振民育德，先甲後甲
先看圖像，再讀文字。Read the image before the words.
山下有風，蠱
(The trigram representing) a mountain, and below it that for wind, form Gu.
君子以振民育德。
The superior man, in accordance with this, addresses himself to help the people and nourish his own virtue.
山下有風（風吹山下而停），是蠱之象。君子由此體會：要振奮民眾、培育德性。
(The trigram representing) a mountain, and below it that for wind, form Gu. The superior man, in accordance with this, addresses himself to help the people and nourish his own virtue.
先讀經文，再讀《彖傳》如何解釋卦辭。The received text, then the Tuan commentary on it.
蠱：元亨，利涉大川。先甲三日，後甲三日。
蠱卦大亨通，利於涉險大事。事前三日（辛日）謀畫，事後三日（丁日）善後。治蠱之事須有準備有檢省。
Gu indicates great progress and success (to him who deals properly with the condition represented by it). There will be advantage in (efforts like that of) crossing the great stream. (He should weigh well, however, the events of) three days before the turning point, and those (to be done) three days after it.
蠱，剛上而柔下，巽而止，蠱。蠱元亨，而天下治也。利涉大川，往有事也。先甲三日，後甲三日，終則有始，天行也。
蠱：剛在上而柔在下，巽（順）而止，這就是蠱。蠱大亨通，天下因之而治。利涉大川，是因為有事可往。先甲三日後甲三日，終了之處便是新的開始，這是天道的常理。
In Gu we have the strong (trigram) above, and the weak one below; we have (below) pliancy, and (above) stoppage. Gu indicates the existence of (such a state of) decay.
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.
幹父之蠱，有子，考無咎，厲終吉。
治理父輩遺留的弊端，有兒子能繼承，先父就無咎。雖厲終吉。
The first SIX shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. If he be an (able) son, the father will escape the blame of having erred. The position is perilous, but there will be good fortune in the end.
幹父之蠱，意承考也。
治父之蠱，意在繼承先父。
幹母之蠱，不可貞。
治理母輩遺留的弊端，不可固守。對母親之蠱要溫和處理。
The second NINE shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his mother. He should not (carry his firm correctness too far).
幹母之蠱，得中道也。
治母之蠱，是得中道。
幹父之蠱，小有悔，無大咎。
治理父輩弊端，小有悔但無大咎。剛中而行，雖過嚴而仍可。
The third NINE shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. There may be some small occasion for repentance, but there will not be any great error.
幹父之蠱，終無咎也。
治父之蠱，終究無咎。
裕父之蠱，往見吝。
寬裕地對待父輩之蠱，不認真治理，前往則吝。柔位而怠，治蠱不力。
The fourth SIX shows (a son) viewing indulgently the troubles caused by his father. If he go forward, he will find cause to regret it.
裕父之蠱，往未得也。
寬裕治父之蠱，前往不能得。
幹父之蠱，用譽。
治父之蠱，用美譽，以名望治之。柔得尊位，能用名譽鞭策。
The fifth SIX shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. He obtains the praise of using (the fit instrument for his work).
幹父用譽，承以德也。
用譽治父之蠱，是以德承之。
不事王侯，高尚其事。
不為王侯做事，高尚自己之事。蠱卦之終，超脫於世事之外。
The topmost NINE shows us one who does not serve either king or feudal lord, but in a lofty spirit prefers (to attend to) his own affairs.
不事王侯，志可則也。
不事王侯之志，可作為法則。
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.
治舊·振民·先甲後甲
Treating decay · uplifting people · before and after the start
蠱卦的重點在「振民育德」與「先甲後甲」：治舊不只是斷除，更要振育，既清除弊端，也培育新德。最忌六四「裕父之蠱」，對舊弊寬縱必積成大病；最好的做法是六五的「用譽」，配合上九「不事王侯」，懂得何時該全身而退。
Gu's core lessons are to uplift people while cultivating virtue, and to plan before and follow through after. Treating decay isn't just cutting, it's cultivating what's new while removing what's old. The one to guard against is line 4, leniency toward old faults, which breeds a bigger illness. The better path combines line 5's use of praise with line 6's willingness to step back from public affairs when the time is right.
六四「裕父之蠱，往見吝」是現代組織常犯的錯：對前任留下的弊端不認真治理，以為「不打擾舊人」是體貼，其實是放任。讀這一爻可以自我提醒，寬縱舊弊就是新蠱的種子。
Line 4, 'lenient with the father's mess, going on brings regret,' is a common failure in modern organizations: leaving a predecessor's issues untreated, mistaking 'not disturbing the old' for kindness when it is really permissiveness. Leniency toward old decay is the seed of new decay.
王弼以為蠱卦的核心在「治舊」，舊有之弊不治則積久成蠱。卦辭「先甲三日後甲三日」是治蠱之節奏，先期準備，後期善後。讀此卦最該記住「振民育德」四字，治蠱不只在斷除，也在振育。
For Wang Bi the core of Gu is 'treating the old': faults left untreated accumulate over time into decay (gu). The Judgment's 'three days before jia, three days after jia' is the rhythm of the work: prepare beforehand, settle affairs afterward. What most deserves remembering here are the four characters 'rouse the people, nourish virtue' (zhen min yu de): treating decay is not mere excision but revival and cultivation.
程子強調「幹父之蠱」一語的深意，治理上代留下的弊端，是承擔責任而非反叛。他以六五「用譽」為主，治蠱之高境是用美譽鞭策而非強力。
Cheng Yi stresses the depth of the phrase 'dealing with the father's decay': to treat the faults left by the previous generation is to shoulder responsibility, not to rebel. He takes line 5, 'using praise,' as the ruling idea: the high art of treating decay works through honor and reputation, not raw force.
朱子直言：蠱者，事也、敗也。卦中六爻多寫「幹父母之蠱」，講的是子承父業而改其弊。學者觀此知：對舊有不可全廢亦不可全承，要「幹之以正」。
Zhu Xi is direct: gu means both 'affairs' and 'ruin.' Most of the six lines speak of 'dealing with the father's or mother's decay,' the son inheriting the father's enterprise while correcting its faults. From this the student learns: the old can be neither wholly discarded nor wholly inherited; it must be 'managed with uprightness.'
蠱是東西放久了生的壞，治蠱就是接手一攤舊弊。卦裡反覆寫「幹父之蠱」，接的多半是上一代留下的爛帳，接了就得認。六四是反面教材：「裕父之蠱，往見吝」，對舊弊手軟放寬，眼下省事，拖下去積成大病。六五給了正面的手法，「幹父之蠱，用譽」，拿名聲和德望做槓桿去撬舊局，比硬砍省力，也持久。大象「振民育德」把格局再放大一層：清弊只算治了一半，把人心振起來、風氣養起來，蠱纔算除了根。到上九「不事王侯，高尚其事」，事外之人自守其高，後世隱士的骨頭多半從這一爻來。
Gu is the rot things grow when left too long; treating gu means taking over a pile of old faults. The lines keep saying 'dealing with the father's decay' — what you inherit is mostly the previous generation's bad ledger, and once you take it on, you own it. Line 4 is the cautionary case: 'indulging the father's decay — going on brings regret.' Go soft on old faults and you save trouble today while the thing festers into a serious disease. Line 5 gives the positive method: 'dealing with the father's decay, using praise' — use reputation and moral standing as the lever to pry the old situation open. It costs less than hacking away, and it lasts longer. The Great Image, 'rouse the people, nourish virtue,' widens the frame another step: clearing faults is only half the cure; only when hearts are roused and the culture is nourished is the decay pulled out by the root. Then the top line: 'serving neither king nor lord, holding his own work high' — the one outside affairs keeps his own height. The backbone of the later hermit tradition mostly comes from this line.
陳腐、敗壞，久放不理而生的弊病。全卦講的就是如何治理這種積久之弊。
Decay, corruption — what has gone bad through neglect. The original graph shows worms in a vessel (or belly).
辦理、整治。各爻「幹父（母）之蠱」即整治上一代留下的弊端。
To manage, to set in order — the active work of treating what has decayed.
亡父。初六「考無咎」指先父因兒子善加治理而免於受責。
The deceased father.
十天干之首，借指一件事的起點。「先甲三日，後甲三日」講的是事前事後的安排。
First of the ten heavenly stems — figuratively, the starting point of an undertaking.
寬鬆、放縱。六四「裕父之蠱」指對舊弊態度太寬，不夠認真。
Lenient, indulgent, easy-going — here, too soft on the old faults.
事務、本分之事。上九「高尚其事」指看重自己該做的事，不涉世務。
Affairs, duties; one's proper work.
振奮、鼓舞。大象「振民」指讓百姓打起精神，重新振作。
To rouse, to stir into vigor.
第十七卦隨與第十八卦蠱互為綜卦，也互為錯卦，是罕見的對稱。卦序也有一層提醒：盲目跟隨（隨）容易積成弊端（蠱），治蠱的要領在於先識正，然後纔談跟從。
Hexagram 17 Sui and Hexagram 18 Gu are both inverse and opposite of each other, a rare structural symmetry. The sequence carries the lesson: blind following (Sui) accumulates into decay (Gu), and the key to treating decay is to recognize the upright before following anything.
卦辭「先甲三日後甲三日」常被後世論改革時引用。「甲」為天干第一，喻事之始：前三日（辛日）謀畫，後三日（丁日）善後，強調變革要有準備、有收尾。
The Judgment's 'three days before jia, three days after jia' is often cited in later discussions of reform. Jia is the first of the ten heavenly stems, standing for the start of an undertaking: plan in the three days before (the xin day), settle the aftermath in the three days after (the ding day), stressing that change needs both preparation and follow-through.
六爻多次出現「幹父／母之蠱」，講的是子承父業時要繼承其志，同時改正其弊，這也是後世說「光宗耀祖」時常帶有的一層意思。
The recurring phrase 'dealing with the father's / mother's decay' speaks to the son who inherits the father's enterprise: carry on its intent while correcting its faults. The later ideal of 'bringing glory to the ancestors' often carries this same sense.
上九「不事王侯，高尚其事」講的是當蠱已成、治理已無從下手時，退出世事、守住自己該做的事，也是一種德行。後世隱士常引這一爻自況。
The top line, 'serving neither king nor lord, holding his own work high,' speaks to a moment when decay is complete and treatment is no longer possible: stepping back from worldly affairs and holding to one's own work is itself a virtue. Later hermits often cited this line for themselves.
「振民育德」之意？為何治蠱不只是除惡？
What does 振民育德 (zhen min yu de) mean? Why is treating decay not merely removing evil?
為何「先甲三日，後甲三日」是改革節奏的經典？
Why is 'three days before and after Jia' the classic reform rhythm?
用上九「不事王侯」評論一個你欽佩的選擇了「高尚自己之事」的人。
Use line 6 to comment on someone you admire who chose 'their own lofty work'.