37–Wind over Fire: Ji Ren Family or Household

How Translators describe the Hexagram

Most translators simply say: “Wind over Fire”

Wilhelm: “The Gentle Wind over the Clinging Fire”

Hinton: “Wind (Reverent, Inward) over Fire (Radiance, Beauty)

The Decision

Huang: “Hosehold. Favorable for a woman to be steadfast and upright.”

Wing: “There is an advantage in correct persistence, such as that of a woman.”

Hinton: “With inexhaustible women, family brings forth wild bounty.”

The Image

Wing: “The penetrating (wind) comes forth from the intelligent (fire) forming the condition for Family. An enlightened person, therefore has substance in his words and endurance in his behavior.”

Pearson: “Winds come from the fire: the image of the family. You should use words with substance and acts which endure.”

Personal Reflection

The watercolor depicts the Lady Fu Hao (died around 1200 BCE). I based it on the statue in Yinxu outside her tomb, which was discovered in 1976. For now it is the only Shang Dynasty royal tomb found intact and excavated by archeologists. Fu Hao was one of the 64 wives of the King Wu Ding; she rose to become one of his three consorts. The contents of her tomb describe her as a high priestess and military general who led several successful campaigns.

I think the “penetrating” wind coming from the “intelligent” fire describes Fu Hao and the women of this hexagram better than the “gentle” wind over the “clinging” fire.

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