The wisdom of I Ching

Chapter 96 Everything must start well and end well - the first good luck, the last chaos
【Original Code】

Ji Ji, Heng Xiao, Li Zhen.Good luck at the beginning, chaos at the end.

"彖" said: If you are economical, you will be prosperous, and the small one will be prosperous.Lizhen is strong, soft, upright and in position.Chuji, softness is also in the middle.If it ends, it will be chaotic, and its way will be poor.

"Xiang" said: Water is on fire, and it is economical.The gentleman hesitated to prevent it by thinking about it.

—— "Book of Changes Ji Ji"

Weakness, Heng.There is no profit for the little fox to help his tail.

"彖" said: Weiji, Heng, softness is also in the middle.The little fox, Qianji, has not yet left the middle school.Hunk the tail, no profit, no continuation of the end also.Although it is not in place, it should be rigid and flexible.

"Xiang" said: "Fire is on the water, and it is not enough."A gentleman lives by carefully distinguishing things.

—— "Book of Changes Weiji"

【Interpretation】

The hexagram of "Jiji": After things are successful, divination can lead to success, which is conducive to maintaining integrity; if you fail to keep success, it will be auspicious at first, but will eventually lead to chaos.

"Zhuan Zhuan" said: "Things have been accomplished and prosperity is achieved, which shows that even the soft and small people will be prosperous at this time."It is conducive to maintaining integrity, indicating that both masculinity and femininity are conducive to correct behavior and proper living.It is auspicious at the beginning, indicating that the soft and small can hold the center just like the strong and big one; in the end, it will stop moving forward, which will inevitably lead to chaos, indicating that the way to "achieve things" is already difficult.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: Water boiled on fire to make food, symbolizing that the matter has been accomplished; a gentleman should think about possible disasters after the event is accomplished and take precautions in advance.

The hexagram "Wei Ji" symbolizes success in doing things.The little fox was about to cross the river, but his tail got wet. It seemed that the trip was useless.

"Tuan Ci" said: "Wei Ji" hexagram has the image of prosperity.Because the six and five yin lines are in the middle of the upper hexagram, the positions and images are mutually compatible.But mediocrity is bound to stumble halfway through heavy responsibilities.It's like "a little fox crossing the river, wet his tail, and doing nothing to gain", there is no good result.However, although a mediocre person occupies a high position, if he can obey the emperor, he will not cause too much harm, and everything can be remedied.

"Xiang Ci" says: The upper hexagram of this hexagram is Li, and Li is fire; the lower hexagram is Kan, and Kan is water.Fire is on water, and water cannot overcome fire, which is the hexagram image of Weiji hexagram.Looking at this hexagram, a gentleman feels that water and fire cannot be restrained by dislocation, so he uses a cautious attitude to distinguish the nature of things and examine their direction of progress.

The hexagram of "Jiji" tells us the principle of being steady and conservative. It reminds us that no matter what we do, we must act steadily and not blindly advance.At this stage, the six lines are all upright, the order is in good order, the yin and yang complement each other, the old contradictions are overcome, and the career develops and advances smoothly.Whether you are facing a stable stage in good times, unexpected events in adversity, or smooth sailing in your career, after entering the stage of "financial prosperity", you must be steady and avoid impatience to prevent yourself from encountering failure in blindness.

The hexagram "Wei Ji" is the last hexagram of the 64 hexagrams, which contains the deep meaning of revealing the true meaning of "Book of Changes". "Weiji" means not being poor, and not being poor means "the meaning of life".In this way, although the "Book of Changes" has only 64 hexagrams, the "meaning of life and life" in the last hexagram not only did not stop at the end point, but started a new round of contradictory movement with the end point as the starting point.

When you succeed, you must maintain a spirit of tranquility and far-reaching, courageous progress.Tranquility and far-reaching is the best state of human existence, and only in a state of tranquility and far-reaching can man truly establish his position.Seeking stability is one of the knowledge that people are good at planning things. A person who can achieve great things must also be able to keep his own mind.

When one thing succeeds, it means the beginning of another.Although the future is full of new hope, we must remember that the road ahead is still full of thorns, and we must take every step carefully.

【Category】

Story [-]: Fang Xuanling started well and ended well
In 630, the fourth year after Tang Taizong Li Shimin ascended the throne, Fang Xuanling was promoted to Shangshu Zuopushe, and exercised the power of prime minister.During his tenure, he can be described as loyal and diligent, and he has made outstanding achievements, which can be called a capable minister.The history books praised him like this: "Ren Zong Baishi, reverent all day long, tried his best to be frugal, and did not want to lose anything."

In terms of selecting talents, Fang Xuanling was very cautious.Tang Taizong once said: "The selection of officials should not be taken lightly. If you use a gentleman, many gentlemen will come here admiringly; if you use a small person, many villains will come out of the camp." At this point Above, Fang Xuanling admired Tang Taizong very much.Knowing that people are good at tasks, he often recommends suitable talents to Taizong and entrusts them with important tasks.

In the mansion of Taizong's prince Li Zhi, there was a prince's right guard named Li Daliang.Fang Xuanling valued him very much, saying that he was upright and upright, with the integrity of the loyal officials Wang Ling and Zhou Bo of the Western Han Dynasty.Soon, Li Daliang was appointed as Fang Xuanling's deputy.Fang Xuanling is eclectic in employing people, and he does not seek perfection and blame, so he can make use of his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.But if he can't find a suitable candidate for a while, he would rather be short than indiscriminate, and never do indiscriminate acts.For example, there has been no suitable candidate for the department that manages financial declaration and expenditure for a long time, but Fang Xuanling believes that this department is related to "the interests of the world" and is a place where "people's power depends on it". With people".In doing so, he sometimes drew gossip from others about how stingy he was with delegation.But he always starts from the interests of the country, and never cares about gains and losses for personal reputation.

As for some trivial matters in the court, he was involved in almost every detail.Not only did he regularly review the pros and cons of the administration of officials and administration of officials, but he even asked about the stockpiles in the arsenal one by one.The history books say that he "pays attention to everything in every detail", and his serious and responsible spirit is really touching.

He also did a great job in advising Li Shimin.Although he failed to repeat Yan Zhijian's remonstrance like Wei Zheng did, he was able to express his opinion frankly.In fact, Wei Zheng also admired him very much. Wei Zheng once said that he was not as good as Fang Xuanling in terms of doing everything by himself and talking endlessly.Once, Tang Taizong asked the ministers around him: "Since ancient times, the founding emperor has passed the throne to his descendants, and there have been many failures. What is the reason?" Fang Xuanling said bluntly: "It is all because of the emperor's favor. Children and grandchildren, and descendants grew up in the deep palace, used to enjoying wealth and honor since childhood, do not know the truth and hypocrisy of the world, do not understand the security of the country, and cannot hone their talents."

Although Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was a wise emperor, he also made many absurd actions, such as launching a war against Korea, which not only brought disasters to the people of Korea, but also brought heavy losses to the people of the country.In the 22nd year of Zhenguan, Tang Taizong wanted to invade Korea again. At that time, Fang Xuanling was seriously ill and was bedridden. After hearing the news, he immediately wrote a letter to Taizong and said to his sons: "Now the world is stable and everyone gets what they want. , will definitely become a serious problem for the country. Although I will not be born soon, but if I know it but don’t speak it, I will die with hatred and die with regret.” After looking at the list, Emperor Taizong was very moved and said: “This person is so dangerous that he can still worry about our country. , it is really rare!"

In the 22nd year of Zhenguan, Fang Xuanling was critically ill. Taizong sent people to visit him constantly, and took time to visit him in person, shaking hands with Fang Xuanling before he died.After Fang Xuanling's death, "Taizong shed tears at him", which shows the deep affection between the monarch and his ministers.

Fang Xuanling has been the prime minister for nearly 20 years, and it is especially rare for him to start well and end well.And the deep friendship he formed with Tang Taizong Li Shimin was far beyond the reach of ordinary courtiers.

Story [-]: Schwarber does not take satisfaction lightly
Schwarber succeeded entirely by his own efforts. He has served as an adviser to many presidents and is also a good friend of many heads of state in the world.He believes that endless activity is the purpose of life and the end of life.Once, someone came to him and asked him, if a person earns a lot of money, has this kind of person achieved his purpose in life?He replied in this way: "If a person has reached his goal, he will not be a great businessman. A successful person always moves forward forever, until the moment when his life ends."

The old John Rockefeller said: "If you want to maintain success, you should move on to a new path, not follow the existing path of success." Sir Chris said: "I am not in business for money. I have made enough money, far more than I need. I am in business for business. I like doing business, especially big business. This is what I seek. A way of stimulating life."

Sir Scriss was very dissatisfied with his situation when he could only get 80 yuan a month at first. Later, when he earned tens of thousands, he was not satisfied. He was still not satisfied until he became a billionaire.At the same time, he has always been disgusted with those who are self-satisfied.

The meaning of life lies in making a career and renewing every day.If after one success, you just sit idle and meditate on past achievements, and go to the end of your life calmly, this is really an extremely wrong thing.A great achiever is not willing to let go until he is completely exhausted, no matter what achievements he has made before that.

Story [-]: Wang An is powerless
Founded in 1955, Wang An Computer Company is located in Massachusetts, and mainly manufactures and sells computer networking devices and imaging equipment.Previously managed by members of the Wang family, the company gradually evolved from relying on proprietary systems to accepting industry standards, and then to developing software and selling IBM computers exclusively.

In 1956, IBM bought Wang An's patent for US$50. In 1963, Wang An signed a contract with others and successfully developed a semi-automatic typesetting machine again, which made the company's sales in 1964 exceed 100 million US dollars.

The company has always followed Wang An's principle of "filling what is needed", and began to operate calculators in 1965, and introduced the innovative project desktop calculator LOCI.As the demand for calculators continued to increase, the company became public in 1967 to raise funds for its business development. In the mid-70s, the calculator business was handed over to its competitors, and it turned to the word processor market. In 1976, the first screen display (TV-style) word processor was developed.

By 1978, Wang An Computer Company had become the largest manufacturer of screen display systems. In 1977, the company introduced the VS Microcomputer series - a line of compatible existing and future VS computers. The success of the VS series and the soaring sales of word processors boosted Wang Computer's revenue from $1980 million in 5.43 to $1985 billion in 24.

However, the peak period of Wang An Computer Company was the budding period of the microcomputer era. Wang An did not realize this until 1983, so he tried his best to attract customers and proposed several new product ideas, but in fact many of them were just Talking on paper, the company has since lost its reputation, the patented system has fallen out of favor, and the market demand has shifted from microcomputers to PC networking.

In 1990, Wang An died of esophageal cancer, and the Wang family still owns more than 37% of the company's shares. In 1991, it was the third year that Wang An Computer Company's sales fell sharply. In the first half of the 3 fiscal year, 1992 employees were laid off. In August 3500, the company was forced to declare bankruptcy.In his later years, Wang An paid more and more attention to family ties. This traditional evil in Eastern culture began to gain the upper hand. He ignored the suggestions of his subordinates and insisted on going his own way. Deputy General Manager of the company.Under such circumstances, the heroes and outstanding generations of Wang An Computer Company left their jobs one after another to find other jobs.Before Wang An died, he tried his best to turn the tide, but in the end he was unable to recover.

The most terrible danger in the world comes from lying on the bed of success without worry.When a person wins, he will be dazzled by the success and forget his worries when he is happy. This will lose the right way, and then hide the root cause of the transformation from "already economical" to turbulent "uneconomical".

【The Heart of the Book of Changes】

After the development of the business enters the stage of steady advancement, it is necessary to prevent impetuous advances, and to make full preparations for the next step of development; after the career enters the stage of "financial benefits" where everything is smooth and successful, one must be prepared for danger in times of peace and prevent problems before they happen.

Of course, success must be good at seizing opportunities.But seizing opportunities does not mean unrealistic and reckless, there must be far-sightedness behind bold and decisive actions, and there must be rational planning and arrangements.You must be clear-headed when doing things, and you must not act unwisely in a moment of dizziness. The important thing is to have a sense of prevention.

New problems arise every day, "one careless move, and the whole game is lost", it is very difficult to turn around.When doing things and thinking about problems, we should base ourselves on the possible complexity, focus on the bad, and work hard for the good, and we must not take it lightly or be careless.

Things are always in a process of eternal change and development, and there is no time to stand still.Then it must turn from loss to profit, from fullness to loss, repeat the cycle, continue to evolve, and develop in infinity.Therefore, in reality, we must always maintain the spirit of continuous pioneering and enterprising, so that you can truly go from one success to another.

There is no everlasting fortune in the world, and there is no adversity that is always unsatisfactory. "Prosperity" and "failure", success and failure are all mutually transforming.In the face of the ruthless objective dialectical law, keep a clear mind and enterprising spirit, and the just cause we pursue will continue to prosper.

(End of this chapter)