序卦傳

Sequence of the Hexagrams

2 sections · Commentary by Han Kangbo · Subcommentary by Kong Yingda

章

Sequence of the Upper Canon (Hexagrams 1-30)

上經序卦

經 Classic Text

有天地然後萬物生焉，盈天地之間者唯萬物，故受之以屯。屯者盈也，屯者物之始生也。物生必蒙，故受之以蒙。蒙者蒙也，物之稚也。物稚不可不養也，故受之以需。需者飲食之道也。飲食必有訟，故受之以訟。訟必有衆起，故受之以師。師者衆也。衆必有所比，故受之以比。比者比也。比必有所畜，故受之以小畜。物畜然後有禮，故受之以履。履而泰然後安，故受之以泰。泰者通也。物不可以終通，故受之以否。否者塞也。物不可以終否，故受之以同人。與人同者物必歸焉，故受之以大有。有大者不可以盈，故受之以謙。有大而能謙必豫，故受之以豫。豫必有隨，故受之以隨。以喜隨人者必有事，故受之以蠱。蠱者事也。有事而後可大，故受之以臨。臨者大也。物大然後可觀，故受之以觀。可觀而後有所合，故受之以噬嗑。嗑者合也。物不可以苟合而已，故受之以賁。賁者飾也。致飾然後亨則盡矣，故受之以剝。剝者剝也。物不可以終盡，剝窮上反下，故受之以復。復則不妄矣，故受之以无妄。有无妄然後可畜，故受之以大畜。物畜然後可養，故受之以頤。頤者養也。不養則不可動，故受之以大過。物不可以終過，故受之以坎。坎者陷也。陷必有所麗，故受之以離。離者麗也。

Translation

Once Heaven and Earth exist, thereafter the myriad things are born. What fills the space between Heaven and Earth is the myriad things alone — therefore Zhun (Difficulty at the Beginning) follows. Zhun means filling; Zhun represents the first birth of things.

Things at birth are necessarily covered — therefore Meng (Youthful Folly) follows. Meng means being covered; it is the immaturity of things. Things that are immature must be nourished — therefore Xu (Waiting) follows. Xu represents the way of food and drink.

Where there is food and drink there must be contention — therefore Song (Conflict) follows. Contention necessarily involves masses of people — therefore Shi (The Army) follows. Shi means the multitude. The multitude must have something to draw close to — therefore Bi (Holding Together) follows.

Bi means closeness. Drawing close necessarily involves accumulation — therefore Xiao Xu (Small Taming) follows. When things are accumulated, afterward there is propriety — therefore Lu (Treading) follows. Treading with composure, and then one is at peace — therefore Tai (Peace) follows.

Tai means penetration. Things cannot remain penetrated forever — therefore Pi (Stagnation) follows. Pi means obstruction. Things cannot remain obstructed forever — therefore Tong Ren (Fellowship) follows.

One who shares fellowship with others will necessarily have things come to him — therefore Da You (Great Possession) follows. One who possesses greatly must not be full of himself — therefore Qian (Modesty) follows.

One who possesses greatly and can be modest will surely be content — therefore Yu (Enthusiasm) follows. Enthusiasm necessarily leads to following — therefore Sui (Following) follows. One who gladly follows others must have responsibilities — therefore Gu (Correcting Decay) follows.

Gu means responsibility. Having responsibilities, one can afterward become great — therefore Lin (Approach) follows. Lin means greatness. When things are great, afterward they can be contemplated — therefore Guan (Contemplation) follows.

When contemplation is possible, afterward there can be union — therefore Shi He (Biting Through) follows. He means union. Things cannot be haphazardly united — therefore Bi (Grace) follows. Bi means adornment.

When adornment is brought to its extreme, then success is exhausted — therefore Bo (Splitting Apart) follows. Bo means stripping away. Things cannot be stripped away to the very end; when stripping reaches the top, it turns back to the bottom — therefore Fu (Return) follows.

With return there is no recklessness — therefore Wu Wang (Innocence) follows. With innocence, afterward accumulation is possible — therefore Da Xu (Great Taming) follows. When things are accumulated, afterward they can be nourished — therefore Yi (Nourishment) follows. Yi means nourishment.

Without nourishment there can be no movement — therefore Da Guo (Great Exceeding) follows. Things cannot exceed forever — therefore Kan (The Abyss) follows. Kan means entrapment. In entrapment one must have something to cling to — therefore Li (The Clinging) follows. Li means clinging.

注 Wang Bi's Commentary

凡序卦所明，非易之經也。蓋因卦之次，託以明義。屯剛柔始交，故為物之始生也。物稚不可不養也，故受之以需。需者飲食之道也。物極飾則實喪也。物窮則變，極陷則反所麗也。

Translation

In general, what the Sequence of the Hexagrams explains is not the canonical text of the Changes itself. Rather, it takes the order of the hexagrams as an occasion to illuminate their meaning. Zhun is where the firm and the yielding first interact, hence it represents the first birth of things.

Things that are immature must not go unnourished — therefore Xu follows. Xu represents the way of food and drink. When adornment of things reaches its extreme, substance is lost.

When things are pressed to their limit they change; when entrapment reaches its extreme, one turns to what one can cling to.

疏 Kong Yingda's Subcommentary

正義曰：此序卦者，序述六十四卦之先後次序之義也。孔子以卦之次序各有其義，故序而述之。上經三十卦自乾坤至坎離，下經三十四卦自咸恆至既濟未濟。先儒以乾至離為上經天道也，咸至未濟為下經人事也。然韓康伯注此破先儒之說云：「夫易六畫成卦，三才必備，錯綜天人以效變化，寧有天道人事偏於上下哉。」蓋守文而不達義者之失也。

Translation

The Correct Meaning states: This Sequence of the Hexagrams narrates the meaning of the sequential order of the sixty-four hexagrams. Confucius saw that the order of each hexagram has its own significance, so he narrated and explained it.

The Upper Canon has thirty hexagrams from Qian and Kun through Kan and Li; the Lower Canon has thirty-four hexagrams from Xian and Heng through Ji Ji and Wei Ji.

Earlier scholars held that the hexagrams from Qian to Li in the Upper Canon represent the way of Heaven, while those from Xian to Wei Ji in the Lower Canon represent human affairs.

However, Han Kangbo's commentary refutes this, saying: 'The Changes forms hexagrams with six lines, necessarily encompassing the Three Powers. ' Those who cling to the letter without grasping the meaning have erred.

鎖

Unlock Full Scholarly Text

Verify your email to access the complete bilingual translation. We'll send you a one-click verification link.

Free access. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

← Discussion of the TrigramsMiscellaneous Notes on the Hexagrams →