Qian and Kun, Sun and Moon, and the Governance of the Sage (chapters 1-6)

1 Qian and Kun are the gates of the Changes, the parents of all the hexagrams. Kan and Li form the frame; they turn the hub around its true axle. The four female and male hexagrams make the bellows. They encompass the way of yin and yang, like a skilled charioteer who follows the marking line, holds the reins, sets square and compass true, and follows the wheel tracks: stationed at the center, he governs what lies outside. Their numbers are recorded in pitch pipes and calendars. A lunar interval has five and six; warp and weft obey the sun's command, joining to make sixty; firm and yielding have inner and outer faces. At dawn on the new moon, Zhun takes its charge; by nightfall Meng receives it. Each day and each night has one hexagram, used in due sequence. Before the dark moon has yielded to dawn, the end begins anew: sun and moon set the measure, motion and stillness have their morning and evening. Spring and summer occupy the inner body, from zi through chen and si; autumn and winter work outwardly, from wu through xu and hai. Reward and punishment answer spring and autumn; dusk and light follow cold and heat. The line texts hold benevolence and justice, showing joy and anger as the season demands. Thus they answer the four seasons, and the five phases take their proper course.

2 Heaven and earth establish their stations, and the Changes move between them. Heaven and earth are the images of Qian and Kun; establishing stations means arranging the places where yin and yang pair. By the Changes is meant Kan and Li, the two workings of Qian and Kun. These two workings have no fixed line-positions: they circulate through the six empty places, coming and going without fixed course, rising and falling without constant rule. Hidden and submerged, they transform within; they contain the myriad things and provide the order of the Way. The nonexistent governs the existent: what serves the vessel is its emptiness. Thus, if one pursues waxing and waning, Kan and Li disappear. These words are not carelessly made, these arguments not born of emptiness: observed results are brought as proof; the divine workings are compared and measured. The argument is traced and its words composed with the original principle as evidence.Kan bears wu, the moon's essence; Li bears ji, the sun's light. Sun and moon make the Changes, firm and yielding matching one another. Earth flourishes in all four seasons and binds beginning to end; blue, red, black, and white each inhabit a quarter, yet all depend upon the center and the work of wu and ji.

3 The Changes are images. Among the images suspended aloft and made manifest, none is greater than sun and moon. Probe the spirit to know transformation: when yang departs yin comes; spokes converge and the wheel turns; entry and exit alternate, now folding, now unfolding. The Changes have three hundred eighty-four lines: from the lines one selects the tallies, which are the sixty-four hexagrams. From the dark moon to new-moon dawn, Zhen arrives to receive its tally. Then heaven and earth join their essences, and sun and moon bear each other up. Male yang spreads its dark seed; female yin transforms the yellow envelope. Chaos joins with chaos, establishing the first foundation. They tend and nurture the boundaries, concentrating spirit to form a body. The multitude walk forth from it; no creeping thing is otherwise born.

4 Then Confucius praised the primal mist: the powers of Qian and Kun penetrate the void. Looking back to the first sovereign, the ospreys' call establishes the first beginning; at the crowning and wedding, breaths intertwine, and in the first year shoots arise and grow. The sage is not born in vain: he looks upward and discerns heaven's manifest tallies. Heaven's tallies advance and withdraw, bending and extending in season. Thus the Changes govern heaven's heart: the hexagram Fu establishes the budding beginning; the eldest son inherits his father's body and through his mother plants the germ of its foundation. Waxing and waning accord with the central pitch pipe, ascent and descent follow the Dipper's pivot. On the third day, the moon emerges in brightness: Zhen, with geng, receives the west. On the eighth, Dui receives ding, the first-quarter moon level as a cord. On the fifteenth Qian's body is complete, full in the east with jia. The toad and the hare's moon-soul: the breaths of sun and moon shine together. The toad marks the hexagram intervals; the hare gives forth living light. After the seventh and eighth the course is complete; it bends and descends. On the sixteenth the rule changes hands: Xun with xin appears at dawn; Gen is stationed with bing in the south, the last quarter on the twenty-third. Kun with yi, on the thirtieth day, loses its companion in the northeast. When an interval ends, they yield to one another; inheriting the body, the dragon is born again. Ren and gui pair with jia and yi; Qian and Kun encompass end and beginning. Seven and eight make fifteen; nine and six correspond as well; the four together make thirty, and yang breath is sought out, extinguished, and hidden. The eight hexagrams display the luminaries, moving in their courses without losing the center. The primal essence is too subtle to see; measure its effects by the confirming tallies. At rest observe its images and take their forms as your model; set up a gnomon for a standard, and by watching signs determine fortune and misfortune. Issue commands in accord with the seasons; do not miss the moment when a line moves. Above, examine the River's patterns; below, set the earth's shapes and streams in order; at the center, investigate the human heart, bringing the three powers together for examination. In motion follow the hexagrams' intervals; in stillness rely on the judgments. When Qian and Kun put their workings into effect, the world is governed.

5 At the beginning of government, renew the cauldron and transform the old. Gather and enclose the subtle and secret; open and spread the treasures. The pivotal handle of the essential Way governs the bonds of transformation. Line-images move within; fortune and misfortune arise without. The five planets cross or proceed in order, stirred in answer to their season. The four and seven fall out of alignment, scattering and tilting. Wenchang keeps the records and calls the high ministers to account; the hundred officers each govern their proper departments. The sun unites the essence of the five phases; the moon receives the order of the six pitch pipes. Five times six makes thirty degrees; when the degrees are finished, the cycle begins again. Seek the beginning and grasp the end, the thread of survival and ruin: a ruler may be arrogant and idle, overfull and contrary to the Way, or a minister may be false and flattering, his conduct straying from the track.At quarter and full moons, fullness and contraction bring errant changes and ill fortune. The officers of law censure faults and present the ruler with his errors. The celestial pole receives its true position and calmly lets those below perform their tasks. Government issues from the Hall of Light, and the realm's Way comes to no harm.

6 Within, nourish yourself in quietude and emptiness. Seek the root, conceal your brightness, shine inward upon your body. Close its openings and build firm the spirit's root. The three lights sink from sight; warm and nurture the child-pearl. It cannot be seen, yet is near and easy to seek. Yellow at the center gradually opens its channels, and moist radiance reaches the skin. When the beginning is set right, the end is perfected; when the stem is established, it cannot yet be grasped. The One conceals it: the people of the world know nothing of it.

1 Qian and Kun are the gates of the Changes and the parents of all the hexagrams. Kan and Li form the frame; the wheel turns around its true axle. These four hexagrams, female and male, serve as the bellows. They cover the workings of yin and yang. A skilled driver follows a measuring line, holds the reins, keeps to rule and square, and follows the tracks. He stays at the center to control what is outside; the numbers are recorded in musical measures and the calendar. Each month has five groups of six days. Its crossing lines obey the sun's direction; together they make sixty, with firmness and softness both inside and outside. At the new moon's dawn, Zhun takes charge; by evening Meng takes over. Each day and night has its own hexagram, applied in order. Even before the dark end of the month and the next dawn, an ending becomes a new beginning. Sun and moon set the measure of time; activity and rest have their early and late hours. Spring and summer occupy the inner body, from zi through chen and si; autumn and winter work on the outside, from wu through xu and hai. Rewards and punishments answer to spring and autumn, darkness and light follow cold and heat, and the words for the lines speak of kindness and justice. Joy and anger arise as the time requires. When these answer to the four seasons, the five phases keep their proper order.

2 Heaven and earth take their places, and the Changes move between them. Heaven and earth are images of Qian and Kun. Taking their places means setting out the paired places of yin and yang. The Changes here means Kan and Li, the two functions of Qian and Kun. These two have no fixed line-places. They circulate through the six empty places, going and coming without fixed course, above and below without settled position. Hidden deep, they change within, contain all things, and form the framework of the Way. What has no substance controls what has substance; the usefulness of a vessel lies in its empty space. So when you trace waxing and waning, Kan and Li disappear. These words are not made up lightly, nor are these arguments invented without grounds. Observed results serve as tests; measures are checked against the divine order. Reasoning is set down in words, and the underlying principle supplies the proof.Kan has wu and the essence of the moon; Li has ji and the sun's light. Sun and moon make up the Changes, with hard and soft matched. Earth is strong in all four seasons, weaving through beginning and end. Blue-green, red, black, and white each occupy a direction; all depend on the center, the work of wu and ji.

3 The Changes are images. Of the bright signs hung in the sky, none is greater than the sun and moon. Probe the mysterious to understand change: when yang goes, yin comes. They gather at the hub and the wheel turns, entering and leaving, folding and unfolding in turn. The Changes has 384 lines; from the lines one selects the tallies, that is, the sixty-four hexagrams. Between the month's last dark day and the new moon's dawn, Zhen comes to receive the tally. At this point heaven and earth join their essences, and sun and moon support each other. Male yang spreads its dark seed; female yin changes it into a yellow covering. They meet in a confused mass and lay the first foundation. They tend and nourish its boundaries, gather its spirit, and form its body. Everyone is born by this path; everything that crawls comes from it.

4 Thus Confucius praised the original undivided state. The power of Qian and Kun reaches through empty space. Studying antiquity leads back to the first ruler; the mating ospreys mark the beginning. The coming together at marriage binds their energies, and in the first year the sprout grows. The sage does not arise for nothing: he looks up to see the signs of heaven. Heaven's signs advance and withdraw, bending and stretching with the time. Thus the Changes express heaven's purpose. Fu begins the first sprout; the eldest son takes over his father's body and receives the first foundation through his mother. Waxing and waning follow the central measure; rising and falling follow the pivot of the Dipper. On the third day the light emerges: Zhen with geng receives the west. On the eighth day Dui receives ding; the first-quarter moon is level as a line. On the fifteenth Qian's body is complete, full in the east with jia. The toad and the rabbit's moon-spirit accompany the light of sun and moon. The toad marks the stages of the hexagrams; the rabbit sends forth growing light. After seven and eight the course is finished and bends downward. On the sixteenth the succession turns: Xun with xin appears at dawn. Gen stands with bing in the south; the last quarter falls on the twenty-third. Kun with yi comes on the thirtieth day; in the northeast it loses its companion. As one stage ends it hands over to the next; the dragon is born again in its successor. Ren and gui pair with jia and yi; Qian and Kun enclose beginning and end. Seven and eight make fifteen; nine and six correspond too. The four together make thirty, when yang energy is sought but lies hidden and extinguished. The eight hexagrams set out their lights, moving without losing the center. The original essence is too slight to see, but calculation and the tallies give evidence. At rest, observe its images and use its shapes as a model. Set up a measuring post to serve as a standard; watch signs to determine good and bad fortune. Give orders according to the season, without missing the time when a line changes. Above, inspect the patterns of the River; below, set out the forms and currents of earth; between them, examine the human heart. Compare these three powers together. In action follow the hexagrams' stages; in rest follow the judgments. When Qian and Kun carry out their work, the world is governed.

5 The first step in government is to replace the old with the new. Control what is small and hidden, and open up and spread the treasures. Hold the chief handle of the essential Way, the central bond that governs change. When the images of the lines move within, good and bad fortune arise outside. The five planets move with and against one another, responding to the time. The four and seven go out of order, separating and dipping or rising. Wenchang oversees the records, questions the chief ministers and their aides; the officials each manage their assigned departments. The sun joins the essences of the five phases; the moon follows the six musical measures. Five times six makes thirty degrees; once these are complete they begin again. Trace the beginning and attend to the end, the course of survival and destruction: a ruler may be proud and idle, overfull and contrary to the Way, or a minister may be corrupt and flattering, acting outside the proper track.At the quarter and full moons, waxing and waning may go astray and cause harm. The officials charged with enforcing the law criticize faults and report them to their ruler. The pole of heaven receives the correct alignment and freely delegates matters below. Government is proclaimed in the Bright Hall, and the state has no path to harm.

6 Within, nourish yourself in quiet and emptiness. Seek the root hidden in the light and shine inward on the body. Close your openings and firmly secure the living root. The three lights sink from view; gently nurture the child, the pearl. It cannot be seen, though it is close and easy to seek. Yellow at the center gradually opens its channels, and moisture reaches the skin. Set the beginning right, and the end will be sound; once the stem stands, it cannot yet be held. The One conceals it, and ordinary people do not know it.