Lu / The Wanderer
above: Ch^ en The Arousing, Thunder
below: Li The Clinging, Flame
The mountain, Kên, stands still; above it fire, Li, flames up and does not tarry. Therefore the two trigrams do not stay together. Strange lands and separation are the wanderer's lot.
The Judgement
THE WANDERER. Success through smallness.
Perseverence brings good fortune
To the wanderer.
When a man is a wanderer and stranger, he should be not be gruff nor
overbearing. He has no large circle of acquaintances, therefore he
should not give himself airs. He must be cautious and reserved; in this
way he protects himself from evil. If he is obliging toward others, he
wins success.
A wanderer has no fixed abode; his home is the road. Therefore he must
take care to remain upright and steadfast, so that he sojourns only in
the proper places, associating only with good people. Then he has good
fortune and can go his way unmolested.
The Image
Fire on the mountain:
The image of THE WANDERER.
Thus the superior man
Is clear-minded and cautious
In imposing penalties,
And protracts no lawsuits.
When grass on a mountain takes fire, there is bright light. However, the fire does not linger in one place, but travels on to new fuel. It is a phenomenon of short duration. This is what penalties and lawsuits should be like. They should be a quickly passing matter, and must not be dragged out indefinitely. Prisons ought to be places where people are lodged only temporarily, as guests are. They must not become dwelling places.