The army — disciplined collective force under a worthy leader.
Great undertakings need organization, discipline, and a leader the people trust. Power must serve a just cause to succeed. Moral authority, not mere force, brings victory.
disciplineleadershiporganizationcollective action
The Army places Earth (receptive, devoted) above Water (abysmal, dangerous). The interplay of these two trigrams gives the hexagram its character.
The Classical Textoriginal Chinese
The Judgment · 卦辞
贞，丈人，吉，无咎。
The Image · 大象
地中有水，师；君子以容民畜众。
The Six Lines · 爻辞
- 初六师出以律，否臧凶。象曰：师出以律，失律凶也。
- 九二在师中，吉无咎，王三锡命。象曰：在师中吉，承天宠也。王三锡命，怀万邦也。
- 六三师或舆尸，凶。象曰：师或舆尸，大无功也。
- 六四师左次，无咎。象曰：左次无咎，未失常也。
- 六五田有禽，利执言，无咎。长子帅师，弟子舆尸，贞凶。象曰：长子帅师，以中行也。弟子舆尸，使不当也。
- 上六大君有命，开国承家，小人勿用。象曰：大君有命，以正功也。小人勿用，必乱邦也。
The judgment, image and line texts above are quoted from the original Zhou Yi. A modern Chinese translation of the full classic is available on the original-text page.