Hexagram 11: Peace
Outer trigram (upper)
Khôn
Earth · Earth
Inner trigram (lower)
Càn
Heaven · Metal
Judgment
泰：小往大來，吉，亨.
Thái: Tiểu vãng đại lai, cát, hanh.
Translation
Peace: the small (yin) departs, the great (yang) arrives — fortunate, and smoothly flowing.
Commentary
In this hexagram, Heaven (the lower trigram) should not be read literally as 'the sky' — if it were, the sky would sit beneath the earth, and the proper order of above and below would be lost, which is inauspicious. Instead, the lower trigram should be understood as yang energy and the upper as yin energy. The yang energy below has a rising nature and moves to meet the yin; the yin energy above has a nature that reaches down to meet the yang. The two energies mingle and harmonize, and all things settle into peace and contentment. The Judgment goes on to explain: Peace is the moment when the small departs and the great returns — heaven and earth are in communion, so the myriad things flow freely; those above and those below are in communion, so their aims become one. The inner trigram is yang, the outer is yin; strength within and yielding without; the noble person within, the small-minded person without. The way of the noble person is on the rise, while the way of the small-minded person steadily fades.
Line Readings
Line 1 (yang)
初九：拔茅茹，以其彙，征吉.
Translation
Pulling up a tuft of cogon grass brings up the whole clump with it — advancing now brings good fortune.
Commentary
This line represents a capable person still in a low position, but linked with the two lines above it, like a group of like-minded companions pulling each other forward to take on the affairs of the world. Because they move together, their efforts bear fruit easily — like pulling up one blade of cogon grass and finding the whole clump comes with it, roots intertwined.
Line 2 (yang)
九二：包荒，用馮河，不退遺，朋亡，得尚于中行.
Translation
Tolerate what has fallen into disorder from the past; act with the resolve to take risks, like wading across a river; overlook nothing that lies far away; give no thought to factions and cliques — but stay aligned with the middle way.
Commentary
This yang line holds the central position, already has many allies (lines 1 and 3), and also corresponds with yin line 5, which is likewise central — representing a trusted ruler willing to listen to it. So great talent meets highly favorable circumstances; but further virtues are still needed: broad-mindedness, to tolerate the disorder left over from the past; the resolve to take risks, like someone brave enough to wade across a river; foresight, to plan for distant matters before they arrive; freedom from factional thinking that would harm the greater good; and above all, holding to the middle way proper to line 2 — moderation in everything.
Line 3 (yang)
九三：无平不陂，无往不復，艱貞无咎，勿恤，其孚，于食有福.
Translation
Nothing stays level forever without tilting, nothing goes forth forever without returning. Holding to what is right through hardship brings no fault. Do not be troubled — trust in what is right, and good fortune will follow.
Commentary
Line 3 is yang and correctly placed, sitting at the top of the inner trigram, about to cross into the outer trigram (yin) — that is, about to enter a period of decline. But this is simply the natural course of things, nothing to be alarmed at. Holding to what is right through hardship brings no fault; trusting in what is right will bring good fortune.
Line 4 (yin)
六四：翩翩，不富，以其鄰，不戒以孚.
Translation
Fluttering along together, cheerful and light — not wealthy, yet forming a community; without ever having agreed on it, they trust one another all the same.
Commentary
This is past the midpoint of the hexagram Peace: yang is fading, and the group of yin lines — three of them, representing small-minded people — band together. Though they lack wealth and true substance (yin signifies emptiness, as opposed to the substance of yang, hence 'not wealthy'), they still form a community of their own, united in purpose without ever having made an agreement, trusting each other simply because they share the same inclination toward deceit.
Line 5 (yin)
六五：帝乙歸妹，以祉，元吉.
Translation
Like King Yi of the Shang dynasty giving his younger sister in marriage — this brings blessing, and great good fortune.
Commentary
This yin line holds the central position; though seated in the highest place of honor, it remains humble and yielding, and corresponds with yang line 2 below — like the king's younger sister willingly marrying a worthy man of humble standing. Such humility brings blessing.
Line 6 (yin)
上六：城復于隍，勿用師，自邑告命，貞吝.
Translation
The city wall collapses back into the moat it was built from, returning to bare earth. Do not resort to arms — one's orders can now reach no further than one's own town. Even if the action taken is proper, it still ends in failure and disgrace.
Commentary
This marks the final moment of the time of Peace, on the verge of turning into Standstill — like a city wall crumbling. Being a yin line in a yin position, there is no point in fighting to hold on (resorting to arms); nothing can save the situation now, and any order given will be heeded only within one's own town.