Richard Wilhelm & Cary F. Baynes translation, 1950

   29. K'an / The Abysmal (Water)

       above:  K'an  The Abysmal, Water
       below:  K'an  The Abysmal, Water




This hexagram consists of a doubling of the trigram K'an. It is one of the eight 
hexagrams in which doubling occurs. The trigram K'an means a plunging in. A yang 
line has plunged in between two yin lines and is closed in by them like water 
in a ravine. The trigram K'an is also the middle son. The Receptive has obtained 
the middle line of the Creative, and thus K'an develops. As an image it represents 
water, the water that comes from above and is in motion on earth in streams and 
rivers, giving rise to all life on earth.

In man's world K'an represents the heart, the soul locked up within the body, 
the principle of light inclosed in the dark— that is, reason. The name 
of the hexagram, because the trigram is doubled, has the additional meaning, 
"repetition of danger." Thus the hexagram is intended to designate an objective 
situation to which one must become accustomed, not a subjective attitude. 
For danger due to a subjective attitude means either foolhardiness or guile. 
Hence too a ravine is used to symbolize danger; it is a situation in which 
a man is in the same pass as the water in a ravine, and, like the water, 
he can escape if he behaves correctly.






        THE JUDGMENT

        The Abysmal repeated.
        If you are sincere, you have success in your heart,
        And whatever you do succeeds.


Through repetition of danger we grow accustomed to it. Water sets the example 
for the right conduct under such circumstances. It flows on and on, and merely 
fills up all the places through which it flows; it does not shrink from any 
dangerous spot nor from any plunge, and nothing can make it lose its own essential 
nature. It remains true to itself under all conditions. Thus likewise, if one is 
sincere when confronted with difficulties, the heart can penetrate the meaning 
of the situation. Once we have gained inner mastery of a problem, it will come 
about naturally that the action we take will succeed. In danger all that counts 
is really carrying out all that has to be done— thoroughness— and going 
forward, in order not to perish through tarrying in the danger.

Properly used, danger can have an important meaning as a protective measure. 
Thus heaven has its perilous height protecting it against every attempt at 
invasion, and earth has its mountains and bodies of water, separating countries 
by their dangers. Thus also rulers make use of danger to protect themselves 
against attacks from without and against turmoil within.

       
        THE IMAGE

        Water flows on uninterruptedly and reaches its foal:
        The image of the Abysmal repeated.
        Thus the superior man walks in lasting virtue
        And carries on the business of teaching.


Difficulties and obstructions throw a man back upon himself. While the inferior 
man seeks to put the blame on other persons, bewailing his fate, the superior 
man seeks the error within himself, and through this introspection the external 
obstacle becomes for him an occasion for inner enrichment and education.

Water reaches its goal by flowing continually. It fills up every depression 
before it flows on. The superior man follows its example; he is concerned 
that goodness should be an established attribute of character rather than an 
accidental and isolated occurrence. So likewise in teaching others everything 
depends on consistency, for it is only through repetition that the pupil makes 
the material his own.

        THE LINES

        Six at the beginning means:
        Repetition of the Abysmal.
        In the abyss one falls into a pit.
        Misfortune.

By growing used to what is dangerous, a man can easily allow it to become 
part of him. He is familiar with it and grows used to evil. With this 
he has lost the right way, and misfortune is the natural result.

        ° Nine in the second place means:
        The abyss is dangerous.
        One should strive to attain small things only.

When we are in danger we ought not to attempt to get out of it immediately, 
regardless of circumstances; at first we must content ourselves with not 
being overcome by it. We must calmly weigh the conditions of the time and by 
satisfied with small gains, because for the time being a great success cannot 
be attained. A spring flows only sparingly at first, and tarries for some 
time before it makes its way in to the open.

        Six in the third place means:
        Forward and backward, abyss on abyss.
        In danger like this, pause at first and wait,
        Otherwise you will fall into a pit in the abyss.
        Do not act this way.

Here every step, forward or backward, leads into danger. Escape is out of 
the question. Therefore we must not be misled into action, as a result of 
which we should only bog down deeper in the danger; disagreeable as it may 
be to remain in such a situation, we must wait until a way out shows itself.

        Six in the fourth place means:
        A jug of wine, a bowl of rice with it;
        Earthen vessels
        Simply handed in through the Window.
        There is certainly no blame in this.

In times of danger ceremonious forms are dropped. What matters most is 
sincerity. Although as a rule it is customary for an official to present 
certain introductory gifts and recommendations before he is appointed, 
here everything is simplified to the utmost. The gifts are insignificant, 
there is no one to sponsor him, he introduces himself; yet all this need 
not be humiliating if only there is the honest intention of mutual help 
in danger. Still another idea is suggested. The window is the place 
through which light enters the room. If in difficult times we want 
to enlighten someone, we must begin with that which is in itself 
lucid and proceed quite simply from that point on.

        ° Nine in the fifth place means:
        The abyss is not filled to overflowing,
        It is filled only to the rim.
        No blame.

Danger comes because one is too ambitious. In order to flow out of a ravine, 
water does not rise higher than the lowest point of the rim. So likewise a 
man when in danger has only to proceed along the line of least resistance; 
thus he reaches the goal. Great labors cannot be accomplished in such times; 
it is enough to get out of the danger.

        Six at the top means:
        Bound with cords and ropes,
        Shut in between thorn-hedged prison walls:
        For three years one does not find the way.
        Misfortune.

A man who in the extremity of danger has lost the right way and 
is irremediably entangled in his sins has no prospect of escape. 
He is like a criminal who sits shackled behind thorn hedged prison walls.

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