Pi / Holding Together [Union]
above: K'an The Abysmal, Water
below: K'un The Receptive, Earth
Nine in the fifth place means:
Manifestation of holding together.
In the hunt the king uses beaters on three sides only
And forgoes game that runs off in front.
The citizens need no warning.
Good fortune.
In the royal hunts of ancient China it was customary to drive up the
game from three sides, but on the fourth the animals had a chance to
run off. If they failed to do this they had to pass through a gate
behind which the king stood ready to shoot. Only animals that entered
here were shot; those that ran off in front were permitted to escape.
This custom accorded with a kingly attitude; the royal hunter did not
wish to turn the chase into a slaughter, but held that the kill should
consist only of those animals which had so to speak voluntarily exposed
themselves.
There is depicted here a ruler, or influential man, to whom people are
attracted. Those who come to him he accepts, those who do not come are
allowed to go their own way. He invites none, flatters none--all come
of their own free will. In this way there develops a voluntary
dependence among those who hold him. They do not have to be constantly
on their guard but may express their opinions openly. Police measures
are not necessary, and they cleave to their ruler of their own
volition. The same principle of freedom is valid for life in general.
We should not woo favor from people. If a man cultivates within himself
the purity and the strength that are necessary for one who is the
center of a fellowship, those who are meant for him come of their own
accord.