Name: The Tower
Number: 16
Article: yes
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Ground: Ch'ien, Sun, Li
Meaning:
Kuan / Contemplation (View)
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The Hexagram
Kuan / Contemplation (View)
Above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND
Below K'UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
A
slight variation of tonal stress gives the Chinese name for this
hexagram a double meaning. It means both contemplating and being seen,
in the sense of being an example. These ideas are suggested by the fact
that the hexagram can be understood as picturing a type of tower
characteristic of ancient China.
A
tower of this kind commanded a wide view of the country; at the same
time, when situated on a mountain, it became a landmark that could be
seen for miles around. Thus the hexagram shows a ruler who contemplates
the law of heaven above him and the ways of the people below, and who,
by means of good government, sets a lofty example to the masses.
This
hexagram is linked with the eight month (September-October). The
light-giving power retreats and the dark power is again on the
increase. However, this aspect is not material in the interpretation of
the hexagram as a whole.
The Judgment
CONTEMPLATION. The ablution has been made,
But not yet the offering.
Full of trust they look up to him.
The
sacrificial ritual in China began with an ablution and a libation by
which the Deity was invoked, after which the sacrifice was offered. The
moment of time between these two ceremonies is the most sacred of all,
the moment of deepest inner concentration. If piety is sincere and
expressive of real faith, the contemplation of it has a transforming
and awe-spiring effect on those who witness it.
Thus
also in nature a holy seriousness is to be seen in the fact that
natural occurrences are uniformly subject to law. Contemplation of the
divine meaning underlying the workings of the universe gives to the man
who is called upon to influence others the means of producing like
effects. This requires that power of inner concentration which
religious contemplation develops in great men strong in faith. It
enables them to apprehend the mysterious and divine laws of life, and
by means of profoundest inner concentration they give expression to
these laws in their own persons. Thus a hidden spiritual power emanates
from them, influencing and dominating others without their being aware
of how it happens.
The Image
The wind blows over the earth:
The image of CONTEMPLATION.
Thus the kings of old visited the regions of the world,
Contemplated the people,
And gave them instruction.
When
the wind blows over the earth it goes far and wide, and the grass must
bend to its power. These two occurrences find confirmation in the
hexagram. The two images are used to symbolize a practice of the kings
of old; in making regular journeys the ruler could, in the first place,
survey his realm and make certain that none of the existing usages of
the people escaped notice; in the second, he could exert influence
through which such customs as were unsuitable could be changed.
All
of this points to the power possessed by a superior personality. On the
one hand, such a man will have a view of the real sentiments of the
great mass of humanity and therefore cannot be deceived; on the other,
he will impress the people so profoundly, by his mere existence and by
the impact of his personality, that they will be swayed by him as the
grass by the wind.