Biting Through (21)
6
4
1
The Judgement
BITING THROUGH has success.It is favorable to let justice be administered.
The Image
Thunder and lighting:The image of BITING THROUGH.
Thus the kings of former times made firm the laws
Through clearly defined penalties.
Line Poems
- 6 - His neck is fastened in the wooden cangue, So that his ears disappear. Misfortune.
- 5 - Bites on dried lean meat. Receives yellow gold. Perseveringly aware of danger. No blame.
- 4 - Bites on dried gristly meat. Receives metal arrows. It furthers one to be mindful of difficulties And to be persevering. Good fortune.
- 3 - Bites on old dried meat And strikes on something poisonous. Slight humiliation. No blame.
- 2 - Bites through tender meat, So that his nose disappears. No blame.
- 1 - His feet are fastened in the stocks, So that his toes disappear. No blame.
Commentary
This hexagram represents an open mouth (cf. hexagram 27) with an obstruction (in the fourth place) between the teeth.As a result the lips cannot meet.
To bring them together one must bite energetically through the obstacle.
Since the hexagram is made up of the trigrams for thunder and for lightning, it indicates how obstacles are forcibly removed in nature.
Energetic biting through overcomes the obstacle that prevents joining of the lips; the storm with its thunder and lightning overcomes the disturbing tension in nature.
Recourse to law and penalties overcomes the disturbances of harmonious social life caused by criminals and slanderers.
The theme of this hexagram is a criminal lawsuit, in contradistinction to that of Sung,
CONFLICT (6), which refers to civil suits.
