Line 1
Line 1 occupies the beginning of opposition, showing that temporary losses and awkward encounters do not require anxious overreaction. Traditional commentary suggests that natural balance tends to return on its own when one avoids frantic pursuits.
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I Ching / BaZi reading request (from eastalmanac.com). Page: Hexagram 38 睽 — Line 1. Interpret through classical principles in two layers: 1) Structural Evidence: identify key line dynamics, changing line pivot, or element balance. 2) Actionable Verdict: direct answer to the inquiry in plain language, followed by 2–3 concrete next steps (action-verb first) and mindful cautions. Grounded wisdom for self-reflection. Source page: https://eastalmanac.com/yijing/38/1
Initial Yang holds a correct position at the base of the hexagram, yet lacks immediate resonance with Line 4, illustrating early friction and misplaced resources.
The classical image of a lost horse returning without pursuit advises patience, while engaging with difficult people serves practical caution. Allowing disruptions to settle naturally resolves initial anxiety without lasting harm.
Starting a new initiative or joining an unfamiliar team may bring brief misunderstandings or an apparent loss of resources. Classical guidance advises against aggressively chasing lost advantages in a panic, emphasizing that true value and trust reassert themselves in time.
Tending calmly to your immediate responsibilities allows disrupted workflows to recover on their own.
Temporary coolness or minor misunderstandings might cause brief relational distance, tempting you to demand immediate reassurance. Traditional readings suggest that giving the situation natural breathing room allows sincere affection to rekindle without pressure.
Remaining calm and patient restores mutual trust far more effectively than chasing answers.
Short-term financial delays or minor lost opportunities can trigger anxiety, but impulsive attempts to force recovery often multiply costs. Traditional wisdom recommends steady discipline while waiting for standard business cycles to bring overdue returns.
Protecting core assets and allowing natural market rhythms to play out preserves financial stability.
1. The first line, undivided, shows that (to its subject) occasion for repentance will disappear. He has lost his horses, but let him not seek for them; —they will return of themselves. Should he meet with bad men, he will not err (in communicating with them).
‘He meets with bad men (and communicates with them):’—(he does so), to avoid the evil of their condemnation.
Zhouyi BenyiLine statement
Sàng takes the departing tone.
Lacking a proper corresponding partner above brings regret; however, dwelling in a time of Opposition, those of like virtue resonate with each other, so his regret vanishes. Hence there is the image of losing one's horse, yet without chasing it, it returns on its own.
Nonetheless, one must still meet with hateful persons in order to avoid blame, just as Confucius did with Yang Huo.
Zhouyi BenyiSmall Image
Bì is pronounced bì [meaning to avoid].
Yichuan YizhuanLine statement
Nine occupies the beginning of the Gua, the inception of Opposition. In a time of estrangement and divergence, acting with firmness at the base understandably brings regret. Why does regret vanish?
Nine in the Fourth Place is above, also firm and yang, estranged with no partner; naturally, those of the same kind unite with each other.
Both are yang lines, both dwell at the base of their trigrams, and they occupy positions that would correspond; the two yang lines were originally not proper partners, but because they are in Opposition, they unite.
Above and below associate with each other, hence regret vanishes. In Opposition, all other lines have partners; when there is union, there is separation, but where there is original difference, how can there be separation?
Only the First and Fourth, though not formal partners, share the same virtue and join together, thus meeting each other. A horse is that by which one travels; yang moves upward. In Opposition, being alone without an associate means one cannot travel, which is losing one's horse.
Once the Fourth joins with him, he is able to travel, which is obtaining the horse again without chasing it. A 'hateful person' is someone contrary to oneself; 'seeing' means communicating with them.
In a time of Opposition, although those of like virtue associate, petty persons who are estranged and divergent are exceedingly numerous. If one cuts them off and rejects them, is that not almost making the entire world an enemy to the noble person?
Doing so loses the meaning of harmony and leads to misfortune and blame; how then could one transform the wicked and bring them into union? Therefore, one must see the hateful person, and then there is no blame.
The reason ancient sage kings could transform the treacherous into the virtuous and turn enemies into subjects was precisely because they did not cut them off.
Yichuan YizhuanSmall Image
In a time of Opposition and estrangement, human sentiments are contrary and uncooperative. One seeks harmony, yet suffers from being unable to attain it.
If one rejects and shuts out people because they are hateful, the multitude will turn against the noble person as enemies, and calamity and blame will arrive. Therefore, one must see them in order to avoid resentment and blame.
When there is neither resentment nor blame, the way to harmony becomes possible.
Zhouyi ZhuLine statement
Dwelling at the beginning of Opposition, at the bottom of the lower trigram, standing alone without a proper partner brings regret. Yet he shares the same will with the Fourth, so his 'regret vanishes'. A horse is an animal that inevitably becomes manifest.
At the beginning of dealing with things, being estranged leads to losing one's horse; when things cannot be kept hidden in secret, private belongings are bound to appear openly to one another, hence 'do not chase it' and 'it will return of itself'.
When the times are full of estrangement and one is placed in the lowest position, with no support above and no power to rely on below, if one openly displays one's virtue and sets oneself apart, one will be harmed by the wicked.
Thus, 'seeing the hateful person' allows one to escape blame.
Zhouyi ZhengyiLine statement
'Initial Nine: regret vanishes. If you lose your horse, do not pursue it; it will return of itself. Seeing a hateful person: no blame.'
The Correct Meaning states: 'Regret vanishes': Initial Nine dwells at the beginning of Opposition, 'residing at the bottom of the lower trigram, standing alone without a partner', which causes regret.
The Fourth also resides at the base of the upper trigram, standing alone without a partner; not opposing oneself, it shares the same will with oneself, hence 'regret vanishes'.
'If you lose your horse, do not pursue it; it will return of itself': the times are filled with estrangement, and obstacles meet the eye at every turn.
A horse is an animal difficult to conceal; if one happens to lose it, others cannot keep it hidden for long, so there is no need to search for it, and by force of circumstance it must 'return of itself'; hence it is said, 'If you lose your horse, do not pursue it; it will return of itself.'
'Seeing a hateful person: no blame': residing in the lowest position, there is no corresponding partner above; lacking an accord means lacking support, and being at the bottom means having no power to rely on.
If one flaunts one's difference and cannot soften the glare to blend with the dust, one will surely be harmed by the wicked; hence it is said, 'Seeing a hateful person: no blame.' 'Seeing' means receiving them with humble courtesy.
Zhouyi ZhengyiSmall Image
'The Xiang Commentary says: Seeing a hateful person is to avoid blame.'
The Correct Meaning states: 'To avoid blame': a hateful person is someone one would ordinarily not meet, but one treats them with humble courtesy specifically to 'avoid blame'.
Yicuo JinLine statement
Initial Nine, first line, Lower-Middle: Above and below divide; sorrow and anxiety are decided. A thousand peaks wrapped in clouds; a single bright disc of the moon.