Jiǎn — Obstruction

Modern Interpretation

The southwest furthers. The northeast does not further. It furthers one to see the great man. Persistence brings good fortune. Abyss before you, steep mountain behind—obstacles surround. The direction of retreat furthers, not the direction of advance. Pause, retreat, join with allies, find leadership equal to the situation. Persevering when you seem to move away from your goal brings good fortune in the end. Adversity is useful for self-development.

Modern Interpretation

Water on the mountain. Difficulties throw you back upon yourself. The inferior person blames others and bewails fate. The superior person seeks the error within. External obstacles become occasions for inner enrichment.

「山上有水，蹇。君子以反身修德。」水在山上，困難把人逼回自己。沒德行的人怪別人，抱怨命運。有德行的人向內找錯誤，外在的障礙變成內在成長的機會。

Two cups of tea — one cold, one still warm. On the chair, clothes still hold a trace of warmth. Outside the gate, the carriage ruts are overgrown with grass — night after night, listening to the wind, waiting for no one.

Bruegel painted this in 1563 depicting the Biblical Tower of Babel, a massive structure spiraling toward the heavens but incomplete. The painting shows human ambition encountering obstruction, with the tower representing plans that cannot be completed due to divine intervention and human discord.

The Judgment

The southwest is the region of retreat, the northeast that of advance. Here an individual is confronted by obstacles that cannot be overcome directly. In such a situation it is wise to pause in view of the danger and to retreat. However, this is merely a preparation for overcoming the obstructions. One must join forces with friends of like mind and put himself under the leadership of a man equal to the situation: then one will succeed in removing the obstacles. This requires the will to persevere just when one apparently must do something that leads away from his goal. This unswerving inner purpose brings good fortune in the end. An obstruction that lasts only for a time is useful for self-development. This is the value of adversity.

The Image

Difficulties and obstructions throw a man back upon himself. While the inferior man seeks to put the blame on other persons, bewailing his fate, the superior man seeks the error within himself, and through this introspection the external obstacle becomes for him an occasion for inner enrichment and education.

First (Bottom) Line

When one encounters an obstruction, the important thing is to reflect on how best to deal with it. When threatened with danger, one should not strive blindly to go ahead, for this only leads to complications. The correct thing is, on the contrary, to retreat for the time being, not in order to give up the struggle but to await the right moment for action.

Second Line

Ordinarily it is best to go around an obstacle and try to overcome it along the line of least resistance. But there is one instance in which a man must go out to meet the trouble, even though difficulty piles upon difficulty: this is when the path of duty leads directly to it–in other words, when he cannot act of his own volition but is duty bound to go and seek out danger in the service of a higher cause. Then he may do it without compunction, because it is not through any fault of his that he is putting himself in this difficult situation.

Third Line

While the preceding line shows the official compelled by duty to follow the way of danger, this line shows the man who must act as father of a family or as head of his kin. If he were to plunge recklessly in to danger, it would be a useless act, because those entrusted to his care cannot get along by themselves. But if he withdraws and turns back to his own, they welcome him with great joy.

Fourth Line

This too describes a situation that cannot be managed single-handed. In such a case the direct way is not the shortest. If a person were to forge ahead on his own strength and without the necessary preparations, he would not find the support he needs and would realize too late that he has been mistaken in his calculations, inasmuch as the conditions on which he hoped he could rely would prove to be inadequate. In this case it is better, therefore, to hold back for the time being and to gather together trustworthy companions who can be counted upon for help in overcoming the obstructions.

Fifth Line

Here we see a man who is called to help in an emergency. He should not seek to evade the obstructions, no matter how dangerously they pile up before him. But because he is really called to the task, the power of his spirit is strong enough to attract helpers whom he can effectively organize, so that through the well-directed co-operation of all participants the obstruction is overcome.

Sixth (Top) Line

This refers to a man who has already left the world and its tumult behind him. When the time of obstructions arrives, it might seem that the simplest thing for him to do would be to turn his back upon the world and take refuge in the beyond. But this road is barred to him. He must not seek his own salvation and abandon the world to its adversity. Duty calls him back once more into the turmoil of life. Precisely because of his experience and inner freedom, he is able to create something both great and complete that brings good fortune. And it is favorable to see the great man in alliance with whom one can achieve the work of rescue.