The Minister's Rise and Withdrawal

This flow traces the capable official's gradual advancement, service to a ruler, and eventual need to recognize when public action should end.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Advancement Begins Small

The Officer Seeks Recognition An obstructed beginning Progress depicts an official who wishes to advance but is initially held back. Legge reads the first line as a modest start that requires firm correctness. The desire for office is not enough; character must remain stable when recognition is delayed. A generous response to distrust If trust is not yet given, the official should maintain a broad mind and avoid resentment. His conduct prepares the ground for future confidence. The first stage of advancement is endurance under limited recognition.

The Ruler Recognizes Merit

A Relationship Forms Help from above The second line depicts an officer still sorrowful in obscurity, yet sustained by the ruler's favor. Legge explains the family term in the line as a reference to the ruler's motherly position. Recognition arrives before the officer has escaped every hardship. Service without anxiety The fifth line advises the ruler not to be consumed by fears of success or failure. If the official advances properly, the course becomes advantageous. The relationship develops through mutual trust rather than a contest for status.

A Successful Official Becomes Necessary

Capability Sustains Advancement Service with sincerity Pushing Upward shows an official rising toward the ruler. The second line says sincerity can make even a small sacrifice acceptable, emphasizing loyalty rather than display. Legge sees a capable officer serving a ruler who is willing to receive him. Advancement by stages The hexagram presents promotion as gradual and supported, not seized by force. A minister's strength is balanced by humility and appropriate timing. The official's rise succeeds because he can remain devoted without becoming self-serving.

The Official Must Retire

Withdrawal Before Defeat A hostile political climate Retreat represents a time when small men multiply and superior men are forced to withdraw. Legge reads it as political judgment about changing power, not cowardice. A good official may preserve his integrity by refusing to be trapped in a failing contest. Distinct ways of leaving The lines distinguish hurried flight, entanglement, and noble withdrawal. The best form of retreat remains deliberate and aligned with principle. The official's fate depends on recognizing that continued service is not always useful.

The Recluse Refuses Office

Service Has an Outer Limit A life beyond the court The last line of Decay and Restoration presents a person who serves neither king nor feudal lord but attends to his own affairs. Legge reads him as outside the sphere of public action. The choice is not simply failure; it can represent withdrawal from a corrupt or exhausted political world. Self-cultivation as an alternative When public work no longer offers a proper course, attention can turn toward the cultivation of oneself. The text allows political service to end without making every life depend on office. The official's broader fate resolves in a choice between public usefulness and personal integrity.

At the opening of Progress

At the second and fifth lines of Progress

At the second line of Pushing Upward

When small men gain power, during Retreat

At the final line of Decay and Restoration