The name 名
The graph has the ‘speech’ radical: arguing right and wrong in words and bringing it to judgment, and so litigation. Because people think, they hold different views; because they choose, their interests collide. Disputes are unavoidable. The question is how to contend, and when to stop.
The image 象
Qian, heaven, lies above; Kan, water, below. Heaven rises, water flows down: they move apart and never meet, and from that, dispute arises. The Commentary puts it as ‘firm above, dangerous below’: hard on the outside, calculating within, and still pressing on against danger, so conflict becomes inevitable.
Layers of images 層
A gua can be read on several levels at once: the trigrams as members of a family (father, mother, eldest to youngest sons and daughters), the six lines as ranks in an organisation (from newcomer to ruler), and as forces of nature and animals. Each extra level adds meaning to the line texts.
Read as a family
Below is Kǎn, the middle son; above is Qián, the father. The son hides danger in his heart; the father above is hard and unyielding; one flows down, the other rises, and conflict follows. It is the most familiar dispute in any home: the younger one won’t accept, the elder won’t step back. “Stopping halfway is auspicious; pressing to the end is ominous”: quit while it is half-fought and all is well; fight to the finish and nobody wins.
Line 2, “he cannot win the suit; he returns and slips away to his town of three hundred households”: the second place is a local official and the fifth the ruler, both yang and not corresponding. Suing upward cannot succeed; withdrawing to his small town keeps those three hundred households safe.
Line 4, “he cannot win; he returns to accept the mandate”: lines 3–5 form a nuclear Xùn, wind, which stands for commands. Line 4 is the minister near the ruler, within the same Qián; unable to win, he turns back, accepts what comes from above, changes his stance and settles into the right course.
Top line, “he may be given a leather belt of office, and three times in one morning it is stripped away”: Qián is clothing and also full daylight. The robe-belt won by litigation is taken back three times before noon. At the top the course has run out; honour won by fighting does not stay.
Turn Sòng over and you get Xū, Waiting. The other direction a quarrel can take is patience: the same strength facing the same danger, one choosing to fight, the other to wait for the moment. Lines 2 and 4 of Sòng both “cannot win the suit” and pull back, turning toward Xū.
Change all six lines of Sòng and you get Míngyí, Light Wounded: the light hurt and sunk into the earth. A lawsuit seems to be about justice, but its hidden cost is often one’s own brightness. Winning the case does not mean keeping the light one had.
In sequence 序
飲食必有訟，故受之以訟。
The Sequence says that where there is food and drink there will be dispute, so Song follows. Xu is the way of nourishment; once there is something to eat and divide, there are interests to fight over. Xu and Song are inversions of each other: turn Water-over-Heaven upside down and you get Heaven-over-Water.
The judgment 辭
訟：有孚，窒，惕，中吉，終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。
There is sincerity, but it is blocked; be wary. Stopping midway is auspicious; pressing to the end is ominous. It is fitting to see the great person; it is not fitting to cross the great river. Each side believes it has grounds, yet neither believes the other: hence the quarrel. Settling halfway brings good fortune; insisting on the end costs energy and goodwill even in victory. What is needed is a fair authority to judge, not a bold new venture.
Commentary on the judgment 彖
彖曰：訟，上剛下險，險而健，訟。訟，有孚，窒，惕，中吉，剛來而得中也。終凶，訟不可成也。利見大人，尚中正也。不利涉大川，入于淵也。
The Commentary says ‘the firm comes and gains the centre,’ meaning line 2, which came down to the middle of the lower trigram; hence ‘midway is auspicious.’ ‘Pressing to the end is ominous: a dispute must not be carried to completion.’ ‘Seeing the great person’ honours the central, correct line 5. And ‘not crossing the river’ is because one has already fallen into the abyss of Kan.
The great image 象
象曰：天與水違行，訟；君子以作事謀始。
Heaven and water go opposite ways: Song. The noble person, accordingly, plans carefully at the start of any undertaking. Heaven and water part company from the outset, and so do disputes take root at the beginning. The noble person thinks ahead at the start, imagines the worst, and makes duties and rights clear; a careful beginning makes a good end. As Confucius said, without long foresight, near troubles are sure to come.
The six lines 爻
Ruling line By the Commentary’s ‘the firm comes and gains the centre,’ line 2 constitutes the hexagram: the dispute starts with it, yet it ‘cannot win.’ Line 5, ‘dispute: supremely auspicious,’ is the central, correct great person the Commentary honours, the governing ruler.
The path of the six lines, bottom to top
All six lines of Sòng are lessons in not pushing a dispute to the end. Line 1 is the quarrel just beginning: do not drag it out, and after a little talk it ends well; Line 2 cannot win suing upward and withdraws to its small town to keep its people safe; Line 3, at the top of the lower trigram, lives on its old stipend and serves its superior without claiming credit. Line 4 enters the upper trigram, also cannot win, and turns back to accept the mandate and change its mind; Line 5, central and correct, is the judge who gives a fair hearing, and greatly auspicious. The top line wins honours by litigation and has them stripped away three times in one morning: whoever fights to the end keeps nothing.
初六不永所事，小有言，終吉。
In plain words
Not prolonging the matter. There is some small talk against one; in the end, good fortune.
Close reading
Yin in a firm place at the very bottom, weak in itself and answered by line 4, it blends soft and firm and is not overbearing. Every dispute starts as a small ‘matter’; let it go while it is small and it never grows. The Small Image says ‘a dispute must not be drawn out’ and ‘the case is made clear’: a few words are exchanged, the point is clarified, and stepping back opens wide water.
If you drew this line
The disagreement is just starting. Say your piece clearly and do not drag it out; bear a few words and step back early.
九二不克訟，歸而逋，其邑人三百戶无眚。
In plain words
Unable to win the dispute, he returns and slips away. The three hundred households of his town suffer no calamity.
Close reading
Yang in a yielding place, central in the lower trigram, this is the party that starts the suit. It faces line 5 as a rival, both yang, an officer suing his sovereign: how could it win? Three hundred households was the fief of a lesser officer. Being central, it knows to withdraw in time, so its people are spared. The Small Image says ‘suing a superior from below, the trouble is picked up by oneself’: the calamity was there for the taking, and it took it.
One level deeper
Line 2, “he cannot win the suit; he returns and slips away to his town of three hundred households”: the second place is a local official and the fifth the ruler, both yang and not corresponding. Suing upward cannot succeed; withdrawing to his small town keeps those three hundred households safe.
If you drew this line
You are not in the stronger position. Withdrawing in time to your own ground, and protecting those who depend on you, matters more than pressing on.
‘Can I Cast Again?’
Someone who had lost at first instance wanted to know, before the appeal verdict, how it would go. He cast with yarrow stalks himself and drew exactly this line of Song, opening with ‘cannot win the dispute.’ The fit between question and answer was unnerving. His first response was: can I cast again? The answer was no. Recasting until you like the result is flattering yourself, not asking. The appeal did uphold the first ruling, yet he still had lawful avenues open, and those around him were not drawn in.
六三食舊德，貞厲，終吉。或從王事，无成。
In plain words
Living on old merit. Steadfast amid danger, yet in the end good fortune. If one serves the king, one does not claim achievement.
Close reading
Yin in a firm place, pressed by yang lines above and below, it is ‘steadfast amid danger.’ It is answered by line 6, which sits in Qian, the ruler; hence the Small Image: ‘following the one above brings good fortune.’ Seen through hexagram change, Song arises from Dun by swapping lines 2 and 3: this line was once Dun’s second line, the proper partner of line 5, and that old bond is the ‘old merit.’ In a dispute, staying soft, low-key and modest about credit is what keeps one safe.
If you drew this line
Keep to your role and rely on trust already earned; do not push forward or seek new credit. But old goodwill cannot carry you forever; have real grounds ready.
九四不克訟，復即命渝，安貞吉。
In plain words
Unable to win the dispute, he turns back and accepts the decree, changes, and rests in steadfastness: auspicious.
Close reading
Like line 2, line 4 ‘cannot win’: a feudal lord cannot prevail against the sovereign. But it is yang in a yielding place, firmness tempered with softness, and answered by line 1, so it need not fight in person. Lines 3–5 form an inner Xun, wind and command, hence ‘returns and accepts the decree’: it goes back to its proper role and accepts line 5’s judgment. Yu means to change; the Small Image says it ‘loses nothing’ by turning and settling into what is right.
One level deeper
Line 4, “he cannot win; he returns to accept the mandate”: lines 3–5 form a nuclear Xùn, wind, which stands for commands. Line 4 is the minister near the ruler, within the same Qián; unable to win, he turns back, accepts what comes from above, changes his stance and settles into the right course.
If you drew this line
Fighting on will go nowhere. Change your mind, accept a fair ruling, and settle back into your role; that turns danger into safety.
九五訟，元吉。
In plain words
Dispute: supremely auspicious.
Close reading
Yang in a firm place, central in the upper trigram, central and correct: this is the ‘great person’ of the judgment. The Small Image says ‘because it is central and correct.’ How can a dispute be ‘supremely auspicious’? Because disputes cannot be eliminated, and when a fair and clear-sighted judge presides, right and wrong are sorted and society is at peace. That is the greatest good fortune. ‘Supremely auspicious’ is rare in the Changes, which makes it striking here.
If you drew this line
If you are in a dispute, first see whether a fair arbiter is present. If you are the arbiter, hold yourself to impartial fairness.
Old Bao, King of the Underworld
Bao Zheng of the Northern Song, while in charge of Kaifeng prefecture, enforced the law without deference to the powerful. The History of Song says he was so stern that people compared his smile to the Yellow River running clear, and a saying went round the capital: there is no pulling strings with Old Bao, King of the Underworld. He also opened the gates of his court so that plaintiffs could state their cases before him directly, rather than through layers of clerks. Later ages called him ‘Bao Qingtian,’ Bao of the Clear Sky: the very image of the central, correct great person of line 5.
上九或錫之鞶帶，終朝三褫之。
In plain words
He may be awarded a leather sash of office, but by the end of the morning it is stripped from him three times.
Close reading
Yang in a yielding place at the top of Song, it has fought to the end and won, and is rewarded. But it sits at the peak of Qian, where excess brings regret, and victory leaves enemies behind. The pan dai was the great belt of court dress; ‘the end of the morning’ means within a single day, Qian being daylight, and its three yang lines echo ‘three times stripped.’ The Small Image says ‘receiving robes through litigation is nothing to be respected’: status won by fighting brings no honour and does not last.
One level deeper
Top line, “he may be given a leather belt of office, and three times in one morning it is stripped away”: Qián is clothing and also full daylight. The robe-belt won by litigation is taken back three times before noon. At the top the course has run out; honour won by fighting does not stay.
If you drew this line
Even if you win, the gain will not hold and resentment will remain. Do not make too much of victory; stop while you are ahead.
Stories 典
The Dispute of Yu and Rui
The Records of the Grand Historian relate that when the Lord of the West, later King Wen of Zhou, ruled, men of the states of Yu and Rui had a dispute they could not resolve, and set off together to Zhou to ask him to judge. As soon as they crossed the border they saw farmers yielding field boundaries to one another and common people deferring to their elders. Before they ever met the Lord of the West, they were ashamed and said to each other: what we quarrel over is what the people of Zhou are ashamed of; why go on? We would only disgrace ourselves. So they turned back, each yielding to the other, and let it drop. When the lords heard, they said the Lord of the West must be the one who would receive Heaven’s mandate. Confucius’s ideal of ‘bringing it about that there are no lawsuits’ takes concrete shape here.
A Contract Drawn Up First
Someone invited to teach a long course for a training company cast before signing and drew Song: ‘midway auspicious, to the end ominous,’ a sign of trouble ahead. Following the Great Image’s ‘plan carefully at the start,’ he asked for a detailed contract stating that if the course failed to run, the party at fault would pay the other a tenth of the fee. The company, over-optimistic and overpriced, failed to enrol enough students and cancelled, owing the penalty. When they apologized and asked for leniency, he did not press the point and settled for half. Clear terms at the start spared a dispute at the end: the deal fell through, but the goodwill survived.
Insight 悟
Song accepts that disputes are part of human life, yet warns that they must be neither prolonged nor pushed to completion. Those who blend firmness with softness and keep a low profile come through; those who fight hard and challenge their superiors usually bring trouble on themselves. The best course is to plan at the outset, thinking through possible conflicts before they arise. If a dispute does come, settle while you can, and seek and respect a fair judgment. What is won by contention is never worth much.