55: Fȇng – Abundance (Fullness) & 56: Lü – The Wanderer (Traveling)

I Ching explorations - Parts 55 and 56 of 64

Professor:  For this next group of eight hexagrams:  49/50, 51/52, 53/54, and 55/56 we’ll consider how each in the pair is related to the other.  Insomuch as the sequence of 64 hexagrams incorporates the transformation of one hexagram to its pair, it seems appropriate that we should explore them as pairs.

Fȇng (55), Abundance, is derived from the trigrams Thunder (above) and Fire (below).  

Lü (56), The Wanderer, is the inverse of Fȇng:  Fire has been moved to the top in Lü and Thunder above in Fȇng has been inverted to form Mountain below in Lü.

Student:  By “inverse,” does that mean that these hexagrams are opposites?

P:  No.  In opposite hexagrams, all the lines of one are transformed from yin to yang or vice versa to form the other.  As such, the opposite of Fȇng is #59 (Huan/Dispersion) and the opposite of Lü is #60 (Chieh/Limitation).  Opposite hexagrams do have opposite meanings – abundance versus dispersion and wandering versus being limited.

S:  It follows then that hexagrams formed as opposites of one pair are also related to each other as inversions.

P:  That’s right.  Through the inversion from Fȇng to Lü, the trigram Fire moves from the bottom position (representing the inner aspect of the situation - personality and attitude) to the top (representing the outer aspect - behavior and actions).  So, the characteristics of fire (e.g., clinging or dependence – as a fire clings to the object that is burning; brightness; dryness; clarity; and upward movement) are present in each hexagram because it retains its identity when inverted, but its influence changes due to its position.  But, when it comes to the other trigrams, not only do they change position, but when inverted, their natures transform. 

S:  Geez, I’m embarrassed, but it just hit me why it’s called the Book of Changes.

P:  Aha!  A eureka moment for you - congratulations!  Although I suspect that you understood this transformative relationship between the trigrams and hexagrams at some level, perhaps you just never saw it from this perspective.  After all, we’ve been talking about the dynamic process of change embodied by this system since we started on this topic.  Still, I’m happy that you’ve made a literal connection with the trigrams and their interrelationships with the hexagrams.  Now let’s take a closer look at these two hexagrams.

Notice that the two nuclear trigrams (those embedded within the hexagrams in positions 5-4-3 and 4-3-2 counting from the bottom) are identical in each:  Tui (The Joyous - Lake) and Sun (The Penetrating - Wind/Wood).

S:  Fȇng then consists of Thunder, Fire, Water, and Wind – all active forces of nature that can combine to create great power.  While Lü consists of Fire, Water, and Wind too, but the arousing and active force of Thunder has been replaced by the quiet and still presence of the Mountain. 

P:  Right.  In Fȇng, Thunder is in outer position suggesting overt energetic action while in Lü, Fire is in the outer position suggesting change and spreading radiance.

And, in Fȇng, Fire is in inner position suggesting clarity of vision and inner brightness while in Lü, Mountain is in the internal position suggesting inner calm, humility, and stability.  These are just some of the changes that occur when hexagrams are transformed.

S:  What do we get when we put it all together and how do these two hexagrams relate to one another?

P:  Alright, let’s see.  #55, Fȇng – Abundance, represents a time in the development of a civilization when a peak has been reached.  Clarity of vision combined with greatness of deeds has thrust upon the scene a fullness of achievement.  But, that period of abundance cannot be sustained indefinitely.  Like the sun at noon, the greatness of the moment shines on all only briefly.  And, like the sun at noon, the time of greatness is followed by a decrease and eventual emptiness.  Excessive abundance exceeds its limits.

            “There is only one means of making foundations firm in times of greatness, namely, spiritual expansion.  Every sort of limitation brings a bitter retribution in its train.  Abundance can endure only if ever larger groups are brought to share in it, for only then can the movement continue without turning into its opposite.” (W/B)

S:  Which in this case would be dispersion and scattering of these accomplishments as we discussed in #59.

P:  That’s correct.  And while W/B has translated it as “spiritual expansion” AH suggests that the sharing of abundance itself by magnanimous and humble leaders is what causes brilliance to accumulate as a means to slow the eventual and inevitable decline into darkness.

S:  What about #56?

P:  #56, Lü – The Wanderer (Traveling) represents flames blown by the wind across a mountaintop.  The wanderer is a stranger in a foreign land and does not linger but journeys onward.  A humble attitude is advantageous as one travels so as not to provoke misfortune.

S:  In this case then, Fire represents an outward actions that is tempered by the inner calmness of the mountain compared to #55 where the attribute of fire is an inner clarity that combines with external energy to achieve greatness.

P:  And since times of abundance cannot last forever, upon their decline it is wise to move on and start a new cycle like a wanderer rather than stagnate in the old state.  And that through the sharing of the period of greatness among larger groups of people, the ability to sustain that experience will be greater and the seeds for rejuvenation of that energy will be widely sown and firmly planted.


                Fȇng (55)                                                                            Lü (56)