6. Conflict (讼)

窒 is pronounced like zhang-li in fanqie. Conflict means contention and dispute. The upper trigram is Qian and the lower is Kan; Qian is firm and Kan is perilous. The upper firm controls those below, while the lower perilous watches those above.

Moreover, it represents inner peril and outer strength, or oneself being perilous while the other is strong—all of which are ways of conflict. Nine in the Second Place is solid in the center but has no proper correspondence above, which further signifies increased sorrow.

Furthermore, in terms of hexagram change, it comes from Dun (Retreat); the firm comes to occupy the second position and holds the middle of the lower trigram, presenting the image of having sincerity yet being obstructed, and of being able to fear and maintain the middle.

Nine at the Top is excessively firm and dwells at the extreme of conflict, presenting the image of carrying conflict to the very end. Nine in the Fifth Place is firm, strong, central, and correct, occupying the honored position, presenting the image of the great person.

To ride over peril with firmness and step into pitfalls with solidity presents the image that 'it does not further one to cross the great stream.'

Hence, it admonishes the diviner that there will inevitably be contentious matters, with good fortune or misfortune depending on where one stands.

Explaining the name and meaning of the hexagram through the virtues of the trigrams; explaining the hexagram statement through hexagram change, the hexagram structure, and the hexagram images.

Heaven goes upward and water flows downward; their courses move contrary to each other. In dealing with affairs, plan at the beginning, and the seeds of conflict will be cut off.

Conflict in the Order of the Hexagrams: Food and drink inevitably bring contention; hence Waiting is followed by Conflict. What people need is food and drink; once there is need, contention and litigation arise from it. This is why Conflict succeeds Waiting.

As a hexagram, Qian is above and Kan is below. Speaking in terms of the two images, the yang of heaven moves upward, while the nature of water flows downward; their courses run contrary to each other, which is how conflict is formed.

Speaking in terms of the two constituent trigrams, above is firmness and below is peril; when firmness and peril meet, how could there not be conflict? Moreover, when a person is inwardly perilous and obstructing, yet outwardly firm and strong, they engage in conflict.

The way of conflict must possess sincerity and truth; if there is no reality within, it is falsehood and slander, which is the path to misfortune. The solid center of the hexagram is the image of having sincerity.

Those in conflict contend with others and await adjudication by another; even if one possesses sincerity, one will inevitably be blocked and obstructed without being understood. If not obstructed, matters would already be clear and there would be no conflict.

Before the matter is resolved, good fortune or misfortune cannot be certain. Hence there is cautious dread and good fortune in the middle: obtaining the middle brings good fortune. Final misfortune means that pursuing the matter to the very end brings misfortune.

Those in conflict seek to distinguish between crooked and straight; hence it is favorable to see the great person. The great person is able, through firmness, brightness, centrality, and correctness, to decide the dispute.

Conflict is not a peaceful matter; one should choose safe ground to reside in and must not fall into danger. Therefore, it does not further one to cross the great stream.

As a hexagram, Conflict has firmness above and peril below; it is perilous and also strong. It also represents peril and strength meeting each other, with inner peril and outer strength, all of which constitute conflict.

If one is strong without being perilous, conflict does not arise; if perilous without being strong, one cannot contend. Being both perilous and strong, conflict ensues. The way of conflict is inherently like this.

Furthermore, speaking from the hexagram's talents: Nine in the Second Place comes with firmness from without to form conflict, so the second line is the lord of conflict. Occupying the middle with firmness is the image of inner solidity, hence having sincerity.

In a time of conflict, even if one possesses sincerity, one will inevitably face hardships, blockages, and fearful dread; if there were no blockage, conflict would not form. Moreover, dwelling within peril also carries the meaning of obstruction and dread.

The second line comes from without with yang firmness and attains the middle, meaning that one comes with firmness to contend yet does not overstep; therefore it is auspicious. Some hexagrams take the origin of their formation as their meaning, and this is one such case.

If a hexagram's meaning does not take the origin of its formation, it does not mention the changing lines. According to the hexagram statement, the second line is good; yet in the line statement its goodness is not seen.

This is because the hexagram statement takes having sincerity and attaining the middle as good, whereas the line statement takes contending from below against those above as its meaning—their angles of adoption differ. Conflict is not a good thing; it is a matter of last resort.

How could one carry it to the very end? To push one's will to the extreme in such an affair brings misfortune; hence it is said, 'it cannot be brought to completion.' 'Completion' here means exhausting the matter to the utmost.

Those in conflict seek to determine right and wrong; resolving it properly requires centrality and correctness. Hence it is favorable to see the great person, for what is esteemed is centrality and correctness.

If the one who hears the case is not the right person, centrality and correctness may not be attained. The central and correct great person is Nine in the Fifth Place.

Whoever contends with others must place themselves on safe and level ground; if they tread into peril, they plunge themselves into danger, falling into a deep abyss. The hexagram contains the images of centrality, correctness, and perilous pitfalls.

Heaven goes upward and water flows downward, moving in opposite directions. The divergence of the two trigrams is the source of conflict. If upper and lower were in accord, how could conflict arise?

The noble person observes this image and understands that human dispositions hold the way of contention and litigation; therefore, in all undertakings, they must plan at the inception.

By severing the seeds of conflict at the beginning of an affair, conflict will have no way to arise. The meaning of 'planning at the inception' is broad, including such things as being prudent in associations and making contracts and bonds clear.

窒 means obstructed and blocked. Only when all are cautious and fearful can they attain good fortune in the middle.

Whenever there is discord and conflict, nothing can be undertaken successfully, and crossing difficulties is especially precarious. Only those who have sincerity yet are blocked and fearful can attain good fortune.

Even so, it cannot be carried to the end; stopping halfway brings good fortune. If one does not close the source so that conflict does not arrive, then even if one is not in the wrong each time, carrying the lawsuit through to the bitter end will also be disastrous.

Therefore, even if one has sincerity, when blocked and fearful one still must not bring it to completion. Hence it is said: 'Conflict: there is sincerity; obstructed and fearful, good fortune in the middle; final misfortune.'

Without a good listener to lawsuits, even if one has the truth, how could it be made clear?

For the one with sincerity who is blocked and fearful to obtain 'good fortune in the middle,' there must be a lord who is skilled at hearing litigation—is this not Nine in the Second Place?

Coming with firmness to rectify the petty people and judging without losing the middle, it answers to this responsibility.

'In hearing litigations, I am like anyone else. What is necessary is to cause people to have no litigations.' Having no litigation lies in planning at the start; planning at the start lies in establishing regulations. When contracts are not clear, conflict arises.

When things have their proper divisions and duties do not overlap, how could contention arise? That conflict arises is the fault of the contract. Therefore, the virtuous hold the contract and do not make demands on others.

The correct meaning: 窒 means blocked.惕 means fearful. In all cases of conflict, things fall out of harmony, and dispositions clash in contention, thereby leading to litigation.

In the substance of conflict, it must not be raised recklessly; one must have sincerity and truth, yet be halted and blocked by external things, and be capable of dread and fear, halting midway—only then does one attain good fortune.

The correct meaning: 'Final misfortune' means that conflict must not be prolonged; if one carries the litigation to the very end, even if one is blocked and fearful, there will still be misfortune.

'It is favorable to see the great person' means that once things are in dispute, a great person is needed to decide them; hence it is favorable to see the great person.

'It does not further one to cross the great stream' means that because conflict cannot be prolonged, if one proceeds with conflict into perilous difficulties, calamity is certain to follow; hence it does not further one to cross the great stream.

From 'The Tuan says: Conflict: firmness is above and peril is below' down to 'plunging into the abyss.' The correct meaning: This explains the meaning of the hexagram statement.

'Conflict: firmness is above and peril is below; being perilous yet strong is Conflict'—firmness above is Qian, and peril below is Kan. It is like a person harboring perilous wickedness in mind while possessing a firm and strong disposition, which is why they engage in conflict.

These two sentences rely on the images of the hexagram to reveal the reason conflict exists. Note: Above, Waiting was explained as 'needing' to interpret the hexagram's name.

Here in the Conflict hexagram, the name 'Conflict' is not explained because its meaning is self-evident, and thus requires no gloss. In all hexagrams, difficult names are explained while easy ones are not; the rest follow this pattern.

'Conflict: there is sincerity; obstructed and fearful, good fortune in the middle; the firm comes and attains the middle'—first the hexagram statement of Conflict is cited, and 'the firm comes and attains the middle' explains why one obtains 'sincerity, obstructed and fearful, good fortune in the middle.'

It means that the firmness of Nine in the Second Place comes down to the lower body and occupies the center of the lower trigram, becoming the lord of conflict to hear and adjudicate lawsuits, so that the disputant obtains 'sincerity, obstructed and fearful, good fortune in the middle.'

'Final misfortune: conflict cannot be brought to completion' explains the meaning of 'final misfortune'; because contentious disputes cannot be allowed to run their full course, there is 'final misfortune.'

'It is favorable to see the great person: what is esteemed is centrality and correctness' explains the meaning of seeing the great person.

The reason it is favorable to see this great person during conflict is that in times of strife, one values a lord who occupies the center and maintains correctness to hear and decide.

'It does not further one to cross the great stream: plunging into the abyss' explains the meaning of not crossing the great stream. If one proceeds into a stream with a lawsuit, one will inevitably fall into a deep abyss and be trapped in difficulty.

Commentary: From 'Whenever there is discord and conflict' to 'answers to this responsibility.'

The correct meaning: 'Nothing can be undertaken successfully' means that if by nature one is contentious and engages in lawsuits with others, there is nowhere one can act with success; it means wherever one goes is unviable.

'Crossing difficulties is especially precarious' means that for a litigious person, ordinary actions are already unviable; if they cross difficulties amidst litigation, the unviability is especially extreme, hence 'crossing difficulties is especially precarious.'

'Stopping halfway brings good fortune' means halting the litigation midway yields good fortune. The earlier commentary stated: 'can attain good fortune in the middle,' meaning obtaining the good fortune of stopping halfway.

'If one does not close the source so that conflict does not arrive' means that if one can be humble and yielding, not competing with others, this constitutes blocking the root of conflict so that it never arrives.

Failing to do so leaves the source open, allowing conflict to arrive.

'Even if one is not in the wrong each time, carrying the lawsuit through to the bitter end' means that even if in every appeal one states one's reasons without falsehood, pursuing the litigation to the bitter end will still bring misfortune.

From 'Heaven and water go contrary to each other: Conflict' to 'in dealing with affairs, plan at the beginning.' The correct meaning: The course of heaven turns westward, while water flows eastward; thus heaven and water move contrary to each other.

Moving contrary to each other symbolizes the two parties diverging and clashing, thereby causing conflict.

It does not say 'water and heaven move contrary,' because whenever conflict arises, firmness and strength take the lead as the beginning of conflict, hence 'heaven and water go contrary to each other.'

'The noble person, in dealing with affairs, plans at the beginning' means that since things involve conflict, the noble person should prevent its source. Whenever they wish to initiate an affair, they must first deliberate over its beginning.

If from the start divisions and duties are distinct and do not interfere with one another, in the end there will be nothing to dispute. Commentary: From 'In hearing litigations' to 'does not make demands on others.'

The correct meaning: 'That conflict arises is the fault of the contract' means that disputes arise solely from defects in the initial contract, meaning the agreement was unclear.

'The virtuous hold the contract' means that the virtuous superior oversees the contract and makes it clear so as to judge those below, having no need to blame those below for contending. The phrase 'the virtuous hold the contract' comes from the Laozi.