No Blame
Carried by forty-four chapters
In the constellation
No blame (Chinese wu chiu) is one of the oracle's subtle verdicts: not a promise of good fortune, but the assurance that a fault has been, or can be, set right. The Great Treatise glosses it as the condition of "one who is good at mending his faults." It marks a situation in which, by correct conduct, the ground for regret is removed.
Wilhelm shows the mechanism on the third line of THE CREATIVE, where danger and blamelessness sit together:
... prudent enough to avoid all pitfalls, and remains blameless.
Because it so often follows danger, transition, or difficulty, "no blame" is the oracle's quiet reassurance: the position is exposed, mistakes are possible, yet by staying in touch with the time and correcting course one incurs no fault. It stands a step above Remorse and Humiliation on the ladder of outcomes.
Where the thread runs
- 01 The Creative
- 02 The Receptive
- 05 Waiting
- 07 The Army
- 08 Holding Together
- 09 The Taming Power of the Small
- 13 Fellowship with Men
- 14 Possession in Great Measure
- 16 Enthusiasm
- 17 Following
- 18 Work on what has been spoiled
- 19 Approach
- 20 Contemplation
- 21 Biting Through
- 22 Grace
- 23 Splitting Apart
- 24 Return
- 27 Corners of the Mouth
- 28 Preponderance of the Great
- 29 The Abysmal
- 30 The Clinging, Fire
- 32 Duration
- 35 Progress
- 38 Opposition
- 41 Decrease
- 42 Increase
- 43 Break-through
- 44 Coming to Meet
- 45 Gathering Together
- 46 Pushing Upward
- 47 Oppression
- 48 The Well
- 49 Revolution
- 50 The Caldron
- 51 The Arousing
- 52 Keeping Still, Mountain
- 53 Development
- 55 Abundance
- 57 The Gentle
- 60 Limitation
- 61 Inner Truth
- 62 Preponderance of the Small
- 63 After Completion
- 64 Before Completion