Peace

Grass is pulled up and other stalks come with it, joined at the roots. Legge reads the picture from the three strong lines, “all possessed by the same instinct to advance”, so that the movement of the first “will be supported by that of the others”. The commentary adds that the will here is “set on what is external to himself”.

When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 46, Pushing Upward

The line lists four traits of one person. He can “bear with the uncultivated”, he crosses the river without a boat, he “does not forget the distant”, and he “has no (selfish) friendships”. The commentary gives the reason, that his intelligence is bright and his capacity great.

Legge notes that the strength of this line is tempered by its place, and that it is “responded to by a proper correlate in the fifth line above”. From there he draws “the auspice of good fortune implied in it”.

When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 36, Darkening of the Light

This is the last of the three whole lines, and the commentary calls it “the point where the interaction of heaven and earth takes place”. The line admits that “there is no state of peace that is not liable to be disturbed”. It still finds no error for one who is “firm and correct”, and it sees no reason for sadness.

Legge names the thought beneath the line. It is “the persuasion of the constant change that is taking place in nature and in human affairs”. He does not read it as a sentence, since “by firmness and correctness the good estate of the present may be long continued”.

When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 19, Approach

The first broken line comes “fluttering (down)”, and its subject is “not relying on his own rich resources, but calling in his neighbours”. Nobody had to warn them. The commentary says it is “what they have desired in the core of their hearts”.

Legge reports a reading in which the fourth and the other upper lines are not opponents of the strong lines below, “as is generally supposed”. They are their correlates, “of one heart and mind with them to maintain the state of Thâi”.

When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 34, Great Power

The line recalls a king and a marriage in his house, and it is the only line that speaks of “great good fortune”. Legge has the younger sister of the king where Wilhelm has his daughter. Legge does not hide what is missing. He writes that “what was the history of him and his sister here referred to we do not know”.

His reading rests on the place of the line. It holds “the place of dignity and authority in the hexagram”, and yet its subject “humbly condescends” to the strong second line. Legge also passes on an account in which this king was “the first to enact a law that daughters of the royal house, in marrying princes of the states, should be in subjection to them”.

The commentary explains the happiness by the place of the line. Its subject “employs the virtue proper to his central position to carry his wishes into effect”.

When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 5, Waiting

The peace has run its course. The wall goes back “into the moat”, and Legge explains the picture, since “The earth dug from the moat had been built up to form a protecting wall”. Force is ruled out, because “It is not the time to use the army”. The line ends in regret, even for one who is correct and firm.

The commentary looks back for the cause. The fallen wall “shows how the (governmental) orders have (long) been in disorder”. Legge adds that “War will only aggravate the evil”.

When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 26, Great Taming