1 Qian / The Creative

Much has been discussed on Heaven and Earth in the Zhouyi, Tao Te Ching and various Daoist texts. Perhaps it is timely to look into Hexagram 1 Qian / The Creative, as the hexagram also represents the month of May and some commentaries by the ancients on the lines:

1) The superior man (Junzi) acts in accordance with the character that has become perfected within him. This is a way of life that can submit to scrutiny on any day.

2) This means a man who has the character of a dragon and is moderate and correct. Even in ordinary speech he is reliable. Even in ordinary actions he is careful. He does away with what is false and preserves his integrity. He improves his era and does not boast about it. His character is influential and transforms men.
The superior man learns in order to gather material; he questions in order to sift it. Thus he becomes generous in nature and kindly in his actions.

3) He improves his character and labors at his task. It is through loyalty and faith that he fosters his character. By working on his words, so that they rest firmly on truth, he makes his works enduring.

4) In ascent and descent there is no fixed rule, except that one must do nothing evil. In advance or retreat no sustained perseverance avails, except that one must not depart from one’s nature.

5) The great man (Ta Ren) accords in his character with heaven and earth; in his light, with the sun and moon; in his consistency, with the four seasons; in the good and evil fortune that he creates, with gods and spirits. When he acts in advance of heaven, heaven does not contradict him. When he follows heaven, he adapts himself to the time of heaven. If heaven itself does not resist him, how much less do men, gods and spirits!

6) He who is noble and has no corresponding position, he who stands high and has no following, he who has able people under him who do not have his support, that man will have cause for regret at every turn.

When the Creative, the great, undergoes change in all the nines, one perceives the law of heaven and the world is set in order. (And it is said that:)

“In his own time he mounts toward heaven on six dragons. The clouds pass and the rain falls.” All this means peace coming to the world.

(The commentaries [W/B])