An Example of Divination and Interpretation Using Yijing

Divination was performed on February 6. The question was that of a certain Lady's present living situation: whether, on account of some trouble with her room-mate, she should move out. The sticks were reverently consulted, and the following changes recorded:

?5, 4, 4(?)?? - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
?5, 4, 4(?)?? - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
?9, 8, 8(?)?? - - - - - - - - - -
?9, 8, 4(?)?? - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
?9, 8, 4(?)?? - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
?5, 8, 8(?)?? - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thus Xiaoxu (??), the ninth hexagram, was obtained. The moveable lines are the six in the fourth place, nine in the fifth place, and nine at the top. None of these three find the moveable position in the third place; nonetheless, as per the example in the Guoyu (??), all three lines change, and Xiaoxu moves to Dazhuang (??), the 34th hexagram. The oracle was, thus, the phrases appended to both hexagrams. For Xiaoxu: "THE TAMING POWER OF THE SMALL / Has success. / Dense clouds, no rain from our western region." (Wilhelm & Baynes, p. 40) For Dazhuang: "THE POWER OF THE GREAT. Perseverance furthers." (Wilhelm & Baynes, p. 133)

These rather oblique phrases, by themselves, indeed pose a tremendous interpretive challenge. Immediately striking, however, is the imagery of weather at play in the two hexagrams, and this proves a valuable point of departure for interpreting the oracle. In Xiaoxu (??,??), wind moves across the sky; in Dazhuang (??,??), thunder is in the heavens. While perhaps ominous at first glance, when one compares these images to the appended phrases, it suggests that the thunder may herald the arrival of the awaited rain. The text's own descriptions of the images, of course, accord with this meteorological metaphoric gloss on the hexagrams. In the case of Xiaoxu, the comment on the image reads "The wind drives across heaven: / The image of THE TAMING POWER OF THE SMALL. / Thus the superior man / Refines the outward aspect of his nature." (Wilhelm & Baynes, p. 41) And for Dazhuang: "Thunder in heaven above: / The image of THE POWER OF THE GREAT. / Thus the superior man does not tread upon paths / That do not accord with established order." (Wilhelm & Baynes, p. 133-134) The image of Xiaoxu suggests that the proper course is to wait out the dearth of rain, refining one's character and comportment in the meantime, while the image of Dazhuang suggests the coming opportunity to act, as Wilhelm puts it, "in harmony with ... the movement of heaven ... in harmony with what is right." (p. 134)

All of this seems to suggest, at the least, that it would be unwise for the Lady to immediately move out (as she had been considering), and that she must be wary of acting contrary to "established order." What order exactly is being referred to is another debatable point, but within the context of the question, it is reasonable to take it to mean the established living situation, and the already extant (if perhaps tenuous) equilibrium thereof.

Seeking to provide a more complete answer, one which included a more definite recommendation for a particular course of action, the phrases appended to the moving lines of Xiaoxu were additionally consulted. These are:

Six in the fourth place means:
If you are sincere, blood vanishes and fear gives way.
No blame.

Nine in the fifth place means:
If you are sincere and loyally attached,
You are rich in your neighbor.

Nine at the top means:
The rain comes, there is rest.
This is due to the lasting effect of character.
Perseverance brings the woman into danger.
The moon is nearly full.
If the superior man persists,
Misfortune comes.(Wilhelm & Baynes, p. 42-43)

Particular attention was paid to the fourth and fifth lines, as the fifth is the ruler of the hexagram, and the fourth, its minister. Both put great emphasis on sincerity, and its positive effects. They appear fairly clear in context of the question: a sincere dialogue between the Lady and her room-mate would dispel the tension between them, and enrich their relationship. The nine at the top is at first a little more opaque, but it seems to suggest that the the achievement finally reached by "the lasting effect of character" - the same character, perhaps, whose cultivation is encouraged by the phrases appended to Xiaoxu - is tenuous, and may collapse if pushed. Wilhelm's commentary clarifies this impression, saying that "a success thus secured bit by bit calls for great caution. It would be a dangerous illusion for anyone to think he could presume upon it." (Wilhelm & Baynes, p. 43)

So, ultimately, the recommendation given to the Lady was that moving out would be unfavorable, and that rather than do so, she should pursue an honest conversation with her room-mate and seek a resolution rather than embark on the disrupting upset of moving out. As it turns out, the Lady and her room-mate did have such a conversation and were able to resolve their difficulties. However, while the Lady has been persuaded not to move out, the delicacy of the situation suggested by the nine at the top of Xiaoxu is still apparent: the Lady still feels herself somewhat in tension, slightly cramped by her shared living space.

With the divination and interpretation complete, the advice given, and the problem at hand apparently overcome, the question follows: why and how did these hexagrams apply to the situation in a useful manner? In considering this, the first point to be made is that the text consulted is far from sparse. Wilhelm's commentated translation of the Yijing is very neat, very integrally unified, and very easy to work with. The overarching philosophy Wilhelm provides for the reader makes interpretation relatively clear, and guided in a particular direction, that is, he does much of the interpretive work for the reader. Such is the purpose of commentaries. The question is whether the interpretive direction Wilhelm's commentary gives to the text is doing all the work, and making the hexagrams applicable to the question, regardless of what it is, by virtue of a generally applicable philosophical system. Such concerns may motivate scholars like Rutt and Kunst to strip away later layers of the text, in search of the 'original' Yi. One may investigate this larger question in smaller instances, for example by considering the texts for each hexagram without any hints from commentaries, and even by disregarding - as Rutt and Kunst are wont - parts of the original text that belong to later layers.

If we first examine the phrases appended to the hexagrams Xiaoxu and Dazhuang without considering Wilhelm's commentary, but with reference to the description of the images, the interpretation given above still seems tenable. In light of the phrases attached to the individual lines which were also consulted, the recommendation given still has solid backing in the text. Wilhelm's comments on any of these parts are not making major additions to what the text itself says, but highlighting certain points which are, at the very least, suggested in the primary material.

Should we indulge Rutt and Kunst, and restrict ourselves to examining the phrases appended to the hexagrams and the individual lines, the task of interpretation is, of course, greatly hindered by the reduction of material to work from. The same conclusions reached with the full, commentated text may be vaguely supportable from the appended phrases - they retain the admonition to persevere in waiting for the rain. The individual lines, similarly, can be imagined to offer the same suggestion of sincere communication and the same caution of the tenuous nature of the achievement brought about thereby.

However, it must be kept in mind that Wilhelm's translation of the original text, in every layer, can only be expected to accord with his commentary to that translation, and with conclusions reached from that whole, commentated text. Indeed, the original Chinese is everywhere ambiguous and may be made to accommodate any number of interpretations. It must be granted, keeping the ambiguousness of the original in mind, that if the text is reduced to the earlier layers, the range of interpretations is vast, and relatively unspecified. It is admittedly less clear at such a level what the oracle may mean.
All this serves to emphasize the role of the diviner as interpreter. A commentary like Wilhelm's merely represents the superimposition of a more fully developed school of interpretive thought onto the original Yijing text.

Do the hexagrams Xiaoxu and Dazhuang have any bearing on the situation of the question without this thick interpretative layer? If one puts stock in the hexagrams at all, then yes, for they give a representation of the situation which will lead to greater understanding. Interpretation becomes the task at hand for one to achieve that understanding. This holds true whether one is considering one's course of action by obtaining a hexagram, or doing so - as one first ought - in light only of what is known about one's circumstances. If one does not grant even this to the hexagrams, then all this consideration becomes moot.