Structure, Ethics, and Ontology of the Jiaren (Family) Hexagram in the Zhouyi
This article offers a deep exploration of the philosophical significance of Hexagram 37 'Jiaren' (Family) in the Zhouyi (Book of Changes), analyzing the relationship between the Wind-over-Fire trigram image and the Way of the family, and elucidating the foundational status of 'family' in ancient social structures through pre-Qin Confucian thought on 'roots' (ben) as found in Confucius, Mencius, and the Great Learning.
Chapter Three: Detailed Exegesis of the Hexagram Statement -- The Deep Meaning of "Beneficial for the Woman's Constancy"
Section 1: The Original Text and Basic Interpretation
The hexagram statement of the Jiaren hexagram is exceedingly concise:
"Jiaren: beneficial for the woman's constancy" (li nu zhen).
In just five characters, an extraordinarily rich meaning is contained. Let us analyze character by character.
"Jiaren": the hexagram name. "Jia" -- dwelling, clan, family. "Ren" -- persons within the family. "Jiaren" taken together refers both to family members and to the family as a community of human relationships.
"Li": beneficial, favorable.
"Nu": woman.
"Zhen": constancy, upright steadfastness. In the Zhouyi, the character zhen is extraordinarily rich in meaning, containing at least three layers: first, divination (the zhen of zhenbu, prognostication); second, upright steadfastness (holding fast to what is correct without wavering); third, tranquil stillness (stable and not restless).
Taken together, the basic meaning of "li nu zhen" is: The Way of the Jiaren hexagram is beneficial for the woman to maintain upright constancy. Or more broadly: The success of the family Way begins with the woman's constancy.
Section 2: Why "Beneficial for the Woman's Constancy" Rather Than "Beneficial for the Man's Constancy"$22
This is a crucial question that must be asked. Why does the Jiaren hexagram specifically emphasize "beneficial for the woman's constancy" rather than "beneficial for the man's constancy" or "beneficial for the constancy of husband and wife"$23 Does this imply gender bias in pre-Qin thought$24
To answer this question, we must return to the intellectual context of the pre-Qin period rather than judge by later conceptions.
First, from the hexagram image. The lower trigram of the Jiaren hexagram is Li, which represents the middle daughter; the upper trigram is Xun, which represents the eldest daughter. Both trigrams' images relate to "woman," and the entire hexagram is pervaded by a feminine quality. Thus the hexagram statement's specific mention of "beneficial for the woman's constancy" directly corresponds to the hexagram image.
Second, from the hexagram's principle. The Tuanzhuan explains: "The woman is correctly positioned within" -- the woman's correct position within the home is fundamental to the family Way. Why$25 Because in the division of labor within pre-Qin families, the basic pattern was that men managed external affairs while women managed internal ones. The man's sphere of activity was primarily outside (court, marketplace, fields); the woman's sphere was primarily inside (household, kitchen, weaving). The maintenance of internal family order depended principally on the one "within" -- that is, the woman. If the one managing the interior is not upright and constant, the internal household falls into disorder; when the internal household is disordered, the man outside also cannot have peace of mind.
The Shijing, "Zhounan," "Guan Ju" ode, has the lines:
"Guan-guan cry the ospreys on the islet in the river. The modest, virtuous maiden -- a fine match for the gentleman."
"Long and short, the water plants sway left and right. The modest, virtuous maiden -- waking and sleeping, he sought her."
"He sought but did not find; waking and sleeping, he thought of her. How long, how long -- he tossed and turned."
"Long and short, the water plants -- left and right he gathered them. The modest, virtuous maiden -- with lute and zither he befriended her."
"Long and short, the water plants -- left and right he culled them. The modest, virtuous maiden -- with bells and drums he delighted her."
The Maoshi xu interprets this poem:
"'Guan Ju' celebrates the virtue of the queen consort. It is the beginning of the Feng (Airs). It serves to instruct all under Heaven and rectify the relationship between husband and wife. Therefore it is used in the villages and in the states."
"The virtue of the queen consort" -- the great family of the state begins with the queen consort's constancy. "It is the beginning of the Feng" -- the starting point of all moral instruction lies in the rectitude of husband and wife. "It serves to instruct all under Heaven and rectify the relationship between husband and wife" -- through this poem, all under Heaven is instructed so that the husband-wife relationship returns to the right path.
From this we can see that the logic of "beneficial for the woman's constancy" in pre-Qin thought is not about demeaning women but rather confers upon women an extremely high responsibility and status -- the rectitude of the family Way begins with the woman's constancy. This is an affirmation, not a negation.
From the principle of yin and yang: the Zhouyi, Xici shang, states:
"One yin and one yang -- this is called the Dao."
Yin and yang are not a distinction of high and low but two mutually dependent, mutually fulfilling poles. Within the family, yang (man) tends toward activity and the exterior, while yin (woman) tends toward stillness and the interior. The power of yin is gathering, cohering, maintaining -- and this is precisely the original meaning of zhen (constancy). The Jiaren hexagram's specific mention of "beneficial for the woman's constancy" emphasizes the crucial role of yin's power in maintaining the family Way: not through yang's forceful strength imposing order, but through yin's gentle virtue naturally nurturing the family ethos.
Third, from a deeper philosophical perspective. The character zhen is an extremely important concept in the Zhouyi. In the Qian hexagram's "yuan heng li zhen" (origination, prevalence, benefit, constancy), zhen occupies the last of the four virtues yet is in reality the completion of all four. The beginning (yuan), prevailing (heng), and benefiting (li) of all things must ultimately return to zhen -- upright steadfastness, preservation, returning to the root.
The Most High (Laozi) said (Daodejing, Chapter 16):
"Attain the utmost emptiness; maintain the deepest stillness. The myriad things arise together; I thereby observe their return. All things flourish, and each returns to its root. Returning to the root is called stillness; stillness is called returning to destiny. Returning to destiny is called constancy; knowing constancy is called illumination."
"Returning to the root is called stillness" -- the ultimate destination of all things is "stillness," a return to the fundamental. The Jiaren hexagram's "beneficial for the woman's constancy" resonates with this thought of "returning to the root is called stillness": maintaining the family Way requires a force of "guarding stillness," and this force, in the pre-Qin conception of yin and yang, is precisely associated with "woman" (yin).
Section 3: The Multiple Layers of "Zhen" (Constancy) Unfolded in the Jiaren Hexagram
Zhen in the Jiaren hexagram contains at least the following layers of meaning:
First, zhen as correctness. The rectitude of the family Way begins with the woman's correctness. "Correctness" here refers not only to upright conduct but to an upright mind and will -- being content in one's position, guarding one's role, not overstepping one's bounds.
Second, zhen as firmness. The family Way requires enduring perseverance. "Firm constancy" means not wavering in the family's fundamentals because of external temptations or difficulties. A family's stability requires someone to hold firm -- holding firm to household principles, values, and bonds.
Third, zhen as stillness. The family Way requires a foundation of tranquility. A clamorous, restless household cannot endure; only a quiet, steadfast household can last. The "stillness" of zhen forms a counterpoint with the "illumination" of the Li trigram: illumination is dynamic (discerning, perceiving), stillness is settled (abiding, maintaining). The unity of illumination and stillness is the supreme state of the family Way.
Fourth, zhen as divination. From the original function of the Zhouyi as a book of divination, zhen also carries the meaning of "inquiring by divination." "Beneficial for the woman's constancy" can be understood as: when divining about matters concerning women, obtaining this hexagram is auspicious. Though this layer of meaning is rather technical, it also reminds us that the Jiaren hexagram was frequently used in ancient divination practice for inquiries related to women, marriage, and family affairs.
Section 4: "The Woman's Constancy" and Pre-Qin Views of Marriage
The discussion of "beneficial for the woman's constancy" must extend to pre-Qin views of marriage. In pre-Qin literature, marriage was regarded as the beginning of human relationships and the foundation of the family Way.
The Liji, "Hunyi" chapter, states:
"The wedding rites unite the good of two surnames, above to serve the ancestral temple, below to continue posterity. Therefore the exemplary person treats them with gravity."
"Thus in the wedding rites, the six steps -- presenting gifts, inquiring the name, announcing the auspicious result, presenting the betrothal gifts, requesting the date -- all take place before the ancestral tablet in the temple, with the host bowing in welcome at the outer gate. Entering, host and guest defer to each other going up the steps, and the charge is heard in the temple -- all this to show reverent care and gravity in the wedding rites."
"Only after reverent gravity comes intimacy. This is the great framework of ritual, by which the distinction between man and woman is established and the righteousness of husband and wife instituted. When man and woman are distinguished, husband and wife have righteousness; when husband and wife have righteousness, father and son have affection; when father and son have affection, ruler and minister have correctness. Therefore it is said: the wedding rites are the root of all rites."
"The wedding rites are the root of all rites" -- the wedding is the root of every ritual! The weight of this judgment is immense. Why not the capping ceremony, not the funeral rites, not the sacrificial rites, but the wedding as "the root of rites"$26 Because marriage creates the family, and the family produces the affection between father and son and the correctness between ruler and minister -- the starting point of all social order lies in marriage.
This resonates perfectly with the Jiaren hexagram's "beneficial for the woman's constancy." "The woman's constancy" -- the woman's upright steadfastness -- is the prerequisite for the healthy maintenance of the marital relationship, and the healthy maintenance of the marital relationship is in turn the root of the family Way and indeed of the great Way of all under Heaven.
The Shijing, "Beifeng," "Gu Feng" ode, contains the lament of an abandoned wife:
"Gently blows the valley wind, bringing cloud and rain. We strove together heart to heart -- you should not have been angry. Gathering turnips and radishes -- do not reject them for their lower parts. Do not violate your good words; let us die together."
"I walk the road so slowly, my heart within resists. Not far, so near -- you sent me off only to the border. Who says the sow-thistle is bitter$27 It is as sweet as shepherd's-purse. You feast with your new bride as if she were brother and sister."
The bitter lament of the abandoned wife in this poem proves from the negative side the difficulty of "the woman's constancy" and the fragility of the family Way. No matter how the wife "strove together heart to heart" or pledged "let us die together," if the husband "feasts with his new bride," the family Way is ultimately ruined. This reminds us that while "beneficial for the woman's constancy" speaks in terms of the woman, maintaining the family Way is by no means the woman's responsibility alone -- it requires the joint commitment to uprightness of both husband and wife. The hexagram statement specifically mentions "beneficial for the woman's constancy" because from the hexagram's structural perspective, the woman (Six in the Second, a yin line in the central position of the inner trigram) occupies the core position of the family Way; but this does not mean the man (Nine in the Fifth, a yang line in the central position of the outer trigram) bears no equivalent responsibility.
Section 5: What "Beneficial for the Woman's Constancy" Reveals About the Pre-Qin Emphasis on "the Inner"
"Beneficial for the woman's constancy" also reveals an important tendency in pre-Qin thought: the emphasis on "the inner."
In pre-Qin thought, "inner" and "outer" are not merely spatial designations but carry rich philosophical significance. "Inner" represents the fundamental, the source, the substantial; "outer" represents the superficial, the extended, the peripheral. The essentials of self-cultivation lie in "rectifying the heart and making the intentions sincere" (inner), and only afterward can one "regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to all under Heaven" (outer).
The Jiaren hexagram connects "woman" with "inner" and assigns "constancy" (guarding what is correct) to the subject of "the inner" (the woman), expressing a core conviction: The success or failure of the family Way depends on the quality of "the inner." External wealth, power, and renown cannot guarantee the rectitude of the family Way; only inner virtue, sincerity, and constancy constitute the enduring foundation of the family Way.
The Master said (Lunyu, "Li Ren"):
"The exemplary person comprehends what is right; the petty person comprehends what is profitable."
Applied to the family Way: true family happiness lies not in the external accumulation of profit but in the inner holding fast to rightness. The "constancy" in "beneficial for the woman's constancy" is precisely the symbol of this inner steadfastness.
The Most High (Laozi) also said (Daodejing, Chapter 11):
"Thirty spokes share one hub -- it is the emptiness at the center that makes the wheel useful. Clay is molded into a vessel -- it is the emptiness within that makes the vessel useful. Doors and windows are cut into a room -- it is the emptiness within that makes the room useful. Therefore, what has being provides benefit; what has non-being provides function."
"Doors and windows are cut into a room; it is the emptiness within that makes the room useful" -- the "use" of a house lies not in the walls themselves (being) but in the space enclosed by the walls (non-being). Likewise, the "use" of a family lies not in external material conditions (being) but in inner spiritual qualities (non-being). The "constancy" emphasized by "beneficial for the woman's constancy" -- the inner guarding of what is correct -- is precisely this "non-being," the fundamental that enables the family to realize its function.