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41 CAVITY ggggg Inside of Plastron gg gg gg gg Hole Drilled into Plastron gg gg ggggg ggggg Outside of Plastron
CAVITY symbolizes the thinning of the Oracular Shell.
Evidence for this Image: The title of this hexagram is variously given as "Loss," "Reduction," or "Diminution." Tortoise shells are specifically mentioned in line 5. The 'diminution' is the reduction of the thickness of the shell. Lindqvist, p.17, excellently describes this process. Shell divination was a fundamental ritual in Ancient Chinese society and is described in all books on Chinese culture.
Evidence for this Symbol: That CAVITY symbolizes the thinning of the Oracular Shell is supported by the place of this hexagram in the sequence. The individual is now an adult and participates as an adult in religious life. Consultation of the spirits by oracular shell divination began religious activities, including sacrifices (see hexagrams 45-50).
Illustrations on the Web:
The Oracle Bone Records
Subject Bibliography: Inscriptions and Oracle Bones : This compilation exhibits the importance of the topic.
Chinese Religions
42 CAVITY INVERTED ggggg Outside of Plastron Where Cracks May Be Read ggggg gg gg gg gg Hole Drilled into Plastron gg gg ggggg Inside of Plastron
CAVITY INVERTED symbolizes the Oracular Response.
Evidence for this Image: Given above.
Evidence for this Symbol: The thinned spot was touched with a hot rod, causing a pop and cracks to form on the outside of the shell. The pattern of these cracks revealed the will of spiritual beings. The shell is now inverted so that the cracks can be read on the outside. Therefore, CAVITY INVERTED symbolizes the Oracular Response.
Illustrations on the Web:
A Scholarly Article by Herbert Plutschow: This important article explains crack interpretation.
The Tortoise: From Eyebrid.Design
43 PLASTRON (tail end up) gg gg Gap at tail end ggggg ggggg ggggg ggggg ggggg
The PLASTRON (tail end up) symbolizes the Presentation of the Response to the Court.
Evidence for this Image: A PLASTRON is the lower shell of the tortoise, in which a cavity was drilled and fired (see above). (Whether the Chinese distinguished between a tortoise and a turtle is uncertain.) The tail end is up (that is, outward from the presenter) because that is the correct position for presentation at court, correct reading position. The Book of Rites says: "For one to have to dust his written tablets, or adjust them before the ruler is a punishable offence; and so also is it to have the divining stalks turned upside down or the tortoise shell turned on one side, before him" (Chu Li, sec.2, part 1, 8.15).
Evidence for this Symbol: Legge in Summation: "exhibition in the royal court"; Blofeld: "When a proclamation is made at the court of the king."
Illustrations on the Web:
Inscribed Plastron
Professor James Hsu's Home Page: A researcher in Chinese epigraphy
44 PLASTRON (tail end down) ggggg ggggg ggggg ggggg ggggg gg gg Gap at tail end
The PLASTRON (tail end down) symbolizes the Inscription of the Shell.
Evidence for this Image: Given above.
Evidence for this Symbol: Plastra were inscribed from the head end downward, so position is correct for inscription. Information about the topic of concern, interpretation, and the results of events were often inscribed on the shells, and the shells were then stored. These shells provide evidence for the early form of Chinese writing. Legge gives the title of this hexagram as "encountering"; Blofeld as "contact." The meeting taking place is probably that of an inscribing tool and the shell.
Illustrations on the Web:
Inscribed Plastron: Warning: this picture is upside down.
Early Chinese Characters
45 TEMPLE GATE gg gg ggggg ggggg Lintel gg gg gg gg Posts gg gg
The TEMPLE GATE symbolizes Congregating at the Ancestral Temple.
Evidence for this Image: Legge in Summation: "The king will repair to his ancestral temple." A TEMPLE GATE is like the Japanese Torii.
Evidence for this Symbol: The idea of this hexagram is something like "Gathering Together" (Blofeld), and Legge suggests (p.158) that the king is to unite with the spirits of his ancestors. On the basis of the component trigrams, however, I believe the "gathering together" is by the members of the king's clan who will participate in the ritual which invokes the presence of the ancestral spirits.
Illustrations on the Web:
Torii of Itsukushima
Torii! Torii! Torii!
46 ALTAR gg gg gg gg Offering gg gg ggggg Altar ggggg gg gg
The ALTAR symbolizes Altar Service.
Evidence for this Image: Bronze altar tables having a shape identical to the lower trigram are characteristic of this era and well illustrated in books on Shang bronzes.
Evidence for this Symbol: Blofeld, line 4: "The King sacrificed on mount Chi...". The title of this hexagram is translated as "Ascending" (Blofeld). What ascends is the fragrance of the offerings upward to the spirits.
Illustrations on the Web:
Bronze Altar: Small picture.
Altar Table: Modern version.
47 VICTIM gg gg Horns ggggg ggggg gg gg ggggg Bound legs gg gg
The VICTIM symbolizes the Binding of a Sacrificial Victim.
Evidence for this Image: "Sacrificing" is mentioned in lines 2 and 5. "Straitened" (line 5) is a binding. Recall the binding of Isaac by Abraham (Genesis 22:9). Binding is a typical preliminary preparation for sacrifice.
Evidence for this Symbol: That The VICTIM symbolizes the Binding of a Sacrificial Victim continues the thought of the two preceding hexagrams.
Illustrations on the Web:
Sacrificing the Son in Augustine's Confessions: Binding discussed extensively.
Sacrifice as Original Sin: Multi-cultural sacrifice materials.
48 VICTIM INVERTED gg gg ggggg gg gg ggggg ggggg gg gg
The VICTIM INVERTED symbolizes the Bleeding of the Victim.
Evidence for this Image: Given above.
Evidence for this Symbol: Argument for this conclusion was given in How Images and Symbols Were Discovered.
Illustrations on the Web:
Scarifice of the Mass
The Blood of Christ
Three Old Testament Antitypes of the blood of Christ
49 SKIN gg gg Front legs ggggg ggggg ggggg gg gg Back legs ggggg Tail
SKIN symbolizes the Display of the Skin of the Victim before Ancestral Spirits.
Evidence for this Image: The title of this hexagram is translated as "Skin" by Blofeld.
Evidence for this Symbol: As part of the ceremony of sacrificing to ancestral spirits, the skin of the victim was displayed in the temple. The Book of Rites says: "The blood with the hair and feathers (of the victim) is presented" (Li Yun, sec. I, 11). Therefore, SKIN symbolizes the Display of the Skin of the Victim before Ancestral Spirits.
Illustrations on the Web:
Christ on the Cross
THE SAN DAMIANO CROSS
50 TING ggggg Lid gg gg Rings ggggg ggggg Body of Pot ggggg gg gg Feet
The TING symbolizes the Sacred Meal.
Evidence for this Image: Ting (=ding) is the name of this hexagram. It is the ritual cauldron in which "meats were cooked and offered to the spirits" (Whincup).
Evidence for this Symbol: That TING symbolizes the Sacred Meal follows immediately from its use.
Illustrations on the Web:
Ting Casting: This is a valuable reference.
Bronze Ding Vessel, c.1100 BCE: Also examine the Tao-Tie mask
