The I Ching, Legge tr.

The I Ching, Legge tr.: The Yî King Text: Section I...

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This is a classical Chinese divination text with commentary, specifically an excerpt from the I Ching (Book of Changes) presenting Hexagram 2, Khwăn (坤/Earth), along with a traditional interpretive commentary. The hexagram is composed entirely of broken (yin) lines and represents receptivity, submission, and earth, contrasted with the preceding Hexagram 1 (Khien/Heaven), which embodies creative initiative. The main argument is that the ideal posture for the hexagram's subject — figured as a superior man or minister — is one of docility, correctness, and followership rather than leadership: taking initiative leads astray, while following one's lord leads to good fortune. Each of the six divided lines is interpreted symbolically, progressing from early caution (treading on frost as a warning of coming ice) through restraint, humble service, and self-effacement, to a cautionary finale where overreach causes conflict between yin and yang forces ("dragons fighting in the wild"). A notably distinctive claim in the commentary is that the femininity implied by the mare metaphor is secondary — the text is primarily concerned with the political ethics of ministerial subordination and loyalty to a ruler, not gender. The commentary also anchors the hexagram geographically within a cosmological map of trigrams, using cardinal directions to advise the subject on where to seek like-minded allies in service of a common lord.

The I Ching, Legge tr.: The Yî King Text: Section I...

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