THE TIME.

The situation represented by the hexagram as a whole is called the time.

This term comprises several entirely different meanings, according to the character of the various hexagrams.

In hexagrams in which the situation as a whole has to do with movement, "the time" means the decrease or growth, the emptiness or fullness, brought about by this movement.

Hexagrams of this sort are:

• n° 11, Tai, PEACE
• n° 12, P'i, STANDSTILL
• n° 23, Po, SPLITTING APART
• n° 24, Fou, RETURN

Similarly, the action or process characteristic for a given hexagram is called the time, as in :

• n° 6, Sung, CONFLICT
• n° 7, Shih, THE ARMY
• n° 21, Shih Ho, BITING THROUGH
• n° 27, I, PROVIDING NOURISHMENT.

Finally, the time may also mean the symbolic situation represented by the hexagram, as in :

• n° 10, Lü, TREADING
• n° 15, Ch'ien, MODESTY
• n° 31, Hsien, INFLUENCE
• n° 32, Hêng, DURATION

In addition, the time means the law expressed through a hexagram, as in :

• n° 48, Ching, THE WELL
• n° 50, Ting, THE CALDRON

In all cases the time of a hexagram is determinative for the meaning of the situation as a whole, on the basis of which the individual lines receive their meaning.

A given line - let us say, a six in the third place - can be now favorable, now unfavorable, according to the time determinant.