HEXAGRAM 07 · shī

The Army

Collective force: discipline, roles, and the responsibility of command

地水师Classical Chinese included

Translation approach

The Chinese source stays visible. Where an editorial close rendering is available, it stays near the wording before Astro I Ching expands into cultural interpretation. Why we separate these layers →

CLASSICAL CHINESE

The source anchor

Read the source first. The English layer below remains accountable to these passages rather than replacing them with a simplified verdict.

卦辞 · Judgment

师：贞，丈人吉，无咎。

Close rendering

The Army: constancy. With a mature leader, good fortune and no blame.

《大象》 · Image

地中有水，师；君子以容民畜众。

Close rendering

Water within Earth: The Army. The noble person therefore receives the people and gathers the multitude.

How to read the middle layer

Close rendering stays near wording and sequence. It is not presented as the only possible translation; the cultural reading below is where Astro I Ching explains image, structure, and practical logic in fuller English.

ASTRO I CHING · CULTURAL READING

Why this hexagram says what it says

Cultural reading of the image

Water is held within Earth, suggesting force gathered inside a common structure. Shi is about what happens when many people must act together.

Cultural reading of the judgment

Collective power is not automatically good or bad. Who leads, what rules apply, and why the group is moving become decisive as the scale of action increases.

SIX LINES · ONE STORY

How the hexagram develops from bottom to top

Line 1 · 初六

Classical Chinese

师出以律，否臧，凶。

Close rendering

An army goes out by discipline. If discipline is not sound, misfortune.

Cultural reading

Order comes before deployment. Even a worthy goal can become dangerous when execution has no discipline.

Line 2 · 九二

Classical Chinese

在师中吉，无咎；王三锡命。

Close rendering

At the center of the army: good fortune, no blame. The king grants command three times.

Cultural reading

A leader who remains inside the group can read reality better than one who commands only from a distance.

Line 3 · 六三

Classical Chinese

师或舆尸，凶。

Close rendering

The army may carry corpses back in the wagon. Misfortune.

Cultural reading

Letting the wrong people or priorities drag the group forward turns shared strength into shared loss.

Line 4 · 六四

Classical Chinese

师左次，无咎。

Close rendering

The army withdraws to a position on the left. No blame.

Cultural reading

An orderly retreat under unfavorable conditions can preserve the organization itself, which is already an achievement.

Line 5 · 六五

Classical Chinese

田有禽，利执言，无咎。长子帅师，弟子舆尸，贞凶。

Close rendering

There is game in the field. Favorable to state the charge and act; no blame. Let the elder son lead the army. If the younger takes command, corpses are carried back; constancy brings misfortune.

Cultural reading

Once a real problem is visible, success depends on matching roles with ability. Poor command magnifies an already difficult situation.

Line 6 · 上六

Classical Chinese

大君有命，开国承家，小人勿用。

Close rendering

The great ruler issues commands, founds states, and grants households. Do not employ petty people.

Cultural reading

After the campaign, rewards and authority still have to be distributed wisely. Temporary merit does not make every person fit for lasting power.

BRING IT BACK TO LIFE

What this can help you notice

Useful whenever many people must move together and the quality of role design matters as much as motivation.

A common misreading

The Army is not a celebration of aggression. Its central concern is disciplined collective action and the danger of poor command.

Keep the classical text and the interpretive layer separate: one is the source, the other is Astro I Ching's explanation of how the source can be read.

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