Scene Description
Image Symbolism
Reading the Picture
Cui is gathering: people and good things come together, and the picture shows the patient care and preparedness that let a gathering hold.
Begin at the lower left, where a noble kneels at a rock polishing a piece of jade. The Image Symbolism reads this as single-minded study and as protecting something valuable from damage. A youth stands beside him at the foot of the slope; the description places a child on a mountain path, read as stepping back in order to advance. In the centre a monk stands quietly holding prayer beads. The text says he points the way; in the drawing he simply stands there, an outsider whose presence offers guidance.
On the right, a man pours water from a bucket over flames, and in the flames is a fish: the description’s ‘fish above fire’, read as being rescued. Overhead a phoenix flies with something in its beak, the bearer of good news.
The trigrams are Lake ☱ above Earth ☷: water collecting on the land, many things flowing to one place. The commentary insists that a gathering must be correct and sincere, and the quiet jade polisher illustrates the second line: sincerity makes even a simple offering acceptable. The man with the bucket echoes the Image: when crowds gather, prepare for the unforeseen.
- Work
- If you are bringing people or resources together, consider what really holds them: a shared purpose, or only convenience? Keep refining your own skill while the group forms.
- Relationships
- If you want to be closer to someone, sincerity counts for more than display. Ask whether you are joining others out of real affinity or only to fit in.
- Timing
- The picture is broadly favourable, with good news in the air. If a gathering is forming around you, deal with small troubles before they flare up.
Line Statements
Listed from the bottom line to the top line.
- First six: Sincerity does not last; disorder and gathering. Cry out, then laughter at a clasp of hands. Do not worry; going brings no blame.
- Six in the second place: Being drawn brings good fortune, no blame. With sincerity, even a simple offering is beneficial.
- Six in the third place: Gathering with sighs. Nothing is beneficial. Going brings no blame, slight regret.
- Nine in the fourth place: Great good fortune, no blame.
- Nine in the fifth place: Gathering with position. No blame. If trust is lacking, sustained, lasting steadfastness makes regret disappear.
- Top six: Sighing and weeping. No blame.
Meaning of the Hexagram
Translated from the Chinese 人间道 commentary with AI assistance; translator notes appear in brackets.
“Cui: success. The king approaches his ancestral temple. It is beneficial to see the great person; success; it is beneficial to be steadfast. Offering large sacrificial animals brings good fortune; it is beneficial to go somewhere.”
People are never more utterly sincere and single-minded than at the time of sacrifice in the ancestral temple. Of all the ways a king can make the hearts of the people under heaven single, none surpasses the use of the ancestral temple; so the sages created the rites of sacrifice to nourish the virtue of the people. Great is this meaning of gathering.
When the people gather, if worthy talent can be obtained, the gathering will surely be correct. If it is not correct, and they are not governed by correct principle, then disorder also arises from the gathering of people. So gathering must follow the Way; if the way is not correct, then even if there is a gathering, they cannot dwell in peace.
At the time of gathering, using large animals and generous rites in the sacrifice shows seriousness and abundance, and the whole world is sure to share in it. If people gather now but cannot enjoy its abundance, they will surely scatter. So it has been in ancient times and today: anyone who would achieve great merit and establish great enterprises must, first, meet the right time, and second, gather people before being able to use them. Then action is sure to bring good fortune; nothing in the principle of heaven goes beyond this.
“Cui means gathering. Compliant and joyous; the firm is central and has a response; therefore there is gathering.”
The hexagram Cui (Gathering Together) is the image of those above being joyous and those below being compliant. The one above employs the people by the middle way, in accord with their hearts; those below can comply with the decrees from above; and the firm yang lines respond to each other. With hearts so firm and sincere, one can surely gather the talent of the whole world.
“The king approaches his ancestral temple: he offers filial sacrifice.”
A king who would have a way to gather the people’s hearts must establish an ancestral temple to show the utmost sincerity of filial devotion. To be in accord with the hearts of all people, one can succeed only through filial piety.
“It is beneficial to see the great person; success: the gathering is by what is correct.”
Gathering by the correct way is sure to obtain talent to govern, because it is correct.
“Offering large animals brings good fortune; it is beneficial to go somewhere: this is following heaven’s mandate.”
Using generous offerings to heaven in sacrifice surely makes achievement possible; this is following heaven’s mandate.
“Look at what they gather, and the nature of heaven, earth and the myriad things can be seen.”
Between heaven and earth, all things gather, move, scatter and so on. By observing the image, the sage can see the nature of all things.
“The lake rises above the earth: Gathering Together. The noble person accordingly sets weapons aside to guard against the unforeseen.”
The lake rising above the earth is the image of gathering. The noble person knows to be cautious from the very start, so at the beginning of a crowd’s gathering he is already on guard: when many people gather there is sure to be strife, born of private interest. So he first removes the weapons, and in this way he can be on guard and free of worry.
“Sincerity does not last; disorder and gathering. Cry out, then laughter at a clasp of hands. Do not worry; going brings no blame.”
At the beginning of gathering, a yielding line occupies the place. A person of yin softness is unable to hold firmly to correct principles; seeking to be like others, he abandons his correct way. Seeking only to conform: this is the warning in ‘does not last’. People’s hearts will surely fall into disorder; those of like temperament seek each other and gather, or they wail and complain to win a response, and the result is sure to be that they become a laughingstock to everyone. If one can resolve firmly to go and follow the correct way of yang firmness, there will surely be no fault; otherwise one becomes a petty person.
“Disorder and gathering: the will is in disorder.”
If a person’s heart and will are confused by others and thrown into disorder, he certainly cannot hold firmly to his principles, and so he loses the correct way.
“Being drawn brings good fortune, no blame. Sincerity makes even the simple offering beneficial.”
The second place corresponds with the fifth. Although their positions are far apart, this is a time when there should be gathering but union has not yet come. If they can draw each other together, there can be no blame, because the virtue of centrality and correctness has not changed; if the virtue changed, they would surely not attract each other.
So, standing independently in the midst of a crowd of petty people, and sharing the virtue of the one above, it is sure to unite with him: this is the meaning. Even without valuing outward adornment, by utter sincerity alone they will unite in the end.
“Being drawn brings good fortune, no blame: the centre has not changed.”
In the time of Cui, being able to gather is good fortune. Those of like aims seek each other, and there is peace. Although their positions differ, through central and correct sincerity and shared virtue there is sure to be no blame.
“Gathering with sighs. Nothing is beneficial. Going brings no blame, some regret.”
A person who is not correct seeks to gather with others, but nobody responds. He is rejected; neither those above nor those below respond to him. Only by withdrawing and seeking a worthy person outside worldly affairs who will respond to him can he be without blame. When a person acts because he is seeking something, even if he obtains it, it is something to be ashamed of.
“Going brings no blame: above there is gentleness.”
The top six lies at the extreme of softness, so one can go to it and meet no disaster.
“Great good fortune, no blame.”
The fourth nine, with yang firmness, can correspond with the ruler’s position, achieving the gathering of ruler and minister; below, it gains the gathering of the many yin lines. Those above and those below are able to gather because of its yang firmness: this is supremely good.
“Great good fortune, no blame: the position is not appropriate.”
It can have the outcome of good fortune without disaster even though its position is not appropriate, because those above and below are joined with it in virtue.
“Gathering with position. No blame. If some do not trust, supreme and lasting steadfastness makes regret vanish.”
The fifth nine holds the most honoured place in the world and has the power to gather the world together, so there is no disaster. At this time one must cultivate one’s own virtue and make one’s position correct, acting without selfishness; this is what makes one worthy of the position. If some people do not trust and have not yet come to follow, one should examine oneself for anything incorrect and hold firm to the unchanging virtue of centrality and correctness; then there will be none who do not come.
“Gathering with position: the will is not yet shining.”
A king must show sincerity and trustworthiness to the world; only in this way does he move the people, and then there is no one who does not come to him. If some still do not follow, it is because his own will has not yet shone forth.
“Sighing and lamenting; tears and sniffling. No blame.”
A petty person in a high position seeks to have people gather with him, but nobody joins him: this is lamentable. Being rejected by others really comes from oneself; how can one blame others? If he still does not know to examine himself, but instead sighs and laments until he weeps, this is the manner of a petty person.
“Sighing and lamenting; tears and sniffling: he is not at ease at the top.”
In all his dealings with others, the petty person loses what is fitting through greed, and so comes in the end to exhaustion and distress. This arises from not being able to rest at ease in his position.
Show the Chinese original (人间道)
萃：亨，王假有庙。利见大人，亨，利贞。用大牲吉，利有攸往。 人之至诚专一莫过于宗庙祭祀之时，王者能令天下之人其心专一，莫过于利用宗庙，故圣 人制祭祀之礼以养民之德。此聚之义大也。民聚之时，能得贤才，则必聚而正，如不正，治之 不以正理，则乱之生亦由人之聚，故聚必以道，非正之道，即令有聚，亦不能安处也。
于聚时 祭礼用大牲厚礼，乃示慎重且富是天下必同之，今人聚而人不能亨其丰盛，则必散也。是故古 今皆然，凡能与大功立大业之人，第一必得其时，第二必聚而后能用，此动必吉，天理莫及此 也。
萃，聚也，顺以说，刚中而应，故聚也。 萃卦，乃上悦下顺之象，上位以中道用民，合于民心，下又能顺从于上之政令且又刚阳相 应，坚心赤诚如此，必能聚天下之人才。 王假有庙，致孝享也。 王者要有聚民心之道，必立宗庙以示孝顺之至诚，能顺天下之人心，必以孝方成。 利见大人亨，聚以正也。
聚之以正道，必能得人才治之，乃因其正也。 用大牲吉，利有攸往，顺天命也。 祭祀时用厚礼祭天，必可有为，此顺天命也。视其所聚，而天地万物之情可见矣。 天地万物间皆有聚，有动，有散等，圣人观象，可见万物之情性也。
泽上于地，萃，君子以除戎器，戒不虞。 泽上于地，为集聚之象，君子知始戒之慎，故众民相聚之初，就也生戒，因众聚必有争， 私心所成，故先除兵械，乃能戒而无虞。
有孚不终，乃乱乃萃，若号， 一握爲笑，勿恤，往无咎。 聚之始，柔居之，阴柔之人，必无法坚守 正节，为求与人同而舍其正道，但为求同，此 不终之戒。人心必乱，同气相求而生聚，或哀 号作苦以求相应，其果必为众人之笑柄，若能 坚心往从阳刚正道，必无过咎，否则成小人矣。
乃乱乃萃，其志乱也。 若人之心志受人惑而乱，必不能固守节 志，乃失其正道也。
引吉，无咎，孚乃利用禴 禴 禴 禴。 二之位与五相对应，位虽有差距，此时乃 当聚而未及合之时，如能相引聚则可无咎，此 因其中正之德未变，如德变，则必不相吸引。 故于群小人聚时能独立其间，且与上位之德 同，必能合，此其意也。即令不重外饰，专以 至诚，则终必合矣。
引吉无咎，中未变也。 萃之时，以能聚为吉，同志相求，平安， 其位有差距，因中正诚心同德必能无咎。
萃如磋如，无攸利，往无咎， 小吝。 不正之人，求能与人聚合，但人皆不应， 为人弃絶，上下皆不应，唯退求事外之贤与之 相应，如此则可无咎。人之动有求，即令得之， 亦可羞也。
往无咎，上巽也。 上六居柔之极，故能往而无灾。
大吉无咎。 九四之位，能以阳刚，与君位对应，得君 臣之萃，下又得群阴之聚，此上下能因其阳刚 而聚，此至善也。
大吉无咎，位不当也。 能有吉且无灾之果，即令位不当，因上下 与已合德，故也。
萃有位，无咎。匪孚，元永 贞，悔亡。 九五居天下之尊，有萃聚天下之力，则无 灾，此时必自修其德，正其位，处不以私，为 得其位也。如有人不信而未能归从，当自省是 否不正，坚固中正不变之德性，则无不归矣。
萃有位，志未光也。 为王者，必以诚信以示天下，如此方有感 于民，则人莫不归矣。如仍有不从，乃已之志 未能光显也
赍 赍 赍 赍咨涕洟 洟 洟 洟，无咎。 小人居高位，求人与其聚，而人皆不与，此可叹也，人之弃絶，实出于已，怎可归咎他人 如再不知自省，反嗟叹而致涕泣，此小人状也。
赍 赍 赍 赍咨涕洟 洟 洟 洟，未安上也。 小人之对人皆因贪而失所宜，以致终穷困，此起因于不能安居其位也。