Enthusiasm
- In Chinese
- 豫 yù
- Above
- The Arousing, thunder
- Below
- The Receptive, earth
Did you get this hexagram?
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Mark my castWhat hexagram 16 means
Hexagram 16 is thunder over earth. One whole line in the fourth place stands among five broken lines, and the commentary on the judgment says the others respond to it.
Legge reads it as a time of shared contentment. In his note it is “a condition of harmony and happy contentment throughout the kingdom”.
The judgment speaks of advantage. In Legge's words “feudal princes may be set up, and the hosts put in motion, with advantage”.
Among the six lines only the second has good fortune, and the first carries a warning of evil.
The judgment and the image
The judgment
豫利建侯行師。
ENTHUSIASM. It furthers one to install helpers And to set armies marching.
it furthers it is favorable
The image
雷出地奮，《豫》。先王以作樂崇德，殷薦之上帝以配祖考。
Thunder comes resounding out of the earth: The image of ENTHUSIASM. Thus the ancient kings made music In order to honor merit, And offered it with splendor To the Supreme Deity, Inviting their ancestors to be present.
What the commentaries say
The commentary on the judgment names two things in the figure. One is “the strong (line) responded to by all the others”. The other is “docile obedience employing movement”.
It then finds the same pattern in the sky. Heaven and earth show that obedience joined to movement, and so “the sun and moon make no error (in time), and the four seasons do not deviate (from their order)”.
The commentary applies it to those who rule. When the sages move in this way, “their punishments and penalties are entirely just, and the people acknowledge it by their submission”.
The image is thunder coming out of the earth. From it the commentary draws the making of music. The ancient kings “composed their music and did honour to virtue”. They presented it to God, and with Him they associated “their highest ancestor and their father”.
Wilhelm gives the same scene in verse. The kings made music “In order to honor merit”, and offered it “Inviting their ancestors to be present”.
Legge singles out the fourth line. It is “the lord of the figure”, and he reads it as “the minister or chief officer of the ruler”. He adds that “The ruler gives to him his confidence” and that “all represented by the other lines yield their obedience”.
The six lines
First line
鳴豫，凶。
Enthusiasm that expresses itself Brings misfortune.
misfortune it goes badly
The first line is weak and has the strong fourth line as its correlate. Legge allows its subject the happiness of the time, but he “cannot contain himself, and proclaims, or boasts of, his satisfaction”. The commentary gives the cause in the words “his wishes have been satisfied to overflowing”. Wilhelm has it shorter, as “Enthusiasm that expresses itself”.
When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 51, The Arousing
Second line
介于石，不終日，貞吉。
Firm as a rock. Not a whole day. Perseverance brings good fortune.
good fortune it goes well
The text gives this line good fortune. Its subject is “firm as a rock” and sees a thing before it has come to pass. Wilhelm has “Not a whole day.” Legge reads that “Quietly and firmly its subject is able to abide in his place, and exercise a far-seeing discrimination”. The commentary points to “the central and correct position (of the line)”.
When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 40, Deliverance
Third line
盱豫，悔，遲有悔。
Enthusiasm that looks upward creates remorse. Hesitation brings remorse.
remorse there is something to regretthere is remorse there is something to regret
The third line sits just below the fourth and looks up to it. Legge says its subject “keeps looking up to the lord of the figure, and depends on him, thinking of doing nothing, but how to enjoy himself”. The text warns against being late to understand, and Wilhelm has “Hesitation brings remorse.” Legge says the consequence follows “unless he speedily change”. The commentary blames the place, “the position not being the appropriate one”.
When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 62, Small Exceeding
Fourth line
由豫，大有得，勿疑。朋盍簪。
The source of enthusiasm. He achieves great things. Doubt not. You gather friends around you As a hair clasp gathers the hair.
no verdict
This is the one whole line, and the harmony of the time comes from it. Legge calls its subject “the agent to whom the happy condition is owing”. The one caution is against suspicion. Wilhelm has “Doubt not.” and the picture of friends gathered “As a hair clasp gathers the hair”. The commentary adds that “his aims take effect on a grand scale”.
When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 2, The Receptive
Fifth line
貞疾，恆不死。
Persistently ill, and still does not die.
no verdict
The fifth line is the ruler's place, but the line is weak. The text shows “one with a chronic complaint, but who lives on without dying”. Legge names two dangers, being “carried away by the lust of pleasure” and “proximity to the powerful minister represented by 4”. The commentary ties the complaint to “his being mounted on the strong (line)”. It explains the survival by the place, since “he is in the central position”.
When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 45, Gathering Together
Sixth line
冥豫成，有渝、无咎。
Deluded enthusiasm. But if after completion one changes, There is no blame.
no blame there is no mistake in it
The top line shows its subject “with darkened mind devoted to the pleasure and satisfaction (of the time)”. Legge says its subject “is all but lost”, and yet “there is a chance of safety, if he will but change”. The commentary asks “how can one in such a condition continue long?” Wilhelm calls it “Deluded enthusiasm.” The text leaves the way open, since a change of course brings no error.
When only this line changes, it becomes hexagram 35, Progress
Hexagram 16 unchanging
If none of your six lines is moving, you read the hexagram as a whole. That is the judgment and the image above, without any of the line texts.
The book gives the reason. Lines that do not move are “non-moving lines, which serve only as structural matter in the hexagram, without intrinsic meaning of their own”.
For hexagram 16 unchanging, what remains is the advantage of the judgment, which favors installing helpers and putting the hosts in motion, and the image of thunder out of the earth and of music made to honour virtue.
Questions people ask
What does hexagram 16 mean?
It describes a time of harmony and satisfaction, when the people readily obey the one who leads them. The judgment says that “feudal princes may be set up, and the hosts put in motion, with advantage”.
What does hexagram 16 unchanging mean?
With no moving lines you read only the judgment and the image. For hexagram 16 that is the advantage in installing helpers and moving the hosts, and the image of thunder out of the earth, with music made “In order to honor merit”.
What does hexagram 16 changing to 2 mean?
It is hexagram 16 with its fourth line moving. That is the one whole line, which Wilhelm calls “The source of enthusiasm”, and when it changes the hexagram becomes number 2.
What does hexagram 16 changing to 40 mean?
It is hexagram 16 with its second line moving. That line shows one who is “firm as a rock”, and the text gives it good fortune. When it changes the hexagram becomes number 40.
What does hexagram 16 changing to 45 mean?
It is hexagram 16 with its fifth line moving. That line shows “one with a chronic complaint, but who lives on without dying”, and when it changes the hexagram becomes number 45.
Richard Wilhelm, translated by Cary F. Baynes. Yü in James Legge. Enthusiasm in Wilhelm and Baynes.
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