Hexagram 37
家人 Jiā Rén · Household
Legge: Kia Zan
☴ Wind, wood (Xùn) above ☲ Fire (Lí)
Scryway summary
Modern commentary written for Scryway. Not part of the classic text.
Roles, care and order at home. Influence starts close by and moves outward.
The judgment
For (the realisation of what is taught in) Kia Zan, (or for the regulation of the family), what is most advantageous is that the wife be firm and correct.
The image
(The trigram representing) fire, and that for wind coming forth from it, form Kia Zan. The superior man, in accordance with this, orders his words according to (the truth of) things, and his conduct so that it is uniformly consistent.
The lines, bottom to top
- Bottom line, solid
The first line, undivided, shows its subject establishing restrictive regulations in his household. Occasion for repentance will disappear.
- Second line, broken
The second line, divided, shows its subject taking nothing on herself, but in her central place attending to the preparation of the food. Through her firm correctness there will be good fortune.
- Third line, solid
The third line, undivided, shows its subject (treating) the members of the household with stern severity. There will be occasion for repentance, there will be peril, (but) there will (also) be good fortune. If the wife and children were to be smirking and chattering, in the end there would be occasion for regret.
- Fourth line, broken
The fourth line, divided, shows its subject enriching the family. There will be great good fortune.
- Fifth line, solid
The fifth line, undivided, shows the influence of the king extending to his family. There need be no anxiety; there will be good fortune.
- Top line, solid
The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject possessed of sincerity and arrayed in majesty. In the end there will be good fortune.
Quoted from James Legge (trans.), The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882. Public domain. The image is from Legge’s Appendix II. Words in parentheses are Legge’s additions.