Part Three: Comprehensive Judgment and Final Conclusion

Chapter 15: Comprehensive Comparison of Candidate Lines

Chapter 16: Establishing the Core Standard -- "Centrality" and "Virtue"

In the Zhouyi's value system, "centrality" and "virtue" are the core determinants of supreme auspiciousness -- two faces of the same coin.

Chapter 17: "The Most Auspicious Line" Viewed through Pre-Qin Divination Cases

Key insights from pre-Qin cases:

First, fortune judgment is context-dependent. Second, virtue is the fundamental condition. Mu Jiang (Zuozhuan, Duke Xiang year 9) candidly acknowledged that she did not possess the four virtues and therefore could not be saved even by a favorable hexagram: "I have chosen wickedness -- how can I be without blame$2"

Chapter 18: The Overall Philosophy of the Yizhuan on Fortune

Fortune is rooted in gain and loss; gain and loss are rooted in virtue; virtue is rooted in centrality and correctness.

Chapter 19: Final Judgment -- The Most Auspicious Line among All 384

Section 1: The Plurality of Judgment

Different standards yield different conclusions:

• Judgment grade: All yuanji lines tie.
• Positional conditions: Yi Nine in the Fifth and Li Six in the Second are most perfect.
• Yizhuan evaluation: Kun Six in the Fifth ("the utmost of beauty") and Dayou Top Nine are most prominent.
• Certainty: Yi Nine in the Fifth ("do not even ask").
• Comprehensiveness: Dayou Top Nine ("nothing that is not advantageous").

Section 2: Two Parallel Candidates

Candidate One: Kun Six in the Fifth -- "Yellow lower garment. Supremely auspicious." The auspiciousness of sustained virtue.

Candidate Two: Dayou Top Nine -- "From Heaven comes protection; auspicious, nothing that is not advantageous." The auspiciousness of Heavenly protection.

Section 3: Two Types of "Supreme Auspiciousness"

Kun Six in the Fifth -- the supreme auspiciousness of virtue. The Wenyanzhuan calls it "the utmost of beauty."

Dayou Top Nine -- the supreme auspiciousness of outcome. "Nothing that is not advantageous" eliminates all negativity.

In the Zhouyi's philosophy, virtue and result are inseparable. But in emphasis: Kun Six in the Fifth stresses "virtue"; Dayou Top Nine stresses "result."

Section 4: The Final Answer

Kun Six in the Fifth -- "Yellow lower garment. Supremely auspicious" -- is the most auspicious line among all 384.

Reasons summarized:

1. "Yuanji" -- the highest grade of auspicious judgment.
2. "The utmost of beauty" -- the highest evaluation of any single line's virtue in the Yizhuan.
3. Attains centrality -- the core of supreme goodness.
4. "Yellow lower garment" -- the perfect unity of centrality and humility.
5. "The Way of Heaven increases the humble" -- Heaven's necessity.
6. Zuozhuan corroboration -- the most complete practical exegesis of yuanji.
7. Civilizational ideal -- the most central ideal of character in Chinese civilization.
8. Sustainability -- an enduring state of virtue, not momentary luck.

Section 2 (Addendum): The Special Standing of Dayou Top Nine

If the question is "which line's auspiciousness is most comprehensive," the answer may be Dayou Top Nine; if "most fundamental," the answer is Kun Six in the Fifth. First cultivate the virtue of Kun Six in the Fifth; then reap the fruit of Dayou Top Nine.

Section 3 (Addendum): The Certainty of Yi Nine in the Fifth

If the question is "which line's auspiciousness is most certain," the answer may be Yi Nine in the Fifth.

Yi Nine in the Fifth, Kun Six in the Fifth, and Dayou Top Nine represent three dimensions of supreme auspiciousness: certainty (Yi 9/5), fundamentality (Kun 6/5), comprehensiveness (Dayou Top 9). United, they reveal the complete face of the Zhouyi's "Way of supreme auspiciousness."

Chapter 20: Reflections on "The Most Auspicious Line"

Section 1: What Does the Question Itself Signify$3

The Xici Shangzhuan states:

"It cannot be taken as a fixed rule; it adapts only to change."

The truest answer may be: in each concrete situation, the most appropriate line is the most auspicious.

Section 2: "Knowing the Incipient" -- A Wisdom Greater Than "Knowing the Auspicious"

"To know the incipient -- is this not divine! The noble one, seeing the incipient, acts at once -- he does not wait till the end of the day."

The supreme wisdom of the Zhouyi lies not in pursuing "the most auspicious," but in cultivating the ability to "know the incipient."

Section 3: "Being Good at Remedying Faults" -- A More Practical Pursuit

"Wu jiu" appears approximately ninety times among the 384 lines. In the Zhouyi's philosophy of life, "being good at remedying faults" is the most fundamental, most universal, and most practical pursuit.

Section 4: "Moving in Step with Time"

"In all matters of increase, move in step with time."

Do not fixate on finding "the most auspicious line," but learn in every "time" to find the most fitting response.

Section 5: The Way of Auspiciousness

Studying the Yi -> Knowing the incipient -> Good action -> Maintaining sincerity -> Upholding humility -> Attaining centrality -> Cultivating virtue -> Obtaining auspiciousness

Kun Six in the Fifth -- "Yellow lower garment" -- perfectly encapsulates this entire chain:

• "Yellow" -- centrality.
• "Lower garment" -- humility.
• "Supremely auspicious" -- the apex of virtue, the summit of auspiciousness.

Chapter 21: Further Discussion on the Inner Logic of "Yuanji" Lines

Yuan is not merely "great" -- it is "the foremost of all that is good," "the root of goodness." Therefore yuanji is "auspiciousness generated from the very root of goodness."

All yuanji lines embody a "fundamental goodness" -- not partial or temporary, but radical and enduring:

• Kun 6/5: the fundamental goodness of how to be in the world.
• Tai 6/5: the fundamental goodness of governance.
• Fu 9/1: the fundamental goodness of self-cultivation.
• Daxu 6/4: the fundamental goodness of managing affairs.
• Li 6/2: the fundamental goodness of seeking the Way.
• Sun 6/5: the fundamental goodness of social interchange.
• Yi 9/5: the fundamental goodness of the kingly Way.
• Jing Top 6: the fundamental goodness of serving the world.

Chapter 22: Re-Examination from the Archaic Perspective

The transition from turtle-shell divination to milfoil divination reflects the transformation from passively accepting divine decree to actively responding through virtue. By the time of the Zhouyi, auspiciousness was no longer a divine gift but the fruit of virtuous conduct.

Chapter 23: The Civilizational Significance of "Yellow Lower Garment. Supremely Auspicious"

Holding the virtue of centrality while placing oneself in a humble station -- this is the highest ideal of character pursued by Chinese civilization.

This ideal runs through the main current of pre-Qin thought:

• The Zhouyi's virtue of humility -- "The Way of Heaven diminishes the full and increases the humble."
• The Master's Way of the noble one -- "The noble one is at ease without being arrogant; the petty person is arrogant without being at ease." (Lunyu, "Zilu")
• The Most High (Laozi) on the supreme good being like water -- "The supreme good is like water. Water benefits all things without contending, and dwells in places others disdain; therefore it approaches the Way." (Laozi, Chapter 8)
• The Master also said -- "When three walk together, there is always something I can learn." (Lunyu, "Shu Er")

Chapter 24: Adjudication of Various Theories

Qian Nine in the Fifth: Most honored, but not most auspicious (no ji character). Honor and auspiciousness are different dimensions.

Dayou Top Nine: Most comprehensive, but the top line is the hexagram's extreme and lacks centrality.

Fu Nine at the Beginning: Supreme virtue of reform, but starts from a state of error.

Qian (Humility) Nine in the Third: Only ji, not yuanji. The greatness of hexagram Qian lies in universal goodness, not supreme individual excellence.

Chapter 25: Conclusion

Section 1: Summary

Among the 384 lines, the most auspicious is Kun Six in the Fifth -- "Yellow lower garment. Supremely auspicious."

1. Yuanji -- the highest grade.
2. "The utmost of beauty" -- the highest virtue evaluation in the Yizhuan.
3. Attains centrality.
4. "Yellow lower garment" -- perfect unity of centrality and humility.
5. "The Way of Heaven increases the humble" -- Heaven's necessity.
6. Zuozhuan corroboration.
7. Civilizational ideal.
8. Sustainability.

Section 2: Dayou Top Nine's Special Standing

If "most comprehensive," the answer may be Dayou Top Nine; if "most fundamental," Kun Six in the Fifth. First cultivate the virtue of Kun Six in the Fifth; then reap the fruit of Dayou Top Nine.

Section 3: Yi Nine in the Fifth's Certainty

If "most certain," the answer may be Yi Nine in the Fifth. Three dimensions of supreme auspiciousness: certainty (Yi 9/5), fundamentality (Kun 6/5), comprehensiveness (Dayou Top 9).

Section 4: A Final Reflection

Auspiciousness lies not without, but within -- in the centrality and humility of one's virtue.

Auspiciousness lies not in position, but in time -- in the wisdom of moving in step with the moment.

Auspiciousness lies not in fate, but in oneself -- in the practice of trustworthiness, compliance, and esteeming the worthy.

Auspiciousness lies not in knowledge, but in action -- in the concrete steps of "returning before going far" and "planking a young bull's horns."

Auspiciousness lies not in seeking, but in cultivation -- in the sustained self-refinement of "centered in yellowness, penetrating in principle; correctly placed, grounded in one's person; beauty lying within."

Among these 384 realizations, Kun Six in the Fifth -- "Yellow lower garment. Supremely auspicious" -- with its supremely concise image (two characters), its supremely exalted virtue (centrality and humility), its supreme evaluation ("the utmost of beauty"), and its supreme result (yuanji), becomes the most resplendent note in the entire Zhouyi.

Like a brilliant pearl set in the grand scroll of the 384 lines, it shines forever with the radiance of central correctness and humility.

This is -- "Yellow lower garment. Supremely auspicious." -- the utmost of beauty.