Hexagram 1 · 乾 · qián
Hexagram 1. Qián · The Creative
☰☰ Heaven over heaven: Qián above, Qián below.
I. Treatise on the Thwan, that is, on king Wan’s
I. Treatise on the Thwan, that is, on king Wan’s
Pure light, six unbroken lines: a time of powerful creative impulse. Whatever is begun now with a clear heart is carried by the very course of things. Act as heaven acts — tirelessly, evenly, without haste; strength without steadfastness disperses.
The Image
Six strong lines — active force at full concentration. In practical terms, a time for leaders and pioneers: what is begun now carries its own momentum of growth. Yet pure yang tolerates no fuss or pettiness: act largely, consistently, in cycles, as heaven moves. One danger only — pride at the summit: success credited to oneself alone begins to crumble.
Interpretation of hexagram 1
THE APPENDIXES. Explanations of the entire Hexagrams.
The lines of hexagram 1
First line
Kliien says that Confucius wrote various appendixes to the Yi, specifying all but two of the treatises, which go
W/iien to Li.213-237
Second line
The Yi happily escaped the fires of 3 hin, which proved so disastrous to most of the ancient literature of China in
Hsien to Wei Si.238-266
Third line
It may be assumed then that the Yt King, properly
II. Treatise on the Symbolism of the Hexagrams,
Fourth line
We have thus traced the text of the Yi to its authors, the famous king Wan in the year 1143 B. c., and his equally famous son, the duke of Wau, in between thirty and
and of the duke of WAu’s Explanations of
Fifth line
Native scholars have of course been well aware of the difference in time between the appearance of the Text and Labours of the Appendixes; and in the Khang-hsi edition scholars 6 on °*" them the two are printed separately, the Yl. Only now and then, however, has any critic ventured to doubt that the two parts formed one homo¬ geneous whole, or that all the appendixes were from the style or pencil of Confucius. Hundreds of them have brought a wonderful and consistent meaning out of the Text; but to find in it or in the Appendixes what is un¬ reasonable, or any inconsistency between them, would be to impeach the infallibility of Confucius, and stamp on themselves the brand of heterodoxy.
the several Lines.
Top line
Having described the Yi King as consisting of a text in explanation of certain lineal figures, and of appendixes to it, and having traced the composition of the former to
Kfntn to Li.267-305
Did hexagram 1 come up in your reading? The oracle itself gives the full reading, with changing lines and the second hexagram.
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