A Detailed Inquiry into the Most Auspicious Hexagram Lines in the Zhou Yi: From 'Yuan Ji' to 'Ji Wu Buli'

Chapter 7: The Qian Hexagram's Yao Lyrics—The Miracle of Universal Auspiciousness

Section 1: The Special Status of the Qian Hexagram

When discussing the "most auspicious yao," we cannot ignore a unique hexagram—Qian (䷎, Humility).

The Qian hexagram holds a singular position among the sixty-four hexagrams: It is the only hexagram where all six yao lyrics are free of inauspicious judgments.

Let us examine the yao lyrics of the Qian hexagram:

• First Place (初六): "Humble, humble gentleman. To cross the great river is auspicious (Ji)." — Ji (Auspicious)
• Second Place (六二): "Crying humility; persistent auspiciousness (Zhen Ji)." — Zhen Ji (Persistent Auspiciousness)
• Third Place (九三): "Toiling humility; the gentleman has completion. Auspiciousness (Ji)." — Ji (Auspicious)
• Fourth Place (六四): "No disadvantage (Wu Bu Li); holding on to humility." — Wu Bu Li (No Disadvantage)
• Fifth Place (六五): "Not rich with neighbors. Beneficial to attack. No disadvantage (Bu Fu Yi Qi Lin, Li Yong Qin Fa, Wu Bu Li)." — Wu Bu Li (No Disadvantage)
• Top Place (上六): "Crying humility. Beneficial to lead the army; to attack and conquer states (Ming Qian, Li Yong Xing Shi, Zheng Yi Guo)." — Li (Beneficial)

Among the six yao: three mention "Ji" (初六, 六二, 九三), two mention "Wu Bu Li" (六四, 六五), and one mentions "Li" (上六). There is not a single character for "Xiong" (凶, inauspicious), "Li" (厉, perilous), "Hui" (悔, regret), "Lin" (吝, hardship), or "Jiu" (咎, blame)!

This is unprecedented among the sixty-four hexagrams. All other hexagrams, no matter how generally auspicious, have at least one or two yao with unfavorable judgments. Only the Qian hexagram possesses universal auspiciousness—this itself is a miracle.

Section 2: High Praise in the Qian Hexagram's Tuan Zhuan

The Tuan Zhuan for the Qian hexagram gives the highest praise to the virtue of "humility":

"Humility (Qian) leads to smooth progress (Heng). The Way of Heaven descends to nourish and illuminate; the Way of Earth is lowly yet ascends. The Way of Heaven diminishes the full and benefits the humble; the Way of Earth transforms the full and flows to the humble. Spirits and deities harm the full and bless the humble; the Way of Man detests the full and loves the humble. Humility, though honored, is radiant; though lowly, is unassailable. This is the culmination for the gentleman." (谦，亨。天道下济而光明，地道卑而上行。天道亏盈而益谦，地道变盈而流谦，鬼神害盈而福谦，人道恶盈而好谦。谦，尊而光，卑而不可逾。君子之终也。)

Every sentence in this passage deserves deep reflection:

"The Way of Heaven descends to nourish and illuminate" (天道下济而光明)—Heaven's Way descends to provide nourishment, hence it is illuminating. Although Heaven is high above, it does not hold itself high but descends to bestow gifts—this is Heaven's "humility."

"The Way of Earth is lowly yet ascends" (地道卑而上行)—Although the Way of Earth is lowly, it enables all things to grow—this is Earth's "humility."

"The Way of Heaven diminishes the full and benefits the humble" (天道亏盈而益谦)—Heaven's principle is to diminish fullness and benefit humility. The sun at noon declines, the moon waxes to fullness and then wanes—fullness must diminish; humility increases—this is the Way of Heaven.

"The Way of Earth transforms the full and flows to the humble" (地道变盈而流谦)—Earth's principle is to transform fullness and flow to humble places. High mountains collapse, rivers fill depressions—this is the Way of Earth.

"Spirits and deities harm the full and bless the humble" (鬼神害盈而福谦)—The principle of spirits and deities is to bring disaster upon the full and bestow blessings upon the humble. The proud incur misfortune; the humble receive blessings—this is the Way of Spirits and Deities.

"The Way of Man detests the full and loves the humble" (人道恶盈而好谦)—Human principle is to detest fullness and love humility. The proud are disliked by people; the humble are favored by people—this is the Way of Man.

The Ways of Heaven, Earth, spirits, deities, and humans all benefit humility, flow to humility, bless humility, and love humility. Humility has received the unanimous praise of Heaven, Earth, spirits, deities, and humans—a unique honor none of the other virtues in the Zhouyi have received.

"Humility, though honored, is radiant; though lowly, is unassailable." (谦，尊而光，卑而不可逾。)—A humble person, when in an honored position, is even more radiant; when in a lowly position, is unassailable.

"This is the culmination for the gentleman." (君子之终也。)—This is the ultimate pursuit of the gentleman.

Section 3: Why is the Qian Hexagram Universally Auspicious$4

Let us ask: Why does the Qian hexagram achieve universal auspiciousness with no inauspicious yao lyrics$5

Reason 1: Humility is the Greatest Virtue of Heaven and Earth.

As stated in the Tuan Zhuan, the Ways of Heaven, Earth, spirits, deities, and humans all benefit humility. If the virtue embodied by a hexagram receives the unanimous support of Heaven, Earth, spirits, and humans, then its six yao naturally cannot contain inauspicious judgments.

Reason 2: The Hexagram Structure of Qian.

The Qian hexagram (䷎) is composed of Kun (坤, Earth) above and Gen (艮, Mountain) below. The upper trigram is Earth, the lower is Mountain. The mountain is below the earth—normally, a mountain should rise above the ground, but in the Qian hexagram, the mountain is below the earth—what is high lowers itself, what is low rises—this is the image of humility.

This structure of "what is high lowers itself" naturally avoids the flaw of "reaching the extreme" (亢极). In other hexagrams, the top yao often incurs inauspicious judgments due to "extreme excess"; however, in the Qian hexagram, the spirit of "what is high lowers itself" prevails throughout, and even the top yao does not encounter the problem of "extreme excess."

Reason 3: The Special Role of the Sole Yang Yao at the Third Place.

Among the six yao of the Qian hexagram, five are Yin and only one is Yang. The Nine at the Third Place is the sole Yang yao. This single Yang yao resides amidst five Yin yao—like a virtuous and talented gentleman who, despite having the greatest merit ("toiling humility"), can still humble himself and not claim credit—this sets the tone of humility for the entire hexagram.

Reason 4: Each Yao Practices the Way of Humility.

• First Place (初六): "Humble, humble" (谦谦)—Humility upon humility, humility to the extreme.
• Second Place (六二): "Crying humility" (鸣谦)—The virtue of humility is heard externally.
• Third Place (九三): "Toiling humility" (劳谦)—Having merit but being able to be humble.
• Fourth Place (六四): "Holding on to humility" (撝谦)—Extending the virtue of humility, making it widespread.
• Fifth Place (六五): "Not rich with neighbors" (不富以其邻)—Not resting on wealth and status but associating with neighbors.
• Top Place (上六): "Crying humility" (鸣谦)—The virtue of humility is heard from above.

Each of the six yao practices the virtue of "humility" in different ways, thus all six yao are auspicious.

Section 4: The Most Auspicious Yao in the Qian Hexagram

Among the six yao of the Qian hexagram, which one is the most auspicious$6

Let's compare:

• First Place (初六): Auspicious (Ji)
• Second Place (六二): Persistent Auspiciousness (Zhen Ji)
• Third Place (九三): Auspicious (Ji)
• Fourth Place (六四): No Disadvantage (Wu Bu Li)
• Fifth Place (六五): No Disadvantage (Wu Bu Li)
• Top Place (上六): Beneficial (Li)

From the perspective of judgment level, "Ji" is superior to "Wu Bu Li," and "Wu Bu Li" is superior to "Li." Therefore, the judgment levels of the First, Second, and Third Place yao are relatively higher.

However, if we examine the inner meaning of the yao lyrics:

Third Place (九三): "Toiling humility; the gentleman has completion. Auspiciousness (Ji)." (劳谦，君子有终，吉。)

"Toiling humility" (劳谦)—Having labor (merit) but being able to be humble. This is the most difficult and praiseworthy type of humility—not claiming credit for merit, not boasting about labor.

"The gentleman has completion" (君子有终)—The gentleman achieves a good end. This indicates that the virtue of humility enables the gentleman to have a good beginning and a good end.

"Auspiciousness" (吉)—Good fortune.

The Xiang Zhuan interprets the Third Place yao:

"Toiling humility; the gentleman is admired by the myriad people." (劳谦君子，万民服也。)

"Admired by the myriad people" (万民服也)—How noble an evaluation! This is the extent to which the gentleman is admired by all people under Heaven.

The Third Place yao is the sole Yang yao in the entire hexagram, a Yang yao in a Yang position (correctly positioned). Although it does not occupy the central position, it possesses the supreme status of the sole Yang yao and can practice the way of humility—this is the most difficult to achieve. Because it has the right to be proud (being the sole Yang yao, with the greatest merit), it chooses humility instead—this is the virtue of "toiling humility," hence "admired by the myriad people."

However, the judgment for the Third Place yao is merely "Ji," not "Yuan Ji." Within the entire Qian hexagram, no yao achieves the judgment of "Yuan Ji."

Why is this$7

In my opinion: The spirit of the Qian hexagram lies in "uniformity"—universal, even goodness. It does not pursue the ultimate auspiciousness of a single yao but maintains all six yao at the level of "auspicious" or "without disadvantage." This "universal auspiciousness" (全卦皆吉) represents the beauty of balance—it does not highlight any particular yao position nor favor any extreme.

Therefore, although the Qian hexagram is universally auspicious, no single yao reaches the height of "Yuan Ji." The greatness of the Qian hexagram lies not in the supreme goodness of a single yao but in the balanced goodness of the entire hexagram.

Section 5: The Revelation of the Qian Hexagram

The Qian hexagram reveals to us: In the value system of the Zhouyi, "universal goodness" (全卦皆吉) and "ultimate goodness" (某一爻元吉) are two different kinds of goodness. The former embodies the beauty of balance, while the latter embodies the beauty of excellence.

If we inquire about "which is the most auspicious yao," then none of the yao in the Qian hexagram is the best answer—because none reaches "Yuan Ji."

But if we inquire about "which hexagram is the most auspicious," then the Qian hexagram is undoubtedly the strongest candidate—because its entire hexagram is free of inauspicious judgments, and all six yao are good.

This again reminds us: Different wording of the question leads to different answers. "The most auspicious yao" and "the most auspicious hexagram" are two distinct questions.