辨上下，定民志
先看圖像，再讀文字。Read the image before the words.
上天下澤，履
(The trigram representing) the sky above, and below it (that representing the waters of) a marsh, form Lü.
君子以辨上下，定民志。
The superior man, in accordance with this, distinguishes between high and low, and gives settlement to the aims of the people.
上天下澤——履之象。君子由此體會：要辨明上下之分，安定民眾的心志。
(The trigram representing) the sky above, and below it (that representing the waters of) a marsh, form Lü. The superior man, in accordance with this, distinguishes between high and low, and gives settlement to the aims of the people.
先讀經文，再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.
履：履虎尾，不咥人，亨。
履卦——踩在虎尾上而不被咬——亨通。剛履危而能安，因守正而和。
(Conducting one's self as it were on the tail of) a tiger, which does not bite the man (following it). There will be progress and success.
履，柔履剛也。說而應乎乾，是以履虎尾，不咥人，亨。剛中正，履帝位而不疚，光明也。
履：柔（兌）踩剛（乾）。悅而應於乾——所以履虎尾不咥人，亨。剛中正、踐履帝位而無病，光明正大。
In Lü we have (the symbol of) weakness treading on (that of) strength. (The lower trigram) indicates pleasure and satisfaction, and responds to (the upper indicating) strength.
六條線各有一句判斷。閱讀次序初→上；卦象由下而上，看左側的卦。One statement per line, read from the first line to the top. The figure is drawn bottom-up — watch the rail.
素履，往無咎。
素樸地踐履——前往無咎。剛起步以本色而行，不假修飾。
The first NINE shows its subject treading his accustomed path. If he go forward, there will be no error.
素履之往，獨行願也。
素履而行，是獨自實踐其志。
履道坦坦，幽人貞吉。
踐履之道平坦——隱者守正則吉。剛中得位、不求顯達。
The second NINE shows its subject treading the path that is level and easy — a quiet and solitary man, to whom, if he be firm and correct, there will be good fortune.
幽人貞吉，中不自亂也。
幽人守正之吉，是中位不自亂。
眇能視，跛能履，履虎尾，咥人凶。武人為于大君。
獨眼能視（不能遠）、跛足能履（不能遠）——以此踩虎尾，被咬，凶。武人成為大君（不當之位）。
The third SIX shows a one-eyed man who (thinks he) can see; a lame man who (thinks he) can walk well; one who treads on the tail of a tiger and is bitten. (All this indicates) ill fortune. We have a (mere) bravo acting the part of a great ruler.
眇能視，不足以有明也。跛能履，不足以與行也。咥人之凶，位不當也。武人為于大君，志剛也。
獨眼不足以明，跛足不足以行。被虎咬之凶，位不當。武人為君，志在剛強。
履虎尾，愬愬，終吉。
踩虎尾——心驚膽怯（愬愬）——終吉。剛而能畏，謹慎而行。
The fourth NINE shows its subject treading on the tail of a tiger. He becomes full of apprehensive caution, and in the end there will be good fortune.
愬愬終吉，志行也。
心驚膽怯而終吉，是志行得通。
夬履，貞厲。
果決踐履——守此有險。剛中而過於果決，須警覺。
The fifth NINE shows the resolute tread of its subject. Though he be firm and correct, there will be peril.
夬履貞厲，位正當也。
果決踐履而險，是位置正當（責任重）。
視履考祥，其旋元吉。
回顧自己踐履之路、考察吉祥——能旋而反觀，大吉。
The topmost NINE tells us to look at (the whole course) that is trodden, and examine the presage which it gives. If it be complete and without failure, there will be great good fortune.
元吉在上，大有慶也。
上爻大吉，是大有福慶。
把象套到你的情境，取一個可行的下一步。Apply the image to your situation; take one practical step.
履·辨上下·履虎尾
Treading · distinguishing levels · the tiger's tail
履卦最大的應用：「履虎尾不咥人」+「視履考祥」。能在最險的位置上以柔履剛、終得無傷；能在事終時回顧反思、考其吉凶。最忌六三「眇能視跛能履」——能力不足而強為大事。
Lü's deepest applications: 'tread the tiger's tail without being bitten' + 'look at the path and examine the omens'. Walk the perilous position with softness and survive; review and reflect at the end of any matter. Worst: line 3's 'one-eyed sees, lame walks' — forcing great matters beyond capacity.
六三「眇能視跛能履」是現代「自我膨脹」最常見的失——以為能力遠超實際而硬上大事。讀此爻自警：自知不足是真智。
Line 3 'one-eyed sees, lame walks' — modern self-inflation's common failure. Believing capability far exceeds reality, then forcing big matters. True wisdom is knowing your limits.
王弼以為履卦的核心在「柔履剛」——以柔行於剛強之上而能不被傷。「履虎尾不咥人」是中國「以柔克剛」哲學的源頭之一。讀此卦最該記住「辨上下，定民志」六字。
For Wang Bi the core of Lü is 'the soft treading on the hard' — moving upon what is strong and yet coming to no harm. 'Treading the tiger's tail without being bitten' is one of the sources of the Chinese philosophy of overcoming the hard by softness. The six characters to remember in this hexagram: 'distinguish high and low; settle the people's will.'
程子強調履卦六爻是踐履之六種姿態：素履、坦履、跛履、愬履、夬履、視履——每爻揭示一種行的方式。最高境是上九「視履考祥」——能反觀自己之路。
Cheng Yi stresses that the six lines of Lü are six postures of treading: plain treading, level treading, lame treading, apprehensive treading, resolute treading, and reviewing one's treading — each line reveals one way of walking. The highest attainment is the top line's 'look at the path trodden and examine the omens' — the capacity to turn and view one's own road.
朱子直言：履者，踐也、行也。卦象天上澤下，是上下分明之象。學者觀此知：行事須先「辨上下」（明分位），然後「定民志」（安人心）。
Zhu Xi is direct: lü 履 means to tread, to walk. The image — heaven above, lake below — is one of high and low clearly distinguished. From this the student learns that action requires first 'distinguishing high and low' (clarifying stations and roles), and then 'settling the people's will' (putting hearts at ease).
履講怎麼走路，走的還是最險的一段。卦辭「履虎尾，不咥人，亨」：踩著老虎尾巴走過去，居然沒被咬。能做到，靠的是知道虎在哪裡，而且步步照著這份知覺落腳。危險咬不咬人，往往看你怎麼踩。六爻裡先記一個反例：六三「眇能視，跛能履」，眼睛不濟偏說看得見，腿腳不便偏要闖險路，這是全卦唯一被咬的一爻，高估自己比老虎更危險。平常最用得上的是九四「履虎尾，愬愬終吉」，一路存著戒懼走，反而走得完。到上九「視履考祥」，路走完了回頭把自己的腳印看一遍，吉凶的答案其實都寫在走過的路上。
Lü is about how to walk — and the stretch being walked is the most dangerous one. The judgment: 'treading the tiger's tail; it does not bite; success.' You step right past a tiger's tail and somehow don't get bitten. What makes that possible is knowing where the tiger is, and placing every footfall according to that awareness. Whether danger bites usually depends on how you step. Among the lines, memorize the counterexample first: six-in-the-third, 'the one-eyed insists he can see, the lame insists he can walk' — eyes failing yet claiming sight, legs failing yet forcing the dangerous road. It is the only line in the hexagram that gets bitten; overestimating yourself is more dangerous than the tiger. The line you'll use most in ordinary life is nine-in-the-fourth, 'treading the tiger's tail, trembling with caution — in the end, auspicious': walk the whole way holding your fear, and you actually make it across. Then the top line, 'look at the path trodden and examine the omens' — when the road is done, turn around and read your own footprints. The answer to fortune and misfortune was written on the road you walked.
To tread, step on; to practice, carry out; also 'shoe.' Conduct as literal footwork. The name of the hexagram.
To bite. What the tiger — remarkably — does not do.
Guilt, inner affliction. In the Tuan Zhuan: to occupy the sovereign's seat 'without jiu' — without disquiet.
Plain, unadorned; one's original color. Line 1's treading: walk as you are, no dressing up.
The secluded person — quiet, withdrawn, not seeking prominence. Line 2's figure on the level path.
One-eyed, dim-sighted. Line 3's first defect: sight not equal to the road claimed.
Lame. Line 3's second defect: legs not equal to the road claimed.
Trembling, apprehensive — the look of held fear. Line 4's saving posture on the tiger's tail.
Resolute, decisive — to the point of peril. Line 5's tread: correct, forceful, and still dangerous.
Omen, auspicious sign. What the top line reads from the path already walked.
第 9 小畜（蓄）與第 10 履（行）為一對綜卦。先蓄而後行——這是中國行動哲學的根本順序。
Hexagram 9, Xiao Xu (accumulating), and Hexagram 10, Lü (treading), are an inverse pair. First store, then walk — the fundamental sequence of the Chinese philosophy of action.
卦辭此句是中國「以柔克剛」思想的源頭——能在最危險的位置上保持冷靜和正道，反而能不被傷。後世道家「柔弱勝剛強」皆與此相應。
This line of the judgment is a source of the Chinese idea of overcoming the hard by softness — keeping calm and holding the correct way in the most dangerous of positions, and so coming to no harm. The later Daoist teaching that 'the soft and weak overcome the hard and strong' resonates with it throughout.
大象「君子以辨上下，定民志」是中國政治哲學的根本——名分明確才能心志安定。後世「正名」之說多源於此。
The Great Image — 'the superior man distinguishes high and low, and settles the people's will' — is foundational to Chinese political philosophy: only when names and stations are clear can hearts be at rest. The later doctrine of the 'rectification of names' largely descends from this.
上九這六字提示中國「自反」之德——人生之終要回顧自己走過的路，從中考察吉凶之兆。後世「日三省吾身」即與此呼應。
These six characters of the top line point to the Chinese virtue of self-examination — at the end of a life, to look back over the road walked and read from it the signs of fortune and misfortune. The later practice of 'examining myself three times daily' echoes this.
「履虎尾不咥人」之深意？這是「以柔克剛」的源頭嗎？
What does 'treading the tiger's tail without being bitten' mean? Is this the source of 'soft overcomes hard'?
「辨上下，定民志」六字如何成為中國政治哲學之根？
How do these six characters become the root of Chinese political philosophy?
用上九「視履考祥」評論一個你曾深度反思自己人生道路的時刻。
Use line 6 to comment on a moment of deep reflection on your life's path.