Entries by Harmen Mesker

This is my old weblog which will remain here for archival purposes. My new website can be found here.

In this article no in-depth explanation of Chinese characters, hardly references, just an interesting story. There is a fascinating link with hexagram 29 and a passage from the Mozi 墨子. The name of this hexagram, kan 坎, means 'pit, hole in the ground, trap'. But used doubled (kan-kan 坎坎) it is an onomatopoeia for the sound of drumming, as in the poem Fa Tan 伐檀 in The Book of Odes:

坎坎伐檀兮
Kan-kan go his blows on the sandal trees...

Often when a character is doubled it is a representation of a sound. We find this doubling in the third line of hexagram 29:

來之坎坎
The kan-kan of coming/approaching...

Something which produces a kan-kan sound is approaching.

The trigram Water is associated with danger, and with the ears, with listening. All these elements of

• pit
• sound of drumming
• danger
• listening

...can be found in a passage from the Mozi, which describes an alarm system to discover enemies who are approaching a city through underground tunnels. It can be found on p. 799 of Ian Johnston's translation.

Ralph Sawyer describes it like this:

Mo-tzu's counter-methods were premised upon intensively observing the enemy's activities from high lookout towers in order to detect any evidence of excavations, such as new earthen mounts or sudden turbidity in moat or river water. These visual efforts were to be supplemented with a virtual network of listening wells positioned every five paces around the wall's interior, excavated to a minimum depth of fifteen feet or three feet below the water line. Guards, whose task was facilitated by large earthen jars fashioned specifically for the purpose with thin leather membranes stretched over the mouths, were posted at the bottom to carefully listen for any indication of enemy tunneling. Once detected, these multiple wells would allow a fairly accurate determination of the tunnel's location preliminary to mounting countermeasures."
Fire and Water - The Art of Incendiary and Aquatic Warfare in China, p. 33

The drum in a pit, listening for approaching danger - it all fits the imagery of hexagram 29 pretty well. We can even find it in the text of hexagram 29:

Judgment text:
習坎.有孚.維心亨.行有尚.
Repeated kan. Inspire confidence. Protect the inner offering. To proceed is helpful.

The drums are sounding, meaning that enemies are approaching! The lord has to inspire confidence in his people and his army to defend the city. The central offering in the city has to be protected. Proceeding the enemy (as Mozi suggests) is helpful.

Line 1:
習坎.入于坎窞.凶.
Repeated kan enters the pit. Ominous.

The sound that the digging soldiers produce enters the pit through the drums. Danger is coming!

Line 2:
坎有險.(求小得.)
The pit has danger. (Seek small results.)

The sound the drums make signifies danger. (As an oracular omen this means only small results can be achieved.)

Line 3:
來之坎坎.險且枕.入于坎窞.勿用.
The kan-kan of approaching. Danger is more and more nearing. It enters the pit, which is of no use anymore.

The enemies are getting closer, and have reached the drum pits which are close to the city. (see for 'nearing' as a meaning of 枕 the 漢語大詞典, Vol. 4, p. 880). 

Line 4:
樽酒簋貳.用缶.納約自牖.(終無咎.)
Wine vessels and baskets cannot be trusted. Use earthenware. Cover its opening. (In the end no fault.) 

A description of the type of vessel to be used (I translate 納約 as 'to cover' because 納 can mean 'to wear' and  約 'to tie up') and what to do with it.

Line 5:
坎不盈.祇既平.(無咎.)
The kan-drum/pit is not full, the earth spirit is at peace. (No fault.)

The drums do not sound, so nothing is wrong.

I don't see how the sixth line can be linked with all this, and no doubt I am translating the texts in a direction which fits my purpose. Nevertheless I found it a very interesting connection which gives additional meaning & interpretation to hexagram 29 when you receive it as an answer from the Yi.

The Mythbusters have tested the Chinese invasion alarm in one of their episodes.

1. If you receive the same hexagram three times you have three different answers.
   
   The meanings of the hexagrams are not fixed, they change according to your situation. Hexagram 3 can mean that you are experiencing initial difficulties, but it can also mean that initial difficulties elsewhere have to be addressed. A friend of mine was asked to give a beginners course at the upcoming Yijing Symposium in Ruigoord. He asked the Yijing whether this was a good idea, and he received hexagram 3 (5th line moving). You could see this as a difficult start, leading to a troubled course, and be tempted not to do it. But who were the targets of the course? Indeed, those people who experience difficulties when starting to use the Yijing. Therefore, "if you receive the same hexagram three times you have three different answers".
   
   
2. Moving lines do not move.
   
    Many users have the habit of immediately changing the moving lines in the received hexagram to generate a second hexagram. Apart from the fact that moving lines were probably a later invention and not used in the early days of Yijing practice (Rutt, p. 154-155; Nielsen, p. 22), the habit of generating a second hexagram makes it tempting to bypass the original answer of the Yijing if the second hexagram is more to your liking. But you do not receive the second hexagram as answer from the Yijing, you receive the first hexagram. And that's the hexagram you have to deal with. An example from Clarity's forum:
   

   I got 39.3>8. Then, my I Ching book asks me to throw again when I receive hexa 8, so I asked for clarity and I got 37 "Family".

   The querent seems to skip hexagram 39 completely, going right over to hexagram 37 which could be called the third hexagram. But that is not the initial answer that she got from the Yijing and that she should have started with. Therefore, "moving lines do not move".
   
   
   • Bent Nielsen, A companion to Yi jing numerology and cosmology
   • Richard Rutt, Zhou Yi - the Book of Changes
   
   
3. Too much is less than enough.

Can I expect any positive movement from P's corner in the next couple of months?" I got Hex 10 unchanging. I get a sense that 10 means moving with caution. So I asked ..... "Why would he hesitate or cautiously?" I got 53.1.4 > 13 which I assume is about wanting to make gradual progress the natural proper way but I've seen various interpretations of this line so I'm not going to try to work this one out.......any help is appreciated. I also asked "Do I need to do anything more at this stage or should I just wait?" I got Hex 13.3.6 changing to 17. 13 & 17 often confuse me!

Asking many questions to the Yijing is most often not very helpful and does not bring any positive progress to your situation. If you don't give yourself the time to understand the first answer from the Yi, then there is no use in asking again - and again - and again. If the root is not properly planted the tree will not grow. The same goes for all the systems that can be applied to extract meaning from the answer, adding information to information. They also form a terrific fire exit if you don't (want to) understand the first answer. But it doesn't make the answer go away, it only obfuscates it. Therefore, "too much is less than enough".


4. When you cling to your question you will lose the answer.
   
   This Law is similar to what I talked about in another article: questions can be misleading and drive you away from what you actually need. Asking questions to the Yijing is not bad, as long as you take care not to frame your question in such a way that the answer that you need can not be given. Questions are a very subjective matter, and questions like "is he the right guy for me" make it easy to ignore your own responsibility. Don't be afraid not to ask questions, the answer from the Yi can be more encompassing if you leave out your own limited understanding of the situation. Therefore, "if you cling to your question you will lose the answer".
   
   
5. If you cling to the answer you will lose the solution.
   
   The symbolic replies from the Yijing can invite you to endless lingering in the field of metaphors, chewing on every possible piece of information that might or might not be meaningful to you. Many users are afraid that they might overlook something in the answer, as if under each insight another insight is hidden which they must uncover. There is no use in wrenching the answer of the Yijing. Once you have what you need you have to decide your next step and move on. Therefore, "if you cling to the answer you will lose the solution".
   
   
6. There is no text in the Yijing.
   
   The words are not important, and although it can be very rewarding to look at the original Chinese text from a historical and philological point of view, you should not be carried away by the endless sea of possibilities that such an undertaking can give. What the Yijing gives you when you use the book are images, an overview, a situation, an idea - not words. Therefore, "there is no text in the Yijing".
   
   
7. When you read the text of the Yijing: read the text of the Yijing.
   
   Many times when I ask one of my students to cite a text from the Yijing they do not give me the text from the Yijing but the commentary from the translator. Most people do not work with the Yijing, they work with the translator's explanation of the Yijing. I find this a strange practice - it's like driving a car but having Hyacinth Bucket - excuse me, Bouquet - sitting next to you giving you directions while you are perfectly capable of driving yourself. I was very surprised when I heard someone say that beginners should start with the translator's commentary, after all, he said, that's what all beginners do. I would say, only read the commentary once you have grasped the meaning of the text yourself. If you make it a habit to immediately go to the commentary, instead of contemplating on the actual text of the Yijing you will never learn to appreciate the direct and illuminating answers that the book can give you. The commentary is just what it says: commentary. It does not hold the answer of the Yijing, and many times the commentary can clash with your actual situation, leaving you more baffled than if you would have taken the time to listen to what the Yi has to say. Therefore, "when you read the text of the Yijing: read the text of the Yijing".
   
   
8. If you want change nothing will change.
   
   Often the Yijing is consulted when a situation is not as we desire it to be. We want change, we want things to be different. But this need can conflict with what the situation, or yourself, really needs. When you consult the Yijing and have interpreted the answer, the need for change should be gone: instead, you should be aware of the necessity of change, or the want of it, and how it can be accomplished in the most natural way, without forcing it. If you need change you will most likely not be willing to wait for it and let it flow into your circumstances. If you can accept your current situation and if you can see how you got there, change will not be a necessity but a simple part of the flow you are in. Therefore, "if you want change nothing will change".
   
   
9. The Yijing does not solve your problems.
   
   I think this is an obvious one. "I have consulted the Yijing and the answer was great. I really understood it. But nothing has changed!" Of course not. The process of change only starts with the Yijing, it will not be accomplished by the Yijing. Using the Yijing means hard work and put in a lot of honesty. So kick your butt and live the answer of the Yi. The Yijing is only a book. Therefore, "the Yijing does not solve your problems".
   
   
10. The Yijing exists to make itself unneeded.
    
    The Yijing is not only a book, it is also a principle. What it shows you is like the air that you are breathing: you are in it, you use it, you need it, but most of the time you cannot see it. Once you are aware of the principle you don't need a tool to make it visible anymore: when you know how to operate the TV you will hardly consult the manual anymore. The Yijing is a learning aid to help you see the underlying principle that weaves the chaotic structure that we experience. But learning aids are not meant to be used all the time. When you have learned the principle you can discard the tool. Therefore, "the Yijing exists to make itself unneeded".

This is a teaser; the explanations will follow later, although some of the Laws are obvious, in my opinion.

1. If you receive the same hexagram three times you have three different answers.

2. Moving lines do not move.

3. Too much is less than enough.

4. When you cling to your question you will lose the answer.

5. If you cling to the answer you will lose the solution.

6. There is no text in the Yijing.

7. When you read the text of the Yijing: read the text of the Yijing.

8. If you want change nothing will change.

9. The Yijing does not solve your problems.

10. The Yijing exists to make itself unneeded.

This is a message of a former student of mine. Anyone interested in his proposal should contact him directly.

Contemporary I Ching
Jan Enuma is forming a study group of I Ching adepts, who are interested in a present-day approach of the I Ching, which goes beyond restyling the language of the old Classic. René van Osten in Germany and Chris Lofting in Australia are examples of this approach. At the moment Jan is preparing a comment on Lofting’s book “The Emotional I Ching”.

Jan adds the following. The emotional element regards the nature of brain processing a particular hexagram. Both afore mentioned writers stress the Ordnung and Structure of the I Ching. There is no other change than according to these rules. And what to think of coincidence, synchronicity and resonance? What sort of world view fits this approach, and what are the differences with the Classic’s worldview? In Lofting’s book and his internet pages there are no references to “myths, legends or other 10th century BC perspectives, nor the use of random or miraculous methods of hexagram derivation”. No room for sinological, historical or exegetical deliberations. Lofting’s method is based on pre-language images, derived from human discernment along lines of differentiation and integration, much like yang and yin, but more abstract, less particular, but fitting the whole human race.

If the Classic is a template, it means other I Chings with particular backgrounds can be compared with it or with Lofting’s general domain model of differentiation/integration, as long as these models correlate with each other, meaning they are all based on 64 hexagrams. This promising possibility of comparison has been worked out for classification of psychological typology, but could also stretch out to sociology and political economy, and e.g. Spiral Dynamics.

Anyone who fancies a well prepared adventure into terra incognita, with according perseverance (Lofting’s translation of Heaven as an inner hexagram) should contact Jan: contemp.iching@live.nl.

In China a centuries old system is known to calculate life hexagrams from the Yijing. Using your birth date, time and place as a starting point it gives information about your character, your stronger en weaker points, and it provides insights in your path in life.

This system is known as Heluo Lishu 河洛理數, ’The Numbers and Principles of the He and Luo river documents’. Originating from the xiangshu 象數 branch of Yijing application it combines the hexagrams of the Yijing with the Stems and Branches of the Chinese calendar and the wuxing 五行 (Five Elements).The relationship between these parts shows the dynamics of someones personality and life path. The Heluo Lishu system was introduced by the authors Sherrill & Chu in their book The Astrology of I Ching, but this book contains serious mistakes and misconceptions that can lead to a wrong outcome.

This online course explains in eight lessons how you should calculate and interpret a life hexagram. There are more courses and also software programs about this subject, but they all use Sherrill & Chu’s book as base, which of course leads to certain consequences in the outcome. Because the original Heluo Lishu document forms the basis for this course the mistakes from The Astrology of I Ching are avoided. The original manuscript gives additional ways to interpret a life hexagram which are not mentioned by S&C, and by using a selected set of websites you can avoid some difficult calculations, making it easier to obtain a life hexagram.

We designed a special classroom on internet for this course. Through this virtual space the student acquire the lessons on a weekly basis, as well as assignments and tests to check the progress. There is a discussion forum to talk with the other students and ask questions to the teacher, and once a week there is the possibility to chat with the teacher.

The course contains the following eight lessons:

1. Background of the Heluo Lishu; what do you need for the calculations?
2. Calculation of the bazi 八字
3. Calculation of the xiantian 先天 hexagram, the yuantang 元堂 and the year periods (daxiang 大象)
4. Interpretation (1): trigrams and lines
5. Interpretation (2): wuxing, Stems and Branches, the houtian 後天 hexagram and how it relates to the xiantian hexagram
6. Year hexagram – calculation & interpretation
7. Month hexagram – calculation & interpretation
8. Case studies

Startdate: around March 15th 2010

Price: € 90,--

How do you apply for this course?
The starting date is not entirely decided, it is possible that the course will start one or two weeks later. Therefore it is best to sign up for the mailing list: send a (blank) mail to heluolishu-subscribe@itcn.nl, and we will let you know about the definitive starting date, how you can sign up and how you can send your payment for the course.

I hope I can welcome you as a student!

I was watching Transformers 2 with Irian (9), which has a scene where a library gets destroyed by a Decepticon Pretender.

Me:
"What a great loss of all those books!"

Irian:
"What a great loss of all that wisdom."

In January I am starting an online course about Heluo Lishu 河洛理數, a form of astrology which takes the bazi 八字 from your Chinese horoscope as a starting point and turns them into hexagrams of the Yijing which tell about your personality and your life. Although the basic material is ready I am still investigating several facets of this system, looking for information about its background and observing how others use and interpret it. This leads to interesting and instructive findings - especially about how you shouldn't do it.

If I lived in or near London I wouldn't want to miss this: Steve Marshall is starting a I Ching study group. See for more details his website. If you have any chance to join, please do so because it will definitely be a worthwhile experience. Steve is very knowledgeable, his ideas are thought-provoking, his insights stimulating. And a study group in itself, with regular meetings, can be very rewarding. So don't miss this!

I am selling my copy of Axel Schuessler's A Dictionary of Early Zhou Chinese. Good condition. If you're interested, send me an email.