The full text of the "Xikan (Water Pit) Hexagram" in the Yijing, especially Wang Bi's Zhouyi Zhu (Commentary on the Zhou Changes) and Kong Yingda's Zhouyi Zhengyi (Correct Meaning of the Zhou Changes) on the hexagram—it was precisely in dialogue with Wang and Kong that Su Shi completed his own original interpretation
Chapter 8 of the Dao De Jing, "The highest good is like water," and Chapter 43, "The softest thing in the world gallops through the hardest thing in the world"
The Analects: "The gentleman seeks harmony but not conformity"—which resonates with water's "assuming form according to the object"
Su Shi's Ode to the Red Cliff: "The逝者如斯，而未尝往也"—another philosophical expression of the water image by the same author, which can be cross-referenced with the interpretation of the Kan hexagram
The applications of the Kan hexagram's physical imagery and divination in Meihua Yishu (Plum Blossom Numerology), which can complement the doctrinal-level reading
Modern Research
Resilience studies in positive psychology: The Kan hexagram's "repeated learning of peril" (习坎) closely aligns with contemporary psychological resilience theories (e.g., research by Masten, Bonanno)—resilience is not an innate trait but an adaptive capacity formed through repeated practice and experience.
The "crisis-cohesion" paradox in organizational behavior: Su Shi's insight that "one can share hardship but not ease" has substantial empirical support in contemporary team dynamics. The cohesion triggered by crisis is often accompanied by the risk of disintegration once the crisis subsides.
The contemporary ecological-ethical significance of ancient Chinese water philosophy: The Kan hexagram's understanding of water—that water "confronts things without harming them" and "takes form according to the object"—provides non-anthropocentric intellectual resources for contemporary ecological philosophy. The relationship between water and all things is one of "mutual non-harm," and this ethical notion of "non-harm" offers important inspiration for sustainable development today.
"Setting up danger" and modern institutional economics: The Kan hexagram's discourse on "aristocrats and princes setting up dangers" (王公设险) can serve as a textual entry point for dialogue between indigenous Chinese institutional thought and modern institutional economics. The dual-edged function of institutions as "peril"—protection and harm, inclusion and exclusion—has already been profoundly revealed in Su Shi's interpretation of the judgment "not full" (不盈) for the fifth yang line.
