The I Ching, Legge tr.

The I Ching, Legge tr.: Text Section II: XLIV. The K&acir...

Summary only - full text stays on its own separately-gated source. Read the full text at the source »

This is a classical Chinese divinatory text with accompanying scholarly commentary — specifically Hexagram 44 (Kâu/Gou) from the *I Ching* (Book of Changes), presented alongside what appears to be James Legge's 19th-century interpretive notes. The hexagram consists of six line judgments describing symbolic scenarios (a restrained carriage, a wallet of fish, a stripped pig, a medlar tree) whose meanings are decoded through the visual structure of the hexagram itself — five solid "yang" lines with one broken "yin" line at the base. The central argument is political and moral: that single yin line represents a cunning, disruptive figure — symbolized as a bold woman unsuitable for marriage — who has unexpectedly entered a position of influence and must be actively restrained before corrupting good governance. The commentary attributes this reading to the legendary King Wén, who encoded warnings against the encroachment of unworthy officials into the hexagram's imagery. A notably candid moment comes when the commentator, wrestling with the "wallet of fish" symbolism, admits the standard explanation "seems farfetched" but cannot devise anything better — a rare acknowledgment of interpretive strain in a tradition that typically presents its readings with confidence.

The I Ching, Legge tr.: Text Section II: XLIV. The K&acir...

Related pages View as graph →