Qian Gua "Book of Changes"
(Xiagen Shangkun)
"Qian": Heng. A gentleman has an end.
"彖" says: ""Qian", prosperous, the way of heaven is beneficial and bright, and the way of earth is humble and ascending. The way of heaven is prosperous and modest, the way of earth becomes full and modest, the ghosts and gods are harmful and prosperous, but blessing is modest. , Humanity is full of evil but fond of humility. Humble but humble, this is the end of a gentleman. "
"Xiang" says: "There are mountains in the ground, "Qian". A gentleman benefits the few by giving more. "
The sixth day of the lunar month: A humble gentleman is lucky to cross a large river.
"Xiang" says: "'A humble gentleman' is humble enough to feed himself."
Sixty-two: Ming Qian, chastity and good luck.
"Xiang" said: "'Ming Qian Zhenji', the center is obtained."
Ninety-three: A gentleman who works modestly will have an end, which is auspicious.
"Xiang" says: "'A gentleman who works hard and is humble' will be obeyed by all the people."
Sixty-four: No disadvantages, humility.
"Xiang" said: "'There is no disadvantage to modesty', and it is not contrary to it."
Sixty-five: If you are not rich, you will use your neighbors to invade and invade, and there will be no disadvantage.
"Xiang" said: "'Using invasion and attack' means conquering and refusing to submit."
Part 6: Ming Qian, using his troops to conquer the country.
"Xiang" said: "'Ming Qian' means that the ambition has not been achieved. You can 'use Xingshi' to conquer the country."
[Note] Qian: the name of the hexagram , symbolizing humility and humility. Ending: There is a good ending and a good outcome. Heaven's way down: means the sun shines downward, the wind blows downward, and the rain falls downward. The earth is humble: the position of the earth is under the sky. Upward: Earth energy rises. Loss: Loss. filled. Tiandao waning: refers to the fact that the sun begins to tilt after noon and gradually wanes after the moon is full. Yi: gain. Qian: This refers to the humble. (Tiandao) Yiqian: It means that the sun rises from its low position and the moon gradually becomes fuller. Change: destroyed. Flow: moving from top to bottom, gaining low areas, such as mud and water falling to low-lying areas. Hate (wù) abundance and good (hào) modesty: hate abundance but like humility. Overcome: to go beyond. There are mountains in the ground: Kun is on the hexagram Qian and Gen is on the bottom. Kun is the ground, and Gen represents the mountains. The ground is higher than the mountains, so it is said that "there are mountains in the ground", which means that the mountains are high but stand on their own in humble circumstances. Pei (póu): take out. Benefit: supplement. Weighing things and giving them equally: Weighing the amount of property and giving it to others evenly. Mu: grazing, here it means restraint and management. Self-herding: self-discipline. Ming: famous and prestigious. Mingqian: That is, Mingqian, famous and modest, which means having a good reputation but not being arrogant. Zhongde: that is, the heart is in the middle, which means the way to get the heart in the right way. Lao: (have) credit. Lao Qian: It means taking credit but not being arrogant but being humble enough. (huī): humility. One word is the same as "waving", and the behavior and action are interpreted as waving and waving hands to show humility. To: because. Use: to. Utilize: beneficial. Disobedient: Refers to those who disobey the king's orders.
(Shi Zhonglian)
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[Appreciation] The hexagram images of Qian hexagram are Xiagen (symbolizing the mountain) and Shangkun (symbolizing the ground). Originally, the mountain was high. Low, now the mountain is underground, which means that the tall person considers himself inferior, which is a sign of humility. The hexagram name, hexagram image, hexagram words and most line words of Qian hexagram, as well as the explanations in "Tuan Zhuan" and "Xiang Zhuan", all directly and clearly praise modesty. The various components of a hexagram are so highly concentrated on an abstract concept. , which is rare among the sixty-four hexagrams. In addition, the hexagrams and the six lines of the Qian hexagram all talk about auspiciousness. Among them, there is one "heng", three "lucky", and three "profit". It is the only hexagram among the sixty-four hexagrams that is so auspicious. The first three lines of the Qian hexagram are all auspicious. People who occupy high positions are modest and cautious and can survive any hardships. They follow the right path. Although they have reputation and merit, they are not proud of taking credit and are respected by all people. The results are auspicious and have a good ending. The last three lines are slightly slower, but there are no disadvantages. From every move to a major expedition, they are all due to their humility, dedication to their duties, and compliance with the rules, and finally get good results. It can be seen that in ancient times, the concept of modesty has occupied a very prominent position in the thinking of the Chinese nation. In their view, modesty has hundreds of benefits and no harm, and is a necessary virtue for people to succeed.
In "The Book of Changes", modesty is by no means a pretense, nor is it just a matter of personal courtesy. The Qian hexagram gives it many important meanings, among which the main ones are: First, the attitude is gentle, respectful and not rude. This is the meaning contained in the "Qian Qian gentleman" in the "Chu Liu" line. Second, "the more you gain, the less you have, and the more you give, the more you give." That means limiting privileges and enforcing equality. Third, "humble and self-defeating" means being humble, not competing for supremacy, and not showing off one's strengths. Fourth, "Mingqian" means not eager to express yourself, not being conceited when you have virtue, not boasting about your reputation, not bragging about your talent, and always keep a low profile when describing your character and achievements. Fifth, "working modestly" means not being complacent, not only because we have ambitious goals, but also because we realize that achievements and contributions are achieved through the efforts of everyone.
What is particularly noteworthy here is the meaning of not being complacent or self-sufficient in the concept of Qian. This is how "Tuan Zhuan" grasps and develops the concept of Qian, and further defines it as the most important thing in all things. The state of vitality, maintaining this state is the universal law of movement and change in the universe. In its view, the world is an endless stream of changes, and the vitality of the universe is reflected in its infinite operating space and endless development prospects. Qian has guaranteed such space and future. From the human perspective, the sky is above, so the broadest operating space is below it; the earth is below, and its development space is above. Therefore, "The Legend of Tuan" says, "The way of heaven is beneficial and bright, while the way of earth is humble and ascending." The terms "Xiaji" and "Beijing" here are very similar to Laozi's idea of ??worshiping inferiors, but they have nothing to do with Laozi's concept of valuing women and protecting women. Their original intention is to talk about the way of heaven and earth to seek the broadest space for development. . The idea of ??"Tuan Zhuan" is that modesty makes people "be humble and self-responsible" so that they will not be complacent, complacent, complacent, and stagnant, thus opening up an extremely broad space for people to develop.
"Tuan Zhuan" also looks at the operation process of all things in the world and evaluates the role of Qian based on the philosophy of "Zhouyi" that the extremes of things must reverse. It is precisely from the perspective of whether the extreme will come or not, that extreme prosperity means that it will decline, while new things have great prospects for development. Therefore, in the world schema of Tuan Zhuan, the way of heaven and earth is always not conducive to the aspect of "fullness", that is, "fullness", but conducive to the aspect of "humbleness," that is, "dissatisfaction." It says: "The way of heaven is full and modest, and the way of earth is full and full." It explains the way of heaven and earth as the following as the foundation, focusing on the downward, leaning toward the downward, paying special attention to new things, and paying special attention to aspects that are not yet perfect. Place your hopes on areas with extremely broad room for development. In this way, modesty is not just a personal virtue, but a function of the universal laws of the universe. In "Tuan Zhuan" it has broken through the category of ethics and entered the category of philosophy.
It must be noted that the concept of modesty advocated by the "Book of Changes" by no means means inferiority, retreat and inaction. Perhaps it is because of the consideration that people will understand the concept of Qian in a negative light that "Zhuan" consciously exaggerates the magical function of low-key Qian. It says that the way of heaven is "beneficial" but "bright", and the "meaning of earth" is "upward". Modesty is not only a manifestation of lofty quality, but also related to grand ambition, unremitting pursuit, and great cause, and will eventually achieve great success, the realm achieved spiritually and the achievements achieved in career. Achievements are insurmountable for ordinary people, so "The Legend of Tuan" says: "Humble and honorable, humble and insurmountable: the end of a gentleman." Retreating and doing nothing will never have such a result. The Qian hexagram perfectly combines the self-improvement and masculinity of the Qian hexagram with the virtuous and submissive suppleness of the Kun hexagram.
The concept of modesty is of special significance in traditional Chinese culture, because the idea of ??"contentment and long-lasting happiness" has a great influence among Chinese people, although the idea of ??"contentment" is mainly to overcome people's greed. The mentality and opposition to the endless pursuit of material enjoyment, but people with conservative tendencies often use the ancient saying of "contentment" to justify their life and work attitude of being content with the status quo and not thinking about progress.
Therefore, the concept of modesty in the Zhouyi, which occupies a lofty position in ancient Chinese thought, requires people to never be spiritually complacent, to be satisfied with the status quo at any time, and to be dissatisfied with what they have already achieved in terms of moral cultivation and career. Progress, which to a large extent offsets the negative effects of "contentment" thinking, enables people to always be proactive and strive for progress.