37. Chia Jên / The Family [The Clan]
This hexagram represents the laws obtaining within the family. The strong line at the top represents the father, the lowest the son. The strong line in the fifth place represents the husband, the yielding second line the wife. On the other hand, the two strong lines in the fifth and the third place represent two brothers, and the two weak lines correlated with them in the fourth and the second place stand for their respective wives. Thus all the connections and relationships within the family find their appropriate expression. Each individual line has the character according with its place. The fact that a strong line occupies the sixth place—where a weak line might be expected—indicates very clearly the strong leadership that must come from the head of the family. The line is to be considered here not in its quality as the sixth but in its quality as the top line. THE FAMILY shows the laws operative within the household that, transferred to outside life, keep the state and the world in order. The influence that goes out from within the family is represented by the symbol of the wind created by fire.
THE JUDGMENT
THE FAMILY. The perseverance of the woman furthers.
The foundation of the family is the relationship between husband and wife. The tie that holds the family together lies in the loyalty and perseverance of the wife. Her place is within (second line), while that of the husband is without (fifth line). It is in accord with the great laws of nature that husband and wife take their proper places. Within the family a strong authority is needed; this is represented by the parents. If the father is really a father and the son a son, if the elder brother fulfills his position, and the younger fulfills his, if the husband is really a husband and the wife a wife, then the family is in order. When the family is in order, all the social relationships of mankind will be in order.
Three of the five social relationships are to be found within the family—that between father and son, which is the relation of love, that between husband and wife, which is the relation of chaste conduct, and that between elder and younger brother, which is the relation of correctness. The loving reverence of the son is then carried over to the prince in the form of faithfulness to duty; the affection and correctness of behavior existing between the two brothers are extended to a friend in the form of loyalty, and to a person of superior rank in the form of deference. The family is society in embryo; it is the native soil on which performance of moral duty is made easy through natural affection, so that within a small circle a basis of moral practice is created, and this is later widened to include human relationships in general.
THE IMAGE
The image of THE FAMILY.
Thus the superior man has substance in his words
And duration in his way of life.
Heat creates energy: this is signified by the wind stirred up by the fire and issuing forth from it. This represents influence working from within outward. The same thing is needed in the regulation of the family. Here too the influence on others must proceed from one’s own person. In order to be capable of producing such an influence, one’s words must have power, and this they can have only if they are based on something real, just as flame depends on its fuel. Words have influence only when they are pertinent and clearly related to definite circumstances.
General discourses and admonitions have no effect whatsoever. Furthermore, the words must be supported by one’s entire conduct, just as the wind is made effective by its duration. Only firm and consistent conduct will make such an impression on others that they can adapt and conform to it. If words and conduct are not in accord and not consistent, they will have no effect.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning means:
Firm seclusion within the family.
Remorse disappears.
The family must form a well-defined unit within which each member knows his place. From the beginning each child must be accustomed to firmly established rules of order, before ever its will is directed to other things. If we begin too late to enforce order, when the will of the child has already been overindulged, the whims and passions, grown stronger with the years, offer resistance and give cause for remorse. If we insist on order from the outset, occasions for remorse may arise—in general social life these are unavoidable—but the remorse always disappears again, and everything rights itself. For there is nothing more easily avoided and more difficult to carry through than “breaking a child’s will.”
Six in the second place means:
She should not follow her whims.
She must attend within to the food.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
The wife must always be guided by the will of the master of the house, be he father, husband, or grown son. Her place is within the house. There, without having to look for them, she has great and important duties. She must attend to the nourishment of her family and to the food for the sacrifice. In this way she becomes the center of the social and religious life of the family, and her perseverance in this position brings good fortune to the whole house.
In relation to general conditions, the counsel given here is to seek nothing by means of force, but quietly to confine oneself to the duties at hand.
Nine in the third place means:
When tempers flare up in the family,
Too great severity brings remorse.
Good fortune nonetheless.
When woman and child dally and laugh,
It leads in the end to humiliation.
In the family the proper mean between severity and indulgence ought to prevail. Too great severity toward one’s own flesh and blood leads to remorse. The wise thing is to build strong dikes within which complete freedom of movement is allowed each individual. But in doubtful instances too great severity, despite occasional mistakes, is preferable, because it preserves discipline in the family, whereas too great weakness leads to disgrace.
Six in the fourth place means:
She is the treasure of the house.
Great good fortune.
It is upon the woman of the house that the well-being of the family depends. Well-being prevails when expenditures and income are soundly balanced. This leads to great good fortune. In the sphere of public life, this line refers to the faithful steward whose measures further the general welfare.
Nine in the fifth place means:
As a king he approaches his family.
Fear not.
Good fortune.
A king is the symbol of a fatherly man who is richly endowed in mind. He does nothing to make himself feared; on the contrary, the whole family can trust him, because love governs their intercourse. His character of itself exercises the right influence.
Nine at the top means:
His work commands respect.
In the end good fortune comes.
In the last analysis, order within the family depends on the character of the master of the house. If he cultivates his personality so that it works impressively through the force of inner truth, all goes well with the family. In a ruling position one must of his own accord assume responsibility.
The Commentaries
The rulers of the hexagram are the nine in the fifth place and the six in the second, hence it is said in the Commentary on the Decision: “The correct place of the woman is within; the correct place of the man is without.”
The Sequence
He who is injured without, of a certainty draws back into his family. Hence there follows the hexagram of THE FAMILY.
Miscellaneous Notes
THE FAMILY is inside.
The upper trigram Sun means influence, the lower, Li, means clarity; accordingly the hexagram points to the outgoing influence that emanates from inner clarity.1
THE JUDGMENT
THE FAMILY. The perseverance of the woman furthers.
Commentary on the Decision
THE FAMILY. The correct place of the woman is within; the correct place of the man is without. That man and woman have their proper places is the greatest concept in nature.
Among the members of the family there are strict rulers; these are the parents. When the father is in truth a father and the son a son, when the elder brother is an elder brother and the younger brother a younger brother, the husband a husband and the wife a wife, then the house is on the right way.
When the house is set in order, the world is established in a firm course.
While the Judgment speaks only of the perseverance of woman, because of the fact that the hexagram consists of the two elder daughters, Sun and Li, who are in their proper places—the elder above, the younger below—the commentary is based on the two rulers of the hexagram, the nine in the fifth place and the six in the second, and speaks accordingly of both man and woman, whose proper places are respectively without and within. These positions of man and woman correspond with the relative positions of heaven and earth, hence this is called the greatest concept in nature (literally, heaven and earth).
The proper positions of the individual lines have been discussed above. The action of the family on the world corresponds with the action of fire, which creates the wind.
THE IMAGE
The image of THE FAMILY.
Thus the superior man has substance in his words
And duration in his way of life.
Wind is an effect of fire. Similarly, the effect of order within the family is to create an influence that brings order into the world. It is achieved when the head of the family has substance in his words, just as flame must rely upon fuel, and duration in his way of life, just as the wind blows without cease.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning:
a) Firm seclusion within the family.
Remorse disappears.
b) “Firm seclusion within the family”: the will has not yet changed.
The line is at the beginning, in the lowest place; hence it represents the time when the will of an individual has not yet changed for the worse. Here is the point at which to intervene and prevent change.
Six in the second place:
a) She should not follow her whims.
She must attend within to the food.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
b) The good fortune of the six in the second place depends upon devotion and gentleness.
Devotion and gentleness are mentioned three times—in the hexagram of YOUTHFUL FOLLY (4) as attributes necessary in serving a teacher, in the hexagram of DEVELOPMENT (53) as attributes necessary in serving a ruler, and in the present instance as attributes necessary in serving a husband.
The middle line in the trigram Li means devotion and correctness, which seek nothing for themselves. One of the nuclear trigrams, K’an, means wine and food, and the other, Li, means cooking and baking; hence the preparation of food is said to be the duty of woman.
Nine in the third place:
a) When tempers flare up in the family,
Too great severity brings remorse.
Good fortune nonetheless.
When woman and child dally and laugh,
It leads in the end to humiliation.
b) “When tempers flare up in the family,” nothing is as yet lost.
“When woman and child dally,” the discipline of the house is lost.
This line is at the top of the lower primary trigram Li, flame, and likewise at the beginning of the upper nuclear trigram, which is also Li; hence it implies too much heat. Although this is a mistake, such behavior is still to be preferred in the case of a strong line between two weak ones. If the line changes and becomes yielding, the discipline of the house is lost.
Six in the fourth place:
a) She is the treasure of the house.
Great good fortune.
b) “She is the treasure of the house. Great good fortune.”
For she is devoted and in her place.
The fourth line is the yielding lowest line in the upper primary trigram Sun, gentleness. It is the middle line of the upper nuclear trigram Li; when the line changes, it remains within the lower nuclear trigram Sun thus formed. Sun means work, silk, a near-by market—all things that promise wealth. As a yielding line in its proper place, it means great good fortune.
Nine in the fifth place:
a) As a king he approaches his family.
Fear not.
Good fortune.
b) “As a king he approaches his family”: they associate with one another in love.
The line is correct, strong, central; hence the image of a king. As a ruler of the hexagram, it influences the other lines. Being central, it does not effect its ends by means of severity.
Nine at the top:
a) His work commands respect.
In the end good fortune comes.
b) “Commands respect” and “good fortune”: this indicates that one makes demands first of all upon oneself.
This line is at the end of the hexagram. It is strong and stable, hence does not turn to others but only to itself; from this finally good fortune comes.
1. As these relationships indicate, the Chinese family is the patriarchal clan, which forms the nucleus of the patriarchal state. This trend of thought is developed still further in the Great Learning [Ta Hsüeh].
Associated Tao Te Ching
44
Fame and fortune
Which is nearer,
name or self?
Which is dearer,
self or wealth?
Which gives more pain,
loss or gain?
All you grasp will be thrown away.
All you hoard will be utterly lost.
Contentment keeps disgrace away.
Restraint keeps you out of danger
so you can go on for a long, long time.
54
Insight
If my mind’s modest,
I walk the great way.
Arrogance
is all I fear.
The great way is low and plain,
but people like shortcuts over the mountains.
The palace is full of splendor
and the fields are full of weeds
and the granaries are full of nothing.
People wearing ornaments and fancy clothes,
carrying weapons,
drinking a lot and eating a lot,
having a lot of things, a lot of money:
shameless thieves.
Surely their way
isn’t the way.
So much for capitalism.
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