Development

(Gradual Progress)

Wind above

Mountain below

Translated from Richard Wilhelm's German (1924)

Introduction

The hexagram is made up of Xun (wood, penetration) above, or outside, and Gen (mountain, stillness) below, or inside. A tree on the mountain develops slowly and in proper order, and as a result it stands firmly rooted. From this comes the idea of a development that goes on gradually, step by step. The qualities of the trigrams point to this as well: inside is calm, which guards against rash acts, and outside is penetration, which enables development and progress.

The Judgment

Development. The girl goes to her marriage. Good fortune. Persistence is favorable.

The development that leads the girl to follow the man into his home is a hesitant one. The various formalities have to be settled before the marriage takes place. This gradual development can be carried over to other situations as well, whenever proper working relationships are concerned, for example when an official is appointed. In such cases one must wait for development to unfold properly. Rushing ahead would not be good. Finally, it is the same where one wants to exert influence on others. There too the proper path of development lies through the cultivation of one's own character. No influence exerted through agitation works in the long run.

Inwardly, too, development must follow the same path if lasting results are to be achieved.

What is gentle and adaptable, and yet penetrating too, is the outer side, which must come out of inner calm.

The very gradualness of development makes constancy necessary. For only constancy keeps slow progress from petering out in the end.

The Image

A tree grows on the mountain: the image of development. So the noble one lives with dignity and virtue, and raises the ways of the people.

The tree on the mountain can be seen from far off, and its development has an influence on the landscape of the whole region. It does not shoot up like the plants of the marsh; its growth proceeds gradually. The effect on people, too, can only be gradual. No sudden influence or awakening lasts. Progress must come very gradually. And to achieve this progress in public opinion and in the ways of the people, one's character must gain influence and gravity. This happens through careful and steady work at one's own moral development.

The Lines

First line, six

Little by little the wild goose nears the shore. The young son faces danger. People talk. No fault.

All the individual lines take the gradual flight of the wild goose as their image. The wild goose is the symbol of marital fidelity. It is said that after the death of its mate it does not pair with another.

The first line shows the first stage in the flight of the waterfowl from the water up to the heights. Here the shore is reached. This is the position of a solitary young person who wants to begin making their way in life. Because they have no one to meet them halfway, their first steps are slow and hesitant, and they are surrounded by danger. Naturally they are often criticized. But it is precisely the difficulties that keep them from rushing, so that their progress succeeds.

Second line, six

Little by little the wild goose nears the rock. Eating and drinking in peace and harmony. Good fortune.

The rock is a safe place on the shore. Development has gone one step further. One is past the uncertainty of the beginning and has found a secure position in life, which provides an adequate living. This first success, which opens the way to the possibility of effective work, gives one's mood a certain cheerfulness, and one walks on toward the future with an easy mind.

The wild goose, it is said, calls its companions over when it finds food; that is the image of peace and harmony in prosperity. One does not want one's prosperity for oneself alone but is willing to let others share in it.

Third line, nine

Little by little the wild goose nears the high plain. The husband goes off to war and does not return; the wife is with child but does not give birth. Misfortune. It is favorable to fend off raiders.

The wild goose does not belong on the dry high plain. If it flies there, it has strayed from its path and gone too far. That runs counter to the law of development.

So it is in human life too. If one does not let things develop quietly but plunges rashly into the fight of one's own accord, that brings misfortune. One stakes one's own life, and the family goes to ruin over it. But this is by no means inevitable; it is merely the consequence of breaking the law of natural development. When one does not seek out the fight oneself but confines oneself to holding one's ground with vigor and fending off unjustified attacks, all goes well.

Fourth line, six

Little by little the wild goose nears the tree. Perhaps it finds a flat branch. No fault.

The tree is no place suited to a wild goose. But if it is prudent, it finds a flat branch it can stand on. In life, too, as development runs its course, one often comes into situations that do not suit one, in which it is hard to hold one's own without danger. Here it is important to be prudent and yielding. Then, in the midst of danger, one can find a safe place where it is possible to live.

Fifth line, nine

Little by little the wild goose nears the summit. For three years the wife bears no child. In the end nothing can stop her. Good fortune.

The summit is a lofty place. In an elevated position one easily falls into isolation. One is misjudged by the person on whom one depends: the wife by her husband, the official by his lord. The cause is false people who have pushed their way in between. As a result the relationships remain barren and nothing is accomplished. But development brings it about that such misunderstandings clear up and the union takes place in the end after all.

Top line, nine

Little by little the wild goose nears the cloud heights. Its feathers may be used in the sacred dance. Good fortune.

Here life has come to its close. The work lies complete. Its course rises high into the heavens, like the flight of the wild geese once they have left all earthly ground behind. There they fly on, keeping the order of their flight and forming figures in strict lines.

And when their feathers fall, they can be used as ornaments in the sacred dance pantomimes of the temple.

So for the people on earth, the life of a perfected person is a bright light, and they look up to it as their model.

← 52 · Keeping Still, Mountain

54 · The Marrying Girl →