The Sequence of the Hexagrams states: 'The Abysmal (Water) means falling into peril; when one falls, there must be something to cling to; hence it is followed by The Clinging (Fire). Li means clinging.'
Falling into peril and difficulty, one is bound to find something to attach and cling to; this is a natural principle. This is why Li follows Kan. Li means clinging and brightness.
Taking yin clinging to the yang lines above and below gives the meaning of attachment; taking its inner hollowness gives the meaning of brightness. Li represents Fire; the substance of fire is hollow, clinging to things to shine.
It also represents the sun, likewise possessing the image of hollow brightness. Li means clinging. None of the ten thousand things fails to have something to which it clings; wherever there is form, there is clinging.
In human affairs, the person one attaches oneself to, the way one follows, and the affairs one manages are all that to which one clings. What a person clings to benefits from being correct; attaining correctness allows success.
Hence it says: 'The Clinging: perseverance brings success; caring for a cow brings good fortune.' The nature of an ox is docile, and being female makes it the utmost in docility.
Once clinging to what is correct, one must be able to comply with the upright path like a cow, which brings good fortune. Caring for a cow means nurturing docile virtue.
A person's docile virtue is cultivated through nurture; once attached to correctness, one should practice and cultivate it to fulfill docile virtue. The Tuan Commentary says: 'Li means clinging. The sun and moon cling to heaven; the grains, grasses, and trees cling to the earth.'
Li means clinging, meaning attachment. Just as the sun and moon cling to heaven, and the grains, grasses, and trees cling to the earth, none among the ten thousand things lacks something to which it clings; between Heaven and Earth, there is nothing that does not cling.
In human affairs, one must examine what one clings to; if one clings to what is correct, one can achieve success. 'Doubled brightness clinging to correctness transforms and perfects the world.' This is spoken in terms of the hexagram's capacity.
Above and below are both Li, meaning doubled brightness. Lines Five and Two both occupy the center and correctness, clinging to correctness.
Ruler and minister, above and below, all possess bright virtue and dwell in the center and correctness, capable of transforming the world into an enlightened civilization. 'The yielding clings to the center and correctness; hence success.
Therefore caring for a cow brings good fortune.' Lines Two and Five, with their yielding docility, cling to the center and correctness, which is why they achieve success.
When a person nurtures utmost docility to cling to the center and correctness, it is auspicious; hence 'caring for a cow brings good fortune.' Some may ask: 'Line Two is central and correct, but can line Five, being yin in a yang position, be called correct?'
The reply is: 'Li centers on what it clings to; the fifth position is central and correct, and Six clinging to the correct position makes it correct.'
When scholars understand the meaning of the times without losing sight of relative importance, they can begin to discuss the Changes.