Ting / The Caldron
above:Li The Clinging, Flame
below:Sun The Gentle, Wind
The six lines construct the image of Ting, THE CALDRON; at the bottom
are the legs, over them the belly, then come the ears (handles), and at
the top the carrying rings. At the same time, the image suggests the
idea of nourishment. The ting, cast of bronze, was the vessel
that held the cooked viands in the temple of the ancestors and at
banquets. The heads of the family served the food from the ting
into the bowls of the guests.
THE WELL (48)
likewise has the secondary meaning of giving nourishment, but rather
more in relation to the people. The ting, as a utensil
pertaining to a refined civilization, suggests the fostering and
nourishing of able men, which redounded to the benefit of the state.
This hexagram and THE WELL are the only two in the Book of Changes that
represent concrete, man-made objects. Yet here too the thought has its
abstract connotation.
Sun, below, is wood and wind; Li, above, is flame. Thus together they
stand for the flame kindled by wood and wind, which likewise suggests
the idea of preparing food.
The Judgement
THE CALDRON. Supreme good fortune.
Success.
While THE WELL relates to the social foundation of our life, and this
foundation is likened to the water that serves to nourish growing wood,
the present hexagram refers to the cultural superstructure of society.
Here it is the wood that serves as nourishment for the flame, the
spirit. All that is visible must grow beyond itself, extend into the
realm of the invisible. Thereby it receives its true consecration and
clarity and takes firm root in the cosmic order.
Here we see civilization as it reaches its culmination in religion. The
ting serves in offering sacrifice to God. The highest earthly
values must be sacrificed to the divine. But the truly divine does not
manifest itself apart from man. The supreme revelation of God appears
in prophets and holy men. To venerate them is true veneration of God.
The will of God, as revealed through them, should be accepted in
humility; this brings inner enlightenment and true understanding of the
world, and this leads to great good fortune and success.
The Image
Fire over wood:
The image of THE CALDRON.
Thus the superior man consolidates his fate
By making his position correct.
The fate of fire depends on wood; as long as there is wood below, the fire burns above. It is the same in human life; there is in man likewise a fate that lends power to his life. And if he succeeds in assigning the right place to life and to fate, thus bringing the two into harmony, he puts his fate on a firm footing. These words contain hints about the fostering of life as handed on by oral tradition in the secret teachings of Chinese yoga.