The First Hexagram of the I Ching

8/13/2019 The First Hexagram of the I Ching

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I ChingThe Qian Gua: Strive for Self-improvement

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Written by CHEN Yang Translated by YAO Yuan

The qian hexagram (the symbol of heaven) in I Chingdemonstrates how a man succeeds

through persistent hard work.

Text: Qian predicates creation, success, potentiality and perseverance.

Image: The movement of heaven is full of energy; a superior man should make himself

strong and untiring.

The hexagram text says the spirit of enterprise is important, as striving makes a life successful,

lucky, perseverant and full of initiatives as at its beginning.

In his interpretation of I Ching, ancient Chinese philosopher Cheng Yi said eight trigrams were

initially created to represent the relations between heaven, earth and man; By pairing two of

the eight trigrams, 64 hexagrams were then formed to represent all the changes in the

world. The qian hexagram is the doubling of the qian trigram that symbolizes heaven. As Chen

explained, the Chinese character qian refers to the spiritual essence of heaven, rather than

its material form of sky. With six yang strokes, the hexagram symbolizes the purest yang and

highest levels of energy, which is exactly the character of the heaven. (editors note: each

hexagram figure is composed of six lines, either broken (yin) or unbroken (yang). Following the

upward sequence, they correspond to the six phases of the course of a change from its

beginning to the end.)

Lines:

Nine at the beginning: Dragon lies hidden. Do not act.

(editors note: the numbers six, seven, eight and nine are four divination results that represent

old yin, little yang, little yin and old yang, respectively.)

The bottom line suggests the yang energy has just sprouted from the earth, but the time for

action is not ripe. In divination, the line tells people to wait in patience and refrain from

premature acts.
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of changes in the hexagram, can one flexibly adapt to different situations. In this case, one can

avoid being fettered by the changes but instead find this alternative result.

This line depicts a scene when a group of successful and powerful dragons coexist without an

aggressive ruler. It implies that a great man should treat others as equals and cooperate in a

peaceful manner, which is the key to avoiding misfortunes.

The qian hexagram represents the fundamental spirit of I Chingnever stop improving

yourself. In order to succeed, one should follow the natural law of striving toward betterness.

In a life of vicissitudes and uncertainties, one can always rely on his own efforts to win

opportunities and make the best of his situations.

Making oneself stronger is the principle of heaven, the spirit of dragon and the defining

characteristic of a superior man. In each phase of our life, we should practice this principle,

working hard until our true value is realized.

Here we offer an allegory: A little carp dreams of becoming a dragon by jumping over the

dragon gate. Following the tips of the carp elders, he floats to the surface, praying for a carp-

turned dragon to make a presence and offer him some guidance.

The devoutness and perseverance of the carp eventually touched a dragon, who approaches

him in the form of a water snake.

Why do you wish to become a dragon? the dragon asks.

Since Iwas a little fish, the carp elders have told me that a carp should keep steeling himself

so he can jump over the dragon gate before his short life ends, the carp says. Isnt becominga dragon in the dream of every carp?

The dragon ponders for a moment and replies, I see. I held the same belief when I was your

age. I can tell you my experience, and you must keep it in mind and put into practice.

A carp can turn into a dragon, but having ambitions is not enough, you must also know the

way.

The carpsevolution into a dragon has six stages. In the first stage, you should hide in water,

focusing on learning knowledge and skills vital to your survival. Keep the dream in your heart

but do what you must do at the moment. Do not try to reach what is beyond your grasp.

In the second stage, youll leave your hidden seclusion and enter the fish world. As a novice,

dont mind your low status or try to attach to the powerful elder fish. Carps who have tried

jumping over the dragon gate will be your best teachers.

In the third stage, you should practice what youve learned in your life and work. Complete

every petty task patiently and dont play petty tricks. Try to maintain good relations with other

fish and avoid unnecessary disputes. Remember, working hard will exempt you from blames

even if some may mock your good performance.


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In the fourth stage, you can try jumping over smaller reefs. Pick smaller ones to start with and

dont be rash. As you perform the leaps, be careful of preying predators and other jealous fish.

Keep a low profile when doing such exercises.

In the fifth stage, you can capitalize on winds and waves to jump over reefs as tall as the

dragon gates. When you reach this stage, bravely join the flock swimming toward the dragon

gate for the final test. Courage, confidence and strong wills will help you succeed.

The carp is mesmerized, his heart filled with longing. How I wish I can become the dragon that

can fly to the farthest and highest. It will be a wonderful experience.

If a dragon flies too high or too fast, things will start working against him and he will soon

regret having done so, the dragon smiles.

What should he do then? the carp asks, startled.

The real strength of the dragon race is that we live in groups without a ruling dragon. Nomatter how powerful each dragon may be, we do not seek to do others down. We coexist

peacefully and cooperate to tide over difficult times. Thats why our race can always have

fortune on our side.

The dragons instruction illustrates the spiritof the qian hexagram. Life is a course. With the

self-support spirit of the qian hexagram, we make unceasing efforts to move from one success

toward another.

The self-support spirit highlights now. It asks us to be faithful to todays work. When things

go awry, there must be something wrong with the current conditions, and we must askwhether weve tried our best. But knowing what we are uncapable of does not mean we

should force ourselves to solve it straight away. We ought not to wrestle with ourselves but

instead see and do things in accordance with the natural tendency.

Many people feel stressed out upon words like perseverance and diligence. They wail, Oh

no, Im not good enough so Ive achieved nothing. I make little money but have so many

troubles. My life is a mess!

It is true that enormous agonies can rise from the wish to achieve the goal as soon as possible.

It is, however, noteworthy that this phenomenon does not match the spirit of the qian

hexagram. A man who sincerely wishes to become stronger will not feel distressed about

failing at certain things. We should focus on striving and only repent when we have not tried

our best. Meaningless pains will only weaken us and create complications in our pursuit of

becoming a stronger and better person.

So the reason we advocate following the nature is to make it easier to succeed.

Another success philosophy implied by the hexagram is not to control. Trying to control will

only expand our opposite side. Moreover, a man who has learned to respect his own life by

focusing on self-improving will also respect the lives of others by not attempting to control

them. This is the wisdom of a saint and a fountain of luck. A man who understands this will stillbe lucky even after his success allows him to look down upon everyone else.

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The First Hexagram of the I Ching