The Cauldron (50)
6
4
3
2
The Judgement
THE CALDRON. Supreme good fortune.Success.
The Image
Fire over wood:The image of THE CALDRON.
Thus the superior man consolidates his fate
By making his position correct.
Line Poems
- 6 - The ting has rings of jade. Great good fortune. Nothing that would not act to further.
- 5 - The ting has yellow handles, golden carrying rings. Perseverance furthers.
- 4 - The legs of the ting are broken. The prince’s meal is spilled And his person is soiled. Misfortune.
- 3 - The handle of the ting is altered. One is impeded in his way of life. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once rain falls, remorse is spent. Good fortune comes in the end.
- 2 - There is food in the ting. My comrades are envious, But they cannot harm me. Good fortune.
- 1 - A ting with legs upturned. Furthers removal of stagnating stuff. One takes a concubine for the sake of her son. No blame.
Commentary
The six lines construct the image of Ting, THE CALDRON; at the bottom are the legs, over them the belly, then come the ears (handles), and at the top the carrying rings.At the same time, the image suggests the idea of nourishment.
The ting, cast of bronze, was the vessel that held the cooked viands in the temple of the ancestors and at banquets.
The heads of the family served the food from the ting into the bowls of the guests.
THE WELL (48) likewise has the secondary meaning of giving nourishment, but rather more in relation to the people.
The ting, as a utensil pertaining to a refined civilization, suggests the fostering and nourishing of able men, which redounded to the benefit of the state.
This hexagram and THE WELL are the only two in the Book of Changes that represent concrete, man–made objects.
Yet here too the thought has its abstract connotation.
Sun, below, is wood and wind; Li, above, is flame.
Thus together they stand for the flame kindled by wood and wind, which likewise suggests the idea of preparing food.
