I CHING

50

Ting / The Caldron

The six lines construct the image of Ting, THE CALDRON;

at the bottom are the legs, over them the belly, then come

the ears (handles), and at the top the carrying rings. At the

same time, the image suggests the idea of nourishment.

The

ting, cast of bronze, was the vessel that held the cooked

viands in the temple of the ancestors and at banquets. The

heads of the family served the food from the ting into the

bowls of the guests.

THE WELL (48) likewise has the secondary meaning of

giving nourishment, but rather more in relation to the people.

The ting, as a utensil pertaining to a refined civilization,

suggests the fostering and nourishing of able men, which

redounded to the benefit of the state.(1)

This hexagram and THE WELL are the only two in the Book

of Changes that represent concrete, men-made objects. Yet

here too the thought has its abstract connotation.

Sun, below, is wood and wind; Li, above, is flame. Thus

together they stand for the flame kindled by wood and wind,

which likewise suggests the idea of preparing food.

THE JUDGMENT

THE CALDRON. Supreme good fortune.

Success.

While THE WELL relates to the social foundation of our life, and this

foundation is likened to the water that serves to nourish growing wood,

the present hexagram refers to the cultural superstructure of society.

Here it is the wood that serves as nourishment for the flame, the spirit.

All that is visible must grow beyond itself, extend into the realm of the

invisible. Thereby it receives its true consecration and clarity and takes

firm root in the cosmic order.

Here we see civilization as it reaches its culmination in religion. The

ting serves in offering sacrifice to God. The highest earthly values must

be sacrificed to the divine. But the truly divine does not manifest itself

apart from man. The supreme revelation of God appears in prophets and

holy men. To venerate them is true veneration of God. The will of God,

as revealed through them, should be accepted in humility; this brings

inner enlightenment and true understanding of the world, and this leads

to great good fortune and success.

The caldron means an initiation, a preparation, and an interior

elaboration. It means the full realization of the potential in change. The

caldron symbolizes what tempers, what transforms, what harmonizes.

What contains the caldron represents what must be optimized.

In ancient China, when a dynasty began, the first thing done was to cast

a new caldron with the fundamental laws inscribed on, to symbolize the

new epoch begun. Thus, when a new time began (after REVOLUTION)

one should transform to be able to face the new conditions of life.

THE IMAGE

Fire over wood:

The image of THE CALDRON.

Thus the superior man consolidates his fate

By making his position correct.

The fate of fire depends on wood; as long as there is wood below, the

fire burns above. It is the same in human life; there is in man likewise a

fate that lends power to his life. And if he succeeds in assigning the right

place to life and to fate, thus bringing the two into harmony, he puts his

fate on a firm footing. These words contain hints about fostering of life

as handed on by oral tradition in the secret teachings of Chinese yoga.

The wood keeps livening up the fire, so the superior man cultivates with

his acts the tendency of his life, his fate. This way, his interior being

agrees with his existence.

In other interpretation level, fire over wood means the importance of the

correct placement of things. Thus, in the community, the superior man

rectifies the position of people and states his orders, to fully realize the

potential of the people.

THE LINES

Six at the beginning means:

A ting with legs upturned.

Furthers removal of stagnating stuff.

One takes a concubine for the sake of her son.

No blame.

If a ting is turned upside down before being used, no harm is done --on

the contrary, this clears it of refuse. A concubine's position is lowly, but

because she has a son she comes to be honored.

These two metaphors express the idea that in a highly developed

civilization, such as that indicated by this hexagram, every person of

good will can in some way or other succeed. No matter how lowly he

may be, provided he is ready to purify himself, he is accepted. He attains

a station in which he can prove himself fruitful in accomplishment, and

as a result he gains recognition.

A ting turning upside down means to produce a radical change of

attitude to begin a new cycle of life. This transposition of values means

that much of what previously one believed as good (the old content of

the caldron), it is no longer useful, and what was previously disdained

(the concubine) now has good development possibilities (the son).

Nine in the second place means:

There is food in the ting.

My comrades are envious,

But they cannot harm me.

Good fortune.

In a period of advanced culture, it is of the greatest importance that one

should achieve something significant. If a man concentrates on such real

undertakings, he may indeed experience envy and disfavor, but that is not

dangerous. The more he limits himself to his actual achievements, the

less harm the envious inflict on him.

There is food in the ting symbolizes what is to the height of its condition,

what one really has, what is been genuinely.

The envious comrades mean someone who wants to take the content of

the ting, without having rights to it. This is a warning about where one

goes and what associates one has.

Nine in the third place means:

The handle of the ting is altered.

One is impeded in his way of life.

The fat of the pheasant is not eaten.

Once rain falls, remorse is spent.

Good fortune comes in the end.

The handle is the means for lifting up the ting. If the handle is altered,

the ting cannot be lifted up and used, and, sad to say, the delicious food

in it, such as pheasant fat, cannot be eaten by anyone.

This describes a man who, in a highly evolved civilization, finds himself

in a place where no one notices or recognizes him. This is a severe block

to his effectiveness. All of his good qualities and gifts of mind thus

needlessly go to waste. But if he will only see to it that he is possessed

of something truly spiritual, the time is bound to come, sooner or later,

when the difficulties will be resolved and all will go well. The fall of rain

symbolizes here, as in other instances, release of tension.

The useless handles means a not well faced matter. The ting under

these conditions can also mean an aspect not taken into account,

incompatibility. The fat not eaten refers to loss of potential, what is

wasted. The rain that removes remorse means that when everything is

understood, cleared up and the truth is recognized, then there will be

happiness.

Nine in the fourth place means::

The legs of the ting are broken.

The prince's meal is spilled

And his person is soiled.

Misfortune.

A man has a difficult and responsible task to which he is not adequate.

Moreover, he does not devote himself to it with all his strength but goes

about with inferior people; therefore the execution of the work fails. In

this way he also incurs personal opprobrium.

Confucius says about this line: "Weak character coupled with honored

place, meager knowledge with large plans, limited powers with heavy

responsibility, will seldom escape disaster."

A ting with broken legs means frustrated preparation, thus the prince's

meal is spilled, that is to say, the plan of who directs is scattered. For

that reason, its image is degraded, it loses credibility, and it loses trust.

The food spilled means that the essential thing has been ruined. Then

the query arises: can one still believe in it? Because a ting with broken

legs means that there are not bases to begin what is sought. For that

reason, its image is degraded, that is to say, it loses category, and

misfortune comes.

Six in the fifth place means:

The ting has yellow handles, golden carrying rings.

Perseverance furthers.

Here we have, in a ruling position, a man who is approachable and

modest in nature. As a result of this attitude he succeeds in finding

strong and able helpers who complement and aid him in his work. Having

achieved this attitude, which requires constant self-abnegation, it is

important for him to hold to it and not to let himself be led astray.

Yellow represents the fair and balanced thing, the good omen. Yellow

handles mean to face the matter with balance, with a good perspective.

The metal is symbol of what is visible, of what shines, of what is strong.

The golden carrying rings represent the valuable capacity that is

possessed. Perseverance means to use it according to its potentiality,

because the handles are central and appropriate.

Nine at the top means:

The ting has rings of jade.

Great good fortune.

Nothing that would not act to further.

In the preceding line the carrying rings are described as golden, to

denote their strength; here they are said to be of jade. Jade is notable for

its combination of hardness with soft luster. This counsel, in relation to

the man who is open to it, works greatly to his advantage. Here the

counsel is described in relation to the sage who imparts it. In imparting

it, he will be mild and pure, like precious jade. Thus the work finds favor

in the eyes of the Deity, who dispenses great good fortune, and becomes

pleasing to men, wherefore all goes well.

This one acts as an advisor that can handle with great strength and

compliance, the more delicate tasks. It is free of partiality and can do its

work with the summit of perfection.

(1) Cf. the other three hexagrams dealing with nourishment, viz.,

hexagrams 5, 27, 48.