36. Darkening of the Light (明夷)

Where righteousness dictates, even going without food is permissible.

Nine at the Beginning embodies the trigram of clarity and dwells at the beginning of Darkening of the Light, which is the very onset of suffering injury. The nine is yang and luminous, naturally ascending; hence the image of flight is taken.

Gloomy darkness reigns above, harming the brightness of yang and preventing its upward advance; this is flying and having its wings wounded. Because the wings are wounded, they droop.

In general, when petty men harm the noble person, they strike at the means by which the noble person acts.

"The noble person on the march eats not for three days": the noble person's bright illumination perceives the subtle beginnings of affairs; though the early sign of injury has appeared, it is not yet conspicuous.

The noble person alone can see it, and thus departs on a journey to avoid it. "The noble person on the march" means relinquishing salary and position to retire into hiding. "Eats not for three days" speaks of the extremity of distress and hardship.

When matters are not yet overt, enduring such extreme hardship cannot be accomplished without the discernment that perceives the subtle springs of action. Discerning subtle springs is the unique insight of the noble person, beyond what ordinary crowds can perceive.

Thus, at the start of Darkening of the Light, departing before the injury has manifested leads the worldly inevitably to doubt and wonder; hence wherever one goes, "the host has words to say." Yet the noble person does not hesitate on their march out of fear of worldly censure.

If one waits until the crowd recognizes the danger, the injury will have already struck and departure will be impossible. This was why Xue Fang was wise, while Yang Xiong failed to make his escape.

Someone asked: "When the injury reaches drooping wings, the harm is already evident; how could the crowd still fail to recognize it?" The answer is: Nine at the Beginning is the very commencement of injury.

Saying "drooping its wings" means that the faculty of flying has been hurt, but the matter has not yet become overt. The noble person perceives the subtle signs and flees swiftly; the worldly cannot see them, so they find it strange and criticize it.

Just as when Mu Sheng left the state of Chu, Shen Gong and Bai Gong criticized him—how much more so the common multitude! They merely reproached him for demanding minor etiquette, not realizing Mu Sheng was escaping the calamity of being made a convict laborer.

When he said: "If I do not leave, the men of Chu will shackle me in the marketplace," even those two scholars considered it an exaggeration.

Likewise, before the partisan purges broke out, when men of renown and virtue were rising up everywhere, Yuan Hong alone hid himself in an earthen chamber; his contemporaries took him for a madman, yet in the end he escaped the Disaster of the Partisan Proscription.

Wherever one goes, people will have words to say—how could that be surprising?

The noble person retreats into hiding and endures distress and hardship because righteousness demands it. Only because it accords with righteousness can one dwell peacefully without resentment, even if going without food.

The lord of Darkening of the Light resides in Six at the Top. Six at the Top represents the utmost darkness. Nine at the Beginning dwells at the inception of the Gua, farthest removed from danger.

Fleeing calamity to an extreme degree, in Darkening of the Light it escapes far away, obliterating its tracks and concealing its form without following conventional paths; hence it is said: "Darkening of the light in flight."

Journeying with fear in heart, it dares not make its journey conspicuous; hence it says: "Drooping its wings." Walking in devotion to righteousness, it says: "The noble person on the march."

Eager in its resolve to depart, it has no leisure to eat in its hunger; hence: "Three days without eating." Being so exceedingly different from the ordinary, when approaching others, people's minds are suspicious of it; hence: "Wherever he goes, the host has words to say."

From "Nine at the Beginning: Darkening of the light in flight" down to "the host has words to say": The Sub-commentary states: "Darkening of the light in flight"—Darkening of the Light is the Gua of supreme gloom.

Six at the Top dwells at the summit, serving as the master of Darkening of the Light. The word "flight" borrows the metaphor of a bird soaring in flight. Nine at the Beginning dwells at the start of the Gua, farthest from Six at the Top, thus farthest from disaster.

"Fleeing calamity to an extreme degree, in Darkening of the Light it escapes far away, obliterating its tracks and concealing its form without following conventional paths," soaring high away; hence it says: "Darkening of the light in flight."

"Drooping its wings" means flying without daring to be conspicuous; hence: "Drooping its wings." "The noble person on the march eats not for three days": "walking in devotion to righteousness," hence it says "the noble person on the march."

"Eager in its resolve to depart, it has no leisure to eat in its hunger," hence: "Eats not for three days."

"Wherever he goes, the host has words to say": "being so exceedingly different from the ordinary, when approaching others," people will surely find it strange and express criticism; hence: "Wherever he goes, the host has words to say."

The Sub-commentary states: "Righteousness forbids eating" means that when a noble person flees disaster, speed is everything; thus righteousness dictates not seeking food.

Nine at the Beginning, Line 1, Medium-Medium: Riding on wings, flying far away, all to escape to a distant journey. A single path of statecraft in mind, once again a garden full of spring.