Hexagram 13: Fellowship
Outer trigram (upper)
Càn
Heaven · Metal
Inner trigram (lower)
Ly
Fire · Fire
Judgment
同人于野，亨．利涉大川．利君子貞.
Đồng nhân vu dã, hanh. Lợi thiệp đại xuyên. Lợi quân tử trinh.
Translation
Joining with others out in an open field brings success. Even crossing a great river — as dangerous as that is — proves favorable. This hexagram favors the noble person who stays balanced and upright.
Commentary
The lower trigram is Li, fire — bright and illuminating. The upper trigram is Qian, heaven. Together they form the image of fire blazing upward toward the sky, its light reaching over the whole world — this is what the 'open field' represents. Because of this the hexagram is auspicious: whatever obstacles arise can be overcome. But this requires the balance and uprightness of the noble person. The single yin line here sits in its proper place and holds the center, and it corresponds with yang line 5, which likewise holds its proper place and the center within the outer trigram Qian. Inner and outer thus mirror and unite with each other — hence the name 'Fellowship with Others.'
Line Readings
Line 1 (yang)
初九：同人于門，无咎.
Translation
Going out the gate to join with others brings no blame.
Commentary
This yang line is like the noble person just setting out in life — from the very start, wanting to join together with others. What could possibly be blamed in that?
Line 2 (yin)
六二：同人于宗，吝.
Translation
Joining only with one's own clan or faction is a cause for shame.
Commentary
This line holds the center and its proper place, but in the time of Fellowship one should unite broadly with everyone — yet it corresponds only with line 5 above, as if joining only with kin or with one's own faction. This narrowness is something to be ashamed of.
Line 3 (yang)
九三：伏戎于莽，升其高陵，三歲不興.
Translation
Hiding troops in the dense forest, peering out from a high mound — for three years nothing can be achieved.
Commentary
This line wants to unite with yin line 2 below, but it is too hard and forceful — yang in a yang position, and off-center — like a violent, overbearing person. Line 2 already corresponds with line 5 above, and since 5 is the stronger, line 3 dares not attack line 2 openly. Instead it hides in the forest, watching in secret, occasionally peeking out from a high ridge (line 3 sits at the top of the inner trigram, hence this image). Acting this way, it makes no progress for three years.
Line 4 (yang)
九四：乘其墉，弗，克攻，吉.
Translation
Having climbed up onto the earthen wall, yet not daring to attack — this is fortunate.
Commentary
This line is likewise hard yang, off-center and not in its proper place. It too wants to unite with line 2, pressing past line 3 to seize it (line 3, sitting between 2 and 4, is like a wall dividing them; line 4, above line 3, is like having climbed onto that wall). But although hard, it occupies a yin position, so it retains a trace of yielding, and on reflection does not press its advantage against line 3. Recognizing that this course would be wrong, it holds back — and for this the line statement calls it fortunate.
Line 5 (yang)
九五：同人，先號咷而，後笑，大師克相遇.
Translation
In joining with others, there is first crying out in distress, then laughter afterward — only after a great army has fought does the meeting finally happen.
Commentary
This line is hard yang, centered and in its proper place, and it corresponds with line 2 — truly a meeting of shared heart and shared purpose, which is good. But between 5 and 2 stand lines 3 and 4, blocking the way and stirring up trouble, so at first there is distress and crying out; only after a great army clears away lines 3 and 4 can 2 and 5 finally meet and rejoice together. Any effort to bring people into genuine unity meets obstruction like this at the start — it is never accomplished easily right away, even when it serves justice and the good of the many.
Line 6 (yang)
上九：同人于郊，无悔.
Translation
Joining with others out in the countryside beyond the city walls — no regret.
Commentary
The 'outskirts' here is the land just beyond the city, narrower than the open wilderness named in the hexagram's judgment. Though this line sits at the very end of Fellowship, no other line corresponds with it, so it cannot yet act entirely as it wishes — its fellowship with others reaches only as far as the outskirts of the city, not yet out into the wide open country.