The wisdom of I Ching

Chapter 11 Seventh Hexagram Master
army war
wisdom
Kun up and down
Teacher, Zhen, father-in-law, Ji Wugui.

"Xu Gua Zhuan" said: "There must be many lawsuits, so accept it as a teacher, and the teachers are many." The evolution of all things in the universe, from disputes to wars, so, after the litigation hexagram is the teacher hexagram.

"Division" refers to the army.The lower hexagram "Kan" is danger and water; the upper hexagram "Kun" is obedience and land.In ancient times, soldiers and farmers were united, plowing the fields in peacetime, training in slack, and being called to join the war in wartime.The nature of the soldiers is dangerous, as unstable as water, and the character of the peasants is submissive, as immobile as the ground.The image of this hexagram is that under Shun and the land, there are dangers and water; it means that soldiers are hidden among the peasants.

In this hexagram, only "Jiuer" is a Yang line, and in the center of the lower hexagram, it is surrounded by five Yin lines up and down. Therefore, "Jiu Er" is the commander, and the five Yin lines are soldiers. "Ninety-two" is strong, at the bottom, holding real power; "Sixth Five-Year" is soft, high above, symbolizing the appointment of commanders by the king to expand the army.Therefore, this hexagram is named "Shi"

"Zhangren" refers to a mature and prudent person.The principle of the use of the army must be "chaste" and uphold justice as a condition, that is, it must obey the destiny and meet the expectations of the people, crusade against evil, and uphold justice.Therefore, it is necessary to take a righteous, moderate, and mature person as the commander, so that it will be auspicious and free from faults and disasters. "Sun Tzu's Art of War" said: "War is a vicious tool, and war is a last resort. It is related to the lives of the people and the survival of the country." .

"Tuan" says: Teacher, everyone, "Zhen" is right.If you can be righteous with all, you can be king.Respond just right, take risks and follow suit, poison the world with this, and the people follow it, "good luck"

And why "blame". "Yi" is the same as using, and it means to use freely. The original meaning of "Shi" is that all the people gathered on the hills become the masses and the army. "Zhen" means "positive".

In this hexagram, there is a yang line "Nine Two", and in the center of the next hexagram, the five yin lines are all subject to his orders, and he can use the masses to uphold justice as he pleases. This kind of person can become a king!

"Nine two" is a rigid line, and in the lower hexagram, it corresponds to the yin and yang of the "six five" in the upper hexagram, symbolizing that the king completely entrusts the commanding power to the commander.Force is a very dangerous means, but it is risky and there is no hindrance; war will inevitably cause disasters, but the people are willing to follow; it is auspicious to be able to do this, but where can there be disasters?
"Xiang" said: "There is water in the ground, the teacher; the gentleman is to accommodate the people and animals."The image of Shi hexagram is that there is water in the ground, and the water does not flow out of the ground.Likewise, the soldiers are among the peasants and cannot be separated; thus, this hexagram symbolizes the "division," that is, the army.A gentleman should imitate this spirit, tolerate the people, and accumulate the power of the masses among the people.

The sixth day: the teacher comes out with the law, no evil.

"Xiang" said: "Teachers come from the law", and losing the law is "violent". "Law" refers to military law. "No" is evil, "Zang" is good, and "No Zang" means the gains and losses of good and evil.

"The sixth day of the lunar calendar" is the first line of the Shi hexagram, which symbolizes the stage when the army starts to fight.The beginning stage of a war is the most important, and it must be controlled by strict military discipline; otherwise, victory or defeat will be fatal, and the warning should be particularly cautious at the beginning.

This line emphasizes the importance of strict military discipline.Ninety-two: There is good luck in the teacher, no blame, Wang Sanxi's order.

"Xiang" said: "Auspicious in the teacher", it is also favored by heaven. "Wang Sanxi's life" means Wanbang.

The only yang line in the "Nine Two" hexagram is located at the bottom, which is trusted by many yin lines.It is also in the middle of the next hexagram, which symbolizes fortitude and moderation. The army has a solid leadership center, so of course it is auspicious and there will be no negligence and disasters.

"Ninety-two" also corresponds to the supreme "Sixth Five-Year", yin and yang, and won the favor of the king, and was awarded the honor of praise three times.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: This is relying on the power of the commander to appease and convince all nations. "Three lives", according to "Zhou Li", means "one life is accepted and obeyed, and three lives are accepted".

This line emphasizes the importance of the commander-in-chief's fortitude and moderation.Six three: teacher or dead body, fierce.

"Xiang" said: "The teacher or the dead body" is of no avail. "Six Three" Yin and Yang are not in the correct position, which symbolizes the lack of commanding ability, but self-willedness.If the position is not right, it means that the commander will act perversely and act recklessly, which will inevitably lead to failure.In this way, maybe the general's body will be brought back in a vehicle, of course it is fierce.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: This is due to great success, but the result is counterproductive.This line shows the serious consequences of being wrong in the commander.

June Fourth: Teacher Zuoci.Not to blame.

"Xiang" said: "There is no blame for the left time", and it is not abnormal. "Zuoci" means to the left.The principle of the art of war is to set up the formation so that the low ground is in front of the left, so that the attack is convenient and has speed.The high ground should be in the right rear, which can be used as a defensive stronghold. "Left time" is to reach the left side of the high ground, so that the high ground is set up behind the right.

The "June Fourth Movement" was soft and not in the middle, so there was no possibility of victory.However, the yin position of the yin line is right, and it is in front of the danger of the next hexagram "Hill", which symbolizes knowing one's strength, setting up an array in a safe zone, guarding the high ground, and not acting rashly, so there is no blame.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: This is because it does not violate the rules.This line emphasizes that safety should be the first priority in commanding the army, and the rules must not be violated.Sixth Five: There are poultry in the field, benefit and speak out, no blame.The eldest son is handsome.The disciple's corpse is chaste and fierce.

"Xiang" said: "The eldest son is a teacher", and he is doing it in the middle.It is not appropriate for disciples to teach teachers.

"Field" means hunting, and "poultry" means prey. "Zhiyan" means expressing meaning, blaming the fault of the other party, and denouncing it.

"Sixth Five-Year" is the main body of this hexagram. Yin Yao is the supreme position in the center of the upper hexagram. , symbolizing the spoils of victory.This kind of army is conducive to speaking out with righteousness and will not cause disaster. "Eldest son" refers to "ninety-two" compared with big people. "Disciples" are below the second son, relatively small people, and refer to "June [-]" and "June [-]".In war, only one commander can command the battle with full authority. Since a talented commander is appointed, but some small people are involved, it is bound to fail.Therefore, the eldest son was used to lead the army, but the corpses of the disciples were carried back in carts as a metaphor.In this situation where the command cannot be unified, even if the motive is pure, the cause and effect are also fierce.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: If the eldest son commands the army, he can win, because the action can grasp the principle of the mean.But if the disciples are allowed to participate again, it will become an improper appointment, and it will inevitably fail, and the corpse will be loaded back.

This line emphasizes the importance of unity in command.

Upper Six: The majesty has a destiny, founding the country and inheriting the family, and the villain should not use it.

"Xiang" said: "The great king has a destiny", and it is also for righteousness. "Small people don't use it", it will lead to chaos.

"Shangliu" is the ultimate point of "division", that is, the army.At the end of the war, the king rewarded his meritorious deeds and issued orders. Someone was appointed as a lord and given land, creating a "thousand chariot" power with thousands of chariots during the war. Some people were appointed as ministers, scholars, and officials. The home of the "Hundred Chariots" that produced hundreds of chariots during the war.But villains cannot make it into owning a country or gaining political power.The upper hexagram "Kun" is soil, so it symbolizes "founding the country and inheriting the family" by enfeoffing the land.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: The king issued orders for the purpose of rewarding meritorious deeds.The villain cannot be reused, because it will definitely bring the country into chaos.

This line emphasizes that villains should not be allowed to form political power.Shi hexagram, explaining the principle of using troops that has evolved from debate to war.War is a vicious tool that concerns the lives of the people and the survival of the country, so we must be cautious in using troops.The army must be a righteous army, and the commander must be moderate, impartial, mature and prudent, and not belligerent or feisty.A war must be supported by the people in order to be invincible.

The principle of using troops is first and foremost to be strict in discipline, and the commander must be vigorous, upright, kind, and powerful, and must not be self-willed.Safety should be the first priority in operations, and the command authority must be unified.Villains cannot be reused, even if they have military exploits, they cannot be given political power.

The divination of this hexagram is more ominous than good.Emphasize the weapon of the soldier, and warn that the use of soldiers must be cautious.

A Comprehensive Overview of Shi Gua

[Meaning] Leading the army to lead the generals——Attack the heart first.

【Hexagram Meaning】Battle, war, principles of military use, military thinking, competition law.

[Introduction] "One cannot live apart from others" (Xunzi), the essence of human beings is the existence of society. "Division" means a majority group, and may also mean an army.According to the system of the Zhou Dynasty, 5000 people make up the brigade, 8000 people make up the division, and 12500 people make up the army. Therefore, groups and troops need to have a leader.The quality of the leader can affect the fate of the group. How should the generals be led to fight?It is also a topic for modern managers.This hexagram indicates the way of the guide, and the principle is "zhenzheng".No matter how painful it is, there is a right purpose.the people will follow.

[Hexagram Meaning] Shangkun, Xiakan.Kun is land, and ridge is water, trap, and danger.The water is underground.There is water in the ground, which gathers crowds to push danger and disturb unrest.In the whole hexagram, one yang governs the five yin, and one person governs the crowd to calm the situation, which is called the division, that is, the army.According to the principle of its change, it clarifies the leadership strategy of running the army.

[Structural model] Don't use villains, unite the commander in chief, withdraw in time, act rashly and be defeated, fortitude is moderate, strict military law, division (army military law).

[Yin and Yang] One yang in the second line is unified with the whole hexagram and five yin, and there are many unfavorable factors, and the second line is dominated by one hexagram.

[Position] [-]st, [-]nd, [-]rd, and [-]th are not in the right position. Although the fifth line and the second line are not in the right position, they are in the upper and lower hexagrams, and the second line corresponds to the fifth line, showing fortitude, moderation, and the meaning of core and commander. .

[Status] Compliant and upright, peers of the same kind.

[Hexagram] Going up Kun, going down the ridge, water gushes out from the ground, causing the ground to sink dangerously and shake uneasy.Fortunately, there is an image that can withstand it with all its strength.

【Thinking mode】Three principles of organization and leadership for managing the army or enterprises are proposed: 1.Emphasis on talents.

2.Strict discipline.

3.Pay attention to information intelligence.

[Philosophical Enlightenment] The principle of unified use of troops is used to imply the importance of scientific management and leadership in competition and decision-making.Explain the principle of using troops, emphasizing that the army must be a force of justice in order to gain the support of the people.It clarifies that economic competition, decision-making and other means must follow the right path, and command must be concentrated in order to achieve success.

【Decision thinking】In order to complete a task, you need to lead a group of people.Just like leading troops in war, you need to know the art of leadership.Only by knowing people well, commanding them reasonably, sticking to the right path, taking the lead, and relying on strict rules and regulations, can we succeed.

(End of this chapter)