Reading
Judgment
The Family. Favorable is the perseverance of the woman.
The foundation of the clan is the relation of husband and wife. The bond that holds the clan together lies in the faithfulness and perseverance of the woman. Her place is within (the second line); the place of the man is without (the fifth line). That husband and wife take their right place corresponds to the great laws of nature. In the clan there is need of firm authority: these are the parents. When the father is truly father and the son son, when the elder brother fulfills his place as elder brother and the younger his place as younger brother, when the husband is truly husband and the wife wife, then the clan is in order. When the clan is in order, then the whole social relations of humanity come into order. Of the five social relationships, three lie within the clan: that between father and son, love; between man and wife, discipline; between elder and younger brother, order. The loving reverence of the son is then further transferred to the prince as loyalty of duty, and the order and affection of the brothers to the friend as faithfulness, and to the relation with superiors as subordination. The clan is the germ cell of society, the natural soil on which the exercise of moral duties is eased by natural affection, so that in the narrow circle the foundation is created from which they are then transferred to human relations in general.
Image
The wind comes forth from the fire:
the image of the Family.
Thus the noble one has substance in their words
and duration in their conduct.
The heat generates force; that is what the wind signifies, which is fanned by the fire and comes forth from it. This is the effect from within outward. Exactly the same is necessary in the regulation of the clan. Here too the effect must go out from one's own person upon others. In order to be able to exert such an effect, the words must have a force; they can only have it when they rest on something real, as the flame rests on the fuel. Only when the words are substantial, referring clearly to definite conditions, do they have influence. General speeches and admonitions are wholly without effect. Furthermore, the words must be supported by the whole conduct, as the wind works through its duration. Only firm, consistent action will make the impression on others that they can adapt to it and orient themselves by it. If word and conduct are not in harmony and consistent, the effect is absent.
Commentary
The hexagram represents the laws that prevail within the clan. The topmost strong line represents the father, the lowest the son; the fifth strong line represents the husband, the second weak line the wife. On the other hand, the two strong lines at the fifth and third place represent two brothers, the corresponding weak lines at the fourth and second place their wives, so that all relations and situations within the clan come to their appropriate expression. Each individual line has the nature corresponding to its place. That in the sixth place, where one might expect a weak line, there nevertheless stands a strong line, indicates most clearly the strong rule that must proceed from the head of the clan. The line here comes into consideration not in its quality as sixth, but as topmost. The clan shows the laws operative in the interior of the house which, transferred outward, keep state and world in order. The influence that works from within the clan outward is represented under the image of the wind, which is generated by fire.
Changing Lines
Line 1
A nine at the beginning means:
Firm seclusion within the family. Remorse vanishes.
Commentary
The family must form a firmly bounded unity, within which every member knows their place. From the beginning, children must be accustomed to firm orders, even before their will is turned to other things. If one begins too late with the enforcement of order, when the will of the children is already spoiled, the grown-up whims and passions resist, and there is occasion for remorse. If one begins with order in good time, occasions for remorse indeed also arise. They are unavoidable in living together in a larger circle. But the remorse vanishes again and again. Everything sets itself right. For there is nothing more easily avoidable and harder to carry through than "breaking the will" of children.
Line 2
A six in the second place means:
She should not follow her whim.
She should see to providing food within.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Commentary
The woman should always orient herself by the will of the master of the house, whether it be the father, the husband, or the adult son. Her place is in the middle of the house. Here she has great and important duties, which she does not need to seek out. She must see to the nourishment of the family members and the sacrificial foods. Thereby she becomes the center for the social and religious life of the family. Perseverance in this place brings good fortune to the whole house.
Transferred to general conditions, the counsel is given not to seek anything by force, but to calmly limit oneself to the duties present.
Line 3
A nine in the third place means:
When things go heatedly in the family,
remorse arises over too great severity.
Yet good fortune!
When wife and child dally and laugh,
that leads in the end to humiliation.
Commentary
In the family the right middle between hardness and laxity should prevail. Too great severity toward one's own flesh and blood leads to remorse. The best is to erect firm dams, within which each individual is left full freedom of movement. Yet in case of doubt, too great severity, despite individual missteps, is better, because the discipline of the family is preserved, than too great weakness, which leads to disgrace.
Line 4
A six in the fourth place means:
She is the wealth of the house.
Great good fortune!
Commentary
The housewife is the one on whom the prosperity of the family depends. Prosperity prevails always when outlays and income stand in a healthy relation to each other. This leads to great good fortune. Transferred to public life, what is meant here is the faithful householder who furthers the general welfare through their measures.
Line 5
A nine in the fifth place means:
As a king he approaches his clan; do not be afraid.
Good fortune!
Commentary
A king is the image of a fatherly, inwardly rich man. He does not act so that one must fear him; rather, the whole family can have trust, because love prevails in intercourse. His being exerts the right influence wholly of itself.
Line 6
A nine at the top means:
His work is awe-inspiring.
In the end good fortune comes.
Commentary
The order of the family rests in the last resort on the person of the master of the house. If they cultivate their person so that it has an impressive effect through the strength of inner truth, then in the family all goes well. One must take the responsibility at the leading place upon oneself.