The Reconciled Rivals

I Ching

This flow follows a relationship through estrangement, suspicion, recognition, and a return to cooperation.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Disunion Separates the Community

A Shared World Comes Apart Alienation takes hold Opposition describes a state in which division and mutual estrangement prevail. Legge sees it as the opposite of family order and a threat to the whole political body. The conflict begins in broken relations rather than open battle. Small success remains possible The judgment says that small matters may still go well. Legge reads this as an invitation to begin repairing connection on a manageable scale. Reconciliation starts without pretending the larger division has disappeared.

A Lost Companion Returns A Lost Companion Returns from "I Ching". The Lost Horses Come Back A separation is temporary The first line says that lost horses need not be pursued because they will return of themselves.

A Lost Companion Returns from "I Ching". The Lost Horses Come Back A separation is temporary The first line says that lost horses need not be pursued because they will return of themselves.

The Lost Horses Come Back A separation is temporary The first line says that lost horses need not be pursued because they will return of themselves. Legge interprets the image as the possibility of recovering a connection in a divided time. The subject should not turn a temporary loss into a fresh conflict. Contact with difficult people The line also says meeting bad men need not be an error. Legge sees communication as a possible way to overcome slander or mistrust. Reconciliation begins when the subject refuses to withdraw into suspicion.

A Private Meeting Opens a Door

Recognition in a Side Passage A ruler is encountered The second line shows its subject meeting a lord in a narrow passage. Legge reads the image as a hidden or unexpected meeting made necessary by the prevailing division. Public access is blocked, but personal recognition remains possible. No error in contact The brief encounter can begin a better understanding without pretending the whole system is ready for openness. The relationship survives by finding an indirect path. A private meeting becomes a first act of repair.

A Relative Is Mistaken for an Enemy

Suspicion Changes Its Object A grotesque misreading The final line sees a pig carrying mud or a carriage full of ghosts, images Legge associates with the distorted perceptions of disunion. The subject first draws a bow against the other person. Estrangement makes a friend look like an attacker. Recognition brings relief When the subject discovers that the apparent enemy is a relative, he unbends the bow. The coming rain symbolizes a fortunate union after suspicion has passed. The relationship resolves when fear gives way to recognition.

Shared Desire Overcomes Distance

A Bond Forms Despite Rejection Sighing without a place The third line of Gathering Together shows someone seeking union and finding no advantage. Legge nevertheless says that moving forward can still be without error. The desire to reunite is not yet reciprocated by everyone. A difficult connection succeeds The subject continues toward another who also wants union, and the shared desire helps them meet. Legge admits that the line's symbolism is strained, but emphasizes the persistence of connection. Reconciliation is possible even when the path to it remains uneasy.

At the opening of Opposition

At the first line of Opposition

At the second line of Opposition

At the topmost line of Opposition

At the third line of Gathering Together