P'i / Standstill [Stagnation]
above: Ch'ien The Creative, Heaven
below: K'un The Receptive, Earth
Nine in the fifth place means:
Standstill is giving way.
Good fortune for the great man.
"What if it should fail, what if it should fail?"
In this way he ties it to a cluster of mulberry shoots.
The time undergoes a change. The right man, able to restore order, has
arrived. Hence "good fortune." But such periods of transition are the
very times in which we must fear and tremble. Success is assured only
through greatest caution, which asks always, "What if it should fail?"
When a mulberry bush is cut down, a number of unusually strong shoots
sprout from the roots. Hence the image of tying something to a cluster
of mulberry shoots is used to symbolize the way of making success
certain. Confucius says about this line:
Danger arises when a man feels secure in his position. Destruction
threatens when a man seeks to preserve his worldly estate. Confusion
develops when a man has put everything in order. Therefore the superior
man does not forget danger in his security, not ruin when he is well
established, nor confusion when his affairs are in order. In this way
he gains personal safety and is able to protect the empire.