The I Ching, Legge tr.

The I Ching, Legge tr.: Text Section II: XLII. The Y&icir...

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This is an excerpt from a translation and commentary on Hexagram 42 (Yî/Yi) of the *I Ching* (Book of Changes), the ancient Chinese divination classic, presented here with line-by-line interpretations followed by a scholarly gloss in the Confucian commentarial tradition. The hexagram's central meaning is increase and the dispensing of benefits: a ruler who genuinely works to augment the resources and welfare of his people will find success even in great undertakings, symbolized by crossing a large river. Each of the six lines modifies this theme by position and strength — the strong fifth line (the ruler's seat) paired with the weak second line (its correlate) anchors the hexagram's optimistic outlook, while lines deviating from correct position or virtue receive cautionary readings. A distinctive claim runs through the commentary: even adversity or moral failing (line 3's "increase by means of evil") can serve the overarching principle of increase if the subject responds with sincerity and adherence to the Mean. The final line serves as a pointed moral warning — strength misused at the apex, concentrated on self-enrichment rather than benefiting those below, inverts the hexagram's entire logic and produces evil. The commentary thus uses the divination framework to articulate a Confucian political ethic: legitimate authority is defined by its orientation toward the governed, not toward the ruler's own aggrandizement.

The I Ching, Legge tr.: Text Section II: XLII. The Y&icir...

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