Hardship

(Exhaustion)

Lake above

Water below

Translated from Richard Wilhelm's German (1924)

Introduction

Above is the lake, the water below it. The lake is empty and exhausted. The idea of exhaustion comes out in yet another way: above, a dark line holds two light ones down; below, a light line is hemmed in by two dark ones. The trigram above belongs to the dark principle, while the one below belongs to the light principle. So everywhere the noble ones are oppressed by the petty and held in check.

The Judgment

Hardship. Success. Persistence. The great person brings about good fortune. No fault. If one has something to say, no one believes it.

Times of adversity are the opposite of success. Yet they can end in success if they strike the right person. When a strong person falls into adversity, they stay cheerful in spite of every danger, and such cheerfulness is the basis of later successes. It is the constancy that is stronger than fate. Whoever lets exhaustion break them inwardly will, of course, have no success. But in someone whom adversity only bends, it produces a counterforce that is sure to come to light in time. No petty person, however, is capable of this. Only the great person brings about good fortune and remains without fault. Outwardly, it is true, they are at first denied influence, since their words have no effect. That is why in times of adversity what matters is to be strong within and to use few words.

The Image

The lake holds no water: the image of exhaustion. So the noble one stakes their life to follow their will.

When the water has flowed down out of the lake, the lake must dry up and be exhausted. That is fate. That is the image of adverse fates in human life. At such times nothing can be done but to take one's fate upon oneself and remain true to oneself. This, however, concerns the deepest layer of one's true being; for only that is superior to every outward fate.

The Lines

First line, six

One sits hard-pressed beneath a bare tree and ends up in a dark valley. For three years one sees nothing.

When one falls into adversity, the most important thing is to be strong and to overcome the adversity inwardly. But if one is weak, adversity overpowers one. Instead of moving on, one remains sitting beneath a bare tree and sinks deeper and deeper into darkness and melancholy. As a result the situation only grows more and more hopeless. This attitude is the consequence of an inner delusion, which one must overcome at all costs.

Second line, nine

One is hard-pressed amid wine and food. The man in scarlet knee bands is just arriving. It is favorable to offer sacrifice. Setting out brings misfortune. No fault.

Here the hardship one finds oneself in is an inner one. Outwardly all goes well; one has enough to eat and drink. But the banalities of life leave one exhausted, and no way out of them can be seen. Yet help comes from above. A prince – the princes of ancient China wore scarlet knee bands – seeks able helpers. But there are still obstacles to overcome. That is why it is important to meet these obstacles in the unseen, through sacrifice and prayer. To set out unprepared would lead to misfortune, although it is not morally wrong. Here one must overcome an adverse situation through inner patience.

Third line, six

One lets oneself be hard-pressed by stone and props oneself up on thorns and thistles. One goes into one's house and does not see one's wife. Misfortune.

This shows someone who is restless and undecided in times of adversity. At first they want to go forward, and then they come up against obstacles, which, however, mean hardship only if one goes at them rashly. One wants to go through the wall head first, and as a result one feels hard-pressed by the wall. Then one leans on things that have no firm hold in themselves and are only a risk to whoever leans on them. Now one irresolutely turns back and withdraws into one's house, but only to discover, to one's renewed disappointment, that one's wife is not there.

Confucius says of this: "If someone lets themselves be hard-pressed by something that ought not to press them hard, their name will surely fall into disgrace. If they lean on things that cannot be leaned on, their life will surely fall into danger. When someone is in disgrace and in danger, the hour of their death approaches; how can they still see their wife then!"

Fourth line, nine

They come very slowly, hard-pressed in a golden carriage. Shame, but one reaches the end.

A well-to-do person sees the distress of those below and would quite like to help. But they do not take hold quickly and energetically where it is needed; instead they go about the matter hesitantly and deliberately. Then they run into obstacles. They are drawn into the circles of powerful and wealthy acquaintances. They have to go along and cannot get away from them. That is why they find themselves in great embarrassment. But the distress is temporary. The original strength of their nature makes up for the mistake they made, and the goal is reached.

Fifth line, nine

Their nose and feet are cut off. One is hard-pressed by the one in purple knee bands. Slowly, joy comes. It is favorable to bring sacrifices and offerings.

Someone who has the welfare of people at heart is hard-pressed from above and below (that is the meaning of the nose and feet being cut off). One gets no help from those who would be duty-bound to join in the rescue effort (purple knee bands were worn by the ministers). Yet things gradually change for the better. Until then what matters is to come before God with strong inner concentration and to pray and sacrifice for the good of the whole.

Top line, six

They are hard-pressed by vines. They move unsteadily and say, “Movement brings regret.” If one feels regret over this and sets out, there is good fortune.

One is hard-pressed by bonds that are easily torn. The hardship is nearing its end. But one is still irresolute. One is still influenced by the earlier state of affairs and thinks one will come to regret it if one moves. But as soon as one sees reason, lays this frame of mind aside and makes a firm resolution, one succeeds in mastering the hardship.

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