Influence (Wooing)
咸Hsien (Wade-Giles) · xián(pinyin)
兌 · Tui, Lake, over 艮 · Kên,Mountain.
attraction · courtship · mutual influence · relationships · receptivity
In the constellation
A lake rests on a mountaintop. The figure works because the summit is hollow, not peaked — the mountain holds the water by being low exactly where it is highest. That is the mechanics of this moment: attraction. Two natures are drawing toward each other, and the pull runs on receptivity, not pursuit.
The Book places the strong element underneath the weak one here, the posture of courtship — the stronger party stepping below, deferring, making itself approachable. Influence in this situation follows the same law in every register, romantic or otherwise: hearts move toward what has room for them. A person visibly certain of knowing best stops receiving anything; a mind kept open and a little empty draws counsel, affection, and trust without asking.
What separates this from mere seduction is constancy underneath the stirring — stillness inside, joy on the surface, so the feeling neither manipulates nor runs to excess. Deliberate campaigns to sway people exhaust the campaigner and reach only their targets. The influence that carries is the unforced kind, felt before it is noticed.
A note in this site’s voice; the translation follows.
The two trigrams
above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE · below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
The chapter
The Judgment
Influence. Success.
Perseverance furthers.
To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune.
The weak element is above, the strong below; hence their powers attract each other, so that they unite. This brings about success, for all success depends on the effect of mutual attraction. By keeping still within while experiencing joy without, one can prevent the joy from going to excess and hold it within proper bounds. This is the meaning of the added admonition, "Perseverance furthers," for it is perseverance that makes the difference between seduction and courtship; in the latter the strong man takes a position inferior to that of the weak girl and shows consideration for her. This attraction between affinities is a general law of nature. Heaven and earth attract each other and thus all creatures come into being. Through such attraction the sage influences men's hearts, and thus the world attains peace. From the attractions they exert we can learn the nature of all beings in heaven and on earth.
The Image
A lake on the mountain:
The image of influence.
Thus the superior man encourages people to approach him
By his readiness to receive them.
A mountain with a lake on its summit is stimulated by the moisture from the lake. It has this advantage because its summit does not jut out as a peak but is sunken. The image counsels that the mind should be kept humble and free, so that it may remain receptive to good advice. People soon give up counseling a man who thinks that he knows everything better than anyone else.
The Lines
Six at the beginning means:
The influence shows itself in the big toe.
A movement, before it is actually carried out, shows itself first in the toes. The idea of an influence is already present, but is not immediately apparent to others. As long as the intention has no visible effect, it is of no importance to the outside world and leads neither to good nor to evil.
This line moving leads to 49 Revolution
Six in the second place means:
The influence shows itself in the calves of the legs.
Misfortune.
Tarrying brings good fortune.In movement, the calf of the leg follows the foot; by itself it can neither go forward nor stand still. Since the movement is not self-governed, it bodes ill. One should wait quietly until one is impelled to action by a real influence. Then one remains uninjured.
This line moving leads to 28 Preponderance of the Great
Nine in the third place means:
The influence shows itself in the thighs.
Holds to that which follows it.
To continue is humiliating.Every mood of the heart influences us to movement. What the heart desires, the thighs run after without a moment's hesitation; they hold to the heart, which they follow. In the life of man, however, acting on the spur of every caprice is wrong and if continued leads to humiliation. Three considerations suggest themselves here. First, a man should not run precipitately after all the persons whom he would like to influence, but must be able to hold back under certain circumstances. As little should he yield immediately to every whim of those in whose service he stands. Finally, where the moods of his own heart are concerned, he should never ignore the possibility of inhibition, for this is the basis of human freedom.
This line moving leads to 45 Gathering Together
Nine in the fourth place means:
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Remorse disappears.
If a man is agitated in mind,
And his thoughts go hither and thither,
Only those friends
On whom he fixes his conscious thoughts
Will follow.Here the place of the heart is reached. The impulse that springs from this source is the most important of all. It is of particular concern that this influence be constant and good; then, in spite of the danger arising from the great susceptibility of the human heart, there will be no cause for remorse. When the quiet power of a man's own character is at work, the effects produced are right. All those who are receptive to the vibrations of such a spirit will then be influenced. Influence over others should not express itself as a conscious and willed effort to manipulate them. Through practicing such conscious incitement, one becomes wrought up and is exhausted by the eternal stress and strain. Moreover, the effects produced are then limited to those on whom one's thoughts are consciously fixed.
This line moving leads to 39 Obstruction
Nine in the fifth place means:
The influence shows itself in the back of the neck.
No remorse.The back of the neck is the most rigid part of the body. When the influence shows itself there, the will remains firm and the influence does not lead to confusion. Hence remorse does not enter into consideration here. What takes place in the depths of one's being, in the unconscious mind. It is true that if we cannot be influenced ourselves, we cannot influence the outside world.
This line moving leads to 62 Preponderance of the Small
Six at the top means:
The influence shows itself in the jaws, cheeks, and tongue.
The most superficial way of trying to influence others is through talk that has nothing real behind it. The influence produced by such mere tongue wagging must necessarily remain insignificant. Hence no indication is added regarding good or bad fortune.
This line moving leads to 33 Retreat
Structural relatives
- King Wen pair32 DurationThe other half of its couplet in the received sequence.
- Inverse · zong gua 綜卦32 DurationThe same figure turned upside down — the situation seen from the other side.
- Opposite · cuo gua 錯卦41 DecreaseEvery line exchanged for its contrary.
- Nuclear · hu gua 互卦44 Coming to MeetThe figure hidden in the four inner lines — the situation inside the situation.
The name of the hexagram means "universal," "general," and in a figurative sense "to influence," "to stimulate." The upper trigram is Tui, the Joyous; the lower is Kên, Keeping still. By its persistent, quiet influence, the lower, rigid trigram stimulates the upper, weak trigram, which responds to this stimulation cheerfully and joyously. Kên, the lower trigram, is the youngest son; the upper, Tui, is the youngest daughter. Thus the universal mutual attraction between the sexes is represented. In courtship, the masculine principle must seize the initiative and place itself below the feminine principle. Just as the first part of book 1 begins with the hexagrams of heaven and earth, the foundations of all that exists, the second part begins with the hexagrams of courtship and marriage, the foundations of all social relationships.