The sun rises over earth.
Progress through clarity.
The prince receives many horses.
The Judgment
This hexagram shows fire above earth — the sun climbing the eastern horizon, dispelling darkness through natural ascent. Progress here is not forced but follows the inherent tendency of light to expand and clarify.
The movement depicted is both swift and steady. Like dawn breaking, it gathers momentum not through effort but through alignment with larger forces. What was obscured becomes visible; what was potential becomes manifest.
The image of receiving horses speaks to recognition that comes unsought. When genuine advancement occurs, resources and support appear as natural consequences. The key is maintaining the clarity that made such progress possible, neither grasping at rewards nor becoming distracted by sudden abundance.
This is progress that others can witness and verify — not the private satisfaction of inner development, but visible advancement that serves both personal and collective good.
The Image
The sun rises above the earth. The superior man gives himself up to manifest his bright virtue.
The earth does not hurry the sun's rising, nor does the sun struggle against the horizon. Each follows its nature, and light spreads of its own accord.
To manifest bright virtue means to allow one's genuine qualities to become visible without performance or pretense. Like sunlight, authentic virtue illuminates naturally — not by trying to shine, but by removing whatever obscures its radiance. The superior person trusts this process, neither hiding their light nor forcing its display.
