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Hexagram 50
50 · Dǐng 鼎

The Cauldron

Fire above
·
Wind below
Translated from Richard Wilhelm's German (1924)

Introduction

The whole hexagram is the image of the cauldron, with the legs below, then the belly, then the ears, or handles, and at the top the rings for carrying it. At the same time the image of the cauldron suggests the idea of nourishment. The cauldron, a vessel cast in bronze, held the cooked food in the ancestral temple and at banquets. From it the head of the house ladled the food into the guests' bowls.
Hexagram 48, The Well, also carries the secondary idea of giving nourishment, but more for the people. The cauldron, as a vessel of refined culture, suggests the care and nourishment of able people, which benefited the government of the state (compare the four hexagrams of nourishment, numbers 5, 27, 48 and 50).
In the Book of Changes, this hexagram and hexagram 48, The Well, are the only two hexagrams that depict concrete artifacts. Yet here too the idea has its abstract side. The lower trigram, Xun, is wood and wind, and the upper, Li, is the flame; so the hexagram represents the flame that wood and wind have kindled, which also suggests the idea of cooking.

The Judgment

The cauldron. Exalted good fortune. Success.
While hexagram 48, The Well, deals with the social foundation of society, which is like the water that serves the wood as nourishment, here the cultural superstructure of society is indicated. Here it is the wood that serves the flame, the spiritual, as nourishment. All that is visible must heighten itself and continue on into the invisible. In this way it receives its proper consecration and proper clarity and takes firm root in the order of the world.
So here culture is shown as it reaches its summit in religion. The cauldron serves for sacrifices to God. The highest of earthly things must be offered up to the divine. Yet the truly divine is not manifest apart from the human. God's highest revelation is in prophets and saints. To venerate them is the true worship of God. The will of God that is revealed through them must be received in humility; then an inner illumination arises, and the true understanding of the world, which leads to great good fortune and success.

The Image

Fire burns above the wood: the image of the cauldron. So the noble one makes destiny firm by setting their position right.
The wood is the destiny of the fire; as long as it is there below, the fire burns above. So it is with human life. In human beings, too, there is a destiny, which gives their life its strength. And when one succeeds in giving life and destiny their right place, one makes destiny firm, since life is then in direct harmony with destiny. These words contain hints about the cultivation of life, such as are handed down by word of mouth in the secret teaching of Chinese yoga practice.

The Lines

First line, six
A cauldron with upturned legs. Favorable for removing what has stagnated. One takes a secondary wife for her son's sake. No fault.
If one turns the cauldron over before putting it to use, that does not matter; on the contrary, in this way the refuse comes out. A secondary wife is of low standing in herself, but because of her son she rises to honor.
These two parables express the idea that in times of high culture, such as the hexagram indicates, anyone of good will can somehow make their way. However low one may stand, if only one is ready to cleanse oneself, one is accepted. One comes into a position where one can prove fruitful in achievement and as a result finds recognition.
Second line, nine
There is food in the cauldron. My companions are envious, but they can do me no harm. Good fortune.
In times of high culture everything depends on really achieving something. If one relies only on such real achievements, one may perhaps meet with envy and ill will, but that is not dangerous. The more one confines oneself to one's positive achievements, the less harm the envious can do.
Third line, nine
The handle of the cauldron is altered. One is hindered in one's course. The pheasant's fat goes uneaten. Once the rain falls, regret is spent. At last good fortune comes.
The handle is the part by which the cauldron is lifted. If the handle is altered, the cauldron cannot be lifted and used, and the fine food in it, such as the pheasant's fat, unfortunately nourishes no one.
This depicts someone who, in a time of high culture, finds themselves in a position where they go unnoticed and unrecognized. That is a severe hindrance to their effectiveness. All their good qualities and gifts of mind are wasted in this way. But one need only make sure that one truly has spiritual possessions within. Then the time will surely come at last when the hindrances dissolve and all goes well.
The release of the tension is symbolized here, as elsewhere, by the falling of rain.
Fourth line, nine
The cauldron breaks its legs. The prince's meal is spilled, and the figure is stained. Misfortune.
One has a heavy and responsible task, which one is not equal to fulfilling. Since one also does not devote oneself to this task with full strength but busies oneself with lowly people, one fails to carry it through. In this way one also brings ignominy and disgrace on oneself. Confucius says of this: "Weak character in an honored position, little knowledge and great plans, small strength and heavy responsibility will seldom escape misfortune."
Fifth line, six
The cauldron has yellow handles, golden carrying rings. Persistence is favorable.
This is someone in a ruling position who is approachable and modest by nature. Through this inner attitude they manage to find strong and capable helpers, who complement them and help them in their work. It is important not to let oneself be led astray in this stance, which calls for constant inner self-denial, but to hold fast to it.
Top line, nine
The cauldron has jade rings. Great good fortune. Nothing that would not be favorable.
The preceding line calls the carrying rings golden, to signify their strength. In this line they are called jade rings. Jade is distinguished by uniting hardness with a gentle luster. From the standpoint of the person who is open to counsel, this counsel acts as a strong support. Here the counsel is described from the standpoint of the sage who gives it. It will be gentle and refined, like precious jade. In this way the work is looked on with favor by the deity, who bestows great good fortune, and becomes pleasing to people, which is why all goes well.
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