六爻
The Ancient of Days
䷀

第1卦

乾

Qián

The Creative

The Ancient of Days — William Blake, 1794

William Blake's divine geometer bends forward from clouds of radiant gold, compass extended to measure the abyss below. The Ancient of Days, etched in 1794 as the frontispiece to Europe: A Prophecy, depicts the moment before creation—pure potential gathering itself to impose order on chaos. Blake's bearded figure crouches within a solar disk, his instrument poised to inscribe circles onto the darkness beneath. The muscular form radiates outward in concentric waves of yellow and orange light, energy made visible.

阅读完整论述 ↓

This is Qián (乾), the first hexagram. Six unbroken lines—Heaven (☰) doubled—form the I-Ching's opening statement. The character 乾 originally depicted the sun's rising energy, yang principle in its most concentrated expression. In Zhou Dynasty divination, this configuration appeared when circumstances favored bold initiative, when creative force moved without obstruction. Blake's compass-wielding creator embodies this: active, strong, light-giving, the movement that initiates rather than receives. Blake's frontispiece depicts the divine geometer creating the universe with compass and radiant energy. The image portrays primordial creative force—God as architect measuring the cosmos into being, pure yang principle manifesting through geometric order. The Judgment declares: "The Creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance." Blake painted a god who perseveres in measurement, who sustains the act of creation through focused will. Ancient diviners associated Qián with the dragon—not the European monster but the Chinese symbol of awakening spring energy. The Image Text counsels: "The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring." Six unbroken lines demand sustained effort, the muscular tension visible in Blake's figure as he holds his position against the infinite. In the I-Ching's sequence, Qián stands first because all other hexagrams derive from the interplay of yang and yin that begins here—pure creative force seeking form.

上卦

☰

乾 Qián

Heaven — Creative

五行Metal方位South家庭Father性质creative, strong, dynamic

下卦

☰

乾 Qián

Heaven — Creative

五行Metal方位South家庭Father性质creative, strong, dynamic

经典文本

彖辞

You're initiating, not reacting. Success comes through sustained commitment to what's right. Creative force aligned with natural law brings transformation—perseverance is the method.

爻辞

第初爻

You have the power but not the moment. Wait. Premature force wastes what you're building.

第二爻

You're becoming visible. Influence manifests through natural presence, not forced effort. Seek those of moral stature—alignment compounds when the principled meet.

第三爻

You're visible now—fame brings crowds who can corrupt through flattery or pull you off course. Stay vigilant. Self-examination is the only defense. No fault if you maintain the axis.

第四爻

Here's the choice: advance into the world or withdraw to develop yourself. Either path is blameless if you're true to your nature, not external pressure.

第五爻

Peak influence. Those aligned with you will find you—no need to search. What you are draws what accords with your nature. Water to water, fire to fire.

第上爻

Here's the danger: climb too high and you lose connection with those you serve. Isolation follows. Power without ground leads to inevitable collapse.

焦氏易林

焦延寿《易林》——第1卦本卦之辞。西汉时期以四言诗阐释卦变，为最早的系统性易学占辞集。

Yilin artwork for Hexagram 1
道陟石阪，胡言連蹇。譯瘖且聾，莫使道通。請謁不行，求事無功。

天行健，乾之重卦，陽剛至極。

阅读完整注释 ↓

天行健，乾之重卦，陽剛至極。然道陟石阪，步步蹇滯。譯者既瘖且聾，訊息無從傳遞，請謁不行，求事無功。純陽無陰以應，力量雖盛卻無承接之道。此非力弱，乃通路斷絕。乾遇乾，自強不息之勢反成空轉——天之健行若無所傳導，再強之動能亦歸於徒然。剛而無柔，動而無應，為此爻之戒。

English commentary

Doubled heaven drives ceaselessly forward, yet here the road climbs a stone slope and every step falters. The interpreter is mute and deaf; no message passes through. Petitions go unanswered, undertakings yield nothing. When Qian meets itself, pure yang has no receptive counterpart — all force, no channel. The image is not weakness but blockage: a powerful signal broadcast into a void where no receiver exists. From Creative to Creative, the transformation warns that initiative without communication is merely noise. Even heaven's tireless motion accomplishes nothing when the path itself refuses to conduct it.

卦变

第1卦变为其余各卦，附焦氏易林诗辞。

䷀1䷁2䷂3䷃4䷄5䷅6䷆7䷇8䷈9䷉10䷊11䷋12䷌13䷍14䷎15䷏16䷐17䷑18䷒19䷓20䷔21䷕22䷖23䷗24䷘25䷙26䷚27䷛28䷜29䷝30䷞31䷟32䷠33䷡34䷢35䷣36䷤37䷥38䷦39䷧40䷨41䷩42䷪43䷫44䷬45䷭46䷮47䷯48䷰49䷱50䷲51䷳52䷴53䷵54䷶55䷷56䷸57䷹58䷺59䷻60䷼61䷽62䷾63䷿64

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