Hexagram 25: Innocence (The Unexpected)

Structure of the sign

Above is Ch'ien, heaven; below is Chên, movement. The lower trigram, Chên, is determined by the strong line it received from above, from heaven. Accordingly, when movement follows the law of heaven, man is innocent and without guile. This is the genuine, the natural, unclouded by reflection and ulterior designs. Where intention is perceptible, the truth and innocence of nature are lost. Nature without the directive of the spirit is not true nature, but degenerate nature. Proceeding from the idea of the natural, the train of thought goes partially still further, and thus the hexagram also embraces the idea of the unintended, the unexpected.

The Judgment

Innocence. Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. If someone is not right, he has misfortune, and it does not further him to undertake anything. Man has received from heaven a nature originally good, to guide him in all his movements. By devotion to this divine principle within him, man attains a pure innocence that, without ulterior thoughts of reward and advantage, simply does what is right with instinctive certainty. This instinctive certainty brings about supreme success and furthers through perseverance. Yet not all that is instinctive is nature in this higher sense of the word, but only that which is right, which accords with the will of heaven. Without this righteousness, an unreflective, instinctive course of action produces only misfortune. Master K'ung says of this: 'He who departs from innocence, whither does he come? Heaven's will and blessing do not accompany his deeds.'

The Image

Under heaven thunder rolls: All things attain the natural state of innocence. Thus the ancient kings, rich in virtue and in harmony with the time, fostered and nourished all beings. When thunder—the life force—stirs again under heaven in spring, all things sprout and grow, and all creatures receive from creative nature the childlike innocence of their original being. So likewise do the good rulers of men: with the inner wealth of their nature they care for all life and all culture, and do all that is necessary for their nurture at the right time.

The lines