Ta Kuo / Preponderance of the Great
above:Tui The Joyous, Lake
below:Sun The Gentle, Wind
Nine in the fifth place means:
A withered poplar puts forth flowers.
An older woman takes a husband.
No blame. No praise.
A withered poplar that flowers exhausts its energies thereby and only
hastens its end. An older woman may marry once more, but no renewal
takes place. Everything remains barren. Thus, though all the amenities
are observed, the net result is only the anomaly of the situation.
Applied to politics, the metaphor means that if in times of insecurity
we give up alliance with those below us and keep up only the
relationships we have with people of higher rank, an unstable situation
is created.