I Ching Online.NET
Your question:

The original Richard Wilhelm translation for the hexagram line...


Hexagram 7
Shih - The Army

yin
yin above: K'un / The Receptive, Earth
yin
yin
yang below: K'an / The Abysmal, Water
yin

CHANGING LINE:

Hexagram Seven/Line Three


Six in the third place means:
Perchance the army carries corpses in the wagon.
Misfortune.


US Army Wagon Train

US Army Wagon Train near Rurdosa, Texas 1916


Here we have a choice of two explanations. One points to defeat because someone other than the chosen leader interferes with the command; the other is similar in its general meaning, but the expression, "carries corpses in the wagon," is interpreted differently. At burials and at sacrifices to the dead it was customary in China for the deceased to whom the sacrifice was made to be represented by a boy of the family, who sat in the dead man's place and was honored as his representative. On the basis of this custom the text is interpreted as meaning that a "corpse boy" is sitting in the wagon, or, in other words, that authority is not being exercised by the proper leaders but has been usurped by others. Perhaps the whole difficulty clears up if it is inferred that there has been an error in copying. The character fan, meaning "all," may have been misread as shih, which means "corpse." Allowing for this error, the meaning would be that if the multitude assumes leadership of the army (rides in the wagon), misfortune will ensue.

Saguaro cactus

Saguaro cactus



Click on this bar to go to the top of the page...



Privacy and cookies Terms and conditions

Do Not Sell My Personal Information