2. The Receptive (Earth) (坤)

"Six" is the name of a yin line. In yin numbers, six is old and eight is young; hence a yin line is called Six. Frost is the condensation of yin qi; when it reaches its peak, water freezes into ice.

In this line, yin begins to be generated below; its inception is extremely subtle, but its momentum will surely grow strong. Therefore, its image is that treading on frost, one knows that solid ice will soon arrive.

Now, yin and yang are the root of creation; they cannot exist without one another, and their waning and waxing follow constancy, which cannot be increased or decreased by human power.

However, yang governs generation while yin governs destruction, and thus their categories have the distinction between good and evil.

Therefore, when the sages created the Changes, regarding what cannot exist without one another, they clarified them through attributes such as vigor and compliance, benevolence and righteousness, without one-sided partiality.

But when it comes to the waxing and waning, and the distinction between good and evil, they never failed to express the intention of supporting yang and restraining yin.

Thus, the purpose of assisting transformation and nourishment and partnering with Heaven and Earth is profound indeed. That no divination is stated is because the intention to be prudent at the subtle inception can already be seen in the image.

Phonetic notes for "ning" (condense) and "xun" (habituate). According to the Records of Wei, it reads "Six at the Beginning: Treading on frost"; this should now be followed. "Xun" means compliant habituation.

A yin line is called Six because of the fullness of yin; eight means yang is emerging, not pure fullness. Yin begins to be generated below at its most subtle point. When yin first emerges, because it will grow, the Sage provides a warning for it.

When yin first condenses, it becomes frost; treading on frost, one ought to know that yin will gradually expand until it reaches solid ice. It is like petty men: although very slight at first, they must not be allowed to grow; if they grow, they will reach fullness.

The Commentary on the Images says: "Treading on frost, solid ice arrives; yin begins to condense. Habitually following this path, solid ice arrives." When yin begins to condense, it becomes frost; growing gradually, it reaches solid ice.

Although petty men are slight, if they grow, they gradually reach fullness; hence one is warned at the beginning. "Xun" means habituation: habituating until it reaches fullness; habituation means following along.

Beginning with treading on frost and culminating in solid ice is what is called "utmost in yielding, yet its movement is firm." The way of yin is rooted in humble weakness and only later accumulates into prominence; hence it takes "treading on frost" to clarify its inception.

Yang as an entity does not build from an inception to reach prominence; hence when illuminating it through withdrawal and emergence, its beginning is taken as hidden.

"Six at the Beginning: Treading on frost, solid ice arrives." Zhengyi says: The yin qi of Six at the Beginning is subtle, like the onset of initial cold; but when treading upon frost, it accumulates gradually, so solid ice arrives.

Its meaning is that the way of yin, though initially yielding and compliant, gradually accumulates into prominence until it becomes hard and firm.

In general, the Changes consists of images, using material images to illuminate human affairs, like the metaphors in the Book of Songs.

Sometimes it takes the images of Heaven, Earth, yin, and yang to clarify meaning, such as the "hidden dragon," "appearing dragon" in The Creative (Heaven), and "treading on frost, solid ice," "dragons fighting" in The Receptive (Earth).

Sometimes it takes various images of myriad things to clarify meaning, such as Six in the Third Place "pursuing deer without a forester" and Six in the Fourth Place "riding a horse and hesitating" in Difficulty at the Beginning. Cases of this kind are numerous in the Changes.

Sometimes it directly uses human affairs without taking material images, such as Nine in the Third Place "the noble person is creatively active all day" in The Creative (Heaven) and Six in the Third Place "concealing brilliance, one can persevere" in The Receptive (Earth).

The Sage's intention was to take an image whenever an image was fitting, and to take human affairs whenever human affairs were fitting. Therefore, the commentary on the Wenyan states: "As for Nine in the Third Place, why is it alone designated as a noble person?"

"Being creatively active and vigilant at night is not the virtue of a dragon"; hence clarifying it through human affairs is its meaning.

"The Commentary on the Images says: 'Treading on frost, solid ice'" down to "'solid ice arrives.'"

Zhengyi says: The words of the Commentary on the Images composed by Confucius originally stood after the classic text of the six lines, because he humbly held back, not daring to disturb the classic text of the former sages.

By the time of Wang Bi, he considered that the "Images" originally explained the classic text and should properly be placed close to it so that the meaning could be easily understood; therefore, he divided the Commentary on the Images for each line and attached it beneath its respective line, just as Du Yu annotated the Zuo Zhuan by dividing the years of the classic and attaching them to the commentary.

"Yin begins to condense" explains the meaning of "treading on frost," saying that yin qi begins to condense, freezing into frost. "Habitually following this path, solid ice arrives": "xun" means familiar compliance, like birds and beasts becoming tame.

It means compliantly following the way of yin and yielding, habituating unceasingly until reaching "solid ice." Master Chu said: "Treading on frost spans from Six at the Beginning to Six in the Third Place; solid ice spans from Six in the Fourth Place to Six at the Top."

The qi of yin and yang acts without contrivance; hence habituating and accumulating from treading on frost must inevitably lead to solid ice.

This illuminates that in human affairs with deliberate action, one must regulate moderation; hence at the moment of treading on frost, one is warned in advance with solid ice, so as to guard against gradual growth, reflect upon subtle beginnings, and take care of the end at the inception.