpers who complement and aid the work. Having achieved this attitude requiring constant self-abnegation, it is important to hold to it and not be led astray.
Line 6
The ting has rings of jade. Great good fortune. Nothing that would not act to further. Jade combines hardness with soft luster. Counsel works greatly to the advantage of the one who is open to it. In imparting it, be mild and pure, like precious jade. The work finds favor and becomes pleasing to all.
Yilin: Forest of Changes
From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 50 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.
積德之至，君政且溫，伊呂股肱，國富民安。
Virtue accumulated to its fullest; the lord's governance is gentle and warm. Yi Yin and Lu Shang serve as the sovereign's arms and legs; the state is rich and the people at peace.
Read full commentary ↓
Fire over wind fills the cauldron — and the cauldron transforms into itself, the purest expression of its own nature. Accumulated virtue reaches its zenith; the ruler governs with warmth and wisdom. Yi Yin and Lu Shang serve as the sovereign's right arms, and the nation grows rich while the people rest secure. Yi Yin, the cook who became Shang's founding minister, and Lu Shang (Taigong), the fisherman who became Zhou's founding strategist, represent the ideal of sage-ministers discovered in humble circumstances and elevated through merit. From The Cauldron to The Cauldron, the identity transformation signifies perfection: the vessel fulfills its own nature completely. The cauldron that cooks also governs — fire over wind, refining the offering until nothing remains but nourishment itself.
中文注释
木上有火，鼎之象——鼎化為鼎，本性之純粹表達。積德之至——德行積累至極致。君政且溫——君主施政溫厚。伊呂股肱——伊尹、呂尚為君之肱股。國富民安——國家富強，百姓安居。伊尹自庖廚而為商之開國元勛，呂尚自渭濱垂釣而為周之創業功臣。賢相出於卑微而終佐明君，此鼎之本義——烹飪以養賢，養賢以治國。從鼎至鼎，同卦之變，純一不雜。鼎既烹又治，火風相濟，冶煉至無雜質，唯養民之本。
Related Hexagrams
Same upper trigram: Fire (離)
Same lower trigram: Wind (巽)