Reading
Judgment
Pushing Upward has sublime success.
One must see the great man.
Do not fear!
Setting out toward the south brings good fortune.
The pushing upward of the capable elements meets with no hindrance; therefore it is attended by great success. The manner that makes pushing upward possible is not violent, but modest and pliant. But since one is borne along by the favor of the times, one comes forward. One must go and seek out the decisive people. One need not fear this, for success will not fail to appear. Only one must set to work; for activity (this is the meaning of the south) brings good fortune.
Image
In the midst of the earth grows the wood:
the image of Pushing Upward.
Thus the noble one of devoted being piles up the small,
in order to bring it to the lofty and great.
The wood in the earth grows without haste and without rest toward the height, bending pliantly around the obstacles. Thus the noble one is devoted in their character and never rests in their progress.
Commentary
The lower hexagram, Sun, has as its image wood; the upper, K'un, signifies the earth. With this is connected the thought that the wood grows upward in the earth. This "pushing upward" is, in contrast to "Progress" (Number 35), connected with effort, as the plant needs force to push upward through the earth. Therefore the hexagram, although it is connected with success, stands in relation to the effort of the will. "Progress" shows more expansion; "Pushing Upward" more straight-line rising to power and influence out of unknown and lowly conditions.
Changing Lines
Line 1
A six at the beginning means:
Pushing upward that meets with trust brings great good fortune.
Commentary
Here is the beginning situation of ascent. As the wood for its pushing upward takes its strength from the root, which is itself quite low, so the strength for rising comes out of this position. It is low and unknown. But there is an inner kinship of being with those ruling above, and this commonality procures for one the trust one needs in order to be able to accomplish something.
Line 2
A nine in the second place means:
If one is truthful,
it is favorable to bring a small sacrifice.
No blame.
Commentary
A strong man is presupposed here. He does not, to be sure, fit into his surroundings, in that he is too rough and too little given to forms. But he is inwardly sincere, therefore he finds responsiveness, and his meagerness in outer forms brings no harm. Sincerity is here the outflow of solid qualities, while at the corresponding line of the previous hexagram it is the effect of inner humility.
Line 3
A nine in the third place means:
One pushes upward into an empty city.
Commentary
Here all the hindrances that are otherwise set to advance fall away. It goes forward with remarkable ease. Without misgiving one follows this road in order to make use of the success. Seen outwardly, it looks as though everything were in the best order. Nevertheless no happiness-promising addition is appended. One asks how long such unhindered success lasts. But it is a matter of not indulging in such misgivings, because thereby the strength would only be hindered, but quickly to make use of the favor of the time.
Line 4
A six in the fourth place means:
The king offers him to Mount Ch'i. Good fortune. No blame.
Commentary
Mount Ch'i is in the west of China, the ancestral land of King Wen, to whose son, the Duke of Chou, the words of the individual lines are attributed. It is a reminder of the times of the rise of the Chou dynasty. Then the great helpers were presented by King Wen to the god of the ancestral mountain, and they received their place at the side of the ruler in the ancestral halls. Here a stage is depicted in which pushing upward arrives at its goal. One becomes famous before people and gods and is received into the circle of men who in spirit build up the life of the nation, and thereby one gains lasting, super-temporal significance.
Line 5
A six in the fifth place means:
Perseverance brings good fortune. One pushes upward by steps.
Commentary
When one keeps moving forward, it is important that one not become intoxicated with success. Precisely with great success one must continually remain sober, not wanting to skip steps, but slowly, as if hesitatingly, going step by step. Only this calm, steady progress, which overhurries nothing, leads to the goal.
Line 6
A six at the top means:
Pushing upward in darkness.
It is favorable to be unremittingly persevering.
Commentary
Whoever pushes upward blindly is inwardly deluded. They know only advance, not retreat. In doing so they exhaust themself. What is important is in such a case to be unremittingly mindful that one must be and remain conscientious and consistent. Only thus does one become free of blind urge, which is always evil.