Confucius and the Yi Jing: A Model of Political and Personal Success

By Todd Cornell

The story, interpreted in the 2008 Chinese film, “Confucius,” vividly depicts Confucius’ role portrayed by Chow Yun-Fat. After the pivotal relationship with the governing body soured over differing views, the high court magistrate sent a messenger to deliver a message to Confucius. The message was a jade piece; it was a traditionally round piece of jade, designed with a break down the middle. When Confucius removed the jade from its cloth wrapping, he saw the break in the jade and knew that he must leave immediately.

He informed his wife, gathered his sparse belongings and departed with his horse pulling the wagon. It set into motion fourteen years of roaming the many nation-states of “The Spring and Autumn Period” of Chinese history, circa 771 to 476 BCE.

As Confucius made his way out of the State of Lu, many of his devoted students joined him, eventually catching up with him to accompany him throughout the fourteen-year journey.

Scholars accredit Confucius for editing the Yi Jing — 易经 (I Ching), as we know it today. He made it more readily accessible to the populace by annotating and rearranging it for clarity.

In my Summer 2020 article, “Balance Between Dark and Light, War and Peace,” I introduced the concept of flipping at the pinnacle — 物极必反, when something reaches a pinnacle, it must flip. Here, I present two more gua, both made up of the water trigram and the fire trigram. They are the last two gua of the Yi Jing. The 63rd is 既济卦 (Ji Ji Gua), and the 64th is 未济卦 (Wei Ji Gua).

These two gua represent the cycle of balancing success. In the Ji Ji Gua — fire over water, when success pushes too far, we flip to the Wei Ji Gua — water over fire. The Wei Ji Gua forces us to temper the zeal and overbearing push of excessive aspirations.

In recent American politics, the hard push for America First, Nationalism and prosperity surged to the point that it flipped and now cycles to the Wei Ji Gua. That brings us to a time of focus and introspection — an opportunity to foster change and regain balance from the previous Ji Ji Gua period.

With water under fire, Ji Ji Gua creates a phenomenon where neither water nor fire can thrive. But the Wei Ji Gua maintains water above fire. Water above fire produces hot water, a rudimentary necessity to support daily life. In this arrangement, the two elements coexist in balance.

These two gua cycle through Confucius’ life, from the Ji Ji Gua; success in government to his clash with the ideals of the time, and flip to the Wei Ji Gua; entering into a fourteen-year sojourn of introspection and growth.

Confucius is possibly one of the most renowned teachers of all of humanity. He wrote the Analects, including his teachings and discussions with his students, freezing in time some of the most consequential morals and values to shape the face of Chinese society. Even today, Confucius’ sayings, along with those of his students, roll off the tongues of most Chinese without a second thought.

三人行必有我师焉: When together with others, they are my teachers. That informs us that we can always learn from others if we are open.

己所不欲，勿施于人: That which I do not want, I should not bring to others. That calls us to consider that we should not treat others in ways we would not choose to be treated.

不患人之不己知，患不知人也: Don’t be concerned if others don’t understand you, be concerned that you don’t understand others. It reminds us that we should be more concerned that we are putting forth the effort to understand others rather than be understood.

君子求诸己 小人求诸人: A respectable person relies on self; a scoundrel relies on others. That instructs us to know the importance of conducting ourselves in ways that support practical reliance on our skills and abilities to bolster success and respect. This points out that reliance on others is the practice of a scoundrel.

吾日三省吾身: I contemplate my thoughts and actions throughout the day. ~Zeng Zi, a student of Confucius. It reminds us of the importance to continually be mindful of words and actions and how they may affect us and those around us.

Perhaps much of Confucius’ wisdom in life spawned from the fourteen years he wandered the land with his students. His understanding of life certainly deepened after leaving his homeland, enduring the trials of a nomadic lifestyle, suffering harsh elements and losing his most beloved student.

After fourteen years, on his death bed, the magistrate who delivered the broken jade to Confucius had a change of heart. He called a messenger to find Confucius and give a fully rounded piece of jade to him. Confucius was overcome with emotion. He was welcome to return home. Following the long trek back to Lu, Confucius fell to the ground weeping upon his return to the land of his father.

Throughout his life, Confucius exercised wisdom and compassion by giving selflessly. His understanding permeated first the people of China and then traveled to the whole of humanity, nearly 2000 years later. Confucius’ family name was Kong. We know him as Confucius, Kong Fu Zi, or Master Kong. His real name was Kong Qiu. Today, you can still find his descendants of nearly 100 generations, who take great pride in their last name of Kong.

Can we learn compassion and caring for one another in these difficult times? Can we learn to give and share? These are the practices that keep humanity alive. But only when we contemplate — that which I do not want, I should not bring to others.