H^ eng / Duration
above:Tui The Joyous, Lake
below:K^ en Keeping Still, Mountain
The strong trigram Chên is above, the weak trigram Sun below.
This hexagram is the inverse of the preceding one. In the latter we
have influence, here we have union as an enduring condition. The two
images are thunder and wind, which are likewise constantly paired
phenomena. The lower trigram indicates gentleness within; the upper,
movement without.
In the sphere of social relationships, the hexagram represents the
institution of marriage as the enduring union of the sexes. During
courtship the young man subordinates himself to the girl, but in
marriage, which is represented by the coming together of the eldest son
and the eldest daughter, the husband is the directing and moving force
outside, while the wife, inside, is gentle and submissive.
The Judgement
DURATION. Success. No blame.
Perseverance furthers.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
Duration is a state whose movement is not worn down by hindrances. It
is not a state of rest, for mere standstill is regression. Duration is
rather the self-
contained and therefore self-renewing movement of an organized, firmly
integrated whole, taking place in accordance with immutable laws and
beginning anew at every ending. The end is reached by an inward
movement, by inhalation, systole, contraction, and this movement turns
into a new beginning, in which the movement is directed outward, in
exhalation, diastole, expansion.
Heavenly bodies exemplify duration. They move in their fixed orbits,
and because of this their light-giving power endures. The seasons of
the year follow a fixed law of change and transformation, hence can
produce effects that endure.
So likewise the dedicated man embodies an enduring meaning in his way
of life, and thereby the world is formed. In that which gives things
their duration, we can come to understand the nature of all beings in
heaven and on earth.
The Image
Thunder and wind: the image of DURATION.
Thus the superior man stands firm
And does not change has direction.
Thunder rolls, and the wind blows; both are examples of extreme mobility and so are seemingly the very opposite of duration, but the laws governing their appearance and subsidence, their coming and going, endure. In the same way the independence of the superior man is not based on rigidity and immobility of character. He always keeps abreast of the time and changes with it. What endures is the unswerving directive, the inner law of his being, which determines all his actions.