【第
一
卦】
乾
乾為天
乾上乾下
乾：元，亨，利，貞
初九：潛龍勿用
九二：見龍在田，利見大人
九三：君子終日乾乾，夕惕若，厲無咎
九四：或躍在淵，無咎
九五：飛龍在天，利見大人
上九：亢龍有悔
用九：見群龍無首，吉
Translation: (Heaven is) the commencement, the order, the harmony, and the honorable.
Translation: A dragon remains latent in the water; the time is not ripe for him to demonstrate its skills.
Analysis: The first Yang denotes the initial stage of progress. When a person is his childhood, he hides his talent for later. The time is not ready. The first Yang is heavily suppressed by the five Yangs above itself. The first Yang must stay hidden and advance when the time comes.
Translation: The dragon unveils itself on the fields. It is beneficial for wise and successful man to appear.
Analysis: The dragon leaves the water and appears on the land for the first time. The second Yang erects in the middle of the bottom portion. Although the dragon’s appearance is shown, its capacity remains hidden. Therefore, it stands on a stable level.
Translation: A man of virtue perseveres his tasks; he is alert even at night. He will face no difficulty even if a problem confronts him.
Analysis: A man of virtue is an excellent symbol for the characteristics of the dragon. The third Yang is situated at the junction of the upper portion and the lower portion, which is a location of severe danger. As a result, the man needs to be alert, “even at night”.
Translation: (The dragon) can advance upward, or relapse into the water he came out from. Difficulty will not ensue.
Analysis: Similar to the third Yang, at the junction of the entity, the fourth Yang must choose whether to advance well into the upper portion or retreat back into the lower portion. At this time, the dragon must make his decisions carefully; however, his decision will not result in jeopardy because he spends much time to contemplate.
Translation: The dragon soars up high. It is beneficial for wise and successful man to appear.
Analysis: This segment is the beauty of heaven. After the hardship encountered by the previous 4 segments, the dragon, eventually, earns his right to overwhelm the public with its talent.
Translation: The dragon ascends to the extreme; eventually it descends to regret.
Analysis: A progression always has an extreme, which always dictates the advent of deterioration. This segment advises man to evaluate his position and to not go beyond the anticipation. When a man reaches the extreme, he will regret his ascension.