Pushing Upward

Earth above

Wind below

Translated from Richard Wilhelm's German (1924)

Introduction

The lower trigram, Xun, has wood as its image; the upper, Kun, means the earth. With this goes the idea that wood grows upward in the earth. This "pushing upward", unlike "progress" (hexagram 35), is bound up with effort, just as a plant needs strength to push upward through the earth. That is why the hexagram, although it is attended by success, is related to the effort of the will. "Progress" shows more expansion, "pushing upward" more of a straight ascent to power and influence out of obscurity and lowliness.

The Judgment

Pushing upward has great success. One must see the great person. Do not be afraid. Setting out to the south brings good fortune.

The pushing upward of capable elements meets no obstacle, and so it is accompanied by great success. The manner that makes pushing upward possible is not violent but modest and yielding. But since one is carried by the favor of the times, one advances. One must go and seek out the people in authority. One need not be afraid of this, for success will not fail to come. One must, however, get down to work, because activity (this is what the south means) brings good fortune.

The Image

Wood grows within the earth: the image of pushing upward. So the noble one, devoted by nature, heaps up small things, to bring them to something high and great.

In the earth, wood grows toward the heights without haste and without pause, bending pliantly around the obstacles. So the noble one is devoted by nature and never rests in their progress¹.

Compare: "Occupation that never wearies, that slowly creates but never destroys, that to the edifice of eternity brings only grain of sand by grain of sand, yet from the great debt of time strikes off minutes, days, years."

The Lines

First line, six

Pushing upward that meets with trust brings great good fortune.

Here is the situation at the start of the ascent. Just as wood draws the strength for its pushing upward from the root, which in itself is at the very bottom, so the strength to rise comes from this position. It is lowly and obscure. But there is an inner kinship of nature with those who rule above, and this common ground wins one the trust one needs to be able to accomplish something.

Second line, nine

If one is sincere, it is also favorable to make a small sacrifice. No fault.

Here a strong person is assumed. It is true that this person does not fit in with their surroundings, in that they are too rough and care too little for forms. But they are sincere within, so they meet with a welcome, and their meagerness in outward forms does no harm. Sincerity here springs from solid qualities, while in the previous hexagram's corresponding line it results from inner humility.

Third line, nine

One pushes upward into an empty city.

Here all the restraints otherwise placed on advance fall away. Things go forward with remarkable ease. One follows this road without misgivings, to make the most of the success. Seen from outside, it looks as if everything were in the best of order. Yet no word promising good fortune is attached. The question is how long such unchecked success will last. But what matters is not to dwell on such misgivings, since that would only hamper one's strength, but to make quick use of the favor of the time.

Fourth line, six

The king presents this person to Mount Qi. Good fortune. No fault.

Mount Qi lies in western China, in the ancestral land of King Wen, whose son, the Duke of Zhou, added the words to the individual lines. It recalls the days of the Zhou dynasty's rise. At that time King Wen presented the great helpers to the god of the mountain of his homeland, and they received their place at the ruler's side in the ancestral halls. Here a stage is portrayed in which pushing upward reaches its goal. One becomes famous before humans and gods and is admitted to the circle whose members build up the life of the nation in the spirit, and so gains a lasting, timeless significance.

Fifth line, six

Persistence brings good fortune. One pushes upward step by step.

When one keeps on advancing, it is important not to get drunk on success. Precisely when success is great, one must stay sober all the while, not try to skip any steps, but go on slowly, as if hesitating, step by step. Only this calm, steady progress, which rushes nothing, leads to the goal.

Top line, six

Pushing upward in the dark. It is favorable to persist unceasingly.

Whoever pushes upward blindly is inwardly deluded. Such a person knows only advance, not retreat. But in doing so one exhausts oneself. It is important, in such a case, to keep unceasingly in mind that one must be and remain conscientious and consistent. Only in this way does one become free from the blind urge, which is always harmful.

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