否 · 闭
Judgement
否之匪人，不利君子贞，大往小来。
Not favourable to the superior man’s steadfastness. The great departs, the small comes.
The Image
天地不交，否。君子以俭德辟难，不可荣以禄。
Heaven and earth do not commune: standstill. So the superior man withdraws into himself, avoids difficulty, and keeps his worth.
The Lines
拔茅茹，以其汇，贞吉，亨。
Pull up the couch-grass by the roots with their kind. Steadfastness is auspicious and successful.
“拔茅”“贞吉”，志在君也。
Pulling the couch-grass in steadfastness is auspicious: the will is in the ruler.
包承，小人吉。大人否，亨。
Bearing and upholding: the small man is favoured; the great man stands apart yet succeeds.
“大人否，亨”，不乱群也。
The great man stands apart yet succeeds: he does not disorder his kind.
包羞。
Bearing shame.
“包羞”，位不当也。
Bearing shame: the place is not right.
有命无咎，畴离祉。
There is command; no blame. His kind share the blessing.
“有命无咎”，志行也。
There is command, no blame: his will walks.
休否，大人吉；其亡其亡，系于苞桑。
Standstill ends: good fortune for the great man. Let it perish! Let it perish! Tie it to the mulberry stalk.
“大人”之“吉”，位正当也。
The great man’s good fortune: the place is right and proper.
倾否，先否后喜。
The standstill is overturned: first standstill, then joy.
否终则倾，何可长也？
The standstill ends and overturns: how could that last?
Reading
天地不再相交。万物都停着，而停着不是泰，是闭塞——好人被「无事可做」考着。卦辞把反转收在闭塞里头：转机自内生，静静地守着。