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Chapter 17 of 20
卜筮全书
A scholar with a mind full of books naturally yearns to enter officialdom and serve the court—who would willingly remain hidden in the mountains for life? To divine whether one will receive the nation's appointment, one must carefully examine the changes within the hexagram.
When the Parents line is vigorous, the essay is like metal striking stone—sonorous and resonant; when the Officer line flourishes, the family will surely receive the golden-lettered joyful notice. In all divination for fame, the Parents line represents the essay, and the Officer line represents official position. These two are the masters of the hexagram; neither can be lacking. When the Parents line is vigorous, the essay will be excellent; when the Officer line gains position, fame is attainable. Scholars who pass the examination received a family letter bearing characters traced in gold mud to announce the good news—hence this metaphor; it is not that the Officer line serves as the "news." Readers of this passage should not let the words obscure the meaning.
If the Wealth line moves actively, abandon hope of being selected among candidates; if the Offspring line moves, do not expect your name on the golden list. The Wealth and Offspring lines—in all other divinations these are welcomed, but in the unique case of seeking fame, they are in fact baleful killers. This is because Wealth overcomes Parents (injuring the essay), and Offspring overcomes Officer (injuring the rank). These lines should ideally be dormant and feeble—this is auspicious. If they wield authority and move, success is absolutely impossible.
The Sibling line represents those studying the same classics—it is the hostile rival who seizes one's laurels. Lines of the same Five Element are Siblings. Seen in divination for fame, this indicates fellow candidates. If this line does not appear in the hexagram, or falls into void or death-extinction, and the greater hexagram pattern is auspicious, one will certainly rank first among the chosen. If this line moves, or if both the Month General and Day Officer carry Sibling energy, then many competitors covet my prize—I will not pass. Even if the larger pattern suggests success, my rank will still fall behind.
The Day Officer governs the hexagram—it can accomplish matters, yet can also ruin them; it is the helpful friend who urges one forward. If Parents and Officer lack spirit, there will be difficulty realizing one's aims. But if the Day Officer supports and lifts them, checking the baleful killers, there is still hope. Hence it is called "aiding virtue." Or if the Self line is feeble and still, gaining birth or union from the Day Officer; or if the Self line encounters void, being dashed through and made substantive by the Day Officer—these indicate one who would not ordinarily step forward to seek fame, yet receives encouragement from friends and relatives, or financial backing for travel expenses, to assist him in going forth.
When the two Essential Functions clash, the examination topic is obscure and unfamiliar. In hexagrams for fame, the Officer and Parents serve as Essential Functions; they prefer union and dislike clash. If two Officer lines or two Parents lines clash with each other, the subject matter of the examination will be obscure and not well-practiced.
When all six lines surge together, success in the examination wavers and is hard to secure. In hexagrams concerning official matters, all six lines ideally remain still. One need only ensure that the Parents and Officer have vitality and no void, and that the Month General and Day Officer do not attack them—this is auspicious. If any single line moves, difficulties arise. Wealth moving injures Parents; Offspring moving injures Officer; Sibling moving means others strike first; Officer moving means conditions change; Parents moving means the style of the essay is impure. Whatever moves, transforms, and the output lines falling into death, tomb, void, extinction, punishment, or assault are all marks of ruin. Therefore, if the hexagram is in rushed, chaotic motion, there is no need for detailed examination—its inauspicious nature is broadly evident.
When the Month General overcomes the document, the essay's format deviates and fails the standard. If Parents flourish without void, and neither moving lines nor Day Officer clash with it, the written words resemble tapestry—every character a flowery incision. But assault from Sibling lines means a stale composition, lacking fresh beauty; harm from Wealth lines means tears and defects throughout; harm from Offspring lines means cleverness turned into blunder. One must particularly fear assaults from the Month General—the writer follows his own notion and is certain to deviate from the examiner's standard. Any Parents line bearing punishment, injury, decay, or illness among its auxiliary indicators, or producing such—the essay will have defects and cannot pass.
When the Self line harms the Officer line, the path of office is blocked and impassable. The Self is the person seeking fame. One greatly dreads the Self holding Wealth or Offspring—rare is satisfaction under these signs. If Self sits upon Officer, or Receives birth or union from Officer, there is hope. If Self, instead, rides Offspring which inhibits Officer, the highway of statecraft is firmly barred; no amount of lobbying avails.
When Wealth assists the Officer while Parents lies in void, there may yet be luck in bribery and strings pulled. If Parents is null, fame is hopeless. But should Wealth rouse to produce Officer, and the Officer line holds merit, success may steal in by chancy avenues. However, this holds only while Offspring remains quiet—one condition. For Wealth's motion is not disdained only because document is void.
When Offspring changes into Officer, uniting with the Body—even one may profess the title of office pending full passing. If the hexagram lacks an Officer line, but the Offspring moves and transforms into Officer, which then gives birth and union to the Body or Self—success, too, may follow. Yet this requires the document merely to hold odor without damage. Those two provisions leave the title to be won, but no acceptance of the crimson to be broadly promised—the pattern, being coiled, yields no opening.
When auspicious indicators appear but show no feeling, the azure-cloud ambition finds poor accomplishment. Officer and Parents present—that was fortuitous; yet if Self-identity does not summon them, or union their way cannot channel, or the Self dashes them, or month and day efface them, or they roost in void—in tomb without respiration—all denominate 'clearance.' Although officially in view their potency avails me no relief: azure-cloud ambition toward accomplishment founders among phantom display.
When hidden energy turns forth vital and useful, one shall renounce the white-clad cottage in the end. That is: when officer and documents are incomplete, honor is impossible. Yet by the usefulness of whatever hides beneath considering active and potential of manifestation: within status of exposure of 'embedded fill' the producing motion that releases as from beneath; if a method lifts him—it means promise matures. Specifically, lifted by dashing support evicted; release of Month General is likeliest in operation. Either of which with component placing whole implies hidden to 'in merit held.' If doubly supported into view—then cadence repeats.
When the Month General inhibits the Essence-image, it presages caning and reprimand. Month General is as the examiner prefect who must bless the favorable ones; If at Essence manifestation there comes clash first direct (rather than as release) with personal Being—and the foundational functions slump, then beating is awaiting possibility. Out-sign inside which resolves further into Off-spring equals outright expulsion (danger worse than prior weight-cane on duty-scaffold. Up into Brother-pair, corrupt in food-grant proceedings might at measure withhold because storage if deep strict).
Where Wealth has vitality of birth outward; Sibling or Helper lies subdued; Money from patron boards against treasury-fuel arrived. Hexagrams in which father-boast and actual attendance interplay enough distinct if after second passage Parent vacates blank-charter interior Sizing shall contain Mover whose agent gains pull-basic-with-donative-outtoward If Wealth binds essence-place-form …
Parents & Officer: Three-Union coinciding encircles succession's repeated degrees. From triplet-motion triggering—fulfilling p(h) ease-of-agency office-Ghost-act—place dovetails toward repeated for establishing quality credit worthy possibly includes Parent cycle etc. (confluence ring turning official-circular else…) Only Not unbroken-coordination was hard etc + contra…
Contrary-family else adverse aspects vanish.
Azure-Dragon limb with padded limbs yoked same battle-support one completed name. These with driving composition circle align precisely masterly achievement: If Dragon was locked-to-mono-specific but anyway He advances is exceptional fetters. On to outcome fine honor unities directly — cannot piteous flaw-based! Then likely yokes golden or vermilion streamer.
Even plausible.
If baleful-certain transitions originate Self-backed from lethal-force nurture inter-output: terror draws wearing turquoise-figured exposure. During regular precedent lines are function rank assign "Opposing Death-band;" If Offspring (Anti-Rank? = General assault-mastery-route,) there remains Hosted that does switch Civil-garb for Damasi-color among…
After these stages check relevant echo further cross-stake actual checks matter onward chain equally present-tune again eventually via linearity-routing with co-referential loops nuanced combined accordingly remaining content scope… Potential following clause statement again carries feasible variant detail blocks to sequentially consider within forward resolved? Perhaps contextual.
Vital officer final adds as lively; certainly vault-through high yellow imperial listed destiny-roll hand-over through autumnal audience-of-throne gates… Etc supported all relevant code-attribution following systematic original body according full section proceed
Volume Eleven Overall Interpretative
**The five supplements grouped — ‘Reputation-seeking'; ‘Official capacity', 'Profit-creation financial action', 'Domestic architecture-Estate-form;' And 'Burial Earth/Chamber-location settlement cycles'…together diagramed ladder-complete structure "Entry→Progressive→Root→Bearer→Ancestral focus" mapping totality…