3. Chun / Difficulty at the Beginning
The name of the hexagram, Chun, really connotes a blade of grass pushing against an obstacle as it sprouts out of the earth—hence the meaning, “difficulty at the beginning.” The hexagram indicates the way in which heaven and earth bring forth individual beings. It is their first meeting, which is beset with difficulties. The lower trigram Chên is the Arousing; its motion is upward and its image is thunder. The upper trigram K’an stands for the Abysmal, the dangerous. Its motion is downward and its image is rain. The situation points to teeming, chaotic profusion; thunder and rain fill the air. But the chaos clears up. While the Abysmal sinks, the upward movement eventually passes beyond the danger. A thunderstorm brings release from tension, and all things breathe freely again.
THE JUDGMENT
Difficulty at the Beginning works supreme success,
Furthering through perseverance.
Nothing should be undertaken.
It furthers one to appoint helpers.
Times of growth are beset with difficulties. They resemble a first birth. But these difficulties arise from the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form. Everything is in motion: therefore if one perseveres there is a prospect of great success, in spite of the existing danger. When it is a man’s fate to undertake such new beginnings, everything is still unformed, dark. Hence he must hold back, because any premature move might bring disaster. Likewise, it is very important not to remain alone; in order to overcome the chaos he needs helpers. This is not to say, however, that he himself should look on passively at what is happening. He must lend his hand and participate with inspiration and guidance.
THE IMAGE
Clouds and thunder:
The image of Difficulty at the Beginning.
Thus the superior man
Brings order out of confusion.
Clouds and thunder are represented by definite decorative lines; this means that in the chaos of difficulty at the beginning, order is already implicit. So too the superior man has to arrange and organize the inchoate profusion of such times of beginning, just as one sorts out silk threads from a knotted tangle and binds them into skeins. In order to find one’s place in the infinity of being, one must be able both to separate and to unite.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning means:
Hesitation and hindrance.
It furthers one to remain persevering.
It furthers one to appoint helpers.
If a person encounters a hindrance at the beginning of an enterprise, he must not try to force advance but must pause and take thought. However, nothing should put him off his course; he must persevere and constantly keep the goal in sight. It is important to seek out the right assistants, but he can find them only if he avoids arrogance and associates with his fellows in a spirit of humility. Only then will he attract those with whose help he can combat the difficulties.
Six in the second place means:
Difficulties pile up.
Horse and wagon part.
He is not a robber;
He wants to woo when the time comes.
The maiden is chaste,
She does not pledge herself.
Ten years—then she pledges herself.
We find ourselves beset by difficulties and hindrances. Suddenly there is a turn of affairs, as if someone were coming up with a horse and wagon and unhitching them. This event comes so unexpectedly that we assume the newcomer to be a robber. Gradually it becomes clear that he has no evil intentions but seeks to be friendly and to offer help. But this offer is not to be accepted, because it does not come from the right quarter. We must wait until the time is fulfilled; ten years is a fulfilled cycle of time. Then normal conditions return of themselves, and we can join forces with the friend intended for us.
Using the image of a betrothed girl who remains true to her lover in face of grave conflicts, the hexagram gives counsel for a special situation. When in times of difficulty a hindrance is encountered and unexpected relief is offered from a source unrelated to us, we must be careful and not take upon ourselves any obligations entailed by such help; otherwise our freedom of decision is impaired. If we bide our time, things will quiet down again, and we shall attain what we have hoped for. (1)
Six in the third place means:
Whoever hunts deer without the forester
Only loses his way in the forest.
The superior man understands the signs of the time
And prefers to desist.
To go on brings humiliation.
If a man tries to hunt in a strange forest and has no guide, he loses his way. When he finds himself in difficulties he must not try to steal out of them unthinkingly and without guidance. Fate cannot be duped; premature effort, without the necessary guidance, ends in failure and disgrace. Therefore the superior man, discerning the seeds of coming events, prefers to renounce a wish rather than to provoke failure and humiliation by trying to force its fulfillment.
Six in the fourth place means:
Horse and wagon part.
Strive for union.
To go brings good fortune.
Everything acts to further.
We are in a situation in which it is our duty to act, but we lack sufficient power. However, an opportunity to make connections offers itself. It must be seized. Neither false pride nor false reserve should deter us. Bringing oneself to take the first step, even when it involves a certain degree of self-abnegation, is a sign of inner clarity. To accept help in a difficult situation is not a disgrace. If the right helper is found, all goes well.
Nine in the fifth place means:
Difficulties in blessing.
A little perseverance brings good fortune.
Great perseverance brings misfortune.
An individual is in a position in which he cannot so express his good intentions that they will actually take shape and be understood. Other people interpose and distort everything he does. He should then be cautious and proceed step by step. He must not try to force the consummation of a great undertaking, because success is possible only when general confidence already prevails. It is only through faithful and conscientious work, unobtrusively carried on, that the situation gradually clears up and the hindrance disappears.
Six at the top means:
Horse and wagon part.
Bloody tears flow.
The difficulties at the beginning are too great for some persons. They get stuck and never find their way out; they fold their hands and give up the struggle. Such resignation is the saddest of all things. Therefore Confucius says of this line: “Bloody tears flow: one should not persist in this.”
1. A different translation is possible here, which would result in a different interpretation:
Difficulties pile up.
Horse and wagon turn about.
If the robber were not there,
The wooer would come.
The maiden is faithful, she does not pledge herself.
Ten years—then she pledges herself.
Commentaries
In Chun the nine at the beginning and the nine in the fifth place are the rulers. These two are the only yang lines in the hexagram. The nine at the beginning is below and means the helper who can quiet the people. The nine in the fifth place is above; it can appoint the helper for the task of quieting the people.
The Sequence of the Hexagrams1
After heaven and earth have come into existence, individual beings develop. It is these individual beings that fill the space between heaven and earth. Hence there follows the hexagram of DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING. Difficulty at the beginning is the same as filling up.
Chun does not really mean filling up. What is meant is the difficulty that arises when heaven and earth, the light and the shadowy principle, have united for the first time, and all beings are begotten and brought to birth. This produces a chaos that fills up everything, hence the idea of filling up is associated with the hexagram Chun.
Miscellaneous Notes
Chun is visible but has not yet lost its dwelling.
The grass has already pushed its tips out of the earth, that is, it is visible but still within the earth, its original dwelling place. The upper nuclear trigram, mountain, indicates visibility; the lower, earth, means dwelling.
THE JUDGMENT
Difficulty at the Beginning works supreme success,
Furthering through perseverance.
Nothing should be undertaken.
It furthers one to appoint helpers.
Commentary on the Decision
DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING: the firm and the yielding unite for the first time, and the birth is difficult.
The lower primary trigram is Chên, the eldest son, who comes into being when the light power and the dark power first draw together. This indicates the first union. K’an, the upper primary trigram, means difficulty, danger. This indicates the difficulty of the birth.
Movement in the midst of danger brings great success and perseverance.
The lower trigram, Chên, is movement; the upper, K’an, is danger. Hence we have movement in the midst of danger. By movement one gets out of the danger. This explains the words of the text: “Supreme success, furthering through perseverance.”
The movement of thunder and rain fills the atmosphere. If chaos and darkness prevail while heaven is creating, it is fitting to appoint helpers, without being oneself thereby lulled to rest.
This too describes the filling up of the atmosphere with the difficulties that prevail up to the point when a thunderstorm breaks. The final effect, however, is presaged in the fact that the two images are not instanced in the sequence [predicated by the structure of the hexagram] of K’an (clouds) above and Chên (thunder) below; instead, thunder is mentioned first and then the clouds, dissolved, are spoken of as rain.
Just as in a storm, thunder and darkening clouds precede release, so in the affairs of men a chaotic time precedes a period of order. At such a time a ruler entrusted with bringing order out of chaos needs efficient people. At first, however, the situation remains serious and difficult, and he must not try to rely wholly on others. This saying is suggested by the two rulers of the hexagram. The nine at the beginning indicates the efficient helper who should be appointed in such dangerous times; the nine in the fifth place means that there are still difficulties that preclude yielding to inaction. Because of the precarious conditions, the nine in the fifth place must still await the proper solution and may not yet rest.
THE IMAGE
Clouds and thunder:
The image of Difficulty at the Beginning.
Thus the superior man
Brings order out of confusion.
While in the Commentary on the Decision the sequence is that of thunder and rain, to indicate the end condition brought about by the movement, here clouds and thunder are named in the sequence they follow in the structure of the hexagram. This specifies the condition before the rain, which symbolizes danger (K’an). To overcome it, we must separate and combine, as happens when a thunderstorm breaks—first clouds above and thunder below, then thunder above and rain below.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning:
a) Hesitation and hindrance.
It furthers one to remain persevering.
It furthers one to appoint helpers.
b) Although hesitation and hindrance still prevail, the aim of the work is nonetheless to carry out what is right. When an eminent man subordinates himself to his inferiors, he wins the hearts of all people.
This line is a ruler of the hexagram. It stands at the beginning, which indicates that the difficulties at the beginning remain unsolved. Here nothing can be accomplished suddenly; the confusion must be resolved gradually. The character and position of the line show the right way to this goal. It is by nature a light, firm line, hence eminent, and as such places itself below the weak yin lines, which cannot help themselves. To rule by serving is the secret of success. Thus this line is the efficient helper needed to overcome obstacles in times of difficulty at the beginning.
Six in the second place:
a) Difficulties pile up.
Horse and wagon part.
He is not a robber;
He wants to woo when the time comes.
The maiden is chaste,
She does not pledge herself.
Ten years—then she pledges herself.
b) The difficulty of the six in the second place is that it rests upon a rigid line. Pledging herself after ten years means return to the general rule.
This line stands in the midst of the difficulties at the beginning. Its normal connection is with the nine in the fifth place, with which it has a relationship of correspondence. But this relationship is disturbed by the influence of the nine at the beginning, which stands below and through its importunities (it is moreover one of the rulers of the hexagram) causes doubt and uncertainty. But since the six in the second place is central and correct, these temptations are overcome, and when the time of difficulty is at an end (“ten years” indicates a complete cycle) the general rule obtains again, and the connection with the nine in the fifth place is established.
Six in the third place:
a) Whoever hunts deer without the forester
Only loses his way in the forest.
The superior man understands the signs of the time
And prefers to desist.
To go on brings humiliation.
b) “He hunts deer without the forester,” that is, he desires the game.
“The superior man understands the signs of the time and prefers to desist. To go on brings humiliation.”
It leads to failure.
The line is weak in character but occupies a strong place, being moreover at the top of the trigram of movement. Out of this arises the danger that its movement will be uncontrolled and disturbed by desire. Such movement must lead to failure.
In terms of the nuclear trigrams, the line belongs in one aspect to the lower nuclear trigram K’un, and in this position it has abandoned the ruler and leader and retains only movement. Here the saying in the hexagram K’un applies: “If one tries to lead, one goes astray.” The forest is suggested by the upper nuclear trigram Kên, mountain, whose realm is entered here. Since the six in the third place does not have a corresponding line above, in the sixth place, it fails and does not find the game it is seeking.
Six in the fourth place:
a) Horse and wagon part.
Strive for union.
To go brings good fortune.
Everything acts to further.
b) To go only when bidden—this is clarity.
This line is in the relationship of correspondence to the nine at the beginning, and from this arises the idea of waiting until courted. The courting is expressed in the fact that the nine at the beginning subordinates itself to the six in the fourth place. This nine at the beginning is the active ruler of the hexagram; in contradistinction to this, the six in the fourth place stands for an able man wise enough not to offer his services and to wait until bidden.
Nine in the fifth place:
a) Difficulties in blessing.
A little perseverance brings good fortune.
Great perseverance brings misfortune.
b) “Difficulties in blessing,” because the benefaction is not yet recognized.
This line is one of the rulers of the hexagram, and being central and correct, it is capable of having a beneficial influence. However, this influence is impaired in several ways. First, the line stands in the middle of the trigram K’an, gorge, and as the image implies, is shut off at both sides by steep walls. Hence, as in the case of a river between steep banks, its influence cannot benefit the surroundings. Furthermore, the six in the second place, although in the relationship of correspondence to it is too weak, while the nine at the beginning, the other ruler of the hexagram, is not in direct relationship to it. Therefore, from the individual standpoint of the nine in the fifth place, the ruler below is to be regarded rather as a rival. Finally, the line is at the top of the upper nuclear trigram Kên, whose attribute is keeping still, and which thus also obstructs its influence.
Six at the top:
a) Horse and wagon part.
Bloody tears flow.
b) “Bloody tears flow.” How could one tarry long in this!
Like the second and fourth lines, this line is symbolized by a wagon that stops and is unhitched. But while the second line is related to both the first and the fifth line, and hence needs only to avoid a false tie, and the six in the fourth place corresponds with the nine at the beginning and finds in it a suitable tie, the six at the top is entirely isolated, because there is no corresponding line in the third place. At the top of the trigram K’an, whose symbol is a defective wagon, it [the line as the traveler] is forced to unhitch. But no one comes to the rescue, and therefore the other symbols of the trigram K’an—water (tears) and blood—manifest themselves. However, the state of despair is not a lasting one. Indeed, since this top line is a six, it changes into its opposite, and out of the trigram for danger and gorge there develops the trigram Sun, which means wind, and which therefore overcomes the standstill. In this situation, therefore, one must quickly introduce a change.
NOTE. The hexagram as a whole has the character of difficulty at the beginning, and the individual lines represent different single situations at the time of this difficulty. As regards the position of the lines in relation to one another, neither their intrinsic character nor their positions in the hexagram as a whole are to be taken into account; the objective position in each case is all that matters. For instance, taking the hexagram as a whole, the nine in the fifth place and the nine at the beginning are the rulers, the former being the overlord who gives office to the latter as his vassal. But taken individually, the nine at the beginning is to be regarded not as a helper of the nine in the fifth place, but only as a rival—by virtue of its extrinsic position, deflecting the six in the second place, which has a relationship of correspondence with the nine in the fifth place. This rule for evaluating the individual lines is to be borne in mind throughout.
Another idea obtaining throughout the book is that each hexagram signifies a time situation. But the application of the hexagrams depends upon men. Here for example the time of DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING is indicated. The application will vary according to whether it is a ruler, an official, or a private person who is in this time situation. The fundamental lines of direction are of course the same, but they must always be fitted to the individual case.
A survey of the individual lines shows two possible courses at the time of DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING. In the case of some of the lines it is the individual's own activity, in the case of others it is external events that must overcome the difficulty at the beginning, and where these means of overcoming it fail, misfortune results. The strong places, the first, third, and fifth, represent hindrance due to one's own activity. The nine at the beginning and the nine in the fifth place are strong, hence the advice appropriate to these places is given: the nine at the beginning needs patience, stability, and helpers; the nine in the fifth place must learn to work gradually, step by step. On the other hand, the six in the third place lacks a directive, and therefore no success is augured for it.
The weak places, the second, fourth, and sixth, must fall back on outside help—“If only something would come along and take care of me!” The six in the second place and the six in the fourth place sooner or later find this help, like a girl who finds a suitor to rescue her. The six at the top, on the other hand, is too far outside and remains isolated, so that the difficulty at the beginning is not overcome. In this case it is advisable to make a complete break and to begin a new situation.
1. [Hsü Kua: Ninth Wing. There is no text of this wing for the first two hexagrams.]
Associated Tao Te Ching
3
Not praising the praiseworthy
keeps people uncompetitive.
Not prizing rare treasures
keeps people from stealing.
Not looking at the desirable
keeps the mind quiet.
So the wise soul
governing people
would empty their minds,
fill their bellies,
weaken their wishes,
strengthen their bones,
keep people unknowing,
unwanting,
keep the ones who do know
from doing anything.
When you do not-doing,
nothing’s out of order.
Over and over Lao Tzu says wei wu wei: Do not do. Doing not-doing. To act without acting. Action by inaction. You do nothing yet it gets done. . . .
It’s not a statement susceptible to logical interpretation, or even to a syntactical translation into English; but it’s a concept that transforms thought radically, that changes minds. The whole book is both an explanation and a demonstration of it.
10
Can you keep your soul in its body,
hold fast to the one,
and so learn to be whole?
Can you center your energy,
be soft, tender,
and so learn to be a baby?
Can you keep the deep water still and clear,
so it reflects without blurring?
Can you love people and run things,
and do so by not doing?
Opening, closing the Gate of Heaven,
can you be like a bird with her nestlings?
Piercing bright through the cosmos,
can you know by not knowing?
To give birth, to nourish,
to bear and not to own,
to act and not lay claim,
to lead and not to rule:
this is mysterious power.
Most of the scholars think this chapter is about meditation, its techniques and fulfillments. The language is profoundly mystical, the images are charged, rich in implications.
The last verse turns up in nearly the same words in other chapters; there are several such “refrains” throughout the book, identical or similar lines repeated once or twice or three times.
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