The judgment
泰:小往大來,吉亨。
The small departs and the great arrives. Good fortune and success: the traffic between above and below is finally flowing.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex11.judgment.
The image
象曰:天地交泰,後以財成天地之道,輔相天地之宜,以左右民。
Heaven and earth meet: peace. The ruler uses the moment to complete the work of heaven and earth and to help the people.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex11.image.
Peace is a window, not a destination; use it while it is open.
The six lines
Each line is a stage, from the bottom of the hexagram to the top. Open any line to read it in plain English.
初九 拔茅茹,以其夤,征吉。 Pull a reed and the whole root comes with it. Move together with your people and it is lucky.
Pull a reed and the whole root comes with it. Move together with your people and it is lucky.
九二 包荒,用馮河,不遐遺,朋亡,得尚於中行。 Take in the wild and the distant; cross the river without a boat; do not leave the far away behind, even at the cost of your own faction. This is how you stay in the middle.
Take in the wild and the distant; cross the river without a boat; do not leave the far away behind, even at the cost of your own faction. This is how you stay in the middle.
九三 無平不陂,無往不復,艱貞無咎。 勿恤其孚,於食有福。 No plain is without a slope; nothing goes without returning. Stay true through hardship and there is no blame. Do not worry about being believed; there is food on the table.
No plain is without a slope; nothing goes without returning. Stay true through hardship and there is no blame. Do not worry about being believed; there is food on the table.
六四 翩翩不富,以其鄰,不戒以孚。 Fluttering down, not for wealth, but with neighbors. No need to be on guard: trust does the work.
Fluttering down, not for wealth, but with neighbors. No need to be on guard: trust does the work.
六五 帝乙歸妹,以祉元吉。 The emperor gives his daughter in marriage. Good fortune comes through a bond between equals, and it is great.
The emperor gives his daughter in marriage. Good fortune comes through a bond between equals, and it is great.
上六 城復於隍,勿用師。 自邑告命,貞吝。 The city wall falls back into the moat. Do not send the army; issue the order from your own town. Even a correct stand is cramped here.
The city wall falls back into the moat. Do not send the army; issue the order from your own town. Even a correct stand is cramped here.