The Great Commentary, Part One

Heaven is exalted and earth is lowly: Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth) are determined. Low and high are set out: noble and humble take their places. Movement and stillness have their constancy: firm and yielding are distinguished. Directions gather by kind, things divide into groups, and good and ill fortune arise. In heaven they become images, on earth forms, and change and transformation appear. Thus firm and yielding rub against each other and the eight trigrams stir one another. Thunder rouses them, wind and rain moisten them, sun and moon travel their courses: now cold, now heat. Qian's way makes the male; Kun's way makes the female. Qian governs the great beginning; Kun brings things to completion. Qian knows through ease; Kun works through simplicity. What is easy is easily understood; what is simple is easily followed. Easy understanding draws affection; easy following brings achievement. With affection one can endure; with achievement one can grow great. Endurance is the worthy person's virtue, greatness the worthy person's work. Through ease and simplicity, the principles of all under heaven are grasped; grasping them, one takes one's place in their midst.

The sages established the hexagrams and observed their images, attaching words to clarify good and ill fortune. Firm and yielding press upon each other and generate change. Good and ill fortune are images of gain and loss; regret and humiliation, images of worry and unease; change and transformation, images of advance and retreat; firm and yielding, images of day and night. The movement of the six lines embodies the way of the three powers. Therefore the order of the Changes is where the noble person dwells at ease; the words of the lines are what he delights in and ponders. At rest he observes the images and ponders their words; in action he observes their changes and ponders the divination. Thus heaven itself helps him: good fortune, nothing unfavorable.

The Judgment speaks of the image; the lines speak of change. Good and ill fortune speak of gain and loss; regret and humiliation of slight faults; no blame of making good one's errors. Thus noble and humble are arrayed in the positions; small and great are balanced in the hexagrams; good and ill fortune are distinguished in the words; concern for regret and humiliation lies in the slightest boundary; trembling at blame lies in regret. Hexagrams vary in size, words in danger and ease; the words point each to where it leads.

The Changes measures itself against heaven and earth, so it can encompass their way. Looking upward, one observes heaven's patterns; looking downward, one examines earth's arrangements, and so understands darkness and light. Tracing origins and returning to endings, one understands life and death. Refined vital breath becomes beings; wandering souls bring change, and so one understands the nature of spirits. Resembling heaven and earth, it does not defy them. Its knowledge reaches all beings and its way aids all under heaven without overstepping. Moving in every direction without straying, rejoicing in heaven and knowing destiny, it does not worry. At peace in its land, steadfast in humanity, it can love. It contains the transformations of heaven and earth without exceeding them, completes all beings in their particularity without neglecting any, and understands the way of day and night. Thus spirit has no fixed direction and the Changes no fixed body.

The alternation of yin and yang is called the way. What continues it is goodness; what completes it is nature. The humane see it and call it humanity; the wise see it and call it wisdom. Ordinary people use it every day without knowing it, and so the noble person's way is rare. It manifests in humanity and conceals itself in its workings; it stirs all beings without sharing the sages' worries. How splendid its abundant virtue and great achievement! Abundant possession is called great achievement; daily renewal, abundant virtue; generation upon generation, the Changes; the making of images, Qian; the imitation of forms, Kun; reckoning numbers to their limit to know what is coming, divination; comprehending change, affairs; and the unfathomable play of yin and yang, spirit.

The Changes is broad indeed, and great! Speaking of what is distant, nothing restrains it; speaking of what is near, it is still and precise; speaking of what lies between heaven and earth, it embraces all. Qian in stillness is concentrated and in movement straight: hence greatness is born. Kun in stillness is closed and in movement opens: hence breadth is born. Breadth and greatness match heaven and earth; change and continuity match the four seasons; the meaning of yin and yang matches sun and moon; the excellence of ease and simplicity matches the highest virtue.

The Master said: “How supreme are the Changes! Through them sages exalt virtue and enlarge their work. Wisdom rises high and ritual bends low; height models heaven, lowliness takes earth as its pattern. Heaven and earth set their places, and the Changes move between them. When a fulfilled nature is continually preserved, it becomes the gate of the way and of justice.”

Sages saw the hidden intricacies of all under heaven, likened them to shapes and appearances, and formed images fitting the things: these are called images. Sages saw the movements of all under heaven, observed where they met and passed through, and thus practiced proper rites. They attached words to judge good and ill fortune: these are called lines. One may speak of the world's deepest intricacies without revulsion and of its most restless movements without confusion. First find the likeness, then speak; first deliberate, then move. Comparison and deliberation bring change and transformation to completion.

“A crane calls in the shade; its young answer it. I have a fine cup of wine; I will share it with you.” The Master said: “When a noble person speaks good words within his chamber, people a thousand miles away respond; how much more those near him! When he speaks bad words there, people a thousand miles away turn away; how much more those near him! Words issue from oneself and take hold among the people; actions begin nearby and are seen afar. Words and deeds are the noble person's pivot and mechanism; when they move, honor and disgrace are determined. Words and deeds are how the noble person moves heaven and earth. Can he fail to take care?” “In fellowship with others, first they cry and wail, then laugh.” The Master said: “The noble person's way sometimes goes forth, sometimes stays; sometimes falls silent, sometimes speaks. Two people of one heart have a sharpness that cuts through metal. Words spoken from one heart are fragrant as orchids.”

“Six at the beginning: Lay down white rushes as a mat. No blame.” The Master said: “It would be enough to set the thing on the earth. But laying rushes beneath it—what blame could there be? This is care at its utmost. Rushes are slight things, yet their use may be weighty. Continue with such caution and nothing will be lost.”

“The noble person works and remains modest; he comes to completion. Good fortune.” The Master said: “Working without boasting, achieving without claiming credit, he is generous to the utmost. This describes one who humbles himself before others despite his achievement. Virtue speaks of abundance; ritual speaks of reverence. Modesty means offering reverence to preserve one's place.”

“The soaring dragon has regret.” The Master said: “Noble without position, exalted without people, with worthy persons in low places offering no help: to move under these conditions brings regret.”

“Not going beyond the inner courtyard. No blame.” The Master said: “Disorder begins with words. If a ruler lacks discretion, he loses his ministers; if a minister lacks discretion, he loses his life; if a delicate affair is not kept secret, it fails. Thus the noble person guards his secrets and does not let them out.”

The Master said: “Did the makers of the Changes understand thieves? The Classic says, ‘Carrying a load on one's back while riding in a carriage invites robbers.’ Carrying loads is the petty person's work; riding in a carriage is the noble person's privilege. When a petty person rides in the noble person's carriage, robbers think of taking it. When those above are careless and those below violent, robbers think of attacking. Careless storage teaches theft; seductive display teaches lust. The Classic says, ‘Carrying a load on one's back while riding in a carriage invites robbers.’ This is how one summons thieves.”

Heaven is one and earth two; heaven three and earth four; heaven five and earth six; heaven seven and earth eight; heaven nine and earth ten. Heaven has five numbers and earth five; their five places find one another, each with its mate. Heaven's numbers total twenty-five; earth's, thirty. Together their numbers total fifty-five. These produce transformation and set spirits in motion. The number of the great expansion is fifty, of which forty-nine are used. Divide them in two to symbolize the two powers; set one aside to symbolize the third. Count off in fours to symbolize the four seasons; place the remainder between the fingers to symbolize the intercalary month. There are two intercalary months in five years; thus place the remainder twice before setting aside another stalk.

Qian's yarrow stalks number two hundred and sixteen; Kun's, one hundred and forty-four; together three hundred and sixty, matching the days of a year. The stalks for both parts number eleven thousand five hundred and twenty, matching the number of all beings. Thus four operations make a change, and eighteen changes make a hexagram; the eight trigrams complete a small beginning. Extend and unfold these, touch a class of things and develop its implications: every possible affair under heaven is encompassed. The way is revealed and virtue made wondrous in conduct; thus one may answer and respond with it and aid the spirits. The Master said: “Does one who knows the way of change and transformation not know the work of spirits?”

The Changes contains four ways of the sages: in speaking, honor its words; in acting, its changes; in making tools, its images; in divining, its judgments. Thus when the noble person prepares to undertake a task or set out on a journey, he questions it and receives its reply. Its answer comes like an echo: distant or near, dark or deep, nothing prevents it from revealing what is to come. Who but the most refined power under heaven could do this?

Threefold and fivefold combinations bring change; its numbers cross and interweave. Grasp their changes and the patterns of all under heaven take shape; reckon their numbers to the limit and the images of all under heaven become fixed. Who but the utmost power of change under heaven could do this?

The Changes does not think or act. Still and motionless, when stirred it comprehends the causes of all under heaven. Who but the most mysterious power under heaven could do this?

The Changes is what sages use to probe the deepest depths and examine the faintest beginnings. Because it reaches deep, it understands the purposes of all under heaven; because it perceives the subtle, it can complete all its affairs; because it is mysterious, it is swift without haste and arrives without traveling.

When the Master said, “The Changes contains four ways of the sages,” this is what he meant.

The Master said: “What does the Changes do? It opens up beings, brings affairs to completion, and encompasses the way of all under heaven. That is all.” Thus sages use it to understand the purposes of all under heaven, settle its undertakings, and resolve its doubts. The virtue of yarrow is round and mysterious; that of hexagrams, square and knowing; the meaning of the six lines changes to present itself. Sages use these to cleanse their hearts, then withdraw to the hidden depths. They share the people's concerns over good and ill fortune, knowing what is to come through mystery and storing the past through knowledge. Who could do this but the brilliant, wise, divinely powerful ones of old who did not kill? Thus they understood heaven's way and examined the affairs of the people, raising up mysterious things for the people's use. Sages purified themselves through these things so as to illuminate their virtue with mystery. Closing the door is called Kun; opening it is called Qian. Closing and opening are called change; coming and going without end are called continuity. What appears is called an image; what takes shape is called a vessel. Shaping it for use is called a rule; the benefits that let people come and go and that all the people use are called spiritual power. Thus the Changes has the Supreme Ultimate, which gives birth to the two modes. The two modes give birth to four images; four images to eight trigrams. The eight trigrams determine good and ill fortune; good and ill fortune give birth to great undertakings. Among models and images none is greater than heaven and earth; among transformations and continuities none than the four seasons; among suspended images shining forth none than sun and moon; in exalted rank none than wealth and honor; in supplying things for use and making implements for the benefit of all under heaven none than the sages; in probing intricacies, searching secrets, sounding depths and reaching afar to decide good and ill fortune and sustain the world's tireless effort, none than yarrow and tortoise. Heaven produces mysterious things and sages take them as their model. Heaven and earth change, and sages imitate them. Heaven displays images revealing good and ill fortune, and sages form images of them. The River produced a chart and the Luo a writing, and sages modeled themselves on them. The Changes has four images to show us; words are attached to inform us; judgments of good and ill fortune are fixed to decide matters.”

The Classic says, “Heaven itself helps him: good fortune, nothing unfavorable.” The Master said: “Help means aid. Heaven aids the obedient; people aid the trustworthy. By walking in trust, thinking with obedience, and honoring the worthy, one receives ‘heaven's help: good fortune, nothing unfavorable.’”

The Master said: “Writing cannot fully express speech; speech cannot fully express meaning.” Then can the sages' meaning not be seen? The Master said: “The sages established images to express their meaning fully; arranged hexagrams to express all true and false conditions; attached words to complete what they had to say; transformed and connected them to exhaust their benefit; and stirred them into motion to reveal their mysterious power.”

Are not Qian and Kun the essence of the Changes? With Qian and Kun set in order, the Changes stands between them. If Qian and Kun were destroyed, there would be no way to perceive the Changes; if the Changes could not be perceived, Qian and Kun would almost come to rest. Thus what is above form is called the way; what is below form is called a vessel. To transform and shape is called change; to extend and put into motion is called continuity; to raise up and apply these to the people of the world is called an undertaking. The sages perceived the world's hidden intricacies, likened them to shapes and appearances, and made images fitting the things: hence they are called images. They perceived the world's movements and observed where they met and passed through, so as to enact the proper rites; they attached words to judge good and ill fortune: hence they are called lines. The hexagrams contain the deepest intricacies of all under heaven; the words stir its movements; change transforms and shapes; continuity extends and puts into motion. To illuminate their mystery depends on the person; to complete them in silence, conveying trust without words, depends on virtuous conduct.

Heaven is high and earth is low: Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth) are established. With low and high set out, noble and humble have their positions. Motion and rest follow a constant pattern, defining the firm and the yielding. Directions gather by type and things separate into groups; good fortune and misfortune arise. In heaven these become images; on earth they take shape, and change becomes visible. So the firm and yielding rub against each other, and the eight trigrams stir each other. Thunder and lightning set things moving; wind and rain moisten them. Sun and moon travel, bringing cold and heat in turn. Qian's way makes the male and Kun's way makes the female. Qian directs the great beginning and Kun brings things into being. Qian directs through ease and Kun works through simplicity. What is easy is easy to understand; what is simple is easy to follow. What is easy to understand draws people close; what is easy to follow produces results. Closeness allows endurance, and results allow greatness. Endurance is the virtue of the worthy person; greatness is that person's work. Through ease and simplicity, the principles of the world can be grasped. Grasp them, and one can take one's place among them.

The wise people established the hexagrams and studied their images. They attached words to them to explain good fortune and misfortune. Firm and yielding push each other and produce change. Good fortune and misfortune are images of gain and loss; regret and humiliation are images of worry and concern; change is an image of advance and retreat; firm and yielding are images of day and night. The movement of the six lines expresses the way of the three powers. So the noble person finds peace in the order of the Changes and takes pleasure in studying the words attached to the lines. At rest, he studies the images and their words. When acting, he studies their changes and their forecasts. Thus heaven helps him: good fortune, and nothing unfavorable.

The Judgment speaks about the images; the lines speak about change. Good fortune and misfortune speak about gain and loss; regret and humiliation speak about small defects; no blame means making good a mistake. So rank is arranged by position, small and great are weighed by hexagram, and good fortune and misfortune are distinguished by the words. Avoiding regret and humiliation depends on attention to small beginnings. Reaching no blame depends on regretting one's mistakes. Some hexagrams are small and some great; some words describe danger and some ease. Each set of words points to where things are going.

The Changes follow the pattern of heaven and earth, so they can cover and organize their way. Look up to observe the patterns of heaven and down to examine the forms of earth, and you understand the causes of darkness and light. Trace things to their beginnings and back to their ends, and you understand life and death. Vital energy forms things, and the wandering soul brings change; so you understand the nature of spirits and gods. Being like heaven and earth, the Changes do not conflict with them. Their understanding embraces all things and their way helps the world, without going too far. They move in every direction without drifting. They take joy in heaven and understand destiny, without worry. They settle on the land and deepen kindness, so they can love. They encompass the changes of heaven and earth without exceeding them, shape every thing in detail without neglecting any, and understand the way of day and night. Thus spirit has no fixed direction, and the Changes have no fixed form.

One yin followed by one yang is called the way. Continuing it is goodness; bringing it to completion is human nature. A kind person sees it and calls it kindness; a wise person sees it and calls it wisdom. Ordinary people use it every day without knowing it. That is why few follow the noble person's way. It shows itself in kindness but hides in practical use; it moves all things without sharing the worries of wise people. How great are its abundant virtue and great work! Having plenty is called great work; renewing each day is called abundant virtue; producing life after life is called change. Forming images is called Qian (Heaven); following a model is called Kun (Earth). Pushing numbers to their limits to know what is coming is called divination. Understanding changes is called handling affairs. What cannot be measured in yin and yang is called spirit.

How broad and great are the Changes! Speaking of distant things, nothing can limit them. Speaking of nearby things, they are still and right. Speaking of everything between heaven and earth, they are complete. When Qian (Heaven) is still, it is focused; when it moves, it goes straight. So it produces greatness. When Kun (Earth) is still, it closes; when it moves, it opens. So it produces breadth. Breadth and greatness match heaven and earth; change and passage match the four seasons. The meaning of yin and yang matches the sun and moon; the good in ease and simplicity matches the highest virtue.

The Master said, “How far the Changes reach! Wise people use them to raise their virtue and extend their work. Understanding rises high, while ritual lowers itself. What rises high follows heaven; what lowers itself takes earth as a model. Heaven and earth have taken their places, and change moves between them. By continually preserving one's completed nature, one finds the gateway to the way and to what is right.”

Wise people saw the world's intricate things and represented their forms and appearances, making images appropriate to the things. Thus these are called images. They saw the world's movements and observed how they meet and pass through one another. To carry out proper practices, they attached words that decide good fortune or misfortune. Thus these are called lines. The words speak of even the most intricate things without making them hateful, and of the greatest movements without causing confusion. First make a comparison, then speak; first consider, then act. Comparison and consideration bring change to completion.

“A crane calls in the shade, and its young answer it. I have a fine cup of wine; I will share it with you.” The Master said, “If a noble person speaks well in his room, people a thousand miles away respond. How much more will those nearby! If he speaks badly in his room, people a thousand miles away turn away. How much more will those nearby! Speech leaves one's body and reaches the people. Action begins nearby and is seen far away. Speech and action are the noble person's hinges and springs; when these move, they determine honor and disgrace. Through speech and action the noble person moves heaven and earth. How could he fail to be careful?” “Fellowship with Others: at first they cry aloud, and afterward they laugh.” The Master said, “The noble person's way sometimes means going out and sometimes staying home, sometimes silence and sometimes speech. When two people are of one mind, their sharpness can cut through metal. Words from a shared mind smell as sweet as orchids.”

“Six at the beginning: Lay down white grass as a mat. No blame.” The Master said, “Simply placing something on the ground would have been enough. But they lay grass beneath it: how could there be blame? This is the height of care. Grass is a slight thing but can serve a great purpose. Go forward with such care, and nothing will be lost.”

“Working hard yet modest, the noble person sees things through. Good fortune.” The Master said, “To work without boasting and achieve results without taking credit is the greatest generosity. This speaks of someone who has achievements yet puts himself below others. Virtue speaks of fullness; ritual speaks of respect. Modesty means showing great respect so as to keep one's position.”

“A dragon that rises too high has regret.” The Master said, “He is honored but holds no position, stands high but has no people, and has worthy people in lower positions but no help from them. So acting brings regret.”

“Not going out of the inner courtyard brings no blame.” The Master said, “Disorder begins with words. If a ruler is not discreet, he loses his servants. If a servant is not discreet, he loses his life. If an unfinished matter is not kept secret, its completion is endangered. Thus the noble person is careful with secrets and does not let them out.”

The Master said, “Those who made the Changes must have understood thieves! The Changes say, ‘Carrying a load while riding in a carriage invites robbers.’ Carrying a load is the work of a petty person; riding in a carriage is the privilege of a noble person. When a petty person rides in a noble person's carriage, thieves think of stealing it. If those above are careless and those below are violent, thieves think of attacking. Careless storage teaches people to steal; seductive appearance teaches people to behave indecently. The Changes say, ‘Carrying a load while riding in a carriage invites robbers.’ This is how robbers are invited.”

Heaven is one and earth two; heaven three and earth four; heaven five and earth six; heaven seven and earth eight; heaven nine and earth ten. Heaven has five numbers and earth has five. The five positions correspond to one another, each with its partner. Heaven's numbers total twenty-five and earth's total thirty. Together their numbers total fifty-five. These bring about change and allow the spirits to work. The number of the great expansion is fifty; forty-nine are used. Divide them into two to represent the two powers. Set one aside to represent the three. Count them out in fours to represent the four seasons, and put the remainder between the fingers to represent an extra month. An extra month occurs twice in five years; so put remainders aside twice before setting one aside again.

The counting stalks of Qian (Heaven) number two hundred sixteen; those of Kun (Earth), one hundred forty-four. Together they make three hundred sixty, matching the days of a year. The stalk counts of both parts total eleven thousand five hundred twenty, matching the number of all things. Four operations make a change; eighteen changes make a hexagram; eight trigrams form the smaller completion. Extend them and apply them to related kinds of things, and every task in the world is covered. They show the way and make virtuous conduct effective in a mysterious way. So one can use them to respond to others and assist the spirits. The Master said, “Whoever understands the way of change must understand what the spirits do!”

The Changes have four ways of the wise: those concerned with speech value their words; those concerned with action value their changes; those making tools value their images; those consulting oracles value their forecasts. So when a noble person intends to do something or travel somewhere, he asks the Changes and receives an answer. Their response comes like an echo. However distant, near, hidden, or deep the matter, he learns what will come. Who except the most perceptive power in the world could do this?

Combine the numbers in threes and fives to produce change; mix and arrange them. Follow their changes, and the patterns of the world take shape. Carry the numbers to their limits, and the world's images become clear. Who but the greatest power of change in the world could do this?

The Changes neither think nor act. They stay silent and unmoving, but when stirred they understand the causes of everything in the world. Who but the world's most mysterious power could do this?

The Changes are how wise people explore what is deep and study the first signs of change. Because they go deep, they can understand everyone's aims. Because they see the first signs, they can accomplish the world's tasks. Because they work mysteriously, they are swift without hurrying and arrive without traveling.

When the Master said, “The Changes have four ways of the wise,” this is what he meant.

The Master said, “What do the Changes do? They open up things, complete affairs, and encompass the way of the world. That is all.” Thus wise people use them to understand everyone's aims, settle the world's work, and resolve the world's doubts. The virtue of yarrow stalks is round and mysterious; the virtue of hexagrams is square and knowing; the meaning of the six lines is flexible in presenting its message. Wise people use these to clear their minds and then withdraw into secrecy. They share the people's concern over good fortune and misfortune. Mysterious insight knows what is coming; wisdom stores what has passed. Who could accomplish this? Those intelligent, discerning, wise, and powerful people of old who did not kill! Thus, knowing heaven's way and observing what happens among the people, they brought forward the sacred objects for people to use. Wise people used them to fast and purify themselves, making their virtue clear and mysterious. A closed door is called Kun (Earth); an open door is called Qian (Heaven). Closing and opening in turn is called change; coming and going without end is called passage. What appears is called an image; what takes shape is called an object. Shaping it for use is called a rule. When its use helps people go in and out and everyone uses it, that is called spirit. The Changes have a Great Ultimate, which produces two forms. The two forms produce four images; the four images produce eight trigrams. The eight trigrams determine good fortune and misfortune, which produce great achievements. No models are greater than heaven and earth; no changing cycles are greater than the four seasons; no hanging images shine more clearly than sun and moon; no high status is greater than wealth and honor. No one surpasses the wise people in preparing things for use and making useful tools for the world. Nothing surpasses yarrow stalks and tortoise shells in probing complexity, seeking the hidden, reaching what is deep and distant, determining the world's good fortune and misfortune, and spurring on the world's efforts. Heaven produces sacred objects, and wise people follow them. Heaven and earth change, and wise people imitate them. Heaven displays images of good fortune and misfortune, and wise people represent them. The River brought forth a chart, and the Luo brought forth a writing; wise people followed them. The Changes have four images to show things; words are attached to tell them; good fortune and misfortune are assigned to decide them.

The Changes say, “Heaven helps him: good fortune, and nothing unfavorable.” The Master said, “Help means assistance. Heaven helps those who follow; people help those who are trustworthy. Acting with trust and thinking in accord with what is right, while honoring the worthy, one receives heaven's help: good fortune, and nothing unfavorable.”

The Master said, “Writing cannot fully express speech, and speech cannot fully express meaning.” Does that mean the wise people's meaning cannot be seen? The Master said, “Wise people establish images to express their meaning fully. They set out hexagrams to express realities and pretenses fully. They attach words to express what they say fully. They change and apply them to obtain every advantage. They stir people into action to bring out their mysterious power fully.”

Are Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth) the heart of the Changes? When Qian and Kun are set in order, the Changes stand between them. If Qian and Kun were destroyed, the Changes could not be seen. If the Changes could not be seen, Qian and Kun might nearly cease to exist. So what lies above physical form is called the way; what lies below physical form is called a tool. Changing and shaping it is called transformation; pushing it forward and putting it into practice is called passage; applying it to the world's people is called a practical undertaking. Wise people saw the world's intricate things and represented their forms and appearances, making images appropriate to the things. Thus they are called images. They saw the world's movements and observed how they meet and pass through one another. To carry out proper practices, they attached words that decide good fortune or misfortune. Thus these are called lines. Reaching the depths of the world's complexities lies in the hexagrams; stirring its movements lies in the words. Changing and shaping them lies in transformation; pushing them forward and putting them into practice lies in passage. Making them mysteriously clear depends on the person; completing them silently, inspiring trust without words, depends on virtuous action.