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Chapter 24 of 64
东坡易传
The Hexagram of Return (Fu) symbolizes return and renewal, and it is smooth and通达. Going out and coming in bring no distress; friends coming bring no misfortune. The cycle of coming and going has its own rhythm — seven days mark one cycle, then it begins anew. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.
The Tuan Zhuan says: "Return — smooth and通达." The yang force stirs and turns back, moving in accordance with the pattern of顺应, therefore "going out and coming in bring no distress." The transformation from the Kun hexagram to the Fu hexagram is called "entering"; the development from the Fu hexagram toward the Qian hexagram is called "emerging." "Distress" (疾) refers to illness or obstruction.
"Friends coming bring no misfortune; the cycle of coming and going has its own rhythm — seven days mark one cycle and it begins anew." This is the operative principle of the Heavenly Way. The Kun hexagram combined with the initial nine yang line yields the number "seven."
"It is favorable to have somewhere to go" because the yang force is precisely in a phase of growth. Does "Return" not reveal the very "mind/heart" (心) of Heaven and Earth?
Seeing the direction toward which intention moves is called "mind" (心); seeing the true state of things is called "feeling" (情). For anything that is about to perish yet can be restored, it is impossible without the endowment of Heaven and Earth. Thus when the yang force recedes, even the presence of five yin lines feels insufficient; when the yang force grows, even a single yang line already feels like abundance. Can human effort alone control this? The Commentary says: "What Heaven intends to destroy cannot be propped up; what Heaven sustains also cannot be destroyed. To go against the Way of Heaven is inauspicious and will surely bring great calamity."
The Xiang Zhuan says: Thunder within the earth — this is the image of "Return." The former kings closed the city gates on the winter solstice, so that merchants and travelers could not pass, and rulers did not tour the four quarters.
"Return" is a moment of transition and transformation. When the sage stands at a moment of transition, he uses stillness to counter motion and waits for the situation to stabilize. One must not act prematurely, which is why the principle is illustrated by "closing the gates at the winter solstice" — from merchants and travelers below not being able to pass, up to the ruler not touring his domains.
Nine in the First Place: Turning back before going far — no great regret, great good fortune.
The Xiang Zhuan says: "Turning back before going far" is for the sake of cultivating oneself.
To leave one's place and then return, to lose what one had and then regain it — this is called "Return." One must have departed before there can be returning; one must have lost before there can be regaining. Without departure there is no return; without loss there is no gain. For this reason, the sage has no "Return." The initial nine has never been seen to err, and yet it begins the return. Confucius said: "Yan Hui — is he not close to perfection? When he had a fault, he never failed to recognize it; having recognized it, he never repeated it."
Six in the Second Place: Beautifully returning — good fortune.
The Xiang Zhuan says: The good fortune of "resting in return" comes from yielding with humility and drawing near to virtue.
"Rest" (休) refers to the initial nine. A yin line dwelling in a yin position is the utmost degree of non-contention — yielding back and "resting," allowing the returning one to extend freely. This is called "resting return."
Six in the Third Place: Returning repeatedly — though perilous, no misfortune.
The Xiang Zhuan says: The peril of "repeated return," considered from righteousness, yields "no misfortune."
A yin line dwelling in a yang position — its strength is insufficient to contend. But inwardly it is not willing, and so it repeatedly returns toward the initial nine. For one who is outwardly compliant yet inwardly discontent, vigilance brings "no misfortune." "Repeated" (频) means furrowed brows, uneasy and unsettled.
Six in the Fourth Place: Walking in the middle way, returning alone.
The Xiang Zhuan says: "Returning alone in the middle way" is for the sake of following what is right.
"Alone" (独) refers to corresponding with the initial nine.
Six in the Fifth Place: Returning with sincerity and substance — no regret.
The Xiang Zhuan says: "Substantial return, no regret" — because one examines oneself by the middle way.
To consider matters beforehand before distress arrives — then "there is no regret." Six in the fifth, yin and yielding, is precisely at the height of its flourishing; yet inwardly it measures itself and ultimately knows it cannot resist the initial nine. Therefore it borrows from the fourth's solitary return as support and augmentation, anchoring itself thereby.
Six at the Top Place: Losing the way of return — ominous, with disaster and calamity. Used in warfare, one will surely suffer great defeat; used in governing a state, the ruler faces danger; even after ten years, one cannot march forth.
The Xiang Zhuan says: The peril of "lost return" comes from violating the way of the sovereign.
Riding upon the extremity of a fading momentum without knowing when to stop — not understanding that the initial nine has already returned — this is called "lost return." "Disaster and calamity" (灾眚) are punishments sent down by Heaven. The return of the initial nine is Heaven's intention. All others approve of it, yet this one alone remains lost in his own illusion. Using this on the enemy brings calamity to the state; using this to govern brings calamity to oneself. When prosperity reaches its extreme, decline follows; triumph attained by sudden force is doomed to defeat. In the end, the state is ruined and the ruler meets with danger. That even ten years cannot restore — this shows how excessively one has consumed the people's strength and how far the military campaigns have overreached.
The core of the Fu hexagram lies in the rhythm of life — "the return of one yang" — and the manifestation of the "mind of Heaven and Earth." Su Shi's interpretation takes a unique path, understanding "Return" as a universal structure of "loss and recovery": all things must undergo "loss" before there is "gain," and must undergo "departure" before there is "return." This is not mere cyclical repetition, but a profound insight into the operative laws of the Heavenly Way — the waxing and waning of yang energy follows its intrinsic rhythm (return of the seven-day cycle), and human action should align itself with this rhythm rather than resist it.
Su Shi particularly emphasizes the proposition "seeing the mind of Heaven and Earth": the "mind" of Heaven and Earth is not an abstract feeling, but rather the direction of intention — the life-giving, ceaseless potentiality revealed through the first stirring of one yang. This "mind" is already visible in the weakest initial nine: though the yang is subtle, it is already "in surplus," precisely because this is the direction upheld by the Heavenly Way.
The Fu hexagram reveals a wisdom of "trend reversal." In contemporary contexts, "the return of one yang" can be understood as:
A signal of bottoming-out and rebound in economic cycles: When the market is deeply depressed (the extreme of yin dominance), a faint positive signal (the initial yang) often presages a turning point. Su Shi's statement that "five existing are yet insufficient, while a single one already has surplus" conveys that what matters is not the magnitude of current force, but rather whether the direction aligns with the greater currents of the Heavenly Way.
The "correction mechanism" in personal growth: The first line's "not far before returning" is a quality modern individuals most need to learn — correcting course promptly after making a mistake, not allowing errors to accumulate. Inheriting Yan Hui's spirit of "not repeating errors" translates in modern terms to rapid error-correction and continuous iteration — a mindset of constant improvement. It stands in contrast to the third line's "repeated return": frequent mistakes with frequent corrections, while not a serious fault, reveal an underlying anxiety and instability inherent in such a state, just as the character "蹙" (furrowed brow) suggests.
The timing of decision-making: In his reading of "closing the gates at the solstice," Su Shi emphasizes that "at moments of transformation, remain still and await the settling of order." In modern decision-making, at inflection points one should not rush to act but rather allow the situation to clarify. This corresponds to the concept of "strategic patience" in contemporary management theory.
The top line's "lost return" as a warning for modern society: Those who stubbornly cling to old patterns after they have lost their vitality, and who exhaust resources (human, environmental, capital), will ultimately encounter a prolonged stagnation akin to "ten years without ability to march forth." This can be compared to enterprise path dependence, failing to align with technological transformation or market shifts.
The Fu hexagram can be translated into the following action framework for modern application:
| Line | Real-World Situation | Recommended Action |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Nine | Having just made a small mistake or deviated from course | Correct immediately, without delay, without excuses; "returning from not far away" is the lowest-cost correction |
| Second Six | In a favorable environment with guidance toward restoration | Maintain an attitude of humility and deference, allowing others (the more positive forces within the team) to take the lead |
| Third Six | Repeatedly stuck on the same issue, revisiting the same problems | Stop the "furrowed-brow struggling"; first resolve the deeper question of whether you genuinely align with the chosen direction |
| Fourth Six | The majority does not understand your choice | Uphold principle and independent judgment; but ensure it is "following what is right" rather than merely private inclination |
| Fifth Six | Your own strength is insufficient to lead the situation | With sincere and grounded attitude (敦厚), draw upon those who see more clearly, while anticipating potential risks beforehand |
| Top Six | Lost in past patterns of success | Immediately cut losses and acknowledge that the trend has already changed; continued expenditure will only lead to long-term decline |
"Assumption–Action–Review" Framework: When uncertain whether one is at a point of "Return," assume that "one yang has appeared" (trends have shifted), take small-scale exploratory actions, observe whether there is positive feedback akin to "going out and coming in without distress, friends coming without misfortune," and only then decide whether to increase investment.
Su Shi's interpretation of the Fu hexagram contains a profound philosophical proposition: "Without departure there is no return; without loss there is no gain." This is not merely a dialectic of change; it touches upon the ontological structure of existence — every "attainment" presupposes "loss" as its precondition, and every "return" presupposes "departure" as its necessary backdrop. This means:
Return is not a simple repetition of the past; it is a reconstruction after the experience of loss. The initial nine's "returning from not far" is "greatly auspicious" precisely because it has not yet sunk deeply into the state of "loss" — yet Su Shi keenly points out that "the sage has no Return," because the true sage never departed from the Way and therefore need not "return."
The deeper implication is: "Return" is both a privilege and a mode of redemption for finite existence. The mind of Heaven and Earth manifests through "Return" precisely because things deviate and perish, and hence there is restoration and rebirth. The "mind" of Heaven and Earth lies not in unchanging constancy, but in the rhythm of waxing and waning, growth and transformation.
In connecting "What Heaven intends to destroy cannot be propped up; what Heaven sustains cannot be destroyed" with the Fu hexagram, Su Shi reveals a profound cosmological ordering: within all transformation, there exists a "fulcrum of the Heavenly Way" that remains impervious to human will. Wisdom lies not in opposition by force, but in discerning where this fulcrum rests, and then proceeding in accord with its direction.
The Twelve Sovereign Hexagrams (消息卦): Returning is the first of the twelve sovereign hexagrams, corresponding to the eleventh month of the lunar calendar and the winter solstice. "One yang is born below" is the starting point for the restoration of yang, intimately related to the astronomical cycle of "seven days' return."
The Mind of Heaven and Earth (天地之心): Inflection Point toward cosmological self-awareness. In Sung-Ming Neo-Confucianism, this notion has particular currency. Cheng Yi glossed it as "the beginning of movement is the mind of Heaven and Earth," offering a counterpart to Su Shi's "seeing where intent is aimed is to be called the mind." Su Shi's emphasis falls more heavily on the dynamic directionality of intent-meaning intention itself, rather than a static onto-cosmological substratum as a thing-in-itself underlying manifest change.
The Story of Yan Hui: The initial nine's isopoesis finds echo in the Confucius rendering of "On the Appended Judgments," lower series to the fifth moment of appraisal: "The Master said: 'Yan Hui possessed this kind of understanding — whenever there was anything not good, it never escaped his awareness, and having this felt realization enter heart as if making the nearest step inside, impossible to contract by ordinary activity across his knowing because fully absorbing what preceded into subtle comportment without doubling back;' that is — to the effect by the account from an unbroken pursuit, this inner purification by "Return" converted a metaphysical accent from an ontothetic description of Firstfruits only recently reinstated here at Prime Mark of Presence back into pressing refinement intro heuristics need correction from failing tendency— at pragmatic axis on the daily cultivation strand of aspirant practice upon scale pre-stage as the so present rectifications continuing reentry step further yet to other epistemic gates other across states." — while explaining, "This direct he pushes radical step previous then done astray towards do wrong day move non-through-bits both so that veritably when lost originally fresh clear direct each just "hence return inside first breath there straight going removed how staying stage within merely yet shown changes none...
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