Guan, name of hex.20

Harmen Mesker sent me a mail about guan, name of hexagram 20, with a lot of information about the character.

In the graph Guan we see two parts: at left and at right.

is the phonetic element: it gives the pronunciation, in this case guan.

Jian gives the meaning. This character is interesting, because it denotes very specific the inherent meaning of hexagram 20.

In Chinese there are two characters which have to do with 'seeing': kan

and jian

. They differ from each other like the English words 'looking' and 'seeing'. Kan is a hand above an eye, it represents looking sharply, looking in a direction, but it does not include you really see anything. Jian is a man with emphasis on the eyes: he sees actually. In kan the action is directed from out the viewer, it is more active. In jian it comes toward him, it is more passive.

In jian there is a result, often it is used like the word dao

(towards, until) which is used as addition to a verb, to denote that the action has - at least for now - been done. E.g. "Ni kandao di jiye le?"

"You look-arrived number (like: -th) howmuch-page le". (Le is difficult to translate, it indicates more or less past tense). "At which page have you arrived?

Jian is used in this same way, like in the most common expressions kanjian

(look - and actually seeing), and tingjian

(listen - and actually hearing).
So kan is directed looking, jian is observing. For hexagram 20 this means one is not meant to look at something, but to observe that-which-is-already-there.
This was jian. In the Yi every part, however small, has its meaning.

Likewise, the left part, guan,

is more than just phonetic (although most sinologists will protest). According to Wieger (L72-J) it is a calling heron. This reminds me of the calling crane of hex.61, line 2. The two hexagrams 20 and 61 differ by the two lines, 1 and 2, which in a certain sense belong together, being the "earth" part of the hexagram. But maybe this is too far-fetched.

A calling bird (Wieger says 'with a crest') attracts the attention. Together with jian (actually getting it), gives me the idea an impulse has been forwarded, and now one observes the reaction on it. Hexagram 20 might be observing after a conscious action preceding it.

And then finally some expressions, with a meaning which might complete the understanding of the character:

Guan Yin: the Goddess of Mercy. Literally 'observe - call', the goddess who hears your call.

Guan feng: according to Mathews: to examine into the custom of a place; to watch the development of things in order to act accordingly. And according to Wenlin: to serve as lookout; to look for opportunities. The Far-East dictionary expounds further: to stand watch when a robbery or larceny is being committed by a confederate or confederates. Interesting here because in hex.20 the upper trigram is the wind.

An interesting proverb: 'observe - past - knowledge - comes', or 'By looking back to the past, one learns for (or about) the future'.

guan in the fourth tone is a Daoist monastery or altar.

Back to hexagram 20