Richard Wilhelm & Cary F. Baynes translation, 1950

      58. Hexagram 58: Tui / The Joyous, Lake)

             above TUI  THE JOYOUS, LAKE
             below TUI  THE JOYOUS, LAKE



This hexagram, like sun, is one of the eight formed by doubling of a trigram. 
The trigram Tui denotes the youngest daughter; it is symbolized by the 
smiling lake, and its attribute is joyousness. Contrary to appearances, 
it is not the yielding quality of the top line that accounts for joy here. 
The attribute of the yielding or dark principle is not joy but melancholy. 
However, joy is indicated by the fact that there are two strong lines 
within, expressing themselves through the medium of gentleness.
  True joy, therefore, rests on firmness and strength within, 
manifesting itself outwardly as yielding and gentle.

        THE JUDGMENT

        THE JOYOUS. Success.
        Perseverance is favorable.


The joyous mood is infectious and therefore brings success. But joy must be 
based on steadfastness if it is not to degenerate into uncontrolled mirth. 
Truth and strength must dwell in the heart, while gentleness reveals itself 
in social intercourse. In this way one assumes the right attitude toward 
God and man and achieves something. Under certain conditions, intimidation 
without gentleness may achieve something momentarily, but not for all 
time. When, on the other hand, the hearts of men are won by friendliness, 
they are led to take all hardships upon themselves willingly, and if need 
be will not shun death itself, so great is the power of joy over men.

        THE IMAGE

        Lakes resting one on the other:
        The image of THE JOYOUS.
        Thus the superior man joins with his friends
        For discussion and practice.


A lake evaporates upward and thus gradually dries up; but when two lakes 
are joined they do not dry up so readily, for one replenishes the other. 
It is the same in the field of knowledge. Knowledge should be a refreshing 
and vitalizing force. It becomes so only through stimulating intercourse 
with congenial friends with whom one holds discussion and practices 
application of the truths of life. In this way learning becomes many-sided 
and takes on a cheerful lightness, whereas there is always something 
ponderous and one-sided about the learning of the self-taught.

        THE LINES

        Nine at the beginning means:
        Contented joyousness. Good fortune.

A quiet, wordless, self-contained joy, desiring nothing from without 
and resting content with everything, remains free of all egotistic 
likes and dislikes. In this freedom lies good fortune, because it 
harbors the quiet security of a heart fortified within itself.
        
        ° Nine in the second place means:
        Sincere joyousness. Good fortune.
        Remorse disappears.

We often find ourselves associating with inferior people in whose company 
we are tempted by pleasures that are inappropriate for the superior man. 
To participate in such pleasures would certainly bring remorse, for a 
superior man can find no real satisfaction in low pleasures. When, 
recognizing this, a man does not permit his will to swerve, so that 
he does not find such ways agreeable, not even dubious companions will 
venture to proffer any base pleasures, because he would not enjoy them. 
Thus every cause for regret is removed.

        Six in the third place means:
        Coming joyousness. Misfortune.

True joy must spring from within. But if one is empty within and wholly 
given over to the world, idle pleasures come streaming in from without. 
This is what many people welcome as diversion. Those who lack inner 
stability and therefore need amusement, will always find opportunity of 
indulgence. They attract external pleasures by the emptiness of their natures. 
Thus they lose themselves more and more, which of course has bad results.

        Nine in the fourth place means:
        Joyousness that is weighed is not at peace.
        After ridding himself of mistakes a man has joy.

Often a man finds himself weighing the choice between various kinds of 
pleasures, and so long as he has not decided which kind he will choose, the 
higher or the lower, he has no inner peace. Only when he clearly recognizes 
that passion brings suffering, can he make up his mind to turn away from the 
lower pleasures and to strive for the higher. Once this decision is sealed, 
he finds true joy and peace, and inner conflict is overcome.

        ° Nine in the fifth place means:
        Sincerity toward disintegrating influences is dangerous.

Dangerous elements approach even the far best of men. If a man permits 
himself to have anything to do with them, their disintegrating influence 
acts slowly but surely, and inevitable brings dangers in its train. But 
if he recognizes the situation and can comprehend the danger, he knows 
how to protect himself and remains unharmed.

        Six at the top means:
        Seductive joyousness.

A vain nature invites diverting pleasures and must suffer accordingly (cf. the 
six in the third place). If a man is unstable within, the pleasures of the world 
that he does not shun have so powerful an influence that he is swept along by 
them. Here it is no longer a question of danger, of good fortune or misfortune. 
He has given up direction of his own life, and what becomes of him depends upon 
chance and external influences.

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